Australian media allegations shock SL

* Mass resignation of officials and PM’s devil-may-care attitude
* Traders apprehensive about govt.’s intentions on VAT

President Maithripala Sirisena-August 27, 2016, 7:14 pm 

The news that shook everybody up last Wednesday was an article titled "Australian companies linked to bribe scandals in Sri Lanka and Congo" which appeared simultaneously in The Age and the Sydney Morning Herald websites both of which belong to the Australian media company the Fairfax Group. Within the hour it had gone viral in Colombo with people alerting one another about the article over the telephone and sharing the article over social media. The article stated that two Australian companies were embroiled in bribery scandals involving the presidents of Sri Lanka and the Republic of Congo, as the firms sought to secure multimillion-dollar contracts. The company involved in the Sri Lankan case was the Snowy Mountains Engineering Company (SMEC). This was not just an investigation by a media organisation but one involving the Australian Federal Police as well.

Australian Media Allegations Shock SL by Thavam Ratna on Scribd

Two rivals on a smooth journey

Irritants crop up in UNP-SLFP ties now and then, but the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe understanding may be strong enough to prevent Mahinda Rajapaksa from making a comeback

August 26, 2016

The first year in office for any government should normally not be problematic. This holds good more or less in the case of Sri Lanka’s national unity government, which has completed one year in office despite huge challenges in the areas of economy, constitutional reforms, and, importantly, the Tamil question.

Billed as the first of its sort, the government was formed immediately following the August 2015 parliamentary elections after traditional rivals, the United National Party (UNP) and the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), struck an agreement. Though the electoral verdict was not decisive, the message was loud and clear — an emphatic “no” to the bid of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa to return to power after losing in the January presidential election to his former colleague, Maithripala Sirisena.

In the parliamentary polls, the UNP and its allies had won 106 seats while the United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA), led by the SLFP, had secured 95 seats. Mr. Rajapksa’s vote base did not see much erosion between 2010 and 2015. His UPFA had secured about 4.8 million votes in 2010 and 4.7 million votes last year. Even now, Mr. Rajapaksa remains a force to reckon with.

The reason behind the UNP and its allies getting a higher number of seats in 2015 was higher voter turnout. Nearly three million more voters exercised their franchise last year. Immediately after the general elections, a substantial section in the SLFP broke ranks with the former President and joined hands with Mr. Sirisena, who promptly stitched a pact with the UNP.

Despite the SLFP being part of the national unity government, it has, at times, given an impression that it does not enjoy real power, and all crucial decisions are taken by the other constituent unilaterally. The way several budget proposals were revised and the removal of the preamble to the resolution moved in January 2016 on the constitutional reforms demonstrated lack of coherence and coordination between the two principal parties.

On the same page

Though such irritants crop up in UNP-SLFP ties now and then, Mr. Sirisena, who was elected as the country’s executive President in January 2015 mainly on the strength of the UNP, is careful enough to ensure that his understanding with the Prime Minister and the UNP’s chief, Ranil Wickremesinghe, does not collapse. To show that he is on the same page as his Prime Minister, Mr. Sirisena is supporting a new pact with India through the Economic and Technology Cooperation Agreement (ETCA), which the Prime Minister is perceived to be pushing for. A week before Mr. Rajapaksa launched his “march to Colombo” from Kandy in late July to highlight the government’s failure on various fronts, the two parties jointly announced that the 2015 agreement, originally meant for two years, would last five years.

Mr. Sirisena’s bonhomie with the UNP, widely seen as a right-leaning and market-friendly party, does not go down well with certain sections of the SLFP’s supporters who represent the rural peasantry, the lower middle-class and the Sinhalese-Buddhists. From the minority perspective, the current regime allows itself to be bothered by the thought of a likely response of the Rajapaksa camp to each and every move, especially on reconciliation. This is why the progress has not been spectacular.

But Mr. Sirisena is conscious that he is not going to gain anything by breaking the relationship with the UNP, as otherwise Mr. Rajapaksa will only become stronger, a scenario not acceptable to both Mr. Sirisena and Mr. Wickremesinghe.

There are other reasons for the UNP-SLFP alliance to continue.

Chief among them is the delivery on commitments made to the United Nations Human Rights Council through the October 2015 resolution on reconciliation, accountability and human rights. While critics of the government continue to question the logic behind the country’s decision to become a sponsor of the resolution, what has not gone unnoticed is that the regime was able to manage the UNHRC episode with finesse, and correct the damage done by its predecessor to ties with India and Western powers.

Ensuring freedom

With all its faults, the present government has been able to create a climate of freedom and openness, which was perceptibly missing during the Rajapaksa years. As a corollary to this approach, it has taken some measures — the release of around 3,000 acres of land held till recently by the security forces; the rendering of the national anthem in Tamil during the 2016 Independence Day celebration; the ratification of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance and allowing the Public Representations Committee on Constitutional Reforms to carry out its task of getting feedback from all over the country in a businesslike and proactive way.

Even though some point to the continued military presence in the Northern and Eastern provinces and the persistence of a “culture of surveillance and, in certain instances, intimidation and harassment,” as observed by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein in his update of June 2016, a large number of people in the two provinces that had been ravaged by the civil war acknowledge the climate of freedom and openness, which forms the basis for establishing any mechanism on transitional justice.

For the Tamil National Alliance leadership, the present regime presents a unique opportunity to find a durable solution to the vexatious Tamil question, given the fact that formally the country’s two principal parties are part of the government.

That Mr. Sirisena and Mr. Wickremesinghe are earnest in carrying out the process of constitutional reforms and resolving the Tamil question has not been lost on anyone. Perhaps, keeping in mind the possible adverse impact on the process, Mr. Sirisena has not taken the drastic action of expelling Mr. Rajapsksa from the SLFP, even though talk of the former President and his supporters forming a new party often comes up in public discourse.

The next year may not be as smooth for the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe regime as the one that went by. But if the two leaders are able to stick together and function more cohesively, taking many sections along, they should be able to achieve a breakthrough in one of the famous intractable issues of South Asia and this should not surprise anyone.

ramakrishnan.t@thehindu.co.in

Will Sri Lanka lose Colombo Harbour?

SATURDAY, 27 AUGUST 2016

It is revealed that there is a plan to hand over the East Container Terminal of Colombo Port, the container operational terminal fully owned by Ports Authority, to an Indian company.

This decision has been taken by the three member committee of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, the Minister of Development Strategies and International Trade Malik Samarawickrama and Economic Affairs Ministry Consultant R. Paskaralingam.

Minister of Ports Arjuna Ranatunga presented a cabinet paper on 22nd June, 2015 regarding finding a global partner to modernize the terminal and bring it to an internationally-competitive standard. According to this cabinet paper it was proposed that the ‘global partner’ involved in modernizing the jetty would get 49% ownership of the jetty and the Port Authority would get the other 51%.

However, it is revealed that this cabinet paper was altered and on recommendations of the aforesaid committee the Port Authority would have only 15% ownership of the jetty and the rest (85%) would go to the Indian company.

The tender for reconstruction work was to be closed on 20th July but was extended till 31st August to accompany the Indian company.  Two other jetties in Colombo Harbour – the N.A.G.T. jetty and C.I.C.T. jetty – have been handed over to a Chinese company and a Japanese company and Ports Authority owns only 15% from each of the jetties.  Sri Lanka would lose Colombo Harbour if the East Container Terminal is handed over to an Indian Company and will become only a small share holder.

There are 9900 employees in Colombo Harbour and if it is handed over to an Indian Company the terminal would be filled with Indian workers and other companies too would follow the Indian example. If this happens Sri Lankan workers will be confronted with unemployment.

Why Sri Lankan Men Make Women Uncomfortable 

By Yudhanjaya Wijeratne –August 27, 2016

Yudhanjaya Wijeratne

If there’s one thing all my female friends have in common, it’s that all of them have been stared at, catcalled, dry-humped and masturbated at. It’s not that all of them are alluringly sexy (sorry, folks) or go out in leather and heels every day. It happens whether they’re wearing jeans, shirts, skirts, hijabs, flat, sneakers. One of them is a work colleague who helped me pick out a shirt for a wedding the other day. She could barely make it across the road to Liberty Plaza without two men following her.

As men, we don’t often see this – the moment we appear, all of this fades into the background, and we’re left to wonder what kind of peculiar first world problems women seem to have. A woman is raped every 90 minutes?

What?

___

Firstly, let’s start with the obvious: Sri Lanka, if not a rape-ey culture, a very unsafe environment for women in general. To test this, a friend and I walked for about a kilometer along Thimbirigasyaya. Then we backtracked, with her walking about 50 meters ahead and me following, and I watched.

It was disturbing. This isn’t the kind of wolf-whistling you see in Hollywood movies. It’s not the damn-she’s-hot double-take of the eyes. It’s an insolent, hostile, and yet strangely curious stare; a kind of stare that not just strips down the person on the receiving end, but also makes them feel like nothing more than a piece of meat in a dress and heels. It is the look you would give when you could either eat someone or kill them, and not necessarily in that order.

It’s the kind of stare Edward Cullen would have given Bella. He’s a vampire in a badly written story. None of this is normal.

And the worst part is that this comes from not just the drug addicts and frustrated schoolboys and random seedy tuk drivers; it comes from almost everyone – from that man who looks like he stepped out of the CEB to that boy who looks like he works at a tech company.

And of course, it doesn’t stop at looks. It goes from “Psst…nangi”‘s to “Gaaana keeyada?” to all hands on deck. While my friend wasn’t touched, I think I can honestly say I’ve lost count of the times someone’s told me about being felt up under their skirt, or about being followed by a tuk, or just plain fapped at in public.

Put it this way: if it was us guys in that situation, every single street in this would have at least a couple of fights breaking out across. And while hardcore feminists will tell you that a woman can easily take on a man – I’ve met a few that could – most women aren’t going to put up a fight, especially in a skirt and heels. Most women do what they’ve been told to do: ignore it and keep walking, try not to cry – and hope they don’t touch 

Read More

Sri Lanka : Code of ethics for police

by Anurangi Singh

( August 28, 2016, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) The National Police Commission has provided guidelines as to how the Police should conduct themselves when questioning suspects and exercising power in its newly formed Code of ethics.

The new ethics looks to minimize unprofessional conduct, to exercise high standards of professionalism and to enhance accessibility to the police service.

Introducing the norms in a code of ethics is only a part of the bigger plan, Chairman of the National Police Commission Prof Siri Hettige told the local media. “There is no one thing that you can do to bring about change. There are several interventions that you need to make. So we have made several short term, medium term and long term interventions. These norms have to be looked into in that larger context.

This is not a magic wand, but one amongst many interventions. In that way this will make a difference and make a contribution to bring about a positive change,” he said.

The Code of ethics reiterates that police should understand that they are not vested with judicial powers and not empowered to punish the people. Police should not presume the suspect to be an accused, it says.

Exercise of police powers should be done only if and when the need arises. Suspects should be provided with medical provisions and services when during custody. With regards to exercising powers when questioning, the code clearly states that questioning should be carried out without rough treatment.

The police do not have a legal right to cover behind excuses such as higher orders, threat to the national security nor due to a public unrest to treat suspects in a cruel, inhuman or degrading manner.

As much as it is important to impute these values to the police force, the focus should be at the training, Prof Hettige said. Accordingly he went on to say; “This will become part of the training so that it will be impressed upon them from the beginning of their training. But at the same time people have to adapt themselves to changing circumstances.”

According to him this caters to build about a good relationship between the police and the public. “The idea is to raise the bar so that you elevate yourself to a higher level of performance, a higher level of work, higher level of moral consciousness, higher level of ethical conduct,” he said.

Cat is out of the bag..! Rajapakses shed crocodile tears after orchestrating attack on Tennekoon following the killing of Lasantha

-Tennekoons identify culprit Udalagama - Lasantha’s killer!

(Lanka-e-News - 28.Aug.2016, 6.15 AM) Former Rivira editor Upali Tennekoon and his wife Friday(26) identified the barbaric  scoundrel who seven years ago launched a most brutal attack on them, thereby identifying also the root cause of the cruel and murderous  attacks that were unrelentingly directed against the media during the entire era of the brutal ,corrupt and lawless Medamulana Rajapakse nefarious reign , and which attacks and murders were carefully shielded and suppressed by the same lawless nefarious reign.

This assailant is none other than the suspect in the cold blooded day light murder of Sunday Leader Editor Lasantha Wickremetunge. This ruthless ‘manimal’ is sergeant major Premananda Udalagama of the army intelligence division.

When the identification parade was conducted Friday (26) before the Gampaha acting magistrate Malith Herath , the Tennekoon couple identified this assailant without any difficulty whatsoever.

 It is worthy of note that under the caption ‘We must save the Army boys’ -Gampaha notorious twilight judge attempting to rescue army criminals ……’ on the 24 th ,      Lanka e news reported the wicked  conspiracy hatched by Kaveendra the Gampaha chief magistrate to dilly dally with the identification parade with a view to save Udalagama . It was only after our report this conspiracy ebbed away , and the parade was held.

Tennekoon’s wife Dhammika Malkanthi stated , when her husband was being attacked , she fell at the feet of the suspect who was identified today , and worshipped him not to assault . Yet this brutal ‘manimal’ armed with clubs ruthlessly and unheedingly continued with the assault . This episode cannot be forgotten by her any day , not 7 years even   if 14 years have elapsed, she added.  

The assault on Upali Tennekooon and his wife was launched on 2009-01-23 morning at Imbulgoda. When Tennekoon couple just got on to the road from their home  on the motorcycle  , this suspect Udalagama and his group have suddenly pounced on them and  attacked the glass of the motor cycle with rods , and had put the couple  down .Thereafter they had  fiercely attacked Tennekoon with clubs. When Malkanthi was trying to shield her husband , she too was attacked . When those in the vicinity started gathering hearing her screams , Udalagama and his group had fled away on their motor bikes.

What the  bestial rascal told the media after attacking Tennekoon  

Tennekoons were attacked two weeks after the cold cruel murder of Lasantha in broad daylight. Lasantha was murdered on 2009-01-08 and Tennekoon was attacked on 2009-01-23. At that time Tennekoon and Rivira were staunch supporters of Mahinda Rajapakse government .

Following the attack on Tennekoon , Mahinda Rajapakse who was the president at that time as was customary met with the media chiefs at Temple trees on 27 th January 2009 . At that meeting Keheliya Rambukwella and Rajitha Senaratne were with him.

Mahinda Rajapakse speaking on the occasion shed crocodile tears of which he had never been short of . Mahinda said  the Rivira newspaper belongs to a relative of his , and that Institution carried on its affairs in a manner which did not harm the police or the forces, and its editor Tennekoon was extremely close to him. Hence the assault launched on Tennekoon is tantamount to  assaulting him( Mahinda) ,  Lanka e news reported then  what Mahinda said .  Leaving out Keheliya Rambukwella, today Rajitha and the other media chiefs would testify to this . 

Now it is confirmed those responsible for both crimes   is the same  party .Sergeant Major  Udalagama of the army intelligence division has been  identified as the culprit by Tennekoons as well as by  the other group of the victim Lasantha at the two separate identification parades  . At that time the chief of the commanding forces was none other than Machiavellian Mahinda Rajapakse , and the defense secretary was his own younger brother Gotabaya Rajapakse . Hence, otherwise  than the contract of the Rajapakses , Udalagama the hired criminal  could not have had  another private contract to attack Tennekoon as well as  murder Lasantha. Surely Udalagama could not have harbored personal grudges against them or could have had his own private contract to carry out such crimes. 

Rajapakses arranged the attack on Tennekoon two weeks after the cold blooded murder of Lasantha Wickremetunge  for one  simple reason: when the whole world was pointing an accusing finger at Rajapakses over Lasantha’s murder, it was aimed   to distort the true picture  and to counter the allegations mounted against the Rajapakses. They wanted to repudiate those accusations by saying,   “don’t you see ,even our own ‘people’ are falling victims to attacks,” and to paint the picture some group  unknown to Rajapakses are committing  these crimes.

Today , when the cat is out of the bag and it is crystal clear who was behind the attack launched on Tennekoon employing  a stooge of the Intelligence division , the hypocrisy , the brutality and bestiality of Rajapakses stand exposed. Need we furnish further proof to establish what cruel , bestial ‘manimals’ are these Rajapakses  who shed crocodile tears ?

More evidence to substantiate the Rajapakse brutalities and criminalities during their reign …

In order to make the media coolies who are now bootlicking and kowtowing to the Rajapakses understand the difference between the media suppression and repression that prevailed during the then Rajapakse reign , and the media freedom under the present government of good governance , let us furnish more evidence...

It was on the same day Tennekoon was attacked , Lanka e news Editor Sandaruwan Senadheera was summoned to the 4 th floor of the CID and questioned for 6 hours. That was on 2009-01-23. It was a sequel to a complaint made to the CID by Gotabaya Rajapakse. It was planned to detain the editor for three months , but that at the last minute was changed. 

On 2009-01-24 , that is the day following the attack launched on Tennekoon , and the  LeN editor was questioned for 6 hours ,  the Amnesty International issued a communiqué as follows :

''The Sri Lanka government in regard to protection and safety of the media is making only an insignificant contribution. The Government is directly responsible to bring the individuals who are committing murders and persecuting  journalists, before the law.

The officer of the CID special division yesterday interrogated Sandaruwan for 6 hours , and has requested the latter to come to the CID for further questioning next week. This interrogation is following the attack launched on Rivira Editor Tennnekoon and his wife , and gunning down of Sunday Leader Editor Lasantha Wickremetunge at the beginning of the same month.

Since the beginning of 2006 until now , 14 journalists had been murdered . Another group is being detained without cases being filed , while some others who were in the custody of the security divisions had gone missing or had been persecuted. Another about 20 journalists  who faced murder threats have fled the country.''

Yolanda Foster – Amnesty International 

---------------------------
by     (2016-08-28 01:05:55)

Grandma Daisy too, starts defaulting loans!

Aug 27, 2016

Daisy Forrest alias Punchi Achchi, the most popular grandmother in Sri Lanka these days, has learnt from her grandsons and has made it a habit to defaut on loans, say police fraud detection bureau sources.

Punchi Achchi has not repaid a loan she had obtained from Polee Palitha of Borella. During the Rajapaksa regime, she had obtained Rs. 30 million from him, saying she needed the money to buy a land. She had been paying the interest on time, but not any more. When Polee Palitha inquired why, she said, “Because of the FCID men, none of the land could be sold.”

An investigation revealed that the FCID has blocked the sale of any of the properties owned by her. A few days ago, Punchi Achchi was issued with a court summons.

When questioned about a sum of Rs. 21 million she had in her possession, she told the FCID, “A Muslim Mudalali known to me came and gave me a parcel of gems, and another person came, gave the money and took the parcel of gems away.”

Then the FCID asked her if the money was in Rs. 2,000 or Rs. 5,000 notes. She replied all the notes were Rs. 5,000 ones. The FCID pointed out to her that at that time, no Rs. 5,000 notes had been in circulation. To escape from her lie, Punchi Achchi said, “I am too old to separately identify Rs. 5,000 and Rs. 2,000 notes.”

The FCID says Punchi Achchi and her grandson Yoshitha Rajapaksa had seen each other for the first time only at the FCID. Born in 1923, she is 93 years of age, and her Rajapaksa grandsons have given her personal security. Also, in return for going to police stations and giving statements on their behalf, Rajapaksa grandsons are reportedly giving her favourite ‘Remy Martin’ brandy one bottle after the other.

Presidential Secretariat asks McKenzie for details on report

2016-08-27
The Presidential Secretariat (PS) has requested the Australian-based Fairfax journalist Nick McKenzie for more information on the allegations which appeared in the Australian media implicating President Maithripala Sirisena. 

Claiming he had no knowledge about the allegations in the Australian media reports that he had requested Rs.2.5 million from the Australia-based Snowy Mountain Engineering Company (SMEC ), President Sirisena has asked for the names of those involved.

 “With regard to your questions involving the SMEC, we would like to communicate that he has no knowledge of the alleged incident and in order to ascertain the involvement of any of his office staff during the period he served as the Minister of Mahaweli Development, he would like to know more details about the allegation, such as the name of the person involved, the mode of communication, exact date of the incident, any proof of communication and any proof of solicitation etc,” he said.

 Mr. McKenzie, who had written the news report had posed the following questions to the President: Either he or his co-coordinating secretary had met SMEC's Sri Lankan manager Mr. Dasanayake or any SMEC representative in early June 2009 and requested a donation or funds? If so, why was this request made? Did Mr Sirisena or his co-coordinating secretary request that SMEC pay a percentage of the Project that Mr Sirisena was to sign in Cabinet, to Mr. Sirisena, his political party or a representative? Did Mr Sirisena or his political party receive any funds or donations from the SMEC? 
How does Mr Sirisena or his office or secretary respond to the allegations that he or they had sought a bribe from the SMEC in June 2009 in the form of a political donation in return for signing the Project contract in Cabinet?

 Will Mr Sirisena assist police investigations in Australia into these allegations? In response to his intimation, the Presidential Secretariat has written to McKenzie asking for more information on the allegations.

 "In the wake of President Sirisena being committed to a zero-corruption policy, he would willingly collaborate in any investigation conducted by the Australian government into the alleged incident. He will also instruct the relevant local authorities to investigate into the allegation," Mr. McKenzie was told. 

Meanwhile, President Sirisena drew his personal attention to the report published in the Australian website Sydney Herald that referred to some alleged incident of an employee of his office, when he served as the Minister of Agriculture and Agrarian Services. 

The President states that he has no connection whatsoever in such an incident. He instructed the Attorney-General yesterday to investigate the matter and emphasized that during his political career, he had never indulged in any form of corruption or malpractice or encouraged or involved in any such activity. (Sandun A Jayasekera)

WHEN MILLIONAIRES DIE YOUNG...

By Gihan Kamalesh Weerasinghe-2016-08-28

The Police Colombo Crimes Division (CCD) has begun probing the strong likelihood that billionaire businessman Mohammad Shakeeb Sulaiman of Bambalapitiya was brutally done to death by irate business competitors stemming from a dispute arising from a soured business deal or arising from debts owed to Sulaiman by some businessmen..
Police sources said that preliminary investigations had revealed that the slain businessman was considered a tough business opponent who was allegedly not averse to employing violence to further his business interests.
However, it is yet to be confirmed that his killing was the direct outcome of a business dispute or merely to extract ransom from his family. Police are following other leads also so as to not miss other probabilities linked to his killing with the objective of bringing his killers to book.

Sulaiman was an ethnic Bhai who was engaged in the wholesale textiles trade. Sulaiman and his family members imported and distributed clothing and textiles from India, China and Indonesia. His central trade operations were carried out at a well-established shop down Third Cross Street, Pettah.

The source said that apparently there had been some businessmen who were deep in the red in his books having failed to settle dues on textile stocks bought on credit from Sulaiman.
establishing links
Police records show he had made a complaint to this effect to the CID and the Colombo Fraud Investigation Bureau (CFIB) claiming that some businessmen, whose names were withheld by Police, owed him an aggregate Rs 80 million. The CID is investigating two complaints related to two businessmen owing Sulaiman Rs 40 million and Rs 30 million respectively. The CFIB is investigating two other complaints relating to Sulaiman being owed Rs 4.5 million and 3.3 million by traders.
The Police probe is concentrating in establishing links if any between these debts and Sulaiman's abduction and subsequent killing.

A complaint lodged by Sulaiman on 24 May with the CID has become central to the probe our source added.. A Bhai businessman was arrested by the CID over this complaint. He was produced in Court and released on bail the next day. The respondent's lawyers only argued that the debt owed to Sulaiman by their client was stated in excess of the real amount. Sulaiman and the other businessman were at daggers drawn on this dispute about the amount owed to him, Police have learned. Sulaiman had been abducted and killed not long after Court had postponed hearings in the case.

Suaiman, 29, received his education at an international school in Colombo. His wife, Shani, 24, also hails from a business family. Their two kids have now lost their father. Sulaiman has two married sisters. His family lived with their parents in the Kotalawala Road residence in Bambalapitiya.
On 21 August Sulaiman left home to attend the wedding of a Bhai friend at a reception hall in Kollupitiya. On that day, Sulaiman's parents had gone to India and his wife and kids stayed back at home.

Sulaiman arrived at the reception hall around 9.30 and left it an hour later after dinner. Another guest was with him. He was the brother of the earlier mentioned suspect. The man who left the wedding with Shakeeb was his friend. They came out of the reception hall to chat privately. They went to the Pilawoos Hotel in Wellawatta and Shakeeb called his wife while he was there. He wanted Shani to come there but the latter said she could not because the kids needed her as it was near bed time. She asked Shakeeb to bring dinner home.

grey car driven fast
He bought a packet of food and left the hotel after chatting a while over a cup of tea. He parked his car in front of the gate of his house and called his wife asking her to open the gate. When the wife came to the gate, she saw a grey car driven fast. Shakeeb was not in sight. The packet of food and Shakeeb's wrist watch had fallen to the ground. midst several blood stains.
Shani was alarmed and she called her relatives and the Bambalapitiya Police. Shakeeb's phone had been switched off.
Police began investigations almost immediately. There was no news about Shakeeb. His parents came back from India early the next morning after hearing of the abduction. Just as Shakeeb's father came home, he received a telephone call from a number registered in Kegalle.

"Your son is with us. If you want him released, give us Rs. 20 million. We will send the account number to deposit money soon," the caller said.
That call came in at 9 a.m. But the next call with the bank deposit directions never came. The Commercial Crimes Division picked up the investigation from then on under personal directions from IGP Pujith Jayasundara. SP Nishantha Silva put together several teams and deployed them on the investigation, each tasked to follow a different lead.

They inspected CCTV footage. The ransom call had been made over a communication centre land line on the Kalugalla Road, Kegalle. But investigations there drew a blank as there were no CCTV cameras in the immediate vicinity of the place from which that phone call was made. That indicated the killers had intentionally chosen that place for that specific call expressly because there were no CCTV cameras around.

That also indicated that the abduction was pre-planned. They had considered the CCTV cameras at Shakeeb's residence and in the immediate neighbourhood, but that too drew a blank. Shakeeb's father got the call just as he came home. Police suspect that a person close to the family has colluded in the crime.
After the passage of three days of fruitless investigations, Sulaiman's father decided to offer a one million rupee reward for information leading to his son's whereabouts. His business colleagues and Minister Rishad Bathiudeen who were in the house then proposed to increase the offer to Rs 5 million. Sulaiman's father announced the award to the media on August 24.
Meanwhile, Mawanella Police informed the CCD that a decomposed dead body had been discovered dumped in a deserted area close to Rukulagama on the Mawanella – Hemmathagama Road. The informant was R.M. Rajapaksa, the owner of the land who called the Police on 119.
A road-construction worker there had been the first to discover the body when he had gone there to fetch planks needed to use in laying concrete roadside storm water drains. The dead body already had signs of decomposition. The worker informed the land owner.

They had been getting a foul smell for a couple of days before that and they attributed it to a rotting animal carcass. The land was used to as a landfill including earth and waste material left over from road construction. A few more truckloads of soil could have covered the body from sight.

Investigations revealed the body was of a Muslim. The clothes were identified as being those worn by Sulaiman before his disappearance. The CCD immediately took a relative of the dead man to Mawanella and the body was identified as that of Sulaiman. For further verification, photographs were sent to Shakeeb's wife via Viber.

establish the exact spot

Banality of evil

Saturday, 27 August 2016

Namal Rajapaksa, Member of Parliament, the eldest son of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, was interviewed recently on television. By and large the tone of the lengthy interview, nearly two hours in duration, was defensive, an attempt at validating a period characterised by the most vulgar form of family rule seen in this country since independence.

Unlike what was the norm when his father ruled, the panel of interviewers, considering that before them was one of the most powerful as well as controversial men of that era, were fair, but probing. But the young Rajapaksa was unperturbed, glib and facile.

Language of politics

There is the language of politics; so well mastered even at this young age. Every allegation is parried with such flippancy that his father’s regime may well have been a shining example of public rectitude. They are in politics only because of their overflowing affection for the people. Those older than him are invariably elder brother (aiya) or elder sister (akka) and if younger, referred to as younger brother/sister (malli, nangi) or if much younger, even son or daughter.

Anyone of an older generation becomes an uncle or aunty, if not “father” or “mother”, in reference to the person’s role in his/her own family. Coming from our young Member of Parliament, this is a cynical joke, because the Rajapaksas proved during their reign that they have no difficulty in identifying who their real family are, own brothers, cousins, nephews, uncles and so on, and the difference between them and the rest, if it can be measured with access to money, to be counted only in Billions of rupees. For the rest, there is always the concession, “brother, sister, father, mother…. listen”.

We were not voted out by popular choice, but were the victims of a vast international conspiracy. Astrology/occult is the hobbyhorse of everyone, why is only my father singled out? Night races help tourism (the venue immaterial?) We did not interfere in the infamous rape/murder case in Tangalle; in fact the due process was followed to the letter in that case. Some of those who are associated with me in private companies were not long-term friends. They may have even been ushers at Temple Trees. We are generous by nature and go all out to help those requesting our assistance. Yes, there was a law firm in my name, but I was only a junior lawyer there. All the legal work came to the firm based only on our proven legal skills. We do not make money by unfair means. I am a vegetarian.

When the young man ventures into larger issues; the constitution, the evolution of parliamentary politics in the former colony, the country’s economy, our foreign policy, desired standards in public life the viewer is left with a sense of unease. These are vast and complex subjects, areas that angels would fear to tread. This is a pampered young man out of his depth here.

Fairy-tale

There is little in Namal Rajapaksa’s life which comes even close to the daily realities facing the rest of us, the true victims of all that. The last 10 years of his life were spent in the carnival atmosphere of a Presidential family, a President who thought that his family ought not to be denied anything, at that.

Prior to the presidency, again for more than 10 years, Namal’s father was a Minister of the Government and then Prime Minister respectively. In the rarefied atmosphere of a ministerial life in a third world country, it is the family lifestyle that gives the lie to the public posture of the leader. The spoilt brats of Kaddafi of Libya, Saddam Hussein of Iraq, Suharto of Indonesia and Mubarak of Egypt are examples that need no further elaboration. Living on the fat of the land becomes the norm, the stuff of a fairy-tale childhood for a privileged few.

It is most likely that for the last 20 years everything in Namal Rajapaksa’s life, the houses, cars, the clothes, the food, drivers, servants, bodyguards were paid for by the people of this country. They are a poor people with many needs. But in the minds of our leaders it is the hierarchy that must eat, and eat well, first. It was such a man who was justifying his father’s regime.

“Helping” his friends

For the sake of argument let us take the point that Namal Rajapaksa makes about “helping” his friends. Someone does not go to the son of the President for a simple favour like a ride in a car or a one thousand rupee loan. These supplicants come to him for favours with appointments to the public service, tenders, contracts, licenses, registrations, inquiries, trouble with the police, arrests and such like.

When an influential person like Namal intercedes on behalf of a “friend”, it is obvious that there are hundred others who don’t enjoy that privilege. Clearly, it is an interference with the due process. During the Rajapaksa regime, every wish of a Rajapaksa was an edict from the high. To this young man, his selective interference on behalf of “friends”, the consequent denial of a level playing field to thousands, the undermining of the integrity of the system: was neither corruption, nor an abuse of power.

The Rajapaksa regime underlined the evil of family rule. Its justification by the privileged son was both ignorant as well as banal, ultimately only proving the indefensibility of family politics. It is a corruption that cannot co-exist with the principles of good governance.

But now that regime is no more. But, sadly, on 8 January 2015, nepotism did not die. The cultural inclination and the thinking that led to Rajapaksa family politics, is very much alive.

Shameful badge of South Asian politics

Save for a few exceptions, the family has come to be the shameful badge of South Asian politics. Father to son, mother to daughter, brother to brother, is even boasted of, a kind of a political caste, a specialised skill running in the bloodline. The family members contend that they are elected and therefore justified. Although broadly taken this may be true, when we get down to the specifics; the cultural inclinations, immaturities of the electorate, the poverty of the country and perhaps even the overall level of intelligence – the weakness of the argument become apparent.

Young drug addicts take their poison voluntarily. Those cunning drug pushers, who used the immaturity of the youth to hook them into their destructive habit, stand condemned forever. It will not be heard in their defence that the youngsters took the drug voluntarily. Besides, as the political party is in the firm grip of their father, the voter has to either vote for the son he nominates or vote against the party. Free choice is not always that free.

For the moral corruption that family politics encourages there cannot be a better representation than the photograph that appeared in a newspaper some years back. An old professor, a self-proclaimed nationalist, was seen kowtowing to the young “prince’ at a cultural festival. Many, otherwise decent, educated persons, felt compelled to behave in such a humble manner in their presence. That is the curse of family politics.

Behind the posturing and the high slogans there is always the ignoble, personal enrichment, in wealth, status and if nothing else, social mobility. Politics in our society is a lifetime career with very little downside to it, no risk of impoverishment there. On the contrary, the more the man serves, the richer he gets! Many of the extended family of local politicians are domiciled overseas, enjoying life in advanced countries, and return only when their man is elected to power in the native country, to walk in to high appointments. And, whatever they earn here again is remitted to their country of domicile, to enjoy an even better life.

Political appointments

It is the prerogative of the politician to appoint whoever he wishes to whatever position, they argue. The fact that the politician is elected only for short-term tenure holds public office, deals with public assets and spends public money, does not bind them. Having no real ideology or principle in their politics, personal enrichment in one form or the other is their overriding concern.

The only criterion for appointment is craven loyalty to the person of the politician. And he will appoint the most trusted- his relatives, to the plum jobs, the desired positions. Sometimes these appointments are just a method of cementing family ties, a gesture of affection. The appointee, by his incompetence or unsuitability, may cause losses in the millions to the country or disgrace the office he holds, diminish its stature or violate its constitutional basis. Yet the politician is rarely held to account, the vast majority of the people blissfully unaware of the repercussions and the ramifications of the appointment.

But while the woeful entrances and the exits of these poor players on our public stage goon, there is the more permanent factor; the long-suffering nation, the much-wronged country. Every time a politician appoints a relative to public office we cry in mute despair, angry and frustrated.

But increasingly, it seems like a cry of the hopeless.

Lanka e news cures Sujani’s appendicitis in a day ! Doctors wanted three weeks !!

(Lanka-e-News -27.Aug.2016, 8.15PM) Following the exposure of the conspiracy involving Sujani Bogallagama who was feigning sickness (appendicitis) in order to evade courts despite a warrant being issued on her, her crooked doctor V.P.Gamage and Colombo General hospital Directors, Sujani the culprit cum  cutie of Namal Rajapakse who planned earlier to remain in hospital for three weeks , finally got herself discharged yesterday(26) and appeared at the FCID. She was then  arrested and produced in court.

Lanka e news reported earlier that Chandrasekera Pavthrika Sujani Bogallagama was  the General Manager  of the two companies NR consultancy and Gowers Corporate belonging to Lakshman Namal Rajapakse . Based on money laundering charges involving sums of Rs. 15 million and Rs.30 million against the owner of the companies Namal Rajapakse (by now a byword for frauds and large scale  money laundering was earlier remanded and later released on bail) , she was to be produced in court for aiding and abetting.

The FCID told court that since Sujani is directly  implicated in the money laundering crime , bail shall not be granted, and that the court has already requested a report  to ascertain whether she was feigning sickness . Her lawyer however told court while forwarding a medical certificate that she was in hospital when the warrant was issued , and today , of her own accord got herself discharged to appear before the FCID, while adding that she had not flouted the law , and on 12 occasions visited the FCID to record her  statements.

The Fort magistrate Nishantha Peiris after weighing the pros and cons of the submissions , and since bail has been granted to others in this case decided that she be enlarged on bail under stringent conditions: on a cash bail of Rs. 100,000.00 and a personal bail in a sum of Rs. 40 million. Her foreign travel too was barred , and she was ordered to report to  the FCID on the first and last week of every month.

The suspect was also strictly warned not to make statements after going out that would discourage the FCID , and also no pressures shall be  exerted on the witnesses. If by any chance the FCID reports of such incidents to the court , the latter would immediately revoke her bail , and remand her until he case is over.

Lawyer Ms. Divanka Jayathileke appeared on behalf of Sujani.

In any event , the Colombo hospital notorious  ‘mafia’ (a bane  to the nation) that tried to cure Sujani’s ‘sickness’ in three weeks was ‘cured’ in a day because of the report of Lanka e news .Sujani must therefore  be thankful to us

(In the photo is Sujani arriving  in court yesterday)

The thug who assaulted Dinesh is remanded!

Aug 27, 2016

Isira Asela Dissanayake, who inhumanly assaulted former UNP MP, lawyer Dinesh Dodamgoda, was produced by Mirihana Police before the Nugegoda magistrate and remanded until the 05th of next month.

The thug suffered no condition that needs treatment, but he had influenced Mirihana police and remained at Kalubowila Hospital. However, after doctors at the hospital discharged him, Mirihana police became under pressure by journalists to produce him before courts. After beating up Dodamgoda, the thug arrived at Sri Jayewardenepura Hospital and told the hospital police that he was a civil citizen, and that lawyers or MPs had no right to assault civil citizens.

After being remanded, he and his cronies are influencing prison officials to admit him to the merchant ward of the prison hospital by claiming him to be unwell.

We will keep a watch on the developments.

Bangladesh police kill "mastermind" of Dhaka cafe attack

By Serajul Quadir | DHAKA-Sat Aug 27, 2016

Bangladesh security forces killed three Islamist militants on Saturday, including a Bangladesh-born Canadian citizen accused of masterminding an attack on a cafe in Dhaka last month that killed 22 people, mostly foreigners, police said.

The militants were cornered in a hideout on the outskirts of the capital and, having refused to surrender, were killed in the ensuing gunbattle, Monirul Islam, the head of the Dhaka police counterterrorism unit, told Reuters.

He initially said four militants had been killed but later revised the number to three.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is due to visit on Monday to discuss security after a series of killings targeting liberals and religious minorities in the mostly Muslim country.

Islamic State claimed responsibility for the assault on the cafe in a posh neighbourhood where militants singled out non-Muslims and foreigners, killing Italians, Japanese, an American and an Indian.

The government has consistently denied the presence in the country of any transnational militant organisation such as al Qaeda or Islamic State.

But police believe that Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh, which has pledged allegiance to Islamic State, was involved in organising the cafe attack.

The scale of that attack and the targeting of foreigners has cast a shadow over foreign investment in the poor South Asian economy, whose $28 billion garments export industry is the world's second largest.

"This operation definitely will uphold confidence and the image of Bangladesh," said Bangladesh's prime minister Sheikh Hasina.

She told a news conference: "With this killing (Tamim) one curse has been removed from our shoulders."

MASTERMIND'S DEATH

The suspected mastermind killed in Saturday's raid was identified as Tamim Ahmed Chowdhury, a 30-year-old Canadian citizen born in Bangladesh. Analysts say Islamic State in April identified Chowdhury as its national commander.

"According to our evidence we are now sure that Tamim was among the three killed," Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan told reporters. "So the chapter of Tamim has ended here."

Khan said Chowdhury was one of the main suppliers of funds and arms for several recent attacks. He had returned to Bangladesh in October 2013 via Abu Dhabi, A.K.M. Shahidul Hoque, the inspector general of police, said.

The raid followed a tip off from the landlord of the house where the militants were staying, Hoque told reporters. The landlord said the militants had described themselves as businessmen in the medical trade.

Police spokesman Masudur Rahman said the fingerprints of two associates of Tamim who were also killed on Saturday have been sent to the election commission to confirm their identity.

"Police collected evidence from the house though they (the associates) destroyed a laptop and some other documents," he told Reuters.

They rented the house earlier this month and police recovered several grenades, arms and bullets.

Last month police offered a 2 million taka ($26,000) reward for information enabling them to detain Tamim.

Police have also detained two men who had been among the survivors of the restaurant attack.

Hasnat Karim, who holds dual British and Bangladeshi citizenship, and Tahmid Hasib Khan, a student of Toronto University, had been dining separately in the restaurant.

A lawyer for Karim, a 47-year-old engineer, has said his client is innocent. Relatives of Khan, 22, say he is innocent too.

Earlier this month, security forces arrested four women suspected of being members of Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh.

(Reporting by Serajul Quadir; writing by Krishna N. Das; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore/Ruth Pitchford)