Divided national unity government needs time to prioritise

By Jehan Perera-July 4, 2016, 12:00 pm 

The UN Human Rights Council sessions in Geneva no longer dominate the media headlines the way they used to. During the time of the previous government the UNHRC sessions in Geneva were utilized to rally popular support on the grounds that it was needed to counter the hostile intent of the Western-led component of the international community. The former government used to give the most detrimental interpretations to the intentions of the international community and gave the work of the UNHRC the maximum of negative publicity before, during and after those sessions. It accused the international community of seeking to punish those in the Sri Lankan military who had won the war and promised not to betray them. They gave a narrow interpretation to the successive resolutions of the UNHRC since 2009 as being motivated by the desire to punish Sri Lanka and its war heroes.

By way of contrast, the policy of constructive engagement of the successor government in office since 2015 has succeeded in assuaging the concerns of the general public about the actual nature of the threat posed to the country by the Western-led international community. Most people would now see the government as handling the international community with skill and with tact. More than nine months have elapsed since the government took the unexpected step of co-sponsoring the UNHRC resolution of October 2015 and turned former hostile countries in the UNHRC into friends once more. But the resolution itself is only implemented in part as yet. The pervasive culture of fear that existed under the former government is gone, but only one of the four transitional justice mechanisms that the government promised to establish has appeared, and that too only in draft form.

The UNHRC sessions in Geneva this did not catch the media headlines and stay there for two main reasons. The first is that the present government itself downplays the UNHRC sessions and does not give it publicity, unlike its predecessor. It is aware that what the international community is seeking from Sri Lanka in terms of addressing the human rights violations of the past is fraught with controversy. The three decade long war is over and the military battlefields have been cleared but the divisions of the past continue with the political demands of the Sinhalese, Tamil and Muslim communities not able to find a meeting point. In working out answers to the demands of the UNHRC process, the government prefers to do so with a minimum of publicity as it has not been able to find the meeting point that is minimally acceptable to all three communities.

STATESMANLIKE APPOINTMENT

The second reason for the UNHRC sessions not to stay long on the media headlines this time was because the happenings in Geneva were eclipsed by domestic political controversies. One was the issue of the reappointment of the Central Bank Governor who had come under a cloud for bond transactions worth billions of rupees. This controversy pitted the two main constituent parties of the government against each other, the Prime Minister supporting the reappointment of the Governor but the President not willing to do so. Better sense has prevailed and a mutually acceptable choice for the position of the Governor of the Central Bank has been made. The appointment of Dr Indrajith Coomaraswamy to the top position in the Central Bank has brought a statesmanlike conclusion to a problem that was threatening to undermine the unity of the government.

Another domestic issue that pushed Geneva into the background has been the public agitation against the increase in the Value Added Tax (VAT) on goods and services. The increase in the cost of living that this has brought about is unpopular with the general population who are struggling to make ends meet. But the government also needs to increase tax revenue to bridge a massive budget deficit and to keep to the agreements regarding good governance and economic rationality that it has made to other financial institutions in order to get financial support from them. The opposition is cashing in on the opposition to the VAT induced price increases, and has been persuading shop owners in different parts of the country to put up their shutters as evidence of public protest. The government’s own position in regard to retention of VAT has been ambivalent with the President making statements that he will ensure the reversing of the tax.

However, it is important to note that the priority that the general public attaches to domestic issues at this time, and relative lack of interest in the human rights-centered processes in Geneva, does not mean that they will go along with the expectations of the international community on issues relating to the UNHRC resolution. The topics of war crimes, foreign judges and devolution of power are politically controversial within the country at this time as much as in the past, and pit the expectations of the ethnic communities against one another. Although they did not dominate the news headlines, there was adverse media commentary on the proceedings in Geneva right through the UNHRC sessions last month. This adverse commentary was not countered by the government, which gave free space to the nationalists on both sides to undermine the government’s credibility. The necessary counter-campaign was missing.

SEQUENCING NECESSARY

In his report to the UNHRC, High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, appreciated the progress made by the government in a number of areas, but also pointed out that the government has not moved fast enough with tangible measures to build confidence among victims and minority communities and that there are anxieties that the full promise of governance reform, transitional justice and economic revival, risks stalling or dissipating. He said the progress in identifying and releasing land in the North and East still held by the military has been slow. He also said that the military presence in the north and east remains heavy and that a culture of surveillance, and, in certain instances, intimidation, also persists. He said that the fate of persons detained under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) remains a concern and that while government released on bail 39 individuals detained without charge, the fate of around 250 detainees remain unclear and that more than 40 new arrests reportedly took place in 2015-16.

However, the main unaddressed issue that the High Commissioner made specific mention of was the government’s failure to set up a special court for war crimes and to bring foreign judges, prosecutors and investigators into it to make the accountability process a credible one. He expressed his view that "a valuable step for the Government to quickly build public and international confidence will be to advance some of the emblematic cases pending before the courts and achieve successful prosecutions." He also said that "I remain convinced that international participation in the accountability mechanisms, as stipulated in the Human Rights Council's resolution, would be a necessary guarantee for the credibility, independence and impartiality of the process in the eyes of victims given the magnitude and complexity of the alleged international crimes, which the OHCHR investigation found could amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity."

The problem for the government is that any attempt at this stage to set up a war crimes court and bring in foreign judges will break the unity of the government and provide a fertile ground for the opposition to mobilize people on the streets against it. Already the government is facing severe stresses due to the different positions taken by the two main political parties that form the government on issues ranging from the Governor of the Central Bank to the Value Added Tax. On the other hand, both the international human rights community and Tamil polity are equally convinced that having non-partisan judges who are foreigners will be necessary to ensure the credibility of the accountability process. In these circumstances, the most pragmatic course of action for the government would be to sequence the decision on international participation in the accountability process to a later time. In the meantime the government needs to focus on meeting other targets such as release of land, demilitarization, economic development and improving the devolution of power in practice.

“LANKA FULFILLED ONLY 11 % OF PLEDGES TO UNHRC AND 20% OF PLEDGES TO LLRC”, SAYS STUDY

President Sirisena is under pressure to fulfill his post-civil war promises of accountability and justice.

( Image by Verite research)

By P.K.Balachandran.-04/07/2016

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka has fulfilled only 11 percent of the pledges it had made to the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in September 2015, and only 20 percent of the commitments it had made to the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) in 2011, according to a study by the Colombo-based think tank Verite Research.

Of the commitments made to the UNHRC, the report says: “Overall, the implementation is slow. Of the 36 commitments made in regard to Resolution 30/1, only four have been fully implemented. Progress in the implementation of a majority of commitments – 22 commitments – has been poor.”

In 61.1 percent of the cases, progress has been “poor”. In 25 percent of the cases there has been “partial progress”; and in 2.8 percent of the cases there has been “no progress”. The government has met its commitments in 11.1 percent of the cases.

In regard to the implementation of the pledges made to the LLRC, Verite Research says that only 20 percent of the commission’s 189 actionable recommendations have been implemented. There has been “partial implementation” in 57 percent of the cases, but progress has been “poor” in 22 percent of the cases.

Positives

Looking at the positives, the study notes that the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe government has signed the International Convention on Enforced Disappearances. The cabinet has approved a proposal to set up an Office of Missing Persons and has also decided to issue Certificates of Absence to the families of missing persons.

The report on the Public Representations Committee on Constitutional Reform has submitted its report and the Constitutional Assembly, which is to write a new constitution for the country, has set up sub committees, including one on power sharing.

The government had lifted the ban on 269 Tamil individuals and eight Tamil Diaspora organizations saying that their links to Tamil militancy were not established.

Negatives

On the negative side, the report observes that there has been no progress on the promise to substitute the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) with a new anti-terror law which will be in line with international best practices. Arrests under the PTA took place only recently when a cache of weapons were found in Chavakachcheri in Jaffna district.

“There has been no review of convictions under PTA, including those secured on the basis of confessions and torture in custody,” the report says.

Verite Research quotes Prisons Minister D.M.Swaminathan to say that in March 2016, there were 158 PTA detainees in 11 prisons, out of whom 32 had been convicted.

It notes that government is yet to investigate the 2014 anti-Muslim riots in Aluthgama in which four people were killed. The riots, (instigated by the pro-government Bodu Bala Sena), had turned the Muslims en masse against the then President Mahinda Rajapaksa in the January 8 2015 Presidential election.

8,218 acres in North Still With Military.

Despite President Maithipala Sirisena’s promise to get the military to return all civilian lands it had taken over during the war years within six months of coming to power, 8,218 acres belonging to private citizens are still with the armed forces in the Tamil-majority Northern Province.

This is so even though the government owns 29,605 acres in that province, the report informs, the report says.

The India-inspired 13 Constitutional Amendment of 1987, had made it mandatory to form a National Land Commission to draft land policy. But the commission is yet to be established. The result – the Minister of Lands determines land policy “unconstitutionally.” In 2013, a census of deaths, injuries and damage to property during the conflict was conducted, but it is yet to be published, the report notes.

Towards an era of prosperity

JUL 02 2016

In this global economy, Lanka is counted as a country moving into the middle income group with an annual per capita income more than 4,000 US dollars by end of this year (2016). But this per capita calculation does not indicate the real poverty due to income disparity and social polarization. If every person had that income, there would not be beggars on the streets. There would not be “Samurdhi” recipients in villages! We know there are beggars at every street corner and Samurdhi recipients in every village. This termed “per capita” income is such that majority is excluded from enjoying that income.

Global capitalist economics distorts the actual picture of poverty. In such calculations the “poverty line”, GDP, inflation and foreign debt are mere “numbers” on paper; useful only to the modern capitalist economists. In day-to-day life they have no relevance to the majority of people who live much below the so-called average income. Life with the majority is quite a struggle. That is why wage increase given by this government is appreciated by every body. However the recommended Rs. 2,500 increment has not reached the estate workers yet. With a Rs. 2,500 increase from May 2016, the registered minimum wage in the private sector is Rs.13, 500 only. Though monthly earnings in the private sector are above this it is with much sweat and sacrifice workers reach such heights.

Heavily competitive free market

Prime Minister  Ranil Wickremesinghe

For example, the apparel sector alone has nearly half a million workers of which 85 per cent are female workers. They have to meet very high targets arbitrarily fixed by management, work compulsory overtime each day and sweat through a whole month to collect a “take home” pay of Rs.16,000 to 18,000 per month.

This certainly is less than half the per capita income as given by average calculation. This hard earned income of less than Rs. 20,000 is very often is used to supply the basic needs of a family. However, nearly Rs 50,000 is necessary for an average family, for survival; as given in “Household Income and Expenditure” surveys.

In the rural sector the incomes are much below and those who living through cultivations and animal husbandry, the average monthly income is below Rs 15,000. Rural life is hard and compels people to move towards cities. Over 53 per cent of children under five years, in rural society are malnourished, which leads to stunted growth. Rural culture doesn’t talk of nourishment, but of filling the belly. It is on this rural “culture” that most politicians argue, people don’t die of starvation in Sri Lanka. A whole family can live on a “Jak fruit” they say. This rural culture allows for poverty to go unchallenged in a heavily competitive free market.

Eight hour working day

What is amiss is the fact that “employment” or income generation is not a timeless activity for mere living. The importance of the eight hour working day lies in just that.

The importance in the sacrifices the workers made with their lives at Haymarket Square in Chicago over 130 years ago is that, the whole world now accepts an eight hour working day, written into law. That eight hour working day has to be paid adequately in wages, for the worker to not only eat, feed and clothe himself and his family, but to sustain his and his families’ collective cultural life during the next eight hours of the day, before s/he retires for the remaining eight hours that makes a 24 hour day. That in fact is the logic of an eight hour working day. These were confirmed by all struggles in Lanka, such as Hartal and 1980 strike.

Critical groups say “The much maligned Colombo Port City project begun by Rajapaksa is now being carried through under Prime Minister Wickremesinghe with the same Chinese company without any details given as to what was changed, if any was changed. And this hybrid government consisting of the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe duo also leans heavily on urban development, no different to Rajapaksa. Their only development project the “Megapolis” would leave all rural life outside the Megapolis, wholly neglected.

Accountable, transparent and democratic governance

A turn around to accountable, transparent and democratic governance is not possible without tinkering with the corrupt, politicized, inefficient systems. However the policy shift towards devolution and decentralization promises important social democratic change in rural society. Ranil said in his programme presented to the parliament, “Yet another challenge faced by us is the catastrophe facing the rural economy. The opportunities that existed for rural families and communities to make a successful living have been destroyed.

Large and medium scale ventures that enriched the rural economies have been deactivated. We must urgently address this issue and take meaningful steps to develop the rural economy and attend to the problems faced by farmers by uplifting the rural economy within a short-term development framework.
We plan to establish 2,500 state rural development centres. This will be achieved through the grouping of many villages under one development centre. The centres will have access to fully equipped rural economic market units. We will also strengthen and build the rural infrastructural facilities from the village roads, village tanks and the village fair, incorporating greater progress for rural economies through a Village Level Development Programme. There will be funds set aside for this purpose from the budget.

Large-scale agricultural enterprises in which farmers can be members will be established under the plan to develop the rural economy. We plan to take such ventures in other countries as examples and encourage such ventures locally.

They will be given concessions and land towards harnessing and developing farmer based agricultural initiatives. Through this, we can initiate a competitive agricultural market and review export of agro products.

We will establish a fully fledged agro marketing authority that will purchase all agricultural produce. When looking back at our history, we can be proud of the period ---of prosperity under Maha Parakramabahu. We traded in spices, precious stones, elephants and rice with the world. We were considered a key import and export hub.

We believe that with the planned economic remedies, we will be able to bring back such an era of prosperity for the nation once again. In order to be able to do so, we must be able to get the economic foundation right. Multi disciplined economic strength; local competitiveness, international trade and Investments must be in our sights. Knowledge based Social Market Economy built on social justice principles must be fostered.”

These promises should be implemented with other items in order to silence critiques.

Moolai Hospital II – The Challenge

By S. Sivathasan –July 3, 2016

S. Sivathasan

“Him I call a Mahatma whose heart bleeds for the poor” – Swami Vivekananda

“Those flushed with wealth, let them give heaps of gold, others can opt for cash grants, those who are not so endowed may shower words of blessing” – Bharathy

Swami’s words have inspired humanity for generations. Bharathy spares nobody in his invocation to munificence. Our thoughts may be high and aspirations noble. Yet harsh realities bring us down to earth. However much the sun may scorch Moolai, a park like surrounding will provide a hospitable environment. To a rational individual Moolai doubling its current land availability of five acres would seem basic. The expenses on the totality of all other assets can be easily computed by an architect and doctors conversant with the subject. A rule of thumb preliminary attempt would suffice for the moment. Needless to say, the scale will be a few hundred million rupees. At first sight itself, diaspora participants as major partners would seem vital.

Comparisons and Rising Expectations

Why should investment be so high? In the perception of those who have gone through the mill, there are three essentials of life which are necessarily high cost: Health, Education and Housing. Adding the word affordable doesn’t make them viable nor even acceptable. Having them with all complements has become a compulsion. Settling down to varying degrees of dilution is never an option.

Project for the Improvement of Central Functions of Jaffna Teaching Hospital opened in 2013

“The Jaffna Teaching Hospital now provides healthcare services to the people of the North from its renovated five storey building built through a JICA grant of Japanese Yen 2.298 Million. The new building opened on 13 February 2013 is the only tertiary care hospital for the region. It has a new operation theatre complex, a Central supply and Sterilizing Department, Intensive Care Unit (ICUs) Central Laboratory Complex, and central facilities for diagnostic imaging among other facilities. Implementation: The Ministry of Health.”

Changing World and Latecomer North

Since 1945 following on the end of World War II, the medical world has progressed phenomenally and changed visually on facilities. Internet has brought them all before our eyes. Medical miracles too are easily seen on screen. As with expanding knowledge so with rising demands and vaulting aspirations. Sri Lanka too has been in the process of modernization in the delivery of health services. Buildings and equipment display that change. A few have trickled to the North as well.

Private Sector Hospital in Jaffna

Read More

New Sri Lankan Central Bank Governor assumes office ( Video)

( July 4, 2016, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) New Governor of Sri Lanka’s Central Bank, Indrajit Coomaraswamy assumed office on Monday, replacing Arjuna Mahendran whose 17th month tenure was clouded with allegations of insider trading in Treasury bonds.

Dr. Coomaraswamy, a distinguished economist with Central Bank, Finance Ministry and London-based Commonwealth Secretariat experience, received his appointment letter from President Maithripala Sirisena on Monday morning and then moved to the headquarters of the banking regulator where he was welcomed.

The new Governor has a daunting task of restoring the credibility of the bank and also in uplifting the morale of its staff many of whom felt victimized by the former two Governors. Unlike the previous two incumbents – Ajit Nivard Cabraal and Mahendran who were political appointees (apart from their academic qualifications) -, Dr. Coomaraswamy was selected purely on his academic achievements. 

However his association with Sri Lankan-born hedge fund trader Raj Rajaratnam, jailed in 2011 for securities fraud in the US, could raise some issues. The new Governor was a special advisor to the controversial Galleon Group hedge fund headed by Rajaratnam and also a director of a connected British company called Galleon Research Services Ltd.

The new appointment is a compromise after a tug-of-war between the President (who preferred Deputy Governor Nandalal Weerasinghe) and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe who wanted to re-appoint Mahendran if he was cleared of wrongdoing in an ongoing parliamentary probe in a tainted bond issue and Charitha Ratwatte as a stop-gap appointment.

The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce welcomed the appointment and urged all stakeholders to support efforts to restore confidence at the bank.

“The new Central Bank Governor is recognized for his ability to communicate complex economic issues to non-expert audiences, distill the effects of international economic events to their relevance for Sri Lanka, and provide an informed perspective of the opportunities and challenges emerging for the Sri Lankan economy,” it said, adding: “Dr. Coomaraswamy’s integrity, international experience, and formidable intellect are invaluable at a time when Sri Lanka seeks to expand its global footprint and is exposed to international capital markets more than ever before.”

New CB Governor pledges to lead by example

• Insists independence, integrity, technical excellence and professionalism must return
• Says it is central bankers job to convince politicians that good economics is good politics

Tuesday, 5 July 2016

The Central Bank’s new Governor Dr. Indrajit Coomaraswamy yesterday pledged to lead by example and listed three guiding principles for his staff while sending a clarion call to politicians that good economics is critical for their and country’s success.

Speaking to Central Bankers after accepting the letter of appointment from President Maithripala Sirisena, Dr. Commaraswamy for whom it was indeed a “home coming” of sorts, gave three thoughts on what Central Bankers in his view should be imbued with “One is clearly integrity; two is technical excellence and three is professionalism.”

He said that he would like those three concepts to be the guiding principles “for all of us, as we go forward.”

“And if any of you think that I am not living up to those principles, please find your way to getting that message to the 15th floor that I personally am not living up to those three principles,” the 14th Governor told Central Bankers. 

President Maithripala Sirisena chats with new Central Bank Governor Dr. Indrajit Coomaraswamy (centre) after handing over the letter of appointment whilst Deputy Governor Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe is also present

"We need to get away from this cycle of ‘stop go policies’ of creating artificial booms through misaligned policies. We need to set a good framework for the economy"

He said that such a course was important in terms of leadership. “I need to be able to set an example and I’m going to do my best to do so. And if there are any short comings as I said, I would like to hear them.”

Dr. Coomraswamy, who served the Central Bank from 1973 to 1989 in the Economic Research, Statistics and Bank Supervision Divisions as a staff officer, said he wants to encourage a culture of discussion, of debate, of openness, and encouraged staff to help him do so.

“It should never be personal, if somebody has a different opinion. We need to put our heads together. We will have different views, we need to throw it out in the open, discuss and then eventually find the best way forward.”

Focusing on the macro situation, the veteran economist who had worked at the Commonwealth from 1990-2008 including as Director, Economic Affairs Division and Deputy-Director, Secretary-General’s Office, said there is always concern about the balance between politics and economics.

“In my view for much of our post-independent years; I’m not putting on one party or the other or one Government or the other, but if you look back from 1948, for most of the time politics has trumped economics. It is our job to convince our politicians that good economics is good politics,” Coomraswamy emphasised.

As the Central Bank, he pointed out, “we need to get away from this cycle of ‘stop go policies’ of creating artificial booms through misaligned policies. We need to set a good framework for the economy.”

However the new Central Bank Chief reminded his staff that Sri Lanka has a representative democracy. “People elected by the people — the Government — of course have sovereignty reposed in them.” “However, the Monetary Law Act sets about some very specific responsibilities for the Central Bank and it is up to us to fulfil those responsibilities in a very technocratic, objective and free way. That is not to say we should be criticising the Government of the day; that’s not our business. But there are channels through which we can get independent advice to the Government,” he emphasised.

Coomaraswamy said that he was very keen and that he has spoken to President and Prime Minister too about this that the Central Bank does its work independently and in a technical way and discreetly advises the Government about the best way forward for those segments of policy and practice for which the Central Bank has responsibility.

He also said that: “When I met President he just told me one thing. He said: ‘Do your work in a straight way and do not fear anybody in discharging your duties.’ Now my intention is to follow his direction and to carry out my functions according to his wishes.

“When I met Prime Minister he laid out his vision of where he wants to take this country and there is a big role for the Central Bank. And in many ways, if we are not able to fulfil our functions in the way it should be fulfilled, in terms of creating a platform for macroeconomic stability with strong macroeconomic fundamentals, having financial sector stability so, there is confidence right through the system — nothing else is possible.

That is the first step to get strong macroeconomic fundamentals, to have the financial sector which is the lifeblood of the country stable and people within the country and outside confident in it. So that’s our responsibility.

As I said, I genuinely believe nothing else will really take off unless we are able to do our job or fulfil our functions well. So, we have a big responsibility and I look to all of you, for your assistance and cooperation in doing this.”

New appointment fails to boost stock market 

Investor sentiments in the Colombo Stock Market failed to cheer up despite widespread commendation of the appointment of the new Central Bank Governor.

The All Share Index of CSE was down by 32 points and the blue chip S&P SL 20 Index was lower by 12 points. ASI close was its lowest since 7 April. It lost 1.3 % last week, posting its third straight weekly loss. Year to date ASPI Performance stood at -8.9%, while Blue Chip Index projected a decline of -8.6%.

Market turnover was a lacklustre Rs. 227 million, down by 68% from Friday and well below this year’s daily average of Rs. 735.9 million.

The market dipped mainly due to price losses in counters such as CARS.N (Rs. 230.20, -4.38%), DIAL.N (Rs. 10.40, -3.82%), HNB.N (Rs. 207.40, -3.56%), CTC.N (Rs. 1,043.10, -3.03%) and SLTL.N (Rs. 37.50, -2.12%).

Foreigners took the position of net sellers for the day, recording a net foreign outflow of Rs. 59 million for the day. Year to date net foreign outflow stands at Rs. 6.3 billion.

Reuters said the stock market dipped due to worries about the imposition of a capital gains tax on equities and rising interest rates.

“People are still waiting for positive news and not willing to buy, expecting the market to come down further amid uncertainty over tax structures and other policy uncertainties,” said a stockbroker asking not to be named. “High interest rates also weighed on sentiment.”

Shares have shown a falling trend with comments from a minister last week about the imposition of a capital gains tax on equities dampening sentiment which was already hit by high interest rates and policy uncertainty.

SRI LANKA: INDEPENDENT COMMISSION TO UPLIFT JOURNALISM

( Dr Ranga kalansooriya)

04/07/2016

Setting up an independent commission for media sector it is expected to set minimum salary standards and code of ethics, which will be used to issue accreditation cards in the future.

According to the Director General of Government Information Dr. Ranga Kalansooriya, the Ministry of Parliamentary Reforms and Mass Media has taken a policy decision to improve the standards of media and look after welfare of media personel.

“We expect to discuss this matter with all the media organizations before it is implemented”, Dr. Kalansooriya said.

Dr.Kalansooriya, was the chief guest at a function held yesterday (2nd July) in Colombo to launch to the Code of Ethics for the Photographers. He also pointed out the necessity of establishing a regulatory system to take actions against those who violate these ethics.

The media personnel were invited to join and discuss for this purpose, which affect them directly. “Let’s begin from anywhere possible to make professional journalists”, he added.

News.lk

‘Let Her Cry’  is not a male fantasy on women

Photo via Fragments

NADIE KAMMALLAWEERA on 07/04/2016

A university professor named Carmen Wickramagamage has written a long article to The Island  claiming that Asoka Handagama’s latest film Age Esa Aga (Let Her Cry) is a “Profoundly and disappointingly male fantasy on women’s sexual desires, their sexed lives and their very raison d’être’’.  She further says that this  extremely patriarchal movie is just ‘’to please men” . The title of that article which appeared in the newspaper in two parts on two consecutive days was “ Let Her Speak: A female Spectator on Asoka Handagama’s Aege Aesa Aga (Let Her Cry)”. About two weeks ago, I also wrote a small write-up after watching this movie. In that piece, which was published online (Vikalpa.org), I claimed that this was a movie women in our country should watch without fail. Saying that, I tried to highlight how the director provides insight into the contemporary social  realities of our country and its people through the  manner in which the two main female roles are portrayed. As a female spectator, my reading on  Ege Esa Aga is drastically different to the reading of the female  writer of the above article. This ironic contradiction of two female views of the same movie is interesting.

I could not help the thought that the writer of this article had gone to the cinema preoccupied with the feminist ideology and clutching it as a rigid measuring tape. She quotes feminist scholar Laura Mulvey  (Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema) and uses the Male Gaze theory in her critique. She seems to be an ardent follower of the Feminist Theory and it is clear that there is a particular stereotypical way she prefers to see women characters on the screen. Maybe she is always pleased to see valiant, self-reliant women who fearlessly challenge men, who have their own independent identities, who are strong enough to say goodbye to  men who hurt them, who don’t go after men pleading for love and security: and she may childishly believe that only then could a movie be hailed as not being anti-feminist.  That is the ideal situation all the men and women (including myself) who stand for the freedom of women wish to see. But sadly, the ground reality in our society is drastically different. I am of the opinion that the responsibility of a sensible artist is to awaken the spectators to the reality they are drowning in and make them realize the need to rise to reach a better place. Artists are not expected to falsely portray fake heroic characters to satisfy a handful of critics who measure everything with the rigid tape of theories. The writer of the above article has conveniently ignored the fact that it was not Asoka Handagama’s objective to make a propagandist feminist film in order to “empower women” by morally uplifting them. She slams him for not doing what she expects from a film.

It never occurred to me that Ege Esa Aga is an anti feminist movie or it promotes patriarchal ideology. Instead I felt that the director has looked at the women in our country with a lot of dignity. The writer of the article is just clinging onto the void argument that the portrayal of the female characters in this movie is regressive and she is disappointingly unresponsive to the contemporary Sri Lankan socio-political reality exposed by it. It is surprising how she  indifferently ignores wondering why Buddhism and Buddhist temples are frequently confronted as the primary theme of the movie and why the lethargic monotonous existence of the securely established upper middle class families in Sri Lanka is highlighted in it. She never sensed the strong personalities director has given to female protagonists in the movie.

One of  her main criticisms against the movie is that it puts its audience in the perspective of a   heterosexual man, (Male Gaze) so the scenes and the characters have been defined by the director to please the male spectators. She takes the scene in which the Wife enters the room of the young female undergraduate clad in a bath towel, when she was provocatively applying lotion on her legs as a classic example of director’s male gaze. According to the writer, by coyly shielding what might be visible  through the girl’s legs, were she to turn towards the camera, and making  her spread the towel and bare her nude body to Wife with her back to the audience, director is clearly titillating the masculine gaze. In the movie this scene is projected to the audience through Madam’s (Wife)  gaze. So, it is obvious that it is what Madam is seeing and looking at. Madam enters the room uninvited after seeing the girl’s bare thighs from distance. She enters the room driven by the curiosity wrapped in the jealousy about the young body her husband is attracted to. It is to this Madam the girl bares her nudity by opening the towel. Whether the males or females seated in the audience are or are not curious to see her nudity is not relevant to the movie. If the director’s objective was to treat the sexual curiosity of males or females in the audience, he could have made the girl drop the towel to the ground. But he has not done that. It is the responsibility of the sensible, open minded spectator to cinematically read the scenes of a movie.

Another criticism against the movie is that Asoka Handagama’s portrayal of the Female Undergraduate is totally unrealistic, irrational and false. Writer asks if a Sinhala Buddhist young woman from an underprivileged background, living in contemporary times could so brazenly flout the sexual mores such as remaining a  virgin until the  marriage, not having pre-marital sex, not getting pregnant before the marriage etc. She says that day is yet to come when a young Sri Lankan woman can openly flout such entrenched gendered sexual norms. But I say that young Sri Lankan women have now progressed to a level which the writer can be proud of as a feminist. I confidently say that our  female University undergraduates are no longer  holding to the extremes like “I’ll kill myself if I lost my virginity before marriage”. (One who is doubtful of this could confidentially carry out a research using a sample of female undergrads who are willing to speak openly about life). This doesn’t imply that every young girl is similarly brave. But it is obvious that the old rigid situation has significantly changed. It is not a rare occurrence that young females nowadays go to ‘rooms’ with their boyfriends. If somebody denies this, they do it out of misunderstanding or lack of exposure to true information.

The writer, who applies the litmus test of realism to the undergraduate’s character, does not do the same with the Madam’s character. She doesn’t say that women like her who always search for her identity in her husband’s world, are not a reality in our society. This implies she believes such characters are there in abundance around us.  Then why  does she so categorically accuse the director of the regressive portrayal of female characters?  Doesn’t her argument contradict itself here?

Commenting on introducing university into the narrative frame of the movie, the writer again claims that Handagama loses touch with the reality. I personally think that she is not very well informed of the realities of love affairs between female undergrads and lecturers in Sri Lankan universities. She says that in reality the initiative would more often comes from the mature lecturers, not from the female students in whose eyes the professors appear at twice their natural size and distanced by teacher- student hierarchy. Maybe this is what the writer has observed and experienced in her university life. But aren’t there female students in our universities who try to seduce, attract and win their male lecturers driven by various reasons? ( an uncontrollable feeling of love borne in a student’s heart for a teacher could be one of these reasons) Are we living in a society where it is so simple to draw lines and categorically say “things always  happen only in this way, never in that way”? Human beings and their relationships with each other  are not simple enough to be defined with boundaries and there is no absolute truth about them. Therefore can we say the portrayal of the female undergraduate is far from reality?

(I don’t believe that characters of a movie should always be representations of a majority society is familiar with. The director chooses characters that enable him to say what he wants to say. If those characters are exceptions, it cannot be a reason to criticize the movie.)

The writer further questions why in a contemporary context where females enter universities in thousands and a lot of female students are brilliant scholars,  the director has not included a single scene in the movie in which the female undergraduate is seen reading a book, attending lectures, engaging in an academic discussion or hanging out with other young undergraduates. She argues that portraying her as somebody who is only bothered about caring for her own body, whose only goal in life is having a child by the professor she is madly in love with is a clear manifestation of the masculine gaze of the director. My opinion is that in Ege Esa Aga, director has very economically and skillfully chosen only the very bit which he cannot dispose in any condition. It is only this bit that he wants to show to the audience. He has been extraordinarily sparing when choosing the scenes. Showing how smart and studious the girl is or introducing her friends is not relevant to the story or helpful for the director in taking the audience to the desired target. Isn’t it a commendable quality of a brilliant cinematographer, not to wander and waste scenes?

I don’t know if the writer of this article considers human relationships as simple as some folders that can be cleared and shelved urgently with a few pre-defined solutions or hasty decisions. When reading the last few chapters of her article one cannot help feeling in this way. If one concludes that- the only reason why women put up with unfaithful husbands is to avoid social retribution or due to economic insecurity or that the only thing that binds a married couple is their sexual attraction to each other, and when this is threatened, the best thing is to leave the relationship, and financially independent women are capable of making this decision,- does it not reflect the thinking of someone who adopts an overly simplistic interpretation to complex human relationships? The writer who says that in life, unlike in movies, the wife and mistress slaughter each other, verbally mock those who seek alternatives. (In art there can be novel solutions: shake hands, pronounce “shanti shanti”, “ peace peace” and ride off into the sunset hand in hand)  Maybe it is because of a lack of life experiences and little social engagement that she says she meets such characters only in the movies. Or could it be because she is used to looking at the human condition through theories? According to her reading, the male director’s  message to the audience at the end of the movie is “ equanimity is the best available option for wives confronted by their husband’s infidelities”. For me it is a blatantly primitive comment like someone  concluding “women are always unfaithful” after watching the classic ‘Maname’.

I believe that an artist blends the characters, situations and incidents of his choice to bring the creation to a pinnacle with the objective of providing insight into life and society for its audience. Therefore what we are supposed to do as members of the audience is not to sever the characters and incidents of a movie one by one and interpret them with our favorite theories, but to  open heartedly make an effort to grasp the ideas the  movie in its entirety is seeking to discuss. The value of a creative piece is defined by the  fact that it  sheds light on the audience. In that sense,  I believe Ege Esa Aga is a praiseworthy,  brilliant movie.

I reiterate here that it is a film women in our country should not miss.

Have Sri Lanka’s Decision-Makers Taken Leave Of Their Senses?

By Emil van der Poorten –July 3, 2016

Emil van der Poorten

While the unprecedented thrashing that Sri Lanka took at the hands of England in a recent 50-50 game may not have been of earth-shaking significance in a world where the Farages, Le Pens, Boris Johnsons and Donald Trumps are exulting at Great Britain’s exit from the European Union, it is symptomatic of where our current government is taking us in the matter of sliding down the slippery slope of equivocation and unprincipled behaviour in dear old Silly Lanka.

Bearing more than a passing connection to the debacle at Edgbaston (?) is the fact that preceding that annihilation was a reported exchange between the skipper of the Sri Lankan side, Angelo Mathews, and the Chief Selector, Sanath Jayasuriya, in the matter of who should be retained on the soil of Blightly and who should be sent back to the shores of Sri Lanka.

Mathews came off second best and, while I do not know whether that fact had any significant bearing on the final outcome of the match (mismatch?) with England, it was certainly of a piece with what has recently been going on in Sri Lankan cricket.

In the matter of “coming events casting their shadows,” was Thilanga Sumathipala being placed in the apex position of Sri Lanka’s most popular sport. His previous stint in this position generated an accusation that an alleged/convicted murderer made his exit from Sri Lanka (never to return?) thanks to the provision of a visa provided by the Cricket Board under blatantly false pretences. The mainstream media of this country, at a time when saying anything even vaguely critical of the Mahinda Rajapaksa (MR1) government and its minions could result in serious bodily harm, went to bat on that one and never, to my recollection, was there so much as an excuse made for this fact, leave alone an official l rebuttal.

Guess who the Maithripala Sirisena/Ranil Wickremesinghe (MR2) government re-installs in the top job in cricket? Need I say it again? Thilanga Sumathipala!

With the return of Mr. Sumathipala one of the first events of any import in our cricket world was the return to the limelight of another of the same ilk – Sanath Jayasuriya.

In case readers’ memories are even shorter than mine, Mr. Jayasuriya was one of the early recruits to an MR1 regime swollen with the euphoria generated by the defeat of the Prabhakaran horde. Not only did he parlay this connection into an overwhelming victory in the south under the MR1 banner, he began demanding Ministerial status under his mentor! Worse yet, one of the less well kept secrets of the time is that he had a cricket career that had certainly passed its “best before” date extended on the orders of The Highest in the Land, resulting in a few more shekels in the Jayasuriya bank account at the expense of our national team carrying a “passenger” on its roster.

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Shrapnel imbedded war victims

BY Mirudhula Thambiah-2016-07-05

Although seven years have passed since the end of war in 2009, State authorities have failed to calculate the number of women affected by shell bombs and are still carrying shrapnel in their bodies.

 Recently Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Vanni District Parliamentarian Sivasakthy Ananthan, in his speech in Parliament, highlighted the plight of those injured by shell bombs and have shrapnel imbedded in them. He mainly requested Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe to disclose information on the number of people who are affected by shrapnel and are disabled.

Parliamentarian Ananthan, in his speech, mainly focussed on the many numbers of persons who are still carrying shrapnel imbedded in their bodies and also said that there is risk to life for some persons if the shrapnel is removed.

From children to adults, victims are suffering from acute pain, and even if they obtain medical treatment, they seem to have no relief. Parliamentarian Ananthan told Ceylon Today that most of them are financially unstable and have no money to spend for the removal of the shrapnel that is imbedded in their bodies. A few had undergone surgery in the early stages itself to remove the pieces of shrapnel, as theirs was not considered risky.

"There are many without any financial support struggling to remove the shrapnel from their bodies and most of the affected are children and women. The cost for surgery is quite expensive if the shrapnel is stuck in sensitive areas and if there is a risk to life or organs in removing them. Only the ones whose afflictions were not risky to operate on, managed to get the shrapnel removed at an affordable cost," he said.

Children
In 2014, Ceylon Today published a story highlighting that more than 1200, school going children had shrapnel imbedded in their bodies. They are not fit and healthy and are unable to carry out their educational activities like other students. It was mainly pointed out that these children fainted during school sessions in the classrooms.

Parliamentarian Ananthan said that up to date no proper action has been taken by the government to support these students and even during the former government they were completely ignored and neglected.

According to Ananthan, most of these affected women reside in the Mullaitivu District and they were caught in the crossfire during the last phase of the terrible war in the region.

As it is known, most families in Mullaitivu are women headed, and even these women have issues with shrapnel being imbedded in their bodies. Although they are carrying shrapnel in their bodies, and have health risks and issues they are compelled to work to maintain families.

Secretary to the Mullaitivu Citizen's Committee and Kepappliavu Model Village Women's Society President, Chandraleela Smith Hutson said that this issue had turned to be one of the serious social issues in the Mullaitivu District. There are women who have lost their limbs and eyes during the war, and are war survivors. They are in need of assistance and have to depend on another person to carry out their daily needs. "There are some organs in which the shrapnel pieces are stuck and the victim may face life threats if those are removed as those parts of the body are highly sensitive. There are many women in the Northern Province and especially in Mullaitivu and Kilinochchi District, who have been affected. These women are mainly facing security, financial, health and livelihood problems as they are partly disabled and are also compelled to earn for their families," she said.
LTTE cadres

Chandraleela also pointed out that there is a specific number of former LTTE female cadres who have shrapnel in their bodies. They are facing major financial difficulties as they have been neglected by the authorities.

"I urge the State authorities to immediately address this issue and help these affected women financially; enabling them to manage their health and daily expenses," she said.

Kumaran Vijitha (35) Kepapilavu-Mullaitivu said, "I lost my leg during the last phases of war in February 2009 in Puthukuddiyiruppu, shell bomb attacks were taking place and I was escaping with the others who were displaced from our village. In May 2009 my son died during a shell bomb attack. My husband also died during the war and I'm struggling to maintain my family. There are shrapnel pieces in my hands and legs; I was injured during the attack in 2009."

She further added that some shrapnel pieces have been removed from her body yet the doctors have advised her to consult them and have told the rest can only be removed if the shrapnel pieces eject from the injured area naturally. "Doctors asked me to consult them only if the rest of the shrapnel stick out from the scars, however, it is painful when I involve myself in heavy manual work. Whenever it is painful I consult the doctor and get pain relieving medicines. There is a big scar on my hand and I find it very difficult to work as there are shrapnel inside the scar" she said. "I was struggling to escape with my family when we had to flee from Puthukudiyirippu, as we moved, a shell bomb fell next to us and it cut my leg into pieces and my hands were injured. I saw my son unconscious next to me, he was soaked in blood. Then I realized that he is no more," she wept.

"I worked in the garment industry, however, I couldn't work for a long period as I have shrapnel in my arms. It is very painful when I engage in manual tasks, so I gave up working. I have no livelihood sources and struggling to survive with my three daughters," she said.

Sivalingam Daisy (48) from Mulliyawalai said she was injured during the Puthumattalan attack. She had suffered injuries on her hand and she had shrapnel in her arms. "My entire family was injured during this attack, as we moved towards the safe zone we were subject to shell bomb attacks. My husband lost his leg and he is unable to sustain the family and finally I have to support them,"

"It's very difficult to financially support the family without any source of livelihood, it would be a great help if the government supports and launches special projects to assist us," she said.

Archunan Vanitha ( 32) from Kepapilavu said she was taken by the LTTE by force as a recruit when she came to see her uncle in Mullaitivu from Udappu-Puttalam. She had been serving in the landmines disposal squad of the LTTE when she lost her leg while in the field. Currently she has no relative willing to take care of her. "My uncle is not supportive he takes all the funds and assistance provided to me, for his own use. He does not care for me, because I was with the LTTE. He refuses to accept that I was taken by force. I still have shrapnel in my body which is too risky to be removed,"

Vanitha is currently supported by one of the villagers in the neighbourhood.
When questioned about the number of cases relating to shrapnel, Northern Province Health Ministry Secretary K. Thiruvakaran said, that there was no specific survey done to collect the data regarding those affected by shell bombs and are still carrying shrapnel in their bodies. "We may launch a survey to calculate the number of those affected. However, we have certain livelihood programmes and projects to support such victims," he said.

However, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has directed the relevant line minister to examine the matter as requested by Parliamentarian Ananthan.

A series of Raps over the ‘Yahapalanaya’ Knuckles - Kishali Pinto Jayawardena

Jul 04, 2016

There is a singularly wretched problem confronting the Sri Lankan people.  

Stripped down to its essentials, this means that the country’s politicians must not be allowed to dilute democratic gains of January 2015 by replacing abject Rajapaksa non-governance during the last decade with appealing labels on institutions which make us all feel a bit more comfortable about ourselves but with the underlying failure of democratic systems still continuing.

Not enough merely to dissent
It should not suffice merely to trumpet gladly that citizens have the right to dissent and to protest. Dissent was also possible during the Rajapaksa era if citizens had exhibited basic courage and determination.

Probably if that fortitude had been displayed by greater numbers, the Rajapaksa regime might have been brought to its knees much sooner and without causing such extensive degradation to institutional governance.

But Sri Lanka’s political landscape is certainly stubbornly resistant to change. As a regrettable case in point, one has only to look at last week’s deadlock between President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe over the Governorship of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL).

In all respects, former Governor Arjuna Mahendran should not have generated such extraordinary tension.

Given the controversy that surrounded his actions for an unacceptable period of time, the Prime Minister and his confidantes should have heeded that apt Shakespearean warning that like Ceasar’s wife, the CBSL Governor should not only be above suspicion but seen to be above suspicion as well. Instead, sturdy defences were advanced to justify their positions. The damage done to the reputation of the CBSL was considerable. And the passing of the proverbial buck to the Parliamentary Committee on Public Enterprise (COPE) had all the calamitous potential for an implosion in the unity Government.

External appearances and internal dysfunctions
What occurred thereafter was akin to a page turner of a tense crime novel. On Friday, insulting the intellect of citizens, we were told to await, with presumably bated breath, the arrival of the Finance Minister to decide on the new appointment of the CBSL Governor even though this would have been quite supremely extraneous to the issue. To add hilarity to the mix, a release issued by the Information Department to that effect was denounced as false in subsequent agitated denials. On Saturday, the deadlock was seemingly resolved by the President’s announcement of a new Governor.

But this is no reason for contentment. This appointment means very little if the enabling environment is not conducive to the independent functioning of the CBSL. One has only to look at the recent resignation of the Director General of Wildlife Conservation, a well regarded professional. And for the future, the appointment of the CBSL Governor should be included in the schedule of appointments to key positions that are vetted by the Constitutional Council.

That said, the CC itself must be divested of its obnoxiously political character. Its record so far under the 19th Amendment has not been reassuring with inconsistent decision making in conflict with its constitutional role. Responding to public concerns, the CC recently issued an explanatory statement on its functioning. But there is no real clarity thereto. This is directly in contrast to both the composition and functioning of its predecessor under the 17th Amendment. It is important that external appearances should not be belied by internal (political) dysfunctions.

The dross of good looking labels

Indeed, the extent to which good looking labels are skillfully employed in this ‘yahapalanaya’ age is well seen in last month’s judgment of the Supreme Court relating to bids for the supply of coal for the Lakvijaya Coal Power Plant (SC FR No. 394/2015, SCM 24/06/2016) The Court administered a well deserved rap over the government's knuckles in regard to the blatant ignoring of the Government Procurement Guidelines by all senior government agencies in favouring a particular bidder.

The order reveals an astounding subversion of procurement guidelines by government agencies operating under the banner of ‘yahapalanaya’. These include the Standing Cabinet Appointed Procurement Committee brought to task for ignoring essential steps of the evaluation procedure in directing the Technical Evaluation Committee (TEC) to re-evaluate the bids. Equally grievously, the Standing Cabinet Appointed Procurement Committee had permitted lobbying of itself by the favoured bidder during the evaluation of bids.

In ruling that the contract entered into with the favoured bidder may be terminated after giving reasonable notice and fresh bids may be called for in terms of the law in regard to the supply of coal following competitive bidding procedure, the judicial conscience was proclaimed as ‘shocked.’

Dexterous evasion of public accountability

One cannot resist the mischievous aside that it is heartening to see Sri Lanka’s judicial conscience alive and well after years of suspected atrophy. Nonetheless, the judges must be commended for examining the merits of the case despite their predictable conclusion that the petitioner company in Singapore (and a rejected bidder) had no locus standi to invoke the jurisdiction of the Court. Refusing to let this technical bar stand in the way of substantially considering the matter, the Court reminded that otherwise, a government agency will be left free to violate the law which is contrary to the public interest in violation of the Rule of Law.

Notably, the judges observed that ‘every organ of the State must act within the limits of its power and carry out the duty imposed upon it in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution and the law; the Court cannot close its eyes and allow the actions of the State or the Public Authority go unchecked in its operations, in the public interest.’

The Court also reprimanded the Procurement Appeal Board for failing to give a right to be heard to the rejected bidder despite holding out an expectation in that regard. But regardless of judicial conscience and the last minute appointment of the Governor of Sri Lanka’s Central Bank, the devilish dexterity with which politicians manipulate public opinion which they hold so clearly in contempt, is manifest.

So that dilemma before us continues. Dissent and criticism should not result in the same failures of public accountability, albeit in a more sophisticated manner and with a somewhat more acceptable face.

That, by itself, is very clear.
Courtesy - The sunday times