Silencing the Messenger:Communication Apps Under Pressure

KEY FINDINGS

15 November 2016

• Internet freedom around the world declined in 2016 for the sixth consecutive year.
• Two-thirds of all internet users – 67 percent – live in countries where criticism of the government, military, or ruling family are subject to censorship.
• Social media users face unprecedented penalties, as authorities in 38 countries made arrests based on social media posts over the past year. Globally, 27 percent of all internet users live in countries where people have been arrested for publishing, sharing, or merely “liking” content on Facebook.
• Governments are increasingly going after messaging apps like WhatsApp and Telegram, which can spread information quickly and securely

Silencing the Messenger.docx by Thavam Ratna on Scribd

U.N. officials denounce ‘inhuman’ treatment of Native American pipeline protesters

Guard dogs attack each other as private security guards confront Native American protesters and their supporters at a work site for the Dakota Access oil pipeline near Cannonball, N.D., on Sept 3. (Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images)

By Max Bearak November 15 at 9:44 AM

The United Nations' special rapporteur on the rights of freedom of association and peaceful assembly released a forceful statement Tuesday, calling out U.S. security forces for using violence against protesters peacefully opposing the construction of the Dakota Access pipeline in North Dakota, as well as what he called “the inhuman and degrading conditions” those arrested faced in detention.

The official, Maini Kiai, is a reputed human rights lawyer from Kenya who also traveled to the United States this summer to survey mounting racial tensions in the lead-up to last week's presidential election. His statement on the protests in North Dakota, which are largely being carried out by Native Americans, was endorsed by a slew of other high-ranking U.N. officials, including special rapporteurs on drinking water, the environment, free speech, cultural rights and the rights of indigenous peoples.

[Sometimes it takes an outsider to crystallize America’s enduring racism]

Kiai said that security forces, both public and private, had used unjustified force in dealing with and detaining more than 400 protesters.

“Protesters say they have faced rubber bullets, tear gas, mace, compression grenades and beanbag rounds while expressing concerns over environmental impact and trying to protect burial grounds and other sacred sites of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe” on whose land the ongoing pipeline construction is taking place, according to the statement provided by Kiai's office.

The statement notes that Kiai acknowledged that some protesters had resorted to violence, too, but that the response of security officials was disproportionate and targeted protesters who were doing so peacefully.

U.N. officials have been taking U.S. security forces and its government to task more frequently. For instance, in September, a U.N.-affiliated group released a report that concluded that the country's history of slavery justifies reparationsfor a large portion of its African American population. “There has been no real commitment to reparations and to truth and reconciliation for people of African descent,” the report stated.

[U.S. owes black people reparations for a history of ‘racial terrorism,’ says U.N. panel]

Judging by Kiai's statement on the treatment of Native Americans opposing the Dakota Access pipeline, it is likely he would say much the same about the treatment of that group in the context of American history.

The 1,172-mile pipeline is being built by Energy Transfer Partners. It will carry crude oil from the Bakken oil fields in North Dakota to a refinery in Illinois. Proponents of the pipeline say that it will help the U.S. achieve energy independence, and that the pipeline would be far more efficient than oil transport by rail. 

Energy Transfer Partners says the pipeline does not pose health risks and wouldn't harm cultural sites.

Yet the pipeline's path has been a major source of discontent. The pipeline was originally supposed to pass close to North Dakota's capital, populated mostly by residents of European descent, but that route did not pass muster in an environmental impact assessment. It was determined that wells that provided drinking water to the capital could be adversely affected. In turn, the route was shifted to pass through the ancestral lands of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe, who hold the land to be sacred. Protesters say several sacred sites on that land have already been bulldozed.

The protests against the pipeline have brought Native Americans from all over the country together, in what has been called the biggest gathering of tribes in more than a century. They have been joined by environmental and social activists. For months, thousands have camped out on federally owned land, seeking to halt the pipeline's construction, which is already almost finished, but for the section in North Dakota.

Tribal leaders have criticized law enforcement for their heavy-handed crackdown. They say more than 40 people were injured by pepper spray and beanbag rounds fired by authorities, while others were humiliated by their treatment while in custody. Kiai's statement touches on the same humiliation: “Marking people with numbers and detaining them in overcrowded cages, on the bare concrete floor, without being provided with medical care, amounts to inhuman and degrading treatment.”

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Here are pics of the holding cells that some DAPL protesters arrested last week were house in and referred to as "dog kennels." #DAPL

6:30 PM - 31 Oct 2016

 
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North Dakota Highway Patrol Capt. Brian Niewand told the Bismarck Tribune that his officers used force sparingly and tried to arrest only those who attacked authorities or refused to leave the area.

“Showing that respect for all the people that are out there, whether they are white, black, Native American, it doesn’t matter; we respect everybody,” he said in a news conference Friday. “The actions of some caused us to have to use force in certain circumstances, which was very, very unfortunate.”

More than 200 protests against the pipeline are planned across the United States on Tuesday, including in front of the Army Corps of Engineers offices, federal buildings and banks that have helped finance the project. Protesters are hoping that President Obama will step in and use his executive powers to halt construction.

The Army Corps of Engineers, which has limited oversight on the project, said Monday that it has finished its own review of the new route but wants more tribal input before deciding whether it should be allowed to cross under the Missouri River, which provides drinking water to millions downstream.

Energy Transfer Partners said it expects it to make the pipeline operational early next year if government agencies clear the legal path.

On Monday, an industry group that supports the Dakota Access pipeline saidthe corps' latest postponement of approval is an attempt at “death by delay.” The spokesman for the Midwest Alliance for Infrastructure Now (MAIN) coalition said the bureaucratic delays are an example of why voters rejected Democrats in last week’s election and that he hoped that President-elect Donald Trump would have the final word.

The proven health trackers saving thousands of lives

Heart disease and strokes kill around 14 million people a year worldwide-AliveCor's Kardia Band version of the heart monitor links to Apple's smart watch---Former Bolton Wanderers footballer Fabrice Muamba survived a cardiac arrest during a game

AliveCor's smartphone compatible heart monitor, Kardia Mobile, has regulatory approval-The software interprets the electrical pattern your heart makes, looking for abnormalities---Dexcom's blood sugar monitor sends data wirelessly to a smartphone

By Matthew Wall-15 November 2016

It was when Vic Gundotra's father suffered serious heart problems and nearly died that the former Google executive decided to move into healthcare tech.

He now runs a firm called AliveCor that has developed a heart-monitoring device causing excitement in medical circles.

AliveCor's recently launched Kardia Band, which integrates with Apple's smart watch, takes an electrocardiogram (ECG) of your heart, measuring its electrical activity as it pumps away.

Medical experts believe it could potentially save thousands of lives.

It can spot atrial fibrillation (AF) - one of the most common forms of abnormal heart rhythm and a major cause of stroke.

You place your thumb on the metal sensor in the watchband to complete an electrical circuit and it can take a reading in 30 seconds, sending the data to the watch over high-frequency audio rather than Bluetooth or wi-fi.

Kardia Band can spot other problems, too, but currently only has regulatory approval for AF. If it spots anything else unusual it suggests you go and see your doctor.

"The problem with atrial fibrillation is that it's asymptomatic, which means it can come and go and often isn't diagnosed," says Mr Gundotra.

For example, Ron Grant, 70, told the BBC: "At the age of 55, I had a massive heart attack - flatlined - had a bypass. It was some years after that we discovered I had AF - a funny heart rhythm to put it simply - which could lead to stroke".

Mr Grant now uses the smartphone compatible version of the AliveCor device to keep tabs on his ticker.

"People start modifying their behaviour once they begin monitoring their own health," says Mr Gundotra.

"No-one's more interested in heart health than the owner of the heart."

Biggest killers

Heart disease and stroke are the biggest killers in the world, accounting for about 14 million deaths a year.

If technology can give us a warning that things are going wrong before it's too late, many lives could be saved. And health budgets could be applied more effectively elsewhere.

In the US, around 130,000 people die a year directly or indirectly from AF, while more than 750,000 have to go to hospital, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta.

And it costs about $6bn (£4.8bn) a year to treat the condition in the US.

In the UK, around 100,000 people suffer sudden cardiac death each year, to which AF is a contributor.

According to NHS England, AF is responsible for a third of all strokes and costs the NHS more than £2.2bn a year to treat.

So it's easy to see why health authorities are interested in simple wearable devices that could significantly increase early diagnosis of such heart problems before they become life-threatening - and more costly to treat.

In the summer, Simon Stevens, head of NHS England, said such innovations would be "fast-tracked" so they can be adopted within the English health system much more quickly.

Clinically proven

There are scores of fitness trackers on the market these days, most of them wristbands, and while they may be useful motivational tools, most of them don't yet have regulatory approval.

"Fitness trackers are all very well, but doctors want clinically proven products whose data they can use to make clinical decisions," says Mr Gundotra.

But going through the rigorous testing process required for a health product to receive regulatory approval can take years, so it's no wonder most consumer tech companies don't bother.

Confusingly, AliveCor's smartphone compatible sensor, Kardia Mobile, has received regulatory approval in the US and Europe, whereas the Kardia Band smart watch version is currently approved only for Europe.

"We hope to get US approval soon," says Mr Gundotra.

Collating and studying millions of ECGs AliveCor's sensors have taken, and applying machine learning to the data, is also promising to reap rewards - although these are early days for the research.

AliveCor is collaborating with the Mayo Clinic in the US to see if other useful indicators can be discerned from the electrical pulse patterns generated by our hearts.

For example, they may be able to detect whether you have too much or too little potassium in your system, a mineral that plays a key role in keeping your heart beating in a normal rhythm.

Potassium also helps your nerves to function, your muscles to work, and your kidneys to filter blood. At the moment we can only find out potassium levels from a blood test, so if this information could be gleaned from a quick ECG instead, the medical benefits could be huge.

Wearables that work

So what other clinically proven apps and gadgets are causing a stir?

Remote monitoring is a big area of research, with companies like Preventice Solutions and Biotricity offering heart monitoring kit that records and sends ECG data wirelessly to a smartphone app or to the cloud, allowing doctors to be alerted immediately of any heart abnormalities in their patients.

Preventice's BodyGuardian has received approval by the Food & Drug Administration (FDA), but just the software element of Biotricity's Bioflux product has so far been approved.

"Remote monitoring could save a lot of money - hundreds of thousands of dollars a year - because people have to go into hospital much less often," says Annette Zimmermann, research director at Gartner.

And Dexcom has recently had its continuous glucose monitoring system approved by the FDA, enabling people with Type 1 or 2 diabetes to measure their blood sugar levels automatically every five minutes and see the trends displayed on a smartphone.

A growing number of advice apps are winning approval, too, from myCOPD, which enables patients to manage Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disorder (COPD), to BlueStar, an app helping people with Type 2 diabetes manage their condition.

Fitness wearables may be more fashionable, but it's the clinically proven gadgets and apps that could end up saving the most lives.

Follow Matthew on Twitter here

GOTA CALLED FOR LASANTHA’S PHONE DETAILS CLAIMING ‘NATIONAL SECURITY’

by Nirmala Kannangara.-14/11/2016

Sequence of events that took place last week is to be in favour of the Founding Editor of The Sunday Leader Lasantha Wickrematunge and Senior Journalist Prageeth Eknaligoda murder and abduction investigations respectively.

The removal of the Director, Military Intelligence Unit, Suresh Sallay, who was accused of concealing evidence into Wickrematunge murder suspects and Eknaligoda abduction suspects was a welcome sign for the investigators while the leaked State Intelligence Service document dated September 10, 2008 that shows how Wickrematunge’s mobile phone details had been scrutinized by the then Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa would help the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to further dig into this and find out why the telephone details of the slain editor were obtained.

Also among the mobile telephone details the State Intelligence Service (SIS) had wanted were the then Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremasinghe, Mallik Samarawickrema, Shiral Lakthilake, Dayasiri Jayasekera, Rukman Senanayake, Sarath Ranawaka, Earl Gunasekera and Gayantha Karunathilake with whom Wickrematunge associated very closely.

Four months after the SIS of the Defence Ministry sought these telephone details, Wickrematunge was stabbed to death by an unidentified gang which later came to light that this gang of killers or for that matter at least one of them were from the military intelligence service unit.

Questions have been raised as to why the then Secretary, Defence directed the then Senior Deputy Inspector General of Police State Intelligence Service Keerthi Gajanayake to scrutinize telephone details of Lasantha Wickrematunge and the above-mentioned politicians who were in the opposition at that time claiming that the phone details were necessary to carry out intelligence operations related to national security.

Failing to contact Keerthi Gajanayake to find out as to why the telephone numbers of Wickrematunge and other politicians were obtained and whether they were a threat to the national security, a text message was sent to him seeking a comment. But until the paper went to press, Gajanayake neither returned the call nor sent a reply to the message.

Meanwhile attempts also made to contact the politicians whose telephone numbers were under scrutiny by the then Defence Secretary failed but a higher official at the Prime Minister’s Office who wished to remain anonymous said that although the two telephone numbers the then Opposition Leader were using too had been stated in the SIS document only one number was used by Ranil Wickremasinghe and the other was used by the then Coordinating Secretary to the Opposition Leader.

“Although even the then Opposition Leader knew that his telephones are tapped by the then regime, this is the first time we officially came to know that these telephones were tapped. This has to be checked with the Prime Minister once he returns to the country from Hong Kong whether this isn’t a privilege issue,” the higher official from the Temple Trees said.

Meanwhile the reason why Wickrematunge murder investigation was taken away from CID and was given to Terrorist Investigation Division (TID) by the then IGP Mahinda Balasooriya too has raised many questions. “Since the TID was formed by Gotabhaya Rajapaksa and its officials were handpicked by him, the then government knew that they can conceal evidence into Wickrematunge murder investigation as the CID at that time was slowly but surely questioning the suspects and gathering evidence,” a senior police officer told The Sunday Leader.

The police sources who wished to remain anonymous said how the then defence authorities, who wanted to link Sarath Fonseka into Wickrematunge’s murder, arrested several army officials taking detention orders that they were planning a coup to take over the government.

The sources said that all attempts taken to get the army officers arrested to confess that it was Sarath Fonseka that was involved in Wickrematunge murder became unfruitful. “First the CID questioned Pichchei Jesudasan on January 18, 2010 over the SIM cards but after military intelligence unit member Kandegedara Piyawansa’s name was dragged into the investigation by Jesudasan, the investigation was stalled for over six weeks.

“After it was found that the five SIM cards that were used by Wickrematunge’s murderers had been obtained from producing Jesudasan’s national identity card, the CID questioned him. He told how he and Piyawansa had liquor in June 2008 and how Piyawansa took his identity card, the CID knew that he (Jesudasan) was telling the truth and went away to question Piyawansa. When the CID questioned Piyawansa and once understood that he is a military intelligence unit member, the police took quick action to transfer the investigation from CID to the TID as those who were in the TID were Gotabhaya Rajapaksa’s men. Although Jesudasan was questioned on January 18, 2010 and subsequently Piyawansa was questioned until the TID took over the investigation none of these two were arrested,” sources added.

“The TID took over the investigation in the first week of February 2010 and Brig. Duminda Kappettiwalana was removed from the army together with 13 others the day after the 2010 presidential election for their support rendered to Sarath Fonseka. Brig. Keppettiwalana was late arrested on February 1, 2010 on charges for his alleged involvement in a coup to take over the government with Sarath Fonseka.

“As there was no proof to arrest Keppettiwalana for this murder, the TID arrested Keppettiwalana on charges of a planned coup but had told his wife that he was arrested for Wickrematunge murder. Meanwhile on February 23, 2010, 17 military intelligence unit members from the Kohuwala intelligence unit were arrested for Wickrematunge murder. The TID tried to get these suspects to say that it was Fonseka that gave orders to kill Lasantha but however they could not accomplish their idea,” sources added.

Meanwhile military sources said as to how the investigators into Wickrematunge, Eknaligoda, MP Raviraj and Joseph Pararajasingham could now accelerate their investigations since Suresh Sallay does not hold the most powerful position – the Director Military Intelligance Unit.

“In most of these cases, military intelligence members were involved and after the fall of the Rajapaksa regime, when the CID wanted SLA to provide the movement register and other details relating to certain army personnel identified as suspects in political murders, none of these information were released by Sallay. “When the CID wanted SLA to surrender the documents they needed to make headway into these investigations, Sallay did not release these information and the Army Commander too was helpless. It was Sallay that spent millions of rupees from the military intelligence budget to get lawyers to appear for those who were arrested in Wickrematunge and Eknaligoda cases. Even he provided an army vehicle for the suspect’s family to come to courts when the cases were taken up. But since he is no more in the seat and he is given a less responsible job and cannot interfere in these murder trials, the CID can now get whatever the information and documents they need from SLA and go ahead with the investigation,” sources said.

Meanwhile, questions have also been raised as to whether the newly appointed Director Military Intelligence Unit Brig. Vijendra Gunathilake will be able to carry out his duty with some of the high ranking officials in the intelligence unit who are closer to the former Director Suresh Sallay and also to the leaders of the past regime.

“Brig. Gunathilake is a dignified officer with an unblemished service record. We expect him to carry out a good job but the question is whether he could be able to do so with few higher officials below him too are alleged to be working hand in glove with Sallay and some higher officials in the Ministry of Defence during the previous regime. The wave of unrest that was reported from the north a few days ago is alleged to have orchestrated by these intelligence unit members on the directives of certain politicians in the opposition to de-stabilize the present government. This is what we told from the day the new government was formed, that unless the military intelligence unit chief is replaced with an honourable military officer, it would become an issue to the national security,” Defence sources said.

Meanwhile a retired high ranking military officer last week contacted this reporter to give more information on Wickrematunge’s day of murder. Speaking on condition of anonymity, this military officer said that he is willing to give evidence if the CID makes a request to him. “For this moment I kindly ask you not to publish my name but after reading this article if the CID or even the Attorney-at-law that appears for Wickrematunge’s family interest make a request for me to come forward to give evidence, I am ready to come. As you are having my contact details, in such an event please give my name and my mobile number to them,” he said.

According to him, he was the then Director Operations, Joint Operations Headquarters at the time Wickrematunge was murdered. “Now the CID is doing the investigations and as responsible citizens of this country, whatever the information we know should be given to them which will help them to gather more details into the murder,” sources said.

According to him, the day Wickrematunge was murdered, the daily conference at the Joint Operations Headquarters (JOH) was held as usual headed by the then Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Donald Perera.

“I was in my office after the daily conference when I received a call from the Chief of Defence Staff and broke the news that Lasantha Wickrematunge had been stabbed from a weapon and that it was the then Colombo’s Overall Operations Commander Mano Perera that had broken the news to him. The Chief of Defence Staff wanted me to check on this news. In my office Sirasa channel was on all the time as whatever that happens in Colombo and its suburbs it was Sirasa TV that broke the news first. However at the time I was told about this attack, Sirasa TV had not announced the news. It was after 15 to 20 minutes the news was telecasted,” sources claimed.

The sources further said that it is the duty of the investigators to find out the exact time Wickrematunge was stabbed and the time Mano Perera broke the news to Donald Perera.

“Who had told Mano Perera about the incident? Had the information come from the killers or from another person who was closer to the scene of crime? If the telephone details of these officials are checked it would be very much easier for the CID to make a breakthrough,” the sources added.

Meanwhile the sources further pointed a finger to a former army Brigadier who was Colonel General Staff at the Joint Operations Headquarters and said that the time is right for the investigators to check his movements.

“This person in question resembles one of the sketches of the suspects released by the CID a few months ago that was involved in Wickrematunge murder. He worked in my office but on this particular day he was not in office during the morning but reported to work in the afternoon. I presume that it was he who had called Mano Perera about the attack and let the investigators check their telephone details to confirm whether this officer was closer to the scene of the crime,” sources said.
Sunday Leader

The GTF Submission Is An Agenda For Failure

By Dinesh Dodamgoda –November 14, 2016

Dinesh Dodamgoda

The Global Tamil Forum (GTF) published its submission for a new constitution last week. The submission contains counterproductive power-sharing suggestions, hypocrite statements, and an agenda for failure.

The Submission

The submission calls for institutional arrangements of inclusive decision making, partitioned decision making and predetermined decision making. Inclusive decision making mechanisms that the GFT proposes aim to share state power by including the Tamil speaking people’s will in the government by guaranteeing participation of representatives of elites from the Tamil speaking people in the making of governmental decisions. This aim is to be achieved through mandates that guarantee allocated positions in the institutions of governance (legislative, administrative, judicial and armed forces).

Partitioned decision making mechanisms demand for mandates to create a Tamil speaking ethno-linguistic region in the Northern and Eastern provinces, namely “Autonomous Tamil Region” or ATR with administrative autonomy, appropriate legislative power and the executive powers exercised by the Cabinet of Ministers. Hence the GTF implies a call for a ‘separate regional parliament’ for the Northern and the Eastern provinces.

Predetermined decision making mechanisms are to include mandates for prohibited decisions and an extraordinary amendment procedure to amend the constitutional provisions. The GTF calls for ‘vetoes’ as it suggests that the constitutionally guaranteed structures and functions of the government and the centre cannot be altered without the consent of the ATR body.

According to the above discussed decision making arrangements proposed by the GTF, the organisation wants an ethnofederal state on the basis of institutional arrangements under a power-sharing agreement. Therefore, the strategy that the GTF proposes to build sustainable peace and democracy in Sri Lanka is power-sharing.

Power-Sharing Provisions

The GTF included provisions in their submission for central power-sharing, territorial power-sharing, military power-sharing and economic power-sharing. Under the basis that the GTF named as Shared Rule, the organisation suggests to establish a second chamber to make regional/provincial representation as a mechanism to share power at the centre. In a form of government of Parliamentary democracy, a second chamber will establish a bicameral legislature in Sri Lanka. The ATR proposed by the GTF will send representatives to the proposed second chamber and the criteria for representation will be ethnicity. Hence the representatives will position themselves on the Tamil ethnic line at the centre in controlling legislative, executive, and judicial powers in the state.

In terms of territorial power sharing the GTF proposes to establish an Autonomous Tamil Region with an indication to establish a regional parliament for the Northern and Eastern provinces. Hence the GTF considers territory as a proxy for ethnicity. Furthermore, the GTF’s submission suggests to share military power as a right of the Tamil people by guaranteeing the right to due representation of the Tamil people in the armed forces. Moreover, the GTF demands to give the ATR the widest possible power to restructure the economy in respect of the public and private sectors. Hence they demand economic power-sharing provisions as well. In their suggestions, the GTF requests to make provisions to share national revenue between the central and the ATR governments, in addition to the regional generation revenue by ATR.

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Still Searching for the Truth: One woman’s relentless quest for justice

Still Searching for the Truth: One woman’s relentless quest for justice

Will Sri Lanka’s report to the Committee Against Torture Review on 15 November give updates?

YOLANDA FOSTER on 11/14/2016

Sandya Ekneligoda is the wife of Prageeth, a Sri Lankan journalist, cartoonist and political analyst who has been missing since he left work on the evening of 24 January 2010. Since that fateful day Sandya has been relentless in her quest for justice. She keeps a spotlight on her husband’s disappearance campaigning in Sri Lanka as well as giving testimony at the Human Rights Council in Geneva. In 2015 she resorted to smashing coconuts outside the residence of the former President. This ritual – a form of cursing – was a courageous act of defiance against a state determined to bury the truth.

After the government of Maithripala Sirisena took power in January 2015 the family became more hopeful that things would change. On 23 March 2015, the Inspector General of Police (IGP) ordered the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to open a fresh investigation into Prageeth’s disappearance.  Nine suspects attached to the army intelligence camp in Giritale were arrested by the Criminal Investigation Department and remanded by the magistrate on 24th August 2015.  Despite the efforts of the Police, the case has dragged on with Sandya telling Amnesty International that she has now made more than 80 appearances in Court.

Part of the problem lies with the glacial pace of the criminal justice system in Sri Lanka. More seriously Sandya despairs of the deliberate obstruction from military intelligence to co-operate with requests from the Homagama Court to share critical evidence. In the meantime, the wives of the military suspects filed a Fundamental Rights petition that their prolonged detention was unlawful.

Women as fighters & breadwinners

I know that Sandya is a fighter. She has been prepared to campaign on the streets of Colombo and has kept a vigil in Court despite the absurd number of hearings. Since Prageeth went missing she has been the sole breadwinner for her children and forced to make tough choices. Travelling to Geneva earlier in the year to raise concerns before the Working Group on Enforced Disappearances she worried about her sons left behind in Sri Lanka.  Thoughts of their education and care were constantly on her mind.

On 30 August, the International Day of the Disappeared I heard Sandya In Colombo inspire other mothers to campaign for truth saying “our tears should be like thunder”. But the fear that the suspects in Prageeth’s case might be released had rattled her. On 13 October Maithripala Sirisena, the President, expressed concern that the military suspects in Prageeth’s case had been held for too long without charges. Sandya told me that she thought this was putting political pressure on the judiciary to release the suspects. ‘If the suspects are released my life will be at risk’.

On 24 October I accompanied Sandya to the Avissewella Courts to hear the outcome of the military wives’ petition. It wasn’t an easy journey– the heavy monsoon rains made Sandya’s bus trip much longer. The deliberations were prolonged in part due to the volume of cases before the Judge – 27 that day – not uncommon.  This means families have to wait around as case management and scheduling is not always clear. As rain beat down on the court roof I could feel Sandya’s tension rising – she was nervous that the suspects would be released. The Judge rejected the State Counsel’s request for a postponement in the case and said that there were already too many delays. He asked the lawyers to return to Court in the afternoon. Later that day he ordered the release of 2 suspects on bail. In fairness it is a complex issue. The suspects had have been held for 14 months and Amnesty International takes a clear position on prolonged detentions without charges by calling on states around the world to charge or release detainees. The Judge also imposed the maximum bail conditions on the suspects.

Sandya though was clearly disappointed by the result and raised her concerns for protection and need for independence of the judiciary with the media. But being a fighter she was already planning how to continue to campaign. ‘We have to fight for the truth….I want just a fragment, a small piece of bone so I can say a proper goodbye not silence’.

Women’s courage and perseverance

Sandya is not alone in her search. A large number of women from across the island have come forward to testify and call for justice. In their search for the missing they have used a range of tactics. Women have lodged complaints with the Police; the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC); with government agents and their members of Parliament. Families like Sandya’s search for the truth is long overdue.  It’s more than seven years since the end of the war in Sri Lanka but the promises of accountability still seem to be just that – promises.

To help turn a page on a dark past the Sri Lankan government has to make good on the commitments it made when it co-sponsored Resolution 30/1 at the Human Rights Council. Earlier in the year the state ratified the Convention on Disappearances and has now created legislation to establish an Office on the Missing Persons. But are these steps genuine efforts to determine the truth? So far no-one has been appointed to be the Chair of the Office on the Missing persons and families feel let down by lack of consultation in its development.

What Next – what will the government say at the Committee Against Torture Review in Geneva?

An opportunity to review progress in Prageeth’s case is coming up next week as  the Committee on Torture (CAT) meets in Geneva to review Sri Lanka on the 15^th and 16^thof November . Prageeth’s case is featured in the list of issues under consideration by CAT. Let’s hope the state now starts to deliver and gives a proper update on progress in Prageeth’s case.

Further  Information

• To follow CAT’s broadcast on 14 November on Sri Lanka you can watch the webcast here, http://webtv.un.org/live
• To see the list of issues under consideration by CAT under the 5^th periodic report of Sri Lanka see, http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/Treaties/CAT/Shared%20Documents/LKA/INT_CAT_LIT_LKA_24445_E.pdf
• To view the report of the Sri Lankan Human Rights Commission to the 5^th CAT review see, http://hrcsl.lk/english/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Report-to-CAT-Committee-.pdf

###

Editors note: Also read ‘Involuntary Disappearances – The North South Divide’ by Kusal Perera and ‘Maithripala Sirisena’s Victory: Winning the Hearts of Women’ by Amita Arudpragasam.

Support of people cannot be taken for granted by their leaders

 

By Jehan Perera-November 14, 2016, 7:59 pm

The Sri Lankan reaction to the outcome of the US election reflected the ethnic divide at its extremes. Even prior to the election Tamil nationalist politicians had dashed coconuts at temples to bring victory to Hillary Clinton. They believed that she would ensure that the problems of Tamils in Sri Lanka would remain on the US government’s list of priorities due to the interest she had shown in these matters in the past. After the election Sinhalese nationalists expressed their satisfaction at the victory of a kindred spirit who shared the same antipathy towards outsiders to the extent of physically building a wall to keep them out and put his country first. Those who were somewhere in the middle between these competing nationalisms and who looked upon the United States as the country were the values of universal human rights are upheld, renewed and regenerated were dismayed, although this is only likely to be a temporary setback to a nation that is nurtured on the lives of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.

However, Brexit in the United Kingdom and now Donald Trump in the United States bring messages that are disturbing ones for Sri Lanka as it tries to find its way to a political solution that can be mutually acceptable to the people of the country and the united nation it is trying to create. There is a need to find such a solution to the problem of competing nationalisms that has blighted the country’s progress from the time of its Independence from colonial rule nearly seven decades ago. But now the international experience from two countries that have served as role models of democracy, good governance and universal human rights is that large swathes of society may not hold to values that are universal in their application but instead look to themselves first. If the majority of people feel that they are not getting their due, and those they deem to be outsiders are getting undue benefits, they will oppose it when they get the opportunity.

In the case of Brexit and now the US many assertions have been made and explanations given why the people voted against what their political leaders proposed. They range from disenchantment with economic progress, to giving undue benefits to those who do not deserve them to loss of moral stature. At the US elections, Hillary Clinton took on progressive stances that appear to have alienated a large proportion of the electorate. She stood for abortion rights, gay and lesbian rights and migrants’ rights, which seems to have alienated wide swathes of the US population. President-elect Trump was able to get the vote of people who viewed these rights as anathema to their sense of morality. But ironically it was not the majority of votes that he won. He did not get the majority of votes, but still won because of a quirk in the American system of democracy.

NATIONALIST APPEAL

The Electoral College system adopted in the United States was originally meant to protect democracy from the tyranny of the majority. Today the system privileges voters in less urbanized areas who are largely white and less educated. The subversion of majority voting and the parochial result it has brought about may induce the intelligentsia in the United States to find new and more appropriate solutions to guarding against the tyranny of the majority. Perhaps the most important factor in the Trump victory was his use of racism and nationalism to garner the popular vote. He took on stridently anti Muslim and anti Mexican positions. It was said that one of his most crowd pleasing punch lines, which never failed to win rounds of applause, was to say he would build a wall.

The clear polarization of the vote, with Trump getting the majority of votes of white people is an indication that his appeal to racism and nationalism was successful. He played to the inchoate feeling within white Americans that they are the true Americans and ought to have their special position in the country recognized and accepted. Their proportion in the population has been dropping as is said to be around 60 percent today which is a source of resentment to them. President elect Trump was able to appeal to sentiments such as reviving the customary Christmas time greeting of "Happy Christmas" rather than "Happy Holidays." Ethnic nationalism is today a growing force in the world, and even developed countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom are not spared it.

Another reason for Trump’s triumph was the desire for change. The Democratic Party from which Hillary Clinton campaigned had been in power for two successive terms. There is always a desire on the part of people for change. Governments can seldom solve problems in society especially those that concern the distribution of limited resources to people who have needs that require more resources. In Sri Lanka, this was the key reason why President Mahinda Rajapaksa succumbed in his attempt to secure a third term of office as President. Although the former president had a powerful mass appeal to the Sinhalese majority on account of his nationalism, the desire for change was a countervailing force. There was resentment within society of his nepotism and the corruption of his government, which benefited a few, and which would have got further entrenched had he won a third term.

SEEKING CHANGE

At the last presidential elections in Sri Lanka, the political campaigns for change and for nationalism did not go together. Former president Rajapaksa’s appeal to nationalism was not supplemented by a similar appeal for change, as he had been president for two terms and prior to that prime minister for a term. Still for all, the former president’s nationalist campaign was strong enough to secure for him the majority of the Sinhalese electorate. But this was countered by the desire for change, as he had nothing new to offer-- except for more of the same, which was nationalism. The campaign of the opposition parties was focused on the changes they promised to bring, in which anti-corruption and good governance took the central place. The danger today, however, is that the governing is in danger of losing its agenda for change in the eyes of the people. There is a sense of drift with the government appearing ineffective in dealing with either corruption or good governance.

The lesson that the government can from Brexit and now from the Trump victory is that the people’s vote cannot be taken for granted. One of the great strengths of the present government is that it is an alliance comprising the two largest political parties, which can ensure it a 2/3 majority in Parliament. However, there is no guarantee that even with this supermajority in parliament, that the government can take the majority of people with it. The government seems to be aware of this. It has been postponing local government elections for the past year. It has been giving various technical reasons for the postponement, especially the need to finalise the delimitation of electorates. A similar challenge to the government will arise with regard to the proposed constitutional changes which can require a referendum in addition to securing a 2/3 majority in parliament.

At the 85th birthday felicitation to renowned civil society leader Dr A T Ariyaratne, which was attended by President Maithripala Sirisena, the Sarvodaya leader said that any government needed a threefold power to accomplish its goals. These were moral power, people’s power and state power. The government needs to strengthen its moral power and people’s power to ensure its success. It needs to ensure that justice is done, and seen to be done, in relation to the major corruption cases that have captured public attention. These include the corruptions of the past government as well as more recent acts of corruption, such as the Central Bank bond scam. Second the government needs to ensure the support of the people. There is a need for the government to be more transparent with the people, and to consult with them, and explain to them its plans for the future, if it is to take the people along with its reform process.