Afterlife: exploring trauma, memory and culture in the context of Sri Lanka’s civil war

Oct 26, 2016

We are pleased to announce tomorrow’s opening of ‘Afterlife’ at the Saskia Fernando Gallery in Colombo – a photography exhibition exploring trauma, memory and culture in the context of the final stages of Sri Lanka’s civil war and its aftermath. Following a preview evening on 27th October, the exhibition will run until 20th November 2016.

A note from the artist, Cassie Machado, about the exhibition:

“Afterlife (2011-2016) is a body of work, which reflects on the final stages of the Sri Lankan civil war, and is a meditation on its trauma and its memory. As well as implying an engagement with the afterlife of events and of images, the title Afterlife is inspired by the traditional beliefs towards death in Hinduism and Tamil culture – which require a series of funeral rites or acknowledgements symbolising closure to be performed as a means of safeguarding the peaceful onward journey of the self or soul into the afterlife for reincarnation.

In the final stages of the Sri Lankan civil war, which was fought on the island’s northern shorelines on an otherwise idyllic spit of land known as Mullivaikkal, it is estimated that between 40-70,000 civilians died in the last months of fighting alone. In this period, the vast majority of families were physically unable to perform all, if any, of the traditional obsequies for their lost departed. According to the traditions of Hindu and Tamil cultural beliefs, as their deaths were left unmarked, the souls of the deceased were perpetually left to wander restlessly as spectres in an obscured twilight realm. Occupying a space between reality and fiction, politics and poetics, Afterlife seeks an end to this twilight for the dead and also some illumination for the living.”

For further information about the event, please click here. For those unable to attend, the majority of the work is also available to view online here.

The Unfounded Cry For Equality; Perspectives On Article 16 (1) And Muslim Marriage & Divorce Act

By Mass L. Usuf –October 25, 2016

Mass Usuf

“O mankind, indeed We have created you from male and female, and have made you into nations and tribes, that you may know one another. Indeed, the most honoured of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous. Indeed, Allah is Knowing and Acquainted” ~ [Quran 49:13]

This is a universal statement that clearly wipes out discrimination of all forms. A man or a woman is honoured not because of gender, nationality, colour, race, creed, caste, language or ethnicity but for his/her Righteousness. In Islam, there can never be discrimination between the sexes in relation to their rights and duties. Ipso facto the claim from some quarters about gender inequality is not sustainable.

Prima facie the Western feminist ideology from which even our folks derive inspiration may look attractive and promising. A deeper scientific analysis involving physiology, psychology, morality, socio-economy and other disciplines would reveal some of these ideals as superficial embellishments lacking in real substance. One of the fundamental weaknesses in this development is the lack of proper understanding and appreciation of the differences in the natural dispositions of each. In fact, the struggle in the West is for identicalness or uniformity between man and woman. It is this thought that has been given credence world over under the wrong label ‘Equality’.

Equal or Identical?

One has to distinguish between the terms equality and identicality. To illustrate: The value of two five hundred rupee notes equals a thousand rupees. But, the two five hundreds are not identical to a single thousand rupee note.

Man and woman are equal as human beings but they are not identical. Their individual nature and dispositions are all not the same. These facts have to be recognised and acknowledged when speaking about the rights and duties of women. If not, it will only do harm to the woman and the society at large. This is one area where the Islamic viewpoint on gender equality or women’s rights differ from the Western idea. It is through the appreciation of this distinction inter alia, that Islamic law has based its notion of the rights and duties of woman and man. From this perspective it is fair to say that Islam has not ignored the concerns about the status of women.

Nobel Laureate and world-famous French physiologist, surgeon and biologist Alexis Carrel in his well-known book he acknowledges the fact that men and women, according to the law of creation, have been made differently, and adds that these differences and dissimilarities make their duties and rights dissimilar.

“ …[B]etween the two sexes are irrevocable differences. And it is imperative to take them into account in constructing the civilized world.” (L’Homme, cet inconnu – Man, The Unknown, 1935).

Under the title “Men and Women”, Will Durant writes “The function of the woman is to serve the species, and the function of the man is to serve the woman and the child. They may have other functions also, but wisely subordinate to these; it is in these fundamental and half unconscious purposes that nature has placed our significance and our happiness…. The woman’s nature is to seek shelter rather than war; and in some species the female seems quite without the instinct of pugnacity. When she fights directly it is for her children.” (ibid. p.119)

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Penalty for wilful violation of social contracts?

Leaders must be aware that continuous wilful violation of the Social Contract is bound to generate unexpected spontaneous negative public reactions which will not only be damaging to the public image of the Yahapalanaya leaders but may even lead to violent unexpected uprisings and acts of rebellion challenging the regime

The Social Contract

Wednesday, 26 October 2016 

“Social contract theory is based on the idea of a contractual agreement between the individual and the state, under which the power of the sovereign is justified by a hypothetical social contract in which the people agree to obey in all matters in return for a guarantee of peace and security, which they lack in the warlike "state of nature" posited to exist before the contract is made.

Various philosophers have interpreted social contract theory. For example, John Locke believed that rulers also were obliged to protect private property and the right to freedom of thought, speech, and worship. Jean-Jacques Rousseau didn't believe that in the state of nature people are warlike, but are undeveloped in reasoning and morality. Therefore, by surrendering their individual freedom, they acquire political liberty and civil rights within a system of laws based on the "general will" of the governed.” http://definitions.uslegal.com/s/social-contract-theory/

Constitutional commitments

By Article 3 of the Constitution, Sovereignty is in the People and is inalienable. Sovereignty includes the powers of government, fundamental rights and the franchise. By article 4, the Sovereignty of the People shall be exercised and enjoyed in the following manner:

(a) the legislative power of the People shall be exercised by Parliament, consisting of elected representatives of the People and by the People at a Referendum;

(b) the executive power of the People, including the defence of Sri Lanka, shall be exercised by the President of the Republic elected by the People;

(c) the judicial power of the People shall be exercised by Parliament through courts, tribunals and institutions created and established, or recognised, by the Constitution, or created and established by law, except in regard to matters relating to the privileges, immunities and powers of Parliament and of its Members, wherein the judicial power of the People may be exercised directly by Parliament according to law;

(d) the fundamental rights which are by the Constitution declared and recognised shall be respected, secured and advanced by all the organs of government and shall not be abridged, restricted or denied, save in the manner and to the extent hereinafter provided; and

(e) the franchise shall be exercisable at the election of the President of the Republic and of the Members of Parliament and at every Referendum by every citizen who has attained the age of eighteen years and who, being qualified to be an elector as hereinafter provided, has his name entered in the register of electors.

Sovereignty of the People

The sovereign power including the powers of Government lie primarily with the people; and the President, the Prime Minister and Cabinet of Ministers, and the Legislators derive their power on being duly elected by the people exercising their franchise; and they must govern for the benefit of the nation and its people, in terms of the social contract created by the exercise of the franchise; thus the President and Members of Parliament must govern duly honouring the promises made in manifestoes and other commitments made prior to elections.

Breaches of the Social Contract

“Although the situation of there never having been a social contract is a fairly simple one, the situation of either deceiving another into thinking there is a social contract between them, or of entering into a social contract and then violating its terms, can be much more complicated, and much of law and government is concerned with dealing with such situations. In his treatment of the subject, Locke tended to emphasise those violations of the social contract that are so serious that the social contract is entirely broken and the parties enter a state of war in which anything is permitted, including killing the violator. Today we would tend to place violations on a scale of seriousness, only the most extreme of which would permit killing. Some would even go so far as to exclude killing for any transgression, no matter how serious, but that extreme view is both unacceptable to most normal persons and subversive of the social contract itself, which ultimately depends not on mutual understanding and good will, but on a balanced distribution of physical power and the willingness to use it. Sustaining the social contract therefore depends in large part on so ordering the constitution and laws as to avoid unbalanced or excessive concentrations of power, whether in the public or the private sector”. http://www.constitution.org/soclcont.htm

With no power of recall by the people of the already granted mandate, until the next elections, it is solely up to the people to demand due accountability and honouring of the social contract by those elected; and where the elected fail in such tasks, the people have a right to express their voice of protests, naming and shaming, right to publicly advocate, agitate, and even take other legitimate actions for due enforcement of the social contract.

The promise and the consequential Social Contract

The promises made during the 2015 presidential elections and the Parliamentary elections that followed were based on a core vision of establishing compassionate governance and a stable country, leading to showering prosperity on all citizens through sustainable development, peace and harmony and identification of equitable national priorities.

These promises were founded on key pillars of eliminating bribery, corruption, fraud, money laundering, waste, and nepotism; and the enactment of a new constitution addressing rights of all communities, electoral reforms, instituting independent commissions; effective good governance, rule of law, equity and environmental protection. Thus a social contract came to be executed between the people and the new regime based on the aforesaid promises, which promises were duly witnessed by the leaders of the civil society who attested the contract.

The delivery of promises embedded in the Social Contract

Twenty-one months on from the creation of the social contract, the civil society leaders who witnessed the contract are aghast by the apparent wilful violation of the contract by the incumbent President, Prime Minister, Cabinet and Parliamentarians.

The proof of the pudding

The key amongst the events and issues leading to the disillusionment of the civil society leaders that the social contract is being wilfully violated are the following;

• Leadership public pronouncements 
• justifying unequal treatment of Ministers and Legislators (for supporting the two-third majority in Parliament) and military personnel who liberated the nation, in the application of the rule of law and justice processes;
• placing restrictions, limitation and prior notification pre-conditions on law enforcement authorities, in dealing with the aforesaid select groups; 
• in some instances violating the independence and secrecy provisions the constitution and the applicable laws;
• undermining the law enforcement institutions, independent public institutions and regulatory bodies;
• de-motivating and demoralising honest, professional and committed law enforcement officials
• Leadership wilfully frustrating the effectiveness and professionalism of on-going investigations and law enforcement actions in the case of publicly reported mega scams and allowing these scams and other unacceptable practices to be continued unabated resulting in the state suffering preventable long term losses along with millions of connected stakeholders
• Ineffectiveness of Parliamentary Oversight Committees and politicised and party leadership driven probes by COPE and COPA within a process not strengthened and made effective to suit modern day needs
• Arrogant and unacceptable behaviours of leaders, their cronies and support networks all of whom blatantly by-pass procedures and practices and undermine the chief accounting officers
• The leadership appointing to key positions of governance, persons alleged to have involvement with alleged scams and persons being investigated by law enforcement and regulatory authorities
• Continuing concerns over key State appointments blatantly tainted by nepotism and unfitness of the appointees 
• Justifying and promoting mega projects of the previous regime, which were classified as unviable and corrupt when in the opposition
• Continuing misallocation of scare resources for pet projects, ego enhancing projects and personal and crony benefiting projects and ignoring the essential basic needs of the voiceless persons, especially those at the bottom of the pyramid
• The failure to act against the armed forces personnel and directors of key State enterprises who effectively block and fail to support law enforcement led investigations; 
• The failure to initiate investigations on purported mega tender violations of the present regime and withholding transparent disclosure of investigations completed under the oversight of the current regime
• The failure to return, land acquired on grounds of the prevailing security concerns, to persons dispossessed of personal property during the period of conflict 
• The failure to implement approved resettlement housing programmes for conflict affected persons, purportedly to promote preferred overseas contractor
• Continuing leakages of revenue (Taxes, Customs Duty and Excise) especially those originated using the executive power and discretion of current set of leaders
• Blatant violation of environmental and ecology protection accountability
• The continuation of the practice of awarding major State contracts on bilateral negotiations and against unsolicited proposals, negatively impacting on competitiveness, quality standards and local value addition; and allowing the effectiveness of Swiss Challenge contract evaluation processes to be frustrated and massaged to suit predetermined contractors
• Waste of national resources on tamashas, events and unjustified spends with no effective national socio economic value
• Leaders being surrounded by persons previously classified as unpatriotic and self-seeking middlemen of the previous regime

Caution: Unexpected spontaneous public reactions

Leaders must be aware that continuous wilful violation of the Social Contract is bound to generate unexpected spontaneous negative public reactions which will not only be damaging to the public image of the Yahapalanaya leaders but may even lead to violent unexpected uprisings and acts of rebellion challenging the regime.

Ava Group was created by Maj. Gen. Mahinda Haturusinghe!

Oct 26, 2016

It has now been revealed that the Ava Group, the gang of criminals in motorcycles in Jaffna, was secretly created during the Rajapaksa regime by the then north’s security forces commander Maj. Gen. Mahinda Haturusinghe, sources say.

In the course of investigations into the death of two university students in a police shooting, it has been found that this gang was created after the war in a well-organized manner. However, the police have been instructed from the top not to reveal anything about this to the media.
 
Sources say that several other gangs too, are operating in the north since the end of the war. In the style of South Indian films, these sword and kris-knife wielding gangsters in motorcycles are carrying out attacks. In October 2013, two such gangsters attacked a policeman with a kris-knife at the Kokavil police post. Even before the war such gangs operated in Jaffna, but not during the period the LTTE existed.
 
Minister of law and order and southern development Sagala Ratnayake told parliament yesterday (25) that a criminal gang named Ava Group in motorcycles and carrying swords and clubs were committing crimes in Jaffna. Police had mistaken the two undergraduates for the motorcycle gangsters and shot at them.
 
Commenting on the sword attack on two policemen in Jaffna, he said they had been attacked without knowing they were intelligence men. The Ava group had been robbing a shop when police intervened, and they came under this attack.
 
The province’s chief minister C.V. Vigneswaran says it is surprising that such gangs could exist in the north which is having more than 150,000 armed forces men and thousands of police and intelligence officers.
 
The CID has found in investigations that the two undergraduates in a motorcycle had been killed by policemen without proper firearms training having exceeded their powers and shot them. The policeman who had shot them had fired a burst. The pillion rider had died when he fell down and hit his head on the ground, the postmortem examination has revealed. Now, the so called patriotic carnivores in both the south and the north are giving their own interpretations to the incident and eating up this incident.

Is ‘Yahapalanaya’ An Aborted Child Or Is It Still Birth Pangs?

By Vishwamithra1984 –October 26, 2016

“Progressive rhetoric has the effect of concealing social crisis and moral breakdown by presenting them as the birth pangs of a new order.” ~Christopher Lasch

Each passing day announces a deviation from the norm; each passing week signals a break from the bureaucracy’s usually pervasive disciplined message of transparency and accountability. Both transparency and accountability have come to be known as hackneyed phrases drastically exploited by politicians prior to elections and never followed up when they assume power. No democracy in the world, present or past has upheld the lofty ideals in total they tried to sell during an election campaign. Viewed purely as a marketing operation, election campaigning is essentially an operation that is launched in order to persuade voters to vote your way. As much as a travelling salesman knocks on a stranger’s door and commences his sales pitch to sell a lemon in a sugar-coated veneer as an orange, politicians and their surrogates and henchmen try to persuade the consumer, the voter, to buy what they don’t need. But the salesman tries his best to convince the voter of a dire want, instead of a realistic need, to buy and possess the product that he is trying to sell.

This unending process of buying and selling of a product whose substantive value is very much in question, despite the very short-lived shelf life of the plusses of the product, continues to trouble a conscientious voter and those who make their minds for the argument try to live with their choice with uncertainty and anxiety. Transparency and accountability are two sophisticated concepts that have been talked about, discussed and written books and essays about, especially during the last five or six decades. In a dictatorship or a monarchy, these two concepts did not have a chance of a snowball in hell to live longer than 24 hours. Governments and states that were not consistent with the fundamental principles of democratic elections and people’s participation never had to answer to an electorate whose values and measures are diametrically opposed to those who governed. A monarch assumed power of governance over his or her subjects by lineage while dictators merely came to occupy the seats of power through coercion, coup d’état or violent revolutions. Though they claim that the service of the people is their ultimate purpose, their modus operandi remains the subject of derision and denunciation of the subject people.

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I spoke according to my conscience - President

2016-10-25

The recent controversial speech made by President Maithripala Sirisena at the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute (SLFI) has become a subject of much debate among the people. The following is a discussion held  with the President and what he shared with our sister paper ‘Sunday Lankadeepa’.   

• Commissioners of the relevant Commissions are not subjected to any criticism; they are very honest, dedicated and unbiased

• Minister Fowzie is a State Minister of this government. Until he was summoned to court, I was not aware of any investigation against him

• Avant Garde was taken into custody over a year ago. Where is the investigation? And where is the analytical report? Now the government has to look after the interests of this vessel, this is a big burden on us and incurs a colossal expenditure

• The Director General of the Bribery Commission has also done the same thing that the civil society did

• What I said was them being former Navy Commanders, when they are tobe questioned, it  is imperative thatI should be made aware

Q Your controversial speech made recently has become a subject of much talk among the people of the country. Two groups have emerged opposing and supporting your views. What was the real objective of your speech?

I spoke according to my conscience - President.docx by Thavam Ratna on Scribd

Government on firm ground, but needs quick course correction

Friday, 21 October 2016 

Minister Rajitha Senaratne and President Maithripala during the 8 January campaign 

There was heavy speculation in some quarters that the President’s statement on Wednesday last week that rocked the political and diplomatic circles and also led to the resignation of the Director General of the Bribery Commission signalled that his honeymoon with Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s administration was running low and he would not hesitate to take full control of the administration, including taking the Law and Order Ministry under his wing.

In his most hard-hitting remarks since coming to power on 8 January, the President was visibly upset that the three main anti-graft organisations, including the independent Bribery Commission, was engaged in politically-motivated prosecutions. He also warned the secretaries of the independent commissions that it was he who had appointed them and they should know their terms of reference and must keep him informed about the high profile cases.

However, none of this justifies the President’s comments in public against independent institutions or his decision to turn his back on the mandate he received; to take action against those who plundered wealth of the country.

Many people were quick to jump into the debate and say the marriage between the SLFP and the UNP had hit the rocks. This speculation was further strengthened because the President had said he had been silent for too long, but had now decided to speak out and take corrective action.

He singled out last month’s prosecution of three ex-Navy Admirals and former Defence Secretary as being uncalled for. “I condemn the actions of the CID (Criminal Investigations Division), FCID (Financial Crimes Investigations Division) and the Bribery Commission,” he said at a ceremony at the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute in Colombo. He said the agencies should not work according to a political agenda. “If they do, I will have to take stern action against them. I deplore their recent actions.”

Health Minister Dr.  Rajitha Senaratne, one of the top three architects of the 8 January election victory, was quick to defend his friend. He said at the weekly press briefing that despite Sirisena’s statements, the relationship with Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe as well as the union between the two parties remains strong.

He had further said the President has the same views as the majority of Sri Lankans. “He shares the disappointment of the people. He is fed up of waiting for investigations into the big deals to be concluded. Why has the Bribery Commission failed to investigate the Dubai bank accounts held by the Rajapaksas even after we clearly gave them all the information? What has happened to the MiG investigation? Why are these investigations still dragging along one-and-a-half years later?”

Resentment

There is a growing body of opinion that military commanders who led a successful campaign to crush separatist Tamil Tiger rebels in May 2009 should not be humiliated by bringing them to court, given their huge contribution to secure and save the future of our country.

The problem the Government has is that the three former Naval Chiefs and Gotabaya Rajapaksa were accused of causing a loss of around Rs. 11 billion to the State through a private arms deal involving Avant-Garde security company. They face other charges too.

The Government promised the public in January last year that all the corrupt deals would be investigated fully and those guilty would be brought to book. Therefore, unless the investigations are politically motivated, the public officials involved must be given the freedom to do their job without fear. The public also at the same time want the Government to run investigations against those officials in the current setup who are also facing corruption allegations.

A COPE report on the Central Bank Bond controversy is expected to be made public. They also want all the problematic transactions on the stock exchange and financial markets that took place during the Rajapaksa period to be investigated fully and made public. Also, the public want a proper justification to be given on the payment of $ 115 million to cancel Airbus planes ordered by the previous regime.

Need for urgent correction

There is no doubt that both the President and Prime Minister want the Unity Government to run its full term till 2020. The President also has no power to dissolve Parliament. Therefore those waiting on the sidelines waiting for the Government to fall would do justice to the taxpayer if they either fade away or buckle up fast and focus on what they have to deliver to the public.

On the other hand, President Sirisena’s outburst should not be taken very lightly. Because, the President is a very patient and a simple man. A person who still has the humility to pour a cup of tea for a visitor at his home. Therefore it is a clear signal that he is keen to build his own base and that he wants to play a bigger role to deliver on the promises he made without allowing a few people to take decisions according to a different timetable and to keep him in the dark.

It also appears the President was venting his frustration at the slow progress of crucial investigations and acknowledged the Head of State was wary of repercussions from the powerful military establishment.

But he needs to remember that the Common Opposition, championed by activists like the late Ven. Sobitha and Rathana Thero, intellectuals, lawyers and civil society inspired the public with a promised new deal. They told the public that the Government they had in mind would be governed based on the principles of ‘Yahapalanaya’ and that Sirisena with Ranil would fix the rotten political system and bring back dignity to the once-respected key democratic institutions.

There was certainly so much of hope among the new voters that there was finally a way out of the mess and that men and women of integrity with no baggage or charges would be brought into the administration to deliver the promised Yahapalanaya. Sadly however to the die-hard supporters of Yahapalanaya these are days of fading hope and overwhelming despair and the disenchanted have given up and many of them are openly venting their frustration on social media.

Therefore, the time is right for President Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasinghe to re-examine their mandate and do what it takes to deliver the promised political reform; if they don’t do that, they will only have themselves to blame, if the forces of 8 January struggle align against them.

We have been through such experiences before, sufficient for a century? Do we not learn the lessons? History repeats itself for those who do not bother to learn from the lessons of the past.

ACF REQUESTS PRESIDENT TO APPOINT A PRESIDENTIAL COMMISSION ON TREASURY BOND SCAM

( Arjun Mahendran: UNP plan is to save the real culprit and file a bogus case!)

25/10/2016

Anti-Corruption Front (ACF) calls for an independent presidential commission to investigate the two controversial treasury bond scams following reports that there is a possibility of two separate reports by the Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE).

AS there is an information on two separate reports (or two separate recommendations in a same report) is true, this will be an unprecedented event in Sri Lankan history. The public, for the most part, has always seen COPE as an ‘institution’ that can be relied upon to properly investigate instances of corruption in government institutions. If the members of the COPE divide along party lines and present different reports or if some members go against the general consensus and attempt to justify former Central Bank Governor Arjuna Mahendran, this is a serious concern because the treasury bond scam is not only an abstract ‘financial crime.’ The Treasury Bond scam and its fallout directly affects six million EPF beneficiaries and thus directly affects Sri Lanka’s social security net.

Usually COPE uses information, observations and recommendations given by Auditor General, about a government institution, to question officials from the relevant institutions. According to the constitution COPE is responsible for the initial reporting of the accountability of all state owned enterprises to tax payers and the Auditor General is entrusted to carry out an independent audit of all state owned enterprises and submit the reports to COPE. Before submitting these reports the Auditor General shares his reports with the relevant institutions and obtains their views on his report. Thus these institutions have the ability to submit their objections before a report is presented to COPE, which calls upon relevant officials and raise issues directly with tem based on the Auditor General’s reports.

Since the Auditor General is appointed by the Constitutional council, based on his ability to carry out such audits and his professionalism and independence, Auditor General’s report has never been questioned by COPE members.

However on 24 October (Monday) United National Party (UNP) members of the COPE questioned the Auditor General based on a party stance, making it obvious that the government is carrying out a systematic campaign to cover up the biggest financial irregularity which occurred under the current administration.

“This is not what the people want or expected. I think it’s universally accepted, apart from a few UNPers, that there had been irregularities at the Treasury bond auctions in 2015 and 2016. People also know that former central bank governor, Arjuna Mahendran and the monetary board are responsible for what transpired. If the current COPE is divided along party lines and fails to do its job, I think we have to place our hopes on a presidential inquiry,” said Advisor for Anti-Corruption Front, Rajith Keerthi Tennakoon.

In the 2015 interim COPE report, which was never debated in Parliament because of the sudden dissolution, there are mentions of how the EPF, which has the ability to purchase bonds as a primary dealer, having purchased the bonds from other primary dealers has sustained significant losses. The leaked Central Bank investigation report on the bond issue also mentions the highly suspicious nature of this transaction and has stated that this has had an adverse effect on the EPF, and ultimately millions of hard working members of the private sector. However the impact on the EPF has not been properly calculated or considered by any investigative entity but many financial experts fear that that the long term losses will be colossal. These are allegations that have been leveled publicly and widely reported by the media and as relevant individuals have not denied these allegations we have to presume that media has reported this correctly.

ACF has always fought for the economic and social rights of Sri Lankans and given that the Treasury bond scam will have a serious impact on the social security net of millions of Sri Lankans, we urge the President and the government to resolve this matter in a satisfactory manner.

After considering all these facts the ACF once again requests the President to establish a fully powered presidential commission to investigate the bond issue.

Ranil Set To Gag Media Again Over Bond Issue

Hell bent on safeguarding the misdeeds of ex-Governor of Central Bank Arjuna Mahendran, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe is set to gag the media for a second time by raising a privilege issue in Parliament against local media.

October 25, 2016

Wickremesinghe who has since coming to power in January last year, attacked the media from time to time, and threatened to even send journalists home, has ordered his wingman, State Minister of International Trade Sujeewa Senasinghe to raise a privilege issue in Parliament against the local media which has been reporting extensively on the COPE proceedings and the COPE report in connection to the Central Bank Treasury Bond scam.

Senasinghe under the orders of Wickremesinghe is leading the campaign even in the COPE to protect Mahendran. Last year, Senasinghe also filed a petition seeking an interim order preventing the publication or circulation of the COPE sub-committee report on the Central Bank bond issue. The Colombo District Court issued an enjoining order soon after Senasinghe filed for it.

Wickremesinghe is reported to have been very annoyed that many of the newspapers, including several private television channels which is supportive of him has been reporting negatively against Mahendran and the Central Bank Treasury Bond scam.

“The Prime Minister is looking at ways to intimidate and gag the media from reporting on this crucial report, which is negative to Mahendran, and he is also looking at raising a privilege issue in Parliament against the media,” a highly placed source told the Colombo Telegraph.

Yesterday, the Colombo Telegraph exclusively reported the recommendations of the COPE report on the Central Bank Treasury Bond issue, where the COPE report by its Chairman Sunil Handunetti has implicated Mahendran for being directly responsible in the scam. The report has been endorsed by the majority of the members except for the UNP MPs in the committee.

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Granting bail to murderers ignoring AG’s advice by court is serious ‘Sirisenalization’ of judiciary.!

-Shocked legal luminaries bemoan

(Lanka-e-News -26.Oct.2016, 11.30PM) In a dramatic turn of events most that shocked the entire country, the prime suspect in the murder of Lanka e news journalist Prageeth Ekneliyagoda was granted bail and released even ignoring the Attorney General’s objections .This unprecedented  court action is viewed  by  legal luminaries and the legal circle as an outrageous  erosion of the judicial independence via the illicit ‘Sirisenalization’ of courts which is more portentous  than criminal ‘terrorization’ of courts.

The first and third suspects  who were in remand custody for 14 months over the abduction and subsequent murder of Ekneliyagoda were each enlarged on cash bail of Rs. 1.5 million plus  two surety bails in a sum of Rs. 3 million each . This order was delivered by the Avissawella High court judge Amal Thilakaratne on the 24 th.

The first suspect is army lieutenant Colonel Shammi Arjuna , and the third suspect is sergeant major Rajapakse Mudiyansalage Priyantha Kumara Rajapakse alias Nathan.

These two suspects were  directly responsible for the abduction of Ekneliyagoda at Rajagiriya , and for detention of the victim illegally at the Girithale camp .There is clear and cogent evidence in support of these criminalities. 

Shammi at that time was the commanding officer of the Girithale camp  and both these suspects were trained in the use of weapons.

It is specially worthy of note the AG objected to bail being granted to these criminals because there was ample , clear and cogent evidence to testify to their direct involvements  in the abduction and illegal detention of Ekneliyagoda , and since   these suspects were trained in the use of arms  , they could without  doubt  prove deadly - intimidate and exert pressures on the witnesses. The AG in fact had furnished a detailed clear  report in this connection to the court on that day.

It is the opinion of the rudely shocked legal luminaries and the legal circles that even during the lawless nefarious decade when the courts too were unlawfully trampled by MaRa, never  did any court grant bail to a suspect overriding the directives of AG.

Judge Amal Thilakrathne on the other hand who postponed the case in the morning at 10.00 until evening on the 24 th finally delivered an illegal order granting  bail to the suspects at  about 4.00 p.m. ( Lanka e news is in receipt of reports which provide particulars of those who phoned Amal in the interim to grant bail) 

It is well to recall , the president in his ‘cyanide speech’ and his subsequent interview with a newspaper  spoke with great sorrow over bail not being  granted to these suspects.

It is significant to note , during the Rajapakse era  when DIG Vaas Gunawardena who held a very much higher post in the police than these suspects in the army ,and his son were remanded in a similar case of abduction and murder of an individual , until the case was concluded and sentence delivered , bail was not granted to them !

The reason cited  was , Vaas had training in the use of weapons , and there was a possiblity for Vaas to intimidate the witnesses. Hence, the legal luminaries and legal circle say  ,unlike in the Ekneliyagoda case, even though Mahinda Rajapakse  vigorously and  viciously interfered with the courts, he did not  worry over or inquire  why Vaas was not granted bail , or  grieve over it .

In the circumstances ,the legal luminaries and the legal circles are harboring fears  that , since Shammi after his release has gone back to the camp and resumed duties as commanding officer, he could be a sure source of threat and danger to the subordinate officers who are witnesses in the case. This release of the suspect on bail is therefore a preliminary maneuver towards suppression of the Ekneliyagoda murder  , the legal luminaries pointed out.

The granting of bail to the murderers of Ekneliyagoda on  the day following the newspaper interview of the president and closely on the heels of his odious  ‘cyanide’ speech are an index that the courts are fast being ‘Sirisenalized’ the legal luminaries pinpointed with grave concern.

Four other suspects who were in remand in this case were released on 19 th September , while the bail applications of the 4 th and 5 th suspects are to be examined on 8 th November.

Meanwhile , Ms.Sandya Ekneliyagoda convening a media briefing recently to refresh the memory of  the amnesia afflicted   president about how he exploited the photographs of theirs to capture power  , blamed the president for forgetting to mete out justice to them –the  victims of the brutal ruthless murder. She spoke thus :

‘The president said , these officers are being detained for 18 months without cases being filed, whereas I am crying for justice for the last 81 months.  Might I emphasize during the past two years I have never asked for any privileges from the president . All what I am requesting is justice and justice alone, not miscarriage of justice’

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by     (2016-10-26 18:12:13)

Another Lasantha murder case suspect gets promotion

Oct 25, 2016

Brig. Aruna Wanniarachchi, a suspect in the murder case of ‘The Sunday Leader’ editor Lasantha Wickrematunge, has been promoted a major general despite the serious allegations leveled against the Army’s conduct in the past. Wanniarachchi stands accused of concealing evidence in the journalist’s killing, but has been given the promotion by the Army commander.

In any institution, it is customary that the past record of a person is given consideration when granting promotions. However, officers linked to the Wickrematunge murder and the disappearance of journalist Prageeth Ekneligoda have been given promotions and privileges in the past too. This has become an issue of an Army’s maintaining standards.

Army chief Krishantha de Silva has given a bad precedence by giving the promotion to Wanniarachichi, who has been questioned by the CID and is yet to be cleared of the charge.

It was during the period he was the head of the Army intelligence that 17 of its officers, including Kandegedara Piyawansa, were arrested over the Wickrematunge killing. He was last questioned by the CID on October 14. Earlier, Piyawansa was given a promotion and salaries and allowances paid while he was in remand custody. After the media revealed that, the Army commander said it was a mistake.

Youth found dead at Wimal’s Hokandara home

October 26, 2016

The body of a youth has reportedly been discovered at a residence belonging to UPFA MP Wimal Weerawansa in Hokandara, Thalangama.

The deceased has been identified as 24-year-old Lahiru Dissanayake, who is said to be a close friend of former Minister’s son.

The youth, who frequently visits the Weerawansa’s residence in Hokandara, had arrived at the house last night and stayed.

Dissanayake was rushed to the Sri Jayawardenapura Hospital by the MP’s wife Shashi Weerawansa this afternoon but was pronounced dead on admission.

Based on a complaint received by Talangama Police in this regard, a statement has reportedly been recorded from Mrs Weerawansa.

Aged woman locked in poultry shed

2016-10-26 06

An eighty four year old woman who had been locked up in a poultry shed behind a house in Wanni Kudawewa, in Kudawewa was found by the Galgamuwa Police yesterday. Police had taken her daughter into custody on suspicion.

The woman had been locked up in an abandoned poultry shed about twenty feet away from the suspect's house. When police raided the place they had found the woman seated on a plastic chair, a police spokesperson said. Police sources said that the thatched roof of the poultry shed had decayed and plastic sheets had been laid over them. The poultry shed was constructed of iron mesh. The woman had also been compelled to use the shed as a lavatory: as a result the place had a nauseating smell.

The daughter had admitted that she chained her mother at night to prevent her from wandering about and falling. Police had also found a bed without a mattress or pillows as the aged woman was hunchbacked and could not straighten her back. The daughter had told the police that her mother had been given medical treatment twenty years ago. The daughter was residing in a house with four rooms and a tiled roof.

The police had straightaway admitted the woman, N.M.H. Umma, to the Galgamuwa base hospital. The daughter was taken into custody on suspicion and is to be produced in court. (Nihal Jayaweera)

Will ICC see through Israel’s sham justice?

Will a war crimes investigation be opened against Israel at the International Criminal Court?Anne PaqActiveStills

Charlotte Silver-25 October 2016

For decades, Israel’s crimes against Palestinians living under its military occupation were subject to little more oversight than that of public opinion. This may soon change, and Israel is putting on a show of applying the law in order to evade accountability.

Nearly two years ago, the Palestinian Authority, with non-member state status at the United Nations, ratified the Rome Statute, giving it access to the International Criminal Court.

Will ICC see through Israel’s sham justice.docx by Thavam Ratna on Scribd

Anger as Spain lets Russian warships refuel on way to back Aleppo bombing

Spanish foreign ministry now reviewing permit issued to Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier to dock in Ceuta after outcry over Moscow’s Syria airstrikes

Russian warships pass through English channel. Spain will reportedly allow them to refuel on their way to take part in the bombing campaign against Aleppo.

Wednesday 26 October 2016 

Spain is facing criticism for reportedly preparing to allow the refuelling of Russian warships en route to bolstering the bombing campaign against the besieged Syrian city of Aleppo.

Warships led by the aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov are expected to take on fuel and supplies at the Spanish port of Ceuta after passing through the Straits of Gibraltar on Wednesday morning.

Spanish media reported that two Spanish vessels, the frigate Almirante Juan de Borbón and logistical ship Cantabria, were shadowing the warships as they passed through international waters, and that the Admiral Kuznetsov, along with other Russian vessels and submarines, would dock at Ceuta to restock after 10 days at sea.

Members of the Syrian Civil Defence, known as the White Helmets, search for victims following airstrikes in Aleppo by Russian and Syrian warplanes. Photograph: Karam Al-Masri/AFP/Getty Images

Late on Tuesday night, El País reported that the Spanish ministry of foreign affairs was reviewing the permit issued to the Russian flotilla to stop at Ceuta.

Last week British Royal Navy vessels monitored the Russian warships as they moved through the English Channel. The vessels were shadowed by the navy as they passed through the Dover Strait .

The enclave of Ceuta sits on the tip of Africa’s north coast, across the Straits of Gibraltar from mainland Spain, and bordering Morocco, which also lays claim to the territory. Although Ceuta is part of the EU, its Nato status is unclear, and since 2011 at least 60 Russian warships have docked there.

Nato secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg warned on Tuesday that Russian warships heading for Syria could be used to target civilians.

“We are concerned and have expressed very clearly by the potential use of that battle group to increase air strikes on civilians in Aleppo,” Stoltenberg said, adding that it was “up to each nation to decide whether these vessels may obtain supplies and refuel at different ports along the route to the eastern Mediterranean”.

Nato is monitoring the movement of the eight-strong carrier battle group from northern Russia en route to the eastern Mediterranean, where alliance officials fear it will launch fighter bombers to hit northwestern Syria early in November.

“The battle group may be used to increase Russia’s ability to take part in combat operations over Syria and to conduct even more air strikes against Aleppo,” Stoltenberg said.

Guy Verhofstadt, former prime minister of Belgium and now the EU’s representative on Brexit talks with the UK, called Spain’s decision to allow the refuelling “scandalous”.

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The naval group is made up of Russia’s only aircraft carrier, Admiral Kuznetsov, as well as a nuclear-powered battle cruiser, two anti-submarine warships and four support vessels, likely escorted by submarines, Nato officials said.

The naval deployment, a rare sight since the end of the Soviet Union, is carrying dozens of fighter bombers and helicopters and is expected to join around 10 other Russian vessels already off the Syrian coast, diplomats said.

Washington’s envoy to Nato said Russia was within its right to move vessels through international waters. Military analysts say the deployment is a show of Russian force, as few countries have the ability to send an aircraft carrier group so far from home – although this would rely on refuelling in Spain.

“The problem would arise if this ship [Admiral Kuznetsov] contributes to the indiscriminate bombing of civilian targets in northwest Syria, particularly in and around Aleppo,” US ambassador Douglas Lute told reporters.

Sir Gerald Howarth, a former defence minister, told the Daily Telegraph it would be “wholly inappropriate” for a Nato member to refuel the vessels.

Former Royal Navy chief Lord West told the newspaper: “There are sanctions against Russia and it’s an extraordinary thing for a Nato ally to do.”

Spain’s foreign ministry told the Telegraph requests from the Russian navy were considered on a “case-by-case basis”.

A spokesman told the newspaper: “Russian navy vessels have been making calls in Spanish ports for years.”

A UK government spokesman said: “Access to Spanish ports is a matter for the Spanish authorities. HMG [Her Majesty’s government] has previously expressed concerns to the Spanish government about its hospitality to the Russian navy when we have concerns about Russia’s military activity.

“We are clear that the UK’s relationship with Russia should not be business as usual.”

Last week’s Russian passage through the English Channel came after British prime minister Theresa May condemned Vladimir Putin’s aggression in Syria, accusing Moscow of being behind “sickening atrocities” in support of Bashar al-Assad’s regime.

May’s deputy official spokesman rejected suggestions that it was a sign of weakness that Russia felt able to send its ships via the English Channel. A Downing Street spokesman said: “I would reject suggestions that the Russians feel we are too weak. Clearly, we are not weak at all.”

Nato said the prospect of Russia’s only aircraft carrier heading to the region does not “inspire confidence” that Moscow is seeking a political solution to the Syrian crisis.

Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu said in September that the Admiral Kuznetsov-led Northern Fleet would be joining a taskforce in the Mediterranean.

According to the Russian news agency Tass, he told a defence board meeting that the plan was to bolster the Mediterranean fleet’s “combat capabilities”

.

A statement from the fleet to the agency on 15 October said the group also consisted of the Pyotr Velikiy battlecruiser, the Severomorsk anti-submarine ship, the Vice-Admiral Kulakov destroyer and other support vessels.

Press Association and Reuters contributed to this report.