Four dead in worst Canada school shooting in decade, suspect caught

By Rod Nickel and Julie Gordon-Sat Jan 23, 2016

WINNIPEG, Manitoba, and VANCOUVER (Reuters) - The gunman suspected of killing four people and injuring several others in Canada's worst school violence in a decade first shot his two brothers at home before opening fire at the remote community high school, a family friend and the town's acting mayor said on Friday.

Police said a suspect was arrested after the shooting in La Loche, Saskatchewan, an impoverished community about 600 km (375 miles) north of the city of Saskatoon.

The town's acting mayor, Kevin Janvier, told the Associated Press that his 23-year-old daughter Marie, a teacher, was shot to death.

He also said police told him that the gunman first shot two of his siblings at home and then made his way to the school.  

Officials have not given a motivation for the shooting or named the suspect or victims.

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Police investigate the scene of a daytime shooting at the La Loche, Saskatchewan, junior and senior  …

Mass shootings are rare in Canada, which has stricter gun laws than the United States. In the country's worst school shooting, 14 college students were killed at Montreal's Ecole Polytechnique in 1989. A shooting in 1992 at Concordia University in Montreal killed four.

A family friend said the teenaged suspect shot his two younger brothers before going to the school and shooting a teacher and an assistant.

“After he shot his two brothers, he walked back to school and he shot ... a teacher and a girl. They’re both dead. Four of them died,” said Joe Lemaigre, a family friend who lives on the outskirts of La Loche. “I know the family. Their mother worked in Fort McMurray and his grandfather went to Meadow Lake to do some shopping. That's when he shot them."

The shooting occurred in the high school and a second location, Canadian police said, adding they took the suspect into custody outside the school and seized a gun.

Chief Bobby Cameron of the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations, which represents more than 70 of the province's Indian bands, said a few students were in surgery Friday evening in Saskatoon, the province's largest city.

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Candles and flowers placed as a memorial lay near the La Loche, Saskatchewan, junior and senior high …

"Everyone is still in shock and disbelief," Cameron said. "It's a very, very horribly tragic event."

La Loche student Noel Desjarlais told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation that he heard multiple shots fired at the school, which has about 900 students.

"I ran outside the school," Desjarlais said. "There was lots of screaming, there was about six, seven shots before I got outside. I believe there was more shots by the time I did get out."

A cellphone video taken by one resident and broadcast by the CBC showed students walking away from the school across the snow-covered ground and emergency personnel moving in.

"Obviously this is every parent's worst nightmare," said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who initially reported five people were killed. He was in Davos, Switzerland, for the annual World Economic Forum.

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The outside of La Loche Community School is shown on Friday Jan. 22, 2016. Prime Minister Justin Tru …

Among Canada’s provinces, Saskatchewan had the highest rate of police-reported family violence in 2014, double the national rate of 243 incidents per 100,000 people, according to a Statistics Canada report on Thursday.

Extra doctors and nurses were sent to treat patients in Keewatin Yatthe Regional Health Authority's 16-bed hospital, said spokesman Dale West. He declined to say how many people had been injured.

“It’s really sad in La Loche today, very depressing,” said Tenisha Lemaigre, who lives in the town of less than 3,000 people and said she knew many students.

Unemployment runs above 20 percent in the area but three-quarters of working-age people are classified as retired or not looking for work, according to 2011 government figures. Residents say the real unemployment rate is above 50 percent.

In 2014, a teacher expressed concern about violence at the La Loche school, noting that a student who had tried to stab her was put back in her classroom after serving his sentence, and another attacked her at her home.

"That student got 10 months," Janice Wilson told the CBC of the student who tried to stab her in class. "And when he was released he was returned to the school and was put in my classroom."

(Reporting by Rod Nickel in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and Julie Gordon in Vancouver; Additional reporting by Susan Taylor and Jeffrey Hodgson in Toronto and Martinne Geller in Davos, Switzerland; Writing by Lisa Shumaker; Editing by Grant McCool and David Gregorio)

Sex, guns and ammo: inside the world's largest gun industry trade fair

Mass shootings and gun sales. Photograph: Graphics for the Guardian

A convention attendee looks at rifles displayed at Shot Show. Photograph: Ethan Miller/Getty Images

Gun businesses are seeing record sales and profits as people rush out to arm themselves – and Shot Show in Las Vegas has 12 miles of exhibitions to help

Gun sales have spiked following a series of mass shootings and out of fear of increased gun control legislation.

Rupert Neate and Mae Ryanin Las Vegas-Saturday 23 January 2016

“We’re sort of firearms connoisseurs,” Whitney Condit said as she excitedly explored the latest handguns and semi-automatic assault rifles to hit the market at Shot Show, the world’s largest gun industry trade fair.

As she spoke, fellow enthusiasts spread out over the 2.25m square feet Sands Expo convention centre at the Venetian casino on Las Vegas’s strip. “We like to go out on range, we like to shoot. It’s a passion of ours.”

Condit and her fiance, Colin Gallagher, a former star of shooting reality TV show Top Shot, already own “around 200” guns, but are looking for the next few pieces to add to their collection. “We have rifles, shotguns, handguns. You name it, we pretty much have it,” said Condit, who runs a Firearms = LOVE Pinterest page.

The couple from Witchita, Kansas, are among more than 60,000 people who descended on Sin City this week for Shot Show, which has grown to become the fifth biggest convention held in Las Vegas, according to gun trade association the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF).

Steve Sanetti, president of the NSSF, paraphrased Winston Churchill as he opened the show at a gala dinner complete with a standup comedian. “During some pretty dark days of his own: We may experience some setbacks when a frightened and misled public acts without thinking. We may find that our path forward has been temporarily blocked. We may even have to endure some period of darkness before the facts and the truth about lawful, responsible firearms ownership again conquer the powerful forces set against us. The road ahead will be arduous and costly. But the people are never fooled for long. They, and we, will prevail.”

Inside the convention centre, uniformed military generals mingled with boy scout leaders touring more than 12 miles of exhibitions showing everything from the latest tactical assault rifles complete with laser guided sights to Lethal Lace, a garter that can double as a holster.

           More Story>>>

UK's Cameron vows to pressure Maldives over jailed former 

The deposed President of the Maldives Mohamed Nasheed arrives at Heathrow airport in London, January 21, 2016. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls

Lawyer Amal Clooney (R) sits with Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron and the former Maldives President Mohamed Nasheed (L) in 10 Downing Street, in London, Britain 23 January 2016. REUTERS/Andy Rain/Pool

LONDON-Sat Jan 23, 2016

British Prime Minister David Cameron pledged on Saturday to apply pressure on the Maldives to improve the rule of law and free political prisoners after meeting the country's former president after his temporary release from jail.

Mohamed Nasheed, the Maldives' first democratically elected president, is serving a 13-year sentence on terrorism charges for the alleged abduction of a judge after a rapid trial last March which drew international criticism.

Nasheed and his lawyer Amal Clooney met Cameron at Downing Street in London on Saturday after the former president gained permission to travel to Britain for surgery. The Maldives gained independence from the United Kingdom in the 1960s.

"Following his release from prison, Mr Nasheed thanked the Prime Minister for the role the UK had played by continuing to raise his case, including with other countries," a statement from Cameron's office said.

Downing Street said the two men had agreed that a Commonwealth meeting to be held in the Maldives next month would provide an opportunity to press the Maldivian government to engage in "open political dialogue and free all remaining political prisoners swiftly".

"The Prime Minister told Mr Nasheed that the UK would continue to raise concerns about the erosion of democracy and wider situation in the Maldives and it would also continue to discuss the situation with international partners," it said.

Nasheed was ousted in disputed circumstances in 2012 for ordering the arrest of a judge. The United Nations, the United States and human rights groups have said President Abdullah Yameen's government failed to follow due process and that the case was politically motivated.

(Reporting by Kate Holton; Editing by Digby Lidstone)

China Wades Into The Iran-Saudi Swamp

Everything is irreconcilable here. Wahhabism (spawning Salafi-jihadism) against Shi’ism. A tribal, dynastic, corrupt monarchy against a republic born out of a popular revolution. The weaponized American umbrella over the Persian Gulf against activist anti-imperialism.

by Pepe Escobar

( January 22, 2016, Moscow, Sri Lanka Guardian)  Iran is back with a bang. And what a bang. 

The simplistic Western narrative rules that after the end of UN, US and EU sanctions – in fact a few still remain in place – Iran is rejoining global markets.

That may be the case – from Tehran clinching a deal to buy 114 planes from Airbus to Iranian oil soon hitting Western markets. But the key question is actually how, at what pace, and with what partners Tehran plans to rejoin global markets.

All the commotion, at the moment, predictably revolves around oil. Iran’s Deputy Oil Minister for Commerce and International Affairs, Amir Hossein Zamaninia, said the new oil export target is an extra 500,000 barrels a day within a few months. Tehran may indeed boost production by 600,000 barrels a day in six months, and add up to 800,000 barrels a day in output before the end of 2016.

Not even the sharper oil analysts really know what this will mean in terms of an all-out, open market-share battle between Iran and Saudi Arabia. What even some sections of Western corporate media are not buying anymore are Saudi diversionist tactics about their cheap oil strategy – which has been essentially designed to hurt Iran, and Russia.

The fact is Iran is already selling more oil as we speak. Over 1,000 lines of credit have been opened for banks, according to President Hassan Rouhani. Energy-hungry Europeans are predictably going nuts. 

Even with non-denial denials, the fact is Shell executives, for instance, are already in Tehran, talking about Iran’s “energy potential” and solidifying their positioning as Iran’s “prime partner” in energy. Meanwhile, Iran’s oil tankers are already sailing under Lloyd’s insurance.

Into this frenzy steps in none other than the aspiring ‘New Master of the Universe’; Chinese President Xi Jinping, currently on a ultra high-profile Middle East tour of Saudi Arabia, Egypt and, of course, Iran.

This is Beijing’s cool, calculated way of laterally selling One Belt, One Road – or the New Silk Roads project – by carefully increasing “strategic cooperation” in the energy sphere.

Take the strategic cooperation agreement signed this Tuesday in Riyadh between Aramco and China’s Sinopec. It may be worth no more than $1.5 billion, but there will be others in its wake; after all Saudi Arabia, on and off, remains the biggest supplier of crude oil to China.

Yet the really crucial strategic partnership here is Beijing-Tehran.

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As Zika virus spreads, El Salvador asks women not to get pregnant until 2018

South America’s biggest country has seen a rise in cases of a disease triggered by the little-known Zika virus being linked to a surge in congenital brain malformations.

Authorities have confirmed a dozen cases of Zika virus in the United States. Here’s what you need to know. (Gillian Brockell/The Washington Post)

By Joshua Partlow-January 22

MEXICO CITY — The rapid spread of the Zika virus has prompted Latin American governments to urge women not to get pregnant for up to two years, an extraordinary precaution aimed at avoiding birth defects believed to be linked to the mosquito-borne illness.

What until recently was a seemingly routine public health problem for countries that are home to a certain type of mosquito has morphed into a potentially culture-shaping phenomenon in which the populations of several nations have been asked to delay procreation. The World Health Organization says at least 20 countries or territories in the region, including Barbados and Bolivia, Guadeloupe and Guatemala, Puerto Rico and Panama, have registered transmission of the virus.

[Here’s a quick explanation of Zika]

Although the Zika virus has been documented since the 1940s, it began its assault on Latin America in the past several months. The hardest-hit country has been Brazil, where more than 1 million people have contracted the virus. In the past four months, authorities have received reports of nearly 4,000 cases in which Zika may have caused microcephaly in newborns. The condition results in an abnormally small head and is associated with incomplete brain development. Colombia, which shares an Amazonian border with Brazil, reacted to its own Zika outbreak, numbering more than 13,000 cases, by urging women not to get pregnant in the next several months. Other countries, including Jamaica and Honduras, also have urged women to delay having babies.

After more than 5,000 suspected Zika cases were reported last year and in the first weeks of 2016, El Salvador on Thursday took the most extreme stance so far: Deputy Health Minister Eduardo Espinoza urged women to refrain from getting pregnant before 2018. The Central American nation saw its first suspected Zika cases in November and sent samples to the United States to be tested for the virus, Espinoza said in an interview.  
      

More Read>>>

Pharma 'cash call' for new antibiotics

Image copyrightSPL

By James Gallagher-21 January 2016

More than 80 pharmaceutical companies have called on governments to develop new ways of paying them to develop antibiotics.

In a joint declaration, at the World Economic Forum, they said the value of antibiotics "does not reflect the benefits they bring to society".

In return, they have promised to invest in research and improve access to antibiotics around the world.

Signatories include GSK, Merck, Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson.

There have been repeated warnings the world is on the cusp of a "post-antibiotic era", raising the prospect of untreatable infections.

It would be a world in which surgery and cancer therapies, reliant on antibiotics, would be under threat.

Drug-resistant microbes are predicted to kill 10 million people a year by 2050 and cost $100 trillion in lost economic output.

Failure

Yet there has not been a new class of antibiotic brought to market, against Gram negative bacteria, for more than four decades.

The declaration says the current approach has "largely failed" despite the investment of billions of dollars.

It also sites the "formidable" scientific challenges that have led to many pharmaceutical companies pulling out of antibiotic research.

One of the biggest issues is money - at the moment, a company is paid only for the drugs it sells.

Yet any new antibiotic would probably be used only as a last resort, so companies would not recover the development costs.

Cash up front

A report by economist Jim O'Neill had suggested lump-sum payments should be given to companies that created proven new antibiotics, estimating the cost to governments would be $16-37bn over the next decade.

The declaration, from 85 companies, calls "for governments to commit funding and support the development and implementation of transformational commercial models that enhance conservation of new and existing antibiotics" as well as creating a "sustainable and predictable" market for new drugs.

AstraZeneca chief executive Pascal Soriot said: "The declaration's call for collaborative action on new commercial models is timely.

"Industry is ready to engage with governments to develop alternative market structures to enable the sustainable investment that is necessary if we are to overcome the formidable technical and scientific challenges of antibiotic discovery and development."

Redx Pharma Plc chief executive Neil Murray said: "There is a doomsday clock ticking, with the effectiveness of antibiotics diminishing at an alarming rate.

"New ways must be found to support innovation and drug discovery in this critical area."

World Health Organization director general Dr Margaret Chan said: "Antimicrobial resistance is beyond the capacity of any organisation or country to manage or mitigate alone.

"WHO and its member states have called for the development of new antimicrobial medicines and affordable access to them, in line with the global action plan on antimicrobial resistance.

"This declaration affirms that the challenges of antimicrobial resistance can be addressed only through collaboration and global collective action."

Follow James on Twitter.

Sri Lankan president reiterates rejection of foreign experts

There is no reason for allowing the participation of foreign experts as we have sufficient judges and our judiciary is strong and independent enough to handle issues like these

22 January 2016

Sri Lanka’s president reiterated the rejection of foreign expert involvement in an accountability mechanism for mass atrocities committed during the armed conflict, in an interview with Frontline magazine.

When asked about the Sri Lankan government’s efforts in implementing a United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) resolution on accountability, Mr Sirisena replied:

“I have held meetings with representatives and leaders of all parties, apart from ascertaining the views of experts… There is no reason for allowing the participation of foreign experts as we have sufficient judges and our judiciary is strong and independent enough to handle issues like these [concerning accountability]. Foreign experts can share their experience with us, but we will be handling [the mechanisms] on our own.”

Mr Sirisena went on to add:

“We have not been ordered [by the UNHRC] to do anything. We are proceeding step by step towards implementation.”

His comments come after an interview to BBC Sinhala, where the president stated he “will never agree to international involvement on this matter”. “The international community need not worry about matters of state interest,” he had commented.

The UNHRC resolution called for the participation of “Commonwealth and other foreign judges, defence lawyers and authorized prosecutors and investigators”.

Speaking to Frontline magazine, Mr Sirisena went on to state that “at the moment, there is no requirement to discuss” the formation of special courts to provide justice for violations of international humanitarian law.

When asked if this was not a priority, Mr Sirisena replied,

“There are certain things that we have to do immediately. Only then can we look at the issue of the special court and come to a conclusion on whether it is required or not.”

“One has to evaluate, investigate, go through the process of study and see whether certain things have happened,” he added. “If so, subsequent steps become necessary.”

See the full interview here.

Also see our earlier posts:

Sri Lanka rejects international component to accountability, denies reports of ongoing torture (22 Jan 2016)

Triumphant return for president who 'achieved a great victory' at UNHRC, as he pledges 'domestic inquiry' (03 Oct 2015)
Consensus resolution on promoting reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka adopted at UNHRC (01 Oct 2015)
Sri Lanka cannot domestically deal with 'grave crimes' found in OISL report says UN Rights Chief (16 Sep 2015)

The journalist who was arrested in Katunayake released on strict bail conditions

- Jan 22, 2016

The journalist P. Sasikaran who was in self exile and who was arrested last 20th at the Katunayake airport upon his arrival has been released under very strict bail conditions. Following his submission in courts yesterday he was released on Rs. 10,000 bail and two 100,000 surety bails.

A court order has been enforced preventing him to leave the country and the courts have possessed his passport. The court order further restricted that Sasikaran should appear in the Katunayake police on the first Sunday of each month.
 
Due to the threat and intimidation enforced by the former regime Sasikaran who was a Tamil journalist and a social activist left the country in stealth to Australia.
 
Following the Good Governance coming to power exile journalists were invited to Sri Lanka where the latter arrived in Sri Lanka on the 20th.

Here is the letter he forward to the President and others

P. Sasikaran,
25, Sahayamatha Kovil lane,
Mamangam,
Batticaloa. 
                                                                            12th January 2015
The Honorable President,
Mr. Maithripala Sirisena,
Presidential secretariat,
Colombo 01.

Dear Sir,

Request to facilitate the process to return to Sri Lanka
The above named S. Sasikaran is a Sri Lankan Tamil citizen, a journalist and media professional lived in Mamamgam in Batticaloa before leaving Sri Lanka for Australia during the troubled time. At the time I was employed with Ran FM representing Batticaloa district as its reporter and also have worked for many web sites giving my knowledge regarding the political environment. (Media ID is attached herewith)
Also during the post tsunami period I was entrusted to work as the Batticaloa District Coordinator for the People’s Planning Commission under Mrs. Sugala Kumari which was implemented with the mediation of 5 local organizations and 11 local and international commissioners and with the representation of 170 local organizations aiming to develop a community oriented plan for recovery after tsunami. At the same time I worked for National Fisheries Solidarity Movement (NAFSO and its national convener is Mr. Herman Kumara) as its Batticaloa District Coordinator. Further I had been worked as a member of the CaFFE election monitoring team covering the election process in the district.

During the time of the previous regime I was subjected to life threats due to my involvement as a media person. My work and movements had been monitored by the unknown people and detected that I was been followed by the people came by white vans without number plates in many instances. Under these circumstances for the sake of saving my life, I decided to leave the country. Thus I left Sri Lanka in an illegal manner and came to Australia.

Currently I am working as a journalist for the Special Broadcasting Services (SBS), a broadcasting organization affiliated with the Australian government. (Letter from the SBS is attached herewith).
Honorable Sir, as per your request, immediately after forming the new government, requesting the immigrants to come back to the mother country, I am also desperately looking forward to return to Sri Lanka. Hence sir, I humbly request your guidance and protection to pave the way for my safety return to Sri Lanka.

 
Thank you.

Yours Sincerely,

G. Sasikaran
Copies:
1.Honourable Prime Minister Mr. Ranil Wickramasinghe
2.Honourable Minister of Parliamentary Reforms and Mass Media Mr. Gayantha Karunathilake
3.Honourable Deputy Minister of Parliamentary Reforms and Mass Media Mr. Karunathilake Paranawithana
4.Honourable Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr. Mangala Samaraweera
5.Action committee for media freedom
6.Free Media Movement, Sri Lanka
7.Human Rights Commission

Government accused of rolling back on commitment in Geneva

By admin on January 22, 2016

The International Truth and Justice Project is deeply concerned that Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena appears to be rolling back on his commitment in Geneva to include international involvement in a future judicial mechanism.

In an interview with the BBC yesterday, the President reportedly stated, “I will never agree to international involvement in this matter”.

This flies in the face of the recommendation of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights that Sri Lankan establish “an ad hoc hybrid special court, integrating international judges, prosecutors, lawyers and investigators”.

High Commissioner Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, who is due to visit Sri Lanka shortly, has been very clear about the “total failure of domestic mechanisms to conduct credible investigations” in Sri Lanka.

“The High Commissioner is right: international involvement is essential for victims and witnesses to have trust in the justice process because Sri Lanka has such a long history of failed domestic processes,” said ITJP Executive Director Yasmin Sooka.

ITJP is also shocked that the Sri Lankan President should question that crimes took place after the detailed and graphic revelations of the year-long OHCHR Investigation, as well as reports by many other credible international and Sri Lankan organisations.

ITJP notes the BBC reported that President Sirisena said, “it was important to determine whether such crimes actually took place”.

“This is an insult to the thousands of victims and witnesses who testified to the UN inquiry and other bodies,” said Yasmin Sooka, adding, “it’s rather late in the day to question whether crimes took place”.

President Sirisena also suggested in his BBC interview that because the UN did not specify names of alleged perpetrators, there was some doubt about the allegations.

“Just because the UN decided from the outset not to mention names of alleged perpetrators does not mean they do not have such information. It is usual for an UN inquiry not to disclose the names but to hand this over to a credible prosecutorial body when established. Quite frankly enough evidence exists already for a tribunal, if it’s run in a way that protects witnesses,” said Ms. Sooka.

President Sirisena also dismissed reports that the Sri Lankan security forces have continued to abduct, torture and sexually violate Tamil detainees during his period in office. He said such reports came from people “close to the Tamil Tigers”.

ITJP documented twenty such cases that occurred in 2015, while Freedom From Torture has an additional 7 cases that do not overlap.

“It is disappointing to see the new President defame all those who allege there are still ongoing violations as linked to the LTTE”, said Ms. Sooka, “this is the sort of rhetoric and denial we’d hoped would change.”

ITJP is a South African based project investigating allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Sri Lanka. (Colombo Gazette)

Constitutional Reforms – What will the people decide?

Featured image courtesy constitutionnet

• by Leela Isaac 
• - on 01/22/2016 

The constitutional reforms proposed by the new government have not been made public as yet, but already the likes of Wimal Weerawansa, Udaya Gammanpila and Dinesh Gunawardena from the opposition have started beating the communal drum. They appeal to the masses, to nip it in the bud and prevent the imminent division of the country, and the destruction of the people of ‘sinha ley’ – (Lion Blood) race and their religion a particular brand of Buddhism, they call ‘Sinhala Buddhism’ although the Buddha’s teachings are universal, for according to him there s only one race – the Human Race. It remains to be seen whether the people are willing to dance to this communal drum beat, even after a communal war that raged for 30 long years and made this Buddhist Country look like a killing field.

As pointed out by Gopalkrishna Gandhi in his speech made on the first anniversary of President Sirisena’s electoral victory, “If the Ponnambalams and Chelvanayagams had not been disappointed, spurned and marginalized, Velupillai Prabakaran would not have risen”. The Bandaranayake – Chelvanayagam pact, the Dudley – Chelvanayagam pact and Chandrika Bandaranayakes ‘package’ to introduce a ‘union of regions’ were all attempts made by the then government in power to solve the protracted ‘ethnic problem’ . They did not succeed because the other major party in the parliament opposed it, in the name of nationalism and patriotism. Today for the first time in the political history of Sri Lanka, the two majority parties (SLFP-UNP) have agreed to share power and work together. In addition they have the support of the two major minority communities the Tamils and Muslims. Therefore it seems to be the right time to introduce constitutional amendments or a new constitution that will help bring about ethnic and religious harmony leading to peace and stability.

Apart from these politicians who act in their own self interest, there are also a few members of the Buddhist clergy, (Ven. Bengamuwe Nalaka Thera) who tell the people “Any anti-Sinhalese Buddhist Conspiracy (by the government) should be defeated. Sri Lankan culture is based on Buddhism – Our rulers should not destroy Buddhism. It should be fostered and protected by the constitution. Buddhist monks practice horoscope reading and perform rites and rituals to bless the people – it is part of our cultural heritage”. There is also Ven. Yakkalamulle Pawara Thera who is the chairman of the new party ‘Sinhale Jathika Balkamuluwa’ who says “It has been formed to safeguard the identity of the Sinhala people and to regenerate the supremacy and pride of the Sinhala people “

Instead of inciting another racial riot what these monks should be really telling their followers is that Sri Lanka is a multi ethnic, multi religious country and unless all its people are treated as equals, and one section of our society does not continue to remain disgruntled and unhappy, there can be no peace in the country. When they see villagers in the North, still suffering in IDP camps, for almost 30 long years and the estate workers affected by landslides (Meeriyabadde) still remaining homeless or the other workers living in ancient ‘line rooms’ with leaking roofs and cracking walls, don’t our political and religious leaders feel a sense of shame? It is only in Sri Lanka that plantation workers have always remained below the poverty line without even basic facilities like water and sanitation. In Kerala for instance tea plantation workers live in separate units with attached bath rooms and gas cookers in their kitchens. In comparison our estate workers of Indian origin have been treated almost as slaves who don’t need any better living conditions.

President Maithripala Sirisena and the Prime Minster seem to be honest and sincere in their attempts to bring about peace and stability to the country by treating all citizens as equals and preventing the re-emergence of violence. But to achieve that goal they not only need the support of the Parliament but also that of the people and it’s really the people who can bring pressure on their MPs to support the constitutional reforms.

With this in mind, the government has appointed a “Public Representation Committee”, headed by Lal Wijenayake, which was to start work on January 17th, and its members are expected to cover all districts. While collecting submissions they will also hopefully, educate the public and races awareness among them so that they make the correct choice, when it comes to voting, as they did on January 8th, 2015. The Prime Minister has already assured the people that the country will never be divided and Buddhism will not lose its foremost place in the constitution. People should be given the correct information, that majority of Tamils reject the idea of a separate state and the Buddha’s Dhamma does not really need anyone’s protection. If ‘Sinhala Buddhists will only practice the Dhamma as taught by the Buddha, that alone will protect Buddhism. Unfortunately, what is being taught by the majority of monks and practiced by their followers is not what the Buddha taught. Horoscope reading and all the rites and rituals performed by the monks are part of the Brahmin – Hindu Culture. Prince Siddhartha himself was born into a Hindu family but in his journey towards enlightenment he rejected all these rituals and rites, including those based on the caste system.

We can only hope that the people will make the correct choice, at the referendum which will only come finally after the proposals have been passed by a two thirds majority in parliament which would be converted into a constituent (Constitutional) assembly, if agreed by all 225 members.