Cuba: The Communist toddler without parents ( An Interview )

Ordinary life in Havana – Image Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons.

Olivia Solis ( Photo – special arrangement )

( March 30, 2016, Serbia, Sri Lanka Guardian) With President Obama’s historic visit, the Communist island of Cuba is back in the world headlines. Politically unique since its 1959 revolution, Nilantha Ilangamuwa of Sri Lanka Guardian, spoke with one of its many exiles, Olivia Solis, a Cuban currently living in Serbia.

Here is an excerpt of the interview;

Nilantha Ilangamuwa (NI): You were born and raised in Cuba. What are your childhood memories of the social-political situation in the country?

Olivia Solis (OS): Nothing about Cuba is black and white. Taking sides always brings conflict. It takes time and wisdom to understand the scope of the situation. Being outside the country, you can compare to other societies where basic rights have been secured.

The Castros’ are old now, too old to dictate anything, and is time for a big change. Cuban society is strangled by false promises, excuses, tired of waiting and hopelessness. The youth of today are nothing like mine who still had something to relate to.

My childhood was fine, I think. We were poor but I went to school everyday, everyone was considered as equals, my parents had a paying job. Some children had more and some had less, but less here means near to nothing — no toys, no shoes to wear to school — and more means that you have had family members abroad who were able to send you some money or were a part of the military oligarchy and relatives of “war heroes”. The military still control almost everything on the island. In my case we basically lived off our relatives in the USA. The 1990s were the hardest period for Cuban society after the disintegration of USSR.

NI:  You were born in post-revolution era. How communist is Cuba now?

OS: Well I grew up with the idea of a little island but with huge pride, that everyone in the world paid attention to us. They make sure you are aware of this, and teach in constantly in schools. In every kindergarten, hospital, school, state-owned job (100% of jobs are from the state) you would see photos of Fidel Castro, Che Guevara, Camilo Cienfuegos, even Raul rarely.

I was born in the mid-80s so I remember very little. Cuba was a communist paradise, everyone had the same furniture,  same food on the table,  same shirts and shoes, you were able to pay for holidays and life was as good as it can be. If you kept your own ideas quiet everything seemed functional and perfect. My parents had this perception of a perfect society and then there was the breakup of the USSR and you realised how weak the Cuban economy really was, how the system never managed to sustain itself or its people, how there was no backup plan.

NI:  Do you consider Cuba’s Revolution a success story?

OS: The Cuban Revolution failed the Cuban nation. The propaganda of the Cuban revolution sounds very good to the ears of any leftist pseudo-Communist idealist: free education, free health care and tons of advances in the field, equality between women and men. The price for everything is hunger, oppression, poverty. I’m not being dramatic, I know there are many countries worse off and I shouldn’t be comparing Cuba with Sweden, not in a million years. But the lack of basic rights and the death of the civil society… the idea of thriving, not just surviving, and being able build your own path, or even just fix the roof of your house is something crucial in any society. I learned a lot when I got out. Human rights is considered a very sensitive topic because it is the language of the dissents, and the revolution should not be questioned in these terms. You should not question it at all, better talk low — maybe your neighbour works for the political police — that was how I grew up: be quiet, don’t question out loud. In the end you shut up, adapt or leave the country.

NI:  Tell us your story. Why did you leave Cuba?

OS: So I left, I’m married and have a child living in eastern Europe. I wasn’t obsessed by leaving, like many people I knew. There were two kinds of people, those who wanted to leave whenever possible, and those who were comfortable with the idea of the revolution and supported its inner values while compromising their conscience.

NI:  It said the former leader of Cuba, Fidel Castro, is the prime target for foreign intelligence agencies.  The CIA have reportedly tried to assassinate Castro over five hundred times. This is an amazing story. What is your take on this?

OS: I think there is other side of the story as well. Pride has been planted in me since childhood. Propaganda is very violent and sources of information in Cuba are censored when it comes to the “attempts” you mention.

For myself, as for many others, it was very disrespectful how Raul did not wait for Obama at the airport. Are we still playing a game to see who is toughest? Raul is supposed to represent the nation, not his own ideology. The Cold War is over. Great for Castro that he survived those assassination attempts, but this is all part of the myth. With time you realise that there are no untouchable icons, no unreachable leaders, no inhuman presidents.

NI:  You mention the Obama visit. As the first US President visiting Cuba since 1928, does this matter? If so, why?

OS: Cuba needs hope. The economy should flourish, people should have better opportunities and be able to build their own paths and not only focus on putting food on the table. Cuban people should be able to plan, build, grow. Havana is literally falling to pieces…. it is heartbreaking. If the USA is willing to make any progress for the better, they must be welcome.

Everyone should listen to the speech President Obama gave. I wasn’t sure about his position, I always thought he was maybe too charismatic, like a weapon for gaining people favours.  But this was perfect.

NI:  In an unprecedented joint news conference by both leaders they went head to head on human rights and economic sanctions. President Raul Castro gave chilling answers about political prisoners and other sensitive subjects. How did you perceive this?

OS: Well it was a disaster. It appeared staged, Raul did not listen to the questions. He coughed when issues such as political prisoners and human rights were on the table. Raul doesn’t know how to answer to these social issues. A list of political prisoners exists. These prisoners were abused with violence. Some of them died in jail and some through hunger strikes.

NI:  President Obama talked about Human Rights and Universal norms of humanity. Yet Guantanamo Bay Prison is located in Cuba. This hypocrisy has been seized on by the Cuban authorities. What is your take?

OS: The Cuban people should not suffer out of politics and policies regarding issues such as the Guantanamo Bay Prison. Cubans are always reminded of these matters but I think it is also wise to look around, above, under, not just backwards. Politicians cannot play hide and seek — showing Guantanamo or other US hypocrisies — while the ordinary citizens in the country are suffering.

Pussy for Putin … and Now, Wendi Deng

BY JULIA IOFFE-MARCH 31, 2016

“Whatever why I’m so so missing Tony,” Wendi Deng once wrote to herself. “Because he is so so charming and his clothes are so good. He has such good body and he has really really good legs Butt … And he is slim tall and good skin. Pierce blue eyes which I love. Love his eyes. Also I love his power on the stage … and what else and what else and what else …” She was, apparently, writing about Tony Blair, and the suspicions that she was following through on her fantasies about the former British prime minister that destroyed her 14-year marriage to Monty Burns impersonator, Rupert Murdoch.

But, aside from the tall thing, she could easily have been writing about Volodya, otherwise known as Vladimir Putin. According to a report in Us Weekly, Wendi Deng and Putin are not only dating, they are “serious.”

Is it true? As much as I trust Us Weekly’s dogged reporting, it really would be hard to know if the rumors are true.

On the one hand, it could make lots of sense.It would seem Putin fits the profile of the kind of man Deng goes for: powerful, rich, and in possession of pierce blue eyes and really really good legs Butt. It could also be a great way to stick it to Rupert: You may be married to a sex symbol of yesteryear, but my man is not only rich but has nuclear codes and regularly shakes up the geopolitical stage as if it were an Etch a Sketch. This month she was seen vacationing in St. Bart’s on the boat of Russian oligarch — and noted yacht gifter — Roman Abramovich. And, as one Russia watcher pointed out on Facebook, Putin has been wanting to strengthen relations with China.

On the other, Wendi Deng isn’t exactly Putin’s type. Today, we’ve also learned of a different new woman who may or may not be Putin’s riding partner.
Meet Alisa Kharcheva, 23.

Back in 2010, she had just graduated high school and was beginning her studies in journalism. In October, a few of her fellow journalism students posed for a calendar for Putin’s 58th birthday. They donned lingerie and heels, and, pouting and posing, advertised sexy political slogans. “Vladimir Vladimirovich, you’ve put out the forest fires, but I’m still aflame!” said one mischievous blonde.

“Vladimir Vladimirovich, how about a third go?” asked a curly brunette, referring to the speculation in those years that Putin would come back for a third term in 2012.

Kharcheva had perhaps the most banal slogan of the bunch, pouting, “Vladimir Vladimirovich, you’re the best!”
But it was her bust on the cover of the calendar, into which the words “We Love You” were gently nestled.
According to his spokesman, Putin was said to have seen and liked the calendar. “The girls are beautiful,” the spokesman said.

But Kharcheva wasn’t done. She decided to use the attention and her media skills to wish Vladimir Vladimirovich well yet again. In 2012, for Putin’s 60th birthday, Kharcheva posed alone in a project titled “Pussy for Putin.” Leaning forward coquettishly over a portrait of Putin, she snuggles a black kitten in her deep, red décolleté.

“I think that he is a magnificent man, a strong leader, and the ideal leader of the country,” Kharcheva wrote. She thought about what to give this glorious man for his birthday. What do you give the man who has everything? “I remembered that he (just like me) also loves animals, but I’d never heard that he had a beloved cat,” she wrote. “I found a wonderful little kitty to give the president. I believe that she will bring Putin only luck and will be accepted by all his other domestic animals.” She had already sent a formal notice to Putin’s office but posted her phone number on her LiveJournal entry just in case. “Until Vladimir Vladimirovich decides to pick up his gift, the kitty will live with me,” she wrote.

No one knew if Vladimir Vladimirovich picked up that specific kitty, but today we discovered that he may have picked up the other one in the photo. In a much-anticipated report in the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, it was revealed that a number of women in Putin’s life have received lavish gifts of top-of-the-line Moscow real estate. (This, by the way, is the report that had Putin’s spokesman in convulsions this week,threatening to sue the pants off a shadowy group of journalists preparing a report on Putin’s childhood friends.)

According to the report, a shadowy businessman who runs the corporation of Arkady Rotenberg (Putin’s childhood buddy) functions as an executor for financial transactions Putin would rather not make in his name. This St. Petersburg businessman, Grigory Baevskiy, purchased an apartment for Putin’s daughter next to the Russian president’s residence outside Moscow; a 2,500-square-foot apartment for the sister of Alina Kabayeva, the gymnast with whom Putin is said to have a relationship and two kids; and a house built on some of the most expensive land in Moscow for Kabayeva’s 81-year-old grandmother.

The last lady beneficiary of Putin’s realty largesse? Kharcheva. According to the report, Baevskiy got her an apartment and underground parking spot in what’s known as Moscow’s Beverly Hills. Kharcheva denied that Putin had anything to do with her real estate purchase. If Deng issued a similar denial, it would, of course, sound much more plausible. She’s probably got the cashto afford it.

Photo credit: Alisa Kharcheva/LiveJournal

FactCheck: is the War on Drugs really a war on black America?

FactCheck: is the War on Drugs really a war on black America?

By Patrick Worrall-March 30, 2016 

“Although rates of drug use and selling are comparable across racial lines, people of color are far more likely to be stopped, searched, arrested, prosecuted, convicted and incarcerated for drug law violations than are whites.”Drug Policy Alliance website

An intriguing quote by a former aide to disgraced US President Richard Nixon is making headlines.

Harper’s Magazine reports a 1994 conversation with John Ehrlichman, a key White House policy adviser, in which Ehrlichman claims that the “war on drugs” Nixon declared in 1971 was rooted in racism.

Ehrlichman is quoted as saying: “The Nixon campaign in 1968, and the Nixon White House after that, had two enemies: the anti-war left and black people.

“You understand what I’m saying? We knew we couldn’t make it illegal to be either against the war or black, but by getting the public to associate the hippies with marijuana and blacks with heroin. And then criminalising both heavily, we could disrupt those communities.

“We could arrest their leaders, raid their homes, break up their meetings, and vilify them night after night on the evening news. Did we know we were lying about the drugs? Of course we did.”

If accurate, the quote appears to confirm what many critics of US drug policy have long alleged – that there is a racial bias built into the way drug crime is handled by the justice system.

But what are the hard facts?

The analysis

Drug use

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s latest national survey of drug use suggests a similar prevalence of drug use among blacks and whites.

Some 12.4 per cent of black people aged 12 or over said they had used illegal drugs in the past month. For white people it was 10.4 per cent:

Read More

How an alcoholic monk founded her own monastery

30 March 2016

Fifty years ago, Luang Poh Yaai lived as a Buddhist monk - a first for a woman in Thailand where religious authorities bar females from the monkhood. Today some get round the ban by getting ordained abroad and returning to live in monasteries for women.

The temple of Wat Thamkrabok sits at the foot of a sweeping, craggy outcrop in the countryside north of Bangkok. Its courtyard is shaded by ancient trees.

Once a day, its temporary residents kneel alongside a grate that covers a deep drain, and breathe deeply. 

Next to each of them is a metal bucket full of drinking water. In turn, they are offered a small glass of dark liquid, poured by a monk from an ancient bottle. They drink.

Within seconds the still air is assaulted by the sound of retching. As the young men vomit into the drain, the monks offer encouragement, tell them to keep drinking water, and place reassuring hands on bare shoulders.

Those undergoing this punishing regime are all drug and alcohol addicts. And it was Luang Poh Yaai who introduced the detox programme to treat opium addiction in 1959. She was an excellent herbalist, and the preparation drunk by the addicts is still made to her recipe.

Beside the temple, away from the courtyard where the addicts are treated, is a workshop - it is the domain of Luang Pi Ai, one of the monks. An old table heaves under the weight of dozens of statues-in-the-making - all representations of Luang Poh Yaai. And there is a life-size, fibreglass figure of her.

"I made this 30 years ago," explains Luang Pi Ai. "It was one of my first and my best because I made it from my soul."

He was ordained at the temple when he was 19, and has a particular reason to feel grateful to Luang Poh Yaai.

"My father was the very first addict to be successfully treated here," he says. "He was an opium addict - back then there was only opium. After he followed the programme here he never touched drugs again."

The details about Luang Poh Yaai's early life are sketchy. According to an account by Ian G Baird, from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, as a child she claimed to remember her past lives and communicated with spirits. Later, she married and had two children, but abandoned by her husband, she lived in a Bangkok slum and became an alcoholic.

At the age of 40, or thereabouts, Luang Poh Yaai again remembered her past lives, stopped drinking and became a white-robed Buddhist nun, or mae chee.

In 1957 she founded the temple with her two nephews. By then she was wearing monks' robes.

"One day she understood the truth, and she changed her clothes right away - there was no formal ordination," says the current abbot of the temple, Phra Ajahn Boonsong, who studied under Luang Poh Yaai for three years until she died in 1970.

"If you were an outsider, you wouldn't have guessed she was a woman," he says, though all her followers knew, and no-one expressed concern or disapproval."

Away from her community, however, it could be different.

"Once, she was arrested in another province, and charged with imitating a monk, which is illegal in Thailand," says Phra Ajahn Boonsong.

"She explained to the authorities she had become a monk to stop herself sinning, and not so she could take advantage of anyone else. So eventually they let her go."

Although Luang Poh Yaai's story is still not well-known in Thailand, for some people she's important.

"It seems she had a connection with the divine spirit, and the herbal medicine that she used was told to her by the divine spirit," says the Venerable Dhammananda, a monk since 2001.

Dhammananda is a former academic, TV presenter - and a woman. She travelled to Sri Lanka - where female monks are allowed - to be ordained. She returned home the first Thai woman to be fully ordained in the Theravada Buddhist tradition, and is now abbess at the Songdhammakalyani monastery in Nhakon Pathom, west of Bangkok.

"Back then, I didn't think it was anything great… I was just doing my duty, keeping alive the heritage that the Buddha gave us. But to look back - unless there was that one woman who walked ahead, the movement would not have started."

In Thailand, reactions to Dhammananda were often negative.

"In the beginning… 'Oh! You dare wear the robe!' And I said, 'Well I'm a monk, I'm a female monk, what else do you want me to wear?' It still happens now, but only when I go to a public toilet - they always try to throw me out and send me to the male toilet because they associate the robes with men. But we make a joke of it, and they accept me."

Now there are about 100 women monks in Thailand - all of them ordained abroad. Fifteen women live at the Songdhammakalyani monastery, where life is punctuated by meditation and stillness. The monks work too - maintaining the temple grounds, delivering workshops in prisons, and welcoming members of the public who attend services or come seeking help.

And Dhammananda is about to branch out and establish a new community further south in Thailand.

Compared to some 300,000 men living in monasteries in Thailand, women like Dhammananda are part of a tiny minority. But they may be gaining a better reputation than some of their male counterparts. 

Repeated allegations in the newspapers about sexual offences, fraud and wildlife trafficking, have led to disillusionment in her community, she says, something the women notice when they go out collecting alms - food, drinks and offerings of flowers.

"Some households have already stopped giving alms to the male monks - they lost respect. And then when they see these female monks coming out, then they start giving alms again."

She also sees growing signs of encouragement for female monks from Thailand's male counterparts.

"Some of them do support us," she says. "More and more on our temple's Facebook page, monks visit to learn about what we do. And when we arranged our latest international ordination in Sri Lanka, many monks said, 'Satu' which means 'Well done' - or they clicked 'Like'."

Phra Ajahn Boonsong, the abbot of Wat Thamkrabok, will not be drawn on whether Thailand should allow the ordination of women. He says only this: "In the Buddhist world there is only one truth, and there is no gender."

Paul has come from Australia in the hope of being cured of his addiction to crystal meth. He is on day four of the detox programme, and is surprised to learn the founder of the temple, and the initiator of his treatment, was a woman - it is not written anywhere in English on the temple's website.

But he knows what he would say to Luang Poh Yaai if she were here.

"Thank you very much for giving us an opportunity to begin a new life. And to anyone who wants to stop their bad habit, welcome to Wat Thamkrabok."

Subscribe to the BBC News Magazine's email newsletter to get articles sent to your inbox.

Land Occupation in the Northern Province: A Commentary on Ground Realities and Recommendations for Reform

 March 30, 2016

Land is a key issue for reconciliation in Sri Lanka. Reparations including the restitution of land, if implemented in the correct manner, can contribute to long-term peace building efforts and prevent further marginalisation of people who were affected by the war. With promises by the government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) to initiate reforms including with transitional justice processes and mechanisms, the Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) examines a key issue that is crucial for reparations and reconciliation in Sri Lanka: occupation of land in the Northern Province. While recognising a comprehensive study of this issue in Sri Lanka is needed, the present study examines the situation of land occupation in the Northern Province and comments on steps required if the GOSL is genuine in its commitments. CPA hopes that this initial study limited to the North, can be expanded to other parts of Sri Lanka, data gathered from such an exercise potentially feeding into reform processes and informing policy options.

Download the full report here.

Land-Occupation-in-the-Northern-Province.pdf by Thavam Ratna

Ekneligoda murder :Court decides against granting bail to suspects

(Lanka-e-News -30.March.2016, 11.30PM)   When  the murder trial of Prageeth Ekneligoda  was taken up for hearing yesterday (29) at the Homagama court, the bail applications of the 9 soldiers who are suspects in the case were  rejected by judge Ranga Dissanayake who further remanded them.

Previously , the judge announced that a decision shall be taken yesterday on whether the suspects can be released on bail (or remanded) because the body of Prageeth had not been found. 

The Attorney General’s department raising objections to granting bail stated , irrespective of the absence of the victim’s body , there is evidence that the group had abducted the victim , and since the latter is not in the midst , statements have to be recorded of the suspects in regard to what they did  to Prageeth.

Upul Kumaraperuma the lawyer appearing on  behalf of Ekneliyagoda citing additional  grounds against granting bail said,  as the suspects were placed in remand custody by the judge who heard this case before , the present judge cannot grant bail , and there wasn’t a mode  to grant bail.

Accordingly , the judge Ranga Dissanayake accepting  the argument presented by Upul Kumaraperuma , refused to grant bail. 

Meanwhile the CID informed court that the suspects are in one group in the prison hospital which is an impediment to their investigations . Hence the CID requested court to issue an order to segregate four suspects .Accordingly , the judge ordered the prison hospital to forward a medical report on them to the court on the 1 st of April , while remanding the suspects until that date.

Army officers , Shammi Arjuna Kumararatne, Nankulage Toshinath Prabodha Sriwardena, Rajapakse Mudiyansalage Priyantha Kumara Rajapakse alias Nathan , Wadugedera Vinee Priyantha, Dilanjan Upasena , S.M. Raveendara Rupasena  alias Ranji, W.D. Dhaminda Kumara Abeyrathne , S.M. Kanishka Gunarathne , Aiyasamy Balasukramaniam and D.N. Tharanga Prasad Gamage are the suspects in remand custody. 

Prageeth ‘s wife Sandya Ekneliyagoda convening  a media briefing some time ago revealed that if these suspects are enlarged on bail , her life is at stake. 

---------------------------
by     (2016-03-30 21:53:00)

Bore-Wells & Salinity In Jaffna

By Willie D. Joshua –March 30, 2016

Willie D. Joshua

Danger of soils becoming saline from bore-wells water in the Jaffna Peninsula

Fresh water supplies and arable land are at risk due to indiscriminate digging of bore wells resulting in saline water extraction. Simple methods for mapping the depth of usable water are proposed that can be used to guide well-depth and prevent significant environment degradation. This information can also be used to estimate the available groundwater for human use.

Recently, there has been a trend in drilling bore wells in the Jaffna Peninsula to extract groundwater for domestic use. This practice is to be implemented for houses being built with foreign aid to settle displaced people in the war torn area. These wells are constructed by drilling about 15cm (6 ins) circular holes right down to the groundwater. The water from these bore wells is used directly by hand pumps or is pumped to an overhead tank and distributed by pipes within the house for domestic use. The groundwater in the peninsula consists of a fresh water layer underlain by salt water. There is a danger that if the bore well goes down to the depth of the saline layer, the pumped out water will be brackish. Thus, there is a possibility of good land becoming saline if this water is used. There have been some instances in Jaffna, where the waters from the bore wells are brackish and not usable even for domestic purposes. Therefore, the depths of the bore wells have to be above the saline groundwater. The Northern Provincial Council has already been informed of this potential problem and remedial measures also have been suggested.

There are three types of wells in use in Sri Lanka namely agro-wells, tube wells and bore wells. Agro-wells, also referred to as dug-wells, are the ones commonly in use in the Jaffna Peninsula and elsewhere in Sri Lanka. Water from these wells are used both for domestic and irrigation purposes. These are large diameter (2-3m) wells whose depths do not go beyond 1m below the dry season water table.

Read More

THE LATEST CONSTITUTION IN NEPAL CAN BE A VERY GOOD MODEL FOR SRI LANKA – VARADARAJA P.

(Prime Minister Sushil Koirala (third from right) and other MPs celebrated the vote late on Wednesday)

30/03/2016

Former Chief Minister of merged North and East A. Varadaraja Perumal said Right to Self Determination should not be only given to Tamils but to people in every region of this country. Autonomy in every region is a must for the government to deliver efficient development to the people.

“The latest Constitution in Nepal can be a very good model for Sri Lanka. Some 500-600 regions have been united in India for the past 60 years as a result of their quasi- federal Constitutions. More than 40 years’ conflict in Nepal had been settled with a federal Constitution. When federalism was not there in America a civil war occurred,” he said.

Following are excerpts:

As you arrived in Sri Lanka, one of your interviews stated that you are keen on contributing to the devolution agenda. What exactly would be your contribution? Would it be a contribution directly to the government or as an individual?

There cannot be any institution called ‘individually’. Former President J.R. Jayewardene made the Constitution of the country for his own interest, thus this country suffered for the last 40 years. Therefore, the next Constitution should not be for the interest of any individual, a specific group or even a specific race. It should be for the benefit of all communities and all regions of this country.

Varadaraja Perumal

You say the Constitution should be drafted in a thoughtful manner. If so what are the main elements that should be included in the new Constitution?

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe has given a clear picture on how the Constitution shall be framed. The executive presidency should be abolished and the cabinet system should be re-introduced. Therefore the Parliament will play the Legislative role and the President will be nominal.

Both the proportional representative system and first past the post system were failures in this country, therefore electoral reforms is a must in the current scenario. From 1994 onwards when former President Chandrika Kumaratunga came to power, this country repeatedly attempted to bring a new system, which will have a mixture of both electoral systems.

Read More

No investigations for the journalists murdered in the north – Northern chief minister

Mar 30, 2016
Northern Province chief minister has showed his resentment that although there are investigations conducted for the four Singhalese journalists killed in the south, there are no investigations started for the 3 Tamil journalists killed in the north.

The chief minister urged the media minister to focus his attention to the Tamil journalists killed.

The chief minister has told this during a discussion held when the media minister Gayantha Karunathilaka, deputy minister Karunarathna Paranavithana and a group of journalists in the south made a visit to the north to monitor the media institutions and journalists which came under attack during the previous regime.

The chief minister emphasized, the Tamil journalist forum had forwarded a letter urging him to speak about the murdered journalists with the media minister.

The chief minister said the Tamil journalist’s forum has pointed out that it would be unfair, not taking any action against the alleged perpetrators who are residing in the country.

Meantime the monument built in the centre of the Jaffna town memory of the journalists killed in the north and south was opened by the media minister and the Northern Province chief minister.

Rāvaya Follows Mainstream Media In Submitting To Yahapālana Censorship

March 30, 2016

Ravaya newspaper joins other mainstream media organizations in submitting to presidential rules about what’s fit to publish and what should be left out. Colombo Telegraph learns that Ravaya, a newspaper which strongly opposed the previous regime, championed the cause of Maithripala Sirisena and agitated for media freedom, has tamely submitted to Presidential orders about killing stories considered detrimental to the President’s interests.

In this instance a news story about the high-handed behaviour of the President’s son Daham Sirisena has been killed. Daham used the Foreign Ministry to obtain visas for some of his friends to visit the UK. The Foreign Ministry issued TPLs (Third Party Letters) to the British High Commission in Colombo, but while Daham was issued a visa the applications of his friends were rejected.

Colombo Telegraph reported the reasons for rejection. One applicant recommended by Daham Sirisena had earlier overstayed his visa and had been blacklisted. Another applicant was blacklisted for submitting fraudulent documents. Thus, in effect, the son of the President of the Republic of Sri Lanka was trying to smuggle into the UK two persons who have broken UK laws.

There are serious issues that arise from this situation. Is this an attempt by Daham Sirisena to smuggle fugitives? How can the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (more to the point, M.R. Hassen, the Chief of Protocol) accept the responsibility to obtain visas for those who are not entitled to diplomatic privileges? If this is allowed, theoretically even Wele Suda, the drug mafia boss, could persuade some influential persons to ask the MFA to issue a Third Party Letter to support an application for a UK visa.

The Foreign Ministry confirmed that Sirisena had indeed sought to use the Foreign Ministry to help his friends, thereby acknowledging that it (the ministry) had operated outside its mandate in issuing TPLs.

Read More

U.S. ambassador speaks at constitutionalism seminar

Mar 30, 2016

Thank you so very much to all of you for attending. Honorable and respected Prime Minister, Honorable and respected Speaker of Parliament, Mr. Secretary-General, distinguished and Honorable Ministers and Members of Parliament, resource persons; distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen.

I wish you a very hearty good morning and I thank you very much for giving me the great honor of inviting me to speak at this meeting.

Sri Lankans are rightfully proud of their long democratic history, influenced by its own unique traditions, relationships, and working institutions. You have confronted challenges in terms of conflict and natural disaster, changed governments in a vibrant multi-party system, and embraced progress toward transparency.

Last year, the people of Sri Lanka exercised their democratic rights again and voted twice for good governance, accountability, and equal opportunities for all. Your Government has responded by passing laws and empowering independent commissions, journalists, and civil society for feedback and guidance.

The United States and Sri Lanka have a longstanding partnership dating back a hundred years before this country’s independence. This friendship is based on our peoples’ shared democratic values and strong economic and cultural ties. It is also the reason we have vowed – and I will quote Secretary of State John Kerry in this – to “stand with you by your side as you build a stronger democracy and a future that is marked by peace and prosperity after so many years of suffering and hardship.”

Like Sri Lankans, Americans believe certain human rights are universal, including the right for every child to an education; for the rule of law to prevent arbitrary detention, guarantee due process, and ensure justice; for every citizen to speak their mind or protest peacefully without fear; to practice their faith peacefully and publicly; and to freely choose their own elected leaders.

I wish to stress: we also recognize that every country must chart its own course and shape its own model as fitting its own history and culture. That is why all of you are gathered here today, representing the people who voted for you, to bolster accountability and transparency, strengthen the justice system, and determine your own path forward on constitutional reform.

The United States supports the people of Sri Lanka because we are linked by similar ideals about the basic rights of citizens. As President Barack Obama recently stated on his historic visit to Cuba, “those ideals find their truest expression in democracy. Not because American democracy is perfect, but precisely because we’re not. And we – like every country – need the space that democracy gives us in order to change. It gives individuals the capacity to be catalysts, to think in new ways, and to reimagine how our society should be, and to make it better.”

It is on these shared values that the United States Government – through its development arm, – the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) – supports professional and technical training for Members of Parliament and their staff. We will partner with your public servants to help them increase responsiveness to citizens, more effectively deliver policy solutions, and carry out oversight responsibilities.

Our assistance builds on continued and consistent partnership with the people of Sri Lanka over the past 60 years. USAID programs have supported a wide range of sections, including agriculture, business development, environment, health, education, infrastructure, civil society, strengthening good governance, and humanitarian assistance.

The Government of Sri Lanka has already taken many commendable steps to promote and protect the civil and political rights of all Sri Lankans – including the right to freedom of expression, respecting the independence of government institutions, and upholding rule of law. There remain difficult challenges to address related to reconciliation, accountability, and a government that reflects the will of the people. But these are decisions for the people of Sri Lanka and for you as their elected representatives.

Friends, as a fellow democracy, the United States will be ready to support you as you chart a future for Sri Lanka that is peaceful, inclusive, and prosperous. U.S. assistance and cooperation should help forge new partnerships, new dialogues, new exchanges, and be based on mutual respect and inclusive consultation.

I wish you all a very highly successful seminar and I congratulate the Parliament of Sri Lanka and the Prime Minister’s Office on this fantastic initiative.

Thank you all so very much.

Prime witness in Ekneligoda murder receives death threats from Girithale camp – Complains to police

(Lanka-e-News -30.March.2016, 11.30PM)  Sergeant major Ran Banda the prime witness   in the murder of Prageeth Ekneligoda has receieved death threats from the  Girithale army camp, according to reports.

It was this sergeant major who received death threats yesterday , who interrogated Prageeth for two days while the latter was detained in the Girithale army camp after he was abducted by a group of army officers including Shammi Kumararatne of the Girithale army camp.

Ran Banda had stated to the CID that he questioned Prageeth on the book the latter wrote criticising the Rajapakse family. Accordingly the main witness  in this case is the retired sergeant major. 

Ran Banda has made a complaint to Nikaweratiya police yesterday , that a group of army officers of the Girithale army camp has planned to kill him.

The handwritten copy of the book of Prageeth on which he was questioned at that time by Ran Banda was given to Gotabaya by Ruwan Ferdinands who had undertaken to publish it . Ruwan Ferdinands was a Gotabaya’s secret  informant who was functioning as  co ordinating secretary to Mangala Samaraweera for a long time.

After the cat was out of the bag , and the incident came to light , via the website that belonged to Ruwan Ferdinands and the newspapers he  began maligning  Ekneliyagoda as  a ‘Tiger’ and gave publicity to that.  

After it became known that Ruwan Ferdinands had been a long time informant of Rajapakses , Mangala Samaraweera chased him out from  the post of co ordinating secretary .

Unbelievably and intriguingly   Ruwan Ferdinands who was  the epicenter  of Prageeth’s murder has not been questioned by the CID so far.

---------------------------
by     (2016-03-30 21:37:16)