Paranagama Commission 

Report: Noncompliance to cost civic rights

• Previous govt. resisted its own commission
• Army blamed for withholding findings on C4 charge
• War Crimes Division proposed for High Court 

 By Shamindra Ferdinando-October 25, 2015, 12:00 pm 

Anyone refusing to cooperate with the proposed domestic accountability procedures and post-war reconciliation process would face the prospect of losing his or her civic rights according to the Report on the Second Mandate of the Presidential Commission on Inquiry Into Complaints of Abductions and Disappearances. Retired High Court judge Maxwell Paranagama headed the inquiry.

The commission appointed by the previous government has recommended a fine, withdrawal of civic rights as well as imprisonment or a combination of above mentioned penalties.

An International Legal Advisory Council (LAC) headed by Sir Desmond de Silva, QC has thrown its weight behind the recommendations made by the Commission. The LAC comprised Sir Geoffrey Nice, QC (UK), Professor David M. Crane (US) and several other foreign experts, including Maj. Gen. John Holmes, formerly the Commanding Officer of the elite Special Air Services (SAS) Regiment of the UK.

Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa appointed the LAC on July 15, 2014 consequent to a request made by Paranagama whose Commission came into being on Aug. 15, 2013.

President Maithripala Sirisena-Wickremesinghe government last week presented the Commission report in Parliament following a demand by a section of the SLFP (those who hadn’t accepted ministerial portfolios), the Mahajana Eksath Peramuna, the National Freedom Front as well as the Pivithuru Hela Urumaya for its release. A group of professionals as well as university, too, called for the immediate release of the report.

The Commission has proposed the setting up of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) and a War Crimes Division of the Sri Lankan High Court to pursue investigations. However, the Commission has recommended that those summoned following judge-led investigations into alleged war time atrocities be given the opportunity to either appear before TRC or be tried in High Court.

In accordance with the Commission’s recommendations, the TRC will be empowered not only to grant an amnesty to anyone appearing choosing to come before it but also to prevent any future civil or criminal action against the person concerned. However, the TRC will have the power to deprive anyone of his or her civic rights and order reparations in spite of granting amnesty.

The government is in the process of closely examining the recommendations. Authoritative sources asserted that swift implementation of the Paranagama/Desmond de Silva report would be crucial to Sri Lanka’s defence. Anyone found guilty of the proposed judicial investigation mechanism had the right to move the Court of Appeal against the judgment.

The Commission has rapped the previous government for not responding quickly to its call for comprehensive independent, transparent and unbiased investigations into accusations directed at the military. According to the report, the Commission has requested the Presidential Secretariat on Aug. 21, 2014 for the appointment of a team. In spite of regular contacts, the Commission hadn’t been able to expedite the matter. The Commission has rejected the proposal made by the IGP on Oct 21, 2014, on behalf of the government to appoint a team of serving police officers attached to the Terrorist Investigation Department (TID) and the Criminal Investigation Department (CID). Paranagama has revealed that President Maithripala Sirisena facilitated the appointment of a team comprising personnel representing all communities led by a retired High Court judge when the matter was brought to his notice on April 10, 2015. The Presidential Secretariat confirmed the appointments on July 15, 2015.

The Commission has also called for the appointment of a special investigation team to inquire into Channel 4 News allegations pertaining to atrocities committed during the final phase of the Vanni offensive. The Commission has stressed the need to investigate what it called allegations of criminal conduct directed against the Army.

While blaming the Channel 4 News for declining to provide original firm footage of alleged crimes to facilitate government inquiry, the Commission alleged that the Army had failed to made available findings made by the Court of Inquiry (CoI) which investigated Channel 4 News allegations to the Commission. The Commission said that the situation remained the same even after the change of government in January this year.

The Commission has also blamed the Ministries of Defence and Justice under previous and present governments for not providing the names of those who had been in custody though situation changed recently.

ADDRESSING MUSLIM ISSUES THROUGH GENEVA PROCESS--JEHAN PERERA

Created on 26 October 2015

This week marks 25 years since the Muslim people inhabiting the north were evicted by the LTTE in a matter of hours that ranged from two hours to two days. Their treatment in Jaffna, the seat of Tamil civilization, was particularly harsh as there they were given only two hours to leave. Those who tried to take their valuable possessions with them, such as deeds to their land, jewellery and money, were stripped of them at the LTTE checkpoints. In many places their Tamil neighbours intervened on their behalf but to no avail. The LTTE was not a democratic organization that heeded the voice of the people when it differed from their purposes. Five years later, in 1995, the Tamil people living in the Jaffna peninsula suffered a similar fate at the hands of the LTTE when they were ordered by them to evacuate rather than come under the Sri Lankan military who recaptured the peninsula.

Today about 80 percent of those Muslim families who were evicted from the north continue to live outside it. Many have successfully rebuilt their lives. Despite the ruthless nature of their displacement only a few of them lost their lives so that the family units, the greatest long term strength of any community, remained intact. But in every other aspect they lost heavily, their moveable properties, their jewellery and their traditional homes and villages. There are complications attached to their return although six years have passed since the end of the LTTE. As a result the majority of the Muslim people who were displaced remain in a state of frustration and distress over their fate, which spills over into the larger Muslim community of being unjustly treated. The problems faced by this section of the Sri Lankan population and finding a just solution have not been given either the governmental attention or priority that it deserves.

The new government’s decision to co-sponsor the UN Human Rights Council resolution on Promoting Reconciliation, Accountability and Human Rights in Sri Lanka provides an opportunity for the country to come to terms with it many war-related problems and finding a just solution to them. While the focus of this resolution is the last phase of the war it nevertheless covers a broad range of concerns. The government has agreed to set up a judicial mechanism with international participation to investigate the past violations of human rights and international humanitarian laws, and prosecute those found guilty of those offenses. On the other hand, the UN investigation report on which the resolution of the UN Human Rights Council is based covers only the period 2002 to 2009. It is therefore possible that the expulsion of Muslims of the north which took place more than a decade earlier in 1990 may be considered to fall outside of its scrutiny.

INCLUDE MUSLIMS
There is a valid reason for seeking to restrict the time period of a judicial investigation in to the past that will lead to legal consequences and punishments. Properly constituted courts of law take a great deal of time to proceed with their documentation of cases, examinations, cross examinations, legal verdicts and appeals. Any fully fledged legal process is likely to be a slow one and capable of dealing with only a few cases at a time. The shorter period of 2002- 2009 may therefore be more conducive to the judicial accountability mechanism that is proposed to be set up with international participation. However, if it means that those serious violations of human rights that took place prior to 2002 are going to be ignored, it will mean that the accountability process is seen as partial to one group of victims rather than treating all victims alike.

Any victim-centered process needs to be fair to all victims and hear their voice and note their grievances for remedial action. It is to be noted that the government has not only proposed a judicial mechanism to address the hard issues of accountability. It has also proposed three other mechanisms which will contribute directly to the healing of the wounds of the past. These are the proposed Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Office of Reparations and Office of Missing Persons. The mandate of these three mechanisms can be expanded to take in complaints of serious violations that took place prior to 2002. They can go back in time to cover the expulsion of the Muslims of the north in 1990 so that their voices and their grievances can reach the entire country and international audiences too.

Although the expulsion of the northern Muslims took place 25 years ago, and not in the last phase of the war, it too needs to be investigated and the circumstances under which it took place need to be known to the world. It also needs to become a part of Sri Lanka’s history that is remembered and never again repeated. What happened to the Muslims a mere two years ago with the rise of the Sinhalese nationalist Bodu Bala Sena continues to generate unease within the larger Muslim community. It may also be appropriate to give the Truth and Reconciliation Commission the power to recommend prosecution of crimes that took place prior to 2002 if exceptional circumstances warrant it.

OVERCOME PAST
The sudden upsurge of anti-Muslim sentiment two years ago, and its open manifestation amongst sections of the ethnic majority population, came as a shock to Muslims and they have still to recover from it. Muslims in Sri Lanka had believed themselves to be integrated into the mainstream of society. But when the anti-Muslim campaign that was undertaken by the Bodu Bala Sena struck, it was not challenged publicly by any significant section of the polity. Perhaps the reason was that it was feared that behind the anti-Muslim campaign was the hidden hand of a section of the then all-powerful government. Nevertheless, the unwillingness of the political parties to speak up and make a critique of the anti-Muslim propaganda at that time was an indication of the failure of post-war reconciliation. To this day, there is a sense of vulnerability of the Muslim community which needs to be dispelled.

So far the present government’s effort to deal with the past failure of governance, and to obtain the support of the Sri Lankan people and the international community, appear to be on course. The international community has been impressed by the government’s cooperative approach. The government’s decision to co-sponsor a resolution that was specific to Sri Lanka was unique, as mentioned by the UN Human Right Commissioner, Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein. The government has thereby committed itself to implement the recommendations of the resolution. It is important to note that these are not limited to accountability for war crimes, but also include other areas of governance. One of these is to “investigate all alleged attacks by individuals and groups on journalists, human rights defenders, members of religious minority groups and other members of civil society, as well as place of worship.”

It is not only the government that is to be commended for its willingness to take the country on a new path that gives priority to the protection of human rights and values of good governance. The people of Sri Lanka too have been prepared to give the government the time and space to carry out its reforms without getting misled by propaganda of the opposition parties. The contrast to how the country received the UN resolution of 2013, with wildly emotional protests and demonstrations and how it received the present resolution of 2015 shows that the Sri Lankan people are by and large open minded. Sri Lanka is today an oasis of peace in its absence of armed conflict and political violence. There is also at present no overt display of hostility between the ethnic and religious communities. But the need for inter-ethnic and inter-religious peace building and reconciliation is never ending, as a glance at what is happening in other parts of the world will show.

President's loyalists try to settle former presidents propaganda bills 

Oct 26, 2015

Department of government information is going to pay a sum of Rs. 1.8 million public funds to private sector companies who did art works services and layouts for printing 23 booklets for former president's election campaign. The private companies have printed 100,000 copies in each book which costs Rs. 23 million.

The department of government printing has requested the Government information department to settle the bills but the government information department has not giving priority to pay to private companies.

However the government information department has also printed propaganda booklets worth more than Rs. 25 million.

These election campaigns were conducted by the former Director General of the Government Information Department Prof Ariyarathna Athugala and Director Wasantha Ramanayake. Following the presidential election Wasantha Ramanayake Has become a close associate of the current government and the president.

These propaganda booklets have been printed violating government procurement guidelines and other government financial regulations by selecting personal contacts.

Following the presidential election director General Ariyarathana Athugala lost his position at the Government Information Department and the latter could not settle those propaganda bills. Later Wasantha Ramanayake tried to settle those bills by misleading senior officers but that also failed. A new director general was appointed with the blessings of the media minister but the latter lacks knowledge of government rules and regulations.

Now Ministry of media and department of government information are jointly going to settle former president’s propaganda bills using public funds. How ever still nobody cares about the printing cost which was borne by the Department of government printing. Therefore it appears the current president's loyalists are trying to settle former president’s propaganda bills

Bull in a China shop at Hultsdorf..!

(Lanka-e-News -26.Oct.2015, 7.45PM) The judge of Hultsdorf traffic court No.7 , Colombo ,Amila Ariyasena , is conducting himself with the     enthusiasm of a bull in a China shop . It is reported this traffic court judge has descended rather to the level of a drug trafficker , and abused the judges of the supreme court (SC) and  the legislative assembly –the  parliament. After conducting himself most deplorably and disgracefully unbecoming of a judge has begun harrassing the public with an arrogance that can only be tolerated if the public are also equally mad like him ,based on reports reaching Lanka e news inside information division.

This same clown of a judge had acted high handedly , whimsically and eccentrically  when he was at the chief  magistrate court too , whereby he became the center of a storm of controversy. Owing to his maniacal arrogance and abysmal ignorance of basic laws, court decorum and legal traditions , the lawyers of the magistrate court who were subjected to his embarrassment demonstrated  their bitter opposition resultiing in Amila getting thrown out from the chief magistrate court to the traffic court . Now, after becoming the traffic court judge too he has not apparently learnt a lesson , and he is unable to reform himself . It is the consensus his vindictive conduct as a judge within the  traffic court is worse than that of a wayside  drug trafficker outside court. His enthusiasm is like that of a bull in a China shop destroying legal traditions and  court decorum despite  being a judge.

Amila who is  harboring vicious grudges and vituperative hatred  against the lawyers is taking out his venom and vengeances on the hapless parties to  litigation in the cases. 

When more than one lawyer  appear on behalf of a defendant  , this judge goes raving mad with rage , and imposes the most cruel punishment on the accused .Consequently , the poor accused is not allowed to appropriate the  benefit of the legal maxim, ‘ a suspect is presumed innocent until proved guilty.’ This judge from the loony bin if not from the garbage bin imposes unendurable fines and sentences on the helpless defendants.

The law has clearly laid down punishments and fines to be imposed  in respect of traffic offences, yet Amila goes beyond the law even trespassing on his limits as traffic court judge to impose maniacally excessive punishments and  multifold more fines on the defendant . Owing to Amila’s maniacally obsessive illegal traits and proclivities  behaving more like a drug trafficker than a traffic court judge , countless complaints are daily pouring into the Judicial service commission , offices of chief justice and Colombo chief magistrate against him.

Amila who is most outrageously violating  the Motor vehicle offences  Act  imposes a fine of Rs. 7500.00 on an accused suspected of driving under the influence of liquor , and   a fine between Rs. 10,000.00 and Rs. 21000.00 for careless driving, which are well in excess of the limits stipulated in the Act.

Moreover ,by his limiting the number of motions that can be  filed by lawyers on behalf of their clients to 50 per day ,  there  has arisen a huge congestion of cases in the magistrate ‘s traffic court . Since the lawyers and the litigants are facing undue hardships owing to this restriction , the Colombo chief magistrate ,the chief justice and the judicial service commission are deluged with complaints .

The data entry registrar , clerks and typists (females)who are serving in the court are also agonized and traumatized after they report to work . They are constantly subjected to insult   and embarrassment by the lascivious advances of this frustrated  magistrate  . They have complained that they are unable to bear this disgraceful conduct of the judge.

It is learnt that already preliminary steps have  been taken  to file a number of cases against this demented sex maniac of a judge Amila Ariyasena in the Colombo high court , appeal court and the supreme court 

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by     (2015-10-26 14:16:56)

Talks on fait accompli

October 25, 2015, 7:30 pm 

Last week’s all-party conference on the Geneva resolution has been hailed as a success in some quarters. True, the best way to settle a vexed national issue is to adopt a collective approach and reach a consensus among all stakeholders. But, the question is why the government did not care to hold such a lekgotla before deciding to go out of its way to co-sponsor the resolution at issue. In fact, there was a pressing need for an imbizo as well for the government to consult the public before undertaking to implement the UNHRC recommendations.

Now, the Geneva resolution is a fait accompli, especially for those who do not subscribe to the involvement of foreign judges, prosecutors and lawyers in what has been made out to be a domestic war crimes investigation. It is only wishful thinking that the all-party process will reach fruition though it seems to have got off to a positive start. What we saw last Thursday was only a curtain raiser and not the play proper.

All-party conferences are not of recent origin. The previous ones, too, had much-publicised grand inaugurations, but did not yield the desired results. Therefore, we are afraid that it is naive to be euphoric at the present juncture. Hope springs eternal and one may be optimistic—but cautiously. For, the stakeholders who attend all-party conferences act like the seven proverbial wayfarers who met at an ambalama at night and prepared a ‘pot of porridge’. Each one of them agreed to put a fistful of rice into a pot of water, but all of them only pretended to so. In the end there was only boiling water for dinner.

Meanwhile, the question of how Sri Lanka should respond to or carry out the Geneva resolution does not arise because the government has, as a proud co-sponsor, undertaken to implement the recommendations therein. So, one may ask what is there to be discussed among political parties.

The government insists that the resolution is favourable to Sri Lanka and the war crimes probe will be within the confines of the country’s Constitution. If it is confident that the course of action it has undertaken is good for the country what prevents President Maithripala Sirisena, who is the leader of the SLFP, and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, who leads the UNP, from, as the Americans say, going the whole nine yards to ensure the full implementation of the Geneva resolution? Is it that the government’s resolution has faltered vis-à-vis emerging resistance to the proposed war crimes probe which is hybrid in all but name, and wants to wheedle other stakeholders into going to the mat with it?

The SLFP is now under President Sirisena’s thumb and, therefore, cannot publicly oppose the Geneva resolution; only some of its dissidents have had the intestinal fortitude to voice their dissent and campaign against it. The UNP does as its Working Committee says and the Working Committee does as Prime Minister Wickremesinghe says. The TNA which officially leads the Opposition is all for a war crimes probe. Only the JVP can act independently; it has already struck a discordant note though it attended the inaugural session of the all-party conference on Thursday and its General Secretary shook hands with President Sirisena. Having rejected foreign involvement in the proposed war crimes probe the JVP now wants the government to reveal its position on the issue. The outfit knows which side its bread is buttered and is sure to flog the issue to gain maximum political mileage to shore up its image in time for the next election.

In implementing the Geneva resolution recommendations the government has no alternative but to work within the parameters already set by the UNHRC at the behest of the US etc. It may have discussions with other stakeholders and invite their suggestions, but there is no way it can change those parameters on any grounds. The implementation of the resolution is fraught with huge political risks though the ruling politicians are trying to paint a rosy picture of it. All-party powwows in this country are symptomatic of lack of confidence or unwillingness on the part of governments to make tough political decisions. It looks as if the incumbent dispensation wanted to share the responsibility for implementing the resolution with others through an all-party mechanism. But, the chances of its efforts reaching fruition are remote.

PM: Kadirgamar killing linked to 

Rajapaksa deal with LTTE

President Maithirpala Sirisena making the opening address at an unprecedented meeting of the leaders of more then 20 political parties to discuss a consensus response to the Geneva issues

By Our Political Editor-Sunday, October 25, 2015

• Bombshell charge made in Parliament, former President shuns right to reply; ‘white flag’ killings raised in the House
• Ravi promises revolutionary Budget on November 20 but Germany’s envoy says no movement of economy
• Probe on Avant Garde and secret Dubai accounts broadened; State agencies brought into probe

That roads in the Greater Colombo area are bursting at the seams due to the mounting traffic sank into some Government and Opposition leaders on Thursday.

PM Kadirgamar Killing Linked to Rajapaksa Deal With LTTE by Thavam Ratna

Why Prostitution Should Be Legalised In Sri Lanka 

By Lasantha Pethiyagoda –October 26, 2015

Lasantha Pethiyagoda

There are many reasons which can be considered valid as to why adults do sex work, whether it is their main livelihood in the absence of more “respectable” means, a temporary solution to survive a difficult period, or an opportunity to supplement other income, having aesthetic qualities that are in demand. Some people find that sex work offers better and quicker income and more flexible working conditions.

I will outline some aspects that make the case for legalisation stronger, given that there is much suffering all round due to a lack of it, and indignant howls of protest by duplicitous hypocrites.

There is widespread human trafficking from remote rural areas that invariably punishes victims more than perpetrators. Trafficking is an egregious human rights violation involving coercion of individuals for sexual exploitation or forced labour. If legalised, sex workers can be natural allies in the fight against trafficking, and may be well placed to refer trafficking victims (usually children, widows or adolescents) to appropriate services.

When freed from the threat of criminal penalties, sex workers can organize and collaborate with law enforcement agencies, departments of probation and child care and women’s affairs. Despite this, laws prohibiting the purchase of sexual services are often quite ironically promoted as a successful means to combat human trafficking to cosmopolitan hubs. On the contrary, countries which legalise it have less related crime.

Legalising sex work recognizes the right of people to privacy and freedom from undue state control over sex and sexual expression when it poses no threat to society. The different treatment of sex work from other types of work is an example of governments’ long history of exerting control over bodily autonomy, self-determination of individuals and sexuality.

Read More

Complaints to Bribery and corruption Commission against AG, Solicitor General, Balapatabendi, and Law College principals

(Lanka-e-News- 26.Oct.2015, 5.00AM) A number of social and civil organizations  are to request the new Bribery and corruption investigation commission that is appointed by the president based on the proposals of the constitutional council shall launch investigations pertaining to the high rung officers of the Attorney General’s department including the present Attorney General (AG) Yuvanjana Wijetileke and  Solicitor General Suhada Gamlath , based on reports .

During the Rajapakse regime , a number of  high ranking officers of the AG’s department led by the AG were promoted to high ranks based on political patronage without considering their ability  or suitability  to the posts .These officers directly and openly transgressed the laws , and engaged in malpractices.Therefore  these organizations and forces against bribery and corruption  which have received information about these illegalities , malpractices ,bribery  and disregard  for  the laws, are preparing to lodge their complaints with the new Bribery and corruption investigation commission, it is learnt.Already these anti bribery and corruption forces have garnered ample information and are making arrangements to submit them before the newly appointed commission.

Maenwhile , complaints are to be lodged against former president of bribery and corruption investigation commission , retired supreme court (SC) judge Jagath Balapatabendi 

During his tenure of office and when performing related duties , his exonerating  politicians like Rohitha Abeygunaratne , Mahindananda Aluthgamage , Kumara Welgama, Dallas Alahaperuma, Wimal Weerawansa , Sarana Gunawardena, Susil Premajayantha and  Anura Priyadharshana Yapa ,of bribery and corruption charges under political pressures is to be challenged, and brought before the newly appointed bribery and corruption investigation commission.Grave suspicions have sprung up  over that exoneration.Towards this , all necessary preparations have already been made.

These social and civil organizations are also to file action against the past and present principals of Law College ,namely W.D. Rodrigo and Dr. Jayatissa De Costa respectively. A number of malpractices of theirs are to be brought before the Bribery and corruption investigations commission as charges  , according to reports reaching Lanka e news inside information division. 

These social and civilian Forces are to request  the new commssion to commence investigations against former principal W.D. Rodrigo based on charges that he increased the marks at the law college examination of his son and Namal Rajapakse , son of ex president Mahinda Rajapakse  to enable  them to  succeed in  the examination.
 

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by     (2015-10-25 23:36:20)

PRECIFAC summons three ex-navy commanders

2015-10-26
Three former commanders of the Sri Lanka Navy are to be called before the Presidential Commission of Inquiry to Inquire and Investigate into Serious Acts of Fraud and Corruption (PRECIFAC), within the next few days, for questioning and to have their statements recorded with regard to the alleged fraud and corruption in connection with the Rakna Lanka Security Company.

These commanders are due to be called beforePRECIFAC to obtain further details about matters that have been revealed during investigation of Rakna Lanka, according to commission sources.

The former navy commanders are: Admiral Somathilaka Dissanayaka, Admiral Jayanath Colombage, and Admiral Jayantha Perera.(Manopriya Gunasekera) - See more at: http://www.dailymirror.lk/92553/precifac-summons-three-ex-navy-commanders#sthash.rwleKJI6.dpuf

Appointments to London High Commission : Yahapalana Monitoring Governor still at work 

Oct 26, 2015

Despite lot of opposition to his son-in-laws appointment to the London High Commission, the newly crowned Yahapalana Monitoring Governor, Austin Fernando, is still working hard to get all the perks for his relative. With the news breaking exposure by Lanka News Web many thought Austin will try to restore his self made image as ‘an outstanding civil servant’. Even indication that Prime Minister and Foreign Minister are upset about this appointment and may review it has not stopped Austin from wanting to make sure that his daughters family is cared for. Banking on his personal contacts with the President,  Austin has been working with Foreign Secretary Chitrangani  Wagiswara and the newly appointed ‘nanny’ of his son in law S. Gunaratana to make sure that British citizen Manoj Warnapala is well setup in his new role as a ‘Sri Lankan Diplomat’ in charge of the Consular Section of the High Commission.  

On instructions received from Austin Fernando Wagiswara has been busy trying to put Warnapala in charge of Consular section of the High Commission and to get him all possible allowances and perks. As reported earlier due to some issues raised so far Warnapala has not been put in charge of the Consular section. This has annoyed Austin. Another thing that has annoyed Austin is that London High Commission has asked for some clarifications from the Ministry about the payment of housing allowance to Warnapala. A Foreign Ministry source told that Warnapala cannot ask for the housing allowance if he owns a house in London. Due to this developing situation Austin has asked Wagiswara to send Gunaratna to London without wasting time. Gunaratna  who is desperate to go on a posting and knowing that his appointment might be reviewed has been contacting the British visa office in Chennai daily trying to fast track his visa and go to London immediately.

Lanka News Web reliably understands that together with the exposure in Lanka News Web and the print media reports that Foreign Secretary is going to be appointed as High Commissioner to London the death of the Acting High Commissioner of Sri Lanka in Maldives on 22 October in Male has put Wagiswaras under more pressure.   W. A. T. Gunathilaka was seriously ill and she returned to Sri Lanka end of August in a wheel chair to undergo medical treatment. While she was in hospital Foreign Secretary has pressurised her to get back to Maldives. Everyone knows  very well that medical services are not good in that country.  Gunathilaka died in Male.  Now it has come out and officers in the Foreign Ministry are critical of Wagiswara’s action. Wagiswara is also worried that Prime Minister and Foreign Minister will go into detail about Warnapala’s appointment and about Gunathilaka being pressured to get back to Male while being seriously ill. Because of this Wagiswara has got cold feet and is reluctant to immediately go to London.  Together with Austin and Gunaratna she has hatched a new plan. The first stage is to get Gunaratna to spread the story that Wagiswara has turned down the offer to go as High Commissioner to London. Gunaratna has already started doing this using his friends and media contacts. Then Wagiswara will wait till things settle down and then make her move to London. Till then Gunaratna will be there in London to do as she and Austin says.    

Many in the Foreign Ministry are unhappy and question why  Gunaratna was handpicked by Wagiswara overlooking many deserving senior officers who have been serving in the Ministry and are due to go on a posting. According to a Foreign Ministry source Gunaratna’s father was a clerk in the Foreign Ministry for decades and one of the Overseas Administration mafia -  those who never leave the division. Even after returning from postings he has remained in Overseas Administration. There was an allegation that after his last posting Gunaratna senior tried to dismantle a vehicle and ship it to Sri Lanka in the heavy baggage container. An inquiry was started. But the subject file ‘disappeared’ and the inquiry was discontinued. During Wagiswara’s junior days in the Ministry Gunaratnas father has done lot of ‘official’ help to Wagiswara. So now it is Wagiswaras turn to give ‘official’ help to junior Gunaratna.   A retired Ministry staff member told Lanka News Web that ‘Like father like son. He knows how to change his colours and look after the seniors who in turn will look after him.’

Meanwhile Lanka News Web understands that many community organisations and individuals in the UK have complained and written against the recent appointments to London High Commission and a review of the appointments may be made. Community members and right thinking Sri Lankan public are wondering whether the foreign service and the government is so bankrupt to appoint persons with such questionable backgrounds to an important place like London.  

‘Bribery and Corruption – the main Enemy of the Nation’

by Sarath Wijesinghe

Bribery and Corruption

( October 26, 2015, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) It is all over in the society. It is cancerous rampant and all over as air and breath. It is worldwide and taking place every minute all over the world- in style in the West and developed nations and more openly in crude form in the developing world. It is a way of life and considers a part of life in the most inefficient system of administrations immersed in bribery and corruption.

‘Bribery and Corruption – the Main Enemy of the Nation’ by Thavam Ratna

4 corrupt Rajapakse reign officers kowtowing to good governance unashamedly to secure posts -Mahanayake too with the rogues !

(Lanka-e-News -26.Oct.2015, 7.45PM)  Four traitorous most corrupt government officers in association with the Rajapakse family  who indulged in all the cardinal sins on earth are now claiming that all those corrupt and criminal activities were committed by them because they were requested by the Rajapakses to engage in them. By fastening the blame entirely on the Rajapakses they are now trying to curry favor with the good governance government  shamelessly and most degradingly, based on reports reaching Lanka e news inside information division.

These four unscrupulous traitorous officers are none other than Lalith Weeratunge , the former secretary to Medamulana Percy Mahendra  Rajapakse ; P.B.Jayasundara the ex secretary to Mahinda Rajapakse’s  finance ministry; R.W.R. Premasiri , the president of highways ministry of Basil Rajapakse   ; and Sirisena Amarasekera , secretary to highways ministry.

It is a well and widely known fact that the brutal corrupt Rajapakse family did not plunder and loot national wealth alone. They were ably assisted and fully protected by these officers who also robbed  everything without exception  that came their way in the process.

It is significant to note that all these four accomplices are themselves  currently facing criminal charges at the FCID and CID .There are two cases against each of them , and already reports thereof have been forwarded to the magistrate court , and many more grounds that  incriminate them have by now been unearthed.

One such instance is  : when aforementioned R.W.R Premasiri  was with the Rajapakses , he amassed colossal wealth abusing his official position, and purchased  60 lands and properties under various names across the Island. Now , these have been uncovered.

Meanwhile , this  traitorous four who are  foes of the nation are also  phoning president Maithripala Sirisena , prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and high profile ministers via religious leaders , and trying to impress that they are ‘clean’ in order to ingratiate themselves  into the favor of the good governance government.

A chief Mahanayake Thera speakimg on behalf of one of these culprits had told a powerful minister  ‘ mahaththayo, no matter what , he is a true Buddhist. Please take him into your fold.’ This was the same  government officer whose cause the Ven.. Thera is espousing , was the officer who while  holding the post under Rajapakse  told a newspaper he has no deep religious affiliations or affinities.( If there  are any doubts , those  can be cleared by reading the Dinamina newspaper dated 2014- 10 -13).

It is well  to recall , President Maithripala Sirisena made Abeykoon his secretary  who during the presidential election  indulged openly  in election malpractices on behalf of Mahinda Rajapakse; made  Shiral Lakthileke his coordinating secretary ,the nitwit who shot himself with a gun  on the main road on behalf of Mahinda Rajapakse; made an individual his private secretary who filed action against Late Sirimavo Bandaranaike accusing her of  vilifying  his family   ; and gave ministerial portfolios through the national list   to the one  who exclaimed Chandrika Bandaranaike should be stripped nude in public, and another who tried to administer poison to  Ven. Maduluwawe Thera.

Given the  aberrant nature  of president Maithripala , the latter hugging  and embracing this traitorous four will be unsurprising even if they are foes of the nation, and taking them into his fold means to court national disaster. The pro good governance masses are however watching whether Ranil Wickremesinghe too will follow suit , though it is unlikely.

If these four notorious scoundrels secure appointments under the good governance government no matter who intervened whether it is Mahanayake or Makkadiya or Thakkadiya on their behalf , may we warn , the enemy who did not take to the streets on the 9th of January too will  lose patience . This would only pave the way for  everyone  without exception to unite against all the higher ups in the government.  

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by     (2015-10-26 14:21:23)

Rohantha Authukorale running around to get his tourism Job back 

Oct 26, 2015

When Dr Rohantha Athukorale the so call champion marketer was appointed by Minister Navin Dissanayake after the Yahapalana government came into power it surprised a lot of people.

Because he was a very close ally of Basil Rajapakse. We understand that some strong connection to a Yahapalana minister got him into the important Job as Chairman Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion.

Many in the yahapalana movement did not see his appointment very kindly. But he survived and carried on. Every morning Dr Rohantha’s picture would be in the papers. His staff say he would insist that his picture went with every press release. He spent more time promoting himself than Sri Lanka as a tourist location. He travelled widely and spent the money of the bureau. His Director General who had no experience in tourism but in plantations appointed by Hon Navin Dissanayake decided to put a spoke in the wheel of the Chairman.

According to the Tourism Act the Chairman is a non-executive position, but Authorakale tried to act as an executive Chairman, which the Director General resisted. The Chairman then resorted to making allegations against the Director General to Navin Dissanyake, but we understand Navin just ignored his allegations.

With the appointment of the new minister, Dr Authukorale told his staff his position was secure because he was a close friend of the new Minister’s son in law and he would soon get rid of the Director General appointed by Hon Navin Dissanayake. But unfortunately the reversed happened, Authukorale lost his position according to a ex director of the bureau because the Chairman of the Tourism Authority Paddy Vithana and his friends in important positions wanted to see the back of Dr Authukorala, given his poor track record in the Bureau and the EDB.

Dr. Authukorale however was confident he would get his job back once he exposed the alleged financial mismanagement that the Director General was up to, which Hon Navin Dissanayake had ignored. So he sent around a mail that he received from the secretary to the ministry Dr. Sugathadasa to people at the top and his contacts in the media to ensure his rival the Director General was removed from his post.  

We understand in return the Director general had made complaint against Dr Athukorale that he had put many chits and collected a lot of money for his foreign trips, which he had not fully settled.

 It will be good for the new Minister to investigate all these charges that are being traded against each other publicly and remove the bad eggs in the Authority and get on with what has been entrusted, before it is too late for Sri Lanka tourism, given that Maldives has so much political turmoil, Sri Lanka can surely cash in and grow the Lankan tourism market. Sri Lanka's expectation of tourism is certianly huge and save us from our debt crisis. 
 
Source: For Good governance in Sri lanka

Sudden fire in Koknahara school lab

Ceylontoday, 2015

A sudden fire has erupted in a two –storey laborartory of Koknahara Maha Vidyalaya in Inginiyagala police division yesterday (25) at around 4.00p.m.

Police have successfully doused the fire with the assistance of teachers and residents of the area.

No lives were lost in the fire. The cause for fire is yet to be revealed, Police said.

Inginiyagala Police are conducting further investigations into the incident.

Jackson to be summoned before PRECIFAC

2015-10-26
Popular artiste Jackson Anthony is to be summoned before the Presidential Commission of Inquiry to Investigate and Inquire into Serious Acts of Fraud, Corruption and Abuse of Power, State Resources and Privileges (PRECIFAC) to obtain a statement on the exorbitant finances spent on the entertainment acts performed at the Hambanthota harbor opening, sources said. 

Anthony was the creative director for the ceremony held in 2010 and Rs. 15 million had been spent for the dance acts alone, which was performed by the Channa-Upuli Dance Academy run by popular dancers Channa Wijewardena and Upuli Panibharatha. 

In their statement to the PRECIFAC regarding the charges when summoned last week, the duo had stated only Rs. 6.8 million was paid to them and had rejected charging Rs. 15 million for the performance. 

Mahinda regime media director appointed as the media consultant for the Good Governance 

Oct 26, 2015

Wasanthapriya Ramanayake who was serving as the news director of the State Information Department is said to be appointed as a consultant for the department, confirmed sources reported Lanka News Web.

A senior public servant said there is no consultants appointed so far for government departments, consultants are only appointed for ministries and ministers.

 

Ramanayake was recruited to the information department as an editor for the “Desathiya” biweekly magazine published by the information department. Former president Mahinda Rajapaksa by presenting a cabinet paper created a permanent position to Ramanayake in the information department as news director.

 

When Ramanayake was about to retire the former president abolished the said position through another cabinet paper and renewed the position on contract basis and recruited Ramanyake for another two years for the same news director post.

 

Confirmed sources from the news department told Lanka News Web when Ramanayake’s contract ends on the 15th of November a new consultant position would be created in president Maithri’s Good Governance and the latter is to be fastened.

 

Information department internal news confirmed that Mohamed Hilmy has influenced Ramanayake to transfer the former administrative manager to the public administration ministry alleging the latter tried to sell the departments old newspapers.

 

Mohamed Hilmy who flatters about Ramanayake is said to be appointed as the acting administrative director. Department workers said administrative director positions are given for first grade public servants but the latter has passed only up to the third grade.

 

Department workers further said Ramanayake is said to be behind the scene for the appointment of Mohamed as the administrative director and it is to manipulate the information department according to his desires.