Akila vows 6% of GDP for education

September 28, 2015
The Education Minister vowed a gradual allocation of 6% of GDP for Education. The observation was made at a press conference held in Colombo on Monday (28).

“The government is ready to accept this challenge,” Minister Akila Kariyawasam said.

Minister Kariyawasam also added that steps will be taken to address infrastructure issues in schools.

“In a bid to abolish the ‘popular schools’ concept in the island nation, the government would introduce the new concept ‘the closest school is the best school,’” he added.

Public spending on education; total (% of GDP) in Sri Lanka was measured at 1.72 in 2012, according to the World Bank.

Premier Spells Out Premier Spells Out Domestic Mechanism

28/09/2015

• We don’t want to make security personnel sacrificial lambs
• Compassionate Council will comprise of clergymen
• Missing Persons Office, Special Counsel’s Office, Truth Commission key areas of domestic mechanism
• Most problems stem from MR’s 2009 agreement

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday spelt out the key features of the domestic mechanism to be implemented following the UNHRC resolution on September 30.

The Prime Minister said that Sri Lanka will co-sponsor the resolution along with the US, and Sri Lanka too will own this resolution.

He said the government did not want any divisions and hoped that all the members of the UNHRC would support it.

“It will be a consensus resolution,” he added.

Further elaborating on the domestic process, he said three main offices will be set up namely the Missing Persons Office, Special Counsel’s office and the Truth Commission.

“The Truth Commission will have another segment called ‘Compassionate Council’. Though it will be headed by a layman, a panel of clergymen – that will include Mahanayakes, Bishops of the Christian and Catholic churches, high priests from the Muslim and the Hindu clergy – would be drawn to form the Compassionate Council.”

Prime Minister Wickremesinghe said the Missing Persons Office would be a permanent one dealing with relevant complaints.

The Special Counsel’s office, according to the Prime Minister, will be Sri Lankan and it will decide on the investigations and the cases that should go directly to the judiciary or to the Truth Commission. He was optimistic that many cases will end up in the Truth Commission and the Compassionate Council.

“Foreign prosecutors may join according to the situation that would arise from time to time. We have spoken to the US about the formation of the judicial mechanism and it is up to Sri Lanka to formulate new laws,” he added.

The Special Counsel may, from time to time, obtain the assistance of international lawyers for the smooth functioning of the office.

“In Sri Lanka we have only a few capable officers to handle this kind of work. I have already spoken to the Bar Association of Sri Lanka on this matter,” the Prime Minister said.

Prime Minister Wickremesinghe emphasised the fact that the process of truth seeking should be short. “We will have day to day sittings and only one appeal against orders. The Supreme Court will decide whether foreign defence counsel would be allowed. I told the Bar Association to formulate a mechanism for this too.”

“President Mahinda Rajapaksa brought in foreign counsels to assist the Paranagama Commission. They sat along with the judges of the commission,” the Prime Minister said adding that new laws of will be formulated under article 13 (6) proviso 01 of the present constitution.

Raising the history of the Sri Lanka-UNHRC relationship, the Prime Minister said that everything stems from the 2009 agreement reached by the Sri Lankan government and the United Nations.

“At that stage, we did not specify whether it would be an international mechanism or a domestic mechanism. But we presumed that it would be a domestic mechanism. However, we could not fulfill our obligations towards the international community. The recommendations of the LLRC had not been implemented. As a result there had been two more resolutions against Sri Lanka at the UNHRC.”

The election victory on January 08, he said, was a watershed in Sri Lanka’s political history and the government had been able to push the UNHRC report form March to September. “If not for the election victory the country would have faced a multitude of problems, including economic sanctions,” the Prime Minister said.

Emphasising the need to have political stability, he said by September the government formulated a new set of proposals on accountability and reconciliation.

The Prime Minister said although former President Mahinda Rajapaksa and South African President Jacob Zuma had discussions nothing concrete came about to address the issues of reconciliation.

“We have no intention of making military or other members of the security members sacrificial lambs. We have in fact saved the Rajapaksas from the electric chair,” he added.

Referring to the LTTE, the Prime Minister said the organisation completely “liquidated” Tamil democratic leadership and the country has to give ample space to build them up and put forward their point of view. “They may have their own views,” he said. “The damage done to the Tamil community by the LTTE was far more greater than what they did to other communities.”

The Prime Minister also hinted that the Right to Information Act and the Audit Bill would be presented to Parliament shortly after Cabinet approval as part of building democratic institutions to strengthen democracy.

Minister Rajitha Senaratne said there has to be a discussion on the composition of the judiciary. The resolution specifically stresses the participation of foreign and commonwealth judges. Defining the term participation he said that the judges are likely to be observers of the process.

“In the past, Politicians have ruined our prospects in resolving these matters due to their parochial political agendas. The media too is responsible for this situation,” the minister said. Senaratne also criticised Prof. G.L.Pieris and Dr. Dayan Jayatilleka and said that they should come to terms with their own admissions in the past.

- CDN

Tiran orders ruthless attacks on state officials who do not give ads!

Sep 28, 2015

Tiran Alles, owner of Ceylon Newspapers, the publisher of ‘Mawbima’ and ‘Ceylon Today’, has ordered members of their editorials to ruthlessly attack heads of state institutions who refuse to give advertisements to his newspapers, say sources at the newspapers.

Alles has gone to sports editor Sirinama Rajapakse and said, “Start attacking Hemasiri Aiya (Hemasiri Fernando) over the Olympic Committee. Then, he will give ads of the People’s Bank. Try to be friendly with him. Find out the games of Ravi Karunanayake. Start attacking SriLankan Airlines too.”

Head of advertising Manel Dharmakeerthi alias Banda joined the duo and told the sports editor, “I have taken a good hold of Dayasiri Jayasekara. Don’t attack him for now. Let’s start attacking if he does not support us. But, do not attack until I say so.”

Dharmakeerthi complained to Alles about journalist Sanjeewa Wettewa and said, “Boss, I have my doubts about him. He has spoken to Mandana (The Sunday Leader editor) and Nalin Jayatilake (The Sunday Leader CEO) about rejoining them. Keep a watch on him.”

Hearing Banda, Tiran lost his temper and cried out for all to hear, “Saranga (Saranga Wijeratne) was attacked by publishing an advertisement in the newspaper. Hereafter, I will attack those who try to ruin me by putting up posters throughout Colombo.”

Taliban overrun key Afghan provincial capital Kunduz

In most serious campaign in years, militants capture government and UN buildings and city jail, releasing hundreds of prisoners

Sune Engel Rasmussen in Kabul-Monday 28 September 2015

The Taliban have overrun much of Kunduz in northern Afghanistan, capturing government buildings and the city’s central prison in one of the biggest military victories for the movement since 2001. It is the most serious invasion of a provincial capital in 14 years.

The Taliban entered the city during an early morning assault on Monday, storming the regional hospital and clashing with security forces at the nearby university.

By the afternoon, militants had reportedly captured the intelligence service headquarters, set fire to UN buildings and released hundreds of prisoners from the city’s jail, according to local journalists and residents.

Most government officials fled Kunduz early in the day, along with foreign and local NGO workers.

“The United Nations relocated all staff from Kunduz to other areas within Afghanistan,” said Dominic Medley, spokesman for the United Nations Assistance Mission to Afghanistan.

The attack is the culmination of months of intense fighting that began in April, when the militants opened up new fronts to take territory in the north.

Local sources said fighting could be heard inside the city from 3am. The Taliban attacked from four different districts: Chardara to the west, Aliabad to the south-west, Khanabad to the east and Imam Saheb to the north.

A western security adviser living in the city said the Taliban had captured Zakhel and Ali Khel villages on the vital highway leading south, connecting the city to Kabul and Mazar-i Sharif through Aliabad district.

The adviser added the Taliban had made the biggest gains in the city’s south-west, where some local communities, already disenchanted with the government, had picked up weapons and joined the insurgents.

A local reporter who had visited the front line said poor coordination between different government units allowed the Taliban to keep advancing. He added the attack seemed to be a joint offensive by militants from Kunduz and nearby Baghlan and Takhar provinces.

In addition, since spring, scores of foreign fighters have boosted the Taliban’s offensive in the north. Many pushed into Afghanistan from Pakistan, when the military there launched a campaign to rid North Waziristan of militants. Others belong to the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU), parts of which recently pledged allegiance to Islamic State (Isis).

As in other embattled parts of the country, the Afghan security forces in Kunduz are stretched thin, and are mostly fighting without foreign assistance.

The US military occasionally conducts aerial attacks around the country, most recently to push back insurgents in Helmand province, but with the Taliban entering residential areas in Kunduz, they are difficult to target with heavy artillery or airpower.

For much of the day, government officials attempted to play down the Taliban’s advances, even as Taliban fighters were posting photos on social media from inside the hospital and government buildings.

Dawlat Waziri, deputy spokesman for the defence ministry, said the army had sent reinforcements from Mazar-i Sharif and Kabul to bolster the defence of the city. He declined to say how many, only that the army had sent “enough”, and that “the Taliban will surely be defeated”.

The incursion on Kunduz is more than a PR victory for the Taliban. The city is the capital of one of Afghanistan’s wealthiest provinces, also called Kunduz, which serves as a crossroads for drugs and weapons moving between the northern provinces, and acts as a gateway to Tajikistan.

As the current fighting illustrates, the government has had problems consolidating its authority in Kunduz since foreign troops pulled out in 2013.

Much of the resistance in the province against the Taliban comes from former commanders in the western-backed Northern Alliance.

Some of these commanders and their private militias have long been dogged by accusations of human rights abuses, causing widespread antipathy toward the government, and in some cases sympathy for the insurgents, in areas where abuses were rife.

Each commander has different backers in the political establishment, said Lola Cecchinel, a Kabul-based analyst.

“Kunduz crystalises the tensions between different political factions in Kabul,” she said, and this had caused a paralysis in the government where competing factions were loath to see one militia armed and strengthened at the expense of others.

Cecchinel said: “The central government of Kabul has no clue what to do.”

The siege of Damascus: An account of everyday life in Syria’s savage war  

 A picture taken of Peter Oborne at a desk writing in Damascus in September 2015 (MEE) 

Entrance to the education institute in Eastern Ghouta (MEE / Peter Oborne) 

SyriaWar-Monday 28 September 2015

MEE's Peter Oborne spent two weeks in Damascus. This is an account of what he saw

I went to Syria under the auspices of the Assad government’s Ministry of Information, accompanied much of the time by a government minder. I had no other means of going to government-held territory. I was unable to cross the lines into other areas, and witness the devastation there caused by the government, and hear responses from its victims. I accept that my report is therefore selective, but it is authentic and I believe that the people I met deserve to have their stories told.

The Siege of Damascus an Account of Everyday Life in Syria’s Savage War by Thavam Ratna

At U.N., Obama takes Russia to task for actions in Ukraine, Syria

President Obama delivers his address during the United Nations Sustainable Development Summit at U.N. headquarters in New York on Sept. 27. (Matt Campbell/EPA)

By Juliet Eilperin September 28

UNITED NATIONS — President Obama blasted Russian President Vladimir Putin's approach to other countries Monday, suggesting in a speech at the U.N. General Assembly that the world's nations must uphold international order in Syria and Ukraine or risk global instability.

But at the same time, Obama made an overture to its sometime adversary, saying the U.S. would work with any nation to try to bring an end to fighting in Syria that has dragged on for four and-a-half years.

The 42-minute speech underscored the delicate task Obama faces during his visit here as he seeks to enlist Putin's aid in ending the intractable Syrian conflict while making it clear that he does not condone Russia's annexation of Crimea or support for both separatists in southeast Ukraine and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

In his speech, Obama praised the international order that has "underwritten unparalleled advances in human liberty and prosperity."

"This progress is real," the president said. "And yet, we come together today knowing that the marks of human progress never travels in a straight line, that our work is far from complete. That dangerous currents pulling us back into a darker, disordered world."

Obama took direct aim at Russia during his speech, saying, "We are told that such retrenchment is required to beat back disorder, that is the only way to step out terrorism, or prevent foreign meddling.

"But I stand before you today believing in my core that we, the nations of the world, cannot return to the old ways of conflict and coercion," he said. "We cannot look backward. ... And if we cannot work together more effectively, we will all suffer the consequences."

The president said Russia's acts of aggression had backfired, bringing Ukrainians closer to Europe and damaging Russia's economy. "We cannot stand by when the sovereignty and territorial integrity of a nation is flagrantly violated."

Still, Obama left the door open to brokering a peace with Putin and others even as he insisted Assad — a Russian ally — must relinquish power.

"The United States is prepared to work with any nation, including Russia and Iran, to resolve the conflict," he said. "But we must recognize that there cannot be, after so much bloodshed, so much carnage, a return to the pre-war status quo."

Putin — here for the first time in a decade — said in his own speech to the General Assembly that the West had tried to export "so-called democratic revolutions" to the Middle East and Africa and was largely responsible for the chaos in those regions.

The Russian leader called for Western cooperation in supporting Assad, saying it was "an enormous mistake" and a violation of international law to try to oust him given the fact that Assad's military forces were best prepared to defeat the Islamic State.

[At U.N., Obama argues for diplomacy over military force]

Later, Putin and Obama will meet for their first extended one-on-one session in over a year. The two leaders are slated to talk about how to manage conflicts in Syria and Ukraine, where the two countries are at loggerheads.

The tensions between the two were obvious Sunday, when Putin labeled U.S.support for rebels in Syria as illegal and mocked as ineffective a U.S. program that has been unable to train and arm rebels.

Russia also just signed an intelligence-sharing agreement with Iraq, Iran and Syria aimed at countering the Islamic State, a pact that was negotiated without American involvement.

The ongoing crisis in Syria looms large at this year's gathering. U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon praised the European countries who have provided asylum for those those fleeing unrest in the Mideast and North Africa.

"At the same time, I urge Europe to do more," he said. "After the Second World War, it was Europeans seeking the world’s assistance."

Mogens Lykketoft, the U.N. General Assembly president, said he and others were "impatiently" waiting the day when world powers would come together "to stop the senseless and horrifying bloodshed in Syria and in doing so, address the root causes of the refugee crisis."

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, the first world leader to address the General Assembly on Monday, drew applause when she noted that her country has already provided shelter to many Syrian refugees. 

Brazil loosened restrictions two years ago, and has issued more than 7,000 visas to Syrian refugees at this point — more than any other country in Latin America.

"We have our arms open to welcome refugees," she said. "We are a multi-ethnic nation."

While relations with Russia rank highest on Obama's priority list during this visit, his agenda includes other important bilateral meetings. The president will meet privately Monday with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, when Obama will press Modi to adopt a more ambitious target for cutting India's carbon emissions in the coming decades. On Tuesday, he will sit down with Cuban President Raul Castro and Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev.

 

Juliet Eilperin is The Washington Post's White House bureau chief, covering domestic and foreign policy as well as the culture of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. She is the author of two books—one on sharks, and another on Congress, not to be confused with each other—and has worked for the Post since 1998.

Russian troops will not fight in Syria 'for now', says Putin

Vladimir Putin denies battlefield role for Russian forces in Syria ahead of key UN speech, but reiterates calls to support Bashar Assad's embattled Syrian government

Russia's President Vladimir Putin (R) gives an interview to American journalist Charlie Rose for CBS Photo: Reuters

A baby is rescued after an airstrike by forces loyal to Assad in Damascus

By Roland Oliphant, Moscow-28 Sep 2015

Russian ground troops will not take part in battlefield operations in Syria“for now”, but Russia will continue to provide close support to Bashar al-Assad in an effort to “save” the embattled Syrian regime, Vladimir Putinhas said.

Speaking ahead of a much anticipated speech to the United Nations General Assembly later today, Mr Putin said the recent Russian military build up in Syria was prompted by domestic security concerns, and denied plans to expand Russia’s role in the greater Middle East.

Russian Troops Will Not Fight in Syria 'for Now', Says Putin by Thavam Ratna

Can Attack Helicopters Save U.N. Peacekeeping?

President Obama is leading a new effort to bolster the U.N.’s blue helmets. But are better weapons and tens of thousands of new troops enough to tamp the flames of war?

BY JAMES TRAUB-SEPTEMBER 28, 2015

Does U.N. peacekeeping matter? President Barack Obama believes that it does — and he has advocated the cause more forcefully than any of his predecessors since George H. W. Bush, who once looked to the U.N. to help forge a “new world order.” The catastrophes of Somalia, Rwanda, and Bosnia purged that dream forever; but from literally his first day in office, when the United States paid off its outstanding arrears at the U.N., Obama has championed peacekeeping as a low-cost and effective means of policing turbulent places. His administration has spent the last year rounding up fresh commitments from troop-contributing countries; at the U.N. General Assembly session this week, Obama will convene a group of more than 50 heads of state who have made such pledges, and will announce them like so many swells at an annual philanthropic dinner.

Can Attack Helicopters Save U.N. Peacekeeping by Thavam Ratna

Anti-India protests erupt in Nepal as fuel rationing bites

Nepalese student take part in a protest shouting anti Indian slogans near the Indian embassy in Kathmandu, Nepal September 28, 2015.

Motorists wait in a queue for petrol near a petrol station in Kathmandu September 28, 2015.

KATHMANDU | BY ROSS ADKIN- Mon Sep 28, 2015

Nepal's cable federation said it would suspend Indian television channels and protesters marched in Kathmandu carrying an effigy of India's prime minister on Monday, accusing their neighbour of imposing an economic blockade and meddling in internal politics.

Tension between the South Asian nations has spiked since Nepal adopted a new constitution last week, upsetting southern minority groups who fear being marginalised in a new federal structure.

More than 40 people have been killed in protests in the Himalayan republic since August. Indian oil trucks stopped crossing into Nepal because of protests in the south, prompting authorities to try to limit the use of cars and save fuel.

Nepal is almost totally dependent on India for overland supplies following earthquakes in the spring that killed nearly 9,000 people and blocked crossings from China.

India has been critical of Kathmandu for rushing through the constitution, despite opposition from minorities living close to the Indian border.

On Monday, a few trucks carrying fuel, vegetables and building materials started to cross the border into Nepal but hundreds more were waiting on the Indian side, a customs official in Nepal said.

TV CHANNELS OFF AIR

The Federation of Nepal Cable Television planned to suspend broadcasting of Indian channels in Nepal from 10 a.m. on Tuesday, Sunil Kumar Lama, the organization's general secretary, said on Monday.

"This is to protest against the blockade," Lama said. He declined to say how long the suspension would last.

Earlier in the day, protesters in central Kathmandu carried an effigy of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and shouted: "Down with Indian expansionism! Down with Modi!" before police scattered them and confiscated the effigy.

"We are asking India 'Please, please open up the border and stop interfering in Nepal's internal issues'," said nursing student Amrita Baral, who was among 130 protesters in a second march headed for the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu.

A representative of India's Ministry of External Affairs declined to comment on the new protests.

Nepal's largest trading partner, India strongly denies a trade blockade, saying its trucks have been hampered from entering Nepal firstly due to security concerns and later because protesters were blocking the roads.

A Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said Nepal had asked China to hasten the re-opening of the two border crossings closed since the earthquakes struck.

Nepal started rationing fuel for vehicles on Sunday, said Nepal Oil Corp spokesman Deepak Baral, after trade ground to a halt at crossing points on the India-Nepal border.

Hundreds of trucks carrying food and fuel lined up on the Indian side, while opposition protesters on the Nepal side sat on the road to block their path.

Some trucks started to move across the Sunauli-Bhairahawa border crossing on Monday, a customs official in Nepal said, but more than 1,000 trucks were still waiting in India.

"(Indian customs officials) are telling me, 'We're giving permission, there's no problem,' but we are still seeing a huge decrease in the number of trucks passing through," said Lawanya Kumar Dhakal, Bhairahawa's chief customs official.

(Additional reporting by Krista Mahr and Rupam Jain Nair in New Delhi; Writing by Krista Mahr; Editing by Janet Lawrence)

Nepal: A Nation Divided By a New 

Constitution:

By Dr. S.Chandrasekharan-Dated 25-Sept-2015

At last, the Koirala Government appears to have realised the seriousness of the situation.  The top three leaders who in the words of their own Baburam Bhattarai had transformed themselves into a “ruling class” met at Baluwatar yesterday and decided to withdraw the army to its barracks, provided the protests are peaceful.

Koirala also cancelled his trip to USA to attend the UNGA meeting and instead sent his Deputy Prakash Man Singh to lead the Nepali delegation.

More importantly and perhaps nudged by the President, two days after the promulgation of the constitution, PM Sushil Koirala made the first move in meeting Mahant Thakur, one of the Madhesi leaders at the latter’s residence.  K.P.Oli of the UML met Gachhadar of the MJF (democratic ).  Gachhadar in his turn asked the triumvirate to come out with concrete proposals before he could make any move.

It sounds strange but it is true that while one part of the country is celebrating, the other part continues to be in turmoil with violent protests.

Some of the protests in the last few days include-

* Parsa- A Police patrol was attacked in broad daylight.

* Kalaiya- A major clash took place between the members belonging to SLMM ( Samyukta Loktantrik Madhesi Morcha) and the Police.

* There were continued violent demonstrations in Udayapur, Siraha, Saptari, Morang, Kapilavastu and Kailali.

* There was in addition a Limbuvan Bandh in eastern Nepal.

The leadership of SLMM and Sadhbhavana party of Rajendra Mahato have now threatened a blockade of east-west Highway as well as the Thirubuvan Rajpath connecting Raxaul and Kathmandu.  Already picketing has started at the customs check posts at three points.

There were rumours of a blockade ( blaming India as usual) creating panic in Kathmandu and people were said to be stocking their supplies.  Long queues were seen in petrol outlets.  Officials formally declared that there had been no blockade and there has been no obstruction in the movement of Cargo containers, trucks and fuel tankers to Nepal.

But the strikes and protests have hit the industries in southern Nepal.

Rumours were said to have been spread of India stopping the traffic to Nepal on instructions from Delhi.  These were found to be baseless.  Another rumour that had no basis at all was about the seven demands made by India to amend the constitution.  These were mentioned not only by a prominent daily newspaper but a popular weekly like India today also.

The fact of the matter was that the seven demands were made by the Madhesi Groups and not by India.  Surprising that the official denial from India was rather feeble and this had created unnecessary criticism on both sides of the border that India is “intrusive.”  Indian position as seen by the latest statement of the Ministry of external Affairs was- I quote “ We still hope that initiatives will be taken by Nepal’s leadership to effectively and credibly address the causes underlying the present state of confrontation.”  There is nothing wrong with this statement.

The Indian Ambassador was also called to Delhi for a briefing and he in turn, on return to Kathmandu on 23rd briefed Prime Minister Sushil Koirala.  

There is still time to begin a genuine dialogue with the Madhesi and other marginalised groups to make suitable amendments to the seventh constitution.  Normally each successive constitution was supposed to be an improvement  than the previous one.  But there appears to many retrogade provisions in the current one from the previous interim constitution!

The draft constitution was rushed through with hardly anytime given to the people to understand the implications.  The public had only one week to make the suggestions.  Secondly, the promulgation of the constitution  was continued  despite the Supreme Court ruling that the delineation of the provinces should be  completed first.  Thirdly it is a “hill centric” constitution excluding the Madhesis and the Janjathis.  The latter has realised that this is the only chance they have, to redress the 240 years of marginalisation  they had experienced.

The key word is “inclusiveness” and this is what India has been pressing.  But India looks to be isolated in an issue where it is fully justified to take a position much against the support given by the international community.

The President has called for a special session of the Parliament on 2nd October.    This session is supposed to elect a new Prime minister and within another 20 days a new speaker will be in position.  These changes are unlikely to bring any change in the mind set of the elite that is ruling the country.  I hope I am proved wrong.

   

Cambodia is cracking down on internet, mobile phone usage

By Alexandra Demetrianova-Sep 28, 2015

THERE have been conflicting views and opinions about the Cambodian government’s recent implementation of new cyber security measures, which puts internet and cell-phone users and sales under stricter control. The directive from police and the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications will see a crackdown on all retailers of SIM cards and internet service providers who don’t register customers through identification documents before selling them their products. If they fail, they will face arrest. Telecom firms also have to register their existing subscribers with ID documents within three months, or their mobile phone numbers and internet packages will be terminated. The mandatory registration of SIM cards and internet service has been in existence since 2012, but has never been enforced.

Cambodia is Cracking Down on Internet, Mobile Phone Usage by Thavam Ratna