Inside small-town Louisiana feud that led to a 6-year-old boy’s police killing

Pallbearers carry the casket of 6-year-old Jeremy Mardis in Beaumont, Miss., on Nov. 9. (Eli Baylis/Associated Press)

Marksville City Marshal Derrick Stafford. (AP/Louisiana State Police/AP)-Marksville City Marshal Norris Greenhouse Jr. (AP/Louisiana State Police/AP)

By William Wan-November 15

For years, people in the tiny Louisiana town of Marksville watched the feud between their mayor and local judge like some kind of daytime soap opera, with varying degrees of frustration and bemusement.

Then came the Nov. 3 shooting that killed a 6-year-old boy. Suddenly, the petty small-town bickering began looking more tragically sinister.

Inside Small-Town Louisiana Feud That Led to a 6-Year-old Boy’s Police Killing by Thavam Ratna

Wanted Cambodia opposition leader delays return

Court has issued arrest warrant for Sam Rainsy related to an old defamation case

Cambodia’s opposition leader Sam Rainsy and prime minister Hun Sen: acrimony between the two threatens to plunge the country back into political conflict. Photograph: Samrang Pring/Reuters

Prak Chan Thul in Phnom Penh-Mon, Nov 16, 2015

Wanted Cambodian opposition leader Sam Rainsy delayed his return home from South Korea as tension mounts between his supporters and those of prime minister Hun Sen.

The southeast Asian nation is still three years away from a general election, but acrimony between the two as they jockey for position is threatening to plunge the country back into political conflict.

A Cambodian court on Friday issued an arrest warrant related to an old defamation case for which Mr Rainsy had already received a royal pardon. The opposition party denounced the warrant as politically motivated.

Parliament stripped Mr Rainsy of the immunity that comes with his position in parliament yesterday. He had been due to arrive in Phnom Penh from South Korea yesterday and would be arrested on arrival, said government spokesman Phay Siphan.

“There won’t be any political compromise because he has lost all political status,” he said.

But Mr Rainsy said on Facebook that he had delayed his journey after talking to colleagues in Cambodia and a “number of international pro-democracy organisations” which suggested he arrive in daylight.

They also said he should “leave some time for diplomatic intervention to materialise with the objective of reaching a peaceful solution to the recent escalation of violence in Cambodia”. He would fly to Cambodia “in the next few days”, he said.

The warrant for his arrest was issued a day after Hun Sen, who has been in power for more than 30 years, threatened a lawsuit against Mr Rainsy for comments made about the election.

Mr Rainsy called on the international community to ensure that Hun Sen sticks to the election timetable and not use the deteriorating political situation to delay the vote.

Hun Sen has warned that an election victory for the opposition in 2018 would see a return to civil war.

Robust economic growth, jobs creation and sustained peace for an impoverished country roiled by decades of civil war, including under Pol Pot’s 1975-79 “killing fields” regime, have ensured Hun Sen’s continued re-election, although experts say he now faces a strong challenge from a rejuvenated opposition popular among urban youth.

Mr Rainsy’s Cambodia National Rescue Party ended a year-long parliamentary boycott after a deal in July 2014 with Hun Sen’s long-ruling Cambodian People’s Party that granted a series of concessions to the opposition party.

The deal fell apart after a year, when opposition party lawmakers were jailed for insurrection for their role in a protest. – (Reuters)

Myanmar’s Muslims win no seats in new parliament

Large populations from the minority group were unable to vote and major parties fielded no Muslim candidates

Although she didn’t prioritise Muslims in her campaign, Aung San Suu Kyi promised to prosecute those who inflame hatred against the minority. Photograph: Corbis

    A young Muslim girl from Myanmar holds her identity card stating that her race is ‘Burmese Indian’. Photograph: Thomas Cristofoletti for the Guardian

No vote, no candidates: Myanmar's Muslims barred from their own election

Oliver Holmes in Yangon-Sunday 15 November 2015

No Muslims in majority-Buddhist Myanmar were elected to parliament, final election figures show, with all the current representatives losing their seats and new Muslim candidates defeated in their constituencies.

Officially making up 4% of the country’s 51 million people – although others say the figure is much higher – Muslims found themselves a target of hatred in the lead up to the polls.

The hardline nationalist movement the Committee for the Protection of Race and Religion, or Ma Ba Tha, has led rallies across the country declaring Islam a threat to Buddhism.

The country’s official Union Election Commission disqualified several Muslim candidates ahead of the polls, questioning whether their parents were born in Myanmar. A longstanding prejudice against members of the faith – who go back generations – is that they are immigrants from neighbouring Bangladesh.

“Of the 6,074 approved candidates, 5,130 are Buddhist, 903 Christian and just 28, or 0.5%, are Muslim, a sliver of the percentage of Muslims in the general population,” said Meenakshi Ganguly, South Asia director at Human Rights Watch.

“This is only partly due to discriminatory decisions by the [commission]. The main parties have also shown extreme bias: to stave off criticism from the racist and Buddhist nationalist Ma Ba Tha,” she added.

The ruling Union Solidarity and Development party ran no Muslim candidates.Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy (NLD) also bowed to pressure from Ma Ba Tha, asking Muslims in the party not to run.

With 99% of the votes tallied, the NLD has won 390 seats, more than 80% of electable seats in both houses. The incumbent USDP gained 41 seats.

The largest Muslim party, the United National Congress, conceded it will not win any seats.

The persecution of Muslims is most prevalent in western Rakhine state, where more than 140,000 Rohingya live in camps, forced to flee during race riots in 2012. Many have left on boats to other south-east Asian nations but those who stay remain stateless.

The minority Rohingya, who voted in 2010 and the 2012 byelections, were not allowed to vote as they were not considered full citizens. Officials allowed some Rohingya to vote if they declared themselves as “Bengali” and not from Myanmar.

Asked before the polls about the Rohingya, Suu Kyi told journalists not to “exaggerate” the issue.

Yet some Muslim voters in Myanmar’s biggest city of Yangon told the Guardian on election day they would vote for the NLD.

“I like Suu Kyi because I want a good leader who is respected internationally. I don’t care if there are no Muslim candidates running for the elections,” said Mohamed, a 70-year-old retired member of the military.

Although Suu Kyi has not prioritised Muslim rights in her campaign, the 70-year-old has promised to protect the minority and to prosecute those who inflame hatred.

International election observers from the European Union said the election was “well-run” but expressed concern over the disenfranchisement of Muslims.

“We trust that the newly elected government will improve the democratic governance of the country and will promote a more inclusive society by addressing the increase in religious extremism and radical room and its impact on certain minorities and ethnic groups, in particular Muslim citizens, and specifically the Rohingya,” European parliament member Ana Gomes said last week.

Additional reporting by Sara Perria in Tar Mwe

Colour-changing dressing 'fights antibiotic resistance'

The colour-changing dressing uses fluorescent dye to detect bacteria toxins in a wound-Bath University

16 November 2015

A medical dressing that changes colour when it detects infection could cut the unnecessary use of antibiotics, say scientists at Bath University.

It works by releasing fluorescent dye from tiny capsules when toxins are given out by bacteria in a wound.

This allows doctors to identify bacterial infections and treat them more quickly, particularly in children with burns.

Researchers said it could help to save lives.

Children with burn wounds are particularly susceptible to bacterial infections because of their immature immune systems.

These infections can slow the healing of wounds, leading to longer stays in hospital and sometimes permanent scarring. In severe cases, infections can kill.

Major health concern

Doctors find it very difficult to diagnose infections quickly and easily without removing the dressing, which can be painful and create more scarring.

Because of this, antibiotics are often prescribed as a precaution before the infection is confirmed.

However, treatment with antibiotics when there is no infection can lead to bacteria becoming resistant to antibiotics - and antibiotic resistance is a major health concern.

Dr Toby Jenkins, reader in biophysical chemistry at Bath, leading the project, said "it could really help to save lives."

The team has been awarded almost £1m by the Medical Research Council to test the responsiveness of the prototype dressing to samples taken from the wounds of burns victims.

Journalist Sampath Lakmal de Silva’s killer revealed!

Nov 15, 2015

Nine years after defence correspondent Sampath Lakmal de Silva was murdered in Dehiwela, on 02 July 2006, the CID has been able to reveal his killer. The killier is Lt. Col. Shammi Kumararatne of the Army intelligence, who is presently in CID custody over the disappearance of journalist Prageeth Ekneligoda.

On the night of 01 July 2006 when he was having his dinner, Lakmal had received a call, and leaving his meal, he had got dressed and left, his mother Rupa de Silva told the CID in a statement. When she asked as to where he was going, Lakmal said, “Kumara Sir asked me to come urgently,” and left, never to be seen alive again. His dead body found on the following day.

 

The person she has referred to as ‘Kumara Sir’ is Lt. Col. Kumararatne, it has now been revealed. In order to justify his killing, the Army intelligence spread through the media at the time that Lakmal had been a ‘double agent’ who gave military information to the LTTE and LTTE information to the military. But, there is no evidence to prove that. Upcountry People’s Front’s P. Radhakrishnan said then that Lakmal had been killed as he knew about all the killings committed by the Army. At the time of his murder, Kumararatne had been a lieutenant in the Army. 

 

A freelance journalist contributing to Irudina, Lakbima and Sathdina, Lakmal was also the defence correspondent for the Sathdina. The attorney general’s department has informed the CID that Kumararatne could be served with indictment directly, without a preliminary investigation, over Lakmal’s killing. However, attempts are being made to prevent that from happening.

 

New Details Surface On Eknaligoda Murder?

By Nirmala Kannangara-Sunday, November 15, 2015

Speculation is rife whether disappeared Lanka e-news journalist, Prageeth Eknaligoda was murdered at the Plantain’s Point army camp in Trincomalee and was buried there before the body was dumped at seas off Trincomalee. It is alleged that it was the Civil Defence Force personnel, who had buried Eknaligoda’s body, which is said to have come out of the pit due to flash floods and was later dumped at deep seas.

New Details Surface on Eknaligoda Murder by Thavam Ratna

Clarifying Sri Lanka's Transitional Justice Commitments 

Taylor Dibbert-11/14/2015

With the recent passage of yet another UN Human Rights Council resolution on Sri Lanka -- dealing broadly with human rights, accountability and reconciliation -- now is an opportune time to clarify and explain how Sri Lanka's new government has said it will approach transitional justice.

The interpretation of the resolution remains a source of debate. However, it's important to note that the resolution clearly calls for some degree of international involvement and lays out the general framework for the country to deal with its past. Unfortunately, there's seems to be (unnecessary) confusion about these issues too. Let's take part of a recent article in The Caravan as an example.

Here's the problematic paragraph:

Beyond the matters of financial rehabilitation, though, lies the even thornier issue of justice in a country still deeply traumatised and ethnically divided. Last month, following a UN report on "horrific" violence committed by both sides in the civil war, the Sri Lankan government rebuffed calls for a court of international and local judges to investigate possible abuses. Instead, it insisted on forming its own commission for truth, justice and reconciliation. But, as the UN report warned, Sri Lanka is "not yet ready to handle these types of crime" alone. A purely domestic process is unlikely to meaningfully address grievances of discrimination and wartime abuse, in Sampur or beyond. Returning property and handing out cheques is certainly an improvement over occupation and displacement, but no one I spoke to in Sampur called it fair redress.

The Caravan piece was published on October 1 -- the same day that the consensus resolution on Sri Lanka was adopted at the Council -- yet that's not even mentioned in the article. Indeed, by co-sponsoring a broad resolution on Sri Lanka during the Council's 30th session, the Sri Lankan government went on the record in saying that it would allow some international participation regarding transitional justice. As mentioned, while the specific level of international involvement is still unclear, what was agreed to at the Council was definitely not "a purely domestic process."

Transitional justice in Sri Lanka is going to be led by Sri Lankans. That being said, if one reads the recently passed resolution in full, it's evident that the text contains numerous references to international involvement, including the part pertaining to a judicial mechanism with foreign judges, lawyers, prosecutors and investigators.

Here it's helpful to break down Sri Lanka's prescribed transitional justice agenda into its principal components. For now, there are four: a truth and reconciliation commission; a judicial mechanism; an office to deal with reparations; and an office to handle disappearances. (On the other hand, one could argue that there are actually five key parts, since creating a lasting political solution is a crucial part of this process, and something that's also called for in the recently passed resolution.)

Why do these details matter?

A judicial mechanism and the concomitant need for criminal prosecutions (for wartime abuses) should be differentiated from the government's proposed truth and reconciliation commission. For starters a truth and reconciliation commission will not be nearly as controversial as any kind of judicial mechanism; the former deals primarily with truth-telling. While talking about the past is very important, it must be accompanied by a broader reconciliation agenda that includes accountability (in the form of criminal prosecutions). Truth-telling alone (or truth-telling with offices for disappearances and reparations, respectively) are unlikely to satisfy the Tamil community. Criminal prosecutions -- if combined with a comprehensive political settlement and a credible truth and reconciliation commission -- could.

Furthermore, if Colombo starts to get cold feet about implementing its transitional justice agenda in full, one would guess that the administration might try to embrace the idea of a robust truth and reconciliation commission and deemphasize the importance of a credible judicial mechanism or criminal prosecutions.

Since the resolution was passed at the Council, Colombo has been downplaying the notion of any meaningful international involvement for its domestic audience. While the exact level of international involvement remains unknown, it's vital to reiterate that, in the form of the recently passed resolution, Colombo agreed to something other than a purely domestic process.

Monitoring the implementation of Colombo's transitional justice plan, like the larger set of commitments made in the recently passed resolution, is very important. Yet in order to accurately track progress, understanding the content of the latest resolution is absolutely essential. For that is how we can begin to discern whether Sri Lanka's new government is really serious about healing the wounds of war.

Follow Taylor Dibbert on Twitter: www.twitter.com/taylordibbert

In the name of Sobitha Thero:End State Corruption 

by Rajan Philips-November 14, 2015

The state funeral to honour Ven. Maduluwawe SobithaThero was wholly appropriate. That was the least the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe government could have done. It was also the easiest. But what will the government do to continue the unfinished work that the late monk started? That is the question. Both President Sirisena and Prime Minister Wickremesinghe were genuine in their grief, and effusive in their tributes. But how committed are they to fulfill the promises they made at the Thero’s funeral - to "scrap the executive presidency, effect electoral reforms, and bring about social justice"? The people’s expectations have shrunk even as their frustrations have swelled. No one is under a 100-day illusion any more to see executive presidency abolished, electoral reforms achieved, and social justice dispensed. But no one is prepared to wait any longer to see the government commit itself to ending state corruption. A government that cannot end state corruption cannot end the presidency, bring about electoral reforms, or deliver social justice. And a government that will not commit itself to ending state corruption cannot be trusted to fulfill the promises made at Sobitha Thero’s state funeral. The memory of Sobitha Thero deserves more than a state funeral. It deserves government commitment to end state corruption. It deserves people pressure to force government commitment and action.

By any historic measure, Sobitha Thero has carved for himself a special niche in the time honoured ‘heritage of the bhikku’ in Sri Lanka. As a political bhikku in the post-independence era, he has played a path breaking role in successfully championing a secular political cause, in contradistinction to other political bhikkus who have often turned secular political questions into chauvinistic slogans. The political cause he championed was encapsulated as the abolishment of the executive presidential system. It became the ‘single issue’ in search of a ‘common candidate’ to take on the then President Mahinda Rajapaksa, who had dispensed with the term limit on presidency and turned the presidency into a family rule without rules or limits. It was a measure of his standing in society and politics that SobithaThero was the first person to be identified as the most suitable ‘common candidate’.

The idea that caught on

The idea of Sobitha Thero becoming the single-issue common candidate was first mooted way back in 2012 by Kumar David from the political Left. Whether it was inspired prescience or cold calculation by a Marxist, the idea caught on and found resonance among all Sri Lankans cutting across ethnic, ideological and political boundaries. In old terms, it turned out to be a communally inclusive idea and not a communally divisive idea. The mainstream media ignored the idea and the candidate, with a leading newspaper editorial making reference to the idea as a sideline curiosity without mentioning Sobitha Thero’s name. Those who did not think much of the idea, or much of the prospect of Sobitha Thero as common candidate as they were in open awe of the electoral invincibility of Mahinda Rajapaksa, are now not only lamenting the death of Sobitha Thero, but are also blaming the yahapalanaya government for hastening his death.

The idea did not ultimately evolve into a Sobitha Thero candidacy, but the genesis of the idea and its association with Sobitha Thero must give the lie to the claim that the defeat of Mahinda Rajapaksa was the result of regime change engineered by outsiders. It was regime change alright but it could not have happened without Sobitha Thero’s catalytic role and the courage of the people to defy the odds and vote against a powerful incumbent. In the early days of the idea, I wrote in anticipation that Sobitha Thero could do in Sri Lanka what Jayaprakash Narayan did in India in bringing down the infamous Emergency-Rule regime of Indira Gandhi in 1976. Now we can say with a sense of gratification that Sobitha Thero accomplished in Sri Lanka what Jayaprakash Narayan had achieved in India. Like Jayaprakash Narayan in India, SobithaThero has become the Sri Lankan manifestation of what Morris Jones called ‘saintly politics’ in the Indian context - ascetically disinterested in office but holding those in office to high ethical standards.

In electoral terms, the single-issue/common candidate idea became the basis for the first successful political campaign ever in Sri Lanka that found acceptance and resonance among all the communities irrespective of their gender, class, language, religion, caste or geographical location. The current insistence in some quarters, on the majority of the majority is a shameless throwback to the politics of communal representation that the majority community leaders once denounced as a sinister scheme of colonial rulers wanting to divide and conquer the people of Sri Lanka. Now it is the local masters who would rather divide and rule, forever if possible. By championing the cause of abolishing the presidency as a national priority, Sobitha Thero has opened the path for the political bhikku in the modern era to espouse secular causes without lapsing into narrow chauvinism. In historical perspective, it would be a restoration of the traditional tolerance for other religions and languages that was the hallmark of the state-sangha relationship that prevailed in the island for nearly two thousand years, and one that is historically precious and unique among state-religion relationships in different societies.

Although it became the single issue, abolishing the presidency was in itself the culmination of multiple frustrations in society. It has been said that the straw that drove Sobitha Thero to launch his campaign against executive presidency was the menace of drug use and trafficking and the corruption and killings they entailed. It was the abhorrence of corruption that ultimately caused the defeat of Mahinda Rajapaksa. In the political transactions between the emergence of the single issue idea and the emergence of Maithripala Sirisena as the common opposition candidate, there were too many compromises, IOUs, and giveaways that submerged the original idea and allowed the old operators and their old ways to take control of the new movement. The January and the August elections were expected to deliver a new government that would be different from its predecessor not just in appearance but more fundamentally in substance. There is a growing frustration that there is little difference in substance between the old and the new regimes. Even the appearance has become indistinguishable given the size of the cabinet and the distribution of portfolios. Those who hoped and worked for substantial change were becoming resigned to the ways of the new government.

The brazen defence in parliament of the Avant Garde project by two lawyer ministers, unable to differentiate between the legal opinions of defence lawyers and the investigative responsibility of the state, relit the fire against state corruption. The death of Sobitha Thero in the midst of this controversy provided a poignant spark to people’s anger. The government seems to have responded in a way that they should have ten months ago. Given what we now know of the new government’s limitations and contradictions, it would be farfetched to expect the government to successfully embark on a constitutional overhaul. That would be a distraction and a disaster. It would be far better for everyone concerned with good governance to lower their expectations and push the government to do everything it can and must, to identify, expose and end state corruption. That would be a lasting legacy to Sobitha Thero.

Govt. to Set up Constitutional Secretariat

15/11/2015

A high-powered committee to draft new Constitution: Prof. Suri Ratnapala to be chief consultant.

by Rasika Jayakody.

The government is to pass a resolution in Parliament seeking its approval to set up a Constitutional Secretariat to draft a new Constitution.

A committee, headed by Parliamentarian Dr. Jayampathy Wickramaratne, has already been appointed to take measures in this regard. Among its members are senior lawyer Suren Fernando and Additional Secretary (Legal) to the Prime Minister Bimba Thilakaratne.

Prof. Suri Ratnapala, a veteran in the field of legal studies, is likely to be the government’s chief consultant when formulating the new constitution.

Prof. Ratnapala, who was in Sri Lanka for a brief visit last month, held several rounds of discussions with the top rung leadership of the government in this regard, an authoritative government source told the Sunday Observer.

He further said Professor Ratnapala, who is currently based in Australia, has agreed to take up the task.

Ratnapala is presently a Professor of Public Law and Director of the Centre for Public, International and Comparative Law in the School of Law at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia.

Ratnapala served as a Senior State Counsel, representing the Sri Lankan state in landmark constitutional cases before he migrated to Australia where he completed masters and doctoral degrees before accepting tenure at the University of Queensland. He was appointed to the Chair of Public Law in 2001, in Australia

Prof. Ratnapala, in 2014, gave expert opinion to the Bar Association of Sri Lanka on the applicability of the 18th Amendment with regard to former President Mahinda Rajapaksa seeking a third term.

Meanwhile, the spokesman said the government ha decided to totally abolish the Executive Presidency and it will come into effect after the first term of President Maithripala Sirisena.

President Sirisena, in his speech at the funeral of Ven. Maduluwawe Sobhitha, assured that the government would totally abolish the Executive Presidency as promised in his election manifesto, early this year.

“The President and the Prime Minister have already stated that a new constitution will be presented to Parliament in 2016. It will be passed before September, 2017, as a new constitution requires the support of a two third majority in Parliament. So, the current national unity government will be entrusted with the task of passing the new constitution,” he explained.

He also added that the government would go for a referendum on the new constitution if the need arises. “Although the government promised introduced a new constitution in its election manifesto, there are differences of opinion over the nature of the new constitution. Therefore, it would be essential to hold a referendum after passing the new constitution in Parliament,” he said.

Sunday Observer

Maithri who didn’t abolish executive presidency vows to fulfil that dream of Sobitha Thera after death at funeral - nation in tears

Full Report with photos

(Lanka-e-News 13.Nov.2015, 11.00PM) ‘It was the cherished dream of late Ven. Maduluwawe Sobitha Thera that a just society is established , and the executive presidency shall be abolished . In fulfilment of his  wishes  , a just society shall be established and executive presidency abolished accordingly ,’ president Maithripala Sirisena vowed solemnly and openly before the remains of the most Ven. Thera.  It is noteworthy the president who could not abolish the executive presidency via the 19 th amendment while the Ven. Thera was alive , swore  before the remains of the late Ven. Thera once again that he would abloish the executive presidency. 

 The president who did not abolish the executive presidency in fulfilment of his promise while the Ven. Thera was alive , thereby eroded  the faith people had in the president . Hence he  must now translate his words into deeds by abolishing the executive presidency, now that he made this pledge solemnly again at the Ven. Thera ‘s funeral right before his remains. The people have llong lost faith in  words , and the president must therefore honor the pledge he has made a second time via action.

The president went on to say proudly that he is president today  because of Ven. Sobitha Thera , the founder of good governance.

The funeral ceremony of the most Ven. Maduluwawe Sobitha Thera was conducted with full state honors with the participation of president Maithripala Sirisena and Prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe , at the parliament grounds , Battaramulla last afternoon (12). The Mahanayakes of the three Nikayas , leaders of other religions,  former president Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunge , Speaker Karu Jayasuriya, ministers and MPs, Foreign  envoys , local Diplomats , and hordes of people of all faiths including Buddhists, Muslims and Hindus were present at the funeral.
 
The remains were taken in a motorcade to the special podium before cremation at the parliamentary grounds , where  the funeral rites and ceremonies began. 

Professor of Kelaniya University , Kotapitiye Kotte Sri Kalyani Samagri Dharma maha sangha chief incumbent  made the welcome address . Dr. Ithepana Dhammalankara  of Shyamopaliwansika maha Nikaya , Kotte Sri Kalyani Samagridharma maha sangha prelate  conducted the preliminary religious ceremonies.

Ven. Thapana Pemasiri Thera , the prelate on behalf of   Ramanya Maha Nikaya , Professor Ven. Bellanvila Wimalaratne Thera , the prelate on behalf of Kotte Sri Kalyani of the Samagri Dharma Sangha  , Ven. Niyangoda  Vijithasiri  Thera the prelate on behalf of Malwatte and Asgiriya chapters , and Ven. Brahmanawathe Seevali Thera , the prelate on behalf of Amarapura maha sangha , delivered the anusasana (funeral orations)

Anusasanas were delivered by heads of other religions too.Former chief Bishop Rev. Oswald Gomes on behalf of the Catholics, Ramakrishna Meesame Swamy Serva Roopananda Kurukkal on behalf of the Hindus , Al Seyyid Murshik Mulaffer on  behalf of Muslims , and Bishop Diloraj Kanagasabay of the Lanka Diocese  on behalf of the Christians expressed their condolences on the occasion .

The Prime Minister speaking on the occasion said :

Today , for the first time in this country’s history , an ordinary citizen is being accorded state honours for  his funeral . Maduluwawe Sobitha Thera is not a Mahanayake Thera . He is not a reverend    . He is not a state leader .He is not a Union leader.He is not a wealthy being .  He is an ordinary being, a noble  being who followed in the footsteps of the Buddha preaching the Buddhist tenets , and a sage .

His sermons were not confined to words of Buddha  alone. He practically tried to create a just and fair society for the people of this country to live , reinforce the sovereignty of the law , and build unity among the people.

That just society was there in India and Africa. The late most Ven. Thera moved heaven and earth to secure that just society for  SL via his sermons. His efforts were directed to achieve unity among all races – Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims and Christians. The Ven. Thera steered  that campaign forward. 

 He was undeterred and undaunted in his crusade . Nothing could hold him back. Even during his final stages of his life he worked selflessly without showing concern for his health. When he was in the hospital in Colombo in a room , he spoke about the future of the country . He was taken to Singapore for medical treatment .

In the circumstances , the demise of most Ven. Sobitha Thera is a huge loss to all of us. What we can do now on his behalf is accomplish the just society he strived for , and towards that we must commit ourselves. While thanking Ven . Sobitha Thera  for all his services ,   I pray that the late Ven. Sobitha Thera will attain Nibbana.

---------------------------
by     (2015-11-13 21:49:01)

Yahapalana govt. at the crossroads?

November 14, 2015

The government that came into power promising good governance or yahapalanaya is already showing signs of coming apart at the seams. Even the unexpected demise of Ven. Sobitha was being blamed indirectly on the yahapalana government with the late monk’s closest political associate, Dr Nirmal Ranjith Dewasiri of FUTA fame telling The Island that people began questioning Ven Sobitha about the doings of the yahapalana government and were expecting the senior monk to do something to correct the course of the government and that the Ven. monk’s health deteriorated because he just couldn’t take the pressure. It also so transpires that President Maithripala Sirisena had not gone to see Ven. Sobitha during his final illness not necessarily out of callous indifference but possibly out of fear of what the ailing monk may say to him the president’s detractors say.

Yahapalana Govt. at the Crossroads by Thavam Ratna

Condemned police guns in Avant Garde stock

Condemned police guns in Avant Garde stock

By Niranjala Ariyawansha-2015-11-15

Initial investigations by Defence authorities into the Avant Garde floating armoury vessel have revealed that 43 weapons with defaced serial numbers, found aboard, are believed to have belonged to the LTTE.

Health Minister Dr. Rajitha Senaratne told Ceylon Today that these 43 weapons are likely to be linked to the LTTE.
"If not, there is no reason for their serial numbers to be defaced. This is a critical situation. These weapons will be handed over to the Government Analyst for further inspection. Afterwards, we will be able to ascertain the ownership of these weapons," he stated.
He added 264 weapons out of 816 were condemned F84 rifles which had belonged to the Sri Lanka Police. The minister said he had asked IGP N.K. Illangakoon how these condemned weapons ended up in the hands of the Avant Garde Company but Illangakoon denied any knowledge of this, the minister said.

The government had then ordered the IGP to get the AG's advice and investigate how these F84 model weapons got onto the Avant Garde and submit his report to the government quickly.
He expressed suspicions as to how these F 84 guns which were condemned and withdrawn from service ended up in the hands of the Avant Garde Company.

After those firearms were condemned the police were given T56 model guns during the war. The T56 model is a repeater whereas the F84 is a single loader. He added the guns had the names of the police stations they belonged engraved into the butts.
The Navy transferred to a Naval vessel the 1816 weapons and ammunition from the Avant Garde and Mahanuwara vessels. Navy Spokesperson Captain Akram Alavi told Ceylon Today that identifying and taking stock of the transferred weapons would take at least five days. The seized weapons will be stored at the Southern Boossa Naval base.

More Unmitigated Horse Feathers Parading As ‘Principles’

By Emil van der Poorten –November 15, 2015

Emil van der Poorten

Let me open by apologising to readers for the words I’ve used following “unmitigated” when the commoner and more accurate colloquialism would have been far more appropriate. Ah, well… this is a publication for public consumption so I will stay with “horse feathers!”

It says something about the “Miracle of Asia” that perusal of the alleged scandal sheets on the ‘web’ is likely to yield several nuggets of knowledge, while one has to sift and sort before getting anything of even minimal interest or value out of the local print media. The reason for this is not difficult to find: all of the English print media is controlled by a) major politicians, b) their acolytes or relations or c) is under complete government control. If you don’t believe me, check the ownership information that is in the public domain and tell me where I’ve erred. As for there being any difference between those now officially in the opposition camp and those in power, let me fall back on that old phrase coined by the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna: “Unuth ekai. Munuth ekai.” Or, more politely put in English, “Six of one and half a dozen of another.”

While this is bad enough, what makes it sound like an even deeper conspiracy is the fact that they are, more often than not, “on the same page” in matters so controversial that such a feat is either miraculous or is simply a gift from above to those obsessed with conspiracy theories.

“The Avant Garde affair” is probably the best example of there being something (very) rotten in the state of Denmark.

While all the information that has leaked out to the general public suggests that there is need for an extensive and thorough investigation of the whole business of quasi-government entities trolling the high seas, armed to the gills, while not being accountable to anyone but the “management” of the company, the evidence that has arrived, primarily thanks to the “Kaley Paththaras” is that a group of the powerful in government are seeking to push the whole fetid mess under the carpet. Needless to add, leading that particular charge are those whom I’ve identified in previous columns as seeking to buy “insurance” from the previous regime’s leadership. Currently, there are allegations that there is yet another category – those who appear to be financial beneficiaries now of the very regime removed by the people of this country then.

Any dissident opinion is met with a) loud denials, b) the advancement of the most specious of “reasons” for the conduct of the accused, or c) tomb-like silence. Oh! And, I almost forgot yet another category: truly humungous claims for damage to their reputations filed by those who have taken umbrage at their very names being mentioned in the vicinity of Avant Garde.                            Read More