Tuesday, December 6, 2016

Requesting A Permit To Carry Out Crimes

By Thushara D Wanniarachchi –December 6, 2016

Thushara D Wanniarachchi

A lead thought by the USA on democracy and human rights is summed up by the quote, “the right to swing my walking stick ends, where the other man’s nose begins.” What can be assumed is that Americans are of the opinion that even concepts of freedom and democratic rights have limitations. To explain this further, freedom is not completely free.

Under the guise of Union concerns, the Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA) maintains a massive mafia with the doctors and medical professionals. To further their appeal, they use sensitive trade matters such as transfers, getting their children into schools and promotions. What the people of Sri Lanka are unaware of is what the mainstream media, politicians and doctors don’t talk about openly – namely, how the GMOA maintains a corrupt system which is not in line with the legal system maintained by the Ministry of Health when carrying out medical officer’s transfers. Rumors have spread that this includes using various means such as sexual abuse, bribery and abusing power to achieve their goals. So in reality, through the freedom of the unions, the professional independence of physicians has been lost in the process.

Governments should most definitely intervene in the matters of the private bus industry. As a matter of fact, the transport industry of other nations is regulated by the government. Although Sri Lanka too, possesses such a similar function; however, many passengers in the main areas of the city and bus stops, will no doubt have seen instances where gangsters obtain money from the conductors with no receipt or document whatsoever.

Today, the bus industry is one which does not make any profit, where the passengers and the industry are vulnerable to the prevailing system. This is influenced, at minimum, by the incompetent nature of the workers engaged in this industry. If the government were to step in and provide proper training, enforce rules and regulations, and bring them onto a competent path, it would benefit the bus passengers, industry owners, and employees alike.

When the government proposed social, economic and political reforms, the fact that forces rose against this was no surprise. A fierce battle must then be waged against to protect such positive reforms from those against it – namely, the unlawful high profit earners, and those to whom maintaining such an ineffective system is beneficial.

The beneficiaries of the free system which came about by the present government on the 8th of January is not merely the ones who fought ceaselessly to bring about this change of good governance. Thieves, fools and a host of enemies also traverse this path. At this moment, a situation has arisen much like a black cloud hovering over society, and threatening devastation against the reforms brought about by the Yahapalanaya government. These same sinister forces are raising their heads up with eager plans to destroy the good governance movement, which promised to protect citizen and labourer rights.

Although, on some level I agree with the fine of Rs. 25000, I also believe that the law should be fiercely implemented against those who violate road rules. This government came into power under many promises, one of which was to stop the motorcade of Ministers. However, even those are gradually rearing up their heads. On one hand, while the strict enforcement of road rules will stop the country’s foreign exchange for energy imports from leaving the country, on the other hand it will serve to ensure life, property and social protection.

Anti Corruption Front exposes charges to 'Nilame'

Dec 06, 2016

"Nilame" or Dishan Gunasekera is a person who has a number of accusations aimed at according to the voice of the Anti Corruption Front.These accusations of colossal magnitude had been manipulated while he was attached as the working director at the Lanka mineral sands corporation during the previous era.

The accusations investigated against him are:

For misappropriation of a sum of Rs 55 lakhs by renting vehicles.

For deploying 39 employees of the Lanka Mineral Sands corporation for work in alternate duties.

He had imported items to the tune of Rs 500 million to be used for construction of a new factory.

These are the main allegations framed against him which are been investigated according to the voice of the Anti Corruption Front.
The officials of the organization of the Anti Corruption Front have shown that according to the investigations that had commenced it obviously appears that the Yahapalana government is very openly acting in a manner to safe guard the culprits.

In the media briefing the Anti Corrupt Front had today the 5th instant the above facts were revealed..During the period 2010 and January 08th 2015 "Nilame" or DishanGunasekera had served as the working director of the Lanka Mineral Sands Corporation.During this period he had misappropriated a large sum of money on the pretext of constructing a modern factory for the Mineral Sands Corporation. had obtained a loan of Rs 500 million from Bank of Ceylon.It is reported that most of the imported items for this purpose are been corroding.and been destroyed.

In addition the "Nilame" had obtained a sum of Rs 40 million for the construction of a "beach park; in Hambantota.It is reported that htse funds had been obtained from the Urban Development authority which was under the defense secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa.In this regard police investigations are been conducted.

It is also reported that as it was essential to the presidential secretariat he had with fake documents had rented out two vehicles had claimed peoples money amounting to Rs144,000 monthly.In this regard he had misappropriated nearly Rs 55 lakhs over a certain period of time.It is also reported that he had deployed many employees of the Lanka Mineral Sands Corporation for other activities such as canvassing for the candidature of Mahinda Rajapaksa for presidential election publicity activities..

It is reported that Dishan Gunasekera is a relative of former president Mahinda Rajapaksa as well as a very close loyalist.However according to the Anti Corrupt Voice these accusations could not be considered as minor offences at all.However they believe on the stand that the yahapalana government is on a mission to protect the fraudsters.Hence it is now certain who are those persons who protect the culprits who have misappropriated large sums of money the Anti Corruption Front had revealed..

Saying this, so that an investigation can be carried out

By Bandara-2016-12-07

"Ape Hamuduruwane, yesterday I received a file from the Treasury. In the file it states that, in your neighbouring district of Matara, an agreement had been signed by the government with a Chinese company for the Nilwala Ganga Project in 2012. A cheque for a sum of Rs 1,000 million had been given by the Finance Minister in 2012 for work on this project. You may remember that the past presidential election was held on 8 January.

On 7 January 2015, the Treasury issued a second cheque for the Nilwala River Project. Hamuduruwane it was for 3,012 million rupees. In 2012, Rs 1,000 million was given. Prior to the presidential election, on 7 January 2015, a cheque for Rs 3,012 million was issued. The total is Rs 4,012 million. Was 7 January 2015 a day that work was done at the Ministry? Which Ministry was working on that day! Which government office worked on that day?

You are people from Galle. Matara ministers are here today. Has the sum of more than Rs 4,000 million been used to even place a mammoty anywhere in the Nilwala Ganga and Gin Ganga Projects? Nothing has been done till today.What happened to this money of more than Rs 4,000 million? Did an official have the right to issue a cheque for Rs 3,012 million prior to my election on 7 January? Where is this money? What happened to it? Who took it? Where did it go? The Treasury gave it to the Secretary of the Irrigation Ministry. There is nothing that can be traced as to what happened to the cheque after that. Now, when investigations are being carried out regarding these things, I ask you whether it is right or wrong to find out what happened to this money."

This is a question that President Maithripala Sirisena asked the people at a meeting in Galle on 26 November. This is what the people gave as a reply.
'You have to find out President, most definitely. That is our money. It is not the legacy of the parents. You should find out and then hand out punishments...'

That is how the people replied to the President's question in one voice. Not only that, the day after Rs 4,012 million was sunk in the Nilwala Ganga, people elected Maithripala Sirisena to the post of President to look into dirty deals such as these. Now, the problem that the people have is, that even after two years have passed how many of the aspirations that the people voted for have been fulfilled. Now the people have to find an answer to that, too.

Democratic rights
What would have happened if the people had not thought carefully and used their democratic rights to halt such cash crimes, fraudulent activities and crimes? It would be unimaginable. If that had happened the third Rajapaksa era would have commenced on 8 January 2015.

If so, there would have been celebrations across the country for the re-election. All government media would have telecast programmes with jubilation. Papers would have published supplements with high adoration. Banners and cut-outs would have been put up on lamp posts, roundabouts and junctions across the country. Poojas would have been held to obtain blessings without discrimination at Temples, Churches, Kovils and so on. Parliamentarians and Ministers and their henchmen would have engaged in vehicle processions and dansal would have been held. The entire country would have been like a carnival for about a week or two.

While the country was celebrating a carnival, there was a chance that several very dangerous incidents would have taken place. Similar to General Fonseka being dragged off to prison, Maithripala Sirisena's house would have been surrounded by a large force of Army and Police Officers. A live telecast of this would have been shown on television for the entire country to see. People would have been able to see through the live telecast how the Common Candidate for the Presidency was dragged to a jeep and pushed in by force. Maithripala Sirisena would not have had the comfort of the Merchant Ward, a comfortable ambulance or even the prison hospital. He would have been locked up the same room Fonseka was imprisoned, which does not have any windows for ventilation and is extremely hot because it is covered with tin roofing sheets.

It would not have ended there and the next prison cell would have been allocated to Ven. Maduluwawe Sobhitha Thera. Civil organization activists would have had to eat rice on tin plates in other prison cells. Everyone who spoke against Mahinda during the 8 January election campaign would have had to face a string of utterly chilling experiences.

Early on 9 January, Maithripala Sirisena's house, Sobhitha Thera's Nagaviharaya and other houses would have been surrounded by the active, cheery youth of the Nil Balakaya. Loku Baba would have been in the forefront providing leadership.
Even before twenty four hours had gone by, the fate of everyone who was opposed would have become extremely gruesome.
Accusations

We cannot say that those things would not have happened according to the accusations that the Army had been called up and posted here and there on the night of the election on 8 January. It is said that there were plans to impose Emergency and suspend the results of the presidential election and to make way for an administration by force. It had been named the '72-hour operation.' As the former Attorney General and the IGP were unwilling to contribute to that plan then, it is said, that plan turned out to be a failure. A person who could tell us what happened to the complaint lodged by Mangala Samaraweera at the Criminal Investigation Department regarding this great conspiracy has not been found within the past two years. It seems more difficult to find someone who knows about it than searching for a needle in a haystack!

However, one thing can be mentioned with accuracy. Common Candidate Maithripala Sirisena and Sobhitha Thera would still be in prison. They would not have been granted bail. Sobhitha Thera would have passed away while in jail.
When such things were happening within the country, it would have been possible that internationally too, there would have been huge transformations. The Geneva Human Rights Council would have established an International Investigation into the violation of human rights in this country. As the new President Mahinda and his brothers and others, would have opposed it, Sri Lanka would have been found fault with by western countries led by America. No one at all could have prevented the imposition of sanctions on Sri Lanka by those countries.

There would have been restrictions on buying exports from Sri Lanka by entities such as the European Union. We would not have been able to make half the international trade community from isolating our country.
We cannot even imagine the gruesome fate the country would have faced by today, due to the loads of debt which Sri Lanka could not have borne.

If there are invisible forces that protect the country for not allowing it to face those things, and due to the decision made by the majority of the people of this country on 8 January and because the people were fortunate, the gruesome risk that could have taken place was avoided.

The people got rid of that gruesome risk with a load of expectations in their mind. It is President Maithripala and the Government that has the responsibility to fulfil those expectations.

Therefore, there is no reason to be asking the people whether "it is right or wrong to find out what happened". All large-scale financial frauds, crimes, murders, thefts and criminal offences that took place during the past should be investigated. That is why the people gave a mandate.

At the same time, rather than investigating those, the Treasury Bond Fraud at the Central Bank has to be speedily investigated. A special Court should be established under the powers of the President and investigations should be carried out, people say in one voice. It is the responsibility of the government, not to leave room for people to say 'these people are the same as those.'
People who saved the country from a big tragedy that could have occurred are waiting to see the steps that the government will take.

If that does not happen properly, there is no need to say specifically whom the people will thrash with the stingray tail. Now it is too late to untie carefully the packet of gravy named the people's aspirations without allowing it to spread everywhere.

Jayalalithaa Is Gone. What Now for South India?

BY EMILY TAMKIN-DECEMBER 6, 2016

On Tuesday, women packed the streets and beat their chests in honor — or despair — of Jayalalithaa Jayaram’s funeral. The leader of southern state Tamil Nadu, known by millions as simply Amma, or Mother, died of cardiac arrest at 68 on Monday night.

In 1991, the film star turned politician became the first female chief minister in Tamil Nadu to serve a full term, following in the footsteps of her mentor, Maruthur Gopala Ramachandran (also a film star turned politician). She would go on to serve four more times.

She was charged with corruption and imprisoned in 1996, and again in 2014 — and was back in power one year later. She was, after all, a beloved populist leader, famed in particular for her generous welfare policies, and though she was an autocrat who may have been proven corrupt, she was also Amma, whobrought crime down and pushed industrial output up, who gave away wedding jewelry and food to the poor, and who made men prostrate themselves before her — charming millions of lower caste women in the process.

Tamil Nadu has announced an official three day mourning period. For some, the mourning will last longer still — 37 people self-immolated after her 2014 corruption conviction, and her death could spark many more. Her long-serving lieutenant O. Panneerselvam has been named chief minister.

After that, the political future is uncertain. “Her unexpected death,” New America International Security Program fellow Ronak D. Desai told Foreign Policy, “leaves an immense power vacuum in the region and will totally reorder the political landscape in that part of the country. While a power struggle among varying factions of the state’s major parties seeking to fill te void is inevitable, no one will want to risk public backlash from appearing to move on too quickly.”* What’s more, Jayalalithaa’s dominance was such that there is no clear plan for succession, or for what happens next. Of Jayalalithaa’s death, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he is “deeply saddened at the passing away of Selvi Jayalalithaa. Her demise has left a huge void in Indian politics.”

Some have already ventured that the central government is looking to fill that void left in Southern India, both to stabilize the state and to start remaking the relationship between center and state.

*Updated 12:10 PM, 6 Dec. 2016 to include this quote

Photo credit: ARUN SANKAR/AFP/Getty Images

LIVE: Jayalalithaa Buried In Sandalwood Casket Next To Mentor MGR with State Honours

Shinzo Abe to become first Japanese PM to visit Pearl Harbor

U.S. President Barack Obama (L) carries a wreath as Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe looks on, in front of a cenotaph at Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima, Japan May 27, 2016. REUTERS/Toru Hanai/File Photo

6th December 2016

JAPANESE Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will visit Pearl Harbor this month with U.S. President Barack Obama, becoming his country’s first leader to travel to the site of the Japanese attack 75 years ago that drew the United States into World War Two.

“This will be a visit to console the souls of the victims,” Abe told reporters on Monday. “I would like to show to the world the resolve that horrors of war should never be repeated.”

The Dec. 26-27 visit will come seven months after Obama became the first serving U.S. president to visit the Japanese city of Hiroshima, on which the United States dropped an atomic bomb in the closing days of the war, in 1945.

Abe will hold his final summit meeting with the outgoing U.S. president during the trip to Hawaii.

Obama has close ties to the island state where he was born and where he and his family have vacationed throughout his White House term.

SEE ALSO: Challenges abound for Japan’s Abe in maiden meet with Trump

Japanese forces attacked Pearl Harbor with torpedo planes, bombers and fighter planes on the morning of Dec. 7, 1941, bombing the U.S. fleet moored there in the hope of destroying U.S. power in the Pacific.

The attack led to the United States entering World War Two and the eventual defeat of Japan in August 1945, days after U.S. atomic bomb attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki killed hundreds of thousands of civilians.

The White House said Abe‘s visit would highlight the alliance between the former wartime enemies.

“The two leaders’ visit will showcase the power of reconciliation that has turned former adversaries into the closest of allies, united by common interests and shared values,” the White House said in a statement.

Abe last year spoke to the U.S. Congress and expressed “deep repentance” over Japan’s role in World War Two.

An outright apology from Abe would be unlikely during his Pearl Harbor visit, said Jeffrey Kingston, director of Asian studies at Temple University’s Japan campus.

SEE ALSO: Obama calls for ‘world without nuclear weapons’ in historic Hiroshima visit

“He won’t go as far as to apologise, but there will be a demonstration of contrition. He will follow Obama’s model” in Hiroshima, Kingston said. “Obama has shown the way forward in addressing the past without whitewashing and denying.”

In Hiroshima, Obama reiterated his commitment to pursuing a world without nuclear weapons, while avoiding any direct expression of remorse or apology for the U.S. nuclear bombings.

“I think Abe wants to draw a line under history and move forward with (President-elect Donald) Trump and get some difficult obstacles out of the way. It’s probably an astute move on Abe‘s part,” Kingston said. – Reuters

Israel blocks Gaza women from breast cancer treatment

Cancer patients take part a rally to raise awareness about Breast Cancer in Gaza City on 26 October.Mohammed AsadAPA images

Sarah Algherbawi-5 December 2016

Khuloud Abu Qamar spoke quietly but her words still shocked. “Israel is killing me slowly,” she said. “And it is killing my children, too.”

After undergoing surgery for breast cancer last year, Abu Qamar requires further treatment which she has not been able to receive in Gaza. She has asked Israel for permission to travel. Her applications have so far been rejected. Aged 40, she has six children, the youngest of whom is still a baby.

Her plight is shared by many others in Gaza. Estimates from the local health ministry indicate that several hundred women with breast cancer have been obstructed from traveling by Israel so far this year.

Leaving Gaza for treatment is vital as the coastal strip’s hospitals are not properly equipped to provide such services as radiotherapy.

As part of the state’s propaganda, Israel has portrayed itself as a global leader in cancer treatment and research. To promote breast cancer awareness in October, the Israeli Air Force painted its warplanes pink.

The gimmick gave no comfort to women in Gaza.

“I don’t want to die”

Alaa Masoud, a 25-year-old mother living in Jabaliya refugee camp, has also been diagnosed with breast cancer. She recently had her right breast removed at al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City.

Her doctors have stated that she now needs to see specialists working in Israel or the West Bank. So far, she has made five requests for permission to travel through Erez, the Israeli military checkpoint on Gaza’s northern boundary. All five of her requests have been rejected.

The refusal has exacerbated her suffering. Her cancer and surgery forced her to stop breastfeeding her baby Amir.

“I don’t want to die,” she said. “I want to see my baby grow up to be a lovely young man.”

Traveling through Erez is practically the only option for Gaza residents requiring treatment that they cannot receive in the strip’s hospitals and clinics.

Until recently, many patients had been referred to hospitals in Egypt. Yet the almost constant closure of the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt has led to a sharp decline in the number of Palestinians being treated in Egypt.

Human rights groups have long documented how Israel has, in effect, sought to blackmail Palestinians who are seriously ill. Patients have been told that they will only be allowed to travel for treatment if they become informers to the Shin Bet, Israel’s domestic intelligence agency.

Dalia Abu Skhaila, a 34-year-old breast cancer patient from the southern Khan Younis area of Gaza, said that Israeli officers at Erez have tried to recruit her as an informer on a number of occasions. Because she has refused to accept that condition, she has been blocked from traveling.

“Dying in Gaza is much easier than betraying my people and country,” she said.

Education

Despite the barriers that Israel has placed on treatment, health workers in Gaza are striving to increase awareness of breast cancer.

According to Khaled Thabet, who heads the oncology department at al-Shifa hospital, one of the main challenges faced is that breast cancer is frequently at an advanced stage when it is detected, making treatment difficult. To aid early detection, he and other doctors are encouraging women to undergo tests for breast cancer.

“There is a lack of an inspection culture,” he said.

Hala al-Talmas, a 35-year-old from Jabaliya camp, was reluctant to have a check-up when she began experiencing slight pains in her right breast, particularly at night time.

A friend in whom she confided urged her to see a doctor. Yet Hala avoided doing so until a couple of months later. After the pains became more severe, she noticed a small lump inside her breast.

Hala told her mother, Hania, about the lump and visited al-Shifa. The staff there found that she had a pea-sized tumor in her breast. She was diagnosed with cancer.

When a doctor asked Hala why she had waited so long, she replied that she had been afraid.

With the help of her extended family, she managed to raise enough money for an operation. Her breast was removed.

Hala started chemotherapy following the operation. After just a few weeks of that treatment, she had a stroke and died.

“I wish my daughter had been more aware and that she had visited a doctor in the early stages of her disease,” said Hania, Hala’s mother.

Medicine under siege

Breast cancer is a leading cause of death among women in Gaza, according to the health ministry. Almost 750 cases of breast cancer were detected in 2015.

The Gaza authorities run classes to educate women about breast cancer.

The Electronic Intifada asked a sample of 200 women in Gaza if they had attended classes. About 90 percent of the women – aged from 25 to 65 – responded that they had not.

“I have a fear of such lessons and I keep myself away from them,” said Doaa al-Shami, a 31-year-old. “I have attended just one class since I got married.”

Gaza’s health authorities are struggling to cope with the effects of the siege that Israel has imposed on the territory for almost a decade.

Hospital machinery has often been blocked from entering Gaza. Vital medicines are in short supply.

“The problems facing the health ministry here are obvious,” Ahmed El Shorafa, head of the oncology department at the European Hospital in Rafah, a town in southern Gaza, said.

“They are caused by the shortages in money and equipment. We need more medical centers and more staff to provide health education in all parts of Gaza.”

Sarah Algherbawi is a freelance writer and translator from Gaza.

Netanyahu 'toppled': Gold statue of Israeli PM taken down by protesters

A woman steps on a statue of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu outside Tel Aviv's city hall on 6 December 2016. (REUTERS/Baz Ratner)

Tuesday 6 December 2016

A 13-foot-high golden effigy of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was secretly erected in the centre of Tel Aviv in protest against Israel's "culture war" on artistic expression on Tuesday, sparking online controversy and political debate.

The gilded statue was raised overnight in front of the Tel Aviv city hall in the Yitzhak Rabin Square, named after the former PM who was assassinated by a right-wing Jewish militant in 1995.

Dubbed "King Bibi" by its sculptor, Itay Zalait, 37, said he wanted to test the limits of freedom of expression in Israel by satirically replicating the kind of statue erected by dictatorial regimes.

"I did it to check one thing: can I do it?" Zalait told AFP. "Will this work be allowed and will there be sanctions?"

Posting on Facebook after the guerrilla-art sculpture was erected, Culture Minister Miri Regev called it an "expression of hatred towards Netanyahu".

"Israel is a democracy, one of the freest countries... the hatred of Netanyahu is their only true Golden Calf," wrote Regev, referring to the biblical episode in which the Israelites are punished by God for idol worshipping.

However, within hours, the Netanyahu statue had been toppled by an angry member of the public.

Statue of Israeli PM Netanyahu pushed to the ground by a man in the crowd in Tel Aviv, Israel 6 December, 2016 (REUTERS/Baz Ratner)

On social media, Israelis joked that it was reminiscent of the iconic Saddam Hussein statue pulled down after the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.

Left-leaning artists have accused Netanyahu's government of seeking to muzzle them, particularly with Regev's promotion of a bill to cut subsidies to cultural institutions deemed not "loyal" to the state.

Netanyahu also leads what is seen as the most right-wing government in Israeli history, and critics accuse him of consolidating power.

Zalait said he wanted to open a debate around Israeli attitudes to Netanyahu by placing the statue at the spot where Rabin, who won the Nobel prize for his peace efforts with the Palestinians, was killed.

"The reaction of the Israelis interests me, from those who say they would like to see more statues like that on the squares of the country to those who want to demolish it with a hammer," he said.

Pentagon buries evidence of $125 billion in bureaucratic waste

The Pentagon has buried an internal study that exposed $125 billion in administrative waste, according to findings by The Washington Post. (Victoria Walker/The Washington Post)

By Craig Whitlock and Bob Woodward December 5 at 6:47 PM

The Pentagon has buried an internal study that exposed $125 billion in administrative waste in its business operations amid fears Congress would use the findings as an excuse to slash the defense budget, according to interviews and confidential memos obtained by The Washington Post.

Pentagon buries evidence of.docx by Thavam Ratna on Scribd