OMP to ‘sate’ all grievances, but what’s next?

BY SULOCHANA RAMIAH MOHAN-2016-08-14

The controversial Bill - the Office of the Missing Persons (OMP) passed in Parliament on Thursday without a vote despite the Joint Opposition agitation over it, is measured as a simple step, yet a huge step forward in terms of bringing consolation to the victims' families and leading to an accountability mechanism which is by far the only way to improve the human rights record of Sri Lanka.
The call for the OMP Bill was the need of the hour said the government and the International community however the protest by MP Mahinda Rajapaksa and cohorts said it is to 'nail' the military that executed a war.

Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera on the OMP Bill said that in the past, Commissions that have looked into 'missing persons' have been ad hoc arrangements and they were constrained by time durations. They were dependent on extensions. Their mandates were restricted by geography and time frames. They didn't have the necessary means to protect victims or witnesses. They didn't have the necessary legal mandate or personality to seek assistance to trace the whereabouts of people from other institutions and from other countries.
But the OMP will not be constrained. It will be open-ended with no start or end date or restrictions based on geographic areas. Anyone from the South or the North or the East or West or the Centre of the country can take a complaint to this Office, and the Office will try to provide answers.

What Ceylon Today learns is that the OMP will conduct a 'scientific' investigation on all accounts of missing persons in this country with no judiciary powers and investigations will not be used if the evidence being given in confidence, 'otherwise' the evidence can and will be used in the Truth Commission and in the Accountability Process, and that makes sense.
When the government went about saying the OMP will only find the truth and bring closure on whether the missing is living or dead, people were in doubt what to do with the truth the OMP is ready to find out spending funds and making people to repeat what they have been telling all the past missing persons commissions that were 'always breakdown' or basically to 'sit on it'.
Once the persons who have been identified behind abduction or killing and if that perpetrator is living, there is no closure, surely. The OMP cannot close the books, once the culprits are identified, and be it the 'living' LTTE members or the military officials. There is a long and lengthy process the government will have to work for a longer period of time the reason why a time period has not been framed for the OMP.

To clear this doubt, Ceylon Today contacted one of the most important officials of the reconciliation process who spoke under anonymity.
He clarified that the judicial commission has nothing to do with the OMP and all past commissions that was initiated to find about the missing persons such as the Paranagama Commission on missing persons will be transferred to the OMP. He said for a considerable time the OMP will be in operation and all depends on the applications. Since it has no time bar or any period, it can take 'some time' to complete the process.

The OMP that will work independently will not clash with the local judiciary mechanism. The local judiciary mechanism is not expected to be initiated soon but not too late either with a thorough consultation process.
According to the official, the OMP scientific investigations will not be used if the evidence being given in confidence. Otherwise 'the evidence can and will be used in the Truth Commission and in the Accountability Process.
For prosecution, that office will have to unearth its own evidences or get evidences available in 'other sources', he added.
It's definite that the OMP will trace the culprits behind missing and abducted persons. Thereafter "what then?" is the next question people will ponder. The OMP's job is to let people know what happened to the persons missing and not allow them to live on false hopes. Then the Truth and Accountability process begins to hold accountable all persons who are responsible for that situation. They could be compensated and issued with a death certificate if there is factual evidence that they died in the battlefield or otherwise. What about the others who have been indentified and are yet alive and all the evidence points to him being the man behind the 'missing or abducted?

"The priority of the OMP will find out once and for all whether dead and if so how and where the body is, alive or missing, this will provide final legal proof of status. Then there can be closure for the victims and soldiers' families too."
He also added that the OMP will cover not only the recent war but even the two youth unrests in the South. "This will have a way and accurate statistics and can counter spurious allegations and the wild numbers that are being bandied about. Prosecution cannot be done by OMP or using OMP information if it is given in confidentiality or otherwise," he pointed out.
SOME CLAUSES OF THE OMP BILL ...

The OMP Bill states that it shall have the mandate; which is to search for and trace missing persons and identify appropriate mechanisms for the same, and to clarify the circumstances in which such persons went missing; to make recommendations to the relevant authorities towards addressing the incidence of missing persons; to protect the rights and interests of missing persons and their relatives as provided for in this Act; to identify avenues of redress to which missing persons and relatives of missing persons are entitled and to inform the missing person (if found alive) or relative of such missing person of same; to collate data related to missing persons obtained by processes presently being carried out, or which were previously carried out, by other institutions, organizations, Government departments and commissions of inquiry and Special Presidential Commission of Inquiry and centralize all available data within the database established under this Act.

The OMP Bill states it also may grant priority to recent incidents of missing persons, incidents in which there are substantial evidence submissible; or such incidents that are, in the opinion of the OMP, of public importance because the fact remains that the atrocities committed before and after the war were the driving force to commence a reconciliation
process
The general powers of the OMP are: To enter into such agreements, where necessary, with any person or organization whether incorporated or otherwise, and whether domestic or foreign, including agreements securing assistance in obtaining information; obtaining technical support and training (forensic or otherwise) and collaboration.
The OMP investigative powers are: To receive, from any relative of a missing person, or any other person or organization, complaints relating to missing persons, irrespective of when such person may have become a missing person; To initiate an inquiry and/or investigation into the whereabouts and/or circumstances of disappearance of a missing person pursuant to a complaint made to the OMP or on the basis of information received from previously established Commissions of Inquiry, Commissions on missing persons or Commissions which have inquired into allegations relating to disappearances or missing persons; To take all necessary steps to investigate cases of missing persons, including but not limited to the following; To procure and receive statements, written or oral,

and to examine persons as witnesses, including through the use of videoconferencing facilities; to summon any person present or residing in Sri Lanka to be present before the OMP to provide a statement or produce any document or other thing in his/her possession; To admit, notwithstanding anything contained to the contrary in the Evidence Ordinance, any statement or material, whether written or oral, which might be inadmissible in civil or criminal proceedings;To establish a process to accept confidential information or information in camera,

if required, to help ensure personal security for victims and witnesses; To establish a process to accept information on the condition of confidentiality; To apply to the appropriate Magistrate's Court having territorial jurisdiction, for an order of Court to carry out an excavation and/or exhumation of suspected grave sites, and to act as an observer at such excavation or exhumation, and at other proceedings, pursuant to same; To request assistance necessary for the achieving of its mandate, from any State, governmental, provincial, or local authority or agency, or any officer thereof.

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in any other written law or regulation made thereunder, any such authority, agency or officer to which a request for assistance is made by the OMP shall forthwith render such assistance. Such assistance shall include but not be limited to providing information and producing documents in the possession of such authority, agency or officer; To authorize a specified officer of the OMP, to enter without warrant and investigate, at any time of day or night, any place of detention, police station, prison or any other place in which any person is suspected to be detained, or is suspected to have previously been detained in, by the State or any State agency, instrumentality, or any officer of the State, and to examine, make copies of, extract from,

seize and retain, any object that is deemed necessary for the purposes of any investigation being conducted by the OMP; To make an application to the Magistrate having territorial jurisdiction, for the issuance of a search warrant, to enable Police or specified officers of the OMP, To search any premises suspected to contain evidence relevant to an investigation being conducted by the OMP, and to examine, make copies of, extract from, seize and retain, any object that is deemed necessary for the purposes of any investigation being conducted by the OMP; To refer, after due consultation with the complainant, to the police or any other relevant law enforcement authority all cases of missing persons that have been brought before the OMP not falling within the definition of the expression 'missing persons' as defined in this Act. Where it appears to the OMP that an offence within the meaning of the Penal Code or any other law, has been committed, that warrants investigation,

the OMP may, after consultation with such relatives of the missing person as it deems fit, in due consideration of the best interests of the victims, relatives and society, report the same to the relevant law enforcement or prosecuting authority; Provided that where a witness consents, the OMP may also inform the relevant authority, of the details of such witness, in order to enable such relevant authority to secure a statement from such witness to be used in the process of investigation.

Even though the Bill in essence is for 'Searching and Tracing', in reality when families of the disappeared inform the circumstances of their loved ones disappearances, it will inevitably point fingers of those involved of this crime. Identifying those responsible is the first step to bring those involved to face justice and punishment.
If victims cannot identify who was responsible, then this Bill will not have credibility and will strengthen other steps to boost the process.

the fear
National Peace Council Spokesperson, Jehan Perera says "The fear of the Sinhalese, and the military, is that the transitional justice process is meant to punish the military personnel who fought in the war and finished the LTTE. The fear is that most or all of the military are being set up for punishment. The Foreign Minister says it is not so.it is only the black sheep who did war crimes will get into trouble, and by cleansing the military of the black sheep, the rest of the military, and the vast majority in the military can absolve their names which is currently blackened."

Perera explains the process of accountability possibly would take place quite a bit later, when it is politically possible to do so. "This is called a phased approach, doing one thing at a time, and waiting for the correct time to do what has to be done. We might have to wait a while till the sea becomes more calm, or else the ship might sink, and all of us might go down with it."
Writer Mark Salter, UK based expert on Sri Lanka's political scenario explains thus: "At its core transitional justice is partly about undertaking the delicate balancing act of attempting to satisfy at both sides core/key needs and demands. A political approach to conflict resolution is only possible if you have the will. Furthermore, the transitional component is essentially premised on the understanding that in such contexts, justice will not be perfect, will not satisfy everyone's demands - maybe not even their core needs - will leave a country with plenty of work still to do, in other words."

The common man's sufferings can only be consoled by the government it voted for and they mainly vote anticipating that they would be cared and protected but should not be 'politically handled'.
As Martin Luther King said, "And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but he must do it because Conscience tell him it's right.

amiesulo@gmail.com

A shameful rejection of a collective ‘mea culpa’

Sunday, August 14, 2016

The raucous commotion in Parliament this week with the passing of the Office of Missing Persons Bill without a vote is reflective of our utterly degenerate political culture. Even now, there is no clear idea of the numbers mustered on the floor to ensure the passage of this enormously significant legislation.

No politician can profess innocence

Sri Lanka’s disappeared number in their thousands. These unfortunates are not confined to one ethnicity. Indeed, the fate of the ‘missing’ is the most powerful common factor uniting the Sinhalese, Tamil and Muslims down the ages. Many years ago, before unscrupulous politicians co-opted the Mothers Front of the South and the North, this was the one civil rights mass movement which had the potential to force the political command to come to a reckoning as to what happened to their sons and daughters.

So let us be quite clear on this. No political leader in this country, President or Prime Minister can wash his or her hands, Pontius Pilate fashion, and proclaim ‘I am innocent of that blood.’

Consequently this was a Bill that demanded the most rigorous solemnity and scrutiny. It called for a collectively profound moment of mea culpa. Instead, we had ugly political point scoring by the Rajapaksa-led Joint Opposition and a Bill rushed through by the Government in an unfortunately indecent hurry.

A legal issue of concern

In the parliamentary melee, some amendments were passed to the OMP Bill on the floor of the House though there is little certainty as to their precise content. Reportedly, the changes include amendments to Clause 11, Clause 12 (f) and Clause 21 of the Bill.

These amendments relate respectively to the OMP’s entering into agreements with any person or organization, the prescribing of parliament approved guidelines on visits to places of detention as well as advance notifications therein to the Inspector General of Police as well as a stipulation that funds raised by the OMP must be channeled through the External Resources Department.

But a major legal issue remains if the OMP Bill’s exclusion of the Right to Information Act, No 12 of 2016 (the RTI Act) has passed through Parliament without amendment. As observed in these column spaces previously, clause 15 of the Bill had stated that the RTI Act will not apply in regard to matters communicated to every member servant, officer and consultant of the OMP ‘in confidence.’

Differences between the laws

Recent arguments advanced by government advocates to justify this exclusion have been spurious at best. One particular defence was that certain laws such as the Monetary Law already provide an exception to RTI and that therefore this clause in the OMP Bill is nothing to be perturbed about.

But there are fundamental problems with this argument. The Monetary Law predates and therefore, as a matter of broad principle, has to yield to the RTI Act. This is very clear in terms of Section 4 of the RTI Act which states that the RTI law shall prevail in the event of any inconsistency between that law and ‘such other written law.’ Essentially, the only exclusions in respect of all past laws without exception are the specific and limited exceptions contained in the RTI Act itself.

Granted, at certain points, exceptions detailed in the Monetary Law may overlap with the RTI exceptions such as in relation to requests for the premature release of information pertaining to exchange rates or the regulation of banking or credit. But that is quite a different matter from arguing that the Monetary Law itself prescribes an exception to RTI. This is simply incorrect in terms of the law.

Lacunae in not defining ‘in confidence’

In any event, unlike the Monetary Law, the OMP Bill comes after the RTI Act. Therefore Section 4 of the RTI Act conferring a primary status on that law as against other ‘written law’ does not apply. In consequence therefore, the information shut out by the OMP Bill is not governed by the limited exceptions of the RTI Act. Nor is it subject to the overriding principle of disclosure in the public interest under Section 5(4) of the RTI Act.

The main reason for Section 5(4) was Sri Lanka’s outdated colonial official secrecy laws which were unacceptably vague in their definitions of what precisely constitutes an ‘official secret.’ That same vagueness characterizes the applicable provisions of the OMP Bill where the RTI Act is shut out. The RTI does not apply where information is received ‘in confidence.’ Yet nowhere is the term ‘in confidence’ duly explained or interpreted in the Bill despite the fact that this term occurs at several points elsewhere as well. Most particularly, in Clause 12(c)(v), a variant of this same term applies in relation to a vital investigative power vested in the OMP; namely its authority to ‘establish a process to accept information on the condition of confidentiality.’

As a result, there is a disturbingly open ended discretion given to the Office of the OMP, its members and so on to categorise virtually any information received by it/them as ‘information received in confidence’ or information accepted on the basis of ‘confidentiality.’ One can only hope that the committee stage amendments addressed this lacuna.

Need for more certainty

In principle, the singular importance of protecting the confidentiality of persons who give information re the ‘missing’ is self evident. However the question is whether specifying a statutory exclusionary clause with undefined terms is the best way to go about ensuring this?

The problem is not merely that the OMP Bill comes so soon after the RTI Act and (literally) where the ink has scarcely dried on the law itself. That contradiction by itself is incongruous enough.

And once, (even with the most laudable of intentions), a statutory exclusion is applied regarding RTI, there is nothing to stop future laws or amendments to enacted laws providing even more unacceptable exclusions. For instance, an argument may exist that an equally persuasive rationale exists for an RTI exclusion regarding the Assistance to and Protection of Victims of Crime and Witnesses Act, No. 4 of 2015.

Certainly if this exclusionary clause has been retained through the rowdy passage of the OMP Bill in the House, it is unfortunate. If the RTI Act is not to lose its essential value, this is a slippery precedent that must be speedily discarded.

Can The Market Be The Guiding Principle Of Our Common Good?

By Kumudu Kusum Kumara –August 13, 2016

Dr. Kumudu Kusum Kumara

Whether we want to accept the market as the guiding principle of our collective life has been a vexed problem underlying our politics since attempts to entrench a liberalised economy in the country in the post-1977 period. With the establishment of the so-called national government in the post-August 17th political scenario where the United National Party headed by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has been handed over the role of determining the direction of the economy, the government has been keen in implementing market driven economic reforms. In this context the present article seeks to contribute to a public discussion on what should be the role of the market in the ‘podu yahapatha’ or the common good of Sri Lanka.

The market as a legitimate part of the economy has also come to stay even though the manner in which the dominance of it was forced upon us in the post-1977 period has wreaked havoc on the Sri Lankan society, the unfolding of the serious ramifications of which will take a long time to come, as shown by one of its prime examples, the privatized public transport, experienced by the ordinary folk who travel around by bus. The real issue about the market is not whether it can be considered a legitimate partner in the national economy, but whether we want to accept the market as the guiding principle of our collective life.

When we say that the Industrialised western countries or countries such as Singapore have achieved high levels of ‘development’ following the model of democracy and market economy, what we express seems to be our fond hope that Sri Lanka also can be ‘developed’ following the same model, rather than being realistic on how different countries achieve ‘development’ each in its own unique way, subject to specific historical conditions and cultural factors. It is also outside the consideration whether we in Sri Lanka would necessarily want to follow such a model of development even if we could succeed in such an attempt. Our penchant for Singapore as the model of development may be due to our desire to find an easy solution to the messy situation of being citizens of a country full of internal strife in all areas of collective life that do not seem to be resolvable ever. It is no wonder that in a context where there is so much of conflict, instability and social unrest, many of us would dream of doing a Lee Kwan-Yew in Sri Lanka as if human world can be put in order by the sleight of hand of a clever magician. We need to remind ourselves that even Singapore itself could produce only one Lee Kwan Yew in its life time. But more importantly, even if one of us is clever enough to become a Lee Kwan Yew as if by a secret magical act, the possibility is that being the political beings that they are, Sri Lankans would not tolerate a Lee Kwan Yew in their midst.

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Govt. revenue from CTC up 12% to Rs. 49 b in 1H

Monday, 15 August 2016

In the first half of 2015, revenue rose by 18% to Rs. 43.7 billion over the corresponding period of 2014.This was on the back of a 10% volume increase in the second quarter of 2015. 

As opposed to over 80% taxation, the Government, as part of its anti-smoking drive, has announced moves to increase it to 90%. 

Currently taxation on cigarettes in Sri Lanka is the third highest in Asia whilst CTC’s value addition is near 90%. In 2015, CTC’s Value Added to the State via excises and taxes was a staggering Rs. 91.6 billion, up by 24% from the previous year. The 2015 value amounted to 7% of the State’s total tax revenue and 88% of the value generated by CTC. 

In a statement accompanying interim results, CTC said law enforcement agencies continued to effectively curtail the spread of unauthorised and illicit tobacco products. A total of 811 raids uncovered 2.5 million illegal cigarettes at a market value of Rs. 88 million during the first six months of 2016. However, under-regulated and low-taxed products such as ‘Beedi’ still remained a key threat to Government revenue from the tobacco industry.

The company said it remained committed to investing in its premium brands such as Dunhill and Benson & Hedges with a predominant focus on infusing value into the mainstream brand John Player Gold Leaf.

CTC’s profit after tax stood at Rs. 6.11 billion for the six months ended 30 June 2016 up from Rs. 5.5 billion a year earlier. Gross revenue rose to Rs. 15 billion from Rs. 13 billion. The CTC Board has recommended a second interim dividend of Rs. 16.70 per share to be paid by 30 August 2016. 

The company also said its flagship CSR initiative, the Sustainable Agricultural Development Program (SADP), continued to focus on alleviating poverty and empowering the livelihoods of families in rural Sri Lanka. The total number of families supported by the company as at June 2016 stood at 18,464, comprising 71,285 beneficiaries in 16 districts. 

CID Director Nagahamulla impeding and interfering in the murder investigations of Thajudeen and Lasantha!

-Wheeler Dealer Special assistant of P.M. is behind the scenes

(Lanka-e-News -13.Aug.2016, 11.55PM) The investigations conducted by the CID into  the murders of Thajudeen and Lasantha Wickremetunge are being hampered and interfered with by CID Director  B. R.S.R. Nagahamulla SSP , and information regarding the investigation are being passed to Rajapakses by him , based on information reaching Lanka e news inside information division. The interference of Nagahamulla can be exposed in detail , but since the investigations are under way , and confidentiality is paramount we are compelled to hold that  back.  

In our earlier reports  when we  revealed that members of the State security division are involved , Nagahamulla had been taking  deliberate steps to dilute such accusations.

Nagahamulla was appointed to the post towards end of February  2015 .At that time John Amaratunge was in charge of the Police , and it is on his recommendation and that of Sudath Chandrasekera who was the special assistant of   Ranil Wickremesinghe ,that Nagahamulla was appointed. 

Chandrasekera was a former police officer , and both he and Nagahamulla obtained their training together. Chandrasekera who is now outside of the police has now transformed into a wheeler dealer putting through deals with the crooks and criminals of the Rajapakse regime against whom investigations are under way. Chandrasekera who is negotiating nefarious deals with the Raajapkse brigand  is impeding and interfering with the on going investigations via his bosom pal Nagahamulla.

Chandrasekera who is posing as the ‘private secretary’ of Ranil Wickremesinghe has even issued  official letters mentioning he is the private secretary of Wickremesinghe. But the fact of the matter is Ranil Wickremesinghe hasn’t a ‘private secretary.’

Chandrasekera is holding a position which is the same as that held by Sandra Perera and  K.P Dayaratne –they are  Prime Minister’s special assistants. Though Dayaratne and Sandra are functioning from Temple Trees , Chandrasekera is not allowed to come even within the precincts of Temple Trees by the P.M. because he is noted for his wheeler dealer rackets. So, Chandrasekera to whom Temple Trees is out of bounds , operates from only Sri Kotha.  Yet , he takes even the ministers for  a ride while claiming he is the private secretary to the P.M.

If the IGP who has become  a laughing stock, instead of making this grave issue also a police koloma  (police clowning) , treats this matter with the seriousness it merits , it would be possible  to detect the interference and hindrances caused by Nagahamulla who is a crony of Chandrasekera, in respect of the investigations into the murders of Lasantha  and Thajudeen. In the circumstances , it is the paramount duty of the IGP to take immediate action in this direction.

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by     (2016-08-14 00:06:16)

Vijayakala wants wells checked for dead bodies



August 14, 2016

State Minister of Child Affairs Vijayakala Maheswaran says that the closed water wells in the islands off Jaffna should be immediately inspected under court orders.  

She pointed out that the relatives of persons who went missing during the former government believe that the bodies of a number of bodies are inside those wells. 

The state minister claimed that according to the relatives of the missing people, the bodies have been placed inside the wells and filled with soil. 

Billions of dollars lie idle in the sand

Waste enough to build a kingdom and conceal a hoard

Choots my sister-in-law laments "Ane what a waste"

Highways as barren as a mule?

by Kumar David-August 13, 2016, 5:52 pm 

"My name is Percy Mahinda, king of kings:Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair"-One Percy about another

Ramses II on whom Percy Bysshe Shelly modelled Oxymandius (from the Greek word) was indeed king of kings, the most celebrated of all Pharaohs and lord of all he surveyed. Abu Simbel stands three thousand two hundred years on; one of the greatest monuments of the ancient world. His was an age of prosperity for the peoples who lived on the banks of the Nile and the Nile delta; he extended the kingdom to Canaan, Syria and Nubia in the south. The great pharaoh left mountains of monuments that now stand silent and bare in the desert sands and in a midget to a mighty comparison he is aped by our own Ozymandian upstart. I doubt whether in those days emperors were surrounded by sycophantic place seekers who fawned at every whim and greased their palms with every racket, but in Lanka’s unwept decade it was not only the megalomania of mad-Mahinda that buried treasure in the sand, but also corrupt political hangers-on assisted by the supine toadying of spineless high bureaucrats.

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to tour Mattala Madness and was taken into the lounges, security areas and technical facilities to get an idea of how much public money had been buried in this loony binge. On the day in question there were two arrivals and departures, one in the morning and the other in the afternoon but I counted a staff of 80 (x three shifts remember) milling around, bored, chatting with each other or their own shadows. There were security types, information counter staff, senior controllers, cleaners, handlers and women in pretty saris at empty counters. It is also a punishment transfer station for Rajapaksa loyalist detritus. The senior guy who took us round said with a poker straight face that airlines had stopped using Mattala because the present government was not providing enough chairs (those on hand were 100% unoccupied) in the passenger lounges!

Let’s estimate the staffing expenditure of this wasteland. Apart from the 80 I counted there are large numbers out of sight; in the control tower, in engineering, on the apron, gardeners and baggage handlers who must be sleeping all day. Let us say 150 per shift and not to push the number up too much let say a total of 400 people. How much are they paid? Say Rs40,000 a month on average or a gross annual wage bill close to Rs500 million – half a billion rupees a year for doing sweet brinjals! This is the wage bill only; add to it equipment servicing and maintenance expenditure. And this is without saying a word about the burden of repaying capital and making interest payment. One man’s lunacy inflicts ruin on a country!

Now for a sample of the capital-cost side - not recurrent expenditure - let me turn to the Hambantota harbour project. The port was developed in two phases, first phase construction cost US $ 500 million jointly funded by Exim Bank of China and the Sri Lanka Ports Authority; phase 2 cost US $ 800 million. To add insult to injury the organisers of the opening tamasha in November 2010 spent Rs 140 million to welcome Rajapaksa royalty with genuflecting ceremonies, a stage show, gifts , victuals and beverage. Of this Rs. 20 million went to actor Jackson Anthony for the show. This farce will be investigated by a Presidential Commission; yet another impotent commission which will not punish anyone! The Commission has issued notice on Jackson Anthony and Port Authority officials including former chairman Priyath Bandu Wickrema. So far, in all cases, all blood suckers have got away scot free and there is no sign that this pathetic display of Sirisena-Wickremesinghe impotence will cease.

There is a multimillion dollar international conference hall in Hambantota that has hosted just one (yes one!) event, a stadium at which one (yes one!) international match has been played and then there are miles upon miles of highways! Yes four lane highways stark in the middle of the bush; if you are patient you will see the occasional car pass by. As friends travelling with me remarked these tens upon tens of miles (perhaps adding up to a hundred) of highways would have cost as much as the woefully overdue Colombo-Kandy arterial expressway may cost.

Blame not only the megalomaniac but also remember the dozens of august civil servants, high ministry and government officials and smart engineers who did not dare say to His Majesty that he was plain off his rocker. And now the propaganda arm of the present government is bereft of imagination. To win a propaganda war it must organise bus loads of townsfolk and villagers to tour empty highways and stark, silent monuments in concrete. The people must SEE the waste, then the people will be educated. Mahinda’s marching from Kandy hordes too can be invited to track these empty highways without impediment and hold unobstructed rallies to hearts content in vast unpopulated space; no need to haggle over Hyde park and Campbell Park. Ah what an opportunity lost for Oxymandian feats!

Ranil’s emerging strategy

The economic strategy of this government is driven by Ranil and the President’s role is to intervene only when there is political necessity. The Mahendran non-renewal, VAT and GMOA’s foreign trade pact delusions fall into this category. This column has for some time been commenting on Ranil’s economic approach on the basis of its potential or otherwise for success as a capitalist strategy. That is I have refrained from interjection of my socialist predilections. This piece continues this approach but to speak of success in a development strategy is to bear two sides of the coin in mind; (a) there has to be growth, and (b) if there is growth then the distribution of its benefit must include a degree of equity. What degree of equity? The answer is equity corresponding to populist social democratic expectations.

But before spreading the butter there has to be butter to spread. If there is no (a) then (b) is kaput. Hence the first question to address is ‘Will Ranil’s strategies succeed in growing the economy?’ There are some points in his approach to growing on a capitalist basis that are sensible, some others are not well thought through. Where he is correct is in opening Lanka to regional economic interactions. ECTA with India, hated by Sinhala chauvinists for that reason, and opposed by the GMOA in its quest to preserve a closed shop for pecuniary gain for the medical profession, must be pushed through. ECTA must not be diminished into a purely trade agreement; it must be a substantive economic framework including investment and manpower movement, the latter on short-term (5 or less years) work visas.

The move to engage China in an economic development zone in the Hambantota area making use of the billions of dollars that have been sunk into the ground is wise. Once a madman has dug a well and we have fallen in, the only thing to do is to start from the bottom and make the best of it from the depths. This is similar to dynamic programming in optimisation theory where one starts from the given, defined by past events however deplorable, and maximises future benefits. The Chinese are doers. Once they take on a responsibility, and if it is in their interests as well, they will deliver; they have done their bit in win-win scenarios elsewhere. Exploring opportunities with them is in the right direction. However Lanka cannot sit back and expect a Chinese Godot to deliver all; there must be activity on our side and ensuring employment creation (say 100,000 jobs within three years) must be a priority. This is where there is much misgiving in my mind. Our officials are reputed to be incompetent and/or corrupt compared to outsiders and there is unease that we will fail to make the best of the opportunity.

In principle I am supportive of the agreement reached with a Singaporean investment consultancy company. I say in principle because little detail has been revealed of what will actually be done. And this brings me to my worries about Ranil’s approach to regional economic cooperation. Let me take several snippets from the PM or his close advisors to make my point.

Western Megapolis; Financial City; hub for financial and logistical services in South Asia complementing Hong Kong and Singapore.

Finalising a Free Trade Agreement with China in 2017.

Expanding trade treaties with out South Asian neighbours.

Navigating trade liberalisation and enhancing bilateral trade enhancement initiatives.

Opportunity for Sri Lankan exporters to access a market of three billion people.

One couold go one quoting from speech upon speech at international forums and symposia by the PM and his collaborators like Malik Samarawickrema. The elephant missing in the room is the production side; production of tangible, fungible, locally consumable or exportable industrial and/or agricultural commodities. For heaven’s sake what’s the use of easier and bigger export markets if you have bugger-all to export! Ranil and his buddies are blindsided to the production side and obsessed with financial services, trade liberalisation and consultancy services. They simply cannot get their priorities in perspective.

Lanka can play a role as a financial and commercial service centre but not as a global hub like Hong Kong, Singapore, New York or London – those slots are already taken. Lanka’s development will have to prioritise production of material goods and tangible services, and I mean hard growth on a capitalist basis. This way of looking at things is far removed from the priorities that occupy the central cortex of Ranil and his buddies.

Local economic experts are of no help either. They repeat platitudes. "Exports must be promoted; debt must be brought down; fiscal deficit must be brought under control; Sri Lanka is moving towards a grave situation" – oh dear, any A-level student can parrot this. Don’t our experts have a concrete forward strategy to lay before us? Obviously not! Yes Lanka needs FDI though the international climate is frigid; yes Lanka needs to go regional in its strategic thinking on economic (not just finance and trade) growth; yes the local capitalist class has failed to respond to the opportunities opened by its own UNP led government. It’s good that the state has stepped in with strategy I enumerated in five or six bullet points. But NO this is less than halfway to what needs to be done. At some point in time the government has to wake up and bring its interrupted act to fruition with a determined programme to increase the production of tangible commodities in the manufacturing and agricultural sector.

Tiran Alles And Emil Kanthan Faces Charges For Financing LTTE

August 14, 2016

Former Parliamentarian Tiran Alles and ex-LTTEer Emil Kanthan are to be indicted over the massive financial fraud at the Reconstruction and Development Agency (RADA).

Tiran Alles

Attorney General has recommended that a total of four persons, including Alles and Kanthan be indicted in the case. The recommendation was filed on Friday at the Colombo Fort Magistrate on the charges of misappropriating state funds.

RADA under the Chairmanship of Alles is alleged to have obtained Rs. 645 million from the Treasury to build houses for tsunami victims. However no houses were constructed.

In 2015, the Police confirmed that the funds collected by the organization were credited to Oomps textiles Ltd. – a fake company formed by three individuals identified as Shanthi Kumar, Gajan Kumar and their mother Anandi Shanthi Kumar. The Court was informed that through this company and two other bogus companies, a total of Rs. 125 million has been misappropriated. It was also mentioned that the State funds paid to Oomps Textiles Ltd. had been taken over by Alles and former LTTE-er Emil Kanthan.

The Court last year banned Alles from leaving the country, along with five other suspects for their alleged involvement in the fraud. However, in June this year, considering Alles’s medical reports, the Colombo High Court granted him permission to travel to Singapore for medical treatment for a maximum of two weeks. However, when Alles travelled to Singapore for medical treatment later in June, he was refused entry by immigration authorities, and was compelled to take a return flight back to Sri Lanka.

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Landmark verdict..! Sannasgala and Derana TV ordered to pay compensation of Rs.5 million to Film critic

(Lanka-e-News -13.Aug.2016, 11.55PM)  The  District court ordered Derana TV channel and Upul Sannasgala to pay a sum of Rs. 5 million as  compensation in connection with the insult inflicted on film  critic Ajith Galapaththi .

Upul Shantha who participated in the Derana ‘360’ program that was telecast , made disparaging   remarks pertaining to Galapaththi that  were allegedly defamatory to  his  reputation.  Based on the defamatory case filed by Galapaththi against Upul Shantha’s derogatory utterances , the district court issued an order that Sannasgala and the Derana TV channel shall pay the plaintiff a sum of Rs. 2.5 million each  as compensation.

Ajith Galapaththi received a letter dated 2003 -01-25 signed by Sannasgala and Ashoka Handagamage as producer and Director respectively of the film ‘Thani thatuwen piyambanawa’ produced by Sannasgala in 2003 , requesting Galapaththi to send a critical comment to them  to be published in the media .

This was published as a comment of an  independent critic by Galapaththi on 31 st January 2003 in the Dinamina newspaper .Later , the  360 program of Derana questioned producer Sannasgala on the changes made to a sentence in the critical comment giving an entirely different meaning , as well as  printing and publishing a paper . Sannasgala had then said , Galapaththi asked for payment in March 2003  for  the  critical comment he  wrote. 

In the verdict delivered by the court it is stated it has become  clear to the court that Galapaththi has been defamed and his estimation among  society has been lowered. 

The court concluded that Sannasgala’s statement gives the impression that film critic Galapaththi the plaintiff   is not an independent critic , and in the minds of those reading the comment ,doubts could be created whether it is in fact Galapaththi’s independent critical comment .

In the circumstances , although the damage caused to the complainant cannot be assessed , the court decided that the accused Sannasgala and the Derana channel shall pay compensation in a total sum of Rs. 5 million to the complainant. 

What is paramount is independence , and if a critic does not act independently , the public will not accept his critical comments , the court said, while adding ,when considering the statement of Sannasgala ,Galapaththi has indeed been defamed  via that.

The court revealed though the accused had stated that the complainant asked for payment in respect of his comment , the accused had failed to prove that. The court in its verdict  has mentioned  , it is of the view that there is nothing truthful in Sannasgala’s claims in that regard and are baseless.

The Derana TV channel telecast the 360 program inclusive of the statement on 2008-07-08 , and repeated it on 13 th July 2008 with  the derogatory content.

This case was heard before Colombo additional district court judge M.A.A. Anavarathne . Senior lawyer Janaka Edirisinghe appeared on behalf of the plaintiff  while Lawyers Sanath Senadheera , Randhika Kuruppu and Jagath Wickremerathne (senior lawyer) appeared on behalf the Derana TV channel , the accused . Nigel Hatch PC appeared on behalf of Upul Sannasgala, the other accused.

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by     (2016-08-14 00:14:52)

Sri Lanka: Let’s all be feminists

We have heard the slogan ‘Prisoners are humans too’. Similarly, the day our society realises that ‘Women are human beings too’ who are as equally capable and courageous as men, the nation will thrive and flourish, and will be set upon a better journey towards all-embracing success.

by Imesha Madhubhani-

( August 14, 2016, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) A woman is someone who silently renders an immense service to her family, household, the society and the nation. It is because of this silence that most of us have forgotten to celebrate womanhood with the appreciation which she deserves. Most of us have chosen to forget the fact that more than half of the global population itself consists of females. But are they given an opportunity to be heard and seen? Even if the answer to this question is “yes”, one may still ask; is the attention we give towards her sufficient?

The attitude of the Sri Lankan society towards women and their role seems to be paradoxical to me. Whereas, we grew up learning maxims such as ‘a woman’s knowledge is only as long as a spoon’s handle,’ while we also learnt that “the hand that sways the cot, rules the world,” it is high time we think twice before teaching our youngsters to measure a woman’s knowledge level with a spoon-handle. The idea which such phrases impliedly generate within one’s mind is that a woman is not an intelligent or a bold human being.

Women have shed their blood, sweat and tears throughout the history of human civilization, for many centuries and have worked hard not for their own betterment, but for the betterment of their family, religion, society and their nations since times immemorial. World renowned females who have been brave and bold enough to step outside our atmosphere and observe the outer space such as Kalpana Chawla and Valentina Tereshkova should equally be given respect as much as the vulnerable women who have been pushed to situations by the society, that they are left with no other choice than becoming a ‘woman of the streets’.

The Sri Lankan context

Since the grant of Universal Franchise in 1931, Sri Lankan women have so far been on a journey of both achievements and losses. The first ever female head of state was born from Sri Lanka. More than 50% of the registered candidates are female. 85% of students who achieve university entrance are female students. Despite all these achievements, we are forced to accept the fact that women are curtailed of the opportunities to perform optimally by making use of their abilities and qualifications. The level of participation of females in active politics is still unsatisfactory.

Participation of females in the legislature is merely 5%, 3% in Provincial Councils, and 2% in the Local Government sphere. Granting a 50-50 quota itself wouldn’t seem to cater to the matter positively. Even if it was given, it cannot be anticipated that the acceptance and assistance which they should be given will be given to them by the society.

The Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka states that inter alia, majority of the petitions of Human Rights violations they receive from women is regarding attempts to gain sexual bribes when entering children to the first grade of government schools. It is tragic to see that a mother is unable to enter her child to a school without being subjected to illicit and embarrassing courses of action.

A number of International Conventions and Declarations were implemented by the international community within the past few decades with the aim of achieving gender justice and ensuring the equal protection of women and the girl child. Despite the abundance of international and regional mechanisms, none of them have seemed to achieve the expected goals, i.e. mainly to give the due acceptance to women in the society. Domestic violence, usurpation of labour, rape and abuse are only a few examples that show the level of women’s rights enforcement mechanisms, both locally and regionally.

It should not be misunderstood that a valid legal framework is absent, the question remains in its enforcement. Especially, the impact on law enforcement by religious and cultural factors can be seen mostly. Child marriages and female genital mutilation have not yet been eradicated from the world. Even though such practices are not seen in the Sri Lankan society, one must not forget that women are being differently treated in our society as well, on a daily basis.

A pledge for parity

I do not wish to deeply analyse the legal background of women’s rights. The media institutions have catered to it more than enough, and the majority of the society is well aware of it. Such attempts by both printed and digital media should always be appreciated, as there have been numerous instances where women have missed their opportunities to have access to justice due to the unawareness of the law.

Women are the initiation of new life. Without her, the whole of the human race, but we still keep on humiliating the same species who are the bearers of the future of human race itself. Living in a society where women are being subjected to multiple discrimination, it is ironical that Sri Lanka celebrated the 105th Women’s Day this March 8th. The globalised world has feminized both our education sector and our labour force. Yet, the amount of attention and due acceptance which they truly deserve is not granted to her. This is a matter that needs immediate attention.

The paradox still remains within our society where we listen to numerous songs appreciating womanhood and motherhood, we see many tributes to women, whilst at the same time, reports of rape, abuse and multiple discrimination are heard island wide. Is not that a reason for us to be ashamed of ourselves as a nation? The issue on achieving gender parity carries out a very complex chain of questions socially, politically and culturally. It must be understood that none of these issues could be solved unless they are contextualized before analyzing.

The housewives who have dedicated their career goals and future plans for a better family life, the tea-pluckers of the hillside who work day and night for a minimum wage, the young FTZ girls who wash away their splendid youth operating a juki sewing machine, the women who go through inhumane treatments in the middle-east as housemaids but yet supply our best income of foreign exchange should not be forgotten or be taken for granted. If not for any of them, you and I would not have been living in such luxurious conditions.

Need for a change of thoughts

It is my belief that we should all be feminists. One might even laugh at this idea. It is wrong to think that only females should be feminists. In simple words, a feminist is someone who strives to provide opportunities for women to live a dignified life with their basic rights guaranteed. If you expect your mother, sister, friend or wife to live such a life, then I believe that you are indeed a feminist.

We have heard the slogan ‘Prisoners are humans too’. Similarly, the day our society realises that ‘Women are human beings too’ who are as equally capable and courageous as men, the nation will thrive and flourish, and will be set upon a better journey towards all-embracing success.

Moragoda’s deal to sell Trinco oil storage

Aug 14, 2016

Former minister Milinda Moragoda’s Pathfinder company has been accused of getting involved in an unofficial level deal to either sell or lease the oil storage facility in Trincomalee, ‘Irida Lanka’ reports.

This deal has taken place without the knowledge of the president, but reportedly with the consent of the prime minister.

 

In 2003, there was speculation the facility had been given to Lanka Indian Oil Company on a 35-year lease.

 

No agreement has been signed, but Lanka IOC makes use of 14 oil tanks there, without paying any lease money to the state.

 

Moragoda is said to be behind this deal too.

 

He had interfered in making the decision, although it had not been a subject under him, when he was the science and technology minister.

 

During his visit to Sri Lanka, Indian premier Narendra Modi raised the Trincomalee oil storages matter.

 

Agreement has been reached to develop the 85 oil tanks, other than the 14 given to Lanka IOC, for which a joint task force has been appointed.

 

This task force has 10 members, comprising six Sri Lankans and four foreigners, and the power ministry secretary is its chairman.