India: Stop the Use of Excessive Force against Protesters

( July 15, 2016, Bangkok/Kathmandu, Sri Lanka Guardian) The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) is deeply concerned about the ongoing violence and humanitarian crisis in Jammu and Kashmir. Following the killing of a 22-year-old Hizbul Mujahideen leader on 8 July 2016, large-scale protests have led to deadly clashes between protesters and security forces.

According to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), at least 36 people have been killed and about 1,500 injured. Local media has reported that most of the injured have suffered bullet and pellet wounds. Children, women and onlookers are also injured. The excessive use of force by security forces is reported to be such that even ambulances carrying the injured to hospitals have been attacked and patients prevented from medical treatment. Due to the impact of pellet guns, a large number of protesters with eye injuries are at risk of losing their eyesight permanently.

The curfew imposed in large parts of Srinagar city and several areas of South Kashmir has badly affected people’s daily life. Acute shortage of food items and lifesaving medicines isreported in curfew-affected areas. The continued suspension of mobile and internet service has imposed an information blackout making it difficult for people to communicate.

The clashes between the protesters and security forces should immediately come to a halt. It was reported that a few individuals were engaged in violence during the protests. Such behaviour cannot be condoned. However, some protesters behaving violently cannot justify security forces resorting to excessive force. 

Security forces are expected to take all measures necessary to ensure that the protest is managed as peacefully as possible. As the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, Maina Kiai, stresses in his report on his mission to Chile, “the violent elements should be extracted from the protest and dealt with in accordance with the rule of law. … Individuals retain at all times their rights to life and physical integrity, even if they become violent during protests, and it is the State’s duty to safeguard these rights.”

International law prohibits the excessive use of force. Law enforcement officials should “apply non-violent means before resorting to the use of force and firearms,” and “only if other means remain ineffective or without any promise of achieving the intended result.”[1]Even when force is used as the last resort, it should respect the principles of legality, necessity, and proportionality. In Jammu and Kashmir, such measures do not appear to be taken.

The Supreme Court of India, in its judgment of 8 July 2016 on the use of excessive force by armed forces under Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, has categorically stated that members of armed forces cannot kill citizens “on the mere allegation or suspicion that they are enemy” and warned that doing so would put “not only the rule of law but our democracy… in grave danger.” The judgment further states that the law of the land applies equally to all irrespective of “whether the victim was a common person or a militant or a terrorist”, adding that equal application of the law “is the requirement of a democracy and the requirement of preservation of the rule of law and the preservation of individual liberties.”

FORUM-ASIA strongly urges the Government of India to abide by its international commitments and obligations including its own constitutional obligations, and uphold the values of a democratic state. It should immediately abstain from deploying disproportionate use of force against protesters and ensure free access to medical care to those injured. The Government of India is also urged to ensure essential supplies to the local population, restore communication and internet services that have been cut off, and restore normalcy before the situation slips towards a much graver and an unmanageable humanitarian crisis.

About FORUM-ASIA: FORUM-ASIA is a Bangkok-based regional human rights group with 58 memberorganisations in 19 countries across Asia. FORUM-ASIA has offices in Bangkok, Jakarta, Geneva and Kathmandu. FORUM-ASIA addresses key areas of human rights violations in the region, including freedom of expression, assembly and association, human rights defenders, and democratisation.

For further inquiries, please contact: South Asia Programme, FORUM-ASIA, sasia@forum-asia.org

[1] http://www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/UseOfForceAndFirearms.aspx

Thailand army tightens media control ahead of draft charter referendum

A demonstrator holds up banners during an anti-coup protest. Pic: AP

 15th July 2016

THAILAND’S telecommunications authority has been given the green light to to shut down any radio or television station whose broadcasts are considered a threat to national security.

This is part of the military government’s move to tighten its control on electronic media ahead of the draft constitution referendum next month.

Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha authorized the move on Thursday by invoking a catch-all article in the country’s temporary constitution that gives the ruling junta absolute power to carry out virtually any action in the name of national security.

The army seized power in May 2014 from an elected government.

The junta has already declared that inappropriate campaigning to affect the referendum’s outcome is punishable by up to 10 years in prison. Critics of the draft charter charge that it is undemocratic.

SEE ALSO: What you need to know about Thailand’s controversial constitution referendum

According to Khaosod English, the order came into immediate effect on Thursday by use of the absolute power granted to the junta chief under Section 44 of the interim charter.

With the order, the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission will be protected from legal action when regulating any broadcast media reports “deemed as threatening national security or instigating unrest”.

Defaming the monarchy, criticizing the junta with ‘insincere intent’, releasing secret government information, instigating unrest in the kingdom or turning people against the junta, are among the content viewed as threatening to national security according to a junta order launched in 2014, Khaosod reported.

However, the order stipulates that broadcast networks affected by use of the new powers reserved the right to seek compensation from the government.

Late last month, seven Thai activists were sent to prison following their campaign against the junta-backed draft constitution.

The imprisonment by a Thai court came after 13 people were arrested for handing out leaflets calling on the public to vote against the charter.

Additional reporting by Associated Press

Tim Peake: British astronaut carries out first spacewalk

Tim Peake becomes the first "official" British astronaut to carry out a spacewalk at the International Space Station.

FRIDAY 15 JANUARY 2016

Major Peake is spending almost six-and-a-half hours outside the ISS as he and Nasa colleague Tim Kopra carry out repairs to a broken power unit.

The two are working in 45-minute blocks of daylight, then complete darkness, as the station orbits Earth every one-and-a-half hours.

Major Peake is the first "official" British astronaut to embark on a spacewalk. Michael Foale, who has dual UK/US citizenship, was the first Briton to do this, in 1995, but he was working under a US banner.

Major Peake and Colonel Kopra entered an airlock before opening a hatch and heading outside, where they are tethered to the ISS to ensure they do not drift off. They should finish the repairs in under three hours, and at that point ground control will perform some checks.

The six hours they will spend outside will be tiring because of the pressurised suits they are wearing. They also face the prospect of being temporarily blinded by sunrises and will need to regularly check one another to make sure their suits have not been damaged. They will be able to drink water from pouches, but will not have a toilet break.

'Exhilarated'

Writing in his blog, Major Peake said he felt "exhilarated" by the prospect of walking in space, but said: "I have no time to dwell on these emotions. The six hours and 30 minutes we will work on the space station's hull are meticulously planned and Tim and I need to execute each step methodically."

Before the spacewalk began, British-born US astronaut Nicholas Patrick, a spacewalk veteran, said Major Peake should find time to enjoy the "majesty of the view" during his walk.

He told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme: "When you float out, it is a remarkable feeling. You are used to floating. By this point Tim has been in space for a month, he will know exactly what floating is like.

"What he won't be used to is being outside the space station with a fabulous view and, perhaps more importantly, with a very difficult set of time-critical tasks ahead of him.

'Wonderful experience'

"My bet is that, like me, when he goes out he won't be looking down initially, he will be looking left and right, finding his way around and getting ready for the tasks ahead. But it's a great thing to go out, it's really a wonderful experience."

There have been 191 spacewalks for maintenance at the space station, including a similar walk completed in 2014 by Nasa astronaut Reid Wiseman, who will help guide Major Peake and Colonel Kopra from mission control in Houston, Texas.

Major Peake, a former Army Air Corps and helicopter test pilot, is the first Briton aboard the ISS and the first fully professional British astronaut employed by a space agency.

Previous Britons in space have either had US or dual citizenship or been on privately funded or sponsored trips. Major Peake, who works for the European Space Agency, arrived at the ISS on 15 December 15 on a six-month mission.

Solar Sister lights entrepreneurial spirit to improve women’s lives in Uganda

Women in the poorest parts of Uganda are reaping the personal and economic rewards of a scheme that trains them to sell clean energy sources

 Harriet Nabukwasi in Tororo, eastern Uganda, working as part of the Solar Sister programme, which helps rural women start renewable energy businesses. Photograph: Alon Mwesigwa

Alon Mwesigwa in Tororo-Friday 15 July 2016

Harriet Nabukwasi is saving up. Having seen people claim her neighbour’s land, she is determined hers will not go the same way. The only way to protect the half-acre site in Mudokori village in Tororo, eastern Uganda, is to register the land and acquire a title.

“This land is our life,” says Nabukwasi, 31, who lives there with her three children and 56-year-old mother. “It is very important for my children.”

So far, she’s saved up enough to pay surveyors 100,000 Uganda shillings (£21) “to continue the process of registering my land”, she says. “Now, I even pay school fees for my children. I am happy now.”

Nabukwasi is able to save for her goal because of her work with Solar Sister, a not-for-profit social enterprise that has created a network of female entrepreneurs.

The organisation recruits women (and some men) in the most impoverished and remote areas of Uganda to sell affordable solar lamps, mobile phone chargers and fuel-efficient stoves. The women are self-employed, earning a 10%-20% commission.

Last month, an assessment of the organisation’s impact by the International Centre for Research on Women (ICRW) concluded that the Solar Sister model improved women’s lives, increased their incomes and made communities safer.

Solar Sister has a network of business development associates (BDAs) who recruit, train and support the female entrepreneurs.

“Entrepreneurs are encouraged to embrace ‘sisterhood’, where they often come together in groups to learn, share challenges, tips, and ideas. They later use their community networks of family and neighbours to sell [to],” says Marion Abbo, a BDA in Tororo.

As well as earning money, Nabukwasi now lights her house with a solar lamp, cooks on energy saving stoves, charges her mobile phone from home, and her children no longer have to rush to finish their homework before dusk. “Solar Sister has been a game changer,” she says.

At least 877 Solar Sister entrepreneurs now work in Uganda, more than three-quarters of whom are female. The organisation has attracted more than 2,000 entrepreneurs in Uganda, Tanzania and Nigeria since 2010.

According to Clare Achola, the Solar Sister Uganda country manager, the main goal is to allow women to be financially independent. It is not a full-time job, which means women can fit the work between domestic chores.

The ICRW research found, among other things, that income from clean-energy businesses allowed women to become financially independent and contribute to household earnings. Some women say their husbands and communities now have more respect for their opinions. The ICRW believes that household economic security has improved because of the money saved by no longer using expensive fuel such as kerosene.

Moreover, solar lanterns and better stoves produce fewer emissions, reducing respiratory and eye problems in the house.

“Solar Sister taps into the power of women’s social networks to bring energy access to the most hard-to-reach communities,” the report concludes.

Achola says Solar Sister is not making a profit, but relies on donations to continue its work. “We are making losses; whatever money we get is recycled. We get grants from donors to supplement us to get these products to the women.”

Solar Sister’s founder, Katherine Lucey, a former investment banker, says she was inspired to start the organisation after working for a family foundation in Uganda. The foundation was installing solar power in rural areas, and Lucey was impressed by the transformative impact “a simple light can have on [the life] of a rural family”.

“I was particularly inspired by one woman named Rebecca, in Mpigi [in central Uganda], who used solar light to improve her poultry business,” says Lucey. “I realised the importance of including women as part of the solution for energy access since they are the ones who manage the household and make the daily decisions about what type of energy is used.”

In Uganda, only 20% of the population has access to electricity (pdf) while more than 50% of rural households rely on open kerosene lamps. But such lanterns are fire hazards, emit toxic fumes and strain family budgets.

According to Lighting Africa, a World Bank group programme to increase access to clean sources of energy for lighting, Africa has a large off-grid population. More than 590 million people live with no connection to their national electric grid, exposing them to hazardous options.

 Harriet Nabukwasi, right, explains to her neighbour how a solar lamp works. Photograph: Alon Mwesigwa

An entrepreneur needs initial capital of at least 200,000 shillings (£42) to become a Solar Sister. “We want [the entrepreneurs] to take this as their business,” says Achola. “We tell them they have to buy the products we give them. If they don’t have money, we tell them to wait until they get it.”

Achola believes that when women pay for products at subsidised costs, it pushes them to work harder. 

Men are also encouraged to join and engage in their wife’s work, to avoid family conflict when she earns money.

John Owere, 60, says he took over his wife’s Solar Sister work when she became too busy with her teaching. Owere, a farmer and father of six, says the income he gets from selling solar lamps supplements his wife’s. “[The business] is seasonal; when it is time for harvest people buy and when there is famine, people use the money to buy food; when it is time for returning to school, people have to pay school fees,” he says.

Nabukwasi says there are challenges, especially when they have to travel long distances to meet potential buyers. This requires transport and phone calls, which can eat into the commission on sales.

Lucey says: “We coach them to learn to identify their business costs and to learn how to be profitable and run sustainable businesses. We empower them to know that the solutions are in their own hands.” For her, ending a culture of dependency on aid is crucial to help people escape economic hardship and deal with the issue of energy poverty.

E-cigarettes could cut smoking-related deaths by 21 percent: study

Members of Egypt's pro-government parliament are beginning to feel the brunt of the police state they have empowered

A window display with different colour models electronic cigarettes is seen in a shop in Paris May 31, 2013.

REUTERS/CHARLES PLATIAU

BY TONI CLARKE- Fri Jul 15, 2016

E-cigarettes could lead to a 21 percent drop in deaths from smoking-related diseases in those born after 1997, according to a study published in Nicotine & Tobacco Research.

The study, funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the National Cancer Institute and the Cancer Intervention and Surveillance Modeling Network, found that under most plausible scenarios e-cigarettes and other vapor products have a generally positive public health impact.

Multiple studies have sought to assess the impact of e-cigarettes on public health, with conflicting results. 

Earlier this year a University of California study of high school students found that those who used e-cigarettes were more than twice as likely to also smoke traditional cigarettes.

The latest study differs from prior ones because it summarizes patterns of use from national data, the authors said. Previous studies have used local data that may have unusual patterns and are not necessarily representative of the whole country.

The study distinguishes between youths who vape who would not otherwise have taken up any nicotine product, and those who vape, who would otherwise have smoked cigarettes. When both those populations are taken into account, the benefit outweighs the harm, according to the study.

Many experts believe there are health benefits for smokers who switch completely to e-cigarettes.

"While the data are still not as clear as we would like, we present the entire picture with national data so we think our estimates are as good as we can get," said David Abrams, executive director of the Schroeder Institute of Tobacco Research and Policy Studies at the Truth Initiative.

Most previous studies count as e-cigarette users anyone who has vaped within the past 30 days. That can include someone who goes to a party and vapes once or twice.

"Those are not the people we are concerned with," David Levy, a professor of oncology at Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center and the study's lead author said in an interview. "We tried to get an idea of the number of people who progressed to established use."

On May 5, the FDA announced a final rule extending its tobacco authority to include e-cigarettes, pipe tobacco, cigars and hookah. The rule, which becomes effective in early August, requires companies to seek marketing authorization for any tobacco product introduced after Feb. 15, 2007.

Levy and other e-cigarette advocates say excessive FDA regulation could stifle the development of safer products that could more effectively displace cigarettes.

(Reporting by Toni Clarke in Washington; Editing by Andrew Hay)

Sri Lankan military destroys Tamil homes in HSZ  14 July 2016 The Sri Lankan military has been destroying the last few remaining houses located inside the High Security Zone in Valikaamam North earlier this week. The Tamil owned homes are located inside the High Security Zone, which has been occupied by Sri Lankan troops for more than 26 years, and are earmarked to be released. Doors, windows, wooden beams, cement pillars, and even bricks were being removed from the Tamil houses by Sri Lankan troops, in photographs taken on Tuesday. Last month, the Tamil Guardian also published more photographs of the Sri Lankan military removing windows and doors from houses earmarked to be released to Tamils in Valikaamam North. In the last month, 201 acres of land have been released by the Sri Lankan government in Kattuvan, Kurumbasity and Kankesanthurai areas of Valikaamam North.

US officials insist sustainable peace must include peace dividend 

By Dharisha Bastians-Friday, 15 July 2016

Visiting State Department officials insisted that accountability and reconciliation in Sri Lanka continues to be a key focus for the US Government, but defended their apparent focus on economic growth and investment on a two-day visit to the island, saying peace would not be sustainable in the country without a peace dividend.

Concerns have mounted about the Government’s commitment to implementing the Geneva resolution it co-sponsored last year and the US Government’s seemingly softening positions on truth and justice processes in the island. But the visiting State Department officials said they were being realistic about the nature of the country’s reconciliation challenges. “But it’s also important to give credit to those who are clearly trying to create a different future for this country,” US Assistant Secretary for Democracy, Human Rights and Labour, Tom Malinowski told a press roundtable in Colombo last night.

“This trip was no different from any other visits,” Malinowski insisted, after the two officials spent two days touring the Colombo Port and a private flour mill in Trincomalee and speaking about economic ties between the US and Sri Lanka in addition to their political engagements.

US Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs, Nisha Biswal who is on her sixth visit to Colombo told reporters that for Sri Lanka to move forward on reform and reconciliation it must also move forward economically and that was ‘driving’ her focus on economic opportunity. “For people to be able to move in a direction to make decision and take the steps, they must also see what comes of going down this path. What we in the US firmly believe is that a united and reconciled Sri Lanka is also going to be a more prosperous Sri Lanka,” Biswal observed.

The visiting officials said the US was committed to continued engagement on truth and justice in Sri Lanka, making regular visits to determine ‘what is moving and what is not’. The US officials urged the Government to address the expectations of the people on reconciliation, reform and economic prosperity with a sense of urgency.

Assistant Secretary Biswal said the US Government was seeing a Government in Sri Lanka that was committed to be accountable to its people and its press, even though frustrations were growing about the pace of progress.

“In my conversations with people in Sri Lanka, I see impatience and frustration, but I don’t see despair. There is hope, but also anxiety that this hope will not be realised,” Biswal told reporters yesterday.

Biswal drew stark comparisons with her visit to the island in 2014, when she said she had encountered great despair in Jaffna. “Many people thought the country would go back to conflict. Across Sri Lanka there was a sense that the Government was not responsive or accountable to its people,” Biswal said, referring to what she called ‘dark days’ for the island.

Assistant Secretary Biswal recalled that before January 2015, since bilateral engagement with the Government of Sri Lanka was not working, the US Government had used other international forums to encourage progress on reconciliation. “We were put in a position where the only real avenue we had was to apply pressure through international forums such as the UN Human Rights Council,” she explained. “So there are different ways to encourage progress,” Biswal said, responding to a question about whether the US was toning down its pressure on accountability in Sri Lanka.

Malinowski said the US understands where the scepticism and suspicion was coming from since there was a long history in Sri Lanka of decades of promises not fulfilled. The mere fact that the Government has made an ambitious and principled set of commitments, was not enough to convince people who had lived that history, Malinowski noted.  

“We want those people to know that we know that history too, and we are not taking anything for granted,” he said.

Assistant Secretary Malinowski who met with the Defence Secretary and the tri forces commanders during his visit said that one of the most important discussions the US was having was with the military. “We had very candid conversations about the steps that would be required to restore a full military to military relationship with the US, including the need for the armed forces to support the accountability process – recognising that this would be a difficult process for some in the military,” he explained.

Responding to questions regarding the Government’s pushback on the question of foreign judges on a special court to prosecute alleged war crimes, Malinowski said that the Geneva Resolution ‘fully respects’ the sovereignty of Sri Lanka. The Government would determine the structure and composition of the court, he explained. “The Government of Sri Lanka also made a commitment to exercise that sovereignty within certain parameters in ways that could include international participation at various levels,” Malinowski asserted. He said the commitment was made because there was an erosion of confidence in the courts of Sri Lanka. “The commitment was made with the understanding that this whole process of accountability is aimed at winning back that confidence,” Malinowski said.

International participation in the court, was not a remarkable concept, he said. “Sri Lanka itself has contributed judicial expertise to other countries and it has perhaps benefited from that.”

New Constitution: State, Religion & Buddhism

By Mass L. Usuf –July 14, 2016

Mass L. Usuf

Critical Evaluation And Democratisation Of Article (9) – Part II – 

Buddhism, Religion Or Not?

Article 9: “The Republic of Sri Lanka shall give to Buddhism the foremost place and accordingly it shall be the duty of the State to protect and foster the Buddha Sasana, while assuring to all religions the rights granted by Articles 10 and 14(1)(e).”

There is a vague and ambiguous reference to one word in Article 9, namely, ‘Buddhism’ in contradistinction to ‘religion’. It is vague because it is not clear if Buddhism is used here synonymous with religion. This lack of clarity creates ambiguity in its definition. Simply put, as per Article 9 is Buddhism a religion or not?

The concern is that there is neither an interpretation clause nor an explanation in the constitution on this word. The legislators apparently would have relied upon the popular or customary understanding that Buddhism is a religion. The Sinhala word used commonly is buddhagama possibly influenced by Christianity, Islam and Hinduism which are religions and referred to as ‘agama’ in the Sinhala language. ‘Agama’ means religion. It is suspect if this assumption or understanding in relation to Buddhism is correct.

When it comes to legal interpretation what would direct the judicial mind, is to be seen. The judiciary can take the plain text meaning or the intention of the author (legislature) or give a pragmatic interpretation based on the true meaning of Buddhism. The last of the three may find the judiciary being criticised for judicial law making. Some inspiration could be had from Lord Wilberforce in the Privy Council who adopted the approach treating the constitution as sui generis, calling for principles of interpretation of its own suitable to its character. (Minister of Home Affairs (Bermuda) vs. Fishers (1980).

In this context, the new constitution is a good opportunity for the framers to give thought to this without putting the judiciary on the spot. Since the constitution is the foundational law of the State its content in my view, should bear the essence of the thing that is being interpreted.

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Unethical media practices by Neth FM

Photo courtesy The Star

ASLAM OTHMAN on 07/14/2016

On June 14^th, 2016 the ‘Balumgala’ news programme on Neth FM sought to discuss the construction of a mosque at Sri Maha Vihara Road, Kalubowila, Dehiwela. We reproduce below a letter written by a civil society body with regard to what they call ‘unethical media practices’ by Neth FM. Of particular concern is the failure on the part of the presenters to interview any Muslim member of the congregation or a trustee of the mosque.

The Balumgala of June 14^th, 2016 is reflective of a general problem of a failure on the part of the Sinhala language print and electronic media to give fair coverage to Muslim related news stories and features.

###

July 10^th, 2016
The Managing Director/CEO
Asset Radio Broadcasting (Pvt) Ltd
105/3, 5^th Lane, Colombo 3

Dear Sir/Madam,

Unethical media practices by Neth FM

I am the President of the Advocacy and Reconciliation Council [ARC] which is an unincorporated association of Sri Lankans who have come together to work towards a united Sri Lanka where all citizens enjoy equality.

We at ARC write to raise our concerns with regard to unethical and dangerous media practices adopted by Neth FM in its ‘Balumgala’ programme broadcast on June 14^th, 2016.

The said programme sought to discuss issues pertaining to the construction work taking place at the mosque at Sri Maha Vihara Road, Kalubowila, Dehiwela.

The presenters who presented the programme made several false assertions. They claimed that the mosque was an  ‘anthawadi Muslim palliyak‘ which was being constructed by ‘anthawadi pirisak’ and that the mosque was an ‘anthawadi anawasara idikireemak’ and that it was part of a ‘kumanthranayak’. We waited to hear your presenters back these broad statements with supporting material but no such material was produced.

This is not surprising as the assertions were entirely false. Accordingly to have made such allegations that the mosque was being built by ‘extremists’ who were part of a ‘consipiracy’ was unethical, irresponsible and dangerous.

The broadcasters also claimed that the construction was being done by ‘pitin aaup anthawadi kattiyak’ – which is also entirely false and which also they failed to substantiate.

The programme was biased, one sided and was clearly targeted at creating fear amongst its listeners against Muslims.  It was not a programme but propaganda. The bias of the broadcasters was evident in that despite making such serious allegations they failed to interview a single Muslim member of the congregation or a member of the board of trustees of the said mosque.

This failure to allow the Muslim side of the story to go on air confirms that the presenters had no intention of looking at the issue objectively but were furthering a plan to forment fear, hatred and anger against Muslims.  It is indeed disappointing that radio presenters have fallen to such low levels.

We expect radio channels to act to bring communities together. However Neth FM is doing its best to rip communities apart and damage social cohesion in Sri Lanka.

If the presenters have any material that the mosque and those involved in the construction of the mosque are a threat to public security in Sri Lanka – as good citizens which they claim to be they have a duty to bring it to the attention of the law enforcement authorities. They have not done so. This is because in fact there is no such material and the presenters are acting on pseudo – public interest and pretend to be patriotic just to further the political interests of their masters. The fact that the presenters have sold their independence and intelligence to political agenda – which was evident throughout the programme – is pathetic.

We do not need to remind you that radio stations broadcast on a special privilege conferred on them by the State. The radio frequencies are public property and are held in trust by the licensees and should only be used for the benefit of society. Neth FM has failed to discharge this duty.

Finally we write to also inform you that the construction work of the afore stated mosque at Sri Maha Vihara Road is complete and the Sinhalese, Muslim and Tamil residents of Kalubowila are going about their business peacefully.

Yours faithfully,

Aslam Othman

###

Download PDF of this letter here.

“Much has been accomplished by Govt. but a lot more remains to be done”: Krishantha 

Thursday, 14 July 2016

Q: The biggest and perhaps the most damning scandal that has hit the new Government is the one related to the Central Bank bond issue. The Auditor General claims that a staggering Rs. 1.6 billion was lost to the country. The ultimate loss of course will be a compound of this amount given the long-term nature of the issue. Ultimately Governor Arjuna Mahendran’s contract was not renewed. He left under a cloud. What do you think of the way that the Government handled this matter?

A: First of all the jury is out on the issue of wrongdoing. While concerns have been raised the principle of presuming innocence has to be affirmed. Yes, the Auditor General has submitted a report. Yes, COPE is looking into the matter. Yes, the three-member committee appointed by the Prime Minister submitted a report which called for further investigation. What does all this add up to except the inalienable primacy of process? It is one thing to accuse, but quite another to establish guilt. If the Government went around sacking each and every person charged with wrongdoing, nothing will get done. If Arjuna Mahendran had been removed the moment someone accused him, it would have set a very bad precedent, regardless of who was making the accusation. The Government did not crack down on the objectors as has often happened before, but instead gave free rein to the Governor’s detractors. So what we have is an endorsement of democratic principles as well as deference to due process, both necessary for the reestablishment of a different and more democratic political culture in the country. This is what people wanted and asked for on 8 January.

Q: Since you spoke of process, what do you have to say about the claim that this Government is carrying out a witch-hunt against the Rajapaksas and key officials of the previous regime?

A: Let’s have some perspective here. People who elected this Government were crying out for the blood of the Rajapaksas and for understandable reasons too. Perceptions should never be confused with proof. However, this Government came to power vowing to do things differently and most importantly to re-establish the rule of law. We saw how Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka, a war hero mind you, was dragged out of his office, put behind bars, tried and convicted in a manner that brought discredit to the entire judicial process. This was immediately after the Presidential Election of 2010. We also saw how Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake was ousted. This Government, in contrast, called for and allowed investigations to take their natural course without any interference. As the Prime Minister has pointed out, these things can take time. However, once the evidence is in and if and only if court is satisfied that arrest is warranted then suspects are arrested, regardless of who they are and whose friends they happen to be. That process has also been complemented by a transparent process of appointing judges as per constitutional provisions. In other words steps have been taken to correct the flaws of the judicial system and to strengthen relevant process. Rest assured, the same principles will be invoked should anyone in this Government or supportive of this Government is found guilty of wrongdoing. Today the FCID and the CID are conducting its affairs in a professional manner and that should be appreciated. They don’t just put people behind bars and then look for reasons like what happened during the Rajapaksa regime. It is something that should be appreciated and not condemned.

- See more>>>

MRPs for 16 essential items announced

Jul 14, 2016

Control prices of 16 essential items were announced by the Minister of Industry and Commerce Rishad Bathiudeen today 14 July morning.

The Gazette is expected tomorrow 15 July-prices are effective immediately.

The Items are:

1.     Chicken meat with Skin Rs 410  per Kilo - without Skin Rs 495 per Kilo

2.     Red Dhall  Rs 169 per Kilo

3.     Spratts (Thai) Rs 495 per Kilo -  Spratts (Dubai) Rs 410 per Kilo

4.     Gram-Chickpeas Rs 260 per Kilo

5.     Green moong/Green Grams Rs 220 per Kilo

6.     Canned Fish Regular 480 grams Rs 140     (105 Grams– Rs 70)

7.     White Sugar  Rs 95 per kilo

8.     White Flour Rs 87 per kilo

9.     Full cream milk powder - imported Rs 810  per Kilo   – Domestic Rs 735 per Kilo

10. Potatoes – Local – No control price        Potatoes – imported – Rs 120 per kilo

11. B Onions imported – Rs 78 per Kilo

12. Dried chillies – Rs 385 per Kilo

13. Dried Fish – Katta – Rs 1100 per Kilo       

14. Dried Fish – Salaya– Rs 425 per Kilo

15. Maldive fish –Rs 1500 per kilo

16. Sustagen – Rs 1500

Dilemma between VAT and CAA tax on price-controlled items 

Currently there are 15 items declared as essential and the decision will be taken by the Cabinet to increase or decrease the items based on the needs and challenges of the consumer

Essential consumer items

It is learnt that the Cabinet will be deciding next Tuesday that VAT will not be added to essential consumer items, and further items will be declared essential so that the Consumer Affairs Authority will be directing traders a maximum price for the identified items.

Currently there are 15 such items declared as essential and the decision will be taken by the Cabinet to increase or decrease the items based on the needs and challenges of the consumer which gives a broader meaning in Sri Lankan context compared to the definition worldwide. (Section 74 of the Act: Any actual or potential user of any goods or services made available for consideration by any trader or manufacturer).

This is a matter that should have taken by the Governance at the introduction of the VAT fiasco to ease the burden on the consumer. Now even the implementation of the Budget proposals on VAT is not finalised as the draft bill is to be presented to the Parliament to give legal status.

It is tactically a mistake to increase VAT without amending the tax structure with approval from the Parliament. This indicates how disorganised the implementation process and future strategy of both line Ministries concerned, namely Finance and Consumer Affairs, which comes under Industries. Cabinet may decide but the procedure in declaring the items essential is a long, cumbersome and complicated procedure subject to litigation.

Activist groups are planning to seek redress on the VAT fiasco via Parliamentary process and procedures. It is time for Finance and Industries (and Consumer Affairs) to work together with a common plan and strategy to avert the unrest and agitations of the consumer by smooth and careful implementation of the VAT and CAA systems with one voice/word.

Concept and procedure of price control under Consumer Practitioner Act and Control of Prices Act is replaced by the Consumer Affairs Authority Act which empowers regulation of prices under normal circumstances and special procedure on identified essential items if and when the line minister declares the item or items essential.

This follows that the price control and maintaining standards will be implemented by regulatory process under Section 9 to Section 33 of the Consumer Affairs Act, which deals with issue of directions, determining standards, Inquire into complaints, enter into agreements, acts against refusal to sell and many other regulatory powers not looked into and implemented by the CAA to ease the burden on the consumer and the governance.

Concept of price control and regularisation of consumer items and services

The line minister can implement this process only in consultation with the CAA and cannot take ad hoc decisions. The CAA has to do an authentic survey to be submitted to the Minister after a research and recommend the items identified by the Minister for the gazetted notification as required by the act.

It seems the Government was not ready and has not done homework with the sudden decision to increase VAT for consumer items without realising the complexity. There is no quick solution as the citizens and organisations may intervene in the decision-making process. Fortunately the consumer is not organised in Sri Lanka as in the other parts of the world. In this process the CAA can control the maximum price (MPC) of the identified consumer items only and the rest to be controlled by regulatory process which is the main difference of the CAA formulated on Western Australian/European and Canadian model which is replaced by the previous jurisprudence based on English Law.

Civil society and non-governmental organisations are busy with human rights with foreign findings, though consumer rights too are rights recognised by the UN and our Constitution as human rights of the consumer, not considered as essential, are a most neglected section of Sri Lankan society.

It is the duty of the CAA to organise and encourage consumer societies as required by Section 8 of the ACT which states as follows: “The functions of the authority shall be (f) to promote assist and encourage the establishment of consumer organisations.”

It is a pity that all over the world except in Sri Lanka consumerism and consumer organisation is a powerful powerbase of citizens and civil society organisations with a voice of the consumer consisting of citizens worldwide. Consumer organisations linked to education promote consumer education with regard to good health safety and security of consumers. How many such organisations are in existence and are active is a moot issue for the average consumer waiting for assistance in the resolution of the grievances.

Relevant legislation (Section 18) on essential items

According to Section 18 of the Consumer Affairs Authority, when the Minister is of the opinion that any goods or any services is essential to the life of the community, steps could be taken, having taken the appropriate steps legally to avoid litigation and protests from interested parties. Currently the 15 essential consumer items declared essential include sugar, dhal, onions, sprat, milk powder, and canned fish, which is shown in the CAA website.

Whether making some consumer items essential and adjusting the VAT will ease the burden on the citizen and bring down the cost of living is a moot issue and a dilemma/dream and to the consumer, as the root cause of the reasoning of cost of living is not confined to essential consumer items alone. It is unlikely this will be a viable solution as the issue lies elsewhere.

It may give a temporary relief, but will not be a permanent solution to the main issue of high cost of living which needs an overall solution based on a joint strategy with the participation of the trader/manufacturers, consumer and the government.

We must create an atmosphere for an alert consumer, reasonable trader/industrialist and effective consumer organisation with proper consumer education, and giving teeth and vision to the Consumer Affairs Authority with necessary amendments and adjustments. The consumer should know when, where, and how to buy the consumer items cheaper. He/she must be educated on priorities. The main expenses of the family today may be for tuition culture, mobile culture, electronic items and not necessarily food (healthy/non-junk) and other essentials for a healthy living citizen leading to a nation full of sicknesses with diabetes spreading even to children.

Implementation of the decisions taken by the CAA may not be an easy task with the staff of few hundred full of sheer inefficiency which is cancerous all over the State machinery. Will a few hundred staff be in a position to implement the decision to cover 22 million consumers? Obviously not. The only and the best way to implement the process countrywide is by way of education, organisation of the consumer and civil societies and implementation of a proper plan and strategy with organisations, media and extended civil society, now busy with politics and looking for others’ blood and faults.

Power of the consumer worldwide

‘Consumerism and consumer’ power in effective and powerful in the West, with concepts of Competition Law, Commercial Law and direct intervention of the government. In India the legal system has helped the process by setting up of consumer courts and it is a good idea for us to set up consumer courts and to use mediation boards as an intermediate measure/part between the parties, namely the trader/manufactures, consumer, and the government.

Our consumer law and practice jurisprudence is a mixture of Western, Australasian, and European modelled instruments and procedure. It is a good idea to consider reintroduction of the concepts of price control as before which is more effective and easy to implement. Until permanent solutions are found, it is the duty of the consumer, trader/industries and the government to work together for a viable solution for the consumer aggrieved and sandwiched all over. Priority should be given on consumer education and organisation and all sections of the society will have to be mobilised, including students, universities, schools and places of worship and all public places, working class, organisations, media by shelving petty party politics and other differences in the interest of the majority silently suffering, the most aggrieved and neglected section of society.

The Consumer Affairs Authority Act should be amended and simplified to meet modern demands and the challenges in the new world and economic order and developments as a main hub of South Asia strategically placed in the Indian Ocean.

(The writer is a former Chairman of the Consumer Affairs Authority and a former Ambassador. He can be reached via sarathdw28@gmail.com.)