Russia expels two US diplomats over incident with Moscow policeman

Expulsions come in retaliation to US decision to order two Russian diplomats to leave Washington after Moscow altercation

The US State Department says a Russian policeman attacked an accredited US diplomat entering the US embassy compound on 6 June. Photograph: Handout

Saturday 9 July 2016

Russia has expelled two US diplomats, including one who was the subject of an unprovoked attack by a Russian policeman outside the embassy in Moscow last month.

Sergei Ryabkov, the Russian deputy foreign minister, accused the US diplomats of being CIA agents and declared them “persona non grata for activities incompatible with their diplomatic status”.

The expulsions come in retaliation to a US decision to order two Russian diplomats to leave Washington DC following the attack. The pair were expelled on 17 June but the move was only announced on Friday.

State Department spokesman John Kirby said that on 6 June, a Russian policeman attacked an accredited US diplomat entering the US embassy compound after the American official identified himself.

Moscow, however, claimed that the US diplomat was a CIA agent who attacked the policeman as he tried to stop him to check his identification as he returned from a spying mission.

Russian state-controlled television has broadcast what appeared to be grainy footage of the attack, that appears to contradict the Russian report.

A man can be seen leaving a taxi and is almost immediately attacked by a policeman, who bursts from a sentry box and wrestles him to the ground. With the officer pinning him down, the man managed to push himself through a door into the embassy.

The expulsions had been kept secret until the footage was aired on Russian TV, with Ryabkov accusing US diplomats in Washington of failing to keep their word after asking Moscow not to publicise the moves.

The latest incidents come after complaints from Washington about a mounting campaign of harassment and intimidation of American diplomats and their families in Moscow.

Relations between Russia and the US have chilled following Moscow’s annexation of the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine in 2014, after which the west imposed sanctions against Russia.

 

How Kenya Cleaned Up Its Courts

BY MAYA GAINER-JULY 9, 2016

“We found a judiciary that was designed to fail,” said Willy Mutunga, Kenya’s new chief justice, in a speech four months after his June 2011 confirmation to the post. “We found an institution so frail in its structures; so thin on resources; so low on its confidence; so deficient in integrity; so weak in its public support that to have expected it to deliver justice was to be wildly optimistic.”

Many Kenyans doubtless agreed with Mutunga’s assessment. A popular joke,“Why hire a lawyer when you can buy a judge?” summed up many Kenyans’ views of their country’s judicial system. In 2011, Kenya had only 53 judges and 330 magistrates for a population of 41.4 million. There was a massive backlog of almost 1 million cases. Litigants often bribed staff to get earlier court dates or to “lose” case files and prevent hearings altogether. In 2010, 43 percent of Kenyans who sought services from the judiciary reported paying bribes, according to Transparency International.

Few of the judges responsible for managing court stations had any training or experience in administration, and many received no on-the-job guidance. With little knowledge of how the court system worked, the public was unable to demand higher-quality services, and the judiciary itself lacked systems to track cases or to hold judges and magistrates accountable for delays.

The courts were also widely seen as politically biased. Until the passage of a new constitution in 2010, the president had unilateral power to appoint not only the chief justice of the Court of Appeal, then Kenya’s highest court, but also all the members of the Judicial Service Commission, responsible for hiring and disciplining judges.

Kenya’s disputed December 2007 presidential election threw the public’s lack of trust in the judiciary into sharp relief. The ruling Party of National Unity was declared the winner of a close race, but the opposition Orange Democratic Movement accused the government of fraud, and both national and international observers said the tallies had been manipulated. However, opposition leaders refused to settle the issue in court because they believed their party would not receive a fair hearing.

In the weeks of violence following the election, approximately 1,200 Kenyans were killed and up to 600,000 were displaced. After an international mediation process, Kenya’s major parties formed a coalition government and appointed an independent commission to draft a new constitution that would address the underlying causes of the violence — the weakness of the judiciary among them.

The resulting 2010 constitution provided a clear mandate for judicial reform, specifying a restructured court system headed by a Supreme Court and separating the Judicial Service Commission from the executive. Funds to support the reform process came from a doubling of the national budget allocated to the judiciary in the 2011-2012 fiscal year, a $120 million grant from the World Bank, and contributions from other organizations including Germany’s international development agency and the United Nations Development Program.

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China: Human rights lawyers, family members call for release of remaining detainees on first anniversary of ‘709 crackdown’

In this photo taken July 4, 2016 and provided by Li Wenzu, wives of detained rights lawyers from left, Li Wenzu, Wang Qiaoling, Fan Lili, Liu Ermin, Wang Yanfang and Chen Guiqiu pose for photos in front of China's Supreme People's Procuratorate. Pic: AP.

 9th July 2016

HUMAN RIGHTS lawyers in mainland China have issued an open letter to Beijing condemning the arrest and persecution of its prominent civil rights lawyers to mark the one-year anniversary since the large-scale government crackdown.

The lawyers were detained for supposed “subversion of state power” in what has become known as the “709 crackdown”, which refers to July 9, when the first arrest took place.

A year later, nearly two dozen lawyers and activists are still in detention, with 24 formally charged with various offenses, including inciting subversion and provoking social disturbance.

SEE ALSO: China: Police prevented Western diplomats from visiting civil rights lawyer

In the letter, addressed to Chinese President Xi Jinping, the Hong Kong-based China Human Rights Lawyers Concern Group (CHRLCG) urged the government to release all lawyers and others said to be unlawfully detained.

The group said cracking down on human rights lawyers would not, as Beijing claimed in justifying its actions, make the nation more peaceful or stable.

Instead, it claims that the campaign has unified civil rights lawyers as they join together to collectively fight against what they see as a threat to their safety and profession.

According to the group, at least 319 people have been affected by the government’s campaign.

In this photo taken in 2014 and released by Yuan Shanshan, detained lawyer Xie Yanyi, second from right, takes a selfie with his wife Yuan Shanshan, second from left and their two sons, Xie Renlai at left and Xie Xiangren. Pic: AP.

The wives of several of the detainees have also issued a letter criticizing the “unjust” detention of their loved ones.

In a translation of the letter, posted to the CHRLCG Facebook page on Friday, the wives said that though they wished for their families to be reunited, their suffering was also an “honor”, as their husbands were paying the price for “pushing forward the advancement of Chinese society”.

Teng Biao, a Chinese legal scholar in exile, told the South China Morning Post: “The impact of the crackdown is tremendous, but it failed to wipe out the unity and the spirit to defend China’s human rights and rule of law.”

However, he said that those who have been charged with state subversion would likely face long jail terms, as the authorities are determined to use their cases as an example to intimidate others.

“The cost of defending human rights will be much higher from now on, and we will see only the most courageous and determined taking on these types of cases.”

Overseas bar associations and lawyers groups have also shown support for the cause, with groups including the Amsterdam Bar Association, the Australian branch of the International Association of People’s Lawyers and the International Commission of Jurists signing the letter.

Additional reporting by Associated Press

Yemen's hospitals in crisis as doctors flee country

Since Yemen's civil war began, most of its 1,200 foreign health practitioners have left Yemen, jeopardising its healthcare system

A doctor checks up on a patient at al-Thawrah hospital in Sanaa (AFP)

Nasser Al-Sakkaf-Saturday 9 July 2016

As 28-year-old Rayan al-Azazi drove a bus with 12 people north from Taiz to Yemen’s capital Sanaa in early May, he and his friends were involved in a horrific car crash. Three of his fellow passengers were killed immediately, and Azazi was left with serious brain injuries.

The survivors were rushed to the nearby state-run hospital in Thammar to be treated for cuts, bruises and broken bones. Azazi, however, continued to suffer because the hospital lacked a neurologist. When Azazi’s brother Abdulqader arrived at the hospital, after a 200km journey and some 20 checkpoints, he found his brother still in pain.

"When I arrived, I asked the doctors there about my brother's health. But they said they couldn’t help, as there were no neurology specialists there. They said I would have to take my brother to Sanaa," Abdulqader Azazi told Middle East Eye.

Before the war there had been just one neurology specialist at the hospital – but when the bombing began he left the country. The hospital could not find a replacement since there are so few specialists in the field inside Yemen, he said.

Azazi expressed optimism about finding doctors in the capital, which is less than three hours’ drive from Dhamar. But when he arrived in Sanaa he was shocked.

"I moved my brother into more than one hospital in Sanaa. I finally found a surgeon specialising in neurology, but he was busy. My brother couldn’t hold on any more - he died before seeing the doctor."

As Azazi told of the death of his only brother, tears fell uncontrollably from his eyes. "My brother got engaged two months ago. He was going to Sanaa to look for work in Sanaa to help him afford to get married - but in the end death was closer to him than marriage."

Most of the surgeons in Yemen come from abroad, and so many have left since the conflict broke out that the country’s healthcare system is now in dire need. Since the war escalated in March 2015, with the start of a Saudi-led bombing camaign, most of the 1,200 non-Yemeni health practitioners have left the country, according to the World Health Organization’s Yemen branch.

Even those working for Doctors Without Borders (MSF) face danger. In December, an air strike from the Saudi-led coalition struck an MSF mobile clinic that wounded seven people.

‘Angels of mercy’

This dire need is well known to the Yemeni health ministry, but permanent solutions to the crisis are proving too costly and unworkable.

Ghazi Ismail, Sanaa’s pro-Houthi health minister, told MEE that not just foreign doctors have rushed to leave the country in the past year – Yemeni doctors have also fled the war in large numbers.

"We are trying hard to find Yemenis to replace the foreign doctors, but we cannot find enough alternatives, since most of the foreigners have rare specialities," Ismail told MEE.

He said the ministry does not have enough specialists as a result of the war, which has jeopardised those with complicated medical conditions.

"Hospitals have to apply to the ministry if they need a doctor with a specific speciality, and then we try to find the alternative if we have one. But nowadays we don’t usually have alternatives."

Around 1,200 foreign practitioners have left Yemen since March 2015, and of those who remain many work in places like Hadramout province and other areas where the effects of the war are less stark. Few work directly in the conflict zones most affected by the conflict between rebel Houthis and others and the government.

Many of the foreign practitioners were working in rural areas, so people living outside big cities have been worst affected by the doctors’ exodus.

Ismail said the authorities are doing their best to stem the drain of Yemeni specialists.

"Yemeni doctors who work in less-common specialities can earn more money abroad, so many of them have left Yemen to other countries like Saudi Arabia. We are now trying to get donations from international organizations to pay those doctors more and bring them back to Yemen," Ismail said.

With fewer than 2,000 specialists left in the whole country, less than half of Yemen’s healthcare needs are currently being met.

Some, though, have continued to work in the conflict zones despite having better offers from abroad, saying they want to help the victims of war.

Mazen Mohammed, a Yemeni who works as an orthopaedic surgeon at the state-run Sheikh Khalifa hospital in Taiz, where patients can get treatment from him for free. He has been offered work in at least two other countries but believes he is more needed in Yemen than anywhere else.

"We are the angels of mercy. We can’t think of money nowadays. Yemen needs us, so we have to focus on helping the victims of the war. Allah will not forget us," Mohammed told MEE.

Travelling abroad

It’s not just people with acute injuries who are suffering. Wadee Sinan, 45, told MEE that a lack of surgery for his chronic heart condition has left him waiting for certain death.

"Many Yemeni and foreign doctors have left Yemen during the last year. There are still doctors, but cardiologists are impossible to find now," Sinan told MEE.

Sinan cannot afford to travel abroad, so he remains at home waiting for death to come at any time. "Many patients have died because they couldn’t get surgery in Yemen and they cannot travel abroad. I will be one of those people who die at home."

The leadership of the anti-Houthi resistance, with assistance from the Yemeni government and the Saudi-led coalition, have helped injured resistance fighters travel abroad to seek proper medical care, but civilians told MEE they have not received the same support.

Though not all wounded pro-government fighters travel to Saudi Arabia for treatment, a significant portion do. Official figures remain unknown at this point.

Houthi shelling in February injured Hani Fadhl, 26, from the al-Shamasi neighborhood in the besieged city of Taiz, in the shoulder. When doctors in Yemen were unable to treat him, he resorted to selling family heirlooms to fund his travel to Jordan.

"Many resistance fighters have gone abroad for treatment at the government's expense, but the resistance refused to help me because I am not a fighter. In the end my mother had to sell some jewellery to help me," Fadhl said.

Sinan, the 45-year-old, who said he has no hope that his life will be saved, said: "I do not believe the war will end soon, and also I do not think that new doctors will come to help the patients in Yemen, but I believe that Allah knows everything, and if we lose our lives in this world, Allah will award us in the afterworld."

Why cancer has not been cured

Jul 7th 2016

MEDICINE has done a great job of reducing deaths from heart disease and stroke but less so with cancer. Despite a four-decade war against the disease, one that has cost hundreds of billions of dollars, in America alone 1.7m people are diagnosed with it, and about 600,000 die annually. Why has cancer not been cured?

The main reason that cancer has been such a hard problem to tackle is a lack of basic understanding of the underlying molecular mechanisms that drive it. The first medicines to tackle cancer, chemotherapies, came about during the second world war when it was discovered that people exposed to nitrogen mustard, a chemical similar to mustard gas, had significantly reduced white-blood-cell counts. Researchers investigated whether these compounds could be used to halt the growth of rapidly dividing cells, such as cancer cells. Thus began an era of testing different chemical compounds to see if they would kill tumours. New drugs were discovered that acted on cancer, but this sort of science was not particularly revealing about the cause of cancer or why these treatments often only worked temporarily. 

Much progress has been made since. Thanks to a much deeper understanding of cell biology and genetics, there exist today a growing number of targeted therapies that have been designed at a molecular level to recognise particular features specific of cancer cells. Along with chemotherapy, surgery and radiotherapy, these treatments—used singly and in combination—have led to a slow, but steady, increase in survival rates. Childhood cancers and breast cancers are much more curable now than they used to be. But there remains much work—and research—to be done: some of the most promising new cancer medicines are the product of our deeper understanding of how cancer cells mutate and escape removal by the body. Cancer is seen today less as a disease of specific organs, and more as one of molecular mechanisms caused by the mutation of specific genes. The implication of this shift in thinking is that the best treatment for, say, colorectal cancer may turn out to be designed and approved for use against tumours in an entirely different part of the body, such as the breast. 

There is a great deal of promise from another new therapy, called immunotherapy, which harnesses the body’s own immune system to fight cancer. It has been successful in inducing long-term remissions of hard-to-treat cancers in about a third of patients in ongoing trials. An active area of investigation is to predict which tumours respond to this and other therapies on offer. The world has still not cured the many cancers that exist. But over the next five to ten years the era of personalised medicine could see enormous progress in making cancer survivable.

Tamil killed in Sinhala mob attack Photo: Lankasri  08 July 2016 A Tamil man was killed by a group of Sinhalese in the Batticaloa district on Thursday. Thambipillai Pakkiyarasa, 51, was attacked in Kalkudah as he was returning home from the grocery store. A group of SInhalese, reported to be under the influence of alcohol, attacked him after an argument broke out, leaving him with fatal head injuries. Eight suspects have been detained by Batticaloa police. One other person was admitted to Batticaloa teaching hospital. Tensions are reported to be high in the areas of Kalkuda and Pasikuda, as residents staged a protests condemning the attack. Batticaloa's police chief assured an impartial inquiry into the death. Many Sinhalese have been moving into the Tamil-dominated areas in the region to work in the tourism industry.

Fulfil Promises Made To Ensure Good Governance: Friday Forum Tells Maithri And Ranil

July 8, 2016

While underscoring that credibility once lost is near irretrievable, the Friday Forum has called on Sri Lanka’s politicians who are holding ‘high political office’ to ensure that their pre-election rhetoric to safeguard democracy and good governance in the country are upheld.

In a statement, the Forum said, “We have not yet lost the opportunities created by the presidential and general elections of last year, a year that was a tribute to the Sri Lankan people and their commitment to democracy and good governance. There is little time left for persons holding high political office, and making decisions that impact on the people, to establish democracy and good governance. They must fulfill the solemn promises on which they rode to power,”

“Credibility once lost is near irretrievable. The public is beginning to doubt that corruption, nepotism and the numerous other failings of the earlier regime, that were so convincingly exposed on election platforms, will be eliminated in a new era of good governance,” the statement said.

The Forum reminded that in January 2015 the majority of voters responded to the call for a return to good governance, accountability and integrity in the public sphere that we had been denied for a good part of a decade, and voted for a President who promised to achieve these goals and remedy mistakes of the past.

“The public expectations of the regime that was voted into office in January, received further endorsement at the general election of August the same year. Despite disappointment on the slow progress on many solemn promises, the public was prepared to accept the need for measured and responsible action towards fulfilling them. However this trust has gradually given way to a growing concern that the promised action is being held back for reasons based on the all too familiar ground of political opportunism and that the country is slowly but surely moving towards the mal-governance of the past,” the Friday Forum said.

The statement noted that uneasy cohabitation between coalition partners is never conducive to achieving high standards of democratic governance even in the short term. The Joint Opposition has demonstrated time and again its incapacity to act in the public interest and avoid following highly personal and adversarial political agendas.

“However this environment is not an excuse for those in office continuing instances of nepotism, inappropriate appointments, greed, corruption and opportunism that we have seen over the last year. Since the Presidential election, there have been appointments that have been criticized publicly, because they indicate favoritism or family connections rather than competence to hold the post. The abuse of power and the corrupt acts of some of these appointees have added to public disenchantment and eroded the credibility of the government. Such appointments were recently crowned with the appointment, to a senior administrative position, of a person indicted and currently facing trial for criminal misappropriation of public property,” the statement said.

The Forum noted that while the level of corruption which prevailed under the earlier regime may have reduced, it does not appear to have diminished in the manner that the public has a right to expect. Besides, there has been public criticism in regard to non-transparent and non-consultative decision making in some areas of importance.

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Wes streeting MP calls for action on human rights in SL

Jul 08, 2016

Yesterday, Thursday 7th July 2016, Wes Streeting MP led an adjournment debate on human rights in Sri Lanka in the House of Commons. Wes Streeting is the Vice Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Tamils and has previously visited Geneva to support the ongoing work at the United Nations Human Rights Council.

During the debate, Wes sought to raise three key issues:

International involvement in the judicial process for investigating and prosecuting human rights abuses and war crimes.

Ongoing and recent human rights abuses in Sri Lanka.

The deportation of Tamils from the UK to Sri Lanka despite the risks to their safety.

Foreign Office Minister Hugo Swire MP responded on behalf of the Government.

You can watch Wes’ speech here: http://parliamentlive.tv/event/index/e3f3f43d-ce2b-4941-bd7b-992e4c5945cb?in=16%3A59%3A37

Text of the debate is available here: https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2016-07-07/debates/16070749000003/SriLankaHumanRights#contribution-16070749000367

Wes Streeting, Member of Parliament for Ilford North and Vice Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Tamils, said:

“It is vital that we continue to raise human rights abuses in Sri Lanka and keep up international pressure on the Sri Lankan government to act.”

“The United Nations Human Rights Council resolution must be implemented as a priority to ensure abuses are properly investigated. The Tamil people deserve truth, justice and reconciliation.”

FM dismisses his President's views as "Personal Opinion" - TGTE

Jul 08, 2016

As Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Mr. Mangala Samarawera today dismissed Sri Lankan President Maithripala Senanayaka’s statements that no foreign judges will be allowed to be part of the war crimes investigation as his “Personal Opinion“ - The Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam (TGTE) urged Sri Lankan President to clarify his statements against foreign judges.

Sri Lankan Foreign Minister made this comment today (July 6th) at a press conference in the Capital city Colombo.

“It is important for the Sri Lankan President to address this issue, otherwise no one will take any of his statements seriously”.

Even though current Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera also served under former Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse as Foreign Minister, he never contradicted former President Rajapakse's views and actively went around the world to justify bombing and shelling of Tamil civilians and gave excuses for the mass killing of Tamils and rape of Tamil women by the Sri Lankan security forces.

There are also concerns that Sri Lankan Foreign Minister is using this tactic to hoodwink the international community and to buy time to implement UN Human Rights Council mandated war Crimes probe which Sri Lanka co-sponsored.

About Mangala Samarawera and Mahinda Rajapakse:

Mangala Samarawera became the campaign manager for Presidential candidate and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse. When Rajapakse won and took office in November 2005, he surprised many by appointing Samaraweera to the additional post of Foreign Minister instead of Prime Minister; Samaraweera maintained his other posts.

In late January 2007 Samaraweera was replaced as Foreign Minister, but remained Minister of Ports and Aviation.On 9 February 2007, he was sacked from the cabinet together with ministers Anura Bandaranaike and Sripathi Sooriyarachchi after falling out with the president. He then went on to create a new political party, the SLFP (Mahajana) wing.

http://world.einnews.com/pr_news/334233635/as-sri-lankan-foreign-minister-dismisses-his-president-s-views-as-personal-opinion-tgte-urges-president-to-clarify

I won’t allow foreign interference – President

( July 9, 2016, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) President Maithripala Sirisena yesterday ( July 8) emphasised that he will not allow any foreign court, judge or organisation interfere into the internal administration and judiciary in the country in the future too.

The President said whatever views are expressed in various places regarding bringing foreign judges and establishing foreign military courts to take action against the so called human rights violations during the period of war, he would not allow any national or international activity which challenges the freedom, independence and the territorial integrity of the country.

The President was speaking at the 70th National Upasampada Vinayakarma (Higher Ordination) ceremony of the Sri Lanka Ramanna Maha Nikaya held at the Town Hall Playground, Panadura yesterday.

President Sirisena said he would not allow any national or international activity which challenges the freedom, independence and the territorial integrity of the country.

He pledged to the Maha Sangha that he would not hesitate to act for the freedom and the independence of the motherland.

“It is the policy of the current government to act according to the advice and guidance of the Maha Sangha in its every activity related to national security and other matters,” he said.

The President said he is committed to protect the Sri Lankan society by respecting the proud history of the country as a Buddhist as well as the Head of the State. He ensured the Maha Sangha that he is dedicated to strengthen and nurture Buddhism in the constitution.

‘Mangala should resign’

Meanwhile, addressing a media conference at the Parliament complex yesterday, the leader of the Joint Opposition – Dinesh Gunewardena said that Foreign Affairs Minister Mangala Samaraweera should resign because the latter had reiterated the need for foreign judges’ involvement even after President Maithripala Sirisena had rejected the proposed hybrid court system.

“By expressing his personal views on this matter, Foreign Minister had violated the Constitution and contradicted the President, Gunawardena said.

He said a Foreign Minister did not have powers to make such statements and through such utterances he had also violated the principle of collective responsibility of the Cabinet.

The Joint Opposition unanimously had passed a proposal on the issue and hoped to submit it to the President, he added.

(Excerpts from Daily News & The Island, Colombo)

UK’s Sir John Chilcot Report and Mangala Samaraweera’s Media meet

By Manekshaw -2016-07-09

Three things cannot be hidden: The Sun, the Moon and the Truth.
– Lord Buddha

Minister of Foreign Affairs Mangala Samaraweera held a special media conference on 6 Wednesday at his ministry on the outcome of the 32nd UNHRC sessions in Geneva last week and on the government's response to the UNHRC Chief Prince Zeid Ra'ad Al-Hussein's oral submission on the UNHRC resolution which was co-sponsored by Sri Lanka, last year.

Minister Mangala Samaraweera's comments at the press conference had clearly outlined the government's response to the UNHRC Chief's oral submission which was delivered on 29 June in Geneva and on the government's future plans with regard to the UNHRC's resolution on Sri Lanka.

On the formation of a hybrid judicial mechanism to probe the alleged war crimes, Minister Samaraweera said that by February next year (2017), the modalities for the hybrid judicial process will be finalized.
Commenting further on forming a hybrid mechanism the minister said that even on probing the assassination of Prime Minister S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike, the foreign expertise was sought.

Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera's media briefing last Wednesday had been a coincidence to the report released by Sir John Chilcot on Britain's involvement, with the US, in the Iraq invasion in 2003.

As already several people in Britain have started to describe former British Prime Minister as a 'war criminal' for taking the decision to send British troops along with US troops to invade Iraq in 2003, Sir John Chilcot's latest report which has been released after seven years of investigation into Tony Blair's decision to send the British troops has very well highlighted the British democratic system of calling a spade a spade.

Sir John Chilcot in his lengthy report has mentioned that the Tony Blair Government had ignored peaceful means to send troops into Iraq. The report also mentioned that the Tony Blair Government acted on the basis of flawed intelligence reports on Iraq possessing weapons of mass destruction (WMDs).
The US and British Governments celebrated their joint victory over defeating Iraqi President Saddam Hussein in 2003. But Sir John Chilcot's report two days ago had created another tremor after Britain's exit from the European Union accusing the Tony Blair Government of ignoring peaceful means by sending troops to overthrow the Saddam Hussein regime based on flawed intelligence reports.

Tony Blair government's decision
The report released by Sir John Chilcot after seven years of extensive probe into the Tony Blair Government's decision to send troops to Iraq had not only highlighted that the decision was wrong, the report has also clearly indicated how far the United Kingdom was firm on war related issues.

As Sri Lanka is currently struggling to deal with the accusations surfaced with regard to the alleged war crimes believed to have been committed during the final phase of the civil war in the Vanni in 2009, the Chilcot report could be considered as an exemplary one to take the initiative to work extensively on forming a judicial mechanism in probing alleged war crimes in Sri Lanka.
Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera while assuring on the formation of a hybrid mechanism in February next year at his media briefing had also made a sensible comment stating that a judicial mechanism was inevitable to investigate into the deaths of several thousand civilians at the final phase of the war.
It was like the latest report of Chilcot accusing Tony Blair for taking the decision to send the troops to Iraq and not blaming the British troops for engaging in the military activities in Iraq, Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera has also said in his media conference that those who mishandled the troops would be probed and not the ground troops engaged in the operations.
There were instances where the troops had rescued several innocent civilians who were trapped in the so-called no fire zone created by the former regime during the last lap of the civil war in Vanni.

Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka who had led the Army in defeating the LTTE had also welcomed any form of investigation to get rid of the accusations against the Army when he was addressing Parliament two months ago.
Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka's stance on conducting an investigation into the alleged war crimes was also welcomed by the Northern Chief Minister C.V. Wigneswaran and the Chief Minister went on to say that the Field Marshal had proved himself a professional soldier by courageously calling for an investigation into the alleged war crimes.

So the recently held UNHRC session in Geneva and the media briefing of Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera have emphasized the need of Sri Lanka's obligations towards carrying out the investigations into alleged war crimes as it was agreed upon in the UNHRC resolution.

The Joint Opposition would attempt to politicize the comments made by Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera on the hybrid judicial mechanism and other statements over the alleged war crimes. As the UNHRC has gone deep into the allegations against Sri Lanka by bringing out several resolutions along with the latest one last year with the co-sponsoring of Sri Lanka, whoever remains in power will be compelled to clear the country from the allegations levelled against it.

Therefore, in the backdrop of Sir John Chilcot releasing his report accusing the Tony Blair Government of the wrong decision of engaging in Iraq, Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera's comments clearly indicate that the truth cannot be hidden at any time.

A holistic approach to the ethnic problem

Why are the Tamils so insistent on a solution through a wide measure of devolution, amounting at least to federalism? I don’t think it is just cussedness on their part. At least part of the reason could be that they want to establish a nationalist claim to part of Sri Lankan territory in anticipation of the possibility that the huge asymmetry of power between the Tamils and the Sinhalese at the regional level will count in favor of Eelam someday.

by Izeth Hussain

( July 9, 2016, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) We Sri Lankans have hitherto tended to view the ethnic problem in terms of a stark dichotomy between the Sinhalese and the Tamils: the Sinhalese according to Tamil perceptions are stuck with an enduring Mahavamsa mindset that will never allow them to give fair and equal treatment to the Tamils; the Tamils according to Sinhalese perceptions want Eelam and will be satisfied with nothing less than a wide measure of devolution that will lead ineluctably to Eelam. Of course in the familiar Sri Lankan discourse on the ethnic problem other factors also figure, such as the Tamil Nadu and Delhi  factors, but they figure as ancillaries not as factors that are integral to the problem. I hold that this is the main reason why we have failed up to now to find a way out of the ethnic imbroglio.

What is now required is that we should contextualize the stark dichotomy between Tamil and Sinhalese perceptions – seen as the core factor constituting the ethnic problem – to which I have pointed above. We have to do this by taking count of several other factors some of which can clearly be seen as integral parts of the problem. I list the following: the Tamil Nadu and Delhi factors; self-determination; ethno-nationalism; racism; and the new world order/new imperialism. The reader can substitute for that his own list of seemingly relevant factors without denting my argument because some of them will clearly be seen as integral, not ancillary, to the problem. I will be brief in dealing with my list of factors because in this article I am not doing much more than drawing conclusions from arguments developed in my earlier articles.

It would certainly be mistaken to give too much importance to the Tamil Nadu factor. The plight of the SL Tamils had no traction at the recent Tamil Nadu elections, nor had it traction at earlier Indian elections. But it would be perverse to deny that it could be of crucial importance. It was the problem of the fall-out in Tamil Nadu of the 1983 pogrom that incited Delhi to train and arm the Tamil militants, thereby starting the Eelam war. It was the Tamil Nadu factor that made Delhi insist on a political solution based on devolution, in duplication of the Indian model, leading to the imbroglio that has proved insurmountable up to now. If not for the insistence on devolution the SL Tamils would be in the same position as the Muslims whose problems can clearly be solved within a unitary state. We have on our hands therefore not a purely indigenous Tamil ethnic problem but an Indo-Sri Lanka problem. I am emphasizing this argument – which I have advanced before – because it is of crucial importance for what I will have to say later about the new world order/ new imperialism.

I have argued the case against the so-called right of self-determination in several articles, pointing out that the international community recognizes no such right outside a colonial context. It may be that the notion of that so-called right is too deeply ingrained in the Tamil political psyche for my argument to make much of an impact with most Tamils. It could help to shift the argument from a theoretical level to a practical one. The Tamil diasporas wield much political influence in several Western and other countries. They will certainly include many brilliant men some of whom are well qualified in international law. The LTTE has plenty of funds to promote Tamil interests. Nothing therefore precludes the Tamils waging a massive campaign to get at least one UN member state to promote a Resolution at Geneva or elsewhere asking the Sri Lanka Government to allow self-determination for the Tamils, inclusive of a right to set up a separate state or to have a wide measure of devolution. The Tamils will fail to find even one state that is willing to oblige. It seems pointless for the Tamils to insist on devolution on the basis of a non-existent right of self-determination. It makes better sense to opt for a solution without any devolution at all.

Why are the Tamils so insistent on a solution through a wide measure of devolution, amounting at least to federalism? I don’t think it is just cussedness on their part. At least part of the reason could be that they want to establish a nationalist claim to part of Sri Lankan territory in anticipation of the possibility that the huge asymmetry of power between the Tamils and the Sinhalese at the regional level will count in favor of Eelam someday. The Tamil aspiration to Eelam should be seen in the global perspective of the recent vogue of ethnonationalism. There are broadly speaking two kinds of nationalism. One is ethnonationalism in which the indigenous majority ethnic group is seen as entitled to a dominant position over the other ethnic groups. The other might be called citizen democracy in which all are seen as equal by virtue of being citizens of the same country. It is the second kind of democracy that has been behind the tremendous achievements of the West in recent centuries. But suddenly, rather unexpectedly, ethnonationalism has been coming into vogue even in the West, as shown by the nationalist drive in Scotland and elsewhere. There are complex reasons for this phenomenon which cannot be addressed here. What is important is that we should take count of what I have called the “situational factor”. The ethnonationalist drive among our Tamils demands if not Eelam at the least a wide measure of devolution. But allowing the latter would mean that our Tamils experience the strong gravitational pull of Tamil Nadu and of India as a whole, a gravitational pull that is going to become stronger as the process of globalization becomes stronger. That is not something that the Sinhalese majority should be expected to contemplate with equanimity.

That is one reason why a political solution on the basis of devolution should be regarded as anathema in Sri Lanka. Another is the intense racism that afflicts substantial proportions of both the Sinhalese and the Tamils. That ugly fact dictates that we should look for a political solution that downplays ethnicity, not one that emphasizes it: not devolution on the basis of ethnicity but the Western model in which the individual has a direct unmediated relationship with the State. We can learn from the example set by Lee Kwan Yew, the greatest genius of the last century in the field of pragmatic politics. He compelled the Chinese and the Malays to live side by side in Singapore housing estates, not in separate enclaves. The moral is that to counter racism you have to bring people together – so that they can interact on the basis of a recognized common humanity – not hold them apart.

The important point that we must recognize about devolution is that it may not prove to be successful everywhere. I am convinced that because of the intense racism on both sides of the ethnic fence in Sri Lanka any wide measure of devolution will prove to be disastrous. We should consider why devolution has been so successful in Switzerland. The gravitational pull of Germany and France among the German-speaking and the French-speaking Swiss during the Second World War did not lead to the disintegration of that country. Doubtless there were complex reasons behind that success story. Perhaps the most important was that the Swiss had nothing like the racism that is rampant in Sri Lanka. I think it rather comic that our Tamils – who have been busily producing some of the world’s worst racists – should have over several decades extolled Swiss federalism. They should accept that federalism or any wide measure of devolution is not suitable for racists.

The above is a brief sketch to show what is meant by a holistic approach to the ethnic problem. I believe that it has to be agreed, on any fair-minded reading, that the Tamil Nadu and Delhi factors are not of an ancillary order but an integral part of the problem. If not for those factors the position of our Tamils would be no different from that of the Muslims whose problems can be solved within a strictly unitary framework. We have to acknowledge that Delhi has a legitimate interest in the fate of the SL Tamils because of the fall-out factor in Tamil Nadu. But has Delhi a legitimate interest in how we solve the problem – whether it is through devolution or through the Western model? We have to ask what will India loose if 13 A is jettisoned and we try to solve the problem through the Western model. Such questions lead to the conclusion that Sri Lanka’s ethnic problem should be seen in terms of the problem of the new world order/ new imperialism.

An Open Letter To Dr. Indrajith Coomaraswamy, The New Governor Of The Central Bank!

By Hema Senanayake –July 8, 2016

Hema Senanayake

Dear Sir,

Finally we have a new governor appointed to the central bank. It’s you. After assuming duties you declared that you fear no one in discharging your duties. We, the readers and contributors to Colombo Telegraph eagerly waited for such a person to be appointed as the new governor for the central bank. We urged from the President, “to appoint a Governor who can win greater independence for the central bank by proving his professional wisdom in managing the nonphysical system of monetary infrastructure. Do not believe on guys who would talk about mere executing monetary policy, interest rates, reserve ratio, managing foreign reserves, listing rupee bonds in international markets etc. Trust on a guy who is capable of managing a dynamic hypothetical system flexibly and accurately” (June 19, 2016, Colombo Telegraph).

We hope that we now have found a true professional in you for the position. We may trust you, but still we need to verify as things get going under you. When I say this I am not that much concern about bond scams because it is something which can be prevented pretty easily if you are interested, instead I concern as to how you conduct the monetary policy and advise the government on fiscal policy and other matters on macroeconomics. This is the most important job that you have to do and this is the job that you have to fear no one in carrying it out. Why?

Dr. Indrajit Coomaraswamy received his appointment letter as the new Governor of the Central Bank from President Maithripala Sirisena, this morning (July 4) at the President’s residence. | Photo The President’s media unit.

The existing paradigm of central banking is now outdated. In regard to the execution of monetary policy what had worked for years had failed big time in 2008 with the financial meltdown in the United States and Europe. This failure was preceded by the failure occurred in Japan in early 1990s which is still continuing and the virtual economic collapse occurred in Argentina in Dec. 2001. Before the collapse, Argentinian fixed exchange rate system had been considered, including IMF, as a model for all developing countries. After these crises, the world is now left with no proper model for central banking and this is true for developed countries whose domestic currencies are used as international reserve currencies by other developing countries and is true for countries like ours which use some other country’s domestic currency as international reserve currency. So what we practice now can be defined as “ad-hoc” central banking. In this context what you had learnt in regard to central banking in any prestigious university might have outdated by now.

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