Graphic Video Shows Chicago Police Shooting of 17-Year Old

WARNING: This video contains graphic violence.

Nov-25-2015-(CHICAGO) - ILLINOIS: 17-year old Laquan McDonald was shot 16 times by a Chicago police officer in October 2014 and the police dashcam video was released Tuesday.

A judge had ordered the city to release the disturbing video by Wednesday, but a version was leaded to ABC7 Chicago Eyewitness News on Tuesday morning, so the Chicago police moved up the scheduled release.

ABC7 Chicago Eyewitness News did not air the video until it was officially released due to their concern for public safety. The full video, unedited, is almost 6-minutes long. A short version is below.

Chicago Police Officer Jason Van Dyke is charged with First degree murder. He is being held without bail.

The video was made available via a request of the Freedom of Information Act, filed by a freelance journalist.

The victim's family did not want the video to be released. A statement from the McDonald's said, "This is a difficult time for us. As we have said in the past, while we would prefer that the video not be released we understand that a court has ordered otherwise..."

"We ask for calm in Chicago. No one understands the anger more than us but if you choose to speak out, we urge you to be peaceful. Don't resort to violence in Laquan's name. Let his legacy be better than that," McDonald's family said.

Chicago officials have voiced concern about the possibility of civil unrest, and in keeping with that real possibility, the McDonald family called for peaceful protests.

Tuesday, Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez described the video in court: "At 9:57:36, McDonald has crossed over the white lane divider away from the officers, and Officer Van Dyke has taken at least one step towards McDonald with his weapon drawn.

"The officer then opened fire on Laquan, whose arm jerks, his body spins around and he falls to the ground. While Laquan is falling to the ground the defendant takes at least one more step towards him, at which point the angle of the dash camera changes and we can no longer see the officer in the frame of the video.

"Two seconds later, Laquan McDonald is lying on the street on his right side, and the video captures what appears to be two puffs of smoke coming from the ground near his body. These puffs of smoke were later identified as clouds of debris caused by the fired bullets. At 9:57:51, McDonald is still lying on the street and the last visible shot is fired."

Then, there is a pause as Van Dyke reloads his gun. His partner tells him to hold fire and then walks over to McDonald and kicks away the teenager's knife.

In court documents, Anita Alvarez said Van Dyke acted "without legal justification and with the intent to kill or do great bodily harm, Jason D. Van Dyke personally discharged a firearm that proximately cause the death of LaQuan McDonald."

WARNING: GRAPHIC VIOLENCE: The entire video is available here: GRAPHIC VIDEO OF POLICE SHOOTING

Sources: abc7chicago; Chicago Police Department; CBSN; other sources

U.S. suspends military personnel over attack in Kunduz

It's been nearly a month since an American gunship destroyed a hospital run by Doctors Without Borders in Kunduz, Afghanistan. The attack left the area without a proper medical facility. Here is a look at the destruction. (Sudarsan Raghavan and Jason Aldag/The Washington Post)

By Sudarsan Raghavan-November 25

KABUL — A series of errors, human and technical, led to an American gunship bombing a Doctors Without Borders Hospital in the northern Afghan city of Kunduz last month, killing 30, a U.S. military probe has concluded.

Several American personnel, most likely pilots and U.S. special operations soldiers, who made the decision that led to one of the deadliest incidents of civilian casualties of the war, have been suspended and could face further disciplinary action, senior U.S. officials told reporters in Kabul on Wednesday.

“This was a tragic and avoidable accident caused primarily by human error,” said Gen. John Campbell, the top U.S. commander for Afghanistan, adding that it was “compounded by systems and procedural failures.”

The medical facility, the location of which was widely known in Kunduz, was misidentified as a target by the American personnel, Campbell said. They thought they were striking the headquarters of the Afghan intelligence service several hundred meters away, which the Taliban had reportedly seized.

Investigators also concluded that those who requested the air strike, as well as those who executed it from the air, did not take the proper measures to verify that it was a legitimate military target, Campbell said.

But many questions remained after Campbell presented the findings. Just before the attack on the hospital, a U.S. air strike pummeled an empty warehouse across the street from the Afghan intelligence headquarters. How U.S. personnel could have confused its location only a few hours later is not clear, nor is it clear why the gunship repeatedly bombed the hospital when there was no retrun fire.

According to the report’s findings, on the night of Oct. 2, Afghan special forces requested air support to help clear the Taliban from the headquarters of the intelligence service, known as the National Directorate of Security, or NDS. The U.S. Special Operations commander on the ground agreed, but he had no clear view of either the NDS building or the Doctors Without Borders hospital.

From this point on, the errors began, said Campbell.

The powerful AC-130 gunship dispatched to provide air support flew out quickly without conducting a normal mission brief and without vital information, including a list of no-strike areas, which would have included the hospital. And during the flight the electronic systems malfunctioned, preventing the pilots from sending or receiving emails or electronic messages or transmitting video back to control rooms, Campbell said.

In addition, the aircrew thought the aircraft was targeted by a missile, which forced the gunship to move away from its original flight path, lessening the accuracy of some of its targeting systems, Campbell said. By the time the plane got the strike coordinates for the NDS building, they correlated to an open field 300 meters away from the NDS building (about 330 yards). So the aircrew decided to visually target the hospital, which was near the field and superficially matched the description of the NDS compound.

Still, even with these technical glitches, the attack on the hospital could have been prevented, investigators found. The gunship, at one point, returned to its original flight path and the grid location system correctly aligned with the NDS building. But “the crew remained fixated” on the hospital and did not rely on the grid location system, Campbell said.

Investigators also found that the aircrew did not observe any hostile activity coming from the hospital, and so could have opted not to bomb it.

Read more:

Inside the Afghan hospital bombed by the U.S.

By evening, a hospital. By morning, a war zone.

The Pentagon’s evolving response to the Afghan hospital attack

Afghan response to hospital bombing is muted, even sympathetic

Ukraine closes its airspace to Russia as gas supply dispute erupts

Prime minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk claims Ukraine has stopped ordering Russian gas after banning its airlines as tensions rise

A plane takes off from Vnukovo airport in Moscow. Russian airlines will no longer be allowed to fly over Ukraine. Photograph: Maxim Shemetov/Reuters

Shaun Walker in Moscow-Wednesday 25 November 2015

Relations between Russia and Ukraine have further deteriorated as the countries clashed over gas and Kiev banned all Russian airlines from entering Ukrainian airspace.

The gas dispute will raise concerns that European supplies could suffer, and comes after the annexed Crimean peninsula was left without electricity at the weekend after saboteurs blew up power cables in mainland Ukraine.

Russia’s Gazprom said it would not ship any gas to Ukraine until it received prepayment. Later on Wednesday, Ukraine’s prime minister, Arseniy Yatsenyuk, claimed that he had ordered the state gas company to stop purchasing Russian gas. “It is not that they are not delivering us gas, it is that we are not buying any,” he said. 

Yatsenyuk said Kiev had been offered a better price by other European countries, who import gas from Russia but could then send it back to Ukraine. Earlier this week, Ukraine’s energy minister said the country had enough gas in reserve to last through winter.

Gazprom’s CEO, Alexey Miller, warned that Ukraine’s move could have grave consequences for the rest of Europe, saying that it “threatens safe gas transit toEurope … this coming winter”.

European Union countries get about a third of their gas from Russia, half of which comes via Ukraine. There is a long history of gas disputes between Russia and Ukraine, with one 2009 altercation causing serious disruption to supplies to Europe in mid-winter.

Yatsenyuk also banned Russian airlines from using Ukrainian airspace, saying the move was “an issue of the national security as well as a response to Russia’s aggressive actions”. Ukraine had already banned Russian airlines from flying to Ukrainian airports, a move that Russia quickly reciprocated, meaning there are no direct flights between the two countries. However, initially, Ukraine still allowed Russian planes to fly over its territory.

Crimea’s two million residents have been mostly without electricity since the weekend, when four saboteurs blew up four power cables. Before the attacks the peninsula received the majority of its electricity from the Ukrainian mainland. Government officials have focused on meeting essential needs, such as keeping hospitals running.

The local Crimean Tatar population of the peninsula was mainly opposed to Russian annexation, and Tatar activists have attempted to block Ukrainian repair teams at the site of the destroyed cables. Although a majority of Tatars still live inside Crimea, many Tatar activists have called for an economic blockade of the peninsula until a number of political prisoners are freed.

Russia has banned entrance to Crimea to a number of Crimean Tatar leaders and arrested others. The Tatar television channel ATR was raided by special forces and forced to close. It now broadcasts online from Kiev.

Russia has threatened to suspend coal deliveries to Ukraine in retaliation. The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, said it was obvious that without “tacit approval” from Ukraine’s political leaders, the blackout would not have happened. Crimean authorities have called the destruction of the cables a terrorist act.

Since the annexation of Crimea last March, the war in eastern Ukraine has led to more than 8,000 deaths as the Ukrainian government fights rebels, who receive military and financial support from Russia. Moscow denies having anything to do with the conflict, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary.

A shaky ceasefire has largely held in recent months, but there has been an uptick in violence in the past few days.

Will Putin Use the Energy Weapon Against Turkey?

Moscow is warning it will strike back after the downing of a Russian plane. But is it willing to jeopardize its own economy to do so?

BY KEITH JOHNSON-NOVEMBER 24, 2015

Just one year ago, Russian President Vladimir Putin flew to Ankara to talk up the prospects of a “strategic partnership” with Turkey. Now, furious over Turkey’s downing of a Russian jet, Putin has a different message for Ankara: There are going to be “significant consequences.”

Tough talk aside, though, the two countries seem condemned to keep working together, even if grandiose dreams of a broader partnership may have been shot down on Tuesday. Turkey gets about 60 percent of its natural gas from Russia, but Moscow can’t easily forsake the one European market where demand for natural gas is growing, especially at a time when low oil prices have hammered its export-dependent economy. The demise last December of Putin’s $40 billion pipeline project, meanwhile, means that the Russian president will not likely want to jettison its successor, a $12 billion project designed to ship gas across the Black Sea to Turkey and eventually onward to Europe.

“The only place other than China that Russia says it is pivoting toward is Turkey,” said Sijbren de Jong, a Russia expert at the Hague Center for Strategic Studies. “Do they really want to throw that overboard? I sincerely doubt it. Energy has become a really hollowed-out weapon.”

And for Turkey — which itself threatened to break off the bilateral energy relationship last month after Russia started bombing rebels in Syria and violating Turkish airspace — there simply aren’t many appealing options other than continuing to do business with Moscow. Turkey’s demand for natural gas is growing, and Russia is one of the few genuine options Ankara has to deliver that fuel, at least in the short term. What’s more, Russia is helping to finance and build a $20 billion nuclear power plant in Turkey that’s needed to meet rising demand for electricity. New Turkish Energy Minister Berat Albayrak — son-in-law of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan —said Tuesday that the energy ties between the two countries would not be threatened.

The Russian-Turkish rapprochement that Putin and Erdogan broached last year was dogged from the start by centuries of animosity and rivalry, and particularly by sharp divides over the ongoing civil war in Syria. Erdogan is a staunch opponent of Syrian strongman Bashar al-Assad and repeatedly called for his ouster; Putin indirectly backed Assad for years before diving headfirst into the conflict in September by sending warplanes to Syria to bomb U.S.-allied rebel groups working to unseat the Syrian dictator.

Those tensions dramatically came to the fore on Tuesday. For almost two months, Turkish officials had repeatedly told Russia that they would not tolerate violations of Turkish airspace and had threatened to shoot down any Russian planes crossing the Turkish border. On Tuesday, Turkey told the United Nations that it warned the two bombers 10 times over a five-minute period; one turned back, and the other was shot down. The two pilots werereportedly killed by Turkmen rebels in northern Syria where they landed after ejecting from the stricken plane.

After the incident, Putin immediately lashed out at what he called Turkey’s complicit attitude toward the Islamic State, also known as ISIS. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov followed by quickly canceling a planned trip to Turkey and urging Russian tourists to avoid traveling there; Russia’s state tourism agency recommended ending package tours to Turkey. Meanwhile, some Russian lawmakers suggested banning all flights between the two countries.

“We have long been recording the movement of a large amount of oil and petroleum products to Turkey from ISIS-occupied territories. This explains the significant funding the terrorists are receiving,” Putin said after a meeting in the Black Sea resort of Sochi with King Hussein of Jordan. “Now they are stabbing us in the back by hitting our planes that are fighting terrorism.”

The Islamic State earns anywhere from $250,000 to $1.5 million a day from selling oil and refined products like diesel and gasoline, both inside Syria and across the border in Turkey. That’s one reason why oil assets, especially mobile refineries, have been a major target of airstrikes launched by both the U.S.-led coalition and Russia.

Putin’s allegations that Turkey is essentially underwriting the Islamic State will land like a gut punch in Ankara, said Emre Tuncalp, a senior advisor at Sidar Global Advisors, a risk consultancy. “He didn’t mince his words and hit Turkey where it really hurts,” Tuncalp said.

That could further complicate the Turkish Stream pipeline project, which has already faced setbacks due to disputes over gas pricing and the formation of a new Turkish government in the wake of November elections. Jump-starting that stalled project was to have been at the center of Lavrov’s visit this week.

“Any significant progress on Turkish Stream now seems unlikely, at least in the short term,” Tuncalp said.

Beyond economic reprisals, Moscow could have one other option to make life difficult for Ankara: ramping up support for the Kurdish militants that for decades have bedeviled Turkey’s government. For nearly two centuries, Russia has maintained close ties to Kurdish tribes and in Soviet times established links with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, which is again doing battle with Turkish security forces. Turkey, the European Union, and the United States list the PKK as a terrorist group.

“Putin has spoken publicly — and I think pointedly — in noting the Kurds as allies in the fight against ISIS. So backing the PKK and its subsidiaries would be an easy way for Russia to retaliate against Turkey,” said Michael Reynolds, a professor of Near Eastern studies at Princeton University.

But such a move would be highly inflammatory, especially as Erdogan has used the fight against the PKK as a domestic foil to entrench his party’s electoral victory this month. It could be especially dangerous at a time when U.S. President Barack Obama said his “top priority” after the downing of the Russian jet was to ensure the situation doesn’t escalate.

“That’s really a no-go. That’s as if the Turks were funding the Chechens,” said de Jong. “That’s a bit of a red line.”

Photo credit: CHRIS MCGRATH/Getty

Burma: The General Elections and after

Party	Pyithu Hluttaw (Lower House)	Amyotha Hluttaw (Upper House)	State/Region	Total
NLD USDP SNLD ANP Ta’Arng PNO Zomi CD	255 30 12 12 3 3 2	135 12 3 10 1 1 2	496 76 25 23 7 6 2	886 118 40 45 11 10 6

by C. S. Kuppuswamy-

The Elections

( November 24, 2015, New Delhi, Sri Lanka Guardian) The General Elections were held on Sunday the 8th November 2015. Elections were held for the lower house, the upper house and the fourteen state/ regional assemblies. For security reasons, elections were not held in some townships in the Shan State and in some areas where the fighting continues in Northern Myanmar.

Burma the General Elections and After by Thavam Ratna

Egypt needs stability based on democracy, says former presidential candidate 

Egypt's Aboul-Fotouh creates waves with outspoken criticism of Sisi government, demands early presidential elections 

Egyptian politician Abdel Moneim Aboul-Fotouh (AFP)
Egyptians queue up to buy bread at a local shop in the Nile Delta (AFP)

Dania Akkad and Mary Atkinson-Tuesday 24 November 2015

Over the past week, Egyptian politician Abdel Moneim Aboul-Fotouh has made headlines, criticising President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and urging the country to hold early presidential elections - or face chaos or another military coup.

Following his explosive interview with BBC Arabic last week, an investigation has reportedly been launched into the former presidential candidate and opposition party leader. 

Egypt Needs Stability Based on Democracy, Says Former Presidential Candidate by Thavam Ratna

BJP confronts Gandhis as parliament gathers

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (L) and Amit Shah, the president of India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), wave to their supporters during a campaign rally ahead of state assembly elections, at Ramlila ground in New Delhi January 10, 2015.-REUTERS/ANINDITO MUKHERJEE

Congress party chief Sonia Gandhi (L) and her son and vice-president of Congress Rahul Gandhi arrive to address a news conference in New Delhi May 16, 2014.-REUTERS/ANINDITO MUKHERJEE

 BY DOUGLAS BUSVINE AND RUPAM JAIN NAIR- Wed Nov 25, 2015

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has just suffered a bruising election setback, yet his party appears in no mood to compromise with the main political opposition to get stalled economic reforms back on track.

Instead, the nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has launched an all-out offensive against the Congress party, in a potentially dangerous game of brinkmanship that risks turning the next parliamentary session into a prolonged slanging match.

"It's a political vendetta," said veteran newspaper editor and commentator Shekhar Gupta of the BJP's attacks on Congress, and specifically Rahul Gandhi, heir apparent to his mother and party leader Sonia Gandhi.

Yet behind the sound and fury on TV news networks may lie a more considered tactic, party strategists and political analysts said: isolate Congress while quietly persuading regional parties to back a tax reform bill that is the BJP's top priority.

"We are trying to convey to everyone that the government is willing to tweak the bill and present it in a form that benefits all the states," said one senior BJP source, who did not want to be named.

Sanjay Kumar, director of the CSDS think-tank and a leading opinion researcher, said: "They keep hitting the line that Congress is a dynastic party. The idea is to split the opposition."

In May, 2014, Modi won India's strongest election mandate in three decades, but his dominance in the Lok Sabha is neutralised by the Rajya Sabha where the BJP is in the minority.

And, while he has pushed through some reforms by executive order, that solution is temporary and likely to put off foreign companies who want stable legal frameworks in place before investing in Asia's third-largest economy.

One of the biggest changes Modi envisages to make the economy run more smoothly, a unified tax system, requires altering the constitution.

Securing that amendment in the winter session of parliament that starts on Thursday would be vital to implementing tax reform in 2016, as Modi has repeatedly assured global investors he would.

APPEARANCE OF STRENGTH

The BJP's aggression may serve as cover for backroom deals that recognise the realities created by its defeat this month in Bihar, Modi's biggest setback as prime minister.

That election result has given a sense of empowerment to regional leaders like Nitish Kumar, chief minister of Bihar, who teamed up with Lalu Yadav to rebuff Modi's challenge in the state of more than 100 million people.

So, while the BJP strategist spoke of exposing rampant corruption during the decade of Congress rule that ended in May 2014, he saw no contradiction with the idea that "Modi may consider having a cup of tea with Sonia Gandhi".

The two party leaders have not held face-to-face talks in this parliament since it was elected.

Congress, part of the victorious Bihar alliance, sees no sign that the government wants to engage in sincere dialogue.

Instead it has chided Modi for going on a series of foreign trips since the Bihar landslide and neglecting his work at home.

"Where is a conciliatory attitude?" asked Anand Sharma, a senior Congress leader and interlocutor on the key tax reforms.

"You have a prime minister who has a confrontational mindset, who is arrogant. He humiliates the opposition, day in and day out," Sharma told ET Now, a financial news channel.

That is despite some senior aides recommending to Modi that he engages the opposition more actively, while a handful of top BJP figures have openly questioned his leadership.

GST OR NOT GST

Perhaps more worrying for businesses waiting with increasing frustration for the new national goods and services tax (GST), there appears to be a lack of consensus on how it would work in practice.

The GST would create a single market in India for the first time since independence in 1947 and, the government estimates, boost the economy by up to two percentage points.

But there is as yet no agreement on what rate the tax should be levied at; three separate committees have yet to make their final proposals.

And, at a meeting of central and state officials last week, there was no agreement on the threshold at which the tax should apply to small businesses. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley skipped that discussion to attend a film festival.

Some officials express doubts over the Modi government's strategy for securing the passage of the GST amendment, saying it could miss its self-imposed deadline.

"You have to go more than half the way to convince the Congress," said a senior government official involved in the policy process. "You have to be more than generous. But the BJP is still behaving as if it was in the opposition."

(Additional reporting by Manoj Kumar; Writing by Douglas Busvine; Editing by Mike Collett-White)

Rights groups call on Thailand to close military prison

Thai soldiers escort the fortune teller, Suriyan Sutjritpolwongse, centre, better known by the nickname "Mor Yong," as he arrives at military court in Bangkok, Thailand, last month. Pic: AP.

by Asian Correspondent Staff -25th November 2015

HUMAN RIGHTS groups have called on Thailand to immediately close a military detention center where two high-profile prisoners died in controversial circumstances over the past month.

A statement issued Tuesday by the U.N. Human Rights Office for Southeast Asia called on the country’s ruling junta to stop using military facilities to hold civilian detainees.

The U.N. appeal follows the deaths in custody of two people arrested on charges of insulting the monarchy by claiming to be representing the royal palace for their own financial benefit.

Meanwhile, in an open letter to the Permanent Mission of Thailand to the United Nations in Geneva, the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) and Human Rights Watch (HRW) raised “serious concern about the establishment of a detention facility holding non-military persons named the Nakhon Chaisri temporary remand facility”.

The letter called for the immediate transfer of non-military prisoners to a civilian facility and an investigation into the deaths of Suriyan Sucharitpolwong and Prakrom Warunprapa. Both were arrested last month.

Prakrom was said to have died by suicide and Saurian, better known by his soothsayer name Mor Yong, from blood poisoning. Both bodies were hurriedly cremated, raising suspicions of a cover-up.

Thailand’s military government calls safeguarding the monarchy a priority.

Additional reporting from Associated Press

Mutant mosquitoes 'resist malaria'

Image copyright

24 November 2015

US scientists say they have bred a genetically modified (GM) mosquito that can resist malaria infection.

If the lab technique works in the field, it could offer a new way of stopping the biting insects from spreading malaria to humans, they say.

The scientists put a new "resistance" gene into the mosquito's own DNA, using a gene editing method called Crispr.

And when the GM mosquitoes mated - their offspring inherited the same resistance, PNAS journal reports.

In theory, if these mosquitoes bite people, they should not be able to pass on the parasite that causes malaria.

About 3.2bn people - almost half of the world's population - are at risk of malaria.

Bed nets, insecticides and repellents can help stop the insects biting and drugs can be given to anyone who catches the infection, but the disease still kills around 580,000 people a year.

'Pivotal role'

Scientists have been searching for new ways to fight malaria.

The University of California team believe their GM mosquito could play a pivotal role - breeding resistant offspring to replace endemic, malaria-carrying mosquitoes.

They took a type of mosquito found in India - Anopheles stephensi - on which to experiment.

Dr Anthony James and his team showed that they could give the insect new DNA code to make it a poor host for the malaria parasite.

The DNA, which codes for antibodies that combat the parasite, was inherited by almost 100% of the mosquito offspring and across three generations.

Mosquito larvae can be genetically modified to carry 'useful' new genes, such as resistance to the Plasmodium parasites that cause malaria

The researchers say the findings offer hope that the same method could also work in other mosquito species.

Although it would not be a sole solution to the malaria problem, it would be a useful additional weapon, they say.

Prof David Conway, UK expert from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, said: "It's not the finished product yet but it certainly looks promising. It does look like the genetic editing works."

Other scientists have been looking at genetically modifying mosquitoes to render them infertile, so that they die out. But some experts fear that eliminating mosquitoes entirely may have unforeseen and unwanted consequences. Replacing disease-carrying mosquitoes with harmless breeds is a potential alternative.

Geneva Resolution: How Sri Lanka Political Parties React

(Sri Lanka Brief)-24/11/2015

Read the full report as a PDF here:Political Party positions re UNHRC resolution on Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka resolution A/HRC/30/L.29 adopted by the United Nations Human Rights Council at its 30th session, held in September 2015, is still making waves in the country. Political parties as well as civil society groups have taken up positions in relation to the resolution.

A public campaign opposing the resolution and its implementation has been launched by smaller opposition parties supported by former president Mahinda Rajapaksa. The first public rally against the resolution was held on 19th October, just 3 days before the parliamentary debate on the resolution. The parliamentary debate was held on 22nd and 23rd of October 2015.

None of the two coalition partners of the government; neither the United National Party (UNP) headed by the Prime Minister Wickremasinghe nor the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) headed by the President Sirisena, have initiated any such campaign.

The President convened an All-Party Conference (APC) to discuss the resolution on 23rd October as a part of the consultation process. Only two parties which do not have a representation in the Parliament were invited, they were Field Marshall Sarath Fonseka’s Democratic Party and the LSSP of Prof. Tissa Vitarana. Each party was asked to submit its proposals for a political solution within two weeks. and many smaller parties have been left out of the process.

The second round of the APC was held on 17th October 2015. Only consensus reached at the meeting was on matters such as the implementation of the recommendations by the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC), addressing livelihood issues in the war ravaged areas and schemes for the benefits of war widows.

Pro-democratic civil society groups too have not initiated any public action to defend the accountability and reconciliation process envisaged by the resolution.

SLB update Nov 2015

On the contrary civil society groups who supported the regime change by actively campaigning for the joint opposition have come out strongly criticising the government for police brutality unleashed against protesting students. Appointment of nearly 100 ministers and a large cabinet, slow pace of the anti-corruption drive and Government’s lethargic attitude towards issues like hundreds of political prisoners languishing in jails for years have disheartened many civil society groups. Social media that was overwhelmingly supportive of the regime change is now full of criticisms towards the government.

Seemingly developing conflict between the President’s fraction (SLFP) and Prime Minsters fraction (UNP) of the ruling coalition is threatening good governance practices, both sides courting corrupt politicians as well business people. On 5th November a serious row occurred within the cabinet of ministers over one Major of the alleged fraud, Avant Garde.

On the positive side, Independent Commissions have been appointed except the Election Commission. Anti-corruption investigations are proceeding though at a slow pace. A few investigations on disappearances and killings have reached the final phase. The Criminal Investigations Department (CID) filed charge sheets against six suspects over the murder of Parliamentarian Nadarajah Raviraj on 3rd November.

The freedom from fear that has been usurped as a result of the regime change is flourishing. For instance a number of international human rights organisations have visited Sri Lanka and they were able to exchange opinions with leaders of the government.

Freedom of expression and freedom of assembly have been re-established.

The government has announced that the Parliament will be converted in to a constitutional assembly in order to draft a new constitution. Minister of Justice has stated that they hope to have a new constitution in two years’ time.

A few major corruption allegations have rocked the government which are threatening to erode the credibility of the government.

Although there are no regular social polls conducted by credible institutions to gauge the popularity of the government, the general feeling is that popularity of the government as well as its two leaders has decreased among all communities.

Pro Rajapaksa political formations have become more vocal and have taken up in the parliament the issue of attacks by Police against peaceful protestors. Former president Rajapaksa is still trying to be in the political limelight and hasn’t shown any desire for the political retirement.

President Sirisena has submitted a cabinet paper to abolish the executive presidency and it has been approved by the cabinet. President Sirisena will serve his full term as the executive president and there will be no executive presidency thereafter.

President Sirisena has pledged to lead the SLFP to victory in the upcoming local government elections, which are scheduled to be held in March 2016. The main contest will be between the SLFP and UNP while pro-Rajapaksa groups too are planning to contest separately.

The report is researched and compiled by Sunanda Deshapriya.

Sampanthan tells Power that UNHRC resolution needs to be fully implemented

23 November 2015 Meeting with the US ambassador, Samantha Power, who is currently visiting the North-East, the leader of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), R Sampanthan urged the US to continue their assistance and ensure the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) resolution was fully implemented. "We have spoken about the all the things we need to [including] the many problems our people face, especially land disputes, political prisoners, militarisation, the resettlement of the people, rehabilitation, housing needs, employment opportunities," Mr Sampanthan told journalists shortly after the meeting. "We have informed them regarding many difficulties. Above everything else, the UN resolution needs to be implemented fully, but to implement it fully, the UNHRC and America need to carry out their duties fully. We continue to need their help." "We also spoke about a political solution. A just political solution should be given to the Tamil speaking people in Tamil areas, in a way that our people can live in their country with dignity, self-respect and rights." "We have reiterated that the Tamil speaking people should received a just solution, a solution that could be implemented, a solution that could last [and] a solution that gives enough power." "The meeting was a very satisfying meeting. We trust that we will continue to receive their help." Asked for his thoughts about a conversation between Samantha Power and the Chief Minister of the Northern Province, C V Wigneswaran on the presence of the military, Mr Sampanthan replied that he would not express a view on that as it would not be appropriate to speak on that conversation. He went on to say, "the military presence should be reduced." "Due to the heavy military presence, the people are experiencing discomfort and are in a state without dignity. Therefore we have asked them to help to reduce the military presence." "We had a meeting with ambassador Samantha Power. It was a very successful meeting. We discussed very comprehensively all issues, including current issues - the implementation of the UN Human Rights Council resolution, the question of a political solution, everything was fully discussed." "She raised many questions with us, which we answered. It was a satisfactory meeting and it is our expectation that further efforts will result in our moving towards Sri Lanka being a peaceful, progressive, prosperous country." Ms Power visited Jaffna yesterday, where she met with a wide range of Tamil civil society actors, journalists and politicians across the North. On arrival on the island, the ambassador told reporters that "the world is watching what is happening Sri Lanka".

Samantha Power rehabilitates genocidal Sri Lanka: Boyle

[TamilNet, Monday, 23 November 2015, 20:41 GMT]
"Power’s visit is just a public relations exercise designed to rehabilitate the genocidal GOSL government. In other words, Power has become an Accessory After The Fact to the GOSL genocide against the Eelam Tamils. Power has now become part of the GOSL’s “Problem from Hell,” said Professor Boyle, an expert in International Law and who teaches at the College of Law, University of Illinois, after following the events of Ms Samantha Power's visit to Sri Lanka this weekend. Criticizing Ms Power for avoiding questions on genocide, Boyle said, Power was guilty of unwittingly exhibiting racial bias in asking Tamil journalists whether they trusted Colombo, while she never would have asked the white-skinned Bosnian Muslims if they trusted the genocidal maniacs running the Government of Republika Srpska. 

Full text of Professor Boyle's comment follows:

Samantha Power

"Power knows from her direct and personal experience on Bosnia that it is still extremely dangerous for Bosnian Muslims living in Srebrenica at risk to their own lives. She would never have asked any Bosnian Muslim journalists living in Srebrenica if they trusted the genocidal maniacs running the Government of Republika Srbska, who are now in charge of Srebrenica thanks to Richard Holbrooke’s Dayton Agreement whose 20th Anniversary she just opportunistically praised. 

"She would have never put Bosnian Muslims on the spot in that way and insulted their intelligence in the process. Why did Power do this to Tamil Journalists in Jaffna living under the control of the GOSL genocidal maniacs? Does Power believe that dark skinned Tamils are dumber than white skinned Bosnians? Obviously, white skinned Bosnian Victims of Genocide mean a lot more to Power than dark skinned Tamil Victims of Genocide. 

"Power is a disgrace to the Irish who themselves are Victims of British Genocide. See my book United Ireland, Human Rights, and International Law (Clarity Press: 2012)."

* * *

While Ms Power tweeted on Sunday that she had agreed on demilitarization with Northern Sinhala Governor Palihakkara (Met with Gov Palihakkara in North #SriLanka. Agreed development, demilitarization in Jaffna cannot wait.), the official read-out only said Power has expressed "support for expanding efforts to restore normalcy to former conflict areas."

Another tweet from her on Sunday said: “Urged Jaffna Chief Minister Wigneswaran to help reinforce #SriLanka precious moment for reconciliation/rebuilding.”

On Monday she was tweeting: “Honored to meet Pres .@MaithripalaS, who has committed to reconciliation, democ reform, justice. Good start so far,” and “#SriLanka Opposition Leader Sampanthan: passionate voice for Tamil rights, getting results by bldng nat'l consensus.”

Ms Power was telling the NPC Chief Minister that Colombo had de-proscribed some diaspora groups, Colombo has to deal with pressure from Sinhala groups in the South, and that Sri Lanka is generally slow in implementing changes. [In fact, the Colombo regime has just reinforced the so-called ban on Tamil diaspora groups and activists, while avoiding some of the groups in the new Gazette notification.]

A spokesperson for Tamils Against Genocide (TAG), a US-based activist organization providing legal help to Tamil war-victims, said: "in her pulitzer prize winning book "A problem from Hell," Power was severely critical of US foreign policy arguing that "[n]o US president has ever made genocide prevention a priority," the US political system is ruthlessly effective in consistently not intervening in the face of genocide, and that "that is why genocide rages on." It is sad to see that Power herself has become the target of her own accusation, by first failing to convince the US administration to intervene, and subsequently promoting a policy of whitewashing Sri Lanka's genocide."

Ms Power was a former Balkan war correspondent, a foreign policy columnist at Time magazine and was a Professor at Harvard University before being invited to hold positions of power in the National Security domain by the Obama administration.