Chief Minster Wigneswaran has Passed 230 Resolutions in 2 Years!

( Workers resting at Jaffna Fort )

15/10/2015 

Leader of the opposition of the Northern Provincial Council  S. Thavarajah says that under the Chief Minister Wigneswaran it has passed 230 resolutions so far but has failed to enact necessary  statutes in order to make the council  fully functional on all the 37 subjects listed as Provincial subjects in the 13th amendment.

Full statement follows:

In response to a question raised by me in the Northern Provincial Council sitting on 08.10.2015 with regard to a letter sent by the Resident Coordinator of the UN to the Chief Minister, the Chief Minister read out a lengthy statement attacking the UN. His statement accuses the UN as trying to keep the Tamils submissive to the central Government.

The question I raised was whether the Resident Coordinator of the UN sent him a letter dated 28.08.2015 inter-alia stating as follows:

1.You had recommended a person as an advisor to the Joined Needs Assessment (JNA), for which they have advised you that canvassing for a pre-selected candidate is untenable. They have also stated that you have pursued the central Government approval for the proposed special advisor.
2.You had urged the UN office to advocate with the Government to enable equal partnership with NPC in the JNA, for which they have advised you to directly communicate with the Government.
3.The UN has offered to arrange for you and your Board of Ministers a comprehensive briefing on the JNA; unfortunately you have not responded to their request.
4.With regard to the Peace Building Fund the UN has advised you to convey all your concerns and comments to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
5.The UN has pointed out their strong disagreement with your comment that the UN is not being sensitive to the needs of conflict affected people.

I also raised the issue that if the contents of the letter were true, why is that the Chief Minister has made such a blunder which led the UN Resident Coordinator to write a letter offending him.

CM’s reply to my question was akin to a Tamil proverb. “When a person was asked the direction to Vaddukoddai his reply was that two areca nuts for a cent”.

The focal point of the question was as to why he canvassed the UN to appoint one of his relatives as an advisor to the United Nations Joint Needs Assessment. (According to media reports the salary for that post was US $ 5,000.00 per mensum).

The said UN letter has reprimanded the Chief Minister for canvassing to appoint a particular person as an advisor and also for his ignorance that any request to the UN has to go through the Foreign Ministry.

In this regard the letter states as follows: “We regret that the appointment of the proposed Special Advisor was seen as an entitlement and discussions to partner with the UN have been held hostage to a positive outcome on this.”

It is unfortunate that the Chief Minister was unaware that official requests to a Foreign Country or to International agencies have to go through the Central Government. Unless the Constitution of Sri Lanka is amended or changed allowing the Provincial Councils to deal directly, this is the practice to be followed, which the Chief Minister as a former Judge of the Supreme Court should have been aware of.

During the first one year of the tenure of his office the Chief Minister was accusing the Governor and the Chief Secretary as causing hindrance for the smooth functioning of the Provincial Council. With the change of Government, this January, they both were transferred out. Then he started attacking Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe resulting in strained relationship with him. Now he is accusing the United Nations. There is a proverb in Tamil that “A dancer who could not dance accused that the stage was not flat”

The Northern Provincial Council has completed two years in office. It has proved to be inefficient and inept except in passing resolutions on matters not relevant to Provincial functions. So far about 230 such resolutions have been passed.

It has failed to pass the necessary statutes. According to constitutional experts about 300 statutes have to be passed by a Provincial Council to make it fully functional on all the 37 subjects listed as Provincial subjects in the 13th amendment. So far the council has passed only four statutes, out which three are still awaiting Governor’s assent.

Not only the opposition members but also the ruling party members were accusing the Provincial administration in public as sitting ducks. There are number of issues the Provincial Council has to attend. Unemployment, housing, providing means of livelihood to the families of war victims and widows are some of the issues the Provincial Council has to focus its attention.

Instead of causing enmity with the Government and with the International agencies the Chief Minister has to concentrate on efficiently managing the NPC.

S. Thavarajah – Leader of Opposition, NPC

Mahinda's appearance before the Commission to Probe Serious Acts of Corruption

Oct 15, 2015

'Summoning the former president before the Commission to Inquire into Serious Corruption over matters of this nature is undoubtedly an attempt to convey to the public the impression that the former president had engaged in wrongdoing and to gain some political mileage thereby' said by media secretary to former President Mahinda Rajapaksa in his press statement issued today (15).

Following is full text of press statement.

Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa appeared before the Commission to Probe Serious Acts of Corruption today in response to a letter sent to him by the commission. This letter mentions five matters which are under investigation by the commission.

The first matter that is under investigation by the Commission is the appointment of Mr Anura Siriwardene as the Chairman/CEO of Independent Television Network at a time when the position was not vacant. This appointment is not made by the President but officially by the Secretary to the Treasury as the Treasury owns the majority of the shares of ITN. This appointment had been made after the former Chairman left that position.

The second matter under investigation is an alleged financial loss caused due to an advertising firm by the name of ‘Media Factory’ not paying dues owed to ITN for televised ads. ITN had issued a letter dated 27 January 2015 claiming what was due to them and Media Factory had settled the outstanding amount in full. ITN has under signature accepted that the payment has been received.

A financial loss of Rs. 24 lakhs allegedly caused by an advertising firm by the name of ‘Special Solutions’ not paying their dues to ITN is the third matter under investigation. We understand that all outstanding amounts due to ITN with regard to this transaction have been paid by the said advertising firm. It should be borne in mind that when advertisements are repeated many times, all media organisations broadcast a certain proportion of them free of charge as an incentive to advertisers.

The fourth matter under investigation is the allegation that up-front payment was received for advertisements promoting presidential election candidate Mr Maithripala Sirisena, but that these advertisements had not been aired and Rs 86 lakhs had been returned thus depriving ITN of an income the institution should have received. This is an internal administrative matter of ITN.

The letter sent by the Commission to the former President also states as the fifth matter under investigation the allegation that Mr Maithripala Sirisena had been charged twice the usual amount for advertising thus discriminating between two equal presidential candidates. This too is an internal administrative matter at ITN.

Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa contested the January 2015 presidential election as the candidate of the UPFA. The presidential candidate of a major political party cannot possibly supervise the advertising campaign carried out on his behalf. Campaign advertisements are given to media organisations by the advertising firm retained by the candidate’s political party. The candidate or even his political party very often has no direct contact with the media organisations over advertising.

In any event, all matters relating to campaign advertisements are handled by the political party or alliance of the candidate. As such these matters are not the responsibility of the candidate but of the relevant political party or alliance. When it was proposed within the SLFP that President Mahinda Rajapaksa should contest for the presidency for the third time, it was the present Chairman of the party who seconded that proposal.  

Summoning the former president before the Commission to Inquire into Serious Corruption over matters of this nature is undoubtedly an attempt to convey to the public the impression that the former president had engaged in wrongdoing and to gain some political mileage thereby.

Investigations politicised and turned into merry-go-rounds

“The Presidential Commission of Inquiry to Investigate and Inquire into Serious Acts of Fraud, Corruption and Abuse of Power, State Resources and Privileges (PRECIFAC), has summoned former President Mahinda Rajapaksa for questioning today.” Reported Daily FT (15 October).

• by Kusal Perera 
• - on 10/15/2015 

Almost 03 weeks ago on September 23 too an investigating team visited Rajapaksa’s residence and recorded a statement on a petition the PRECIFAC had received, alleging that ITN had sustained a loss of Rs. 200 million because of non-payment of outstanding dues by former president Rajapaksa for telecasts of his presidential election campaign advertisements.

However big or small the person, however large or small the sum, any allegation of misappropriation, fraud or corruption should be investigated into and investigated independently and without bias. That was expected of this government and that was one of the big reasons for the ouster of President Rajapaksa at the 2015 January presidential polls. What is now happening around most investigations is not that. Some cases are hyped up in the media, with numerous personalities making very strong promises on justice and punishment while also leaving scathing remarks on personalities of the former regime and then the whole episode is allowed to fade off, with another given similar or more hype. With over 10 months of “Yahapalanaya” in hybrid form, there is now a waning hue and cry for investigations that in any case was not for proper, methodical investigation through channels that are relevant. Instead new units were hurriedly created with oversized publicity and fanfare, with everything thrown at the FCID or PRECIFAC. This ITN case on default of payment is a classic case of how these issues are politicised and may go into oblivion, after they are made impertinent through media.

It is common knowledge that any company, be it State or private, first deals with cases of payment default by any of its clients on its own. The company uses its legal resources to demand payment and then lay down timelines for final and complete payment by the defaulting client. Thus in the case of advertising in the media, whether print or electronic, there is always a registered “Agency” which handles media buying for commercials. They earn a legal commission of 15% on the value of the advertisements generated. In all major media companies including State owned corporations, there is a “commercial department” that handles advertising. They often go into contracts with clients that are advertising agencies, to carry commercials for long periods and as main sponsors of programmes. This is usually based on a contract the advertising agency has with its “customer” the company. Therefore customers of advertising agencies have no responsibility towards media companies the advertising agencies work with.

This we know is the normal routine which at times changes during election periods. The legality of the content of commercials becomes more important and agreements seek bigger or profitable packages. What does not change is the status of the “client”. Advertising agencies that do media buying for a political party or a candidate remain the client of media companies. Politicians or political parties and candidates remain as customers of the advertising agency. Therefore any issue with payment of advertising cost to the media company, in this case to the ITN, remains the responsibility of the advertising agency that handled advertising for Rajapaksa’s election campaign at the last presidential polls.

This issue of 200 million rupee loss to ITN on election advertising of which some media reports said former President Rajapaksa owes 102 million rupees, is one of “recovery”. In all cases of recovery, it is the “commercial department” of ITN that should initiate correspondence with the advertising agency that handled media buying for the commercials. ITN thus had two options to choose from. One, is to have their legal department send a “letter of demand” to the advertising agency. Two, if the ITN feels sending a “letter of demand” will not serve the purpose, to lodge a complaint with the Fraud Bureau.

When that does not happen with the ITN management, it becomes the responsibility of the Minister, in this instance the Minister for Media Gayantha Karunathilake under whom the ITN is, to intervene and have the ITN management attend to it. In fact the minister can order his Chairman or the Executive Director of ITN to start working on that recovery as a priority. If they don’t adequately deal with it, then it’s a question of discipline.

Yet, that has not been how recovery of 200 million rupees for election advertising is being handled in this particular case. Why has it not been that way ? Why is there no advertising agency mentioned in this case? Why is no contract or agreement the ITN may have entered into talked about?

My layman’s understanding is, the available legal provisions that are usually made use of in recovering debt in most other cases have been purposely ignored in this case. They have not been tried and exhausted. It is thus quite evident the intention is not of recovering the money highlighted as 200 million rupees, but to gain political advantage from the case. Political advantage in the urban society that wants fraud and corruption investigated. This government perhaps believes they earn more public applause in having former President Rajapaksa being investigated by a Presidential Commission of inquiry than by initiating a recovery of 200 million rupees from an advertising agency.

That is also the case with media. This media culture is hungry for sensational and speculative pieces. Perception in media is, the public wants only such news. They therefore prefer news they can “develop” into tasty fillings for their pages and programmes. Rajapaksa called for questioning by PRECIFAC is more “hot” news than ITN Chairman sending out a letter to some advertising agency asking for payment.

That’s what most investigations are geared for. I would bet this type of investigations would not bring any result at the end. I believe Rajapaksa is no “dumb” politician to have his signature on any of those advertising contracts or deals with any media company or any advertising agency. That I believe is known to those who investigate the case as well. BUT, the questioning can be dragged for some time in gaining publicity. The media would hang around corridors to get a “voice cut”. The AG’s department can thereafter tell the investigators there is no clear evidence to file a Court case, which could always be true.

This seems the pattern that is adopted and those who demand investigations are also happy as long as “investigations” are seen to be continuing. With former bosses seen and quoted in media about their inquiry. Well the whole act of investigating fraud and corruption under this “Yahapalanaya” is one that would provide a merry-go-round for happy voters who believe their “vote” is given due worth, but end up in a “win – win” situation for all; for the government leaders, for the ousted former leaders and for “cheer” leaders too. But certainly not for the public and society.

Jiffy shows that the president don’t have a power of a coconut husk thread

Oct 15, 2015

The Jiffy management last 13th showed the officers of the Central Environment Authority that they don’t bother the power of the executive president’s whose holding the environment ministry at least for a thread of a coconut husk. The Central Environmental Authority following the continuous allegations we leveled against the company has once again taken steps to inspect the operations of the Jiffy Company which is still discharging the poisonous chemical calcium nitrate to the Deduru Oya causing a large environmental destruction.

However when a team of Central Environment Authority officers made a sudden visit to the Jiffy factory last 13th, the management of the factory has not allowed the officers to enter the factory. The management has said the CEA officers has no authority to enter the company where as the CEA is an institutions under the supervision of the president.

During the former Rajapaksa regime Minister Basil Rajapaksa did not allow any of the CEA officers to enter the company. Some officers were inflicted with death threats.

However the effort taken to enter the company with the help of the Kobeigane police officers informing the DIG office in Kurunegala has also failed. The Kobeigane police who dance to the tune of the Jiffy Company have also told that they cannot do anything if the company don’t allow. Later the officers have returned back. Kurunegala central environment officers too have joined this group which visited to inspect the company. The Jiffy factory prevented a group of environmentalists before, when they went for an inspection around Deduru Oya. The environmentalists were taken into custody by the police and the police even tried to take the videos of what they recorded.

The local chief of the Jiffy Company is one Sandeeptha Gamlath who is the brother of the solicitor general Suhada Gamlath. It is a known fact that Suhada Gamlath is a famous ally of the Rajapaksa regime. Lawyers who deal with these case points out, problems have emerged not only at the Attorney General office but the eight court cases filed against the Jiffy Company.

Recently the Jiffy Company invited Minister Sujeewa Senasinghe, the Wayamb chief minister Dharmasiri Dasanayake and few reporters and showed their company premises and made a jolly trip. Even today the company has invited another group of reporters (representing English media) and arranged luxury refreshment. Following the trip these ministers has told the media this Jiffy Company is a super company which beautifully conducts its operation.
However it is a funny, that the president who demonstrates around the country that he can use his executive powers to protect the environment when this multinational Norway Jiffy company’s continue to ignore the president’s power and destruct the environment.

Army and paramilitary officers being arrested but police who facilitated them are scot free in Rajapakse planned murders

(Lanka-e-News -15.Oct.2015, 7.30PM) Following the investigations conducted by the CID into the murders committed during  the brutal corrupt Rajapakse reign, the members of the army, Karuna Amman, Pillayan and their para military groups who were responsible have been traced, yet the high ranking police officers of the regime who aided and abetted in these crimes have not been tracked down. Hence ,suspicions are being harbored whether there is a calculated  move to conceal their involvements.

Examples are : murder of Prageeth Ekneliyagoda following  abduction ; and  murders of Thajudeen , Pararajasingham , Raviraj and editor Lasantha.

Although investigations are under way into the aforementioned murders, and members of the army,  para military, and politicos who maintained paramilitary groups are arrested, the police higher ups who also  provided the assistance towards these murders, at the opportune moments, and at the appropriate points are not being probed.

In the Thajudeen murder, firstly the police officers who claimed that the death was due to an accident and was not a murder , and neglected investigations ought to be interrogated. The ex DIG Anura Senanayake who instructed to call it an accident and not  murder is absolutely free as a bird with no investigation launched against him despite his high handed conduct and neglect of duty , which in fact is tantamount to aiding and abetting in the crime.

In the murders of Pararajasingham and Raviraj , though these took place within the high security zone, and at a barrier  where there was  no possibility for the assassins to escape, yet they were allowed to escape. Neither the police officers at the security barrier nor the police higher up who instructed them to look the other way have been found fault with or an accusing finger pointed at them.

Even in Ekneliyagoda abduction and murder it was a repetition. The day following the abduction of Ekneliyagoda , the editor of Lanka e news at about 1.00 p.m. informed the police that the phone call of the abductor is recorded  at the Girithale satellite tower . The very evening in the statement made to the police too that was mentioned. Yet , the police taking no action in regard to such a grave crime , is evidence that this was carried out with the knowledge of a high rung  police team. However in the investigations under way today focus is not made on this neglect of duty of the police , and no probe has been launched in this direction.

In the Lasantha murder in broad daylight , if the murderers are to escape unhindered  from the security zone , surely that would not have been  possible without police support. The police higher up in charge of that zone has still not been questioned. Hereunder is the evidence that bears out that police aided in this crime….

After Lasantha published a report on the MIG deal incriminating Gotabaya , the latter gave unlawful instructions to Sisira Mendis , the CID director at that time to arrest Lasantha.

When Mendis responded by saying there is no legal basis to carry out Gota’s order , Mendis was transferred out to Vavuniya. Mendis who was responsible via his  police efforts to  make  the court to pass a sentence of 100 years in jail for Prabhakaran , was transferred to Vavuniya in order that he shall be killed by the LTTE which bore  a grudge against Mendis. 

Meanwhile , Lasantha was murdered within the next few weeks.

Instructions to the CID were given to investigate Lasantha’s murder , only after Mendis was dismissed from the Director CID post. Going by  all these manipulations , it is crystal clear the police planned it and were directly involved in the murder at the behest of Rajapakses. ( Lasantha’s murder was a cold calculated Rajapakse killing and a turning point. It is after that the media and media Institutions became alert and alive to the dangers they were facing) 

During the brutal murderous Rajapakse era , it were the henchmen of the Rajapakses in the army or the murder squads  of Karuna and Pillayan who carried out these murders. However , it were  the police officers , the  stooges of the Rajapakses who facilitated these ruthless murders.. Moreover destroying whatever evidence available that could  prove those crimes were also part of their tasks.

Today , since the investigations are being conducted by the police , the suspects who are of the forces and  paramilitary forces, are being arrested , while the pro MaRa  police officers who hatched the  conspiracies and actual criminal operations from behind the scenes are scot  free . Hence as long as they are free and out , the true masterminds -the Rajapakse murderers being hauled up before courts, and bringing them before the law will always be impeded and hindered. 

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by     (2015-10-15 14:22:50)

Mr. Prime Minister, Now It’s Time to Use the Big Stick !

It was learnt that new Ambassador to Japan was asking the Foreign Secretary to appoint a senior officer of the Foreign Service to run the Mission. If the Ambassador is a “brilliant” administrator, he does not need a senior Foreign Service Officer to run the Mission. We believe that you would face similar situations in the future when you visit some of the countries where inexperienced new Ambassadors are heading the Missions. We have already heard the LTTE issue in London and failure of the officers to monitor such activities.

---

An Open Letter to the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka by A group of the Sri Lankan Foreign Service Officers, is follows;

( October 15, 2015, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) According to the news, during your visit to Japan, you have promised the media to create a new Foreign Service on returning to Sri Lanka as the Foreign Ministry officials have made certain blunders on many issues. You made similar statements on two previous occasions. We whole heartedly welcome your comments and determination to revamp the Foreign Service. We consider it an urgent requirement. However, creating a new Foreign Service should not be narrowed down to a process of appointing your classmates or associates to the posts of Ambassadors and other ranks.

More often the Foreign Service has been the object of ridicule and criticism due to many reasons including its inability to withstand undue political pressure, especially during the previous regime. Therefore, it is our considered view that there should be a meaningful process to revamp the Foreign Service to cure all its ills. We have been debating this issue for years. In fact, after 08th January 2015 election a number of letters were sent to you and H.E. the President requesting to restructure the entire Foreign Ministry to make it serve Sri Lanka better. Unfortunately, the walls created between you and the rest of Sri Lankans by some fanatic officers of your office has prevented such vital information reaching you. Since formation of the new government we have been eagerly looking forward to meeting you to bring to your attention our concerns on our views on conducting foreign policies, Foreign Service, appointments, promotions, administrative issues and matters on political victimization during the last regime.

With regard to the unprofessional conduct of the officers in the Sri Lanka Mission in Japan, we wish to state that the Ambassador should take the full responsibility for any shortcoming. Besides, you cannot expect anything more that from a political Ambassador and a senior officer who has failed all his departmental examination on number of occasions and obtained his promotions through political channel. Unfortunately, this officer has got a cross-posting to Bahrain as the Sri Lankan Ambassador. Not only him, many officers recently appointed as Ambassadors have not fulfilled the requirements to become Ambassadors. More importantly, 06 of them have got cross-postings as Ambassadors after serving abroad more than three years. One of them got appointed to Iran as Ambassador just two months before retirement. This is prejudicial towards officers eligible for such posts in Colombo.

It was learnt that new Ambassador to Japan was asking the Foreign Secretary to appoint a senior officer of the Foreign Service to run the Mission. If the Ambassador is a “brilliant” administrator, he does not need a senior Foreign Service Officer to run the Mission. We believe that you would face similar situations in the future when you visit some of the countries where inexperienced new Ambassadors are heading the Missions. We have already heard the LTTE issue in London and failure of the officers to monitor such activities. We are also aware of what is happening at the Sri Lanka Mission in Geneva. Despite the irresponsible behavior of the Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka, there is also secret discussions to appoint a mistress of a senior Ambassador to Geneva.

Considering your explosive remarks on the Foreign Service and failure of the government to put the Foreign Ministry on to the correct path, we wish to bring the following to your kind attention.

1. Appointing of a commission to probe allegations against some officers in the Foreign Service and mismanagement of affairs at the Ministry during the previous regime and appointments made to the Missions soon after January 08 election. We wish to highlight that there had been gross violation of rules and regulations by the high ranking officials of the Ministry when spending public funds and granting promotions as well as making appointments. Some officers had engaged in politics during the previous regime. In the past, the entire Ministry was geared to serve Rajapakse family and not the country. These issues need to be investigated and those responsible should be punished. We are acutely aware of grave harm inflicted to the entire Foreign Service by senior officers of the ministry. We wish to express our displeasure on the way of conducting the investigation on the allegations against the former Secretary Mrs. Kshenuka Senavirathna and others involved in Geneva Missions repairs.

2. Appointing of a committee to investigate the issues related to political victimization during the previous regime and Ambassadorial appointments made after 08 January election.

3. Appointing of a committee to receive recommendations on restructuring of the Foreign Ministry and the Missions abroad to make them better institutions that could serve the country.

It is our view that the Minister of Foreign Affairs could have avoided the present debacles at the Ministry. However, he just began to run the Ministry after the January 08 election without making any structural and administrative changes. He did not pay a serious attention to the issues related to appointments within the Ministry and the Missions. He trusted some crooks who licked the boots of the Rajapske family and its cronies and entrusted them with important tasks. Some officers made use of good intention of the Minister for their personal gains. As a result, the Ministry receives undue criticisms from all quarters of the society. We strongly believe that it is also required to appoint a new Foreign Secretary capable of running the Ministry to the expectations of the country.

More specifically, a diplomat should be an excellent writer, analyst, negotiator, advocate and communicator, with broad knowledge and understanding of how the host country works, and have ability to quickly acquire basic expertise in a new field. A diplomat needs to be very adaptable, a self-learner and a quick study. In the present milieu, only skill a Sri Lankan diplomat needs to rise to the top in the service is knowing how to work with the bureaucracy and having the right connections.

We hope that you would have a serious look into the matters highlighted above.

National List Challenge Returns To Supreme Court

October 15, 2015

Public interest litigation activist Nagananda Kodituwakku, who appeared for DEW Gunasekara’s rights violation Petition, himself had filed a case yesterday before the Supreme Court.

Nagananda Kodituwakku

In this action Lawyer Kodituwakku requests the Supreme Court to suspend all National List MPs who had been rejected by the people at the General Elections, pending final determination of this case. The lawyer, citing relevant provisions in the Constitution that warrants cases of public interest be heard by the full bench of he Supreme Court, requests the Chief Justice K Sripavan to nominate all judges of the Supreme Court to hear this case. He claimes that the Supreme Court is under duty to repair the grave damage inflicted on the sovereign rights of the people, whose judicial power it exercises on trust.

The Petition filed in Court (SC/Writs/05/2015), reveals the circumstances under which the 14th amendment, that had clearly violated people’s sovereign right of franchise, had been made law by unlawful means.

There had been a 14th amendment approved by the All party Select Committee of the Parliament after 5 years (1983-1988) of deliberation, and in the Article 99A introduced by the said amendment there is no provision whatsoever for nominating defeated candidates as MPs under the National List by party secretaries. However, it had been clandestinely added to the amendment approved by the Parliament by President JR Jayewardene and he had referred it to the Supreme Court denying the people any access to the said bill which had never been published in the Gazette for the information of the citizens before it was referred to the Court for its decision on the constitutionality to see whether it violates any of the entrenched provisions in the Constitution and require approval of the people at a Referendum.

Evidence filed in Court reveals that President Jayewardene had employed dirty tactics to keep the Supreme Court under check. And in fact according to the report furnished by the International Commission of Justice, President Jayewardene had publicly challenged the Supreme Court for interfering with his policies. He had vowed to teach the judges a lesson and had frightened them attacking their homes with employment of mobs. The report says all this had been done to create a judiciary that is more pliable to his wishes, which he had achieved with the immunity enjoyed under Article 35 of the Constitution, and if not all such actions might well have been criminal offences.Read More

Yaha Paalana’ govt. shaken due to Maxwell Paranagama report!

Oct 15, 2015

The Maxwell Paranagama commission report appears to have created a big crisis in the ‘Yaha Paalana’ government. The reason is that the report exposes financial fraud and other embezzlement of ministers and MPs in the previous regime. This is also a reason for the delay in the release of the report.

After the report is released, ministers of the previous Rajapaksa regime who are now in the present ‘Yaha Paalana’ cabinet as well as a large number of SLFP MPs will face accusations. The continuous delay is in order to protect them.

However, UNP MPs have asked the prime minister to release the report as soon as possible. They have also exerted pressure on the president. They are stressing that the report should be released and based on its content, the culprits should be punished irrespective of positions.

However, SLFP ministers and MPs have asked the president not to release it, saying it will cause grave harm to the party.

This crisis has worsened to a confrontation between the president and the prime minister. The PM wants to punish those accused by the report to realize public aspirations for good governance. But, the president is delaying its release in order to save his party at the insistence of SLFP ministers and MPs.

VVIP dollar account holders: Govt. to name names soon 

2015-10-15
The government has gathered information on eight Dollar Accounts held in foreign banks by members of a VVIP family of the previous regime and the names of account holders will be disclosed after the ongoing investigations are over, Cabinet Spokesman and Minister Rajitha Senarathe said today.

He told the media at the weekly cabinet news briefing that in one account they had deposited US$ 1.86 billion,US$ 1.8 billion in another and US$ 500 million in yet another account.

When a journalist demanded Minister Senaratne to disclose the names of those allegedly held illegal dollar accounts in the banks in foreign countries, he declined and said it would affect the investigations.

Responding to a statement made by a member of a VVIP family disowning the dollar accounts, Minister Senaeratne said no one should jump the gun if they were innocent but vowed to disclose the names of account holders at the right time and also to bring them before the law on charges of money laundering and plundering of state resources.

Minister Senaratne appealed to the media not to give publicity to the investigations on illegal dollar accounts held by Sri Lankans as it would hamper the inquiry and added a few countries had expressed concerns on certain local media reports recently.

“Many countries have flexible legislations to deal with black money deposited in overseas banks. Only countries like Monaco have strict rigid laws on this matter. Therefore, Sri Lankan sleuths do not find the task impossible and they are confident that they would trace all illegal dollar accounts held by Sri Lankans and those who held them before long,” Minister Senaratne stressed.

He added that the US Federal Reserve (USFR) was assisting Sri Lanka in the investigations as the USFR had data on each and every dollar account held in any bank in anywhere in the world. (Sandun A Jayasekera) - See more at: http://www.dailymirror.lk/91461/vvip-dollar-account-holders-govt-to-name-names-soon#sthash.REbVJNXM.dpuf

Highest ever Rs. 125 million bribery payment foiled -3 top Customs officers nabbed..!

(Lanka-e-News- 15.Oct.2015, 11.30) The biggest raid of the Bribery commission in Sri Lanka ‘s history was successfully conducted just a few hours ago, The attempted  bribery payment was as huge as Rs. 125 million ! The Bribery commission was able to net three superior grade sharks of the Customs authority.

The three suspects nabbed  are : Assistant Customs Authority M.D.U.P. Perera, Deputy Customs authority Jagath Gunathileke , and Customs officer Sudheera Parakrama 

A Company that gets down spares for the SL transport board was imposed an unreasonable duty of Rs. 1500 million ! When these top Customs officers were told that it is impossible to pay this colossal duty , these three officers have told , if these goods are to be released free of duty, each officer shall be paid Rs. 50 million. That is a total of Rs. 150 million.

The Company has then lodged a complaint with the Bribery and corruption commission , whereupon the latter had told the company to negotiate with the oficers for a lesser amount. Finally the Customs chiefs have agreed to reduce the amount to Rs. 125 million.

Thereafter, this evening the Customs officers were asked to come to a certain place to receive the bribe. Finally , the Bribery and coruption commission officers who were in disguise nabbed the Customs chiefs along with the cash.

This raid had been planned most secretly for the last two weeks .As the commission did not have this amount of marked notes, cash was obtained from the treasury.It may seem incredible though it is true , that the Commission had taken three days to mark the notes.

This raid that should make the pro good governance people happy , was made possible by the bibery and corruption commission Director General Ms. Dilrukshi Dias Wickremesinghe . The whole country should be deeply beholden to her.

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by     (2015-10-15 19:36:47)

Obama outlines plan to keep 5,500 troops in Afghanistan

At a news conference Thursday, Oct. 15, President Obama says the U.S. will maintain 9,800 troops in Afghanistan through most of 2016 and will not go down to a normal embassy presence by the end of 2016, but instead will keep 5,500 troops at a small number of bases. (AP)

By Greg Jaffe and Missy Ryan-October 15

President Obama said Thursday he will keep 5,500 U.S. troops in Afghanistan into 2017, ending his ambitions to bring home most American forces from that war-torn country before he leaves office.

The president said his decision came after an extensive months-long review that included regular discussions with Afghanistan’s leaders, his national security team and U.S. commanders in the field. The move reflected a painful, if predictable, reality on the ground in Afghanistan, where the Taliban has made gains over the last year as Afghan troops have taken over the vast majority of the fighting.

Obama Outlines Plan to Keep 5,500 Troops in Afghanistan by Thavam Ratna

US Plans to Prevent China From Helping Russia to Fight ISIL

Washington is said to be planning to send warships close to the Spratly Islands which China claims for its own to stop Beijing from assisting Russia in its campaign against the Islamic State and other terrorist groups in Syria, Marco Maier wrote for Contra Magazin.

© AP PHOTO/ BULLIT MARQUEZ-Beijing Slams Washington's Plans for Navel 'Incursion' Into South China Sea

10.10.2015
The journalist noted that Washington's move could also be viewed as a response to China taking part in the Sino-Russian maritime exercise held in the Mediterranean in May.

The controversial and yet unconfirmed deployment needs to be authorized by the Obama administration and could take place in the next two weeks. The US is expected to send at least one ship to within 12 nautical miles of the archipelago in an apparent bid to demonstrate that Washington does not recognize Beijing's sovereignty in this area.

The Pentagon's recent plans have not been welcomed with open arms in Beijing. Foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying warned the US against taking any provocative steps in the region and reaffirmed that China would not allow any nation to violate the country's territorial waters and airspace in the Spratly Islands.

© AFP 2015/ POOL / RITCHIE B. TONGO-Spratly group of islands in the South China Sea, west of Palawan

Beijing considers most parts of the South China Sea its own territory but Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan, the Philippines and Vietnam have made overlapping claims over this part of the Pacific Ocean and some of the countries are engaged in land reclamation projects in the area.

"The US has no say in this far away region, since the territorial dispute should be solved by the neighboring countries among themselves," Maier noted.

Beijing has been consistently making this point for months. Furthermore, China has always maintained that its construction efforts on the Spratly Islands are purely peaceful in their nature and will not affect freedom of navigation in the area.

Read more: http://sputniknews.com/politics/20151010/1028318533/us-south-china-see-spratly-territorial-dispute.html#ixzz3of8RWFYP

Young Palestinians are teaching us how to resist

Palestinian students protest in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, on 14 October.

 Abed Rahim KhatibAPA images

Nadia Naser-Najjab-14 October 2015

The Palestinian generation that came of age in the first intifada during the late 1980s has frequently decried its successors.

Many times we have accused younger generations of being apolitical and politically uneducated. I have lost count of the number of times that I have heard the accusation that younger Palestinians are self-absorbed; that they do not understand the meaning of collective resistance and sacrifice.

Upon listening to these complaints, you would be forgiven for believing that the very idea of popular resistance did not exist until my generation came along. But recent events in Palestine have shown us just how wrong and unfair these criticisms were — there was nothing unique about the generation that came of age in the first intifada.

As philosopher Frantz Fanon taught, popular struggle originates within the conditions of colonialism itself, within the various ways in which it impinges upon, and steadily degrades, the conditions of everyday existence.

Admittedly, some things never change. The response of the Israeli government to recent events clearly derives from an unwavering and unyielding colonial mindset. Thus, by virtue of the fact that the natives cannot have political demands, the Israeli colonial administrators have deemed the current “disturbances” to be a “law and order” issue.

Order and tranquillity will be restored once the native population are engaged with blunt force — this, after all, is the only language “they” can be expected to understand. For Palestinians, these words have a wearying familiarity — the likes of Benjamin Netanyahu and Moshe Yaalon are part of a colonial lineage which can be traced back to Yitzhak Rabin and beyond.

During the first intifada, Rabin, then defense minister, called upon the Israeli army to “break the bones” of Palestinian protesters; now the current administrators of colonial power effectively call for the same.

Challenges

But some things do undeniably change. Aside from anything else, the challenges which confront young Palestinians are considerably more imposing than the ones faced by my generation. During the first intifada, our main opponent was the Israeli army.

The colonial settlement of the West Bank was still limited and the settlers’ involvement in the first intifada was equally as limited. Today, many new settlements are constructed in close proximity to Palestinian population centers.

Additionally, in the first intifada, Palestinian activists enjoyed relative freedom of movement and were able to travel through cities, villages and refugee camps to organize sit-ins, vigils, strikes and seminars.

Arab and international opinion was also more supportive. Israeli solidarity groups lent their assistance to our struggle and worked to change public opinion in their society.

Changes in all of these respects have introduced new dimensions to the question of Palestinian struggle.

The younger generation has found innovative ways of responding to this changed reality. It has identified new ways of creating political and social consciousness — “Resist to exist” was one particularly striking slogan which I saw posted on Facebook the other day.

Images of incarceration, brutalization and dehumanization now circulate through social models, creating new solidarities and vernaculars of struggle. The two elements imply each other: as the political realities adjust, so too do the forms of resistance.

However, the challenges which confront young Palestinians are more than just geographical; they are also political. Limited Palestinian political autonomy, along with the creation of a self-governing political entity — the Palestinian Authority — has become one of the ways in which the occupation has strengthened and consolidated its hold over territory and population.

Upon reading and watching interviews with younger Palestinians, I am frequently struck by how far their political mindset diverges from that of my own generation.

We looked to phrase our struggle within an internationally accepted political vernacular, and to align ourselves with broader political dynamics; we looked to the Unified National Leadership to coordinate the day-to-day tactics and strategies of resistance during the first intifada, and to the Palestine Liberation Organization as the symbolic embodiment of the Palestinian national struggle.

In vivid and direct contrast, one member of the younger vanguard recently informed the Ma’an News Agency that “we don’t care about leaders. We will be the leaders,” while another interviewee abruptly referred to the Palestinian Authority as “traitors.”

The ongoing developments within the West Bank correspond to a pronounced crisis of Palestinian political leadership. The current antagonism appears to be directed as much towards one of the central mechanisms of colonial power — a discredited Palestinian political leadership that has effectively perpetuated a subcontractingof the occupation — as to its originating point.

Strategic management

In a number of key respects, any distinction between the two is, of course, redundant. In addition to its formidable array of instruments of coercion and force, the occupation is therefore secured by more subtle forms of political influence which co-opt and strategically manage the agency of local partners — the PA being a case in point.

From this perspective, the formal peace process can be retrospectively analyzed as a reconfiguration of relations of domination and control: “compromise” has entrenched occupation; “self-governance” has sanctified inefficiency and corruption; “peace” has become equated with moral and political degradation.

All of this perhaps goes some way towards explaining why I have not heard the younger generation issue one single appeal to the Palestinian political leadership.

It is time for those of us who engaged in the first intifada to admit our essential irrelevance. Not only because circumstances have changed, but also because the strategies and approaches which we advocated have since been so thoroughly discredited.

For all our efforts, sacrifices and limited advances, we ultimately contributed to a political settlement which reinforced and consolidated the conditions and relations of occupation. We lost sight of the essential fact that, as Fanon once observed, “colonialism never gives anything away for nothing.”

Far from teaching the new generation of Palestinians “lessons” about our struggle, it is my generation who should be seeking to learn.

Dr. Nadia Naser-Najjab is an associate research fellow at the European Center of Palestine Studies-Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies at the University of Exeter.