Thursday, August 25, 2016

Habeas Corpus

Featured image courtesy Amalini de Sayrah

BRIAN JEGANATHAN on 08/24/2016

We returned to the place
Where we were buried in a hurry
“Let’s look for our bodies,” we said
We searched the edge of the lagoon, the marsh
Where uniformed men said summary executions
Make great photos
Behind walls embroidered with bullet marks
Inside derelict schools and churches, graveyards and abandoned wells
We even trespassed the mined perimeter of the camp
Once again, we gazed into our own death

But found nothing!

We searched from sunup to sundown
Until the long shadows fell upon us
We dived into the seabed
Looked among ship-wrecks and seaweed
Scoured the debris at the bottom
All this we did in a disembodied state –
No heads, no legs, no arms and no beating heart

Yet, we found nothing!

Souls are of no use, I heard someone say
Broken-bodies their line of business
Dust to dust ashes to ashes; did I hear that right?
Is that an eternal truth?
Our corporality writhing in bloody hands
Then suddenly broken into hollow bits
Like idols of clay undone by the wrath of gods
Every morning, noon and night
They heaped us like broken images

In shallow graves among dull reeds

Those last moments full of theatricality
Euripides, at least now, hang your head in shame!
They played cats, we the rats between their teeth
Against a vast wasteland
A spectacle without spectators
The apotheosis of blood-lust
Gods blindfolded and shunted into darkness
Eyes plucked out of the Omniscient
So, why summon witnesses?
Didn’t we see with our own bodies?
But bear with us until we find them!

Have we come to the fag-end of the day?

We have to recover them!
Our bodies belong to us, as yours to you
Our bodies had names; every one of them
Birth marks and childhood scars
And a colour our mothers would never forget
Our bodies had a history, a story and a culture
Seared into every fiber and sinew
And our blood flowed

Like a red river

Our women had saffroned cheeks
Glowing like the waxing moon
Baubles of jasmine dangling from plaited hair
Beauty spots: a single blood-red bullet hole
Shot through their foreheads
Our men had holy ash across their face
Sacred beads dangling across bare-chests
Our old women, furrow-browed
From three decades of unceasing prayers
And prattling with dumb gods
But none of us found our bodies
Lamenting and weeping and mourning

We returned to where we came from!

உடலில் குண்டுத் துகள்களுடன் 410 பேர் விபரங்களை சபையில் சமர்ப்பித்தது கூட்டமைப்பு

2016-08-24

உடலில் குண்டுத்துகள்களுடன் ஆபத்தான நிலையில் யாழ்.மற்றும் வவுனியா மாவட்டத்தில் வாழ்ந்து வரும் 410 பேரின் பெயர் விபரங்களை தமிழ்த் தேசியக் கூட்டமைப்பு சபையில் சமர்ப்பித்தது.

இந்தப் பட்டியலில் 132 பேர் பாடசாலை மாணவர்களாக உள்ளதாகவும் கூட்டமைப்பு சபையில் சுட்டிக்காட்டியுள்ளது. யுத்தத்தில் மோசமாக பாதிக்கப்பட்ட முல்லைத்தீவு,

கிளிநொச்சி மற்றும் மன்னார் மாவட்டங்களின் இவ்வாறு ஆபத்தான நிலையில் பலர் காணப்படுகின்ற நிலையில் அவர்களது விபரங்களை வழங்குவதற்கு அந்தந்த மாவட்டங்களின் அரசாங்க அதிபர்கள் இழுத்தடிப்புக்களை செய்து வருவதாகவும் தமிழ்த் தேசியக் கூட்டமைப்பு சபையின் கவனத்திற்கு கொண்டு வந்துள்ளது.

பாராளுமன்றத்தில் நேற்று விலங்குத்தீனி (திருத்தச்) சட்டமூலம் மீதான விவாதம் இடம்பெற்றது. இதில் கலந்து கொண்டு உரையாற்றுகையிலேயே தமிழ்த் தேசியக் கூட்டமைப்பின் வன்னி மாவட்ட பாராளுமன்ற உறுப்பினர் சிவசக்தி ஆனந்தன் மேற்கண்டவாறு தெரிவித்தார்.

அவருடைய உரையில் மேலும் தெரிவித்ததாவது,

கடந்த ஜூலை மாதம் எட்டாம் திகதி பாராளுமன்றில் பிரதமரிடத்திலான நேரடி கேள்வி நேரத்தின் போது வடக்கு கிழக்கில் இடம்பெற்ற யுத்தத்தின் போது குண்டு மற்றும் ஷெல் வீச்சுக்களால் பாதிப்படைந்து அவற்றின் துகள்களுடன் ஆபத்தான நிலையில் பாடசாலை மாணவர்கள், இளைஞர், யுவதிகள் உள்ளிட்ட பல தரப்பட்டவர்கள் காணப்படுகின்றார்கள். அவர்களுக்கு சத்திரசிகிச்சை வழங்குவதற்கு உரிய நடவடிக்கை உடன் எடுக்கப்பட வேண்டுமென கோரிக்கை விடுத்திருந்தேன். அச்சமயத்தில் விபரங்களை வழங்குமாறு பிரதமர் கூறியிருந்ததோடு மீள்குடியேற்ற அமைச்சர் சுகாதார அமைச்சர் ஆகியோருடன் கலந்தாலோசித்து உள்நாட்டில் காணப்படும் அரச வைத்தியசாலைகளில் சிகிச்சையளிப்பதற்கு நடவடிக்கை எடுக்கப்படுமென பிரதமர் ரணில் விக்கிரமசிங்க உறுதியளித்திருந்தார். அத்தோடு தேவையேற்படின் வெளிநாட்டு மருத்துவ சிகிச்சைகளையும் வழங்குவதற்கு ஜனாதிபதி மைத்திரிபால சிறிசேனவுடன் ஆலோசித்து நடவடிக்கை எடுப்பதாகவும் கூறியிருந்தார். அதன் பிரகாரம் நான் வடக்கு மாகாணத்தின் ஐந்து மாவட்ட அரசாங்க அதிபர்களுக்கு கடிதம் மூலம் விபரங்களை வழங்குமாறு கோரியிருந்தேன். 65 நாட்களாகிவிட்டன. வெறுமனே இரண்டு மாவட்ட அரசாங்க அதிபர்களே அந்த தகவல்களை வழங்கியுள்ளனர். அதனடிப்படையில் யாழ்.மற்றும் வவுனியா மாவட்டத்தினைச் சேர்ந்த 410 பேர் இவ்வாறு குண்டு துகள்களுடன் ஆபத்தான நிலையில் உள்ளனர். இவர்களில் 132 பேர் பாடசாலை மாணவர்களாக உள்ளனர். அதிகளவானோர் இளம் வயதினைக் கொண்டிருக்கின்றனர். இவர்களுக்கு உடனடிச் சிகிச்சைகள் அவசியமாகின்றன. ஆகவே இந்தப்பட்டியலின் பிரகாரம் உடனடி நடவடிக்கைகளை அரசாங்கம் எடுக்க வேண்டும்.

அதேநேரம் கிளிநொச்சி, மன்னார், முல்லைத்தீவு ஆகிய மாவட்டங்களைச் சேர்ந்த அரச அதிபர்கள் இந்த விபரங்களை வழங்குவதற்கு பின்நிற்கின்றனர், அச்சப்படுகின்றனர். நல்லாட்சியிலும் மக்களுக்கான சேவையாற்றுவதற்கு நியமிக்கப்பட்டுள்ள அரச அதிகாரிகள் இவ்வாறு அச்சப்பட்டு பின்னிப்பதற்கான காரணம் என்ன? 65 நாட்கள் கடந்த நிலையில் அவர்கள் ஆகக்குறைந்தது எனது கோரிக்கைக் கடிதம் கிடைத்தது என்பதற்கு கூட பதிலளிக்கவில்லை என்பது மிகவும் கவலையளிக்கும் விடயமாகும்.

அவ்வாறிருக்கையில் தற்போது என்னால் சமர்ப்பிக்கப்பட்ட இந்த முதற்பட்டியலில் கூறப்பட்டுள்ளவர்களின் விபரங்களுக்கு ஏற்ப அரசாங்கம் உடன் நடவடிக்கைகளை எடுக்க வேண்டும். கடந்த 2012 ஆம் ஆண்டு முன்னாள் ஜனாதிபதி மஹிந்த ராஜபக் ஷவின் ஆட்சிக்காலத்தில் இந்த விடயம் சுட்டிக்காட்டப்பட்டபோது விபரங்கள் கோரப்பட்டிருந்தன. அச்சமயத்திலும் விபரங்கள் என்னால் கையளிக்கப்பட்டிருந்தன. ஆனால் அது தொடர்பில் எவ்விதமான நடவடிக்கைகளும் எடுக்கப்படவில்லை. அதுபோன்று தற்போதே ஆட்சியாளர்களும் செயற்பட வேண்டாம் என கோரிக்கை விடுக்கின்றனர்.

காணாமல் போனோர் பற்றிய அலுவலகம்

காணாமல் போனோர் பற்றிய அலுவலகம் இராணுவத்தையோ பொலிஸாரையோ விசாரணைக்கு உட்படுத்தாது என ஜனாதிபதியும் வெளிவிவகார அமைச்சரும் கூறியுள்ளனர். அவ்வாறாயின் அந்த அலுவலகத்தால் எந்த நியாயம் எமது மக்களுக்கு வழங்கப்படும் என எதிர்பார்க்க முடியும். புதிய கட்சியொன்றை முன்னாள் ஜனாதிபதி மகிந்த ராஜபக் ஷ ஆரம்பித்தால் அவருடைய இரகசியங்கள் வெளியிடப்படுமென ஜனாதிபதி மைத்திரிபால எச்சரித்துள்ளார்.

ஆனால் அவர்களுடைய ஆட்சிக் காலத்திலேயே போர்க்குற்றங்கள் இடம்பெற்றுள்ளன. அதுதொடர்பில் உள்ளக விசாரணை செய்யப்படும் என்றே அரசாங்கம் கூறி வருகின்றது. இவ்வாறு முன்னாள் ஆட்சியாளர்களின் இரகசியங்களை கையில் வைத்துக் கொண்டு அவர்களை பாதுகாத்துக் கொண்டிருக்கும் தற்போதைய ஆட்சியாளர்கள் எவ்வாறு உள்ளக விசாரணையை நீதியான முறையில் முன்னெடுக்க முடியும் என்ற கேள்விக் யெழுப்புகின்றது.

கடற்படைக்கு அதிகாரம் எங்கிருந்து வந்தது 1985 ஆம் ஆண்டு முன்னாள் ஜனாதிபதி ரணசிங்க பிரேமதாஸ மன்னார் பள்ளிமுனையில் உள்ள 25 குருமார்களுக்கு வழங்கிய காணியை கடற்படையினர் சுவீகரிக்க முயற்சிகள் எடுத்துள்ளனர். இது தொடர்பாக நீதிமன்றத்தில் வழக்கு தாக்கல் செய்யப்பட்டுள்ளது. இவ்வாறே முன்னாள் ஜனாதிபதி ஒருவரால் கையகப்படு்த்தப்பட்ட காணியாகவும் மாவட்ட நீதிமன்றில் வழக்குத் தாக்கல் செய்யப்பட்டிருக்கும் பட்சத்தில் தற்போது மன்னாரில் உள்ள கடற்படையினர் அந்தக் காணிகளை சுவீகரிப்பதற்கு நடவடிக்கை எடுத்துள்ளனர். இந்த அதிகாரத்தை வழங்கியவர்கள் யார்? கோப்புலவு, சம்பூர், வலிவடக்கு போன்ற பல பகுதிகளில் இராணுவம் தொடர்ந்து தன்னை நிலைநிறுத்துவதற்கு பொதுமக்கள் காணிகளை கையகப்படுத்தும் நிலையில் இவ்வாறு காணிகளை சுவீகரிப்பதற்கு முயற்சிகளை எடுத்து வருகின்றமை கண்டிக்கத்தக்கது என்றார்.

OMP is a part of a large process of transitional justice - NPC

Aug 24, 2016

The passage of the Office of Missing Persons bill (OMP), albeit in controversial circumstances in Parliament, augers well for the forward movement of the reconciliation process. The National Peace Council welcomes the new law, and the legal foundation of the first of the four transitional justice mechanisms that the government has pledged to establish. We are disappointed that the Joint Opposition members failed to cooperate with the parliamentary process, and refused to debate the new law according to the agreed schedule in parliament. It was unfortunate that those who were human rights champions in the 1980 and 1990s, and widely admired for this, displayed their opposition to OMP by word and deed.

The underlying rationale of the OMP is that people need to know what happened to their loved ones so that they can stop the endless search for them. It is to help them to end the search, and to bring closure to that open wound that exists in the body politic. The purpose of the OMP is to find out what happened to those missing that stretch back decades and the insurrections that took place in the South of the country and were bloodily suppressed. The OMP law constitutes the maximum effort that the Sri Lankan state can take to find out where they are if they are living and if not living what happened to them. This is why evidence that is not admissible in courts of law is admissible in the OMP investigation. This is also why evidence that is confidential is permissible, which even the Right to Information Act cannot access.

We note that the OMP is a very important element of the country’s transitional justice process and the set of institutions and measures outlined the government. But it is only one part of the process of transitional justice. After the successful passage of the OMP bill in parliament, government spokespersons have said that the government would set up a Truth Commission, a judicial mechanism to deal with accountability (and punishment) issues and an office of reparations. We believe that these additional mechanisms that the government has still to set up will offer more avenues for truth and accountability seeking. Truth, justice and reconciliation will be delivered via the totality of these bodies, and not just the OMP. We call on the government, opposition and society at large to cooperate in the implementation of the OMP and the setting up of the other transitional justice mechanisms so that the past does not stand in the way of Sri Lanka’s future as a just, peaceful and developed society.

Different yet Equal: On effectively battling hatred

The corner of Bauddhaloka mawatha near Independence Arcade was relatively quiet at 4:30 pm, apart from a small group holding white umbrellas.

These were participants of “Different Yet Equal” an online-led campaign aiming to hold a peaceful vigil to advocate for a pluralist Sri Lanka, united against hatred and divisiveness.

As the crowd slowly grew, vigil participants eventually lined themselves up along the pavement, holding placards proclaiming “We all have the same blood” and condemning racism.

The underlying message was pushback against the distinctive stickers which now adorn many trishaws and vehicles across the country – all bearing the word “Sinha-Le”. While there has been no violence as yet from this group, Muslim houses were spray-painted with this slogan earlier this year.

As vigil-goers began to speak about why they had gathered, a sudden disruption occurred, when a group of counter-protesters, including Buddhist monks, gathered, purporting to be from the Sinha Le movement. The monks said they objected to the appropriation of the term “Sinha Le”, which they felt was ‘their’ word. “This is a Sinhala Buddhist country” was chanted repeatedly. The group was also carrying a distorted version of the Sri Lankan flag, notably missing the stripes denoting the minorities.

Initially, tensions ran high, with some of the participants, including former Deputy Mayor of Colombo Azath Salley, attempting to take on some of the counter-protesters verbally. The situation escalated into a shouting match.

D.M.Swaminathan, Sri Lankan minister for Prison Reforms and Resettlement. | Express Photo Service

By P.K.Balachandran-24th August 2016

COLOMBO: The Sri Lankan Minister of Resettlement and Prison Reforms, D.M.Swaminathan, has reported steady progress government is making in reviewing and following up cases of Tamils detained under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA).

Answering a question put by R.Sampanthan, Leader of the Opposition and the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) in parliament on Tuesday, Swaminathan said that the Attorney General is to submit a review of 78 PTA case trials by September 15.

The review will consider the number of detainees who can be subjected to lesser sentences and the number of those who could be sent for rehabilitation.

He said that the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) will soon be replaced by the “Counter Terrorism Act”, and that trials currently pending under the PTA, will come under the Counter Terrorism Act (CTA) when CTA comes into being.

Swaminathan informed the House that 112 files of PTA cases were sent to the Attorney General’s Department for advice and out of these 108 were concluded by end of 2015.

He further said that in 2016, 16 cases under the PTA were received by the Attorney General’s Department for advice. During this year, nine suspects detained under the PTA have been recommended for rehabilitation, 27 have been discharged from proceedings, and seven indictments have been forwarded to the High Court.

The Minister said that commencing from November 11, 2015, 39 suspects who were in remand for offences under the PTA, have been enlarged on bail with the sanction of the Attorney General.

Minister Swaminathan pointed out that further steps are being taken by the Attorney General’s Department to review and reconsider cases under the PTA and added that three such cases were concluded this month by reducing the charges to facilitate expeditious conclusion of trials.

The continued detention of Tamils under the PTA has become a major political issue for the Tamil political parties and a highly emotional issue for the Tamils population. The Tamils describe them as “political prisoners” but the Sri Lankan state and the Sinhalese polity consider them as “terrorists”. While the Tamils are incensed that they should remain in detention ,often without being charged, even years after the end of the separatist war, the majority community feel that they could still pose a danger to the country. The Tamils’ argument that they should be given a general amnesty as the Sinhalese insurgents ,the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) was given in 1971 and in the late 1989, is rejected by the majority community as well as the government.

The Tamils detainees have go on fast more than once to press their case of outright release or rehabilitation for a year to be followed by release. They pointed that under the Mahinda Rajapaksa government, 12,000 alleged LTTE cadres underwent “rehabilitation” in Sri Lankan army run camps for a yearand then released.

Wednesday, August 24, 2016

The Sacred & Profane At Cross Roads

By Sarath de Alwis –August 24, 2016

Sarath de Alwis

“The church and the whorehouse arrived in the far west simultaneously. And each would have been horrified to think it was a different facet of the same thing. But surely they were both intended to accomplish the same thing: the singing, the devotion, the poetry of the churches took a man out of his bleakness for a time, and so did the brothels.” ~ John Steinbeck in East of Eden 1952

Listening to President Maithripala Sirisena at the Matara rally threating to reveal secrets of the joint opposition, instinctively I recalled this exquisitely emblematic confluence of the benign and the bawdy that Steinbeck describes in his novel East of Eden. It was Steinbeck’s greatest work in which he explores the good and evil in the human condition.

Steinbeck saw the confused world as a poem, a habit or dream. Sen though a peep hole its inhabitants were “whores, pimps, gamblers and sons of bitches,” by which he meant everybody. Seen through a different peep hole they could be “Saints and angels and martyrs and holy men.” Since it is the same eyes seeing through different peepholes they were ‘the same thing’

The Presidents exhortations at Matara on corruption committed and corruption that is likely to be happening presented me- and my fellow citizens the same conundrum seen through Steinbeck’s two different peep holes.

The Matara display of popular support was to mark the first year anniversary of aimless meandering interspersed with some positives by the UNP –SLFP parliamentary coalition. Their first year balance sheet is short of positive gains but registers some amelioration of earlier mayhem, tyranny and fleece.

August 24, 2016, 7:56 pm

The defenders of democracy in South Asia and indeed the world over are likely to have been greatly heartened on noting, on scanning the weekend newspapers, that Colombo’s Defence Seminar 2016 would be on the theme, ‘Soft Power and its Influence on Global Issues’. This amounts to a ‘coming of age’ of Sri Lanka’s security planners and managers and the seminar could prove a brainstorming moment for the intellectually alert. Soft power needs to be balanced with hard power if the world is to manage its security issues effectively and a dialogue on soft power is long overdue in international deliberations focusing on security and on questions linked to it.

So, the seminar, also referred to as ‘The 6th International Forum for Security Experts’, and due to be held at the BMICH, Colombo from September 1-2nd 2016, should be considered as being of central importance to South Asia and the world. Currently, when hard power and heavy-handed coercion are proving to be of pivotal importance in handling security and defence matters by the world, it could not have been timelier to pose soft power as a very viable option in conflict resolution.

Soft power is no stranger to modern South Asia and if the likes of Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru are being revered by the champions of peaceful conflict resolution the world over, it is because it is soft power and not hard power which comes more naturally to humankind. The ‘Apostles of Peace’ helped focus on the ennobling possibilities in humanity and for this they would be remembered forever, whereas the names of note of those who strongly advocated and are advocating hard power would probably be remembered in a not so complimentary manner.

Although the concept of soft power may be new to many Sri Lankans it is already part of public discussion in countries, such as, India, China and Pakistan. One of the latest books to come out on the subject in India is titled, ‘Communicating Soft Power - Buddha to Bollywood’ by Daya Kishan Thussu and is published by SAGE Publications, India (www.sagepublishing.com or marketing@sagepub.in). The book is a comprehensive and highly readable account of soft power and the bearing it has on India’s international diplomacy and peace-making.

The book, rightly, credits US political scientist Dr. Joseph Nye as having been one of the modern pioneers in the study of soft power and quotes him as saying that soft power is simply, "the ability to attract people to our side without coercion." Nye goes on to say that soft power is ‘not forceful or aggressive’ and is essentially all about "getting others to want the outcome that you want."

However, what is thought-provoking about soft power is that it has always been with humankind as part of the species’ essential nature. This largely accounts for the enduring appeal of the world’s greatest religions. Soft power is very much part of their main doctrines. Ahimsa, for instance, is an integral element in these religions and has always been at the disposal of humans for problem-solving.

It should be clear that hard power, understood as the application of coercive force, usually by state actors in conflict resolution, does not prove entirely satisfactory or effective in resolving issues. The horrific spiral of violence in the Middle East, Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq, for example, bears out this truth. Violence begets violence and there is no getting away from this reality. While state coercion, in particular, could help defuse conflicts in the short term, it is soft power that could bring enduring peace and stability.

However, it is not at all easy to arrive at the realization that soft power must be given a chance in conflict resolution. Humans usually tend to favour the use of stringent armed pressure in these situations because the deployment of the instruments of hard power, such as, military muscle and armaments, are seen, mistakenly, as bringing about ‘quick fix’ solutions to problems of a political kind. Whereas, all that one would end up with is ‘the peace of the grave yard.’ ‘Peace’ could be brought about temporarily through the use of hard power but this kind of ‘peace’ would not endure for long. This truth is seen today in the Middle East, for instance.

But what are considered political means of conflict resolution belong to the soft power category. In contrast to coercive and aggressive ways of resolving conflicts, the soft power approach favours dialogue and negotiations as problem resolution tools. These tools are in keeping with the soft power principle that peace would come only through the use of peaceful ways of resolving disputes. The value systems deriving from the world’s main religions – needless to say – endorse these principles. Considering that a political solution is yet to be evolved to Sri Lanka’s national question, it could be said that the conflict resolution process in this country has progressed only up to a point. Thus far, we have had in Sri Lanka the application of the hard approach only. The soft tools which could yield enduring peace are yet to be used fully.

Ideally, the limitations of hard power should figure at the upcoming defence dialogue in Colombo. The South Asian region needs to realize that the application of military muscle alone to conflict situations could not ensure lasting peace. Clearly, violence could only breed further violence. Once the back of recalcitrant terror groups is broken through the use of the hard option, negotiations should be opened by states with the relevant militant groups and their backers to address their grievances. Thus, could a permanent solution be found to the conflict through the use of soft power or negotiations aimed at achieving a win-win solution.

The principal states of South Asia are in a position to be complete exemplars of soft power. The consistent use of soft power by these states, including Non-alignment, could help in winning for them support from all over the world. Besides, more and more states would commit themselves to democracy or people’s empowerment, since they could see soft power at work. This is because humans by nature favour soft power to hard power., as mentioned. Ideally, India and Sri Lanka should clearly underscore their commitment to NAM, for, NAM has its roots in the Buddhistic way of life which is fully attuned to peaceful coexistence of countries and social groups.

Australian companies linked to bribe scandals in Sri Lanka and Congo

AFP to focus in on foreign bribery-AUGUST 24 2016

Alleged bribery by Australian companies of foreign governments remains a serious issue at the centre of international business. The man in charge of catching these businesses, AFP Commander Peter Crozier, says we need to encourage companies potentially implicated in such behaviour to come forward. Vision courtesy ABC.

Nick McKenzie, Emmanuel Freudenthal, Michael Bachelard, Richard Baker

Two Australian companies are embroiled in bribery scandals that reach into the offices of the presidents of Sri Lanka and the Republic of Congo, as the firms sought to secure multimillion-dollar contracts.

Coming in the wake of foreign bribery allegations implicating Tabcorp, Leighton Holdings and BHP Billiton, the revelations will put pressure on the Turnbull government to reform Australia's failing anti-corruption framework.

A Fairfax Media and 7.30 investigation has uncovered internal documents from Perth-based listed mining company Sundance Resources that suggest it bribed the leader of the Republic of Congo as it sought presidential approval in 2007 for one of Africa's most ambitious iron ore projects.

Hard to please ... Republic of Congo President Denis Sassou Nguesso, left, pictured with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Photo: AP

The documents, now being evaluated by the Australian Federal Police (AFP), reveal a secret share deal worth millions of dollars was brokered with the son of Congo's despotic president, Denis Sassou Nguesso. In return, the company allegedly secured the President's backing for its project. Sundance has launched an internal inquiry into the claims.

A Fairfax Media investigation has separately uncovered evidence - which is the subject of a major AFP probe - involving the iconic Snowy Mountains Engineering Company (SMEC).

The firm's overseas staff allegedly bribed officials to secure a $2.3 million aid-funded sewerage project in Sri Lanka in 2011 and, in partnership with a Canadian company, a $2.2 million power plant project in Bangladesh in 2007.

Company emails also reveal Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena and his adviser allegedly demanded a political "donation" to be paid by SMEC when Mr Sirisena was a cabinet minister.

The emails show a plot to skim the money off a World Bank-funded dam project in 2009. In return, Mr Sirisena was to approve the awarding of the dam contract to SMEC, worth $1.82 million .

SMEC's Sri Lankan manager, who was recently sacked, wrote in emails to two Australian colleagues that he wanted to "inform the minister/co-ordinating secretary" of the size of an alleged kickback to be paid and that he needed to "prioritise" certain payments to unnamed parties "since the signing of the contract would depend" on it.

SMEC has confirmed a "request for a political donation", but insists an internal investigation found no donation was made and the firm "continues to fully co-operate with the AFP."

Australia prides itself on being a clean place to do business, but revelations by Fairfax Media and others over a decade show that many companies agree to corrupt practices in developing countries.

The government gave the AFP an extra $15 million in April to fight corporate bribery after Fairfax Media revealed the global Unaoil bribery scandal, which involved construction giant Leighton Holdings, and allegations that Tabcorp bribed the sister of Cambodia's President.

In a statement overnight, Sri Lanka's President Sirisena said he had "no knowledge of the incident" and requested further details to "ascertain the involvement of any of his office staff.

The president also said he would co-operate "in any investigation" in Australia and "will also instruct the relevant local authorities to investigate".

SLFP: A war within

Thursday, 25 August 2016

As the Government of ‘national unity’ celebrated the completion of its first year in office last week, President Maithripala Sirisena was grappling with a problem that preceded his presidency.

For nine years, while Mahinda Rajapaksa held the party reins and the presidency, the SLFP was in quiet crisis. Party seniors were sidelined and increasingly disgruntled. The SLFP brand had become synonymous with the Rajapaksa brand. In the Rajapaksa-SLFP the ruling family occupied all the space, all the resources and all the limelight. Fully aware of the growing discontent among party seniors, the former President drew his family in closer. His circle of trust included the party’s newer faces, a vast majority of them former UNP members who had switched allegiances during the Rajapaksa presidency.

That simmering discontent erupted into full-scale rebellion when Sirisena, a member of the party’s old guard, allegedly dined on hoppers with the former President on the night of 20 November 2014 and quit his Government the next day. Barely 24 hours after President Rajapaksa declared snap presidential elections the Opposition had pulled off a coup, stealing the incumbent President’s own Health Minister and party General Secretary to run as main challenger. Five other Government MPs quit the ruling coalition, precipitating a spate of defections and erosions of support from within the parliamentary coalition and at grassroots level. Many SLFP MPs promised to follow in Sirisena’s wake, in a bid to weaken the former President during his re-election campaign.

After the first shock of the defections however, the Rajapaksa family rallied, launching hectic negotiations led by former Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa, to convince party members to stay. In the final tally, the UPFA lost hundreds of local Government representatives to the Sirisena campaign, many of whom worked with the UNP to ensure an Opposition victory. But most SLFP Parliamentarians got cold feet and cast their lot with the incumbent.

Shifting sands

Allegiances shifted dramatically again on 9 January 2015, once President Sirisena was declared the winner in the presidential election. Some of Sirisena’s most vicious critics on the campaign trail threw their support behind the new President and were rewarded with ministerial portfolios in the minority Government he formed in the wake of his election.

Over the next 18 months, SLFP allegiances continued to shift like sand. Eager to tap into the 5.8 million vote bank that Rajapaksa had mustered in the January 2015 election, scores of SLFP members, ignoring President Sirisena’s objections, strongly backed the former President’s bid for the premiership in August 2015. A disgusted President Sirisena refused to campaign on SLFP platforms during the parliamentary polls, but he held fast to the party leadership, striking back against Rajapaksa-led UPFA campaign at crucial times in the run up to the August poll.

The UNF victory at the Parliamentary election shifted the tide of SLFP support in Sirisena’s favour again. Having secured their seats by joining the Rajapaksa bandwagon during the poll, sections of the SLFP, including Susil Premajayanth and Anura Priyadarshana Yapa, who had conspired to ensure Mahinda Rajapaksa’s nomination on the UPFA list, defected to the Sirisena camp to become stakeholders in the Government of National Consensus formed following the election.

The rest would take the lead from UPFA constituent party leaders Dinesh Gunewardane and Wimal Weerawansa and remain within the Rajapaksa faction of the UPFA. Thus the ‘Joint Opposition’ (JO) was born, styling itself as a de facto opposition to the Unity Government in Parliament and acting as the former President’s proxies to push his policy agendas.

Soft on party discipline

For 18 months, President Sirisena has tried to use his position as Party Chairman to wrest control of the SLFP. Hours before the 17 August 2015 poll, he sacked the General Secretaries of the SLFP and the UPFA – then Yapa and Premajayantha – and appointed loyalists Duminda Dissanayake and Wishwa Warnapala to those two positions. He has also proved that there is virtually no length to which he will not go to reinforce his position in the SLFP.

Sirisena has braved fierce criticism and abandoned good governance pledges to elevate some of the worst scoundrels of the previous regime within the party. The appointments of Nimal Lanza who was being investigated for drug smuggling and more recently Hambantota’s pistol-toting Mayor Eraj Fernando as party organisers were particularly damaging to a President who promised to take a hardline on corruption and abuse of power.

Yet, in spite of the compromises he has made to reinforce his position, President Sirisena’s hold on the SLFP remains tenuous. When it came down to neutralising the political force that is Mahinda Rajapaksa, President Sirisena has repeatedly faltered. This hesitancy has paved the way for the Rajapaksa movement, as it were, to loom large over the Government led by President Sirisena.

While hope remains alive for a Rajapaksa-led future, the SLFP membership teeters on the fence, ready to fall in with whichever faction is likely to prevail. Afraid of presiding over a major split in his party, President Sirisena has stayed his hand on disciplinary inquiries and suspensions, as SLFP Members of the ‘Joint Opposition’ railed against his Government and flouted party orders to attend rallies and marches led by Rajapaksa.

The former President himself is a member of the SLFP, and therefore bound to abide by party dictates. But President Sirisena’s soft approach with rebels within his Party has emboldened sections of the SLFP aligning with the ‘Joint Opposition’ spurring them on to ever more disruptive action against their Party Leader and his President.Over the past year and a half, SLFP members have openly defied their party leader and suffered no consequences. Such defiance on the part of SLFP Members would have been unthinkable during the Rajapaksa years or even when former President Chandrika Kumaratunga held the party reins,

Last straw?

Last week it appeared that President Sirisena’s patience was finally running out. The Joint Opposition Paada Yatra and the subsequent antics in Parliament when the Government was attempting to pass legislation to set up a permanent office to trace and investigate missing persons seemed to suggest that the pro-Rajapaksa group was stepping up the tempo. Between now and November, the Government has several pieces of key legislation to enact, including the unpopular VAT bill and the 2017 Budget. With 51 MPs, the Joint Opposition has been unable to block or defeat legislation, but it has shown considerable skill in disrupting or delaying legislative business.

Daring the Rajapaksa faction to go ahead and form the new party they have been threatening, the President unceremoniously sacked several high profile members of the Joint Opposition, who had continued to hold office as electoral organisers in the SLFP. Several others, including Dulles Alahapperuma and Bandula Gunewardane resigned in protest of the move, while more members of the Joint Opposition are likely to follow suit. Party Organisers are allocated funds from the SLFP for polls campaigns and work in the electorate. The sacking of Joint Opposition members from organiser positions will deprive them of these funds and also prevent pro-Rajapaksa rebels from commandeering SLFP cadres at the grassroots level.

The President’s decisive actions of the past week may be part of a calculation that the Joint Opposition, now finding itself forced to act, also appears to be making. A SLFP or UPFA splinter group may successfully divide the party’s vote base between them at local government elections. But what is more certain is that it will give the United National Party a major electoral advantage over the SLFP. Supporters of splintered political parties, disillusioned and torn in loyalty, tend to stay away from the polling booth on election day. Party workers will be divided and disorganised. So while the new pro Rajapaksa front will garner a considerable portion of SLFP votes, whether this share will be able to surpass the UNP support and allow them to set up local government administrations is another question entirely. This will give the Joint Opposition pause, as it plots its next move, and may be the motivation behind the decision to form a new ‘front’ rather than register a new political party for the time being.

Secondly, any new party formed by the Joint Opposition will face a massive leadership crisis from inception. Dinesh Gunewardane and Wimal Weerawansa, leaders of the MEP and the NFF respectively are both SLFP outsiders. Basil Rajapaksa, once the party’s National Organiser is wildly unpopular and has become a powerful force of division even within the Joint Opposition ranks. Dulles Alahapperuma, a SLFP stalwart continues to hold considerable sway within the pro-Rajapaksa faction, and remains the only viable candidate to lead a pro-Rajapaksa front.

The Namal factor

There is of course, the former President himself. Since his defeat in the presidential election last January, Mahinda Rajapaksa has allowed his loyalists within the UPFA to fight all his battles. Even after he contested and won a seat in the August 2015 Parliamentary election, the ex-President has shown little inclination to participate in the business of Parliament, whether to make policy statements or oppose Government legislation.

During contentious days in the Legislature, Rajapaksa is not even in attendance. But the JO dances for him, in the House like puppets on a string, pushing his nationalist agenda and positions. In every instance, Rajapaksa is careful to be seen as supportive of the JO faction, but only as its spiritual leader rather than an activist in the cause. If the JO eventually breaks ranks with the SLFP, the Kurunegala District MP and former President will most probably stay behind.

His motivations are as simple as they have always been. He must put the interests of his family. For nine years, Mahinda Rajapaksa groomed his eldest son Namal for succession, as President of the Republic and the leader of the SLFP. When it comes to securing his son’s political future, the dream is still very much alive and Mahinda Rajapaksa will do nothing to endanger Namal Rajapaksa’s future within the SLFP. He certainly will not sacrifice Namal Rajapaksa’s chance to lead the SLFP for the sake of the lost boys of the Joint Opposition, who have no hope of being nominated on the SLFP ticket at a future election. It is the Weerawansas and the Gammanpilas who need to strike out independently in order to protect their interests electorally. But their success depends almost entirely on the former President’s decision to stay or go.

Mahinda Rajapaksa has been here before. When the Maithripala Senanayake faction tried to cleave the SLFP in the 1980s, Rajapaksa faced similar choices. Senanayake at the time was strongly backing Anura Bandaranaike for the leadership of the party, after SLFP Leader Sirimavo Bandaranaike was stripped of her civic rights under the J.R. Jayewardene administration. Fast friends with Anura Bandaranaike at the time, Rajapaksa backed the SLFP (M) faction in principle, but never compromised his own position within the party. In the end game, Anura Bandaranaike was suspended from the SLFP, while Rajapaksa remained in the party and went on to become a Minister in the Kumaratunga cabinet and subsequently Opposition Leader and Prime Minister.

He will likely follow a same pattern in 2016, and ensure his eldest son does the same. There is no path to political leadership in Sri Lanka without the backing of major political party. If he is to realise the dream of presidency one day, Namal Rajapaksa must remain a member of the SLFP and his loyalty to the party must be unswerving. The Rajapaksas will permit the JO to rail and rant and threaten because it currently serves their personal interest to undermine the Government. But at the moment of truth, it is more than likely that they will choose to be true-blue SLFPers.

Feudal party

President Sirisena, who has watched the SLFP rebellion and Rajapaksa’s role in it play out once before, seems to comprehend the likely trajectory of this latest party crisis. The fact that the SLFP remains to this day, an extremely feudal party will also play to the President’s advantage as he tries to neutralise the JO threat. Party members tend to adopt an almost servile attitude towards the leadership, a trend that has continued in President Sirisena’s time, with MPs worshiping at his feet as they accept new appointments.

As evidenced after the presidential and parliamentary elections of 2015, and their attitudes after President Rajapaksa ousted and sidelined former President Kumaratunga from the party leadership, SLFP members tend to back the leader in power, rather than set much store by loyalty to a predecessor. If SLFP members in the Joint Opposition fail to match actions to all the sound and fury and choose to remain with their party, the pro-Rajapaksa constituents of the UPFA will find their numbers dwindling, a factor that will further erode its electoral chances.

Undoubtedly then, President Sirisena has much less to lose by cracking the whip, even at this late stage.

SLFP preoccupation

For too long, averting crisis within the SLFP has been a primary preoccupation for President Sirisena. Since January 2015, the party has gone from crisis to crisis, distracting the President from key national issues including reconciliation and constitution-building. Undue SLFP influence repeatedly causes the President to second-guess his own Government’s progressive policies including the decision to sign the UN’s anti-landmine treaty, the co-sponsorship of the UN Human Rights Council resolution and more recently, the enactment of the Office of Missing Persons Act.

SLFP considerations have overridden national ones as he reneged on his own pledges to keep his party intact. Perhaps the better option would have been to allow it to fail, in the hope of one day rebuilding the SLFP as a less regressive, more inclusive political party. Had President Sirisena chosen to act decisively much earlier, and commenced a purge of pro-Rajapaksa elements from high offices within his party, the SLFP may have already been on the path of evolution.

Most republicans should welcome the emergence of a strong, progressive SLFP, one that does not carry nationalist baggage from the Rajapaksa era and believes in a pluralistic, multi-cultural Sri Lanka. The JO is a less than ideal opposition force. Its nationalist positions and determination to oppose for the sake of opposing, makes it a far-fetched and irresponsible choice as an alternative government.

A reformed SLFP would be an entirely different story. Already, as partners in Governance, there have been glimpses of the SLFP’s potential to keep a check on the excesses of the UNP led administration. In the Central Bank Governor crisis, the SLFP old guard adopted a principled position, deftly outmanoeuvring the UNP as ‘champions’ of good governance by urging the President to refrain from reappointing Arjuna Mahendran to lead the financial regulator at the end of his term.

This opposition within is crucial to ensuring the UNF stays the course, and ensures that they must continue to compete to remain custodians of the 8 January mandate. And if the SLFP continues to play this watchman role, and reinvents itself as an inclusive political force, under the stewardship of President Sirisena the party will have an opportunity to present itself as a credible alternative to the UNP in 2020.

Barring a major political transformation in the country that will turn back the clock, this is an alternative that the Joint Opposition can never be given its propensity to defend and embrace the corrupt and its hardline positions on reconciliation and the ethnic question that no longer tallies with the current political ethos.

If he continues to act decisively as party leader, and throws off the hesitancy that has paralysed him over the past 18 months, President Sirisena may even find himself equal to the task of saving the SLFP from itself.

In the meantime, he has three years left to build a presidential legacy. The time has come to get on with it.

‘We must save the Army boys’ -Gampaha notorious twilight judge attempting to rescue army criminals

(Lanka-e-News -24.Aug.2016, 11.55PM) Gampaha chief magistrate Kaveendra Nanayakkara the notorious twilight judge who made an outrageous statement in an earlier case there were no murders committed at Rathupaswala , and deemed it right to berate the Attorney General via the face book, based on reports reaching courts inside information division of Lanka e news is now leaving no stone unturned in her efforts to rescue sergeant major Premananda Udalagama of the group of army officers of the army intelligence division who assaulted former editor of Rivira newspaper Upali Tennekoon and his wife Dhammika Malkanthi.

By now it has now come to light that Sergeant major Premachandra Udalagama who is the prime suspect in the murder of Lasantha Wickremetunge and now in remand custody , was the one who led the attacks launched on Keerthi Tennekoon and his wife Dhammika Malkanthi ; Keith Noyahr the journalist and many media Institutions during the nefarious lawless decade of the Rajapakses.

Udalagama is to be presented for an identification parade in the on going case at the Gampaha court in connection with the attack launched on Tennekoon and his wife . Tennekoon and his wife have flown down to Sri Lanka from the States for this parade. However the parade was conducted before their arrival on the 22 nd , with the result ,the Tennekoon couple could not attend court on the date the parade was held.

Identification parade postponed ..

Based on reports of our courts inside division , the notorious twilight judge Kaveendra Nanayakkara who is the key player in this unlawful drama to rescue the notorious culprit Udalagama has come forward to rescue the army suspect …..

On the 22nd when Udalagama was to be presented for the identification parade before her , she made arrangements for the parade to be conducted before the additional magistrate Lalith Kannangara , while herself avoiding it .

Lalith Kannangara who conducted the parade said ‘we must rescue our army boys.’ It is a well known fact that Kannangara is one who does any sordid bidding of twilight judge Kaveendra, so much so to him even her excrement is most fragrant. His favorite occupation is sniffing her and hers.

Meanwhile the CID made a request to Kaveendra to get them a short date in this regard ,but the latter who is dillydallying , has so far not fixed a date based on her plan to save her ‘army boys’

It is Khema Swarnadhipathy who is the high court judge , Gampaha – another most queer character with odd and odious traits . She was one of the two odious judges who gave evidence against a former chief justice (CJ) Shiranee Bandaranaike when the corrupt , ruthless and lawless Rajapakses plotted to chase out the ex CJ in one night .

The Gampaha courts which are headed by judges Khema, Kaveendra and Kannangara the evil troika with degrees without pedigrees are now so perniciously influenced by these devil incarnates that it is the general consensus that Gampaha courts are now incapable of dispensing justice because the entire court precincts is now made a burial ground of justice by this satanic troika. It is a common saying , even if a single devil is put at the wheel it is enough to drive anyone to hell . At Gampaha when three devils are at the wheel they driving everyone to hell at the expense of justice and fair play is not a matter for surprise.

The courts in Gampaha even today are functioning according to the obnoxious norms, practices and policies that were put in place at that time by most infamous presently people discarded ex minister Basil Rajapakse . It is therefore the responsibility of the Judicial Service Commission(JSC) to reverse this trend and ensure that courts of Gampaha dispense justice and not its travesty .

Using the latest communication system , the JSC can meet for an hour daily . It is not necessary that it should sit around a table in Colombo . A ‘Smart’ phone is more than adequate. Lest they are still ignorant of the latest methods , let them learn that in advanced countries an entire conference of a board of Directors is conducted via conference calls .Hence the Commission instead of becoming ‘just’ a ‘Commission’ must seriously consider its onerous tasks entrusted to it as a national responsibility , and take steps to take instantaneous decisions and remedial measures on behalf of the public who are earnestly anticipating such a response from the Commission.

Connected report ..

‘Kaveendra who obstructed relatives to commemorate the dead victims at Rathupaswala even insulted the AG…

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by (2016-08-25 02:29:28)

Speaker promises submission of National Audit Bill soon

by Shamindra Ferdinando-August 25, 2016, 12:00 pm

Combined Trade Union Alliance of the Auditor General’s Department has received an assurance from Speaker Karu Jayasuriya that the National Audit Bill will be presented to Parliament soon.

Speaker Jayasuriya is also the head of the Constitutional Council responsible for appointing the Independent Audit Commission.

Deputy Auditor General and Convenor of the trade union grouping A.H. M. L. Ambanwela yesterday told The Island that they discussed with Speaker Jayasuriya the inordinate delay in the passage of the Bill. "We received a patient hearing from Speaker Jayasuriya," Ambanwela said.

The trade union delegation comprised Ambanwela, its secretary E. A. P. Prasad Prasanna, K.M.M. Kumarasiri of Audit Service Union, H.M.K. Herath of Audit Examiners Service Union and D.A. Wanasinghe of Combined Service Union.

Speaker Jayasuriya revealed that he had discussed the matter with Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and received his blessings for taking necessary action.

Ambanwela said that the trade union alliance had sought Speaker Jayasuriya’s intervention in the wake of certain interested parties wanting to further dilute already weakened National Audit Bill.

Ambanwela, who had suffered grievous injuries while on duty some years ago, emphasised that the AG lacked authority to ensure accountability and transparency in the public sector.

Prasad Prasanna told The Island that the parliament should ensure the passage of the bill, unanimously. The proposed bill would authorize the AG’s Department to scrutinise the conduct of the executive in respect of utilization of public finance, Prasanna said, explainingthe difficulties experienced for over a decade as they struggled to push the bill through parliament.

Both Ambanwela and Prasanna said that they expected the government to place the amended bill before the cabinet without further delay.

Ambanwela said the government had already done away with or amended about 20 out of 57 sections in the original Bill consequent to it being examined by a four-member Cabinet Sub-Committee comprising Dr Sarath Amunugama, Rauff Hakeem, Anura Priyadarshana Yapa and Ravi Karunanayake.

The Attorney General and Legal Draftsman together with Auditor General’s Department had amended the Bill taking into consideration recommendations made by the Cabinet Sub-Committee. "Now, the amended Bill has been held up for months. We are really disappointed. All of us are appalled by the move to further amend the amend Bill,’ he said

Blaming the previous government for purposely delaying the National Audit Bill for over a decade, Ambanwela pointed out that the incumbent government repeatedly had assured that the National Audit Bill would be passed during President Maithripala Sirisena 100-day programme. In fact, according to President Maithripala

Sirisena’s manifesto, the National Audit Bill was to be adopted before March 19, 2015, Ambanwela said, alleging that due to the government’s failure the Independent Audit Commission couldn’t function.

According to one-time AG S. Swarnajothi, his department had obtained $ 10.5 mn from the International Development Agency (IDA) of the World Bank in accordance with an agreement signed on July 21, 2008 to transform the department to what he called a modern supreme audit institution. Swarnajothi said that the National Audit Bill/Act was meant to streamline auditing process, particularly bring all state sector institutions under the purview of the department.

The previous government at the behest of powerful politicians and officials ignored the AG’s push for the passage of the bill, civil rights activist Professor Sarath Wijesooriya told The Island. The continuing delay in implementing such vital piece of legislation reflected the pathetic situation as regards the utilization of public funds. Prof. Wijesooriya castigated the Yahapalana government for undue delay in the passage of the National Audit Bill.