Zambia goes to polls to elect next president after hard-fought campaign

Despite a struggling economy and broken promises, voter turnout may end up being the real story, says The Daily Maverick

Zambia’s president, Edgar Lungu, on the campaign trail as he seeks re-election. Photograph: Gianluigi Guercia/AFP/Getty Images

Simon Allison for the Daily Maverick, part of the Africa network-Thursday 11 August 2016

Zambians are going to the polls on Thursday to choose their next president after an election campaign marred by violence and press blackouts, and against a backdrop of a tanking economy.

The candidates are the current president, Edgar Lungu, of the Patriotic Front (PF), who won an emergency election in 2015 by just 27,000 votes; and the businessman Hakainde Hichilema of the United Party for National Development (UPND), who is challenging for the presidency for the fifth time.

The vote is, in effect, a rerun of the 2015 election.

In a country that prides itself on peaceful politics, both sides have been implicated in violence during the campaign. In July police opened fire on opposition supporters in the capital, Lusaka, prompting the electoral commission to suspend campaigning for 10 days.

The fact that the race is tight has contributed to tensions, which some say could escalate on Thursday if there are any complaints about the fairness of the voting process.

The personal stakes are high for the candidates too. “The outcome can potentially end their political careers. Lungu has only served one term and will now be judged on his legacy,” said Dimpho Motsamai, a southern Africa analyst at the Institute for Security Studies.

“Hichelema is running for the fifth time, also at a time when the UPND is at its strongest, and backed by PF defectors. A loss has dire consequences for their political longevity and the strength of the party,” she said.

Lungu enters the race with the usual advantages of an incumbent. State media have trumpeted his campaign messages, while outlets deemed too critical have been harassed or, in the case of the country’s leading newspaper, The Post, shut down.

Lungu’s party has also been accused of appropriating state funds for political purposes and using state security services to intimidate opposition figures.

Last month the home of Hichelema’s running mate, Geoffrey Bwalya Mwamba, was teargassed during a police raid. Mwamba’s grandson suffered injuries that required hospital treatment.

“The PF’s power of incumbency has been felt during campaigning, where they have created an uneven playing field for the opposition,” said Motsamai.

Hichelema, however, has a couple of trump cards of his own. A series of high-profile PF defectors have rallied to his cause, including Mwamba, Guy Scott and Mulenga Sata, the son of the late president Michael Sata, whose death in October 2014 prompted the January 2015 election to find a successor to serve the remainder of his term.

His main weapon, however, has been Zambia’s poor economic performanceduring Lungu’s short time in office.

Growth has slowed from 7% to 3%, 10,000 jobs have been lost in the copper belt, Zambia’s industrial heartland, and the kwacha was the worst-performing currency in the world in 2015, dropping 42% against the dollar.

Analysts say the currency began to pick up again early in 2016.

Whether Lungu is responsible for the poor state of the economy – he inherited many of the country’s problems and has only been in power for 18 months – has almost become a moot point, because Hichelema has been very effective at making the blame stick.

In an opinion piece published on African Arguments this week, he said Zambians “deserved better from a political elite that has allowed runaway corruption to drive our economy into the ground.

“Zambians also deserve better from a governing class that is focused predominantly on improving their own standard of living, including awarding themselves hefty pay increases at a time when job losses are high and the price of food sky-rocketing.”

There is noticeably less enthusiasm for the democratic process in Zambia than there was even five years ago, with people tired of petty squabbling and politicians’ failure to deliver on their promises.

This was apparent in the low turnout for the 2015 election, in which only 32% of registered voters participated, and there is little to suggest that this time will be any different.

Yes, Thursday is about the country’s next president, but the real story may be how few Zambians think it actually matters.

Goodbye, Party of Nelson Mandela. Hello, Rainbow Nation.

The African National Congress suffered its worst-ever defeat at the polls. That’s good news for South African democracy.

BY ERIN CONWAY-SMITH-AUGUST 10, 2016

JOHANNESBURG — The unlikely new face of South African politics is white, and he speaks in the emphatic clicks of the Xhosa language.

Bullish and beaming, Athol Trollip, the presumptive mayor of Nelson Mandela Bay, South Africa’s sixth-largest metropolitan area, addressed a cheering crowd of supporters on Aug. 6. “When the winds of change start blowing in this country, as they did on Wednesday, they are unstoppable,” Trollip declared, switching easily between English and Xhosa, a Bantu language spoken mainly by black South Africans in the Eastern Cape region.

Trollip’s likely victory — his election won’t be certain until the parties have formed a coalition — was seen as an embarrassing defeat for the party of his city’s namesake. In last week’s local government elections, a record number of voters ditched Nelson Mandela’s party, the African National Congress (ANC), which has been in power since the first post-apartheid elections in 1994, and cast their ballots for the opposition. In addition to black-majority Nelson Mandela Bay, the ANC also lost control of Pretoria, the nation’s capital. Nationwide, it saw its share of the vote slide to 54 percent, down from 62 percent in the 2011 local elections.

But there is an irony in the bad fortune of Mandela’s party — it could hasten the realization, however slowly and imperfectly, of Mandela’s vision of a multicultural “rainbow nation.” Not only did an important majority-black city elect a white mayor in Trollip, but his party, the liberal Democratic Alliance (DA), has gradually begun to shed its image as a party for whites. Last year, the DA elected Mmusi Maimane, a 36-year-old part-time preacher who grew up in the Johannesburg township of Soweto, as its first black leader.

Susan Booysen, a politics professor at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, described the election as the dawn of a “a new era” in South African politics. “It came with a big electoral bang,” she said.

Since the end of apartheid, politics in South Africa have been conducted largely along racial lines. The black majority has voted overwhelmingly for the ANC in every election while whites and other minorities have mainly voted for smaller parties like the DA.

During this year’s often nasty campaign, the ANC relied heavily on rhetoric intended to foment racial division. President Jacob Zuma, whose time in office has been marred by one scandal after another, warned that the DA would bring back apartheid while accusing Maimane of being a puppet of the white minority. In late July, at a campaign rally in Nelson Mandela Bay, heaccused the DA of being “snakes” and the “spawn” of the racist National Party that ruled during apartheid. (In fact, the DA was born in 1959 of a complex set of mergers with parties that were both progressive and not.)

The ANC also accused Trollip of being a racist, and claimed that his family had abused black workers at their Eastern Cape farm. Trollip has stronglyrefuted the allegations, calling them a “pack of lies.”

But if the ANC overreached with some of its attacks, it was attempting to exploit a reputation for racial insensitivity on the part of the DA that is very real. Although most DA supporters aren’t racists, the party has long attracted a crusty, bigoted fringe whose social media presence has become a liability. In one particularly damaging incident earlier this year, a DA member named Penny Sparrow was expelled from the party after complaining on Facebook about the mess black “monkeys” had left on beaches in the coastal city of Durban.

This checkered past no doubt helps to explain why the DA has historically struggled to appeal to black voters: While South Africa is 80 percent black, the DA received only 6 percent of the black vote in the 2014 general election. But since then, the party has tried hard to diversify — not just by electing a black leader but by focusing outreach efforts on formerly ANC-dominant areas.

Controversially, the DA has made the case that it, not the ANC, is the true political descendant of Mandela.

“There is only one party in South Africa today that truly represents the values and vision that Madiba lived out,” Maimane said on the eve of the election, using Mandela’s Xhosa clan name, which is a term of respect in South Africa. “That party is the Democratic Alliance.”

This message may have helped the party broaden its appeal ahead of the vote, but the decisive factor in this election seems to have been the ANC’s own record of failure. Not only has the party of Mandela disappointed many voters with its spotty provision of basic services like electricity and water, especially in rural areas and poor townships, it has presided over a deteriorating economy marked by worsening unemployment and frequent corruption scandals.

South Africa’s economy is expected to grow just 0.1 percent this year, while unemployment sits at a staggering 36 percent when those who have simply given up looking for work are taken into account.
Frans Cronje, the CEO of the Johannesburg-based Institute of Race Relations, said the election hardly marked “a revolutionary swing to the liberal opposition.” On the contrary, he said, it was a referendum on jobs and the economy — areas where the ANC has clearly failed.

“Every poll we have seen or done for years reveals that the issue South Africans want the government to address most is jobs,” said Cronje. “This has not been done, and the government’s policies remain hostile to growth, investment, and job creation.”

Still, the DA’s unexpected victories in Pretoria and Nelson Mandela Bay — as well as its impressive gains in Johannesburg, where depending on the outcome of coalition negotiations, it could end up leading the government — underscored the newfound willingness of South African voters to look beyond race when electing their political leaders.

“The race-baiting and populist rhetoric of the ANC failed badly in this election,” said Cronje.
Younger voters in particular seemed immune to the ANC’s racially-tinged criticism of the DA, something that has resonated with the voters in in the past.

“They are prepared to overlook that, and just see the emerging DA,” Booysen of the University of the Witwatersrand said of younger voters.

“For long, we were slowly inching towards being a proper, lively, multi-party system that holds power to account,” the South African author and political commentator Justice Malala wrote in a column this week. “We are now hurtling that way. It’s exhilarating.”

Image credit: RODGER BOSCH/AFP/Getty Images

China: Unruly plane passengers could face up to $7,500 fine under new laws

The injured check-in clerk lies on the floor in a pool of blood after being struck in the head. To the right is the plaque suspected to have been used in the attack. Images via Weibo.

11th August 2016 

CHINESE authorities have proposed the introduction of heavier penalties for unruly plane passengers who could face up to 50,000 yuan (US$7,500) in fines if the proposed revision to its civil aviation law is approved.

The proposed increase would be a sharp spike from the current paltry fines that only go up to a few hundred yuan.

The disruptive behavior to be added in the revision includes the usage of electronic devices on planes or the filing of false reports on dangerous goods.

SEE ALSO: China: 3 men arrested for ‘air rage’ attacks 

According to the South China Morning Post, the Civil Aviation Administration was seeking public opinion on the matter until next month. The proposal was posted on its website this week in a move to revise current laws have not been changed for about two decades.

The proposed revision comes amid the double-digit growth of China’s aviation industry over the past five years as nearly half a billion people had boarded flights last year. About 42 million Chinese nationals, or roughly 10 percent of the total passengers, traveled abroad.

SEE ALSO: Filipino flight attendant says passenger slapped her for refusing to carry bag

Authorities mooted the idea to revise the law after finding that the number of cases of unruly behavior has risen in tandem with the increased growth of passengers boarding flights.

Other punishable offences to be added in the revision include barging onto an aircraft, occupying seats or ­luggage carriers by force, and ­occupying or blocking service counters or security check passages, the paper reported.

SEE ALSO: Singapore: Unruly flight passengers to face heavier punishments

Passengers who obstruct crew members from performing their duties, or those who provoked other passengers, were also liable to be punished.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) recorded 9,316 incidents of bad behavior in 2014. In a survey, IATA also found that 10 airlines said they had to divert flights due to troublemakers in the last 12 months.

Zika linked to baby joint deformities

Some of the babies had dislocated knee joints

By Michelle Roberts-10 August 2016

Zika infection during pregnancy may cause limb joint deformities in the baby, experts now fear.

Brazilian researchers from Recife, the city at the centre of the Zika epidemic, describe seven suspect cases in the journal The BMJ.

The virus, which has been spreading across much of the Americas and has deterred some people from visiting the Olympic host country, is already known to cause a serious baby brain defect.

Mothers-to-be are urged to be vigilant.

Pregnant women should not travel to areas with Zika, and those living in Zika zones should avoid the biting mosquitoes that carry and spread the disease.

Experts now agree that Zika is capable of causing lasting brain damage to babies in the womb. The virus can cross the placenta from the mother to her unborn child.

And there is growing evidence that it can trigger a rare, weakening condition of the nerves, called Guillian-Barre syndrome, in adults.

Dr Vanessa van der Linden and her team in Brazil say they are now seeing limb joint problems in newborn babies that might be caused by Zika too.

Zika outbreak: What you need to know

The seven babies with suspected Zika infection that they studied in hospital had been born with hip, knee, ankle, elbow, wrist and/or finger joint problems that fit with a medical diagnosis called arthrogryposis.

The deformities of arthrogryposis, or crooked joints, are caused by faulty muscles - some too tight or contracted and some too flaccid - that have pulled and held the baby's growing body in unnatural positions.

Dr Linden's team suspect the Zika virus attacks brain nerve centres supplying the muscles around the joints, rather than the joints themselves. Scans of the babies' brains appear to support this idea.

All of the seven babies they examined tested negative for other congenital (pre-birth) infections, such as rubella and HIV, that might have been a possible cause of their deformities. Most had microcephaly as well as the limb deformities.

Dr Linden says that, since writing up her findings, she has seen 14 more babies with similar problems and is running more tests.

Prof Jimmy Whitworth, from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said that while not concrete proof, the evidence that Zika might be to blame was "pretty compelling".

"Microcephaly is the most obvious sign of congenital infection with Zika, but it's becoming clear that's just part of the whole spectrum of damage that can be caused by the virus."

He said the challenge was stopping the spread of the infection and caring for those who will be affected in the long as well as the short term.

"Studies suggest the current epidemic could go on for three or four years," Prof Whitworth said.

"We think there's going to be tens of thousands of babies who could be affected by Zika.

"Meeting their physical and psychosocial needs will be the real challenge."

Follow Michelle on Twitter

The halfway mark

Aug 2, 2016

The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) met last month to discuss, among other things, Sri Lanka’s progress in implementing the process they agreed last September to build a lasting peace based upon justice. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Al-Hussein delivered an oral update to the Council, which was followed by a debate among council members. You can watch that here:

The Halfway Mark by Thavam Ratna on Scribd

How govt co-sponsored Geneva Resolution inimical to Sri Lanka

Shocking change of position soon after first informal session on US document

By Shamindra Ferdinando-

August 9, 2016, 6:41 pm 

Against the backdrop of President Maithripala Sirisena’s repeated declarations that the government of Sri Lanka hadn’t accepted foreign judges to inquire into accountability issues, it would be pertinent to examine the stand taken-up by the GoSL, on September 21, 2015, in respect of the draft resolution on Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka rejected the draft resolution, on September 21, 2015, at the first informal session called by the Core Group pursuing the matter. The group comprised the US, the UK, Montenegro and Macedonia.

How Govt Co-sponsored Geneva Resolution Inimical to Sri Lanka-Shocking Change of Position Soon After First... by Thavam Ratna on Scribd

Ex-LTTErs deaths - NPC calls for inquiry

2016-08-10

The Northern Provincial Council, yesterday, unanimously adopted a proposal to inquire into reports of suspicious deaths of ex-LTTE cadres who had undergone rehabilitation.

 107 former LTTE cadres had died after being rehabilitated and released, according to reports. Over 11,000 cadres who surrendered during the last stages of the war, or were captured, were later rehabilitated by the state (after the war ended).

 The proposal which was submitted by Chief Minister C.V. Wigneswaran was adopted following a lengthy exchange of views between the ruling party and the opposition.

 The chief minister said the proposal was based on various reports and submissions by former LTTE cadres to the Reconciliation Task Force, regarding some suspicious medical treatment given to them while they were undergoing rehabilitation.

 "There needs to be a proper investigation into the issues raised. We shouldn't jump to conclusions. The members must must discuss this with those who underwent rehabilitation and report the findings to the Council" he said. 

Following the proposal, the Provincial Minister of Health, Dr. Pathmanathan Sathiyalingam told the Council that international medical assistance should be sought to ascertain the veracity of the claims. 

"There are reports of injections being administered during the period of rehabilitation -- and these issues must be investigated thoroughly, he said.

 Ananthi Sasitharan, who spoke at the meeting, mentioned specific tnstances that she had been informed of by former cadres where they had been injected with unknown substances.

 Following the debate, the council resolved to call upon the government to release all medical records pertaining to the ex-cadres, to seek international medical assistance to ascertain the cause of the deaths and to facilitate the inquiries and provide medical assistance to the surviving cadres. (Hafeel Farisz and Sumithy Thangarasa in Jaffna) - 

INTERNATIONAL FORENSIC ANALYSTS ESSENTIAL IN MANNAR INVESTIGATION – SELVAM ADAIKKALANATHAN

09/08/2016

Tamil National Alliance(TNA) Vanni District Parliamentarian, Leader of Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization(TELO) Parliamentary Deputy Chairman of Committees, Selvam Adaikkalanathan said the assistance of international forensic analysts and experts is a must, to detect the truth behind the sudden deaths of former LTTE cadres and that all rehabilitated cadres must undergo medical examinations by an international panel.

Meanwhile, commenting on the recent exhuming of human remains in Mannar, he added that international analysts should be called upon to examine the remains that were found in a well in Thiruketheeswaram.

Following are excerpts of an interview:

The recent sudden and mysterious deaths of former LTTE cadres has created a fear psychosis among former cadres in the North and East, What have you to say about this situation?
A: I will be taking up this issue in Parliament today (9). I met a former LTTE cadre recently in Mullaitivu, he said that he used to be very fit and healthy but of late had been feeling tired and fatigued. He said he had consulted the doctor many times and obtained medicine, but he is yet to overcome the sense of sudden fatigue. He also pointed out that the doctors are unable to figure out the cause or a reason for the sudden fatigue. I view this issue as very serious. We cannot just ignore it, but must immediately pay attention, and help these people.

Also, the Minister of Health, Dr. Rajitha Senaratne had recently stated that former LTTE cadres will be given a proper medical check up. But we feel that instead of local doctors, foreign doctors should be invited to carry out these medical examinations. It must be an independent and transparent medical examination.

We cannot say that these sudden deaths are just conjecture. We are wondering whether certain pre planned moves have been taken in the past to control the life span of rehabilitated LTTE cadres. Also, it should be seriously investigated as to why such deaths are occurring. Thus I urge the government to create a situation to find out the truth behind these deaths and it is essential for every former LTTE cadre to undergo a medical examination in order to evaluate their health conditions.

 How do you assess the Consultation Task Force on Reconciliation Mechanism?
A: We are able to understand and feel the current thoughts of our people when they express their opinions on the task force. This task force should not only be a method to an immediate solution, but a long lasting solution. It should not be just be an eye wash. As we know all governments in the past have appointed many commissions thinking that those will be immediate solutions for problems. However, if we analyze the opinions of our people about the task force, they have so far expressed their grievances, openly. Such oral submissions will be confirmed on record. Therefore, their grievances and suggestions must be considered when preparing the final report. It shouldn’t be just suggestions of our people, but a part of the solution. Only then will democracy prevail. Suggestions of our people have been strong and clear, thus the government should take proper steps to implement their suggestions.

Also, I feel this will be a very good example to point out the instances when our people were cheated. At the same time as these oral submissions or suggestions are on record, there may be fewer chances to ignore them.

You are a Vanni District Parliamentarian, what is your stand on the Northern Economic Centre?

A: I have suggested locating the economic centre in Thandikkulam-Vavuniya. However later it was decided to build the centre in Omanthai. Although, I have given my suggestions I’m not ready to argue on this as the Northern Chief Minister C.V. Wigneswaran has reached a decision to build economic centres in two locations in the Northern Province. My main aim is that there should be investment in our region, therefore, we will pledge our support to the Chief Minister’s decision.

Some TNA members recently stated that militarization in the North has reduced compared to previous situations. Do you agree?

A: I would say militarization has remained the same, and similar to the days of the Rajapaksa regime. Military personnel numbers, in the North, have not been reduced, nor have the camps been removed. Some camps on private lands have been relocated, but have not been completely removed.

Recently an exhumation took place in Thiruketheeswaram-Mannar, where from a well, human remains were detected. How do you view this situation?

A: Previously when exhumations took place, previous to the recent one, in instances where human remains were detected, we already pointed out that there was a security point and a military camp in the vicinity. Many incidents have occurred in the past that is somewhat connected to the situation in Mannar. There were many who were abducted in vans and motorbikes, in the past, also there had been a military camp in the area. Therefore, we feel that these are human remains of our people.

Thus, the judiciary should act vigilant in this issue and medical analysis should be carried out with international involvement. We have faith in the judiciary.

 Is it true that the fishermen of the Mannar District are the most affected due to illegal poaching by Indian fishermen? How do you assess the current situation?

A: There had not been any change in the situation; it is true that the greatest impact was on the Mannar District fishermen. Mannar seas have large amount of resources, fish breeding is greater in the Mannar seas. Even research shows that the largest number of fish breeding sites is in the Mannar seas due its geographical features.

Indian fishermen are well aware of fish breeding patterns in the Mannar seas and with the aim of grabbing all the resources these fishermen make use of trawlers. It is quite sad to say that apart from the fish, the trawlers catch even valuable species from the sea bed, which are of no use to the fishermen. Later the Indian fishermen only take the fish that is useful for their purpose and throw the small fish and the other sea species back to the sea.

At this rate, sometime in the future our fishermen will lose the opportunity of a reasonable livelihood; they will not be able to depend on fishing, if this situation continues.

Also the resources in the Mannar seas will be thoroughly destroyed and there will be no fish in the sea and our children will not even get to eat fish from our region.

Therefore, the Sri Lankan Government should not just leave the Tamil Nadu people and us to battle this issue out. When we met the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, we emphasized that deep sea fishing must be enhanced, which will prevent fishermen crossing borders. It is essential to implement deep sea fishing which will decrease the issue between Sri Lankan fishermen and Indian fishermen. Therefore, my allegation is that the Mannar fishermen are the most affected due to illegal poaching by Indian fishermen in the Mannar seas.

In such a situation why do some TNA Parliamentarians claim that Kachchatheevu should be handed over to the Tamil Nadu Government in order to solve the fishermen’s issue?

A: The Indian fishermen have always passed Kachchatheevu to fish in our sea. Also most arrests of Indian fishermen occur in our sea boundaries, we don’t arrest on their boundaries. Kachchatheevu already belongs to Sri Lanka and it belongs to our region and boundary. Kachchatheevu belongs to the Northern Province of Sri Lanka. It is a region seen as the traditional land of Northern Sri Lanka. There is nothing to say that Indian trawlers will not enter Sri Lankan seas just because Kachchatheevu is given to them.

Tell us about the current situation on the land acquisition disputes in the Vanni District?
A: Vanni District has been an occupied area from outsiders, from land acquisition to domination by Southern fishermen and Mullaitivu fishermen are affected.

At the same time Buddhist statues are being constructed in the Vanni District even after the injunction order by Court. There are actions being taken against Court orders, and the judiciary has ignored such actions. Mullaitivu has been thoroughly affected by the large number of land acquisition cases. We urge the President and Prime Minister to take stern action in order to control the situation. This government must remember that their victory depended on the large number of votes cast by the people from the North and East. Therefore, people believed that the present government will fulfil their demands, but now they are slowly losing the trust.

Therefore, the government must listen to their demands; they should take action to release the lands that can be released, its people’s lands and not State land. It is high time they resettle our people in their own land by releasing the land back to the owners. If the government fails to satisfy the needs of the people, they will repeat how they handled the previous government when they neglect the needs and expectations of the people.

By Mirudhula Thambiah / Ceylon Today

Why is Mahinda scared of disappearances?

2016-08-10

Former British High Commissioner to Sri Lanka David Gladstone, speaking to BBC Sandeshaya related a wonderful story on 2 July 2008.

"During the government of President Premadasa, present President Mahinda was a very good friend of mine. He came often to meet me. On occasions he met me, he told me to influence the government to search for youth who had gone missing in the North and the South. He told me that he would establish an association comprising parents and children of the missing persons in order to enable them to tell the world of their suffering. He requested me to speak of this to the UN and the Amnesty International"

David Gladstone related this incident. However, when the Maithri-Ranil government is attempting to open an office to search for missing persons, Mahinda said last week, it is a betrayal of the country and betrayal of the war heroes, issuing a statement.
So then, when Mahinda talks about missing persons, is it not a betrayal of the country and the war heroes?
Actually, Mahinda established an association of the parents and children of missing persons and gathered together the parents of missing persons through Richard De Soyza's mother Manorani Saravanamuttu. Mahinda thought that if he made the people from the North also join, the organization would become more powerful. Saravanamuttu also helped him with that.

A meeting of the parents and children of missing persons in the North and South was held at the Galle Face Green, Colombo and Leader of the Opposition Madame Bandaranaike also participated in it. The convener of that meeting was Mahinda and a representative who arrived from the North delivered a speech at this gathering. At that time, the Lakehouse Newspapers under the Premadasa Government, drew a cartoon of this meeting showing a Tiger's tail appearing from under Madame Bandaranaike's Kandyan saree!
It is a tragedy that today, Mahinda who spoke thus about missing persons then, is saying that inquiring into missing persons is a betrayal of the country and the war heroes. The story that Mahinda told the world in 1988 and 89 regarding the missing persons is mentioned in his biography named 'Kurahan Satakaya.'
Commonwealth meeting

Subsequent to the war ending in 2009, Mahinda did not say there was no one who had gone missing during the war. On 14 November 2013, accepting the Chairmanship of the Commonwealth meeting, he told the Guardian newspaper in London that there was nothing for Sri Lanka to hide. "We have nothing to hide. If someone is missing or someone's human rights have been violated or a woman has been subject to rape, they can go to any Court in Sri Lanka and file a complaint. If the case is proved after being taken up for hearing whoever it is will be punished..." This is what Mahinda said.

Presenting his Manifesto during the 2015 Presidential Election to foreign journalists, Mahinda said that he will take action to establish a mechanism to inquire into war crimes. At that time, no one said that Mahinda was looking into war crimes via the Sri Lankan Court. It was said that a separate local mechanism was being established.

When Mahinda made these comments then, patriots did not say that Mahinda was betraying the country and the war heroes. There is no way that it is correct when Mahinda does it and wrong when the Maithri-Ranil government does it.
Then, the main slogan during Mahinda's Pada Yathra was the appeal to the deities made to find the sons who had disappeared. The mothers who participated in the Pada Yathra held in 1992 from Colombo to Kataragama dashed coconuts at the Kataragama Dewale and appealed to the deities to find their sons for them. Mahinda who went back to Parliament after completing the Pada Yathra said, the day the deities will lend an ear to the appeal of the mothers was not too far away. Not many days passed and Premadasa was assassinated. Then, during a debate on emergency law in Parliament, Mahinda said that the appeal made to the deities in the Pada Yathra had been heard.

Mahinda, who said that then, is engaging in Pada Yathra today, saying that war heroes should be protected. There is a saying that when politicians age they become more mature. Bandaranaike who made the Sinhala Language the State Language later brought the Bandaranaike-Chelvanayakam Pact. Mahinda is the other side of that. Mahinda who spoke without any differentiation between the Sinhalese and the Tamils during his younger days on behalf of missing persons is today standing up on behalf of those who are responsible for disappearances. We do not know whether Mahinda who said then that Premadasa was punished by the gods for having made youth disappear, is today worshipping the gods or the devils? 

Two-year scorecard of the Sirisena-Wickremasinghe Combo

“Life only demands from you the strength that you possess. Only one feat is possible;
not to run away”.
 ~ Dag Hammarskjold   

2016-08-10

It’s not yet two full years, yet close enough. And close enough for us to pass our verdict on the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe Combo that is holding reins in Sri Lanka’s polity today. Passing judgment on their performance on the political field is hard enough, yet the appetite for judgment shown by the masses and so-called intelligentsia might propel one to that inevitably dangerous haste: ‘rush to judgment’, and if wrongfully arrived at, may lead to more peril of the judge than those who are judged.   

Ascending to power on the backs of a voter who was yearning for a better system of governance, a brighter scope for the future and a more equal sense of justice, the weight that imposes on the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe Combo is undeniably heavier than one would ascertain. But the burden of that ‘Cross’ should not retard the swift stride that they had pledged to undertake at the hustings, nor should they begrudge its unusual weight. The burden of leadership is exceptionally weighty and they and they alone should carry that burden. No passing of the buck should be welcome. The ordinary folks would not render any leverage in favour of the carrier, for that burden was not placed on them, the Sirisena-Wickremasinghe Combo, by the ordinary man or woman. It was sought after and placed on their shoulders by the carriers themselves. They should have realized the short and long-term effects and the incredible faith and trust that were inherent in the responsibility of leadership of a nation.  

The luxury and extravagance of political power carries within itself a much more uplifting and awesome quality of responsibility. Those who cared only about the luxuries of power and the natural magnetism to it from the susceptible voter, those who disregarded the supreme sacrifices one had to make to be at the helm, would eventually be punished, without mercy, by the voter at the elections. Yet as demonstrated during the past decade when the Rajapaksas held those reins, they took it for granted that that power, instead of being of an utterly fleeting nature, granted them a warrant to preside over the whole gamut of Sri Lankan polity. An umpteen number of unforced errors committed by them ultimately swamped them into a comfort zone from which they could not extricate themselves. A tragic political dynamic took over the persona of the regime and the more corrupt elements of that coalition got attracted to the centre that was the First Family.   

Certain white-collar offenses and even several criminal findings emerging from the various investigations that are under way are an unambiguous specimen of the way in which the previous First Family conducted their wicked and disreputable activities. Hence, the Rajapaksas met with the wrath of the voting public. The verdict by the public so unmistakably validated at last year’s presidential elections still holds good. Yet the impatience and anger shown by them is no random demonstration of public emotion. It is justifiably aimed at the lethargic approach adopted by the investigators. However, the adverse political consequences are owned by the Government. In politics, optics matter more than one would concede. Both Maithripala Sirisena and Ranil Wickremasinghe realize that. Yet mere realization of a given political reality is one thing and taking prophylactic or remedial measures is totally another.   

It is in that context of governmental response that I have prepared the following table. It must be emphasized that these are entirely personal judgments. And I have no fear in sharing them with the reading public. I have been quite, one may surmise, cruel in my judgment of the past regime. However, I have not been all that charitable to the present Combo either.  
Legend: MS/RW is Maithripala Sirisena and Ranil Wickremasinghe Combo
 MR is Mahinda Rajapaksa

Numeric appearing in each column signifies each party’s score out of 10. zero being lowest and 10, highest
As illustrated in the above table, the reversal effect, which was expected by a majority of the electorate in the 2015 Presidential as well as General Elections, is not manifestly evident, particularly in the spheres of corruption and nepotism. I do not know if the present Combo could effectively change that reality. After inheriting an intrinsically corrupt structure of governance, tolerated and enlivened by a gullible but helpless public, adherence to normalcy where accountability and transparency reflect the actions of that government, seems almost impossible. The constraints and checks and balances that a new government introduces into the system invariably slow down the process. History bears testimony to this phenomenon at every defining turn.   

Concentration of all power within one single person or family cultivates that delusionary character which abounds in all dictatorships, everlasting power. They get drenched in the notion that not only are they held in high esteem in matters of politics by mundane folks, but also in matters well outside the realm of the capacities of those who wield power. This myopic cycle catches hold of the psyche of these rulers and without their conscious scrutiny, begin to render advice and counsel on matters which are more profound and consequential in life altogether. 

What happened during the previous regime was precisely that. Into their kith and kin, they recruited willing partners who are equally intoxicated by the lure of political power. The corruption and ill-behavior of these sidekicks, instead of being a disqualification, amounts, in the eyes of the rulers who require the support of their henchmen for the perpetuation of their lot, to a crucial character they highlight in the recruiting process. Their circle is full now. An infinite amount of cash and muscle begins to pour. A wild dance of power pregnant with corrupt practices and dishonesty starts its macabre spectacle.  

While writing this column I stepped out of my French windows to the balcony. Housed in a tall tower of apartments, I’m fortunate to enjoy some lazy evenings, looking beyond the immediate geography that surrounds me. I behold a concrete woodland, bereft of any architectural character, style or class. Not a single piece of construction reminds me of our ancient heritage. 

Only the old Parliament, which now is the Presidential Secretariat and Galle Face Hotel bear grace over an otherwise riotous collection of buildings. The calming effect of the Indian Ocean, with its emerald green waters and endless waves that hug the sands of the shores of Colombo leaves within me a profound sense of peace and melancholy.  

What a characterless bunch of humanity have we become? Is this what we are going to bequeath to our young? Where has all the beauty gone? Whereas the endless stream of ordinary men, women and children whose each and every single countenance reveals a unique sense of identity, each at peace with their worldly pursuits, the ugly aspects of our national weaknesses and idiosyncrasies have overwhelmed us.   

Values that once enriched our souls and purified mundane life, values that enhanced our dignity as a people full of compassion and kindness have eroded. An empty vessel of national life is awaiting the eventual sepulcher of a nation dragging its weary way around political shortcuts and expediency. A fatigued sun is dipping down over a painted sky, breathtaking in its grandeur, intrinsic of a sunset beheld on the coastlines of an island, and bidding adieu to another uneventful day. My mind wanders across the shoreline into the hinterland of our splendid Island. Water lapping over earthy bunds along a green paddy field, bordering a greener pasture enriched by monsoon rains hold a promise of a bountiful harvest.

The fragrance that emanates from our rural folks’ sweat is pervasive; instead of driving his neighbours away, that very fragrance of sweat allures many a willing collaborator. The lucky farmer, whose tireless arms, hands and legs do not give way, when he reaches home and his beloved, is already planning for the next day’s chores. Menika, the rustic wife of the farmer awaits his arrival with a thousand expectations and dreams. A better school for the firstborn, a tiled roof over their heads, a new tractor to plough and harvest, graduate from a motorcycle to a four-wheeler, they are all legitimate and ordinary dreams of ordinary villagers.

They are all gifts, less of nature and more of his indefatigable labour and his yearning for a more perfect union with nature and himself. Disciplined by the sublime teachings of the ‘Great One’, the Buddha, he and his family go through their lives without complaint and hate. Undisturbed by the town’s canker, the family tries to spend a moonless night in the comfort of each others embrace. Man’s thirst for betterment did not begin yesterday. Since the dawn of civilization, he has striven towards easier and more amenable settings, which are conducive to aweinspiring creations such as the Samadhi Buddha Statue in Anuradhapura and Gal Vihare in Polonnaruwa. I look beyond my balcony; the sun has disappeared into the embrace of the horizon and I’m haunted by the dialogue writer in the recent Hindi movie, ‘Sarbjit’: “however high the destination is, the path that leads to it is under our feet “. The writer can be contacted at vishwamithra1984@ gmail.com

People’s Sovereignty Betrayed; People Should Rise Up Against Corrupt Rule

By Nagananda Kodituwakku –August 9, 2016 

Nagananda Kodituwakku

One may agree that only on paper Sri Lanka is a representative democracy, which recognizes the constitutional supremacy and the sovereignty in the people. The sovereignty of the people is the foundation of democracy as expressed in the Constitution. The supreme law, the Constitution, protects people’s sovereignty and states that the sovereignty in the people cannot be denied or taken away unless people themselves give a mandate relinquishing their own democratic rights.

The truth of this claim depends on the plausibility of attributing sovereignty to “the people” in the first place, and I am skeptic about this possibility.

‘Sovereignty in the people’, what does it mean?

It means the powers of government; Legislative power, Executive power, Judicial power and it also includes the franchise that people themselves exercise, and the people’s fundamental rights cherished in the Constitution. It is the people’s sovereign power that all organs of the government exercise on a social contract entered into purely on trust. Once that trust is violated representative democracy fails.

When a government fails to respect people’s protected rights it invites the world community to interfere

If governments abuse the trust placed in them by the people, citizens become helpless with no hope for remedial action. This sometimes leaves room for outside interference as in the case of several countries including Sri Lanka. The international community can then penetrate Nation-State’s borders to protect the rights and freedom of deceived and betrayed citizens by the very organs that exercise their sovereign power. The UN Resolution adopted by the Human Rights Council on 01st Oct 2015 on Sri Lanka is one such instance, where the International Community rightly considered that the sovereignty in the people of Sri Lanka has been betrayed. It should be remembered that the government of Sri Lanka itself co-sponsored the said resolution proposed by the USA.

What if the people rise up against corruption committed by the Government?

In most functioning democracies, particularly in the developed nations, the citizens have a better understanding of their democratic rights and there is a system in place for checks and balances within the organs of governance. In such a setting people can effectively ensure that no corrupt politician who abuses his authority is spared and dealt with strictly according to the rule of law by the justice system that makes sense. This makes those holding public office accountable to people and prevents them from abusing their office to favor themselves or others.

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SC rules VAT Bill unacceptable

PM: ‘Legislature should not let the judiciary usurp its powers’

By Saman Indrajith -    August 9, 2016, 9:57 pm                

Speaker Karu Jayasuriya yesterday informed Parliament that the Supreme Court had determined that the Value Added Tax (Amendment) bill was unacceptable as it had failed to adhere to due process a financial bill should follow.

Making a special announcement the Speaker said: "The Court has determined that the provisions contained in Article 152 of the Constitution and Standing Order 133 are imperative in character and the failure to follow them render the subsequent proceedings nullity.

"Since the due process had not been compiled with in terms of Article 78(2) and 152 in the Constitution before the bill was introduced in Parliament, the Supreme Court has made in terms of Articles 120 and 121 read with Article 123 and 152 of the Constitution, that no determination would be made at this stage on the ground of challenge raised by the petitioners."

He then directed the determination of the Supreme Court be printed in the official report of the proceedings.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said that Speaker Jayasuriya should give a ruling with regard to the matter. For that purpose the Speaker should summon a meeting of party leaders, he said. The legislature should not let the judiciary usurp its powers.

However, if the Speaker and the Supreme Court insisted that the government should bring about afresh bill on VAT, the government would do so, Wickremesinghe said.

"We would not sack the Chief Justice or bring an impeachment against him because the court did not give us a favourable ruling," he said.

MEP Leader Dinesh Gunwardena said that the VAT bill brought by Finance Minister brought was null and void and the Supreme Court too had also held so. "There is a responsibility with minister when a bill is brought to parliament. Had the secretary to the Ministry misled the minister it is would have been another matter, but the Secretary General too had made a mistake here. The bill had not received the approval of the Cabinet of Ministers. When a bill is presented to Parliament, the letter containing the approval of the cabinet is attached to the bill. If there is no document, it is the Secretary General of Parliament to inform the minister or secretary to the ministry that the certificate of cabinet of ministers’ approval is missing. Without that certificate of approval, a draft bill could not be included in the Order Book or the Order Paper of Parliament. The Secretary General should not let such a bill to be presented to this House. Had this bill not been challenged before the Supreme Court, it would have become the law though it did not have the approval of the cabinet or against the provisions of the Constitution."

Speaker Jayasuriya said that a special meeting of party leaders would be held to discuss the future course of action with regard to the VAT bill.