EPS and Budget 2016 Part 4: The establishment of a viable social security system for an ageing population 

Monday, 30 November 2015

Providing old-age social security is a national issue
Sri Lanka’s population is ageing and an ageing population needs a viable old-age social security system. In this regard, the Economic Policy Statement or EPS of the Government has pledged to establish a “national pension plan taking into account the retirement needs of the workers”.

EPS and Budget 2016 Part 4 the Establishment of a Viable Social Security System for an Ageing Population by Thavam Ratna

Is Death Penalty A Capital Punishment 

By Sarath Wijesinghe –November 30, 2015 

Sarath Wijesinghe

Death is painful and unpleasant. Animal or a human being want to live at least one minute more at the death which is common to all. Life is pleasant and enjoyable during the lifetime. Has another being got the right to take this precious life of another? Is he/she not liable for the maximum punishment depending on the gravity. In the animal kingdom the law of the jungle and the survival of the fittest prevails. Carnivores kill pray for food, but do not kill unnecessarily. Only the pray is killed to meet hunger. Man kills other for various other reasons. They kill in bulk for no reason. Some legal systems have accepted taking others life legal as punishment and deterrent to prevent crime against the society. Death sentence is imposed for killing another and many other major crimes which has a long history running back to primitive ages.

Death Sentence/Capital punishment in Sri Lank and worldwide

Death sentence was practiced in Sri Lanka during ancient kings who are also guardians of Buddhism based on peace, non-aggression nonviolence and promoting the value of living beings. Other counties worldwide too the capital punishment was prevalent irrespective of the religious practices and beliefs. During Sinhala Kings the kinds and types of torture and death have been cruel and torturous presumably with the Indian influence. Currently the death penalty is governed by the Penal Code imported from the British during colonial period though it is taken away from the British Jurisprudence. Section 296 of the penal code states that ‘whoever committees murder shall be punishable death and Section 54 (AB) of poison opium and dangerous drugs ordinance with mandatory death sentence’ are part of the laws of the land though not implemented by many Presidents who has the last word on implementation. No execution has taken place in Sri Lanka since 23rd June 1976 with successive governments and leaders have attempted to reintroduce capital punishment due to agitations from the public as a result of un precedent crime rate in the country. Agitation activates from time to time with mass murders and slaying of innocence. Again the current topic of the day is Death Penalty due to ‘Saya’ and Vidya girl’s murders followed by killings of innocent and children amidst others. Death sentence is imposed on drugs which is a fast killer of the youth and catalyst for crime which is fast spreading. Has capital punishment reduced the drug menace and the mafia is a matter to be discussed by sociologists.

22 countries were known to have carried out judicial executions in 2014 and 607nhave ben carried out in 2014. To date China has carried out 1000, Iran 289.Saudi Arabia 90.USA 35, and /Sudan 23 executions. The first established death penalty law as far as 1st century BC in the code of king ‘Hammaurabi’ which codified death penalty for 25 different crimes.                   Read More

Many good reasons for legalizing prostitution in Sri Lanka! 

2015-11-30

Last week, there was an interesting article in this newspaper that weighed favourably the merits of legalizing prostitution. That media, rights groups and civil society in general are viewing those complex issues in an increasingly pragmatic way -- finally having overcome the dominant yet arcane moralistic posture -- is a sign of maturity.  

Many Good Reasons for Legalizing Prostitution in Sri Lanka! by Thavam Ratna

WIDEN DIALOGUE AND ACT FASTER TO MEET IMPERATIVES OF RECONCILIATION--JEHAN PERERA

30 November 2015

The last week of November has generally been a difficult time in Sri Lanka for the past two or more decades. During the long period of war, the LTTE used to commemorate its fallen cadre with Martyrs’ Day ceremonies on November 26-27. There was a combination in varying degrees of events meant to mobilize and sustain support for their cause. There were march pasts by LTTE cadre, including the Black Tiger suicide squads. There were also memorial services at the LTTE cemeteries. There were also heightened attacks on enemy targets intended to reaffirm the military prowess of the LTTE and strike fear in the larger society.

After the military defeat of the LTTE in 2009 these public events came to a stop. The former government prevented LTTE supporters or even the general public from holding any sort of commemoration on that day. Attempts by university students to hold memorial events by lighting candles or holding meetings were prevented and any attempt to do so was thwarted by raids by security forces who would arrest those participating in such events. Even memorial services by religious clergy in places of worship were not permitted as these were seen to be supportive of the LTTE. However, the new government has adopted a more flexible approach. This was seen in the commemoration this year of the May 19 anniversary of the end of the war.

On the one hand, the government continued the tradition set by its predecessor government of having a victory parade in which the military might of the Sri Lankan security forces was on display. But it also issued a statement that for the first time commemorated all those who had lost their lives in the course of the war. The government also did not disrupt memorial services in the north for those who had lost their lives. The condition it set was that there would be no commemoration of the LTTE as an organization. On the occasion of the Martyrs Day commemoration the government’s position once again was that the LTTE could not be memorialized. But space was given for the people and religious clergy to remember the dead.

VOLATILE NORTH
However, the suicide of a schoolboy in Jaffna who jumped in front of a train, leaving behind a message that he was doing this on behalf of Tamil political prisoners, is a reminder of the volatile nature of the situation in the north of the country. The government closed the schools to prevent any student agitation from gaining ground. Doubts have been expressed whether the boy was manipulated into making this sacrifice of himself for a larger cause. There was no major effort to politicize the issue. But his death, and the government’s response to it, show that the present stability and peacefulness in the north, which was the epicenter of the three decade long war, cannot be taken as a given.

Apart from the need to improve to improve economic and livelihood conditions of the people of the north, which is a problem common to the majority of people living in all parts of the country, there is an urgent need for the government to address the issues of burning concern to the people of the north. These are the ones pertaining to missing persons, detained prisoners, land acquired by the armed forces and demilitarization, all of which have been longstanding problems spanning the past two to three decades. The piecemeal approach that the government has been following in dealing with these problems is not seen as an adequate response.

From the government’s perspective, it has taken policy decisions which are a break from the past. It has decided to probe the issue of missing persons more thoroughly in accordance with the resolution it co-sponsored in Geneva with the UN Human Rights Council. It has started the process of releasing long term detainees held in custody with about 30 being released on bail and more to follow. It has started to return land, such as the approximately 600 acres in Sampur. It has instructed the armed forces not to be intrusive in dealing with civilian activities.

The perspective in the north is different. When the Tamil people throughout the country, including the north, voted for the change of government that took place in January at the presidential election and was reaffirmed in August at the general election, they expected the government to make a more decisive break with the past. They expected the problems that had lasted for two to three decades to be resolved without further delay as they cannot bear to have them continue any longer. The government’s failure to resolve these problems speedily has led to extreme frustration, and even doubt as the government’s sincerity. One tragic manifestation of this was the suicide of the schoolboy.

SLOW PROGRESS
The ship of state is taking its time to turn. The presidential and general elections that took place earlier this year saw the change of the topmost leadership in the government. The country has a new president, new prime minister and most of the cabinet are new to their positions. Not all in the cabinet are new. The government is a coalition with many old faces amongst the new. Equally significantly, the next layer of government, comprising the top rungs of the judiciary, attorney general’s department, public service and security forces remain those who held high positions under the previous government. They imbibed their security-centered view of the world, and narrow approach to problem solving which mistrusted the ethnic and religious minorities.

This mistrustful approach to governance has also had its impact on the general population. Today’s popular consciousness is one that has been shaped by the previous government’s approach to governance. There is a need to create a different mode of thinking both within state institutions and civil society in general if life in the country is to be different, and the expectation of the ethnic and religious minorities to live as equal citizens are to be met. If this does not happen, and a new consciousness amongst the people does not arise, the government will find it difficult to meet with its targets of releasing detainees and lands, and demilitarization of the north and east as these will be seen as a threat to national security by the majority of people.

The government needs to actively engage with the general population, including the public service, to create a new vision of governance that leads to reconciliation. It needs to do this engaging both those in the north and south who work at the community level and in the local government structures, including provincial councils. It is not enough for the government to make policy declarations that satisfy the international community. These declarations need to be implemented without delay, and those who do the implementing need to be convinced that this is the best way to reconciliation and unifying the people living in the country so that they all share the common goal of reconciliation. There needs to be more open government, in which dialogue and public education takes a more central place.

War Crimes Investigations with International Involvement: An integrative treatment for healing deep rooted wounds

-Australian Advocacy for Good Governance in SL

(Lanka-e-News -01.Dec.2015, 11.45PM) A hard-hitting UN Human Rights Council report in September this year contained details of numerous allegations of what it said could amount to war crimes committed during the last phase of Sri Lanka’s civil war that ended in May 2009. Presenting the report to the Council, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said: “The sheer number of allegations, their gravity and recurrence and the similarities in their modus operandi, as well as the consistent pattern of conduct they indicate, all point to system crimes. Such acts cannot be treated as ordinary crimes: if established in a court of law, they may constitute international crimes, which are of interest to the international community”.

In a unanimous Resolution co-sponsored by Sri Lanka, the Council called for a credible and fair judicial process with international involvement, that will help heal the wounds of war and usher reconciliation. Two months on, the Council’s recommendations such as security sector reform; return of arable and private land held by the army; development of accountability mechanisms; repeal of the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA); and devolution of political authority to Tamils – have made little or no progress in their implementation.

The Resolution crucially calls for the involvement of international judges, defence lawyers, prosecutors and investigators to ensure the credibility of the justice process. The spurious assertion that enlisting foreign judges, lawyers and experts on legal and forensic matters will infringe the country’s Constitution is unhelpful. Such obstructive views should be overcome by the passage of legislation that will allow the enforcement of the Resolution the government itself pledged to implement. It is worth reminding ourselves that the Constitution is for the people, not the other way around. If there is a will, there is a way, and all obstacles can be surmounted.

Furthermore, witness and victim protection legislation – which lacks provision for protection units independent of the police – is yet to be implemented, making perpetrators of serious crimes accountable a non-starter. Besides, deep institutional changes are needed to guarantee non-recurrence of such horrendous crimes. Here again, international expertise can provide honest and invaluable assistance without fear or favour. Only then Sri Lanka can dispel widespread suspicions of the victims that a domestic court procedure will not serve them justice.

Australian Advocacy for Good Governance in Sri Lanka strongly believes that full implementation of the UNHRC recommendations will achieve transitional justice to redress the legacies of massive human rights abuses during Sri Lanka’s civil war, reconcile all its peoples in the true sense of the word, and set the path for meaningful devolution of power. Admission of past wrong doings by all sides will be a significant step that will speed up the transformation of the country, making it a role model for other conflict inflicted nations.

As recommended in the Resolution, we call upon the Government of Sri Lanka to abolish the PTA. Thus bring an end to the culture of impunity of the armed forces and the legal limbo of the Tamil political prisoners who have been lingering in the country’s prisons without trial for far too long.  This is the very least the government can do to signify its readiness to make difficult choices for the restoration of civil liberties of all Sri Lankans.

Moreover, the TNA parliamentarian M A Sumanthiran recently met with the Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop and her departmental officials exploring possible technical and financial assistance for a credible justice process. The Australian government took drastic measures to stem the influx of refugees from Sri Lanka by boat – most of whom fled the horrors of war and persecution under the previous regime. It is only fitting that Canberra should now engage with the Sri Lankan government in a constructive manner, including potential participation in the judicial processes as called for in the UNHRC Resolution.

We earnestly appeal to all Sri Lankan political parties, civil society groups and the general public to support the full implementation of the UNHCR Resolution.

Dr Lionel Bopage - President
Ajith Rajapaksa - Secretary
Ranjith Weerasinghe - Treasurer

Australian Advocacy for Good Governance in Sri Lanka 
ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ යහපාලනය සඳහා වූ ඔස්ට්‍රේලියානු සහයෝගිතාව

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by     (2015-12-01 21:11:40)

Will Go for Referendum to Craft New Constitution – President Sirisena

30/11/2015  

President Maithripala Sirisena said his government would not hesitate to go for a referendum to introduce a new constitution to the country – as promised during his Presidential election campaign early this year.

“We embarked upon the constitutional reform process. To complete that, we will have to resort to a referendum. My government is ready to do that as well,” the President said, addressing a Sri Lankan community gathering at the Sri Lankan embassy in Paris on Sunday night. “We wanted to introduce broader constitutional reforms through the 19th Amendment to the constitution. But, we had to bow down to the Supreme Court decision. However, we transferred some amount of executive powers to the legislature through the 19th amendment,” the President added.

“Over the past 10 months,” President Sirisena said ” the government was very much focused on initiating social and political reforms. That was our main promise during the Presidential election campaign.”

“Had former President Rajapaksa won the Presidential election, the country would have faced more difficult problems. We were becoming an isolated state where international politics was concerned. We have reversed this situation now. Within two days, I met the heads of state of the UK, Australia and Canada. This has never happened before,” the President told the Sri Lankan community in Paris.

He also expressed his gratitude to the Sri Lankan expatriates who supported him at the last Presidential election. When asked about claims on potential threats to national security, the President said there was no real basis behind such statements made by various parties with vested interests.

“I am more concerned about national security than most of the self-proclaimed patriots striving to create a fear psychosis among the public,” the President said.

“It is true that we have made some measures in the direction of accountability and reconciliation.

But, that does not mean that we have betrayed the dignity of our own armed forces. I can assure that no action will be taken to harm the dignity of our war heroes.” President Sirisena added, saying that the government would only probe into individuals who violated the law of the land.
CDN

Sri Lanka to launch special court to probe war crimes

Sri Lanka will launch a special war crimes court early next year to investigate major atrocities during the bloody finale to its decades-long ethnic war, a top official said Tuesday.

Nobel prize or Marbles prize for Maithri..? True background of this false portrayal…

Former president Chandrika Kumaratunga, who heads the office of national unity and reconciliation, said her work cannot be done without justice for victims of the 37-year conflict that ended in May 2009. (Photo: AFP/Ishara S Kodikara)

 01 Dec 2015

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka will launch a special war crimes court early next year to investigate major atrocities during the bloody finale to its decades-long ethnic war, a top official said on Tuesday (Dec 1).

Former president Chandrika Kumaratunga, who heads the office of national unity and reconciliation, said her work cannot be done without justice for victims of the 37-year conflict that ended in May 2009.

"We have ended the war nearly seven years ago, but we have not won the peace," Kumaratunga told reporters. "No reconciliation is possible without accepting the mistakes of the past."

She said tens of thousands of victims of the Tamil separatist conflict would not accept reconciliation unless war criminals are brought to justice.

A special court is set to begin work by January, two months before a UN Human Rights Council review of Sri Lanka's progress in implementing a September resolution calling for accountability for war crimes, she said.

"Enormous amount of work has been done and the special court should start its work by the end of this month or by early January," she said.

"They (the court) will not be chasing behind every soldier, but the main line of command will be looked at," she said adding that surviving Tamil rebel leaders would also be hauled up to answer allegations of "horrendous crimes" by the rebels.

International rights groups as well as Tamils had pressed for international judges and prosecutors to be involved in a Sri Lankan war crimes probe, but the government has firmly rejected this.

Kumaratunga said she personally believed that involving independent foreign judges was preferable as suggested in a UN Human Rights Council resolution adopted in October.

Local and international rights groups have accused both sides in the war of targeting civilians. At least 100,000 civilians were killed in the conflict between 1972 and 2009.

Some of the bloodiest fighting came in the last two months when troops unleashed a no-holds-barred onslaught against the rebels, with rights group saying tens of thousands of people may have been killed.

Kumaratunga, who ruled between 1994 and 2005, said her office was working on building bridges between the majority Sinhalese and minority Tamils to ensure ethnic peace after decades of war.

"Reconciliation and accountability will have to go hand in hand," Kumaratunga said. "You cannot have one without the other."

- AFP/ec

Nobel prize or Marbles prize for Maithri..? True background of this false portrayal…

(Lanka-e-News -01.Dec.2015, 11.45PM) The UNP and the SLFP which formed the United government has on its behalf proposed Maithripala Sirisena for the Nobel peace prize, Minister John Amaratunge revealed in parliament , and the pro Maithri group responded to it most enthusiastically.

It is a well and widely known fact that  Maithripala Sirisena is heading a united government after calling back the very corrupt and criminal individuals who were defeated by the people, and granting ministerial portfolios. Hence , it is being widely questioned whether the  committee that is selecting the Nobel prize winners are unhinged to pick such a leader for the Nobel prize. When it was probed further, it was discovered that following the exposures by the media websites pertaining to Maithripala Sirisena , his image is on a steep decline  , and in order to refurbish this tarnished image , the Maithripala group had created this myth.

The lid on the myth was blown high when it was revealed that , though the  Nobel prize winner is made known , the names of the proposers are not made known by the committee that is granting  this award until 50 years have elapsed , and this  was officially confirmed by the committee. 

It is a pity the group that is seeking desperately to boost the image of Maithripala Sirisena, in their abysmal ignorance must be assuming, like in the awards ceremonies of the Film Industry in which  the names and addresses of the proposers are mentioned before the winner is announced , when awarding  the Nobel prize too the names of the proposers are announced. Unfortunately to their consternation  that does not take place 

After the Nobel peace award was won by Malala in 2014 ,  the nominations for Nobel peace prize for 2015 was concluded on 1 st February 2015. 273 names of individuals and organizations have been proposed this year . Of them , 68 are organizations and 205 are individuals.

Only those with one of  the qualifications mentioned hereunder can propose an individual or oganization for the Nobel peace prize. He must be...
1. Members of national assemblies and governments of states
2. Members of international courts
3.    University rectors; professors of social sciences, history, philosophy, law and theology; directors of peace research institutes and foreign policy institutes
4.    Persons who have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize
5. Board members of organizations that have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize
6. Active and former members of the Norwegian Nobel Committee; (proposals by members of the Committee to be submitted no later than at the first meeting of the Committee after February 1)
7.     Former advisers to the Norwegian Nobel Committee

A member of parliament of SL could have forwarded the nomination before  1 st February on behalf of  president Maithripala Sirisena with the request to grant a Nobel peace prize to Maithri too , who won elections on 8 th January 2015 . But making announcements and issuing statements  that just because a name has been proposed it constitutes  a nomination for Nobel peace prize is most stupid and condemnable.

According to the diary of Nobel peace prize committee, the selection of the individual who  receives the majority of votes is decided  during the period between  October and  10 th December , and in the first week of December it is announced.  The winner of this award is given away the prize at the ceremony in Oslo on December 10 th. The winner gets a medal ,Diploma certificate and cash prizes. 

However , the names and addresses of the proposers and the number of votes the nominee received are made known only after 50 years. Until then it is a secret.

If John Amaratunge has forwarded an application on behalf of Maithripala Sirisena , whether he would win the award can only be known in the first week of December, and under no circumstances can that be known  now. Therefore the fate of  Maithripala’s application can only be known after 50 years ! At that time Maithripala will not be among the living . John Amaratunge will not be among the living , and perhaps the reader of this article too will not be living.

Hence , if by any chance Maithripala is to receive the Nobel peace prize for establishing a united government , then prizes must be awarded even to those corrupt scoundrels who were given  ministerial portfolios on behalf of the United government by Maithripala , but so far a Nobel prize for such actions has still not been found by the Nobel peace prize committee. The people of SL should not therefore delay any more to confer a special ignoble title on John Baas who is duping and lying to them. 

For more details read..,  http://www.nobelprize.org/nomination/peace

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by     (2015-12-01 20:11:21)

Mega Corruption Everywhere – Real Action Nowhere ?

By Nihal Sri Ameresekere –December 1, 2015

Nihal Sri Ameresekere

Commencing from as far back as 1970 with the Kyoto Declaration, the process for the formulation of the UN Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) commenced in December 2000, with the UN General Assembly resolving to establish a Committee for negotiating and formulating the UNCAC. With several subsequent Meetings, UNCAC was formulated and adopted by the UN General Assembly in October 2003, and 9th December was designated as the ‘International Anti-Corruption day’. The UNCAC came into force in December 2005, upon 30 States having ratified the same. Sri Lanka was second State to have ratified in March 2004, under Prime Minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe. As at now 177 States have become parties to the UNCAC, the Secretariat and custodian of which is the UNODC.

On the heels of the UNCAC coming into force in December 2005, mooted by UNODC the International Association of Anti-Corruption Authorities (IAACA) was inaugurated in October 2006, with the objectives of promoting and facilitating the implementation of the UNCAC. IAACA held its 8th Annual Conference in November 2015 at St. Petersburg, Russia, preceding the 6th Session of the Conference of State Parties (COSP6) to UNCAC held also at St. Petersburg. Russia recognizing the need to combat corruption, itself, is a global achievement, and reflects the pace in which this international movement against corruption is growing.

The UN ‘Universal Declaration of Human Rights’, came into force, as far back as 1948, and has thus developed in its enforcement. On the other hand, UNCAC came into force 57 years thereafter, only 10 years ago, and its development and growth is becoming, not only widespread, but also in depth, even reverberating at the highest levels of States. Sri Lanka after a lapse of several years, participated with a Delegation led by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Harsha de Silva.

UNODC Executive Director Yury Fedotov at the G-20 States Meeting in Paris in April 2011 emphatically stated thus:

“Corruption has the power to shake the very foundations of society. Even in regions where peace and prosperity prevail, corruption takes a heavy toll ….. Now it’s time for business to move beyond declarations to concrete actions ….. Anti-Corruption Action Plan provides a common approach and an opportunity for the G-20 to lead by example in the global fight against corruption ….. In October this year, the Conference of States Parties to the Convention against Corruption will meet in Marrakech, Morocco to take stock of global progress in preventing corruption …… The UN Convention against Corruption is the first legally binding global anti-corruption instrument. It obliges States to prevent and criminalize corruption, promote international cooperation, recover stolen assets and improve technical assistance and information exchange.”

Conference of State Parties in November 2015 and ‘Sustainable Development Agenda 2030’

                                                                    Read More

Kumar Welgama swallowed Rs. 1.4 billion from buses

- Nov 30, 2015

Kumar Welgama, former transport minister and a leading figure in the Rajapaksa camp, has swindled Rs. 01 million from each of the buses purchased from India’s Ashok Leyland company. Finance minister Ravi Karunanayake is due to table in parliament tomorrow (01) how Welgama and transport ministry secretary at the time, billionaire businessman Dhammika Perera, swindled money in that mannertotal of Rs. 1.5 billion.

This swindling first came to light at the residential workshop on the budget for government MPs held at the last weekend. When Karunanayake revealed the details, Colombo district UNP MP S.M. Marikkar said, “This allegation too, will become yet another media hype. Investigations begin with a big noise made through the media. But, in the end, nothing happens. Do not allow this too, to end up like that. Punish the corrupt.”

Rising to his feet, Gampaha district MP Ranjan Ramanayake said fully supporting Marikkar, “Now, people laugh at us when we speak against corruption. They ask us as to who had been caught, as to who had been imprisoned in the past 10 months. It has come to a level that people do not take anything we say seriously. Mr. Finance minister, if you make this full exposure, we will fully support it.”

Accordingly, the finance minister will table tomorrow everything about the deal by Welgama and Perera. These details have been independently verified by the finance minister from officials of Ashok Leyland.

Commenting on this, sources close to businessman Perera said that he has no connection to this deal, and that he will fully support an investigation.

Becoming worried after getting to know this, Welgama has spoken to Mahinda Rajapaksa, who told him, “Go and see Tiru (Tiru Nadesan) as soon as possible. That man will do the needful through Malik.” All the corruption investigations in the past had become inactive in that manner.

'Kotadeniyawa OIC, 4 others guilty of illegal detention' 

2015-12-01
A special team comprising high ranking police officers has found that five police officers including the Kotadeniyawa OIC and the Crimes OIC were responsible for the alleged illegal detention of a teenage student and a father of one over the killing of five-year old Seya sadevmi.

The special police investigating team which included Gampaha SSP Padmasiri Munasinghe and ASP K.A.J. Kodituwakku under the instructions of Western Province Senior DIG Pujith Jayasundara and Gampaha DIG L.G.Kularatne, also found fault with the five officers over the non-returning of the student's computer accessories that were taken in to police custody.

The student and father of one Kelum Attanayake who were in remand for 12 days were released as their DNA reports did not match.

This inquiry was initiated following a complain made by the student who claimed he was assaulted and detained for four days. He also complained about the non-receipt of the equipment that were taken in to custody.ASP K.A.J. Kodituwakku who conducted the investigation said the Kotadeniyawa Police OIC and four officers responsible for this incident would be served with charge sheets. (Tharindu Jayawardene) 

Sirsenas run amok : SLT chairman Sirisena gives jobs in SLT to misfits of Dudley Siriena’s Araliya Co.

(Lanka-e-News -01.Dec.2015, 11.45PM) The brothers of president Maithripala Sirisena are enjoying the State ‘s assets according to their  own whims and fancies, based on reports reaching Lanka e news .The most important of them is the younger brother Kumarasinghe Sirisena creeping in to the post of chairman of SLT and Mobitel , and  thereafter creating  bogus posts in the SLT - Mobitel , and appointing employees who are currently working in  Araliya Co of his brother Dudley Sirisena , granting high salaries and perks to them.

One case in point is the appointment of 'Sarath Kahavavitharane' as advisor to Kumarasinghe Sirisena .He is already working in Dudley’s Kumarasinghe’s Araliya group , and while cliaming he is the advisor to Kumarasinghe is collecting a salary of many hundreds of thousand rupees per month along with many perks including a vehicle. 

What is most shcoking about this is , this individual has only passed the preliminary license sheet exam of Chartered accountancy. Surely if such blokes like Kahavavitharane who has just this basic chartered accountancy qualification is proffering advice to such a vast Institution as SLT , it can be imagined what doom is in store for the SLT. Bankruptcy  of the Institution is writ already on the wall. When bankruptcy follows , the Malaysian share holders will take back their shares and leave the shores. When Kumarasinghe recently presented a paper to the  SlT board of Directors to increase his salary three fold (Lanka e news exposed this Kumarasinghe Sirisena greed earlier) , it was this half baked nincompoop Kahavevitharane the (m)advisor  who endorsed this request.

'Walter' who still works in the Araliya group of Dudley Sirisena too has been summoned and given a post created in the Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT) , with a salary and perks running into many hundreds of thousand rupees. This bloke has been appointed purportedly to monitor the Mobitel and the affiliated Co. –Vision Com. Co. It is worthy of note such a post never was in existence before.

In addition , another individual by the name of 'Ranga'  , a henchman of Kumarasinghe Sirisena who worked with the latter previously at the Timber Corporation has also been summoned to the SLT and appointed as IT advisor with a salary and perks amounting to many hundreds of thousand rupees. When Lanka e news made inquiries , it was discovered that Ranga was only an electrician at Timber Corporation  and has no engineering degree qualification .Surely , Kumarasinghe Sirisena and Maithripala Sirisena  should have the common sense to understand what is the advice such a ‘Ranga’ can offer to the B.Sc , M.Sc quailfied engineers at the SLT .

Another misfit has been similarly appointed to the SLT by Kumarasinghe Sirisena . He is a retired air force officer by the name of 'Dissanayake'. He is made the SLT manpower monitering. Such a post too  never existed before.

Kumarasinghe Sirisena who has found  employment for   misfits and unqualified inividuals of Dudley’s Araliya group in the SLT is having fun and frolic at the expense of public funds , while paying huge salaries and perks to them. On top of this , he has after spending wastefully enlarged his office three fold and refurbished it. Incredible but true ,   Kumarasinghe Sirisena is keeping two vehicles of the SLT , two vehicles of the Mobitel and vehicles of the Timber Corporation for his personal use.

Surprisingly ,it is in regard  to this same most profligate corrupt younger brother who is playing ducks and drakes with public funds ,  Maithripala Sirisena said recently ,  Kumarasinghe Sirisena is not drawing  one cent salary more than his predecessor.  

In contradistinction , when  Nimal Welgama was the SLT chairman , he did only a few foreign tours on behalf of the SLT and has not used any funds of the SLT towards these tours.  He had met all the expenditure out of his personal funds. Believe it or not , Kumarasinghe on the other hand , since he became the SLT chairman , even before a year had elapsed ,  had gone on junkets to Barcelona , France, America and England. Mind you these trips are unrelated to SLT interests . Besides all those expenditures have been defrayed by the SLT.

Truly , if president Maithripala has any sincere concern for his much hyped good governance , he must based on the explicit exposures made by Lanka e new s, conduct an investigation into his younger brother’s outrageous corruption ,perfidies and profligacy , and chase his younger brother out of SLT forthwith without further jeapordising the SLT’s future and of the country as a whole. Otherwise posterity will curse him for putting the country on the sure road to destruction wantonly after making all the grandiose and solemn promises to the people who elected him.

When Maithripala Sirisena was the minister of agriculture , his brother Dudley Sirisena ran a ‘Rice Mafia’ . When Miathripala Sirisena was the minister of Mahaweli , his brother ‘Weli Raju’ did sand mining on the sly in the Mahaweli lands  after creating a ‘Sand Mafia’ . And now when Maithripala Sirisena is the president , the people must be wondering whether based on the murky activities at the SLT of his younger brother Kumarasinghe Sirisena , he is creating a ‘Telecom Mafia.’ 

Shouldn’t the people be proud of such a president ? After all were it not the people who elected him ?

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by     (2015-12-01 20:41:02)

Downsizing, rightsizing SriLankan Airlines

Tuesday, 1 December 2015

Two things are infinite. The universe and human folly. SriLankan Airlines with an accumulated debt of Rs. 158 billion is to be restructured and repositioned. It is a prayer and a hope that holds little promise.

Downsizing, Rightsizing SriLankan Airlines by Thavam Ratna

A mega commission deal behind the Good Governance JF-17 combat jets

Dec 01, 2015

Arms business is the world’s number one profitable venture. There are no saints in this business and we should not expect saints either. However it is the duty of the government to be transparent in a minimal way in its transactions. In order to do that the head of the state should be strong.

Despite Sri Lanka air force colonize with MiG and Kfir during the war with the LTTE now those aircrafts has become defective and going to be expired. However procuring a combat aircrafts during a war free situation would raise significant attention. However the SL Air Force has decided to purchase few aircrafts. Despite the air force going to propose its official guidelines a Chinese Company named China National Aero Technology Import & Export (CATIC) is being selected as the middle man for this transaction. This company has invested in manufacturing these combat aircrafts. Also this company is famous for manufacturing air craft spare parts.

The local agent for this CATIC is the owner of Access Group of Companies Sumal Perera. Sumal Perera who was on the elite list of businessmen’s of the Rajapaksa regime, still flourish the same in the current Good Governance.

However discussions were held with CATIC about purchasing these MiG aircrafts. Air Force officers first time saw this air craft in an exhibition held in Paris.

This Chinese CATIC Company is a stakeholder for the infamous Galle Face land deal. When the army headquarters in the Galle Face was sold outright, CATIC bought 10 acres of this land. The other company connected to this is Shangrila. CATIC company first time entered to build a hotel from the land it bought from Sri Lanka for a nominal price.

However discussions are taking place to buy eight light attack combat aircrafts named JF-17 Thunder Fighter Jet alias Fierce Dragon manufactured for Pakistan by Pakistan Aeronautical Complex & Chengdu Aircraft Industry Corporation (PAC & CAC)

 A Chinese website first published this news in early June this year and later this was published in the Pakistan Defense Ministry website. Therefore in order to close this deal the air force commander Gagan Bulathsinhala travelled to Pakistan this November. Foreign websites revealed that the air force commander has visited Pakistan last June. Media reports citing Pakistan Air Force news stated that these air craft’s are planned to bring down in early 2017. However our air force spokesperson said in June that there will not be such a transaction taking place.

Meantime it is stated that Sri Lanka would be the first buyer of these combat aircrafts. However foreign websites states that Burma too has signed to purchase these combat jets. Although foreign websites states that Sri Lanka would purchase 18 to 24 aircrafts the Sri Lanka air force would purchase only eight.

According to combat attack aircraft specialists this JF-17 thunder from Pakistan and FC-1 Xiaolong or Fierce Dragon made by the Chinese are light jet attackers which are less in cost, highly confident, high efficient and multipurpose attackers which is capable of carrying out operations during both day and night. These aircrafts are considered the fourth generation in attacker jets. In 1999 China and Pakistan jointly came to an agreement and in 2003 the first airlifting took place. In 2007 these JF-17 aircrafts were attached to the Pakistan air force and up to now 50 such aircrafts are deployed in the Pakistan Air Force.

This aircraft is able to carry 3.5 Metric tons explosives and missiles. This JF-17 engine has been manufactured based on the infamous Russian manufactured MiG 29. However Pakistan has shown special interest for this deal. They would be pleased to seek advice from war experts like Sri Lanka and attach these aircrafts to their air force which would promote their business.

However since this transaction is planned to do with a Chinese company the total benefit of this deal cannot be acquired by our country.

According to the prices given by the Chinese company an aircraft cost 45 million US dollars with a one year warranty and a service period of one year. There is no guarantee to provide free spare parts or how much spare parts would cost. The version of this aircraft would last for the next seven years.

The company which manufactures this aircraft has said that this aircraft is estimated to fly 4000 hours that means 25 years of life time. However if Sri Lanka directly approach the Pakistan company which manufactures these aircraft each aircraft could be bought for US dollars 30 with a three year warranty cum service and a seven year free spare parts guarantee. The promotion they offer is more advantage is that they provide one aircraft free if we purchase eight of them. Meantime free training would also be given from them.

There are two versions for this jet aircraft which was developed from 2006. According to their company websites the first production cost 16 million USD in 2013 and the second production has cost 35million US dollars. They are supposed to release another version next year. Reports reaching us confirm that Sri Lanka planning to buy the first version of these aircrafts.

However if this deal happens Sri Lanka would incur a large loss. This is not a transaction happening without awareness. High ranking air force officials and high political echelons are aware of the benefit of this transaction if this would befall through this Pakistan Company. Yet if this transaction happens through the Chinese Company there would be lumps of commissions dropped everywhere.

There is no other problem with regard to this purchase of this combat aircrafts and it is a good choice. The infamous MiG deal happened during the former Rajapaksa regime had large commissions but finally bought four used aircrafts.

Meantime a diplomatic crisis has erupted due to this problem. The Indian government has become hostile to this transaction. Prime Minister Modi who came to Sri Lanka few months before has proposed Sri Lanka to buy the recently manufactured Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) by India.

JF-17 and LCA are the two light combat aircrafts available in the market today. However it is the responsibility of the people who appear for the Good Governance to prevent this aircraft deal alleged with a large a commission.