Trump’s Torture Project : What Do We Need to Know?

“Obama’s failure to rein in George Bush’s national security policies hands Donald Trump a fully loaded weapon. The president’s failure to understand that these powers could not be entrusted in the hands of any president, not even his, have now put us in a position where they are in the hands of Donald Trump.”

by Andy Worthington

( November 21, 2016, London, Sri Lanka Guardian) So the bad news, on Guantánamo, torture, Islamophobia and war, is that, as Charlie Savage explained in the New York Times this week, “As a presidential candidate, Donald J. Trump vowed to refill the cells of the Guantánamo Bay prison and said American terrorism suspects should be sent there for military prosecution. He called for targeting mosques for surveillance, escalating airstrikes aimed at terrorists and taking out their civilian family members, and bringing back waterboarding and a ‘hell of a lot worse’ — not only because ‘torture works,’ but because even ‘if it doesn’t work, they deserve it anyway.’”

Trump’s Torture Project What Do We Need to Know.docx by Thavam Ratna on Scribd

In Brazil, a Corruption Case Begins as Economy Still Struggles

BY EMILY TAMKIN-NOVEMBER 22, 2016

There is good news and bad news in Brazil.

The good news is that, on Tuesday, Reuters reported that central bank data showed the country’s account deficit decreased to $3.34 billion in October from September. Also in October, Brazil attracted $8.4 billion in foreign direct investment.

The bad news is that this is cold comfort. On Monday, Brazil’s finance ministry lowered the country’s gross domestic product projection from 1.6 percent to 1.0 percent, a sign that Brazil’s economy will be slow to recover from a major recession.

But that’s just the bad news in the background. In the foreground, there’s the corruption trial against former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, or Lula.

Trial testimony began on Monday. Silva has been charged with corruption and money laundering, and has been accused of taking political bribes from OAS, a construction company.

Prosecutors allege that a beachfront condominium, officially owned and renovated by OAS, actually belongs to Silva. OAS is embroiled in a wider investigation into Petrobras, the state-owned oil company, which allegedly overpriced contracts to pay for bribes. (The brains behind this entire operation is believed to be a Spanish-Brazilian lawyer arrested in Madrid on Tuesday.)

Silva maintains that the case is politically motivated, that the property is not his, and that he had no knowledge of any of these corrupt dealings. He has characterized the case as a “witch-hunt.”

There are two ways in which one could read the timing of the trial and economic announcement. The first is that growth slowed in part because corruption hurt certain key sectors, and that Silva was too busy being corrupt to strengthen the economy, or, at the very least, asleep at the proverbial wheel. Under this school of thought, this trial represents part of a concerted effort to move forward economically and ethically.

The second way of looking at today’s news is that the current government is hoping that the past will distract Brazilians from the bleak projections for their future.

Photo credit: NELSON ALMEIDA/AFP/Getty Images

Factcheck Q&A: dental tests for child migrants

• 20 OCT 2016

An MP has called for dental checks on refugees who claim to be children.

The Conservative member for Monmouth, David Davies, said some teenagers photographed arriving in the UK on Monday under a scheme to resettle unaccompanied minors “don’t look like children”.

He called for claimants to have their teeth or wrist bones X-rayed to check their real age, denying that such tests would be “intrusive”.

Mr Davies was later accused of “disgraceful xenophobic rhetoric” by an SNP MP, but defended himself by saying: “I don’t want to vilify anyone, and I would like to see genuine children being brought in, but I think we have got a right to raise this question.”

It’s obviously an emotive subject. What are the facts?

Who are these young refugees?

The 14 young people photographed arriving this week are the first of several hundred unaccompanied children now living in refugee camps on the outskirts of Calais, whom Britain has agreed to take in.

There are an estimated 1,000 such young asylum seekers in the notorious camps. The French government is about to close them down and disperse the people living there.

The UK government has agreed to resettle children who are judged to have direct family connections to this country.

It’s not yet clear what the final number will be but the home secretary, Amber Rudd, said campaigners had identified 387 children as having a legal case for coming to Britain, and the French authorities had agreed to check their identities.

Does the Home Office check their ages?

The Home Office said the 14 teenagers who arrived this week had already been interviewed by French and British officials, who were satisfied they were genuine child refugees.

A Home Office spokesman said: “Where credible and clear documentary evidence of age is not available, criteria including physical appearance and demeanour are used as part of the interview process to assess age.”
The full details of this joint checking process has not been made public.

Ordinarily, British asylum officials treat applicants who claim to be children as adults if they have no documents proving their age and “their physical appearance/demeanour very strongly suggests that they are significantly over 18 years of age”.

The decision has to be signed off by a supervisor and can be overturned if new evidence of age comes to light. All other young people who cannot prove their age are given the benefit of the doubt.

But young asylum seekers can be subject to something called a “Merton test” later if the local authority tasked with looking after them doubts their age.

Council social workers carry out detailed interviews to try to piece together the claimant’s background and likely age, but are not supposed to make a decision based on appearance alone.

Is the Home Office going to start doing dental tests?

No. A spokesman said: “We do not use dental X-rays to confirm the ages of those seeking asylum in the UK. The British Dental Association has described them as inaccurate, inappropriate and unethical.”

Both the last Labour government and the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition made noises about introducing dental tests, only to quietly drop the plans.

Some local authorities have reportedly tried to use dental age tests rather than stick to the Merton guidelines.

How accurate are dental tests?

There appears to be a difference of expert opinion about this, but everyone agrees that dental imaging is not completely accurate as a judge of age.

Tim Cole, professor of medical statistics at UCL, told FactCheck that dental imaging used to test whether someone was over 18 or not would give the wrong result about one third of the time.

And that “error rate goes up slightly” when you start testing people of different racial and ethnic groups, he added, since people of different races mature at slightly different rates.

Professor Graham Roberts, a paediatric dentist at King’s College London, has disputed that dental age assessment is harmful or unethical, writingthat it “is not precise but it provides a realistic quantifiable estimate of age which is not matched by any other method”.

Comparison of dental tests with genuine birth certificates shows that “42 per cent of the age estimates are within six months of the true age and 68 per cent of age estimates are within one year of the true age” he wrote in an article in the British Dental Journal.

What are the ethical problems?

The British Dental Association – the main trade union and professional body for dentists –  says: “It is inappropriate and unethical to take radiographs of people when there is no health benefit for them.

“X-rays taken for a clinically-justified reason must not be used for another purpose without the patient’s informed consent, without coercion and in full knowledge of how the radiograph will be used and by whom.”

The Refugee Council says it has heard of cases of young people told they will be treated as an adult claimant unless they consent to a dental x-ray, or told that the X-ray results can accurately determine a young person’s age – which isn’t true.

“We became aware of this practice after young people we were helping were to be sent for X-rays without informed consent being gained,” the campaign group said.

Other individuals and organisations who have objected to dental X-rays on ethical grounds in the past include the General Dental Council, the Royal College of Paediatrics, Children’s Commissioners and Chief Medical Officers.

Is there a better way of assessing age?

Not that we know of.

Britain used to X-ray claimants’ wrist bones to try to assess their age, but the practice has been widely discredited.

The Conservative Home Secretary Willie Whitelaw banned bone X-rays in 1982 after hearing expert evidence that it was “unlikely to provide more accurate evidence of age than the assessment of other physical characteristics of an individual”.

In 2011 the Australian authorities were forced to free a number of young Indonesian fishermen they wrongly jailed as adults for people smuggling.

Bone X-rays had been used to decided the defendants’ ages, but Australia has now agreed not to use the method.

Other countries in Europe use a range of methods, some of them controversial.

Many do carry out bone and dental X-rays – despite scepticism from doctors – and genital examinations have been reported to have taken place in Austria and Germany, although the practice was recently bannedin Germany.

How many adult asylum seekers pretend to be children?

A lot of news stories say things like: “Two-thirds of child refugees screened by the Home Office to the year September 2015 were later found to be adults.”

That doesn’t mean two-thirds of all people who claim to be child refugees are lying.

The latest figures we have from the Home Office cover the year to June 2016. In those 12 months, There were 3,472 asylum claims from unaccompanied children.

Officials were suspicious about less than a third of those claimants, and 933 age disputes were resolved. Of those cases, 636 were ruled to be over 18.

So about 18 per cent of all people who say they are unaccompanied children ended up being treated as adults. It’s hard to say they were “proved” to be over 18, since in most cases there will be no definitive proof of age.

And there is another side to this story: genuine children being wrongly treated as adults on the basis of their appearance.

We can’t say for sure how often this happens, but the Refugee Council says it regularly takes on cases of young people being wrongly treated as adults and held in detention.

The organisation says it has supported 41 young asylum seekers whose age was disputed since October 1 2014. Of those, 20 have been reassessed and found to be children, and most of the others have been released from detention pending an assessment.

Tsunami hits Japan after strong quake, nuclear plant briefly disrupted

An aerial view shows Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s Fukushima Daini nuclear power plant in Naraha town, Fukushima prefecture, Japan, in this photo taken by Kyodo February 26, 2012. Pic: Reuters.

22nd November 2016

A POWERFUL earthquake rocked northern Japan on Tuesday, briefly disrupting cooling functions at a nuclear plant and generating a tsunami that hit the same region devastated by a massive quake, tsunami and nuclear disaster in 2011.

The earthquake, which was felt in Tokyo, had a magnitude of 7.4, the Japan Meteorological Service said, and was centred off the coast of Fukushima prefecture at a depth of about 10 km (6 miles).

Japan Meteorological Agency's earthquake and volcano observations division director Koji Nakamura points at a map showing earthquake information during a news conference in Tokyo, Japan November 22, 2016. Pic: Reuters/Toru Hanai

There were no reports of deaths or serious injuries several hours after the quake hit at 5:59am (2059 GMT Monday).

A tsunami of up to 1.4 meters(4.5 feet) had been observed around Sendai, about 70km (45 miles) north of Fukushima, with smaller waves hitting ports elsewhere along the coast, public broadcaster NHK said.

Television footage showed ships moving out to sea from harbours as tsunami warning signals wailed, after warnings of waves of up to 3 meters (10 feet) were issued.

“We saw high waves but nothing that went over the tidal barriers,” a man in the city of Iwaki told NTV television network.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii said the tsunami threat had now largely passed.

SEE ALSO: Strong earthquake shakes northern Japan; no tsunami warning

“Sea level fluctuations may continue along some coasts of Japan over the next few hours,” it said.

The U.S. Geological Survey measured Tuesday’s quake at magnitude 6.9, down from an initial 7.3.

All Japan’s nuclear power plants on the coast threatened by the tsunami are shut down in the wake of the March 2011 disaster, which knocked out Tokyo Electric Power Co’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, spilling radiation into the air and sea.

A spokeswoman for Tokyo Electric Power, known as Tepco, said the cooling system for a storage pool for spent nuclear fuel at the reactor at its Fukushima Daini Plant had been halted. A spokesman said the cooling system had restarted soon after.

No other damage from the quake has been confirmed at any of its power plants, although there have been blackouts in some areas, the spokeswoman said.

Only two reactors are operating in Japan, both in the southwest. Even when in shutdown, nuclear plants need cooling systems operating to keep spent fuel cool.

Tohoku Electric Power Co said there was no damage to its Onagawa nuclear plant, while the Kyodo news agency reported there were no irregularities at the Tokai Daini nuclear plant in Ibaraki prefecture.

COAST EVACUATED

One woman suffered cuts to her head from falling dishes, Kyodo news agency reported, citing fire department officials. Japanese Minister for Disaster Management Jun Matsumoto told reporters about three hours after the quake that there had been no reports of significant injuries so far.

NHK showed footage of residents of Ishinomaki, a city badly hit in 2011, standing on a hill dressed in hats and heavy coats, staring down at the ocean. Several thousand people along the coast evacuated or were told to evacuate.

Earthquakes are common in Japan, one of the world’s most seismically active areas. Japan accounts for about 20 percent of the world’s earthquakes of magnitude 6 or greater.

The March 11, 2011, quake was magnitude 9, the strongest quake in Japan on record. The massive tsunami it triggered caused the world’s worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl a quarter of a century earlier.

Nissan Motor Co said it would suspend work at its engine factory in Fukushima at least until the latest tsunami warning was lifted. A spokesman said there were no injuries or damage at the plant, which was badly damaged in the 2011 disaster.

Separately, Toyota Motor Corp said all its factories in northeastern Japan were operating as usual.

An Iwaki city fire department official said there was smoke or fire at Kureha’s research centre in a petrochemical complex in Iwaki city at 6:17am (2117 GMT Monday) but it was extinguished soon after. Other details were not clear, he said, but no other major damage had been reported in the city so far.

Japan’s famous Shinkansen bullet trains were halted along one stretch of track and some other train lines were also stopped.

One hotel in Ofunato, also badly hit by the 2011 quake, initially told guests to stay in the facility but later bussed them to higher ground.

Japanese financial markets were little affected, with Nikkei futures recovering after a brief fall and the yen up a touch against the U.S. dollar, although still near a five-month low hit earlier in the session.

Scientists to 'reset' blood proteins in attempt to slow ageing process

Trial will attempt to change levels of proteins in older blood, believed to hamper growth and maintenance of healthy tissues

 Red blood cells. Researchers found evidence that infusions of young blood could speed up muscle repair in older animals. Photograph: Ikon Images/REX Shutterstock

Ian Sample Science editor-Tuesday 22 November 2016 

In what could be a fresh chapter in the never-ending story of the search for eternal youth, scientists are to tinker with people’s blood in the hope of slowing down the ageing process and preventing age-related diseases.

Researchers in California plan to launch a clinical trial of the radical – and highly experimental – approach in the next six months, after a small study in mice found the treatment had promise. 

People who take part in the trial will have their blood passed through a machine that resets abnormal levels of proteins seen in older blood. The scientists believe these high levels of certain proteins can hamper the growth and maintenance of healthy body tissues, and so contribute to their deterioration in old age.

Plans for the trial emerged as scientists announced the results of the animal study, which was part-funded by Calico, Google’s life extension company. The study showed that infusions of old blood reduced the growth of fresh liver and brain cells in young mice and impaired their performance in a strength test.

The same series of experiments found evidence that infusions of young blood could speed up muscle repair in older animals. But Irina Conboy, who led the work at the University of California, Berkeley, said the improvement could be due the dilution of old blood in the animals, rather than the young blood having rejuvenating properties itself.

The work is the latest in a string of studies to show that molecules in blood may shift the apparent pace of ageing in various bodily tissues. But while much of the previous work has focused on the rejuvenating effects of proteins lurking in young blood, the Berkeley team conclude that abnormal levels of proteins in old blood are more important.

“These proteins are made by all the tissues in your body every day,” Conboy told the Guardian. “When they are present at low levels, they are important, and you cannot live without them. But with ageing their levels become skewed. Some of them go up, and some go down. So the rational approach is not to give people young blood, but to normalise the levels of these key molecules.”

Asked about her hopes for a treatment, Conboy said, “If you can prevent Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and type 2 diabetes, you pretty much provide many more decades of healthy active life to everybody.”

One scientist who read the study was not convinced by the findings. Tony Wyss-Coray at Stanford University has set up a clinical trial to investigate whether injections of young blood plasma can help people with early stage Alzheimer’s disease. He said he doubted the results because of the statistics the team use, and the fact that the studies draw on only four pairs of mice for each experiment.

In the past, scientists have investigated what happens when blood is swapped between old and young animals by conjoining them in a surgical operation known as parabiosis. Because the animals share a blood supply, the procedure allows scientists to look for effects of young blood on old animals and vice versa. But mice that are conjoined in this way share more than a blood supply. For example, an older mouse attached to a younger one benefits from the latter’s more youthful organs too.

In the latest study, reported in Nature Communications, Conboy’s team came up with a new way to transfer blood between animals without conjoining them. Instead of surgically attaching the animals, their blood is drawn through a tube by a computer-controlled pump and directly transfused into the recipient animal.

The Berkeley team is now working on a device that can filter out high levels of proteins from old human blood and so reset them to more youthful levels. “If you can remove key inhibitor molecules from the blood of an old person and then return that blood into them, that could be immediately therapeutic,” Conboy said.

“We are developing ideas for clinical trials to see what happens if you normalise levels of one key protein we think is inhibitory,” she added. “We hope to start in six months and have results in three years.

“Right now our health declines after about seven decades. We are pretty much hoping to extend the productive plateau, where you’re not necessarily the world champion in swimming or running marathons, but you can continue for a few more decades without any critical illnesses.”

Dementia rates show signs of falling

By James Gallagher-22 November 2016

There is growing evidence that the dementia crisis may not be as bad as first feared, say researchers.

A study suggests the proportion of elderly people developing dementia is falling in the US - backing up similar findings in the UK and Europe.

Data from 21,057 people over the age of 65 in the US showed the proportion with dementia fell from 11.6% in 2000 to 8.8% in 2012.

The findings were published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine.

There is a suggestion that higher levels of education are protecting the brain from the disease.

One expert said the results were "incredibly important for the world".

Similar studies in Europe, published in the Lancet Neurology last year, suggested dementia rates had fallen in the UK and among Spanish men and had stabilised in other European countries.

Brain protection

Prof Kenneth Langa, who conducted the latest study at the University of Michigan, said: "Our results add to a growing body of evidence that this decline in dementia risk is a real phenomenon, and that the expected future growth in the burden of dementia may not be as extensive as once thought."

The slow decline in brain function is irreversible - there are no drugs or treatments - so finding ways of preventing the condition is hugely important.

Education has long been suspected to play a role, and the study found that while the dementia rate fell, the average time older adults had spent in school or university increased from 11.8 years in 2000 to 12.7 years in 2012.

It is possible that the mental challenge of education helps protect brain cells from dying later in life, or that once neurons start to die, education helps the rest of the brain rewire and compensate to prevent the symptoms of dementia appearing.

Good physical health is also thought to help protect the brain.

However, the study showed levels of diabetes, obesity and high blood pressure all increased between 2000 and 2012.

It is possible that better medication dampened their negative impact.

Prof Carol Brayne, who conducted the European analysis and is from the University of Cambridge, said the US study added "strong further evidence" that rates were declining in some countries.

She said education appeared to be significant and that people with higher levels of education seemed to "defer" dementia until later in life.

She told the BBC News website: "These findings are incredibly important for the world and underlie the importance of access to education.

"But it is likely to be a combination of risk factors - better health from conception, vaccinations, access to education, medical care, not smoking - that taken together will have an impact."

Prof Brayne added that identifying what could help stave off dementia would ensure "we don't go backwards, otherwise the gains we've had won't be had by future generations".

Biggest killer

However, the number of people affected could still soar. The falling rate could be overwhelmed by the rising numbers of people living into old age.

Despite a falling dementia rate, the disease still became the biggest killer in England and Wales last year.

There are also fewer people dying from other diseases, as well as changes to the way deaths are being recorded that move dementia up the rankings.

Hilary Evans, the chief executive of Alzheimer's Research UK, said the latest study was a cause for "optimism" but dementia remained the "greatest medical challenge".

He said: "While these findings present a positive picture, we must not forget that there are still huge numbers of people living with dementia.

"This useful study adds to emerging evidence suggesting that dementia prevalence may be either declining or stabilising in parts of Western Europe and the US, but there are still many unanswered questions.

"We need to understand what is driving this apparent change in dementia risk if we are to harness this knowledge to provide crucial public health advice."

Drs Ozioma Okonkwo and Sanjay Asthana, from the University of Wisconsin, said: "The growing consistency of reports indicating a potential decrease in its prevalence is encouraging.

"The focus now should be on better understanding the factors that underlie this trend and translating that knowledge into interventions that can reduce the risk of dementia for both individuals and society as a whole."

Follow James on Twitter.

Solution is Federalism: Siddharthan

Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MP for the Jaffna District Dharmalingam Siddharthan speaks about the political solution, the aspirations of the Tamils and the way forward. In an interview with the Daily Mirror, he says that they need a Federal System of Government. Excerpts:

 2016-11-22

How do you, as a Tamil politician who had links with the previous rule, see the change after the new Government assumed office?

We did not have any links with that Previous Government as such because we did not have Parliamentary representation at that time. We never directly supported the Government. Yet, till the end of the war, we were under threat from the LTTE. So, we had some sort of relationship with the armed forces. We needed it to protect our cadres. 
Prior to that, be it the Government of Ms. Chandrika Bandaranaike or Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, we supported them for making Constitutional changes aimed at bringing in peace. We voted with them for the budgetary matters, believing that we were required to cooperate with them for the establishment of peace. This is exactly what we are doing with the current Government.
During the war time, we had to depend on the army for our protection. Every politician of all hues got the military or Police security. For us, it was somewhat different because we were allowed to carry weapons. The military ruled out the possibility to give protection to hundreds of our cadres. So, some of them were armed.

How do you see the change of government?

People thought there would be a lot of changes after the war ended in 2009 enabling Tamil people to live at peace. Yet, it did not happen. Therefore, they were frustrated and angry with the Mahinda Rajapaksa government. 
For that reason only, we voted for the new Government, particularly for President Maitripala Sirisena. We did it in anticipation of a lot of changes. Of course, the government has done certain things. Today, the fear psychosis among the Tamils is no longer there. 
It is reasonably peaceful. Today, there are protests and meetings happening. But the Tamil people expected a lot of things to happen - the release of lands and detainees. 
But, nothing major is happening. There are small happenings. We cannot deny that. The government has decided to set up the Office of the Missing Persons. We have to wait and see. There is improvement. There is slow progress being made.
Tamil people are not certain about what is happening regarding Constitutional reforms too. They are very anxious and suspicious about it. They want a reasonable solution. As far as the TNA is concerned, we are helping the government in this respect. We try our best to help the government in the Constitution making process.

Why are Tamil people suspicious about it?

Tamil people are suspicious because of their past experiences. They have seen several pacts thrown away. Former President Chandrika Kumaratunga brought a set of proposals during her time, and it was seen as better than any other set of proposals worked out before. Yet, it did not have the passage through Parliament. Because of that only, we are suspicious. Still, in the government, top leaders make contradictory remarks.

 

"I do not believe international pressure can work beyond a point. It works to a certain extent only. The international community does not go beyond a limit. They will just ask the government to do it and keep repeating it. That is it. If the government does not do it, they will not send in armed forces and intervene or anything. It is simple as that."

 

Today, the situation is different. The two main parties are together in governance. The TNA is the main Opposition. The international community is watchful. Why are you still suspicious?

The two parties are together. That is the only reason for people to expect something to happen. But, within the Sri Lanka Freedom Party, there are divisions. Some of the SLFP MPs openly talk against devolution.
We can see it. International pressure is there because of the UN resolution. At the same time, one must understand India’s pressure in 1987. I do not think international pressure of that magnitude could be applied again by anyone. 
At that time 120,000 army soldiers were present in the region. The Indian envoy was playing the role of a Viceroy. Still, whatever promised to us was not fulfilled. When it was drafted in the legal form, it was a totally different picture. We are appealing to the international community to put pressure on the government here. We believe that the President and the Prime Minister are trying their best. But there are factors at play. We have to wait.

How practical is the application of international pressure in your view?

I do not believe international pressure can work beyond a point. It works to a certain extent only. The international community does not go beyond a limit. They will just ask the government to do it and keep repeating it. That is it. If the government does not do it, they will not send in armed forces and intervene or anything. It is as simple as that.

In this instance, how do you view the importance of securing the support of the majority community?

It is the most important thing. Unfortunately, since independence, we, the Tamil politicians, have failed in it. 
What happened is polarization since 1950s. Secondly, we also failed to address in their language in an understandable manner. Even, Ezhuga Thamizh in Jaffna was completely misinterpreted by the south. 
The Sinhala press worked overtime to misinterpret it. I do not think whatever declaration was made there, it was not reported correctly. They tried to project Northern Province Chief Minister C.V. Wigneswaran as a racist, next to Prabhakaran. That is not true. We put forward various demands like the release of detainees and occupied lands.
What we said about Buddhism was also not reported properly. Buddhist temples are continued to be built in the north and the east. We are not opposed to the Buddhist temples being there. We are only opposed to the construction of temples in private lands without the permission of their rightful owners. 
We are opposed to doing it by force. 
In Kilinochchi, there is this Mariamma Kovil. In that temple land, a Buddhist temple is being built. The same is happening in Mannar. If there were Buddhists there, they will do it properly by buying a plot of land and all. That is alright. The Sinhala–Buddhists should know one thing -the difference between Hinduism and Buddhism is very less, almost none. 
A large number of Tamils visit Buddhist viharas. In the north, during the war time, two Viharas survived in Kilinochchi and Jaffna. A Bhikkhu was living there. No Tamil Hindu is against Buddhism. It is the domination which we do not like.

Against this backdrop, what is the way forward for Tamil Politicians?

We have to continue to put pressure on the government and the international community. That is to secure a reasonable devolution package. We are for the change of the Constitution, so that aspirations of Tamil people can be met. 
At the same time, we want to look after our own affairs in our part of the country. We are not asking for the division of the country. We will never go for an armed struggle again. I think no Tamil wants the country to revert to war. We want to do this through democratic, peaceful means.

"The Sinhala press worked overtime to misinterpret it. I do not think whatever declaration was made there, it was not reported correctly. They tried to project Northern Province Chief Minister C.V. Wigneswaran as a racist, next to Prabhakaran. That is not true. We put forward various demands like the release of detainees and occupied lands"

What is the nature of political solution the TNA expects?

The TNA expects a Federal Constitution because we have said very clearly in the 2013 Provincial Council Elections manifesto and the manifesto for the 2015 Parliamentary election.

Yet, there is a lot of opposition to Federalism. What is your view?

We understand it. Federalism is anathema to Sinhala people. For us, the unitary status is anathema. We have to see how best we can achieve something.

How far can you count on the present leadership of the country?

The President is certainly genuine. The Prime Minister also wants to see the resolution of this problem. This is what I believe. There are radicals in both the communities. It is easy to whip up emotions. That is the reason for the slow progress.

The TNA always talk about the political issues. There is an allegation that you hardly talk about economic difficulties of Tamils. How do you respond?

They have problems. After a 30-year war, they have lost everything. Unemployment is very high. Whenever we go, a large number of people come to seek jobs. Now, whatever employment is available in the government sector only. There are no alternative employment opportunities as such. Private enterprises are not yet there in a big way.
I know the government jobs are not available all the time. They are limited. We have to look at other avenues such as investments for job creation. We have to create employment. Just filling vacancies in the government sector is not enough. We need huge investments. People talk about the expatriate community. 
That community is not certain what will happen in future. They are not certain whether the government will bring about everlasting peace.

How prevalent is the separatist ideology in the north?

It is not on the surface. Such sentiments are dying off gradually. Only the hardcore elements try to keep it alive. I do not believe ordinary people will get carried away by such sentiments. It all depends on how Tamils are going to be treated. We must feel that we are Sri Lankans. For us to feel it, things must be done for us. A large number of people feel that they are not treated in that manner. There are still problems there.

But, still we see LTTE commemorations. How do you see them?

It is happening. This is the way some people think. Some people believe that they can thrive by keeping the name of the LTTE and Prabhakaran alive.

You headed the subcommittee on centre-periphery relations in the Constitution-making process. What is your position on it?

I feel the committee went well. We discussed with the chief ministers, the governors, the opposition leaders and experts. We have mentioned it in our report. There are dissensions. Dissenting groups have submitted their views to be included separately. 
We have mentioned it in the report. We discussed the governors’ power, the concurrent list etc. Some members said they would directly submit their proposals to the Steering Committee. There is understanding among others. 

"Tamil people are suspicious because of their past experience. They have seen several pacts thrown away. Former President Chandrika Kumaratunga brought a set of proposals during her time, and it was seen as better than any other set of proposals worked out before. Yet, it did not have the passage through Parliament. Because of that only, we are suspicious. Still, in the government, top leaders make contradictory remarks"

Sumanthiran says constitutional sub-committee reports are positive for Tamils

See Sumanthiran's full speech below.

21 Nov  2016

Speaking at the Raviraj Memorial in Chavachcheri yesterday, TNA Spokesperson and MP, M.A. Sumanthiran, said that while the constitutional sub-committee reports don't have everything the Tamils asked for, if asked whether the Tamils got what they need from them, the only answer can be yes.

Also speaking at the event, Opposition Leader and Leader of the TNA, R. Sampanthan, said that after a very long time, the Tamils finally have an opportunity with the new constitutional process. He said that they'll see what the government is going to actually agree to when the report comes out on December 10th, but that the Tamils will get nowhere by not working with the Sinhalese and that the new constitution is needed by both the Tamils and the Sinhalese.

Commemorating former TNA MP Raviraj who was killed on November 10, 2006, numerous politicians gathered in his hometown of Chavachcheri to unveil a Statue memorial to him, and speak at the annual memorial for him.

Speaking about Raviraj's approach to politics, Sumanthiran said that Raviraj was killed because he started speaking in Sinhala to the Sinhala people. Sumanthiran noted that it was not in the plan of many Sinhala politicians to go to the Sinhala people and say the Tamils are only demanding what is rightfully theirs, and not grabbing from the Sinhalese - he stated that Sinhala political leaders did not have and still don't have the political will to go their people with this information. But Sumanthiran went on to say that the results the TNA have achieved are because of taking the "soft power" approach first shown by Raviraj and that while this way takes longer, it will achieve results.

Also speaking at the memorial, Minister of Health and UNP MP, Rajitha Senaratne, spoke of his past friendship and work with Raviraj saying that he was a valuable politician whose death was a great loss to the country. "To respect people like Raviraj, we have to fight to get those proposals [the 6 constitutional sub-committee reports] implemented for the sake of all the people," he said. "This is the time the racists are raising their heads little by little but have to face that threat one day," he added.

Leader for the Nava Sama Samja Party, Vikramabahu Karunaratne, also spoke raising concern at the fact that some monks have started to disrupt the constitutional process before the constitution is passed. He said that equality, autonomy and self-determination are what we really want, but while that's not what this constitution will produce, "at the moment we must fight for what we can achieve" and that is how you can respect Raviraj and all those Tamil heroes who died for the cause of liberation.

Other speakers included leader of ITAK, Mavai Senathirajah, NPC Opposition Leader, Thavarasa, leader of the TULF, V. Anandasangaree, former mayor of Kalmunai Municipal Council, Nisham Kariyappar, NPC Councillor, K. Sayanthan, and Raviraj's mother and wife.

UN Human Rights Committee orders Sri Lanka to compensate Canadian torture victim

Roy Samathanam was handcuffed in painful positions, slapped, kicked, struck with rifles, beaten with pipes, threatened with death and told his wife would be arrested and raped unless he confessed.

TORONTO — A Toronto man who was imprisoned and tortured while visiting Sri Lanka must be compensated for the abuses he suffered, the United Nations Human Rights Committee has ruled.

Stewart Bell | November 20, 2016

The decision calls for Sri Lanka to prosecute those responsible and “provide adequate compensation” to Roy Samathanam, a Canadian who had filed a complaint with the committee three years ago.

Samathanam, 46, called the ruling handed down in Geneva “a measure of justice” in a statement to be released Monday by the Canadian Centre for International Justice, which worked with him on the complaint.

The case is another rebuke of Sri Lanka arising from abuses committed by security forces during the country’s long civil war that ended in 2009 with the defeat of the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam rebels.

We are thrilled with the committee’s conclusions

“We are thrilled with the committee’s conclusions,” said Matt Eisenbrandt, legal director of the CCIJ, which urged Sri Lankan to “immediately implement” the obligations set out in the decision.

A refugee from Sri Lanka, Samathanam traveled to Colombo during a 2007 lull in the country’s civil war to marry. But police raided his home and seized 600 mobile phones he had helped import from Singapore for a friend’s business.

He said after he refused to pay a bribe to police he was taken to a Terrorism Investigation Division detention centre, where he was branded a “Canadian Tiger” and subjected to abuses.

He was locked up under the authority of controversial anti-terrorism measures. The order authorizing his detention accused him of “acting in a manner prejudicial to national security.”

Initially accused of importing “high tech communication and radar equipment” for the Tamil rebels, he was later accused of plotting to assassinate VIPs. But it was all untrue, he said.

While in custody, he was handcuffed in painful positions, slapped, kicked, struck with rifles, beaten with pipes, threatened with death and told his wife would be arrested and raped unless he confessed.

He eventually pleaded guilty to a single count of illegally importing an electronic device and paid a fine. He returned to Canada in April 2011 and testified before the House of Commons Subcommittee on International Human Rights.

Allegations that Sri Lanka committed atrocities during the conflict have long been dismissed by the Commonwealth nation, but videos and photos that appear to show victims of executions have surfaced, along with first-hand accounts of rape and torture.

National Post

INTER RELIGIOUS VIOLENCE CAN THREATEN CONSENSUAL REFORMS

Image: BBS head Galabodaatthe Gnanasara threatening a Muslim clergy (file photo).

By Jehan Perera.-21/11/2016

The passage of the second reading of the budget by a 2/3 majority in parliament indicates that the Government of National Unity continues to hold. The differences in opinion between the government partners that sometimes manifest themselves openly have not as yet destroyed their relationship. The most recent tug of war was over the actions of the Bribery and Corruption Commission. President Maithripala Sirisena was openly critical of the manner in which the Commission was handling high profile cases. This led to the resignation of the Director General of the Commission.

Earlier the President and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe had shown their differences over the former Governor of the Central Bank who had been accused of involvement in the Central Bank Bond scam. The impugned official was not reappointed and the President used his powers of appointment to ensure that a mutually acceptable replacement would be found. Another area of continuing engagement has been on the issue of international participation in a post war judicial accountability mechanism as called for by the UNHRC (Geneva) resolution.

In all relationships there arise tensions. Whether the relationship is between individuals or collectives, differences of opinion is the norm not the exception. Sometimes the differences are strong enough to manifest themselves in open hostilities and a breakdown of relations. Those who are opponents, and skeptics, might make much of this. But if the commitment to stay together through thick and thin is there (till death do us part as in marriage) the parties will find the way to come back together. This appears to be the spirit of the relationship between the president and prime minister.

CONSTRUCTIVE COOPERATION

The presentation in parliament of the six reports of the six subcommittees comprising parliamentarians is another reassuring sign of the unity that exists at the highest level of the polity. In the early part of this year the government decided that the entire parliament would sit as a constitutional assembly to work out a new constitution. The presentation of the six subcommittee reports to parliament sitting as the constitutional assembly indicates that the government is confident that it can take the constitutional reform process forward as planned.

What is especially noteworthy about the reports of the subcommittees is that they have been adopted by their members without division or any sign of internal dissent. The subcommittees have comprised members of all parties in parliament, including those belonging to the Joint Opposition. It therefore appears that the Joint Opposition members are cooperating with the constitutional reform process, even though they strongly criticize the government on other issues. Such constructive cooperation is to the credit of both the government and Joint Opposition.

The importance of Joint Opposition cooperation in the constitutional reform process is that some features of the proposed constitutional reforms are going to be controversial. The new constitution will need to be address the ethnic conflict in the country that led to three decades of war. The divisions between the ethnic and religious communities continue to remain strong. The legacy of over five decades of unresolved ethnic and religious grievances cannot be eradicated in one or two years. On the contrary these divisions can be mobilized, and exploited, by those who wish to negate the forthcoming constitutional reforms.

HIGHER CONSENSUS

A second positive feature of the present time is the understanding at the higher levels of the polity, among those in parliament who understand the issues, that there is a unique opportunity to put the country onto the correct track in all aspects. Never before in Sri Lanka’s political history have the two main parties ever come together. It is also unique that the smaller ethnic, religious, and ideology driven parties (namely, the TNA, SLMC, Indian-origin Tamil parties and JVP) have seen value in cooperating with the government even though some of them remain outside of government. Many senior (and more reasonable) members of the Joint Opposition too appear to appreciate the uniqueness of the present situation.

The first challenge for the government leadership, in particular for President Sirisena and Prime Minister Wickremesinghe, will be to keep the high level consensus on constitutional reform going. The second challenge would be to take this consensus downward to the people who will be ultimate arbiters at the referendum to come. The UK and US voters have shown how the majority of people can think differently from the established leaders and opinion formers in the country. In Sri Lanka too, after two years of the national unity government, there appear to be disturbances arising at the level of the people. There are signs of attempts being made to create incidents on the ground that could generate conflict and divisive sentiment among the people.

In different parts of the country, most notably in the North and East, there are clashes being reported on inter religious grounds. There are many incidents of religious clergy getting involved in expansionist projects, such as religious conversions or building religious shrines or places of worship in areas where they are less numerous. There have been violent words and incidents where members of one religion have attacked those of other religions. There is also the destruction of ancient religious sites. Those who come across as aggressors have their justifications for what they are doing, and argue that they are actually the victims. Some of these incidents are on social media. What is a matter of concern is that those who engage in violent speech and deeds appear to have significant popular support.

CIVIC PROTEST

A statement signed by over three hundred persons and addressed to the government states that civil society groups have consistently documented and reported such attacks to relevant authorities. However, charges have never been brought against the perpetrators, despite the conduct of these aggressors being in clear violation of hate-speech and anti-discrimination protections under Sri Lankan law. Public behaviour of this kind is in clear violation of hate-speech and anti-discrimination protections under Sri Lankan law, particularly as provided for in the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) Act (ICCPR Act).

The ICCPR Act provides that “No person shall propagate war or advocate national, racial or religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility, or violence”, and that every person who does so, or who attempts to commit, aids or abets, or threatens to commit such acts, commits an offence that is punishable with up to 10 years imprisonment. The failure of the State to take immediate action to investigate and hold individuals accountable for this type of conduct is an unfortunate abdication of its obligations under law and a failure to uphold constitutional guarantees and the duty to protect all persons from such threats and violence.

The civil society statement also notes that the police need to adopt a uniform response to acts of religious violence, threats of violence, and hate-speech against religious and ethnic minorities. Under the fundamental principle of equality before the law, all who engage in such conduct must be held to account. It is the obligation of the police to enforce the law equally, without exception. Further, the protection of the tenet of equality must be paramount to all law enforcement authorities. This is critical to reconciliation, to which the government has publicly declared a commitment. The suspected arson attack on Saturday on a Muslim owned warehouse in a Colombo suburb that was previously burned down in 2013 by a mob means that such law enforcement is an urgent priority.