Venezuela opposition submits 1.85 million signatures in recall effort

Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro gestures as he talks to supporters during a rally to commemorate May Day, in Caracas, Venezuela, May 1, 2016.REUTERS/MARCO BELLO

Tue May 3, 2016

Venezuela's opposition said it delivered 1.85 million signatures to the country's elections authority on Monday as part of the process of seeking a recall referendum against President Nicolas Maduro.

Food and medicine shortages, triple-digit inflation, rampant violent crime and increasingly frequent water and power cuts have stoked anger against Maduro.

The Democratic Unity coalition (MUD) gathered far more than the required 1 percent of voters' signatures, or nearly 200,000, needed to trigger the next phase of a recall referendum.

"With this successful strategy the MUD has progressed in achieving urgent political change via impeccably peaceful and constitutional measures," the coalition's head, Jesus Torrealba, tweeted on Monday.

The electoral body must now validate the signatures before the opposition can collect another 20 percent, or around 4 million signatures, before a vote can finally be held.

Maduro has sworn he will not be forced out before his term expires in 2019 and accuses the opposition of seeking a coup against him to destroy the socialist legacy of his predecessor, the late Hugo Chavez.

The government-leaning Supreme Court and electoral board have stymied the opposition-led National Assembly time and time again.

Opponents fear the election board is now trying to drag the referendum process into 2017, when the vice president would take over should Maduro be removed, rather than there being a new election.

"The recall referendum may temporarily pacify voter frustration," Nomura said in a note to clients. 

"However the purposeful delays from the (electoral board) should eventually backfire with higher social unrest in the streets if voters are unable to vent their frustration via the polls."

Tensions are already rising in the recession-hit oil producer.

Small anti-Maduro protests and looting incidents took place in various cities last month, some triggered by increasing power cuts resulting from energy shortages.

Torrealba was himself attacked by a handful of men throwing stones and punches during a march to protest power cuts last week.

The opposition was scheduled to submit the signatures on Tuesday but said it chose to secretly do so on Monday to avoid clashes.

"The violent ones were left hanging," he said.

(Reporting by Alexandra Ulmer and Brian Ellsworth; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)

Abu Sayyaf militants in the Philippines free 10 Indonesian hostages

Freed Indonesian tugboat crewmen sit inside a house in Jolo, Sulu province, southern Philippines. Pic: Office of the Sulu Governor via AP

2nd May 2016

PHILIPPINE authorities announced the release of 10 Indonesian tugboat crewmen who were abducted at sea by Abu Sayyaf militants in March and taken to a jungle encampment in the southern Philippines.

Jolo Police Superintendent Junpikar Sitin said the Indonesians appeared well when he saw them on Sunday before they were brought to a military camp in Jolo town in the Sulu province. The freed captives were to be fed and then eventually handed over to Indonesian officials.

Jolo town Mayor Hussin Amin welcomed the release of the Indonesians, but said he was unaware whether they were ransomed off.

An Indonesian negotiator claimed that the militants had not been paid off.

“The liberation has been made without money. It was the results of negotiations and cooperation between Indonesia and the Philippines in military intelligence,” retired army Major General Kivlan Zein said on Monday, reported the Antara News agency.

Philippine National Police (PNP) spokesperson Wilben Mayor said an unidentified person driving a yellow Tamaraw jeepney handed over the 10 captives to Sulu Governor Toto Tan. Tan said the drop-off took place in front of his residence between 10 to 11 a.m., according to CNN Philippines.

The Philippines attributed the release of the hostages to military pressure exerted on the Abu Sayyaf group.

“We believe this is the result of continuing focused military operations we have been conducting,” said military spokesperson Restituto Padilla, reported the New York Times.

“In order to move freely, they needed to let go of some of the hostages.”

Abu Sayyaf gunmen beheaded a Canadian hostage in Sulu on April 25 after they failed to receive a ransom. Philippine troops have launched an offensive against the Abu Sayyaf.

The militant group still holds four Malaysian sailors, which it kidnapped shortly after abducting the ten Indonesian men, and several other foreign nationals, including a Canadian and a Norwegian.

Additional reporting by the Associated Press

Sexual harassment training may have reverse effect, research suggests

Trainings’ use of ‘cartoonish, unrealistic’ examples could be partially to blame for men’s subsequent dismissal of allegations, says Berkeley professor

 ‘People in powerful positions don’t have a good grasp of what it’s like to be in a non-dominant group’ Photograph: Rex/Shuttershock

Sam Levin in San Francisco

Monday 2 May 2016

Sexual harassment courses aimed at preventing workplace discrimination can have the opposite effect, making men less capable of perceiving inappropriate behavior and more likely to blame victims, according to academic studies that cast doubt on traditional training programs.

One researcher who has questioned the effectiveness of harassment prevention classes is Lauren Edelman, series of high-profile faculty misconduct scandals in recent months.

a professor of law and sociology at the University of California Berkeley, the prestigious school that has been at the center of a

“Sexual harassment training may, in fact, make it less likely that males will recognize situations that are harassing,” said Edelman, a faculty member in the renowned UC Berkeley law school, where Sujit Choudhry resigned as dean after he was found to have sexually harassed his executive assistant. “Sexual harassment training may provoke backlash in males.”

Studies testing the effects of harassment training are very limited, but some research has suggested counterintuitive and troubling consequences – that after men complete trainings, they may be more inclined to brush aside allegations and discount victims.

Some researchers believe trainings have no positive effects, tend to be more about legal cover than meaningful prevention or may even have unintended negative consequences – raising serious concerns about the way colleges and companies heavily focus on training as a solution to harassment.

One Journal of Applied Behavioral Science study that evaluated a sexual harassment program for university employees found that men who participated in the training were “significantly less likely” to consider coercive behaviors toward a subordinate or student as sexual harassment compared with a control group of men who hadn’t done the training.

Men who completed the 30-minute training – during which officials discussed actions that constitute harassment, the harms of harassment, the importance of reporting and possible discipline – were also significantly less likely to report harassment.

The men’s surprising responses may have been an “effort at self-preservation intended to defend and protect against a perceived attack on them”, the authors wrote.

In other words, the training appears to make some men feel threatened and afraid that they will be subject to false accusations, said Shereen Bingham, co-author of the study and professor at the University of Nebraska at Omaha school of communication. As a result, they may respond in a defensive manner.

“We were surprised … it certainly appears to be irrational,” said Bingham. “The only explanation can be psychological or emotional.”

The findings highlight a broader challenge – that men in leadership roles sometimes struggle to relate to the experiences of those who have faced harassment, she said: “People in powerful positions don’t have a good grasp of what it’s like to be in a non-dominant group.”

Other studies have shown that when workplaces actively inform men of sexual harassment policies, it can also have unintended negative effects. A study published in the Social Psychology Quarterly found that after men learned about harassment rules, it triggered implicit gender biases, effectively making it more likely for them to stereotype women.

“The purpose of sexual harassment policy is to make men and women more equal in the workplace,” said Justine Tinkler, assistant professor of sociology at the University of Georgia and co-author of the study. “If the policies are sort of activating gender stereotypes rather than challenging them, they may not be promoting that broader goal.”

Tinkler has also studied how sexual harassment trainings can provoke backlashand how people who say they support harassment laws are resistant to the enforcement of those policies. Trainings can also reinforce men’s feelings that women are “emotional and duplicitous in the way that they both want sexual attention, but don’t want sexual harassment”, she explained.

Edelman, the UC Berkeley professor, said she suspects the backlash could stem from the “cartoonish, somewhat unrealistic” harassment examples that trainings often include – lessons that can make participants skeptical and resentful.

Edelman’s own research has focused on what’s known as “symbolic compliance”, which refers to the way organizations’ anti-harassment and diversity policies and procedures are primarily focused on demonstrating compliance in a legal context – and likely do little to actually reduce discrimination or harassment.

What’s clear is that there’s minimal research suggesting that standard harassment trainings have a positive impact and an overall dearth of studies on the subject, Edelman said.

“We really need more research on what works. All we really know about sexual harassment training is that it protects employers from liability. We don’t know whether it protects employees. We don’t know whether it reduces sexual harassment.”

In California, employers with 50 or more employees are required by law to provide at least two hours of harassment prevention training, and in the University of California, all faculty and supervisors must complete a training every two years.

Despite those training policies, UC Berkeley administrators and professors have repeatedly harassed subordinates and students and faced light punishments after the university substantiated allegations. 

That includes a famous astronomer, a tenure-track professor and the law dean, who was ordered to take a training course after he was found guilty.

The questionable research makes clear that universities should not only study the effectiveness of training, but should also prioritize other mechanisms to promote prevention, professors said.

“The university should focus more on having a much clearer zero-tolerance policy with very clear sanctions that are very consistently carried out,” said Edelman.

Tinkler said the best way to combat workplace sexual harassment is to reduce gender inequality and promote women in leadership positions.

“It really requires changing workplaces that have gender inequality structured into the way that they are organized,” she said.

Zika virus: Risk higher than first thought, say doctors

Experts say Zika could be behind many other damaging neurological conditions

Fabiane Lopes' four-month old daughter Valentina has microcephaly-Dr Renato Sa says there is a long list of other conditions affecting babies born to mothers who had Zika

Scientists at Instituto D'Or are researching the effects of Zika on brain tissue-Dr Patricia Garcez says her team was astonished by the speed of cell death

BBC News, Rio de Janeiro-By Wyre Davies-2 May 2016

The mosquito-borne Zika virus may be even more dangerous than previously thought, scientists in Brazil say.

They told the BBC that Zika could be behind more damaging neurological conditions, affecting the babies of up to a fifth of infected pregnant women.

Rates of increase in Zika infection in some parts of Brazil have slowed, thanks to better information about preventing the disease.

But the search for a vaccine is still in the early stages.

And Zika continues to spread across the region.

What you need to know: How dangerous is Zika?

2.2 billion in 'at risk' Zika areas

Travel advice: Countries affected and what you should do

Most doctors and medical researchers now agree that there is a link between the Zika virus and microcephaly, where babies are born with abnormally small heads because of restricted brain development.

While it is estimated that 1% of women who have had Zika during pregnancy will have a child with microcephaly, leading doctors in Brazil have told the BBC that as many as 20% of Zika-affected pregnancies will result in a range of other forms of brain damage to the baby in the womb.

A separate study, reported in the New England Journal of Medicine, said that "29% of scans showed abnormalities in babies in the womb, including growth restrictions, in women infected with Zika".

"Our findings are worrisome because 29% of ultrasonograms showed abnormalities, including intrauterine growth restrictions and foetal death, in women with positive Zika infection," the study said.

Zika: What are the symptoms?

Deaths are rare and only one in five people infected is thought to develop symptoms.
These include:

• mild fever
• conjunctivitis (red, sore eyes)
• headache
• joint pain
• a rash

A rare nervous system disorder, Guillain-Barre syndrome, that can cause temporary paralysis has been linked to the infection.

There is no vaccine or drug treatment so patients are advised to rest and drink plenty of fluids.
But the biggest concern is the impact it could have on babies developing in the womb.

Zika virus: Special report

Many of the conditions that Brazilian doctors are noticing in babies born to mothers who had Zika are not as obvious to the untrained eye as microcephaly.

They may not have the same impact on the child's development either but the frequency with which they are occurring is alarming.

Doctor Renato Sa is a senior obstetrician who works in both public and private hospitals in Rio de Janeiro.

"There are cerebral calcifications, an increase in the number of dilation of cerebral ventricles and the destruction or malformation of the posterior part of the brain," he says.

In my notebook he makes a list of the conditions that they are now witnessing with increasing regularity; ventriculomegaly, damage of the posterior fossa, craniocynostosis and cerebral calcification.

He says that an added concern is that often there is no obvious sign or symptom of the neurological damage until later observations of the child's development, "perhaps convulsions or other tell-tale signs".

'Shocked'

There is an obvious urgency to understand more about Zika and develop a vaccine.

At the Instituto D'Or laboratories in Rio de Janeiro they are using stem-cell technology to create new cells that develop like human brains.

They call them "mini brains" and infect them with Zika.

"What we observed is that the Zika virus is able to kill cells, is able to affect the growth of cells," says Dr Stevens Rehen, the unit's senior neuroscientist.

Dr Rehen has noted, as have others, that there is something particularly virulent about the strain of Zika that arrived in Brazil and is presently spreading across the continent.

"There is something in the Zika virus that makes it more prone to kill neurocells during development. Now we need to search and understand what makes that virus more aggressive to the brain under development."

The team was shocked by what it discovered - a huge reduction in growth of the cerebral cortex, the critical outer layer of the brain.

"The effect of the Zika virus was very impressive," says Dr Patricia Garcez.

"We were all astonished by the fast effect. We saw cell death in three days, a massive cell death. In six days, the neurospheres were completely gone."

In a change to earlier patterns, the areas of greatest infection for Zika are now in the south of the country, particularly in Rio de Janeiro.

Among some sectors of society, public information campaigns about the need for using anti-mosquito repellent and taking other precautions appear to be having a positive impact.
Dr Sa says that the number of Zika cases among middle-class pregnant women has fallen sharply, as have cases of microcephaly and other related conditions.

But he says that the disappointing reality is that such progress is not apparent in the city's many poor working-class neighbourhoods, such as Duque de Caxias in the north of Rio de Janeiro.
I met Fabiane Lopes, a single mother of four children whose partner abandoned her when he found out the youngest child was going to be born with microcephaly.

Given her plight - living in a tiny single-room house and dependant on government welfare - Ms Lopes is stoical.

She has to be. Four-month old Valentina needs all the love, attention and therapy she can get.

"We've seen no anti-Zika campaigns around here," says Ms Lopes, illustrating that government messages about Zika control are not getting through to everyone.

She admits never having used anti-mosquito repellent and not being particularly careful about covering up when she was pregnant.

Ms Lopez clearly loves her little girl, despite the tough start in life that she has been dealt. Her other children help with the chores that an absent father has abrogated.

This is a family and a country is still learning how damaging the Zika virus and its consequences can be.

Husband was stripped by Sri Lankan army after his surrender - relatives testify in Kilinochchi

 01 May 2016

Sri Lanka’s Presidential Commission on disappearances made its final sitting in Kilinochchi last week, calling over a thousand witnesses to testify about their missing relatives.

The wife of former LTTE member Kannan, alias Gnanaselvan Uthayarasa, testified after seeing a photo of her husband with other captive LTTE cadres stripped naked and alive at the hands of the Sri Lankan military. 

“My husband is an LTTE member that surrendered to the army on May 18, 2009.

I and my two children witnessed it in person. Thereafter there is no information about my husband

Under these circumstances I got photo evidences of war crimes telecast by Channel 4. There were photos of my husband taken while he was taken by the army in stripped condition, and was seen sitting near a ditch.” 

The mother of Selvaratnam Uthayaraj related that her son has been missing since 2006 when he was moved to the Vembirai camp, from the Meesalai camp, where he was held by the army from December 2005.

“Both hands my son's were tied to a coconut tree behind him,” the mother said, recalling her sister’s visit to Meesalai. “A food packet was kept on ground near his feet for him to consume by licking it like a dog.”

Strangling A Democracy – Collectively

By Suren Rāghavan –May 1, 2016

Dr. Suren Rāghavan

All states have nations. However, all nations may not have a state. A bitter political reality the Tamil separatists should get into their political psyche and come to live with. This is not to deny the Rowlinian justice to a ‘minority’ nation that has lived and struggled for their political freedom with huge historical human and cultural cost: but to negotiate with the global, regional and contemporary national strategic/security realities within the Lankan context. In the same breath one must reiterate to the extreme Sinhala nationalists and their often violent ethnoreligious politics- that oppressing and continuing to deny the fundamental political freedom and the inalienable rights of a nation within their majoritarian ethnic state with such historicized centripetal interpretation and mobilization of ‘superiority’ political power, will not only work as a barrier to the stability of their own ‘Dhammadīpa’ but in fact will be a self-constructed destroyer within a postwar context even with the new found limited opportunities for the recovery of a working democracy.

There are two popular, often asked questions aiming to analyze the bi-polar positions that leads to the structural crisis within the state of Lanka. 1) Why is the nation of Sinhalas, which claims to be the bearers of the pristine Buddhist doctrine cannot construct harmony but take violent paths in their political conflict resolution? 2) Why are the ‘moderate’ Tamil intellectuals silent and disengaged in the face and history of the separatist discourse? The answers vary based on who is asked of, because the questions are raised on false or lopsided conceptual notions of important terms here.

One needs to ask which ‘Buddhism’ are you comparing to conclude that Sinhalas live in contrary and does your ‘moderate intellectuals’ mean those who deny the rights of the Tamils for their self-determination even leading to a separation if such is possible (non-violently)? Because searching for a historical pure Buddhism and come to conclude that it is ‘betrayed’ in Lanka is a ‘Tambiahian’ paradigm constructed and propagated well within a Western/ Protestant understanding of Buddhism. Sinhala Buddhism had never been what is termed as Pāli Buddhism. Instead it arrived, established and continues as a political process of redefining the past, present and future of the Sinhala ethnic nation and their structural power aspirations. For this reason Buddhism is the means not the end within the Sinhala political hegemony against the ‘Asinhalas’ sharing the island. Similarly if a Tamil is considered a moderate because s/he openly stand to oppose the idea of an independent sovereign state for the Tamils carved from the territorial boundaries of present Lanka, then you are not only dismissing the fundamental aspects of modern democracy but also contemporary understanding of collective Human Rights guaranteed by the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights. This makes an a paradigmatic approach to the intellectual discourse of the ethnoreligious and ethnolinguistic nationalisms of Sinhalas and the Tamils respectively – a sociopolitical funambulism. Yet one cannot be silent far too long in the face of the abysmally decomposing democratic nuances even under a so called ‘Rule of Good Governance’

Read More

NPC Resolution:Federalism, Confederation or Separate State? 

By Laksiri Fernando-May 1, 2016, 9:25 pm

There is nothing wrong in proposing a viable federal system to Sri Lanka given the conflict context and its necessary resolution, in the short, the medium or the long term. In fact, it is a must, unless it is stalled by adventurism. This means going beyond the existing devolution arrangements, already quasi-unitary in character. There can be other merits in expanding devolution towards federal or quasi-federal system, particularly taking the existing provinces as economic planning units, although Sri Lanka is a small country.

The size of the country also should be taken into account, although the population is nearly 21 million with three main ethnic or national communities in competition or conflict. The other diversities should be taken into account not necessarily through the state structures but state practices and policies such as human rights, equal opportunities and political culture. What most suitable might be ‘cooperate devolution’ with constitutional safeguards to ensure that the center does not take back or infringe the powers and functions of the provinces, while coming closer to federalism or quasi-federalism.

Nature of Proposals

It is unfortunate in this context what is proposed by the Northern Provincial Council (NPC) is far beyond the realistic conditions in the country and it cannot even be considered an ideal model. There is nothing particularly wrong in ideals, but they in that case should be impartial and open-minded. This quality is not there in the proposals. It is understandable that the proposals are from the Tamil side, or (major) part of the Tamil side. However, any reasonable proposal should be able to see the ‘other’ side, or the problems in a total Sri Lankan context.

One positive aspect of the proposals however is their clarity. Objectives are articulated clearly, and the proposed constitutional principles and structures are elaborated with details. Therefore it is necessary to assess them objectively without emotional outbursts. This is a responsibility on the part of all political parties and all concerned people. It is reported that a copy is now handed over to the Speaker, Karu Jayasuriya, who is also the Chair of the recently constituted Constituent Assembly of Parliament, by the NPC Chief Minister, C. V. Wigneswaran. This is now official.

What is not clear is the origin or the authorship of the proposals. Of course some of the ideas were there for a long time going beyond federalism, but I am here referring to the ‘political authority’ behind the proposals. Although the proposals popularly named as TNA proposals, the text of the proposals are in the name of the Tamil People’s Council (TPC). The exact title of the document says "Tamil People’s Council: Final Proposals for Finding a Political Solution to the Tamil National Question."

The document is not something formulated by the TNA, or even the NPC, although the NPC Chief Minister was apparently involved in the process and there had undoubtedly been many public consultations before its final formulation. What the NPC has done apparently is to pass the proposals through a resolution on 22 April 2016 with 28 members sitting and 10 absent.

According to the website of the TPC, a sub-committee was appointed to formulate the proposals on 2 January 2016 and an initial proposal was inaugurated on 31 January within a month for public consultations. We have to keep in mind that the founding of the TPC was only on 19 December 2015. According to the same website, there had been a five member external panel assisting the proposals, as it says, including "two foreign experts on constitution and three experts from Diaspora." The names are not given.

None of the above should discount the seriousness of the proposals or their necessary critical evaluation in the process of finding a constitutional framework for a viable solution to the ethnic confrontations in the country. However it appears that the proposals are more political or ideological than constitutional as will be discussed below. This discussion is introductory more details may be followed up in the future.

Framework

The proposal constitute two clear parts (1) a very long Preamble expressing political or ideological objectives and (2) constitutional proposals which calls for a loose confederation with a weak ‘federal’ or ‘central’ government. In this 6,912 word document, 1,916 words are spent on the Preamble and the call for a ‘political agreement prior to a constitutional enactment.’ It is intriguing to contemplate why this size of a preamble was required if the purpose is for a ‘political agreement’ and a subsequent ‘constitutional enactment.’

The Preamble can be extremely controversial and might be counterproductive for any pragmatic solution/s that could be achieved based on some of the proposals in the section on the constitution. It begins by saying "throughout the centuries from the dawn of history, the Sinhalese and Tamil nations have divided between themselves the possession of Ceylon."

Even if we leave out the historical inaccuracy of the first part in respect of the origins of the ‘nations,’ it is questionable why the claims of the Sinhalese and the Tamils are considered as a matter of ‘dividing the possessions of the country, between the two groups.’ Are we talking about a conflict for ‘real-estate’ or material possessions? If that is the case, the ordinary people are not part of it, except they are mobilized on emotional grounds.

It may be correct to consider the Kings and their families divided the possessions of the country between themselves in old days (with some corollaries in recent times!), but not the people. Even that not necessarily on ethnic or nation lines but dynasties. The first three paragraphs delightfully talk about the ancient Kingdoms.

It may be the case that the drafters wanted to trace the history. But the way that has been done gives the impression that at least the first approach of the proposal is quite primordial. The primordial approach in nationalism is quite well known. As the "The Nationalism Project" rather critically says, "Nationalists argue that nations are timeless phenomena. When man climbed out of the primordial slime, he immediately set about creating nations." This primordial approach is shared by both the Sinhalese and the Tamil extremists. At least they have one point in agreement!

Ideological Approach

The above does not mean that the whole historical narrative traced in the Preamble, particularly for the period after independence is completely incorrect. There is a general agreement among the moderate people about some of the points traced in the paragraph seven which begins by saying, "Acknowledging that successive Sinhalese governments since independence have always [sic] encouraged and fostered the aggressive nationalism of the Sinhalese people and have used their political power to the detriment of the Tamils,"irrespective of the explosive language used and exaggerations or distortions committed.

However, it is questionable whether this is the way to go about political negotiations for a constitutional settlement for the national question. It is strange again to note the reference to the ‘territories of the former Tamil Kingdom’ when it refers to ‘a system of planned state-organized Sinhalese colonization’ in point (b) in the same paragraph. Be as it may, more controversial might be the assertion of the Vaddukoddai resolution (1976) and the Thimpu principles (1985) as a Preamble to constitutional negotiations.

Nowhere in the proposal is it said that the TPC is not asking for a separate state. Instead, the catastrophic adventure of the LTTE is defended in the following terms.

"Bearing in mind that the Tamil armed struggle as a measure of self-defense and as a means for the realization of the Tamil rights to self-determination arose only after more than four decades of non-violent and peaceful constitutional struggle / attempts by the various Tamil political parties to win their rights, by co-operating with the successive governments in order to achieve the bare minimum of political rights proved to be futile and due to the absence of means to resolve the conflict peacefully,"

It is a subjective or unilateral assessment to say about the complete exhaustion of ‘more than four decades of non-violent and peaceful constitutional struggle/attempts’ - while there is some relative truth in it. What we have to understand is that the struggle for democracy is a long and an arduous struggle. (By the way I have not seen the concept of democracy or the word ‘democracy’ appearing in any significant manner in the whole document.) There are various forms of ‘non-violent and peaceful struggles.’ If there is no engagement or dialogue, then those might not reap results.

However, none of those would justify the so-called "Tamil armed struggle as a measure of self-defense" or "as a means for the realization of the Tamil rights for self-determination." In my view, the statement is a clear justification of LTTE terrorism which is unfortunate and unacceptable.

Constitutional Structure?

It may be true that the proposal has not directly called for a ‘separation of the country.’ But it has called for a weak Federation and strong (provincial) States, North-East as a Tamil state. For example, the document proposes 55 powers for the States, but 37 powers for the Federation! The interpretation of these powers and the ‘mingle’ of the ‘federation and the states’ are as follows. Let me quote the full section to give a taste of it. This is titled "Powers of the Federation and the States" (Section 8).

8.1. Powers of Government shall be shared between the Federation (Centre) and the States.

8.2. The Federal List of the Constitution shall determine the powers to be exercised by the Federation.

8.3. The States shall exercise all powers not falling within the Federal List including those powers listed under the States List.

8.4. The Federation and the States shall be supreme in their respective spheres of competence.

The ‘fashionable’ proposition (yet erroneous or ambiguous from the beginning in my opinion) for ‘power-sharing’ seems to be the formula that was utilized for the ‘mingled arrangement.’(My good friend Dr. JayampathyWickremaratne might be in a difficult position to sort this out.)Thus it proposes to share power ‘between the Federation (Centre) and the States’ particularly between the ‘Centre and the (Tamil) North-East State.’

There is an interesting ‘Note’ to the section that I have quoted above, which says "The States' List has been prepared from the perspective of the powers that the North-East State Assembly would exercise." This is in a way understandable, because it talks about ‘Tamil’ interests or aspirations. What the proposal has perceived is a multi-unit federation and question whether there is a need to have the same powers for the ‘other units’ saying, "We recognize that unlike the North-East no other part of the country makes claims to maximum self-government."

Most intriguing are the last two sub-sections (8.3 and 8.4) which says (1) ‘the States (read North-East) shall exercise all powers not falling within the Federal List’ and (2) ‘the Federation and the States (again read North-East) shall be supreme in their respective spheres.’ This is about a ‘separate state’ within a loose federation, with ‘supremacy for that state’ in its own sphere.

The Media As A Tool For Social Action

By Emil van der Poorten –May 1, 2016

Emil van der Poorten

One of the recent bonuses of writing a weekly column for both an English Sunday newspaper and to a web publication has been the development of an informal “think tank” in the matter of seeking social justice for the vast majority of rural Sri Lankans whose travails go unreported otherwise.

Amidst the barrage of downright racist filth, up to and including the “c-word,” have been thoughtful suggestions from readers as to how those of us who live in the great “outback” of rural Sri Lanka might seek some little relief from the problems that face us on a daily basis and to which politicians, supposedly representing us at local, regional, provincial, and national level pay not the slightest attention. After all, they are too busy lining their pockets to listen to their alleged constituents and have tools waiting in the wings to provide appropriate “persuasion” in the event that their constituents show signs of wanting to ensure that they do not return to their positions of absolute power. This “persuasion” is basically of two kinds – crumbs from the table at which the politicians sup and the threat of bodily harm. You want proof? Check the track records of those who rode back into Parliament on Mahinda Rajapaksa’s (MR1) coattails. I don’t think you could find one who had a non-violent, uncorrupt track record among their considerable number still on our political scene.

A significant number of readers of Colombo Telegraph, a web publication, have provided leads as to how government legal institutions might be contacted in order to seek the relief that we so desperately need and cannot afford to buy in the marketplace that is Sri Lanka today. For that, I and my neighbours will always be grateful.

However, another serious problem facing all Sri Lankans, urban middle class to countryside peasant, is of a “New Class” that only a Milovan Djilas may have been able to do justice to: those who’ve become the new beneficiaries of the new Ohey Palayang (OP) dispensation despite being part of the violence and corruption of the MR1 entourage. The suggestions made by a number of readers as to how to circumvent the bureaucratic roadblocks, unfortunately, do not appear to provide a solution to what I am about to relate.

A significant number of the political flotsam and jetsam on our national scene are not only being tolerated by the OP dispensation but have begun ascending the (new) ladder of wealth, power and privilege under the Maithripala/Ranil (MR2) government! In fact, I have solid evidence of one individual that I have had cause to have contact with who has not only been restored to “respectability” after exposure of his conduct vis-à-vis human rights during the not-so-recently-concluded war against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), but has been placed at the head of one of Sri Lanka’s premier medical institutions by the official mouthpiece and Minister of Health of the OP lot, Rajitha Senaratne.

Read More

HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL AT 10: CIVIL SOCIETY OUTLINES PLAN FOR HRC

28.04.2016,

(Geneva) – At 10 years, the UN’s peak human rights body should move to become more accessible to rights holders, more protective for victims of human rights violations, and more effective in holding States and non-State actors to account.

In a joint civil society paper published on the occasion of the anniversary of the Human Rights Council, 20 leading national, regional and international human rights NGOs outline a series of concrete steps and proposals that would strengthen the impact of the Council’s work.

‘While the 10th anniversary is an opportunity to take stock of progress, it is first and foremost a critical moment for States to commit to a body that protects and promotes fundemental human rights more effectively,’ said Michael Ineichen, ISHR’s Human Rights Council Advocacy Director.

Human Rights Council at 10: Civil society outlines plan for HRC to become more protective, effective and accessible

‘This joint civil society paper provides concrete ideas and steps that States and UN officials can take today, to lay the foundations for a better Human Rights Council for all in the future,’ Mr Ineichen said.

---

Key points

• 20 leading human rights groups set out steps towards a more accessible, effective and protective Human Rights Council.
• Membership in the Council must be tied to concrete contributions to protecting rights at home and internationally.
• Human Rights Council decisions must move from paper to implementation.
• Chronic and urgent situations of human rights violations must be addressed swiftly and robustly.
• Human rights defenders and civil society must be protected and supported in addressing the UN.
• Institutional tweaks to the Council could increase its impact, strengthen the role of the President, and raise the Status of human rights within the UN.

---

The civil society paper outlines a broad vision of a Council that directly guides the actions of State and non-state actors, addresses serious rights violations head on, provides space for civil society, and demands better adherence to basic membership standards.

The paper was coordinated by ISHR with the input of leading organisations from all regions, including the Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA), Conectas, CELS, the East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project, and international groups such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.

‘The joint civil society paper provides important elements to begin a conversation towards a more effective Human Rights Council.’ said R. Iniyan Ilango, UN Advocacy Programme Manager at FORUM-ASIA.

‘To succeed such conversations will have to genuinely focus on strengthening the human rights pillar of the UN and equally include voices of diverse actors from both the global South and North,’ Mr Ilango said.

Putting a price on Council membership

Among the proposals to increase the body’s effectiveness are a range of steps to enhance the membership of the Council, such as a pledge by electing States to genuinely consider factors such as a candidates State’s progress in protecting human rights, decisively implementing international recommendations, and cooperating fully and in good faith with the Council and its expert mechanisms.

Recent elections to the Human Rights Council in 2015 were criticised by human rights groups on the basis that they were not sufficiently open and competitive and that political considerations trumped human rights concerns for many states in exercising their votes.

Enhancing civil society input and impact on the Council

Ending threats and attacks against human rights defenders in retaliation for their cooperation with the Council is among the key recommendations contained in the paper, as is increasing both physical space and remote participation opportunities for national level civil society.

‘The distance between the Council and local societies in different countries is worrying, and is also a consequence of the limited dissemination of what States are discussing in Geneva,’ said Camila Asano, Foreign Policy Coordinator of Conectas Human Rights in Brazil.

‘Sadly, many national civil society groups struggle to find out their own country’s position at the Council. States must commit themselves to increase the accountability on foreign policy and create mechanisms for access to information and social participation while building the positions to be taken in Geneva.’ Ms Asano said.

Stepping up implementation of Council decisions

A weakness in the Council’s work is the lack of implementation of its decisions by States, the paper says. An increase in financial resources for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Council’s human rights experts, along with the consistent use of benchmarks in Human Rights Council resolutions to measure progress towards implementation, are highlighted in the paper as key steps to remedy weaknesses.

‘The Council should serve as a catalyst for the struggles of local social actors,’ said Gabriela Kletzel, Director of the International Team at the Centro de Estudios Legales y Sociales (CELS) in Argentina.

‘Shortening the distance between on-the-ground realities and discussions in Geneva would not only strengthen implementation, but also enable the Council to address human rights violations in a more timely way,’ Ms Kletzel said.

Addressing urgent human rights situations and preventing human rights crises

Among the longstanding critiques of the Human Rights Council is the lack of swift and decisive responses in situations of chronic or emerging human rights violations.

‘The Council must act to address human rights situations, including gross and systematic violations, impartially, objectively and without selectivity. While the Council has brought global attention to a number of significant human rights violations, and put in place mechanisms to ensure continued scrutiny, challenges remain, many situations are unaddressed, and all too often politics trump human rights,’ said John Fisher, Geneva Director with Human Rights Watch.

To this end, the civil society paper calls on principled States to come together to develop and implement a joint pledge to request a special session of the Council, or to commence work on a situation- or country-specific initiative, in situations that meet a certain threshold, or are referred to the Council by independent actors. Such triggers could include, for example:

• the High Commissioner for Human Rights suggesting Council action;
• a group of four or more Special Procedures mandate holders suggesting Council action;
• relevant regional mechanisms flagging a situation as requiring the Council’s attention;
• the General Assembly or the Security Council flagging a situation as requiring the Council’s attention; or
• a group comprising a State’s A-status NHRI, together with three or more ECOSOC-accredited NGOs, suggesting Council action.

Implemented effectively, such an initiative could substantially strengthen the Council’s ability and track record when it comes to fulfilling its own mandate to contribute to the ‘prevention of human rights violations and respond promptly to human rights emergencies,’ Mr Ineichen said.

The civil society paper will be formally launched at forthcoming high-level events in Geneva and New York.

Contacts:

• Michael Ineichen, International Service for Human Rights, on m.ineichen@ishr.ch
• Iniyan Ilango, Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA), on iniyan@forum-asia.org
• Camila Asano, Conectas, on camila.asano@conectas.org
• Gabriela Kletzel, CELS, on gkletzel@cels.org.ar
• John Fisher, Human Rights Watch, on fisherj@hrw.org