Sri Lanka: Yahapalanaya spine for refined livelihood

The good governance mixed marriage government which is only over a year in existence is confident of flourishing

by Sunil Thenabadu-Dec 15, 2016

( December 15, 2016, Brisbane, Sri Lanka Guardian) Yahapalanaya,” is the novel elevated profile count to the Sri Lankan political glossary. Henchmen and loyalists of the preceding Rajapaksa command fondness to whirl around this expression, jazz on it and strive and compose it gaze like some bizarre craze or a hilarious yarn. The narrative is the perception that purely stands which illustrates good governance. Commonly, all citizens who reside in developed western world do enjoy Yahapalanaya despite intermittent failures.

In Australia, we scrutinise the model in operation virtually all of the time. Yahapalanaya is, thus, basically an ideal that citizens anywhere in the civilised world would anticipate from their governing elites. All citizens are permitted to it and it is an accepted communal treaty that underlies such a public anticipation. To ridicule at it is deceitful and unpatriotic.

Yahapalanaya is the spine of refined livelihood. People should acquire a government that is answerable for them for the substance it provides. The government is not any dictator’s masked possessions. The leader, his kids and siblings cannot go around indulging in money laundering, bribery, intimidation, and misappropriating government cash. They do not possess a licence to threaten, abduct and to murder persons whom they distinguish as obstacles. No leader in the ruling elite should be above the law.

The law of the land ought to be supreme constantly. If an explicit law is not precise, the peoples’ representatives in parliament could change or amend it. But once in the state manuscript, laws have to be obeyed and practical to everyone uniformly and sans bias, fear or favour. When their time concludes, ruling parties ought to learn to go enthusiastically devoid of stretching the constitution in order to keep them prolonged in power. When the moment comes to face elections must be free. Law enforcing officers must be independent of political control and cops should not work for the offices of MPs. Above all, the judiciary must be completely free to consider judgements without being beleaguered by telephone calls from the boss, his relatives or “Baby mahattayas”; or sans the panic of illegitimate impeachments.

In authentic essence, the above distinctiveness characterises Yahapalanaya. The concept Yahapalanaya makes rulers panic the citizens and that is what it should be. Throughout the regimes that Sri Lanka had, people dreadfully feared their rulers, their siblings, their baby mahattayas and their allies and cronies. The latter were swarming all over and intrusive all over the place. They were booming in robbing public money and valet them to buy property in the name of  even-aged grandmothers and other inexplicable persons.

Millions worth of property had been purchased via this technique. And now, finding that owners are scared to claim them, the court has been compelled to have these properties auctioned or confiscated. True owners are missing in action evading apprehend. The culprits emerge as blameless and they are jovial all the time. “Catch me if you can,” they seem to say as their symbol theme. This is comparable to a cat and mouse pastime.

It is very significant to emphasise that Yahapalanaya is a typical model or supreme it can be, for that cause, never be a job accomplished or be done with. It is always and will always be a work-in-progress phenomenon. We have to endeavour to realise it. That implies there would be innumerable obstacles on the thoroughfare that crop up from time to time. Yahapalanaya becomes a goal-steering route in such a perspective. The revolution of January 8th created the promised podium of Yahapalanaya, the official strategy of the new regime of Maithripala cum Ranil is to fulfil people’s aspirations.

The fact that Yahapalanaya has been officially adopted is an achievement since this had not been the attitude previously. Impunity was predominant in the air scattered all over. Some of the basics have now been accomplished. The judiciary is liberated. Independent Commissions have been established to minimise political interference in the activities of the Elections Commissioner, Public Service and Police. The passing of the Right to Information Act was also a major accomplishment. Sturdy and independent civil society artillery is a fundamental element of a democratic process flanked by independent media. In this framework one may refer to it as a mediator between the state and the private sector.     

                                                      

The Purawesi Balaya and the free and just society organisation that Ven. Maduluwawe Sobitha fashioned are exceptional illustrations. It is on record that these two organisations played an influential role in ousting the rule of the Rajapaksas. They now continue to brawl with Yahapalanaya. One has to fight for Yahapalanaya all the time and eternally since, as stated above, Yahapalanaya is not something that will be a finished product at a given point in time but is always enduring.

There are many things that civil societies could accomplish viz: verify and restrain central state command; watch how the state uses power and step in to intervene; encourage political involvement by encouraging political literacy, constructing perception about rights etc; encourage additional ethics of democracy like tolerance, compromise etc; uphold new forms of unity that slash across prevalent religious and ethnic issues. On the other handful factions of the previous regime keep chanting that “nothing has been done.”  to date except completing projects they had commenced.Within the post-triumph period, this amount of work  accomplished is  immensely adequate. Even Mahinda Rajapaksa was on track by constructing highways only after five years of his rule but he left the coffers in treasury empty. This forced for fresh financial resources to be created. Direct foreign investment, which never came must now be encouraged.

Notwithstanding a ruthless debt crisis the signs are generally excellent. Political steadiness seems dense and gigantic projects like the Megapolis development and the proposed new Hambantota development plans are to get off the blocks soon.   The Central express highway and the Northern express highways are under construction along with the extension of the Southern express highway.

In this context, the good governance mixed marriage government which is only over a year in existence is confident of flourishing.

Rebuilding Sri Lankan Media: A Timely & Imperative Task

By Aingkaran Kugathasan –December 15, 2016

Aingkaran Kugathasan

With the latest United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) Resolution on Sri Lanka, which was also co-sponsored by the government, the phrase ‘Transitional Justice’ (TJ) has become meaningless in the local context. The need or importance of a participatory transitional justice process has been discussed in numerous forums at various lengths, levels and amongst different communities. Though certain elements are trying to undermine TJ as western driven influence and thereby alienate it from our context, the majority of Sri Lankans are aware of the need of a process to address the national issue that has been ruining the country since 1950s. It is possible to say that a tiny window of opportunity for reconciliation has now opened and it is up to all to seize and to rectify circumstances before it passes.

The very first step in resolving any problem is recognising that there is one. Uncovering the issues that led to the conflict in the first place and finding ways to deal with the root causes might be the only sustainable path to achieve peace in Sri Lanka. It is foremost that we understand that TJ or any process for that matter is only as viable as the people who are involved in seeing it through. Thus, it is important for the relevant stakeholders to first reach out to the masses that is largely unfamiliar with the rationale and functioning of TJ measures. This includes how they can participate in these processes, the impact that TJ measures might have on the country and their daily lives, etc. to ultimately establish justice and national reconciliation. Although this need was understood only piecemeal efforts were taken to this effect by the State and not necessarily due to limited resources or deficiencies in capacities.

It is undeniable that the government alone cannot accomplish this task and as such the media, being the bridge between the rulers and the ruled has to play a crucial role not just in building an informed society but also in facilitating a critical public engagement process. This is imperative to build a broader understanding of and consensus towards this process by promoting a social self-reflection process on the conditions that led to conflict and the possible adjustments to be made in order to create a more inclusive society, reduce the potential impact of those trying to undermine the process and to generally influence the TJ processes in a positive way. In carrying out these duties, the media has to put social responsibility before their monetary and / or political interest, guided by norms, moral standards and professional ethics. They must maintain the quality and accuracy of reportage, and positively influence behavioural responses to conflict and shepherd in a new era of understanding, harmony, and security in broken communities across the country and to foster tolerance and reconciliation. Although in many transitioning countries the media has been used as an important tool in Sri Lanka unfortunately they have been largely left out of the process.

The question remains, however, whether the media is able of completing this task alone without the support of everyone who is a part of this complex and extremely lengthy process. In a country like Sri Lanka that is deeply divided along political and ethnic lines with a grave legacy of human rights abuses, a system that has been manipulated over and over for decades by various groups, including politicians, radical groups, media institutions, and other elements, the media cannot alone fulfil this important and timely task. It is important to understand that a transition process does not begin with a whole new media system, but rather inherits whatever media institutions existed before and inevitably played a role in everything we have experienced and witnessed. Thus, it is necessary for everyone, particularly the ones that have the power and statutory obligation to get together to assist the media in creating an informed society by providing unbiased information and a public discussion process that helps to build a broader understanding and trust amongst communities.

It is necessary to rebuild the media environment in post-war Sri Lanka like in any other post-war or post-conflict country by developing a systematic approach to establish certain protocols or guidelines that govern journalists and media institutions. At the same time it is equally important to understand the dynamic of the environment in which the media is currently operating. The Sri Lankan media has always been divided and biased on political and ethnic ideologies and catering to these particular interests. In my opinion, even though the media environment in Sri Lanka, on the surface continues to remain the same, it has been undoubtedly influenced by various factors, particularly by the civil war, over the past three decades.

Since the outbreak of war in 1983, the Sri Lanka has been divided over political interests and along linguistic lines. Until the end of war in May 2009, both the successive governments and LTTE had used media for their political propaganda purposes and resorted to silence and supress free flow of information, and both parties had unsurprisingly succeeded unequivocally. Many Sri Lankans hoped that with the end of the brutal war, things would change for the better in Sri Lanka. Yet, unfortunately, things only got worse. Majority of Sri Lankans, mostly the ones in the South overwhelmingly supported the then President for ending the war. The Rajapakses ultimately seized the moment and capitalised on it. They decided to cater to their (radical) Sinhalese base by feeding majoritarian nationalism and mono-culturalism rather than uniting the country.

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‘We’re all patriots, we’re all nationalists’

Ranil Wickremesinghe   | Photo Credit: N. Ram

Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on how an unusual political project has gone so far.

N. Ram-DECEMBER 15, 2016 


Ranil Wickremesinghe, 67, Prime Minister of Sri Lanka for a fourth term and leader of the United National Party (UNP), is the spearhead of a complex game-changing project where the stakes are extremely high. The project is to see through Parliament, and then through a referendum, a major constitutional change that will put an end to the system of an overbearing executive presidency and usher in a prime ministerial system  — and, crucially, put in place an enduring devolution of power solution to the Tamil question. Mr. Wickremesinghe leads a national government made possible by a highly unusual compact between the two main rival parties in the political system  — the UNP, the party with by far the largest numbers in Parliament, and a minority of Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) MPs who are with the Prime Minister’s political opponent-and-ally, President Maithripala Sirisena. While the leaders of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) have taken a positive view of the constitutional change under way, the political forces of Sinhala ultra-nationalism are trying to rally round the former President, Mahinda Rajapaksa.

‘We’re all patriots, we’re all nationalists’.docx by Thavam Ratna on Scribd

LESSONS FOR SRI LANKA AS TRUMP, BREXITERS RIDE NATIONALIST HATE WAVE IN THE WEST: BELLWETHER

Image: US NATIONALISM: The Ku Klux Klan existed in the US long before the Shiv Sena and Bodu 

Bala Sena latter stages of the first wave of nationalism that swept the world and culminated in Nazism.

By Bellwether.-15/12/2016

Nationalist hate is once again rising in the West, as shown by Brexit and Donald Trump amid an economic downturn while Sri Lanka is taking time off from minority bashing, but how long this ascent to human decency will last is anybody’s guess.

Already the nationalists are coming out and pointing to the Trump victory to justify hate and discrimination. A Muslim owned clothing store had apparently been set on fire, just like Jewish shops were burnt in Germany.

LESSONS FOR SRI LANKA AS TRUMP.docx by Thavam Ratna on Scribd

Importing labour should only be a short-term option

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe addressing the Sri Lanka Human Capital Summit 2016

Friday, 16 December 2016

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe speaking at the Sri Lanka Human Capital said that while the country had made great strides on many fronts, especially in education, a lot remains to be done. He said over one million Sri Lankans live oversees and we need to find a way of getting some of the best and brightest back to strengthen our economy.

Today many of our key sectors in the economy are critically starved of blue collar workers. This is a result of the poor orientation that is taking place at school level. As a result young people are getting pushed into industries that are far less productive.

As a country we have not done much for our young people. For example Sri Lankan universities, due to limited intake capacity, by default only open their doors to the top 5% who sit for the Advanced Level exams.

The majority joins the work force with limited training or no training. Only around 10% pursue their higher education in foreign universities or their satellite branches in Sri Lanka or enrol into a professional qualification or a diploma course in accounting, finance, management, HR and marketing.

Education to employment 

Therefore, as a country, we need a strategy to successfully move our young people from education to employment and we need to scale up our interventions for maximum impact because there are many different views among stakeholders on how our young people should be made ready to succeed at entry level positions. As a result of this mismatch, the education to employment highway has become very messy.

The proposed education reforms must find a way to motivate our youth to move to productive industries and from becoming mere certificate collectors and refocus them to acquire skills and competencies that are needed to deliver on the job. At the same time it is important for professionals to focus on their continuous professional development because the lifespan of skills is very short.

On the other hand, the private sector also does very little to support the growth and development of young employees to help them to be as productive and successful as possible in their current and future roles. On the merits of importing talent to fill our manpower shortage rather than producing them domestically, especially for the tourism and construction sector, the resulting structural dependence on foreign talent, and its associated disincentive to capital investment, can delay the desired transition to a knowledge economy by stifling productivity growth, innovation and entrepreneurship in the country.

However, importing talent could help to fill critical short-term skills gaps but with a clear strategy for growing our own talent. The right talent strategy can help the tourism, hospitality, and leisure and construction companies to own the upturn.

Export economies

In successful export economies, the training provided by VTIs jointly with the private sector to upgrade the skills of their work force has been crucial, since high-level skills are essential for manufacturing related activities.

The key takeaway from the recent Human Capital Summit is that while vocational training is widely recognised as being very important, such training is rarely cost-efficient when provided by the State systems. Most firms therefore prefer to do their own training, partly because many skills are company specific.

There is ample research to show that the return on the training investment is higher in industries that engage well-educated workers and also in environments where there is rapid technological change.

Singapore’s use of training to promote the information technology sector through a concerted program that involved educational institutions, providing training subsidies to schools and office workers, and digitising of the civil service, helped the country to achieve leadership in technology related services.

This success illustrates the importance of a government’s ability to foresee a major opportunity and then promote public-private partnership to invest in human capital formation. However, to make it a success, businesses must also stand ready to take advantages of the support the Government is willing to provide to promote human capital formation. In addition, the State must ensure that they maintain the per student share, in real terms, of government funding education.

Today the country’s university education is only limited to the brightest students in the country. The universities need to work very closely with industry to improve syllabi and the facilities to ensure that the country’s brightest students are instilled with the skills and knowledge the country needs so that they can make a meaningful contribution to the country.

In addition, we also need to make education more affordable because cost still remains the number one barrier among the youth for not continuing their education. Therefore we need to devise numerous ways to provide additional funds for economically vulnerable populations through scholarships and subsidies.

The Government clearly knows what needs to be done, therefore they need to get on with it and deliver before it is too late for them and the country.

(The writer is a HR Thought Leader.)

Major Cold War Between Samarawickrama and Sagala

Dec 15, 2016

It was no secret that Sagala Rathnayake Law and Order Minister and his brother Kavan worked closely with former Defense secretary Gotabaya Rajapakse during the Rajapaksa days. 

 

Gotabaya went out of his way to help Sagala and Kavan. It is alleged when Sagala was down and out financially, it was Gotabaya who helped him with a land. Kavan was given work by Gotabaya. 

 

Rathnayake in 2015 had told friends that he will protect Gotabaya from being arrested for his involvement in killings during the Rajapakse days . For inexperienced Sagala Rathnayake to be given such important portfolio like the Police by the Prime Minister and President is truly shocking. 

 

He had never held any important portfolios. Neither did he do anything much to get the government into power . But Prime Minister for some reason likes Sagala Rathnayake and continues to give him more and more responsibility. 

 

Malik Samarawickrama is also a beneficiary of his friendship with the Prime Minister. He is unhappy with Sagala's influence over the Prime Minister and is getting slowly sidelined. So Samarawickrama goes round ridiculing young Sagala Rathnayake. 

 

The story of Pujitha IGP getting orders from Sagala was allegedly leaked to the media by non other than Malik Samarawickrama. Certain transactions involving Malik Samarawickrama and Jehan Amaratunga are known to Sagala Rathnayake. 

 

The current Cold War between the two will only affect the Prime Minister further. The President has had enough with both Samarawickrama and Sagala. 

 

According to SLFP sources in the next reshuffle Malik and Sagala will be demoted by the President even though the Prime Minister is very likely protest. . The President and others are determined to bring order back to the government. 

 

Malik and Sagala are clashing according those close to the Prime Minister because each one wants the Prime Minister to favor one over the other. Malik Samarawickrama unlike Sagala Rsthnayake was actively involved in the campaign while the young Sagala was playing safe, both Sagala and his brother Kavan had assured the Rajapaksas that the Prime Minister would contest the presidential election which influenced Mahinda Rajapakse to call for a Presidential election early. 

 

The other problem both Sagala and Samarawickrama has is that Samarawickrama wants to direct the FCID, which Sagala is resisting. The clash between the two will further expose the divisions within the UNP and strengthened the Joint Opposition

Deputy Media Minister condemns attack on journalist

2016-12-16

While condemning the conduct of the Navy Commander who attacked a journalist covering a protest at the Hambantota Port last Saturday, Deputy Mass Media Minister Karunarathna Paranavithana said yesterday that the navy commander should have kept in mind the people’s mandate given to the government. 

“We cannot approve of the conduct of and the language used by the Sri Lanka Navy Commander. The navy chief should have thought about the situation in the country and about the mandate given by the people to this government and that all these officials are under the people’s mandate,” he said.

 “We regret the harassment the journalist underwent at the hands of navy commander” he said

. He made this observation at a discussion under the theme, “Is the media freedom carrying out attack and looking for media ethics?” organised by the Young Journalists' Association, at the Government Information Department yesterday.

 However, the deputy minister also said that the Navy was bound by law to protect the port and the ships, and the Navy had been summoned there to release the ships. “We could not have done that using the Police,” he said. 

He said that, according to his understanding, the navy commander should be physically be present on such occasions.

 A number of media activists and senior journalists who participated in the discussion condemned the attack on the journalist by Navy Commander Ravindra Wijegunaratne and protested against the government’s attempts to mislead the people by saying it was a hostile situation and the journalist had violated journalistic ethics. 

Chandana Sirimalwatte, Editor of Lanka newspaper said the country was not under martial law and condemned the conduct of the navy chief and other navy personnel. “There is no difference between the way the military behaved in Rathupaswela under the Mahinda Rajapaksa government and how it behaved here,” he said. 

“When there was a trade union action, what right had the navy commander to come and attack the journalist who was reporting it?” he asked. “Why did the Government Information Department's Director General Ranga Kalansooriya forget to talk about whether what the government did was correct or not before talking about media ethics?”

 the Lanka Editor asked. He also refuted Mr. Kalansooriya's allegation that the journalist had violated “basic ethical practice when reporting a sensitive conflict situation.” “Before talking about media ethics we want to ask government what action it has taken with regard to the journalists who were killed under the previous regime,” he said. 

There is no difference between the Mahinda Rajapaksa government and this government when comes to dealing with journalists,” Sirimalwatte said.

 Dr. Ranga Kalansooiya, who attended the discussion, said that he condemned the attack on the journalist by the navy commander. 

Referring to his earlier statement about the violation of ethics by the journalist, Dr. Kalansooriya admitted that his statement could have been misunderstood. 

“When I re-read (on the following day) the statement that I had issued, I felt it could have given a wrong impression. I regret it. I had no intention of condoning the attack,”he said.

 He said there was a violation of an ethical code, but there were no written laws in this regard. “There are no laws, but journalists are bound by agreements,” he said.

 Though there were no specific written laws with regard to media ethics, the journalist who was attacked could be faulted for violating the code of ethics with regard to minimising harm to himself and his fraternity, he said.

 Meanwhile, Seetha Ranjani, the convener of the Free Media Movement and M. M. Ameen, the president of the Sri Lanka Muslim Media Forum strongly condemned the attack and insisted that the government give an assurance that such attacks would be stopped and journalists would be allowed to carry out their duties freely in future. (Susitha R. Fernando)

Choices regarding Hambantota

Entering into a PPP with a Chinese company is the right thing to do; it should be supported – the issues at stake are much larger than the jobs of workers in a port that does not attract ships

Friday, 16 December 2016

As the debate on the public-private partnership in Hambantota with China Merchant Port Holdings began to heat up, I commented on Facebook that the only people who could make a success out of Hambantota were the Chinese. This is written in response to requests that I expand on the claim.

To simplify, ports do two kinds of business: they serve the country or region they are located in (e.g., Dar es Salaam serving Tanzania, Zambia, Rwanda, etc.) and they handle transshipment traffic. Sri Lanka, being an island does not have a large hinterland like the port of Dar es Salaam.

The small Sri Lankan market cannot support a world-class port like Colombo (30th largest container port in the world), let alone a second port. Colombo’s position is supported by transshipment business from India (over 70% of total volumes).

For Hambantota to succeed as a port, it has to serve the region. It made a good start as specialised vehicle transshipment port. But obviously it was not enough to sustain the port and pay off the loans. Unlike loans taken from the ADB or the World Bank, these loans had short grace periods which have already expired.

Where was the business for Hambantota Port? It could not take business from Colombo. Hubs are self-reinforcing and it takes real effort to displace one. So Hambantota has to get new business, not Indian business.

In the last few years, the Bay of Bengal has begun to open up. Six of the 10 fastest growing economies in the world are around the Bay: Myanmar, Bhutan, India, Lao PDR, Cambodia and Bangladesh. China is making serious efforts to develop alternatives to running vital supplies through the Malacca and Lombok-Makassar Straits. The Malacca Strait is so narrow that some of the big tankers that bring energy to China from the Middle East and Africa have to go through the Lombok-Makassar Strait even now. Developing an alternative is a strategic necessity.

China has already built a new port on the Myanmar coast in Kyaukphyu. Oil and gas pipelines already connect Kyaukphyu to Kunming, the capital of the Yunnan Province. Plans have been made to connect Kyaukphyu to the interior of China by road and rail, but are currently suspended due to domestic concerns in Myanmar.

Other ports are being planned in the northern Bay. Japan and Bangladesh have agreed to build a new deep-water port in Matarbari. The Indian Cabinet has approved funds for the development of the Port of Sittwe. Projects for Dawei and the Kra Peninsula are sporadically discussed. All developments except Matarbari and Sittwe involve China.

Shipping routes into the Bay are likely to develop in the next few years. If China and Myanmar can agree on transit arrangements, this will happen soon and will be massive. Even if not, the rapid growth in the North Eastern littoral will develop a lot of new traffic. Hambantota and Trincomalee are ideally positioned to serve those routes and the transhipment and ship supply businesses that will result.

The immediate problem is Hambantota. Chinese shipping lines are key to Hambantota’s success. While the Sri Lanka Port Authority was in charge, they did not come. Sri Lanka had to pay the loans back the Ex-Im Bank of China even though the port was not generating business. Is it not a good idea to go into business with the people who can give business?

Some say the $ 1.3 billion upfront payment is not enough. They say the port should have been concessioned out by international tender. When the key to the success of the port is held by China what is the value of an international competition? A risk sharing PPP is the right solution. The port requires major additional investments. The China Merchant Group will have to make the investments. When there are profits, the government will get 20%. That is in addition to the upfront payment.

A PPP is a complex transaction. The transaction which converted the Queen Elizabeth Quay into the profitable PPP known as the South Asia Gateway Terminal is said to have been underpinned by 1,500 pages of legal documentation. Good negotiating and drafting skills are essential for these kinds of transactions. All we appear to have at this point is agreement in principle. The real test is how the documents are drafted and then how the contracts are enforced.

Could a better arrangement have been arrived at? Yes, back in 2006 when the decision was made to build the port. If a PPP was entered into at that time, the government and the private entity, most likely a Chinese company, would have shared the risks of the enterprise from the beginning. Instead, the government shouldered all the risks. The Ex-Im Bank bears none. Whether or not ships come to the port, whether or not it makes any money, their loans get paid.

In 2016, the Government is in a weak negotiating position. The Government cannot afford not to enter into a transaction. The Chinese can wait. The longer the port remains in its present condition, the loan repayments keep piling up. The needed additional investments can only be done by taking additional loans. None other than the Chinese can make the port successful. There is unlikely to be unfettered competition among Chinese companies to bid for the concession.

An additional concern is the proposed restriction on new ports. It is actually a good thing to have restrictions that would tie our hands on wasting money on ports like Oluvil. As long as Galle and Trincomalee are shielded, there should be no problem. But Trinco is critical. The central principle of Sri Lankan foreign policy, which includes economic policy, is balance. When China gets a dominant role in Hambantota, it must be balanced with an Indian role, possibly together with Japan, in Trinco.

Entering into a PPP with a Chinese company is the right thing to do. It should be supported. The issues at stake are much larger than the jobs of workers in a port that does not attract ships. The 15,000 acres planned to be given to the Chinese companies is worthy of greater attention. Cheap and plentiful land is Hambantota’s USP. But great care must be taken to minimise friction with the citizens in the area.

The options one faces, and the negotiating position one has, changes over time.

Sri Lanka: K-line Shipping had asked for US$ 4 million as damages – PM

Chinese company will absorb the workers under the existing conditions but would sign a fresh agreement with the workers later.

( December 16, 2016, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) The Prime Minister Ranil Wicramasinghe said the K-line Shipping had asked for US$ 4 million as damages. “Who is going to pay these damages,” he asked and said other shipping lines might also claim damages while commenting the recent controversial event reported in Magampura Mahinda Rajapaksa Port.

The Prime Minister said the Government would set up a permanent navy camp near the Hambantota Port. “It is essential especially after the construction of oil bunkering, refinery and ship building facilities are set up in the area,” he said and added that a journalist who was allegedly assaulted had complained to the Tangalle Police whereas he should have complained to the Hambantota Police because the Port comes under their purview.

Meanwhile, the China Merchant Company will absorb all workers of the Hambantota Port after the takeover on January 7 next year, Prime Minister said yesterday.

He told media that the Chinese company will absorb the workers under the existing conditions but would sign a fresh agreement with the workers later. Referring to the recent drama in the Port, the Prime Minister said two companies had informed him that they needed to get their ships released from the port.

“Two companies informed me that their ships were in danger and wanted them out of the port. We have to safeguard the few ships that come to the Hambantota Port. Then we need to develop it into a profit making venture. Therefore I informed President Maithripala Sirisena and the Defence Ministry Secretary about it and we decided to send the Navy Commander to release the ships,” he said.

arte et marte :  Sri Lanka Navy Commander Vice Admiral Ravindra Wijegunratana sat with Prime Minister Ranil Wicramasinghe to address the media Yestreday ( December 15, 2016)

“There are international agreements on safeguarding the ships that come into ports. The International Maritime Organization says international ships need facilities in the ports and security should be strengthened and as such we informed the Navy Commander to take steps to provide security to the ships,” he added.

The Prime Minister said investigations would be conducted to ascertain whether this journalist had entered the high-security zone without permission.

Meanwhile, the employees of the Magampura Port in Hambantota have decided to call off the trade union action launched by them 9 days ago and return to work yesterday (15). The employees of Magampura Port Management Company (MPMC) have decided to end the strike and Satyagraha following discussion held with the company’s management.

“Some 480 temporary dock workers at the port in Hambantota have been on strike since December 6 demanding that they will be absorbed into the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) ahead of any sale to a Chinese company,” local media reported.

90% of detected drugs back in the market: Eran

2016-12-15

Nearly 90 per cent of the drugs recovered are known to find their way back to the market, Deputy Minister Eran Wickramaratne told a news conference today.

He said they should be burnt publicly as done in several countries worldwide. When asked whether the recently recovered haul of cocaine had been released into the market, the deputy minister said as far as he was aware it had not happened but such things had taken place in the past.(Yohan Perera)

45 pc decline in cigarette sales!

 Dec 15, 2016

The Ceylon Tobacco Company says the sale of cigarettes has declined by 45 per cent following the increase in taxes and prices. The main objectives of these increases were to minimize smoking, a reduction in the number smoking-related deaths, expenses on the treatment of smoking-related illnesses as well as to increase tax revenue.

With the addition of the VAT on the price, the sale of cigarettes is on the decline, with nearly 150 million cigarettes sold in the past month, says the CTC. Also, there has been a parallel reduction in the monthly tax paid to the state, from nearly Rs. eight billion to Rs. 4.2 billion, it says.

For the first nine months of the year, the monthly sale of cigarettes was 330 million on average, and tax revenue earned by the state was Rs. 75 billion. But, in October, when the price went up by Rs. 7.00 per cigarette, sales dropped to 150 million, and taxes paid decreased to Rs. 4.2 billion. Last year, the CTC paid Rs. 92 billion in taxes, and there will be a Rs. nine billion reduction in the projected total tax payments this year, it adds. With the new taxes, Sri Lanka has the second highest cigarette price in Asia, after Singapore.

According to the statistics, smoking has come down considerably in the past two months, and tax revenue to the state too, dropped. The government has noted that despite this decline in revenue, it will have to bear a massive cost to provide hospital facilities and medicines for people who suffer from smoking-related illnesses.

Open warrant against Emil Kanthan

December 15, 2016 by

Colombo High court judge Ms. Sarojini Kusala Weerawardena ordered today (15th) to issue an open warrant to arrest Emil Kanthan, a former leader of the LTTE.

It is in connection with misappropriation of Rs. 124 million by an institute that was involved in relief work for tsunami affected in the North and the East.

An “Interpol Red Notice” had been issued to arrest him earlier but it was withdrawn as he, through a lawyer, had said he would surrender to the government.

However, he did not surrender to the government as he had said and an open warrant has been issued against him. He is also named as the second accused in the case in connection with an attempt to murder Mr. Douglas Devananda.

The Increase In Fines For Driving Offences : Will It Change Drivers Behavior?

By FHA Shibly –December 15, 2016

FHA. Shibly

The Sri Lankan government has decided to increase traffic fines to Rs 25000 for seven serious traffic offences – owning a vehicle driven by person without valid insurance, speeding, overtaking from the wrong side, driving without a valid driving license, driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, driving without a valid insurance, and Rail gate infractions. The police have been told to be stern with offenders. The Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake said this initiative is aimed at reducing the number of traffic accidents and not with the objective of raking in revenue for the government.

Now coming to the issue of how it will affect driver behavior in the country. There are always approximately three groups of drivers in any country: the set of drivers that religiously follow all driving laws and regulations, second is the set of drivers that follow rules depending on the penalty in question, and the third group is the one that does not care much about traffic rules due to plain old apathy or affluence.

The first and third group are the combined minority consisting of less than 30 percent of all driving population. The second group consists of the majority of around 70 percent who follow traffic regulations based on penalties imposed. The accidents that are caused are mainly by the second and the third groups which are most liable to commit traffic violations. The existing traffic rules and regulation are mostly aimed at these groups.

Research from established survey firms has shown that drivers keep committing traffic violations because they think the consequences of getting caught are manageable. Hence they think it is fine to ignore traffic rules once a while to get to a place faster or just for the thrill of it. Now if the penalty imposed for a particular traffic violation is too severe to ignore, such as imprisonment or heavy fines, the driver will think twice before flouting traffic rules.

The Sri Lankan government has clearly got the right idea by hiking up the traffic penalties imposed on serious traffic violations, since any motorist would never “ color outside the lines” when it comes to driving or riding! This would change driver behavior dramatically because no individual would run the risk of being jailed just to get to someplace early. And even if there was an option of paying a fine, if the fine is considerably high that would be equally effective at keeping traffic violators in check.

While drinking and driving and Rail gate infractions are grave offenses deserving of the severe penalty imposed by the Sri Lankan government; the rest of the traffic violations that were included in the same bracket for punishment seems a little excessive. There is bound to a general uproar from the public regarding such heavy fines for seemingly minor infractions.

It is always best to grade traffic violations on severity, that way there is a sense of fairness and exercise of restraint when it comes to traffic legislations. Other countries let most
Minor traffic violations go with the proverbial slap on the wrist by adding a few points on the license and letting the violators go (USA).

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SI arrested for assaulting a woman in Rajagiriya

2016-12-15

A Sub Inspector attached to the Homagama Police Station’s crime branch has been arrested by the Welikada Police on charges of allegedly assaulting a woman in Rajagiriya last night. 

Welikada police arrested the sub inspector following information received to the 119 emergency unit on Wednesday night stating that the SI who had broke in to a house at Nawala, Rajagiriya was assaulting a woman at the house. 

Police said the both woman and the SI were bleeding when the police arrived at the scene and the SI was also under the influence of liquor at the time of the incident. They were later admitted to the Hospital. 

The SI who was a crime branch of the Welikada Police had transferred to the Homagama Police station Crime Branch recently.

 It was reported that the SI had an affair with the woman while he was working at the Welikada Police.

 Earlier occasion, the women had lodge a complaint with the Welikada police stating that the SI was harassing her.

 He is to be produced in Fort Magistrate tomorrow.(Darshana Sanjeewa)

39 murders, 198 sex crimes reported in November


December 15, 2016

Sri Lanka Police today said that the month of November had seen a decrease in major crimes and that so far more than 7,500 major crimes have been reported from various parts of the country within this year. 

A total of 575 major crimes had been reported within the month of November alone, according to a statement issued by the Police Headquarters. 

Among those were 39 murders, 198 sexual crimes, 153 home burglaries, 64 armed robberies and 121 robberies. That is 90 crimes less than the number recorded in November last year.  

The majority of crimes have taken place within the Western Province with 170 while in that province the most crimes have occurred in the Nugegoda Division.

  Of the 198 sex crimes reported within last month, 152 are incidents of rape, according to the data.  

 However, the statement issued by the Police Headquarters contained no comparisons with data from previous year.  

Hyundai profiting from Israel’s colonization of Golan Heights

Hyundai equipment is used to destroy a home in the occupied East Jerusalem neighborhood of Beit Hanina in January 2014.ActiveStills

Ryan Rodrick Beiler-14 December 2016

In September, Israeli forces demolished the home of Bassam Ibrahim. What made his case different from the more than 48,000 such demolitions in territory Israel has occupied since 1967 is that Ibrahim is not Palestinian. He is Syrian.

Ibrahim’s home in the town of Majdal Shams was the first demolition in the Golan Heights since Israel occupied the Syrian territory following its capture in 1967.

The Fourth Geneva Convention prohibits the destruction of property by an occupying power except in the case of military necessity.

Equipment manufactured by Hyundai Heavy Industries was used to carry out the demolition.

Under pressure

Headquartered in South Korea, Hyundai is one of the top five heavy equipment manufacturers worldwide. It is not the first time its equipment has been used in Israeli violations of international law.

Under pressure from Palestine Peace and Solidarity, a Korean solidarity group, the company pledged in 2013 to cease dealing with its Israeli distributor, Automotive Equipment Group, stating that its excavators were intended for “the private sector, but not for military purposes.”

But one year later, Palestine Peace and Solidarity confirmed that Hyundai had resumed distribution through another Israeli company, EFCO, and continued to profit from the use of its machinery in house demolitions and other violations of international law.

The research group Who Profits reports that Hyundai machinery has also been used in the construction and expansion of Israeli settlements, making the company’s profits in the region “contingent upon land grab, forced displacement and at times even settler or state violence.”

The demolition of Bassam Ibrahim’s home in the Golan followed a pattern similar to those in the occupied West Bank.

According to Al-Marsad, a human rights group in the Golan, hundreds of Israeli police and special forces surrounded the home as it was destroyed on the pretext that it was built without a permit.

Dozens more Syrian-owned homes in the territory have also received demolition orders.

More than 140,000 Syrians lived in the Golan Heights, approximately 1,860 square kilometers, before its capture in 1967. Most were forcibly transferred outside the territory, and only 20,000 remain today.

Discriminatory Israeli policies make it virtually impossible for residents to obtain permits to build or improve their homes. Many have no choice but to build without them.

Syrian communities in the Golan are also being squeezed by Israel’s expansion of Hermon National Park. Authorities have moved to appropriate 20,000 acres of land used by Majdal Shams and other communities for agriculture and housing.

This expansion would surround these communities to the north and west. Already hemmed in to the east by the militarized boundary with the rest of Syria, this would only leave land in the south for urban expansion. That land is used for agriculture, “a main source of livelihood for the local Syrian population,” according to al-Marsad.

Settlements expand

The number of Jewish settlers in the Golan is now roughly equal to that of the Syrian population.

In October, Israel approved the construction of 1,600 new housing units in Katzrin, the largest settlement in the Golan. It was built on the land of the Syrian villages Qasrin, Shqef and Sanawber, which were depopulated by Israeli forces in 1967.

Israel has capitalized on the ongoing conflict in Syria to seek international recognition of its annexation of the Golan Heights.

These efforts were rebuffed by the UN Security Council, which in April reaffirmed Resolution 497 declaring that Israel’s annexation of the Golan was “null and void and without international legal effect.”

Yet since that declaration was made in 1981, Israel has tightened its grip through settlement enterprises such as the Golan Heights Winery and Eden Springs mineral water which exploit the territory’s natural resources.

Afek, a subsidiary of US-based Genie Energy, is drilling for oil in the Golan.

Afek’s president, Effie Eitam, is a settler living in the Golan Heights and a former general in Israel’s military.

Genie’s advisory board includes former US Vice President Dick Cheney, media mogul Rupert Murdoch, as well as former Clinton administration officials: treasury secretary Larry Summers, UN ambassador Bill Richardson and CIA director James Woolsey.