Wednesday, September 23, 2015

Mahinda Rajapaksha again disdains law , Presidential commission officers go to his feet – legal luminaries frown upon it !

(Lanka-e-News -23.Sep.2015, 10.15PM) Kurunegala district M.P. and ex president Mahiinda Rajapakse was summoned to be present today before the special presidential commission of inquiry into grave frauds , based on charges against him of causing a loss of Rs. 200 million to the Independent television network during the presidential elections for not paying the advertisement bills pertaining to his election campaign. However , the ex president who was a byword for lawlessness even when he was the president has on this occasion too refused to abide by the laws : He did not appear before the commission.

Consequently , four officers of the commission visited the house of Mahinda at Mirihana and were recording his statement before two lawyers of Mahinda, according to reports.

The crucial question is , after a president has become an M.P., is he entitled to presidential privileges? After he is summoned before a presidential commission , can he dodge it? Lanka e news inquired about the legal position in this regard from ex high court judge Warawewa.

Mr. Warawewa had this to say …

When a special presidential commission that has been established under the commissions statute ,summons an individual to give evidence , and if that individual refuses to comply , the commission officers going to the place of the individual is tantamount to devaluing the law and demeaning the commission. It is only if the individual is paralyzed , bed ridden in hospital or in prison , such an arrangement is permitted. In such circumstances , either the commission or a judge can visit the individual and record his statement.

If not, what the commission should do is , the individual shall be arrested after obtaining a court order , and produced before the commission for cross examination.

Mr. Warawewa in response to the question whether Mahinda Rajapakse is entitled to presidential immunity , said, primarily , the former president is not entitled to any immunity in law. The immunity applies only during his tenure of office. This was clearly proved in the Water’s edge case against ex president Chandrika. Action was filed against her in that case and even a decision was delivered that compensation shall be paid by her.

The ex president is entitled to some privileges , but after he swears in as an M.P. he is divested of his presidential privileges, because he becomes entitled only to the latest privileges of his as M.P. , and not the presidential privileges he enjoyed before. If he does not give up on the privileges voluntarily , the parliament should decide on his privileges. Otherwise a supreme court ruling shall be sought on this.

Meanwhile , a most popular legal luminary ,questioned with concern , if Gotabaya also refuses to appear before the commission , are the members of the commission to go to the residence of Gotabaya to record his statement ? The presidential commission by its actions is degrading the commission , he regretted.

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by (2015-09-23 16:46:17)

Mahinda Rajapaksa’s Cynical Argument on the UN Report!

We are living within a global community. Both international humanitarian law and human rights law are part of the international law to which Sri Lanka has undeniable obligations, moral, customary and legal. The rejection of the report is no excuse from those obligations. It is cynical and undiplomatic.

by Laksiri Fernando

( September 23, 2015, Sydney, Sri Lanka Guardian) Former defeated president, and now a Kurunegala MP, Mahinda Rajapaksa, has issued a statement saying, “I think it would be appropriate to make known to the public my observations on the recently released report on Sri Lanka by the OHCHR.” Of course it is ‘appropriate,’ but he has not made much observations on the substance of the report going rambling on other matters. He says that ‘My government did not cooperate with this investigation for many reasons, foremost of which was that it was instituted outside the established procedure of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC).”

Mahinda Rajapaksa’s Cynical Argument on the UN Report! by Thavam Ratna

Hybrid Judicial Mechanism; Should We Not Accept It?

By R.M.B Senanayake –September 23, 2015

RMB Senanayake

Is an international role necessary to strengthen government’s mechanism to address issues of the past?

The UN report on human rights in Sri Lanka has been published. A news report says that the release of UN Report on alleged war crimes and human rights violations in Sri Lanka’s war is an important step in the country’s transition to good governance and ethnic reconciliation.

The UN Report goes on to say that it will require the Sri Lankan government and people to give their attention to the unhealed wounds of the past that continue to fester in the body politic without any action being taken by any government for fear of displeasing the masses and losing their political support. But this is a total failure of political leadership. Instead, the liberal political elements that are in the present Government have sought to resolve the problem by stealth, by removing the obstacles and listening to the grievances of the Tamil political leadership without any publicity. This may be the politically prudent way in a country where racists are just below the surface. So the ethnic problem has dragged on for many years and no government has taken action to resolve the issue comprehensively. But it cannot be allowed to drag on indefinitely.

The present government too does not want to openly resolve the issue for fear of losing the votes of the Sinhalese. But that is a failure of moral and intellectual leadership on the part of our governing elite. It is necessary to remind these racists in our society, of the violations committed by us Sinhalese racists in the not too distant past as given in the UN Report. The UN Report highlights among others the atrocities that took place, the failures of governance and continuing suffering of victims. Could we honestly disagree with them?

The Tamil problem has not been addressed and is outstanding for a long time. It will not just go away and requires a resolution by an enlightened government in the South to enable a genuine reconciliation of the races – the Sinhalese and the Tamil s. A new problem has been added with regard to the Muslims who are now a displeased community too. The Christians feel it will be their turn next. So these problems cannot be ignored.

TK Arun in Cursor | World | ET-September 23, 2015

The report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on Sri Lanka describes a painful truth that Sri Lanka has to confront, accept and act upon. It is welcome that the new, post-Rajapaksa regime promises to undo the damage and build an inclusive, democratic nation. It must be supported to make good on its word and held to moral and political account.

The report quantifies and classifies the pain the most intense phase of Sri Lanka’s long civil war has inflicted on its people, Tamil, Sinhala and Muslim. Unlawful killings, deprivation of liberty, enforced disappearance, torture, sexual violence, abduction and forced recruitment, use of children in hostilities, denial of humanitarian assistance, continued military presence and violation of human rights in Tamil-dominated areas of the north and the east, six years after the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) was decimated -after surveying these, the report suggests measures to move ahead.

Truth and Reconciliation

A controversial recommendation is to create a judicial process involving foreign experts to punish the guilty and bring justice and reparations to the victims. The Tamil Nadu assembly has endorsed the demand. This is unlikely to help the Tamil cause in Sri Lanka, despite the vociferous support for the demand among Tamils in Sri Lanka and outside.

Ultimately , truth and reconciliation are the only guides to peace and stability . Judicial processes to punish the guilty are viable in the case of crimes that are committed by individuals arising from individual motive and choice. When much of Sri Lanka’s state apparatus was party to the violence perpetrated on Tamils and when the depravity and violence of the LTTE helped feed the majoritarian passions behind the entrenched, violent bias of the Sri Lankan state, attempts to fix individual responsibility for all the crimes of the era would be not just futile but serve as active obstacles to reconciliation.

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission that the present government of Sri Lanka has proposed is welcome, but will not succeed even to the partial degree to which the South African one proved effective, after Nelson Mandela set it up. There is a huge contextual difference.

The wronged, oppressed party to the civil war in South Africa emerged victorious and decided to reconcile with the past, including by granting amnesty to several hundred past oppressors. The magnanimity of the underdog who overcomes is different from the magnanimity of the majority in Sri Lanka, which crushed a rebellion by the minority.

When the minority seeks truth and justice, it does so from a position of weakness and welcomes any possibility of help from the outside, particularly when it comes from a nonpartisan agency like the UN agency for human rights. This is understandable. Yet, the demand serves more to address the pangs of liberal conscience set off by the horrors the UN agency found in Sri Lanka than to help the political process Sri Lanka needs of building a new, inclusive na tion based on a new constitution that devolves power to minority areas.

Political Task, Not Juridical

Tamils were forced to take up arms by the majoritarian denial of their rights. Their language lost its official status, Tamil festivals ceased to be holidays, Tamils found it difficult to get jobs and faced generalised dis crimination. This was wrong and in ability of moderate Tamil leaders to correct this wrong through demo cratic means led to the Tamil strug gle taking non-institutional forms.

It is not just the Tamils who have suffered. Sri Lanka is, and has been, the country with the most advanced human development indicators in all of South Asia. Instead of leverag ing these to emerge as another South Korea, the country lost decades to civil war. Rebuild itself, Lanka must.

For that, the foundations have to be democracy and justice.

Democracy is not just rule by the majority, but also safeguarding the rights of minorities. That would mean guaranteeing certain funda mental rights to all citizens and de volving power to areas where the minority is numerous. Democracy functions not among stateless citizens but within the framework of a functional, sovereign state.

Importing foreign judges and other experts to carry out sovereign functions of the Lankan state would take away from the integrity and perceived legitimacy of the new government and its self-assigned task of building a new state on a firmly democratic basis in Sri Lanka.

What of justice? Indeed, perpetrators of torture, rape and killings that went beyond the remit of state force needed to combat the LTTE must be brought to book. Sri Lanka’s own state machinery must do this.

The larger justice Lankans Tamils deserve has to come from fundamental political changes in the state structure to give them rights that cannot be breached in the future. The truth of the horrors the community has been subjected to must be not just covered up but serve as a blazing torch that illuminates structural injustice the ethnic minority has suffered and leaves no room to quibble on the need for reform.

But Lanka’s Tamils need more than promises of reform. The new government must scrap the draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act, demilitarise the Tamil areas and rebuild their infrastructure, besides producing a timeline for adopting a new constitution. The government must give free access to foreign observers of various kinds, without involving them in sovereign functions.

Politicians in India must support constructive reform in Sri Lanka, not score political points over Lankan Tamils. They will also do well to appreciate the national tragedy majoritarianism wreaks, without fail.

Why UNHRC Chief Doesn’t Trust Our Judiciary

by Upul Joseph Fernando

( September 23, 2015, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) In 2011, former Chief Justice Mohan Peiris travelled to the United Nations in New York as the Ministerial Legal Advisor to defeat the war crimes allegations against Sri Lanka. He was named as the Legal Advisor to the Cabinet by then President Mahinda Rajapaksa. It was Mahinda who included Mohan Peiris in the delegation to New York at that time. Mohan who went there tried to prove that allegations of threats on journalists in Sri Lanka by the government were fabricated. He placed unfounded facts to prove his case. In no time Mohan was made the Chief Justice of Sri Lanka. Mahinda impeached the 43rd Chief Justice Dr. Shirani Bandaranayake in office and installed Mohan Peiris as the Chief Justice. After Mohan assumed the office of Chief Justice, the earlier judgment which upheld that Dr. Bandaranayake’s impeachment was illegal was made legal and valid.

When the Commissioner of the United Nations Human Rights Commission (UNHRC) was compiling his report on war crimes in Sri Lanka, Mohan Peiris was the Chief Justice. Obviously it was no surprise that the UNHRC authorities viewed the ground situation in Sri Lanka with suspicion. Later, Justice K. Sripavan succeeded Mohan Peiris. It was the first time a member of the minority community assumed the Office of Chief Justice after 1991. When Sarath N. Silva was made the Chief Justice in 1999 despite opposition from many quarters, it was stated that Sarath N. Silva was a Sinhala Buddhist in order to justify his appointment.

Those who supported Silva’s appointment argued that the Office of the Chief Justice was earlier held by persons from other races and religions. The appointment of Justice Sripavan appeared to be a change in the pattern. However, many questions were raised on the determination given in the Gotabaya Rajapaksa (former Defence Secretary) case after Sripavan was made the Chief Justice. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe made the following observation on that determination: “The Fundamental Rights Petition filed by former Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa would face a problem as the Cabinet which is named as the respondent may not be in existence on the next hearing date. Wickremesinghe, who was speaking at the International Media Summit at the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute (SLFI), said that the question would arise as a new Cabinet would be in place on the next hearing date in October — as there would be a new Parliament by September. The Prime Minister said he wanted to file his answers as soon as possible. He said the petitioner Gotabaya Rajapaksa had a right to have redress, as soon as possible, without waiting till October.

He proposed that the government should seek the advice of the Commonwealth Judges Association. The Prime Minister substantiated this position by pointing out that Sri Lanka held the Commonwealth Chair currently and was bound to follow its practices. He said he agreed with some of the observations which Opposition Leader Nimal Siripala de Silva had made at the summit. De Silva, who spoke before the Prime Minister said the private sector media, should practise self censorship to avoid defaming anyone. Citing an example he said a report that a former Head of State had deposited billions of dollars in a foreign bank had caused harm and pain to that person”.

Supreme Court determination

What Ranil emphasized was that it was appropriate to seek advice from the Commonwealth Lawyers Association, with regard to the Supreme Court determination on Gotabaya. The Prime Minister would have made such an observation as the foundation of justice in the country was viewed with suspicion. When the Chief Justice 43 was ousted from office; the Commonwealth Lawyers Association, Commonwealth Legal Education Association and the Commonwealth Magistrates’ and Judges’ Association issued a joint press release pointing out the threats faced by the Judiciary in Sri Lanka. It read: “Further to our statement of 19 November 2012, the Commonwealth Lawyers Association (CLA), the Commonwealth Legal Education Association (CLEA) and the Commonwealth Magistrates’ and Judges’ Association (CMJA) are concerned about the developments surrounding the impeachment of the Sri Lankan Chief Justice Dr. Shirani Bandaranayake. Sri Lanka, as a member of the Commonwealth, is expected to adhere to the fundamental values and principles of the Commonwealth which includes the provision of an independent and impartial Judiciary that can only be removed by proper process on grounds of incapacity or gross misconduct.

In monitoring reports of the impeachment proceedings the Associations are very concerned that The Commonwealth (Latimer House) Principles on the Accountability of and the Relationship between the Three Branches of Government (2003), have been ignored and that as a result the Judiciary and the Rule of Law have been severely damaged. We endorse the Statement made by the International Commission of Jurists on 6 December 2012 and have made representations to the Commonwealth Secretary General on this issue as well as the UN Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers and note the Commonwealth Secretary General’s statement of 12 December 2012.

The President of the CMJA stated that: “The Independence of the Judiciary is a fundamental principle supporting the Rule of Law. By its arbitrary actions, and its failure to follow even its own constitutional safeguards for the removal of Judges, the Sri Lankan Parliament has seriously undermined that principle and called into question its adherence to the shared values of the Commonwealth.” The Associations urge the Government and Parliament of Sri Lanka to respect the independence of the Judiciary and in particular to comply with its constitutional safeguards and the Commonwealth Latimer House Principles and international standards.”

The Sri Lankan Judiciary comprises of majority Judges appointed by former President Mahinda Rajapaksa. Accordingly, the determination on Gotabaya was given by two Supreme Court Judges appointed by Mahinda. When the UNHRC Commissioner’s report and the investigation report is perused, all charges are pointed at the Mahinda Rajapaksa Government. It was Mahinda who was the Defence Minister and Gotabaya was the Defence Secretary during the war period. The incumbent Premier planned to seek advice from the Commonwealth Judges over a determination that was delivered in favour of Gotabaya. Earlier, a petition filed against Mahinda was also dismissed by Court. Considering those developments in the Judiciary, the present government has a huge task to ensure faith in the Judicial system of this country.

In the bygone era when a similar situation surfaced in the Judiciary with people losing faith, then Premier Ms. Sirima Bandaranaike appointed a Commission comprising foreign judges to hear the S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike assassination case under the Commissions of Inquiry Act of 1963. The members of that Commission were; Abdel Younis (Egypt), G.C. Mills-Odich (Ghana) and T.S .Fernando (Ceylon).

Govt. to set up domestic mechanismsv For truth seeking, justice and reconciliation

CID Tells Court Thajudeen’s Body samples missing

BY GAGANI WEERAKOON AND SKANDHA GUNASEKARAGovt. to set up domestic mechanismsv For truth

2015-09-23
The government would set up domestic mechanisms for truth seeking, justice and reconciliation to avoid recurrence of unpleasant incidents that marred the nation in the past, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday said in Parliament.
"Reconciliation is a process and would take its own course of time. Such a process should comprise mechanisms of truth seeking, justice, compensation and reparation and prevention of any recurrence of conflict. To avoid reoccurrence of the unpleasant incidences this nation had experienced we need to address the grievances of minorities. It is mandatory we need to move for political solutions that pave for the way to addressing the problems of minorities," he said.

The government would set up a commission of truth seeking, justice, and reconciliation and to prevent conflict situation with the consultation of relevant authoritative of South African reconciliation process, the Prime Minister said.
That mechanism would consist of two structures. The first would be a compassionate council made of representatives from all religions. The government hopes to set up a secretariat with the assistance of International Committee of Red Cross to find details of the missing persons.

Making a ministerial statement on government's position on recent UNHRC report on Sri Lanka, Prime Minister Wickremesinghe said accountability is a sine qua non in building trust among communities and restoring the rule of law.
"Incumbent government is accountable and responsible to the people of this country and is driven by a policy of doing the best of people. It is not just for the sole purpose of fulfilling the promises been made to the international community. It is with the intention of forming a foundation for a long-lasting peace, to prevent arising of terrorism, to bring about the equal opportunity before justice to members of all communities that this government is dedicated itself. We have received mandate for that purpose twice this year.

President Maithripala Sirisena in his Manifesto promised to set up an independent, domestic and judicial mechanism to address the accountability issues.
It is compulsory that we work towards enlivening the culture of accountability we had in this country which faded away owing to the violence and terrorism that battered, bruised and bloodied this nation.
We have envisaged setting up a special judicial mechanism comprising special adjudicator by Parliament to compensate the victims of the conflict. The country has previous experiences of Criminal Justice Commissions in the past. Hence it would not be a new concept. The government would make use of the recommendations of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission.
If we are to avoid the recurrence of our past mistakes, we would have to bring about changes including amendments to the Constitution. We would have to amend the Penal Code to strengthen punishments against forcible abduction and hate speech. We hope to set up a Parliament Constitutional Preparatory Council for this purpose soon."

When the Prime Minister ended his speech, National Freedom Front Leader Wimal Weerawansa raising a point of order demanded that the government should give time for a Parliament debate on the issue.
Prime Minister Wickremesinghe said that there was information that the US was planning to bring about a resolution at UNHRC in Geneva favourable to Sri Lanka. The government would wait for that and would table the reports of the Udalagama and Maxwell Paranagama commissions in Parliament and a date for the debate could be allocated thereafter.

CID Tells Court Thajudeen’s Body samples missing

BY ISHARA RATNAKARA-2015-09-23

The CID yesterday (22) informed Colombo Additional Magistrate Nishantha Peiris that the initial samples taken from the body of murdered ruggerite Wasim Thajudeen had gone missing.

The former Chief JMO, Ananda Samarasekara who had conducted the initial post-mortem had informed the CID that he had placed the body parts in the Court's refrigerator. When they investigated into it they could not find the body samples of Thajudeen. Furthermore, there was no documentation of the samples to be found. The CID also informed Courts that the Chief Judicial Medical Officer, Ajith Tennakoon had informed them that he too could not find any samples of Thjudeen's body.

On 17 May 2012, Mohamed Wasim Thajudeen allegedly met with an accident at the Narahenpita, Shalika Grounds and was burnt to death. Thereafter the IGP directed the CID to investigate into the case.
CID, Sub inspector Manathunga appearing on behalf of the plaintiff informed Courts that he was in possession of the x-rays taken by former chief JMO Samarasekara and noted in the latter's initial post mortem. Manathunga also said that the current chief JMO Tennakoon had on 17 September written to the CID as well as the Courts requesting that they hand over these pictures to the newly appointed judicial medical board on the Thajudeen case.
Tennekoon had also informed the CID that the final post mortem report of the newly appointed board could only be prepared once the X-rays and body parts mentioned in Samarasekara's report is found and examined. The CID thus sought the assistance of the Courts to investigate into the lost body parts. In addition to this, the CID revealed to Courts that Tennekoon in a letter to them informed that Judicial Medical Officer, Rajaguru, who was part of the first medical team with Samarasekara, had in his notes requested former chief JMO Samarasekara to keep the body parts under utmost security.

Civil Society Disgraced By Choice Of CC Nominees

September 23, 2015

Several human rights activists have condemned the ‘Civil Society’ representatives whose nominations to theConstitutional Council were approved by Parliament yesterday (September 22nd).

Dr. A. T. Ariyaratne, Dr. Radhika Coomaraswamy and President’s Council Shibly Aziz who will represent the civil society in the Constitutional Council have a lot of baggage that have raised questions over their suitability, good governance activists allege.

The 83 year old Dr Ariyaratne, Leader of the Sarvodaya Movement, has been charged with nepotism, considering that close relatives have been appointed to key positions in his NGO Sarvodaya, the kind of practice that the Government strongly condemned the Rajapaksa regime for promoting

The charges against Dr Coomaraswamy are far more serious. She stands accused of sitting on a key report of an investigation into high profile human rights violations including the killing of five students in Trincomalee in January 2006, purportedly in order to secure Government clearance to take on a top UN post. Ironically she was the UN’s Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict.

The said report was commissioned during the time she sat on the Council. The report, put together by T. Suntheralingam, a retired judge, who acted as the Special Rapporteur of an inquiry into high profile human rights violations.

That report was never made public by the Human Rights Commission or the then Government. It finally entered the public domain when Colombo Telegraph published it in January 2014.

The controversy over the report stemmed from Coomaraswamy’s statements to Colombo Telegraph at the time the website published the report. She insisted in the first instance that the report had not been finalised. She said that neither she nor Dr Deepika Udagama (also a member of the Council) had seen a finalised report before they left the Council. She said “Neither she nor I can remember the contents and if it had been finalized we would surely have remembered.” Read More

Technology, students and learning

Unlike Europe, the majority of our children come from homes where technology at home is a pipe-dream

Wednesday, 23 September 2015

New studies point to practical approaches for Sri Lanka

ICT has offered much promise in efficiencies in delivery of quality education, but the results have been disappointing.
The latest OECD report titled Students, Computers and Learning: Making the Connection joins a host of other systematic reviews of ICT use in education that has emerged in the last few years. At this juncture when the new Government is looking for policy solutions in education including the possible introduction of tablets in schools, a review of these studies is opportune indeed.

Technology, Students and Learning by Thavam Ratna

Secret discussions between accused Weeratunge and judge Kusala halted Weeratunge’s arrest – shame on judiciary !

(Lanka-e-News -23.Sep.2015, 3.00PM) The high court judge Ms. Kusala Sarojini Weerawardena took the decision to let Lalith Weeratunge the former secretary to the ex president Mahinda Rajapakse off the hook without being arrested despite the colossal fraud allegedly committed by him in a sum of Rs. 600 million is because of the clandestine discussion between her and Lalith that was held at her residence , based on reports reaching Lanka e news inside information division.

Private discussion between an accused and a judge hearing the case is absolutely forbidden in law. Mind you even the lawyers for the accused Weeratunge had not participated in this secret discussion .

Lalith Weeratunge is charged with transferring a sum of Rs. 600 million public funds of the SL telecom regulatory commission to the presidential secretariat illegally . On top of this illegal action , this huge sum of people’s monies has been used illicitly to distribute Sil cloths as part of ex president Mahinda Rajapakse’s presidential election campaign.

No one knows for sure even today , what amount of these ‘robbed’ monies were spent on Sil cloths or to whom they were distributed. There is no report whatsoever in that regard. Mind you , unbelievably all these irresponsible actions and rackets were indulged in by a secretary to the president , holding the highest position in a country’s hierarchy. Little wonder the country earned the worst disrepute unprecedented in its history as the most corrupt and criminal during the era of Mahinda Rajapakse .

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by (2015-09-23 09:57:25)

Campaign against chronic kidney disease

Sep 23, 2015

Inter University Bhikkhu Federation,University Of Rajarata ,Environment organization held a Public meeting in colombo today (23). against Chronic Kidney Diseases in Sri Lanka .

This event organized by Movement for repression chronic Kidney Disease . CKDu is largely concentrated in Sri lanka.

Video: Police assault disabled motorcyclist

2015-09-23
A disabled person who was riding a motor bike through Kahatagasdigiliya Town was severely and inhumanly assaulted by two Traffic Police officers attached to the Kahatagasdigiliya Police, according to the people in the town.

The disabled person who, had lost one of his legs, was riding past when he was ordered to stop by the two police officers. As he didn’t obey the order, he was stopped by the policemen. They had then assault him near the main bus stand. Due to the attack his artificial leg had come off and fallen onto the pavement. No one had come to the aid of the man while he was being assaulted.

A bystander had videoed the assault.

When contacted, Kahatagasdigiliya Police OIC Lakshman Ranwalaarachchi said he was unaware of the incident. However he said a motorcyclist had been taken into custody for disobeying a police order. The OIC said the man had bitten and assaulted the police officer as he tried to arrest him.

The OIC said the suspect was produced before the court for driving a vehicle under the influence of liquor.

Retired army person refuses to get down

2015-09-23

A retired army person has started a protest refusing to get down from a roof top, against the injustice caused by Divisional Secretary of Uva Paranagama and Grama Niladhari regarding the expurgation of a shop he owned which was situated at Welimada in Medawela road, today (23).

Protester says that the Grama Niladhari of the area requested a bribe of Rs 10,000 to cancel the order. Responding to Ceylon Today online, Divisional Secretary of Uva Paranagama, Chamila Indika said that he has implemented the court order. He further said that the alleged bribe accusation should be reported to the Bribery Commission.

Video: Palestinian woman shot, left to bleed by Israeli soldiers

Ali Abunimah Rights and Accountability 22 September 2015

This video posted by the news agency PalMedia shows a young Palestinian woman left to bleed on a sidewalk in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron after she was shot by Israeli soldiers on Tuesday morning.

By evening, Palestinian media reported that the woman, 18-year-old Hadil Salah Hashlamoun, had died of her injuries.

Video Palestinian Woman Shot, Left to Bleed by Israeli Soldiers by Thavam Ratna

Has Charlie Hebdo Comic Mocking Drowned

Syrian Child Gone Too Far?

September 16, 2015 by John Vibes

Charlie Hebdo, the shock French comic who creates art for the sole purpose of being offensive has released one of his most controversial images yet, and this time many people are saying that he has gone too far.

Hebdo is known for his insensitive anti-Muslim work and has been celebrated by some as a fighter for free speech, specifically due to the fact that he intentionally crosses the line with every comic he releases. However, now even some of his strongest supporters are now disgusted with his newest release, which actually mocks Aylan Kurdi, the Syrian child who was photographed after he had drowned and washed up on a beach last week.

The image was accompanied by the message: “Welcome to the migrants… so close to the goal”, with a McDonalds billboard that said “Promotional offer: kids menu 2 for the price of 1.”

Hebdo commissioned Laurent “Riss” Sourisseau as the artist for the comic, the controversial artist responsible for the pictures earlier this year that sparked terrorist attacks in France. Also released with the gruesome image of the young Syrian child on the beach, was one of Jesus walking on water next to the boy while he was drowning.

This photo had the horrific message: “Proof that Europe is Christian – Christians walk on water – Muslim kids drown.”

This piece may finally be the straw that broke the camel’s back, and may lose the support of the misguided followers that Hebdo still has. Sure, he does have the right to free speech, and can say whatever he wants. However, that does not mean that people actually have to support him and his racist and xenophobic artwork. If he has the freedom to put out work like this, then other people have the right to openly reject it.

John Vibes writes for True Activist and is an author, researcher and investigative journalist who takes a special interest in the counter culture and the drug war.

This article (Has Charlie Hebdo Comic Mocking Drowned Syrian Child Gone Too Far?) is free and open source. You have permission to republish this article under a Creative Commons license with attribution to the author and TrueActivist.com.

Jaish al-Islam declares war on Russians fighting in Syria

A screenshot from a recent Jaish al-Islam video in which the group says it targeted a Russian cargo aircraft near Latakia (YouTube)

Dania Akkad's picture

Dania Akkad-Wednesday 23 September 2015

The declaration by one the largest rebel groups comes as Russia increases its military support to the Syrian government in recent weeks

Jaish al-Islam, one of Syria's largest rebel groups, has declared war on Russian soldiers fighting alongside Syrian pro-government forces in the country's civil war, a group spokesman told MEE on Wednesday.

The spokeman's confirmation comes as Russia is actively building up its military support in Syria, including sending 28 operational aircraft to the country, according to US officials.

Fresh satellite images released on Tuesday appear to show Russia developing two new airbases near the key port city of Latakia, a stronghold for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Jaish al-Islam, thought to be funded by Saudi Arabia, posted a video last Friday showing fighters from the group attacking Bassel International Airport, about 20km from Latakia.

In the video, the fighters say the airport has become a base for the Russian army and then shoot off several rockets which they claim targeted a Russian cargo aircraft, although there is no evidence of this in the video.

The Jaish al-Islam spokesman was careful, while Skyping with MEE, to make clear that the group had declared war on Russian soldiers "not on Russia as a country," he wrote.

In the past week, rebel fighters told Reuters that they have encountered stronger resistance from pro-government forces, particularly in Syria's coastal areas, and that a Russian intervention will prolong the war and encourage foreign backers of the rebels to increase military aid.

French President Francois Hollande on Wednesday called for a new Syria peace conference to end the conflict in which more than 220,000 people have been killed according to the UN.

"I call for a new peace conference so that all the countries who want to see peace restored in Syria can contribute," Hollande said.

"All those who can contribute... should get around the table," he said.