Do protesting unionists follow basic ethics and moral values? Elite Shylocks clamour for a pinch of flesh denied for good reason 

Doctors, engineers and govt. executives stoop to strikes over car permits 



2015-12-04
The former Commissioner of the Sri Lanka Human Rights Commission, Dr. Prathiba Mahanamahewa of the Colombo University Law Faculty delivering a lecture on Tuesday (01) at a symposium for journalists on transitional justice at the Sri Lanka Press Institute spoke about one of his personal experiences in Geneva a couple of years ago. 

Do Protesting Unionists Follow Basic Ethics and Moral Values Elite Shylocks Clamour for a Pinch of Flesh De... by Thavam Ratna

President Maithri creates yet another glorious record !

(Lanka-e-News- 04.Dec.2015, 10.15PM)  President Maithripala Sirisena created  a record in Sri Lanka ‘s (SL) political history by being present at  the budget debate in parliament in his official capacity as president when his budget expenditure allocation was being debated. None of his predecessors had done this before !

By this action the president had clearly indicated that although he is the president he is still wishing to transfer his executive presidency powers to the parliament , and augment  parliamentary powers.

He revealed  in his speeches many a time that it is his personal view that the powers of the president shall be devolved to the parliament, and  most respectfully requested everyone in parliament to extend their support  when the measures are taken in the future.

The president said , during the Rajapakse era , a plane carrying  280 passengers was loaded to full capacity with people   when going on junkets. Besides the plane was kept at the destination  idling for 3 -4 days wasting  public funds and revenue of the country. In contrast , he does not indulge in such profligate exercises ,the president exhorted.  If his wife or children are not travelling with him , he has not permitted them even to use a helicopter , he pointed out. During the Rajapakse  reign , even the flower trays were robbed, he lamented.

The P.M. earlier on revealed , during the Rajapakse era , just for condolence messages alone many millions of rupees were wasted annually.
 

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by     (2015-12-04 16:59:46)

Education: The Elusive & Much Maligned 6%

By Harini Amarasuriya –December 4, 2015

Dr. Harini Amarasuriya

The eagerly anticipated 2016 budget has already given rise to much discussion, debate and controversy. Trade unions including the powerful Government Medical Officers Association (GMOA) and the Sri Lanka Administration Services Union (SLAS) are threatening strikes mainly over the withdrawal of duty free car permits. A no confidence motion signed by 44 parliamentarians against the Finance Minister, Ravi Karunanayake has been handed over to the Speaker. Opposition MPs have been threatening to make sure the budget is defeated. My intention in this article is to consider some of the implications of the budget on the education sector and to try to understand what this budget suggests in terms of the government’s overall approach to education.

One of the ‘promises’ made during the election campaigns this year from all the different political groups, was increasing the allocation for education to reach 6% of GDP. This was a direct result of the very successful campaign led by the Federation of University Teachers’ Associations (FUTA) in 2012 to increase state spending on education. During the FUTA struggle of 2012, there were actually two slogans that spearheaded the campaign: one, was the 6% demand, the other was the demand to protect and strengthen state education. The 6% slogan became the more popular of the two slogans, with most of the imagery and discussions about the struggle centering around the 6% campaign. Yet, from the point of view of FUTA, the two slogans were equally important and in fact closely linked. The demand for 6% was made in the context of a clear shift by successive governments towards the commodification of education. That is, the idea that education was simply another ‘good’ that could be regulated by the market. This shift was evident in many ways: the growth of private educational institutions was the most obvious, but there was other equally if not more serious developments. These included, the massive growth of the private tuition industry, almost to the point of making schools irrelevant; increasing demands on parents time and money for filling gaps in schools facing severe financial constraints due to funding cuts; introduction of fee-levying courses in state educational institutions, especially universities often in parallel to non-fee levying courses; and the gradual redefining of the goals and objectives of education as simply a means of preparing human resources to serve the market. This redefinition of the goals of education, were often presented as needing to improve the quality of education in order to increase ‘employability’ or the oft-repeated mantra that there was a gap between education and the demands of employers. This was how the ‘crisis’ in education was defined.

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The Rajapaksa No Show and MPs’ responsibility

by Lalith Allahakkoon

( December 4, 2015, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa skipped an important Parliament session for the second time on Wednesday. Earlier he failed to be present when the House took up the Geneva resolution, jointly signed by the US and Sri Lanka, for debate. On that occasion he made adverse comments on the resolution at a temple as is his wont and came in for heavy flak by the Government for not making his views known in the House which after all is what matters.

This time Rajapaksa skipped the budget vote after initially making a profession, that too outside Parliament, that he understood little of its contents. In any event his appearance in Parliament during the entire Second Reading debate was sketchy and even on these occasions, did not make any contribution. This is perhaps the first time that a former Finance Minister had failed to make his analysis of a budget presented by his successor, in Parliament. Even the late M.D.H. Jayawardena a former Finance Minister made critical remarks on certain aspects of the maiden budget presented by Ronnie de Mel in 1977.

Be that as it may, one is constrained to question the whole purpose of Rajapaksa entering Parliament, after obtaining more that 400,000 preference votes, if he is not inclined to attend sittings and bring the problems and grievances of those who voted for him to the attention of the House. Because it is only Parliament which has the capacity to redress such grievances and not the audiences in temples. Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake read out the huge sums being paid to Rajapaksa as retirement benefits, both as MP and former President while Law and Order Minister Sagala Ratnayake drew the attention of the House to the absence of the former Finance Minister when a budget debate is on. What pray, is the former President’s game?

True, he contested the General election with the sole intention of becoming Prime Minister which has now assumed an elevated status following the passage of the 19th Amendment. His hopes dashed, has Rajapaksa now thrown in the towel, what with even his staunch backers now in the Yahapalanaya fold? Or is he biding his time for another fling at the Premiership four years hence, and is using Parliament as the ideal vehicle to attain this goal?

If that indeed is the case, Rajapaksa has let down his voters in Kurunegala dismally, since his continuous ‘No Show’ in the House amounts to a betrayal of the trust of the people who voted for him. When a voter casts his/her preference for a candidate it amounts to an unspoken contract where the latter is bound to serve his/her elector in the best way possible. Has Rajapaksa raised even a single Oral Question in the House pertaining to the grievance of a voter in Kurunegala or presented a Public Petition to right a wrong suffered by one of his constituents? It is not as if Rajapaksa was an inactive member of Parliament in the past. The public are aware of his well documented derring do deeds in the House. He was also known as one of the most vocal members of Parliament both while in Government and Opposition. Has the Presidency mellowed the man or is he biding his time, as already mentioned, for another comeback and is using Parliament as a mere springboard for this, rather than a forum to air the grievances of his constituents?

It is in this context that the speech made in Parliament on Wednesday by Deputy Minister Ajith P. Perera calling for the stripping of the Parliament membership of those “peoples representatives” playing truant, should receive the attention of the authorities. Perera wanted laws enacted to expel members who fail to turn up during Parliament sittings, making special reference to Rajapaksa. He said MPs could not serve the people by not participating in Parliamentary debates. He said such MPs guilty of dereliction of duty should be expelled from Parliament. He also made the point that if Rajapaksa did not attend debates and continued to do so the opportunity to enter Parliament should be given to the next candidate on the preference vote list. Rajapaksa he said had been allocated 15 minutes to speak but failed to turn up, as he did with the debate on the Geneva resolution.

Of course some may argue that no purpose is served by participating in Parliament debates which are more often than not are meandering affairs or slanging matches. Very often members are seen transported to the land of the noddy, scenes at the recent budget presentation being a case in point. Parliament in a nutshell, as has often been described, is a talk shop where hot air is let out but nothing happens. Equally it could be said that Parliament is the only forum where issues are thrashed out pertaining to the public and is the supreme body responsible for the enactment of the country’s laws. As such a great responsibility devolves on members to attend Parliament and participate in its debates. Nay, it is an obligation towards the public they represent.

Heated argument over sharia law in Parliament

2015-12-04
Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MP M.A. Sumanthiran was today verbally confronted by Muslim MPs in Parliament creating chaos the House when he asked whether stoning a person to death had been recommended by Islam's Shariya Law.

 He said this when referring to the stoning to death of a Sri Lankan woman in Saudi Arabia. 

Muslim MPs shouted at Mr Sumanthiran saying he has no right to talk about Shariya Law. The vociferous cross talk was led by UNP MP S.M. Marikar, Minister Rishard Bathiudeen and several others.

 Mr. Sumanthiran shot back saying he has a right to refer to the teachings of any religion as long as he did not insult any religious discipline. 

He recalled how Jesus Christ confronted the law of 'stoning a person to death' as stated in the New Testament. 
Mr. Bathiudeen said all MPs represented in Parliament have made a collective effort to save the Sri Lankan girl from the death sentence. (Yohan Perera)

Is the UN agreed for stone to death?

 

Dec 04, 2015

A protest organized yesterday by the Sathhanda newspaper against the Saudi Arabian authority for the stone to death decision given against a Sri Lankan maid woman was held yesterday opposite the Saudi Arabian embassy.

Meantime another protest was held before the UN headquarters urging the UN to intervene in to this matter. Civil society activists, artists, scholars, human rights activists and media journalists participated.

 

The protesters urged that that the current government should take credible diplomatic intervention in order to save the life of this young Sri Lankan mother. Meantime since the Saudi Arabian government has signed the UN human rights convention they cannot evade from the responsibility of protecting the life of this Sri Lankan woman and the UN should intervention should be a must. 

 

Stoning To Death Of A Sri Lankan Girl: Why Don’t Muslim Religious Leaders Openly Condemn This Wahhabi Barbarism?

By Ameer Ali –December 4, 2015

Dr. Ameer Ali

Wahhabi justice or injustice is at it again. This time a Sri Lankan girl is about to be stoned to death for adultery, and an assembly of sadists are going to be entertained in public by this so called shariah punishment.

Saudi Arabia, the birth place and exporter of Wahhabism is a member of the family of modern nation states and a member of the United Nations and its international affiliates. The United Nations must be ashamed to have among its members a country that in the 21st century is still steeped in medievalism practicing the most barbaric punitive judicial system. The five permanent members of the UN Security Council are unashamedly happy to court Saudi friendship knowing very well that that country’s medieval justice system goes against all accepted norms and values human progress and civilization.

What is even more shocking is the silence of Sri Lankan Muslim religious leaders who seem to be approving this sordid punishment in the name of Islam. There are several among them who are progressive minded and who want to change that part of the fiqh or rules of religious governance that are not universally and eternally applicable but contextually constrained. But even they fear Saudi retribution if they openly advocate any objection. Petrodollars obviously have bought their silence.

Wahhabism is the most intolerant of all the sects in Islam. Although it is a seventeenth century product its roots go back to ninth century. Today it has given birth to several other and even more extremist and intolerant offshoots such as Al-Qaeda, Boko Haram, and the ISIS. The despicable beheadings carried out by the ISIS criminal enterprise is no different from the beheadings carried out by the Saudi Regime. How can one condemn the one without condemning the other? Stoning to death, chopping of hands and foot and public whippings are other forms of medieval sadist punishments.

The big powers are desperately coalescing now to wipe out the ISIS, but can they wipe out the ideology that produced and sustains it? Don’t the big powers realise that this ideology is spreading in their own countries with public knowledge? Why then is this hypocrisy? Without declaring war on Wahhabism Islamist extremism cannot be even contained let alone defeated.

                                                             Read More

Farmers to the street demanding fertilizer subsidy

FRIDAY, 04 DECEMBER 2015

The agitation commenced today (4th) morning by All Ceylon Farmers’ Federation demanding the government to give back the fertilizer subsidy that was slashed by the budget continues say reports.

The agiattors have commenced a ‘Satahyagraha’ after engaging in a protest march.

A large number of people including the National Organizer of all Ceylon Farmers’ Federation Namal Karunaratna and its Secretary General T.B Sarath are participating in the agitation movement.

Maithri saves Rs. 1476 million on expenditure which amount MaRa wasted ruthlessly ! P.M. reveals -MaRa exploited death too to show expenditure

(Lanka-e-News- 04.Dec.2015, 10.35PM)   During the brutal barbaric reign of corrupt lawless Medamulana Percy Mahendra Rajapakse, and while keeping the masses trampled under his despotic iron boots , a sum as large as  Rs. 15 million had been allegedly spent for flower trays delivered  to funeral houses ! the incumbent president disclosed during the second reading of the budget when he was speaking in relation to his budget expenditure . In other words this Machiavellian ex president had been exploiting death too of his people   to make   a fast buck , not enough driving the living into abysmal poverty  during his rule  of terror and corruption. 

A comparison of the expenditure during the tenure of office in 2014 of the ghoulish scoundrel Mahinda Rajapakse who fattened on even  death and despair of the people of the country, and the expenditure  of incumbent president Maithripala shows a clear colossal difference of Rs. 1476 million between them .In other words president Maithripala has saved nearly Rs. 1.48 billion of public funds ! It was when this exposure was being made that the record breaking profligate expenditure of MaRa in connection with his  flower trays came  to light. 

The expenditure pertaining to the presidential secretariat and connected offices …

Expenditure relating to functions and meetings in 2014 of MaRa  is Rs. 335 million , whereas the expenditure of Maithri in 2015 for the same purposes is only Rs. 34 million

Expenditure in relation to  delivering  flower trays to funeral houses when   expressing  condolences in 2014 of MaRa is Rs. 15 million whereas that of Maithripala in 2015 for the same purposes is only Rs. 363,000.00

In 2014 , the expenditure of MaRa towards water bills is  Rs. 44 million whereas that of Maithripala in 2015 is only Rs. 24 million

In 2014 , the expenditure of MaRa towards electricity bills is Rs. 227 million whereas that of Maithripala in 2015 is Rs.91 million

In 2014 , the expenditure towards phone bills of MaRa is Rs. 69 million whereas that of Maithripala is only Rs.45 million.

The worst part ? When MaRa the JaRa spent Rs. 732 million as miscellaneous expenses in 2014 , his successor Maithripala Sirisena has spent only Rs. 22 million in that regard in 2015 . 

In addition MaRa had ordered two luxury buses . MaRa has also instructed  to make cubicles with all facilities in those buses  that can transport 150 passengers .Maithri on the other hand had cancelled that. 5 buildings that were taken on rent at Rs. 5 million by Mara had also been rejected as unnecessary by Maithri .

In this most disgusting  backdrop of worst villainy against the nation , if there are still scoundrels and rascals who say  ‘it would have been better  if Mahinda is there,’ these are the crooks and  criminals   who jointly  plundered the country ruthlessly  along with ‘Alibaba’ (thieves’  chieftain) , and routed the economy on a scale unprecedented in SL’s history. 

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by     (2015-12-04 17:05:14)

Arjuna alleges SLPA regularly paid nearly a dozen journalists

Praises Gota’s role, endorses Nishantha’s candidature at SLC election

By Shamindra Ferdinando-December 3, 2015

Ports and Shipping Minister Arjuna Ranatunga yesterday alleged that a section of the media had received regular payments from Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) over a period of time.

Former national cricket captain Ranatunga said nearly a dozen journalists had been on SLPA’s payroll and at least two of them for a long time. The minister was on live Sirasa political programme Pethikada hosted by Bandula Jayasekera.

Ranatunga claimed that those who had fiercely attacked him over

Arjuna...

his brother, Dhammika, being given the post of SLPA Chairman had been bribed by the previous SLPA administration.

The accusation was made close on the heels of Social Empowerment and Welfare Deputy Minister Ranjan Ramanayake alleging that two senior journalists were among 300 persons paid by the disgraced Avant Garde Maritime Services (AGMS).

Strongly defending Dhammika’s appointment, Gampaha District MP emphasised that the move was meant to ensure a corruption-free administration. The UNPer revealed that he had briefed President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on Dhammika’s appointment. Ranatunga quoted President Maithripala Sirisena as having told him that his move would result in heavy media flak. Ranatunga alleged that those who had benefited from the SLPA during the previous administration caused a media furore over his decision.

When the interviewer pointed out that Ranatunga had been among those who accused former President Mahinda Rajapaksa of nepotism, Ranatunga said that he had opposed a family getting together to indulge in waste, corruption and malpractices.

Ranatunga endorsed former President Rajapaksa naming retired Gajaba Regiment veteran Gotabhaya Rajapaksa as the Secretary Defence in the run-up to eelam war IV. Ranatunga, while paying a glowing tribute to Gotabhaya Rajapaksa for spearheading the overall war effort said that the same couldn’t be said about the Rajapaksas after the military brought the war to a successful conclusion in May 2009.

Asked whether any other outsiders had received regular payments from the SLPA in addition to journalists, Ranatunga said that many had benefited. Alleging that trade unions, too, had received various benefits, Ranatunga said that he was making a determined bid to end wasteful practices. The minister insisted that he wouldn’t tolerate past practices and would go all out against those seeking financial gain at the expense of the vital establishment.

Ranatunga claimed that the Hambantota port had been a huge burden on the Colombo port.

The previous administrations had granted substantial increments to workers without taking into consideration the actual financial situation, the minister said. The system would have collapsed if the January change didn’t take place, Ranatunga said.

Asked whether he would take punitive action against Dhammika Ranatunga in case the latter being exposed for wrongdoing Minister Ranatunga said that he may make mistakes but certainly not engage in corrupt practices.

Ranatunga also declared that he wouldn’t contest the Sri Lanka Cricket presidency thereby leaving his brother Nishantha to battle it out with UPFA MP and Deputy Speaker Thilanga Sumathipala. Having publicly discussed his candidature in the recent past, Ranatunga endorsed Nishantha’s bid by asserting that Sumathipala couldn’t represent SLC at the world body due to some of the businesses he was involved in.

At the behest of the International Cricket Council, SLC has made arrangements to hold elections on Jan. 3, 2016. Ranatunga said that he would contest for the post of Vice President in Nishantha Ranatunga’s team. Ranatunga will hand over his nomination to Sports Ministry today.

Pasky forgets appointment with US ambassador!

- Dec 04, 2015

New US ambassador in Sri Lanka Atul Keshap recently made an appointment with treasury secretary R. Paskaralingam and went there to meet him. A few minutes earlier, Paskaralingam had gone to Temple Trees, saying he wanted to meet the prime minister. Before leaving, he was told by his secretary about the appointment with the US ambassador, but he just nodded his head absentmindedly. The US ambassador arrived exactly

on time and after getting to know that Paskaralingam was out, spent around 45 minutes in the visitors’ room reading a newspaper. The secretary tried his mobile phone several time to inform him that the ambassador was there, but she got no response.

 

The ambassador left in a temper after wasting nearly one hour at the treasury. Paskaralingam returned around two hours later and was told by the secretary about what had happened. Only then he remembered that he had an appointment with the US ambassador. He immediately told the secretary to speak to the ambassador, tender an apology and obtain an appointment to meet him. However, the US embassy has so far made no response. 

 

The 83 year old Paskaralingam is working at the treasury due to insistence by prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. Representatives of the Indian high commission are attempting for around a month now to obtain an appointment from him. Paskaralingam goes to London once or twice a month for medical checkups.

Just an Example of the Ochlocracy: How Thajudeen was murdered ?

by Ishara Rathnakara
Courtesy: The Ceylon Today, Colombo 

( December 4, 2015, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) Colombo Chief JMO Ajith Tennakoon yesterday informed Colombo Additional Magistrate Nishantha Peiris that former Sri Lanka rugby star Wasim Thajudeen had not been driving his vehicle at the time of his death. The initial verdict was that Thajudeen had died of injuries sustained in a car accident. Tennakoon told the Colombo Additional Magistrate that the former rugby star had been assaulted before his body was dumped into the left seat of his car before the accident was staged.

Tennakoon made this observation after performing a special judicial medical examination of Wasim Thajudeen’s badly-charred body which was exhumed three months ago from his grave in the cemetery in Dehiwela.

Tennakoon said Thajudeen’s death had been caused by the infliction of multiple injuries to his legs, neck and stomach, the severity of which had been aggravated with injuries caused by the fire when the car had been torched.

Thajudeen may have died a few minutes before the car was set ablaze or just when it was being torched, Tennakoon said.

The entire disclosure made by the Colombo Chief JMO to the Colombo Additional Magistrate Nishantha Peiris on the charred remains of rugby player Wasim Thajudeen after it was exhumed is as follows.

1. The parts of the corpse that was exhumed and the samples that had been kept at the JMO office were identified as that of late Mohammad Wasim Thajudeen. This was further proved and ascertained through DNA tests carried out on the samples taken from the victim’s remains and after having examined and re-examined x-ray photos taken both before and after the victim’s death.

2. From the parts of the corpse that was exhumed there were only dried bones. Smooth particles were not found on the bones.

3. We found the fractures at the higher and lower sections of the bone. These fractures are horizontal. In our opinion, these horizontal fractures, in both thigh bones, are on the same level, and cannot occur in a motor accident. These fractures can only have been caused through repeated blows with a blunt weapon.

4. The head injury might have caused the victim to lapse into an unconscious state.

5. The bone below the knee of the left leg was also broken. We believe that this was caused by assault. Examination of the car showed us that it had not met with a motor accident.

6. The wounds on the chest and the neck looked as if they were pierced with some object. The wound in the neck had pierced the Oesophagus (windpipe). The pole to which the steering wheel is attached or the lever on the pole cannot cause such a wound. Therefore we believe that this was caused by a blunt weapon.

7. There had been heavy bleeding from the wound on the lower neck. This can be the wound that was the cause of death. However, we are not one hundred per cent sure because the body was burnt.

8. According to the photographs taken by officials from SOCO and CID, the body was in the front passenger seat. Also, it had turned towards the left door. If this incident occurred when the deceased was driving it would have been impossible, given the nature of the wounds, for him to move to the passenger seat. He could not have been thrown to the passenger seat.

9. Considering all evidence we believe that the deceased was not driving when the accident took place. The victim was placed in the passenger seat after he was assaulted. He was placed and the perpetrators had then stage-managed what appeared to be an accident.

10. We believe that death was caused by injuries to the leg, neck and the chest and subsequently by the effects of the fire. Therefore, the fire occurred right before his death.

11. There was no carbon monoxide found in the first blood sample taken at the post-mortem. However, in the first post-mortem report it is said that they suspect that there might have been carbon monoxide in the blood. The blood samples were taken from the chest cavity and the abdomen. If the blood was from the wounds before the fire was caused, there cannot be carbon monoxide in these samples.

According to Tennakoon’s as well as the panel of medical experts’ opinions and observations related to the bone samples and bone fragments obtained from Thajudeen’s body, which have since been lost (previously the authorities had been warned to ensure safety of that evidence) are:

1 Two thigh bones and some parts of the sternum were not among the body parts which were exhumed.

2. In the last post-mortem, the Chief Judicial Medical Officer Ananda Samarasekara writes in the last paragraph of the 14th page that “I have asked to place the above-mentioned bone samples in the deep freezer in our institution.” However, these bone samples could not be found. There was no evidence of action taken to ensure the safety of that evidence.

3. Both assistants who took part in the first post-mortem said they were not instructed by the three doctors to hold the bone samples. The procedure of the institute is to label such samples, number them, record the samples, and place them in the deep freezer under the supervision of laboratory officials.

4. Although we inspected all deep freezers and freezers that held corpses, we could not find the bone samples.

5. Dr. Samarasekara visited the institute with CID officials on 30 September but he could also not find the samples.

6. We believe that, after considering all the evidence, the two thigh bones and chest bones were not held at the institute.

The final report of the examination, after his body was exhumed, was issued with the signatures of the Colombo Chief Judicial Medical Officer, Ajith Tennakoon, Dr. N. Perera and the Additional Judicial Medical Officer N.P.A. Hewage. The next hearing will be on 10 December. Magistrate Nishantha Peiris, who was taking swift action to solve the Thajudeen case was transferred on 3 November to the Matara District Court with effect from 1 January 2016 by the Judicial Services Commission.

Controversy Still Surrounds Ravi K’s BIL’s SriLankan Airlines London Job

December 4, 2015

DThe controversy surrounding Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake‘s lined up SriLankan Airlines Sales Manager (UK) job for his brother in law Gihan Malalasekara has taken another twist according to another applicant who contacted Colombo Telegraph.

The applicant who requested to remain anonymous said that he had initially received an email from Anne Seneviratne the Talent Resourcing Manager of the island’s national carrier on the 23rd of October 2015, informing him to avail himself for an interview on the 30th October 2015.The email also went on to say that he would be informed on the 26th of October 2015 of the time and venue for his interview.

Much to his surprise he never received the promised intimation by the Talent Resourcing Manager of the airline on the 26th October 2015.

However what he did receive on the 27th October 2015 was an email instead stating that due to “unanticipated developments” the interviews had been stalled.

The controversy of the filling up of this post has been going on for the last ten months. Initially the airline which had advertised this post in February 2015 went on to re-advertised the same job in their Staff Vacancy Notice setting a closing date for applications as the 2nd of October 2015. The airline it is alleged went on to change the criteria to tailor make this post available for Minister Karunanayake’s brother in law Gihan Malalasekara.

A clause was inserted the second time around stating “This is a local appointment and the applicant should be free to live and work in the UK without a need for a work or any other permit”. This clause knocked off all other potential candidates who were more qualified than Gihan Malalasekara.

Rosie Malalasekara the wife of Gihan, earlier also used the social media platformto vouch as to why her hubby should be given the post. She posted her comments stating that her spouse was a good father who had raised his two children very well. She emphasized that one child went on to become a doctor and the other a lawyer. This was besides her highlighting his prowess as a sportsman during his school days.

The sister-in-law of the Minister of Finance also cried out that ever since Ravi Karunanayake came into politics her husband had been victimized.

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Dhammika Perera arrested! Nalaka Godahewa hides !!

Dec 04, 2015

The former director general and the deputy director of Security Exchange Commission (SEC) was arrested a short while ago by the Financial Crime Investigating Department (FCID). Along with him a director board member of the SEC Ronnie Ibrahim was also arrested. The previous former chairman of the SEC Dr. Nalaka Godahewa is also due to be arrested.

These two people are arrested for giving Rs. five million for MP. Namal Rajapaksa’s “Tharunyata Hetak” They have given this money to start a share market awareness project for the youths.

 

In the security and exchange commission’s act it is clearly stated that the money in the SES account can be used only for the share market purposes and cannot be used for other purposes. It even cannot be debited to the governments consolidated fund. In such a situation the former chairman of the Nalaka Godahewa and the director general Dhammika Perera using their signatures has granted Rs. five million to the Namal’s Tharunyata Hetak campaign. Meanwhile the FCID is also investigating a financial discrepancy committed by the former treasury and finance ministry secretary P.B. Jayasundara in the SEC during the period of a former chairman Indrani Sugathadasa.

 

It is reported that Nalaka Godahewa prior getting the information of the FCID’s arrest has avoided coming home and residing elsewhere.

Arrests in deadly firebombing of Palestinian home

Children stand in the burnt home of the Dawabsheh family before the funeral ceremony of Riham, who died of her injuries more than one month after the arson attack by suspected Jewish extremists that killed her 18-month-old baby Ali and her husband Saad, 7 September.Yotam RonenActiveStills

The Electronic Intifada

3 December 2015
Israel has arrested two youths suspected of firebombing a Palestinian home and killing three members of theDawabsha family in the occupied West Bank village of Duma in July.

A gag order was placed on the investigation following the arrests earlier this week, but a police spokesperson confirmed on Thursday that two young men had been arrested.

The spokesperson said multiple arrests were made related to different attacks. The Electronic Intifada has confirmed that two arrests have been made specifically in the Dawabsha killings.

The suspects, whose names Israeli media are still withholding due to the gag order, are Hanoch Ganiram, 19, and Elisha Odess, who is a minor.

The pair have been interrogated but not yet charged.

Israel responsible

On 31 July, a firebomb was thrown into the Dawabsha family home, causing fatal injuries to 18-month-old Ali and critically injuring his parents, Saad and Riham, who later died from their injuries.

Ali’s four-year-old brother, Ahmad, the only survivor, remains hospitalized.

After news of the arrests, Hussein Dawabsha, Riham’s father, told the Ma’an News Agency that he holds the Israeli government responsible for the attack.

“The case is still not clear as no Israeli official updated me on the case and I knew about the arrest from journalists,” he said.

Honenu, a legal organization that defends Israeli soldiers and civilians accused of attacking Palestinians, haspetitioned a court in the Israeli city of Petah Tikva to lift the gag order.

Arrests

Immediately following the attack, Israel placed three Jewish extremists under administrative detention. This practice of detaining people without charge or trial is regularly used against Palestinians but rarely against Jews.

While the three settlers, Meir Ettinger, Mordechai Meyer and Eviatar Slonim, had a history of attacks on Palestinians, they were not explicitly accused in the Dawabsha case.

A month after those arrests, Israeli defense minister Moshe Yaalon admitted the army knew who had committed the lethal torching of the Dawabsha home but had not taken any legal action “in order to protect the identity of their sources.”

Yaalon said the three had been placed under administrative detention to prevent future attacks.

It is now clear that the suspects in the Dawabsha killings – Ganiram and Odess – were only arrested within the last week.

Pressure

On 19 October the Israeli army ordered Ganiram to remain under house arrest in Hebron, a city in the occupied West Bank.

According to Israel’s Ynet, he was arrested on 1 December when he left his house to attend a wedding.

Ganiram’s grandfather, Yitzhak Ganiram, was a member of the Jewish Underground, a violent extremist group that conducted a series of attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank in the 1980s, including planting bombs in the cars of officials.

The elder Ganiram was sentenced to seven years in prison for several plots, including a scheme to blow up the Dome of the Rock at Jerusalem’s al-Aqsa mosque compound. He was pardoned by Israel’s president after serving only three months, Ynet reported.

Israel has come under increasing pressure to find the culprits of the attack in Duma. In November, Esawi Frej, a member of the Israeli parliament for the left-Zionist Meretz party, petitioned the high court to demand indictments against the perpetrators.

Nickolay Mladenov, the UN special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, has repeatedly condemnedthe slow investigation.

Impunity

In rare cases when indictments are issued, Israel has an extremely low conviction rate for attacks on Palestinians perpetrated by Israeli Jews.

The human rights group Yesh Din found that between 2005 and 2015, 85 percent of cases of settler crimes against Palestinians and their property in the West Bank were not resolved by Israeli police. This rose to 96 percent for damage and destruction to Palestinian trees and crops.

Yesh Din documented a near doubling of settler assaults on Palestinians and their property in the last two years.

Following the Duma attack, Avi Dichter, the former head of Israel’s Shin Bet secret police, told Al-Monitor that “Shin Bet is well aware of how to map out who the leading figures are. The difficulty has always been to translate the intelligence into evidence.”

“Today, when someone wants to throw a Molotov cocktail, he knows that he isn’t really risking anything, because punishment for that barely exists,” he added.

Hussein Dawabsha believes it is this impunity that killed his daughter, son-in-law and grandson: “The Israeli government is the one who gave settlers a license to kill by giving them freedom to enter Palestinian villages.”