Ebola vaccine is safe and effective, scientists declare after trials

Results from research conducted in west Africa indicate the drug will drastically reduce the severity of further outbreaks

 A woman receives an Ebola vaccine at a health centre in Conakry, Guinea, in March 2015. Photograph: Cellou Binani/AFP/Getty Images

Sarah Boseley Health editor-Thursday 22 December 2016

A vaccine for Ebola which has completed successful trials in Guinea and Sierra Leone means the virus should never again be able to wreak the havoc it did during the recent epidemic in west Africa, say scientists.

More than 11,000 people died in the outbreak, which began unnoticed in December 2013 and spread across the region, infecting at least 28,600 people and triggering a global response, including a race to get an effective vaccine tested and into use.

Final results for the vaccine that was rushed into trials in Guinea and later Sierra Leone show that it was highly effective against one of the most lethal known pathogens in existence. Ten days after vaccination, none of the trial subjects developed Ebola virus disease. The very few who did, in the days immediately following vaccination, are thought to have been infected already.

“While these compelling results come too late for those who lost their lives during west Africa’s Ebola epidemic, they show that when the next Ebola outbreak hits, we will not be defenceless,” said Dr Marie-Paule Kieny, the World HealthOrganisation’s assistant director general for health systems and innovation, and the study’s lead author.

Merck, Sharp & Dohme, the company manufacturing the vaccine, has received permission to go through fast-track procedures for a licence from the US and European regulatory authorities. It has committed to making 300,000 doses that will be ready for any emergency even before formal approval, with $5m (£4m) in funding from Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.

The trial began in the coastal region of Basse-Guinée, which still had cases in 2015, even though the numbers were abating across the region. Writing in the Lancet medical journal, the scientists say it was not easy.

“A devastating outbreak of Ebola virus disease is clearly not the ideal situation for doing a vaccine trial. The healthcare system in Guinea was strained, potential trial participants were worried about a candidate vaccine made by foreign people, and the Ebola virus disease response teams were facing security issues,” they write.

They collaborated closely with the government and local authorities in Guinea and chose a “ring vaccination” design for the trial, which was unusual but had been successful in helping stamp out smallpox decades ago.

When a new case of Ebola was diagnosed, the teams offered vaccination to everybody who had been in contact with that person in the previous three weeks, from family to friends and neighbours. They also offered vaccination to the closest contacts of those contacts. This cluster – or ring – amounted to around 80 people on average. Altogether, 117 such rings or clusters were identified. At first, adults were randomly assigned to get the vaccine immediately or three weeks later, but when it became clear that the vaccine was protecting most people, everybody was offered immediate vaccination, including children.

A baby receives a vaccine in Freetown, Sierra Leone, November 2014. Photograph: Francisco Leong/AFP/Getty Images

Among the 5,837 people who received the vaccine, still known only as rVSV-ZEBOV, no Ebola cases were recorded 10 days or more after vaccination. Among those who were not vaccinated, there were 23 cases. There were very few serious side-effects – one case of fever and one of anaphylaxis (allergic reaction) thought to be related to the vaccine.

The authors of the study say the ring design was also helpful in ending the outbreak and suggest it could be a useful way to tackle the disease in future.

Co-author John Edmunds, professor of infectious disease modelling at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, whose team helped design the trial, said: “This novel and historic trial, conducted under the most difficult of circumstances, has demonstrated that the rVSV-ZEBOV vaccine is safe and effective. When Ebola strikes again we will be in a much better position to offer help to affected communities, as well as protect the brave volunteers who help control this terrible disease.”

Jeremy Farrar, director of the Wellcome Trust, which supported the trial, said the outcome was “simply remarkable” and demonstrated what was possible even in the midst of a raging epidemic. “We’ve shown that by working collaboratively, across international borders and sectors, we can develop and test vaccines rapidly and use them to help bring epidemics to an end,” he said.

“Had a vaccine been available earlier in the Ebola epidemic, thousands of lives might have been saved. We have to get ahead of the curve and make promising diagnostics, drugs and vaccines for diseases we know could be a threat in the future. My hope is that this success story provides the inspiration we need to make this happen and change the way the world prepares for epidemics.”

Dr Sakoba Kéita, coordinator of the Ebola response and director of the National Agency for Health Security in Guinea, said: “Ebola left a devastating legacy in our country. We are proud that we have been able to contribute to developing a vaccine that will prevent other nations from enduring what we endured.”

“ Have the gentlemen seen the serpent..?’ -Maithri’s secretary claims Rs.1000 million compensation from convener of movement for just society.!

 

(Lanka-e-News -21.Dec.2016, 11.30PM) It was Professor Wijesuriya who took over the mantle of the convener of the National  movement for just society , late most Ven. Sobitha Thera after the latter’s demise. It is also  a well and widely known fact that the movement for just society made a huge contribution towards the victory of president Maithripala Sirisena who contested the last presidential elections as a common candidate. Yet , unbelievably , it is the defense secretary Karunasena Hettiarachi of the incumbent president , the same Maithripala Sirisena who has now sent a letter of demand claiming a sum of Rs.  1000 million from Prof. Wijesuriya.  What a cruel irony !

Hettiarachchi has sent this letter of demand based on  the allegations made by the professor at a media briefing held several  months ago. The professor alleged  at that briefing that Hettiarachi was facing corruption charges , and he provides misleading information to the president.

It is learnt that this letter of demand has been sent by Hettiarachchi , the defense ministry secretary based on  the allegations made many months ago , with the blessings and on the advice of president Maithripala  despite the glaring fact that the latter is on  the presidential ‘throne’ now owing to the commitment and supreme sacrifices made by the same movement for just society( against which the letter of demand is sent)  to elect him as president  of the country.

Interestingly , when names were being proposed for the common candidate post at the last presidential elections on 2015-01-08 by late most Ven. Sobitha Thera who introduced the common candidate idea among the people , ex president Chandrika Bandaranaike suggested the name of Polonnaruwe Maithripala Sirisena who was the minister of health at that time.

Ven Sobitha Thera at once remarked  , ‘ he may be an informant of Rajapakses’. The Ven Thera’s view was based on the fact that Polonnaruwe Maithripala had never until that time shown any interest on behalf the people with regard to their issues while he was  a health minister. Besides , during  the national political struggles too , he had not  made even  a minutest contribution.
 
In fact what Ven. Sobitha Thera said was, “I do not know who he is.” It was Chandrika Kumaratunge who dispelled his doubts by saying ‘Ven .Thera please trust me’ while placing her hand on her  chest . 

It was how the approval of Ven .Thera the convener of the movement for just society was secured on the first occasion to choose Maithripala as the common candidate . 
Subsequently , when Maithripala ‘s name was proposed as common candidate among  the UNPers ,its leaders too echoed the same sentiments. 

They also said ‘we  have seen Sirisena in parliament , but we have never seen him joining in any national political activities , and the party has not witnessed such a thing’

A member of the UNP leadership committee at that time immediately contacted Lanka e news London office and inquired , whether Sirisena has been involved in the Rajapakse regime’s criminal activities - grave robberies or horrific murders ? for which the Rajapakses have become a byword by that time. Lanka e news gave a confirmation that up to that time , there were  no such involvements based on reports reaching LeN inside information division. It was thereafter – a few days later , it was decided that Maithripala shall be the common presidential candidate .

Believe it or not , it is none other than the same Maithripala  the common presidential candidate so chosen then , who along with  his defense secretary is sending the letter of demand now against the forces that elected him to power. And it is no less a person than the present convener of that   organization - movement for just society which was responsible to choose that same Maithripala then  as the common presidential candidate who is being served  the letter of demand now claiming Rs. 1000 million ! What an irony of ironies! Even the dictionary hasn’t a word to describe this monumental ingratitude of man to man.

When LeN inquired about this letter of demand  from a most prominent lawyer in Sri Lanka , he had only one question

‘Have the gentlemen seen the serpent..?’ 

---------------------------
by     (2016-12-21 20:30:02)

Why, In The Words Of Our President, Are More Than Half Of Public-Sector Contracts Corrupt?

By Gamini Jayaweera –December 21, 2016

Gamini Jayaweera

The Hon. President Mr. Maithripala Sirisena addressing a public meeting of police and anti-corruption activists in Colombo said that he was regretted to inform the nation that more than 50% of Sri Lanka’s public procurement contracts were tainted by bribery and corruption. The nation is not surprised about the Hon. President’s statement because the public are fully aware of the bribery and corruption activities of successive governments and its continuation under Maithri-Ranil leadership for the last two years. But the nation is surprised to learn that the President knows the people who are involved in this dirty business, but he is unable to reveal the names because of the fear of organised strikes by the corruptors. If this statement is correct it is a very serious threat to our democracy because it appears that the government institutions are not run by the elected representatives but by the organised fraudsters who operate above the law of the land. But the public believe that the root cause of this cancerous activity lies within the top of the government. As the Hon. President, has quite rightly stated fooling people with empty words such as” Good Governance” is no joke because the culprits are holding responsible positions in the government with the blessing of some politicians. We need to cast our minds back to the last two years to see how the corruption has continued under this government and what the root causes of this problem are before we criticise the corrupt process of procuring public contracts.

Millions of Srilankans who voted for Mr. Maithripala Sirisena and Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe were hoping that the new government would develop policies and take decisive actions to work towards creating a new political culture to govern our country, where we would maintain Law & Order, Justice, and Efficient government service with zero tolerance for bribery & corruption. I, like many other civil society members published articles denouncing the previous regime, and extensively used the social media to gather electoral support for the new government during the election campaigns. We placed our trust and pinned our hopes that we could begin a new chapter in our society. The over whelming majority of the people who voted for this government did not expect to hear that the government was unable to name the culprits because of a backlash from the fraudsters. I firmly believe that if the President can name these culprits the nation is right behind the President and they won’t allow these fraudsters to hold the elected government to a ransom. But it appears that there is something more than the threat of strikes is behind the President’s decision to withhold the names of these culprits. Is it because close government colleagues are involved in this dirty business? Preaching what the public wants to hear during the election campaign and then practising something else once in government was the customary way our country had been governed by successive governments. Is it fair to assume that this government is also following the same path irrespective of their promises given during the election campaign?

Is it reasonable to accept the allegations that the very first kind of “bribe” under the new government was executed by the newly elected President by appointing members of parliament from the previous regime who could not gather the public trust and lost the general election, as Ministers and State/Deputy Ministers of the new government? Most of them played vital roles in the previous corrupt regime and the public are aware of the corrupt practices carried out by some of these politicians. At the time there were lot of opposition to these appointments from the members of civil societies who tirelessly campaigned, risking their lives to replace the previous regime. Unfortunately, the Hon. President ignored the public outcry stating that those defeated members were victims of a campaign carried out by the Mahinda faction of the SLFP because they supported him against the will of the former President. Recently the Hon. President has given other reasons for his unethical action to appoint these defeated MPs. Nevertheless, the appointment of the defeated members as ministers and state/deputy ministers in the new government could be seen as a “bribe” for supporting the President who would have lost the majority support in the Central Committee of his own party (SLFP) if he had not elected these defeated members.

Allegations had been made that the next kind of “bribe” introduced by the President and the Prime Minister, was appointing most of their MPs as Ministers or State/Deputy Ministers to gain support for the government. During the pre-election period the leaders of the “Yahapalanaya” quite rightly criticised the size of the cabinet in the previous regime and promised us that they would not follow the same path of appointing a “Jumbo Cabinet” because it would cost the country a vast amount of money to maintain it. The impression given to the nation was that the cabinet would be a maximum of thirty (30). But the total no. of ministerial, and state/deputy ministerial posts has risen to nearly 100. This unnecessary “Jumbo Cabinet” set up by the President and the Prime Minister is not based on the requirements to serve a small country like ours, but it appears that the appointees have been allowed to serve well for themselves in return for their support for the government. Is it fair and reasonable to assume that these are “bribes’ offered by the government undermining the principles of “Yahapalanaya” hence fooling the people with empty words?

During the pre and post-election periods some members of the present regime highlighted a number of allegations against the previous regime of Bribery & Corruption, Misuse of public finance, Acquiring enormous amount of wealth within a short period of time, Drug dealings, Alleged murders, Exorbitant high prices for road construction, Use of Judiciary to obtain judgments in favour of members of previous regime, and Alleged Coup by the former president to stay in power etc. Are our newly elected/appointed government ministers and MPs sincere about these allegations, because the public is fed up with them and to-date no action has been taken on most of them? It appears that some members in the current regime are actively involved in agreeing to “deals (bribes)” to safeguard the dishonest politicians because they are connected to each other. If this is true isn’t it fair to assume that the corruption stems from the top of the government and hence the inability to name the culprits?

It is a fact that government institutions and state corporations in Sri Lanka play a vital role in the country’s economy as well as providing a major contribution to the social and technological developments. It is also a well-known fact that majority of these corporations’ performance is inefficient, uneconomic and very much below the generally acceptable level. It appears that appointment of politically affiliated people as CEOs and Directors without giving due consideration for their ability and experience to run these organisations, at the expense of experienced professionals, may have been contributed for poor operation, performance and management of majority of these organisations. In addition lack of processes, procedures, transparency, accountability, and the absence of corporate governance coupled with lax entrepreneurship and rampant corruption in the procurement of public contract, and other unethical activities, have also contributed to the dismal performance exhibited by the majority of these institutions.

Corporate Governance of state-owned Corporations is a difficult and major challenge in Sri Lanka because of increased political interference in the management of these institutions. It is understood and accepted by the public that the government is responsible for electing Chairmen and the Board of Directors to run them. There is no problem in carrying out those functional responsibilities by the government. The problem is undue political interference in the management of those organisations by corrupt politicians. The Hon. President’s concern over the corrupt practices of procurement of public contracts are part and parcel of this unacceptable political interference. Good governance provides better transparency of how the organisation is structured and operates in a professional and accountable manner. Good corporate governance also reduces the opportunities for undue political interference. Transparency and efficiency in corporate governance should have been implemented during the last two years to ensure that management of our public institutions is credible and they are in line with international regulations. Is it fair and reasonable to assume that the dishonest politicians, and their cronies, are the root cause for processing more than 50% of public procurement contracts in a corrupt manner?

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Code of Ethics for Parliament Members

Dec 21, 2016

The final draft of the code of ethics for Members in the parliament was presented to the parliament by the Speaker Karu Jayasuriya on last week for approval. According to the Speaker, the code has been compiled after studying the opinions of both local and foreign experts as well as following the practices of legislatures in developed countries. He said that the code has been brought up to increase the level of excellence of MPs so that the public could have more faith and trust in their representatives. Under this code of ethics new provisions shall be introduced for MPs regarding their duties towards both the parliament and their electorates. The responsibilities of the MPs have been categorized under both the voters and the General Public. Hence the MPs would be expected to carry out their tasks in an excellent fashion. The proposed Act intends to give legal recognition for many ethical values that not yet covered by standing orders of the parliament. Minister for Public Administration RanjithMaddumaBandara said "It’s good to have a strong code of ethics for the MPs. It has become a timely issue in our parliament. This proposed Act may improve the quality of our MPs."

 

Under the draft bill, several specific duties that are expected of MPs have been introduced. Among them are the due respect towards the constitution, unitary status and the territorial integrity, protecting the interests of the voters as well as the General Public, upholding equality in the society, Giving prominence for the betterment of the society when executing the responsibilities of the office, prevention of misusing state property, unity in the parliament and maintaining discipline.

 

The composition being centered on the voters and the General public can be identified as a significant factor in the new code of ethics. The notion of transparency has been lengthily discussed in the bill. It has insisted upon the fact that the MP should be a role model to the society. Hence various provisions have been included to promote leadership by example. The new code also expects that the MPs should behave in the parliament according to their conscience as it would preserve the public faith in their legislators.

 

However, the issue remains as to how practical these new provisions added into the code of ethics are going to be in the parliament. For an example, it is doubtful as to whether the provisions on efficiency would have any effect as most of the MPs are seen sound asleep during parliamentary debates.

 

The code of ethics has also focused on areas such as publishing parliamentary documents and other information. It has insisted on following a defined procedure when releasing such information out of the parliament. It has been tied to the use of public property as well. Apart from that the code has introduced new ethics regarding the proper attendance to parliament sessions, behavior during parliamentary debates and other gatherings and maintaining proper courtesy. It has focused on promoting a proper dress code to the parliament and on regulating the use of language that is suitable for the institution. Since physical violence has become a common occurrence in the parliament in recent times, the code has imposed strict rules against such unacceptable conduct.

 

The main reason for introducing such a code of ethics to the highest legal authority in the country is the sad reason that it has lost its prestige due to the unacceptable conduct of its members. Over the past years the Speakers in the parliament have suffered immensely as they have been unable to ensure order in the parliament. Many had argued that the lack of proper rules was the reason for the lawlessness in the parliament. Hence the proposed code of ethics if given proper legal effect could work as a deterrent for the MPs from misbehaving in the parliament.

 

The proposed code of ethics has also dealt with the procedural issues in the parliament. Under the provisions of investigating complaints and enactments, broad powers have been given to the general public to lodge a complaint against an MP regarding his or her conduct. It would be sponsored by an MP and would then be produced before a committee. The code has introduced new procedures in investigating such allegations and issuing decrees. Here criminal offenses could even be handed over to the police. Since the Parliament enjoys judicial authority over its affairs, the final decision still vests with the parliament. Violations of these ethics shall not be taken lightly by theparliament, under the provisions of the new code. The committee recommendations on these violations will include advising, issuing warnings, banning the MPs from attending specific sessions and even referring the matter to the Supreme Court.  

 

 

 Expressing his views on the matter, MP VasudevaNanayakkara said, "We have received a notebook with ethics. We already possess our own traditions and ethics in our parliament. They have been given legal effect by standing orders. This new code of ethics could be used as a guideline for parliamentarians as to how to carry out their duties as public representative. This is not a legal section. Anyway we would approve providing a proper code of ethics to ensure good conduct of the MPs. It is undoubtedly going to add more value for the profession. We all must behave as role models in the society. However, we would think that more change could be achieved by moving for legal sanctions. It is more effective to impose the code of ethics as a guideline in line with the existing values of the society."

 

Expressing his party's views on the issues, JVP ParliamentarianBimalRathnayaka said "During the 100 day government we were vested with the responsibility of composing a code of ethics for the MPs. After studying various other legislative institutions in the world we handed our recommendations over to the parliament. But nothing was done on the subject for a long time. But one and a half years later a bill has been presented to the parliament on ethics. We too would accept the fact that it is good to have a code of ethics in the parliament. It is a sign of a healthy democracy. But on the other hand we have no confidence in the two main parties that they would uphold these codes as they are always violating the existing ethics in the parliament by protecting the corrupted people. But we still think that the code of ethics must be given the due recognition."

 

UNP MP Mujibar Rahman said "It is good to have a code of ethics for the MPs to use as a guide line. It would be a novel thing to give legal effect to such a code of ethics. We already have some of these ethics under standing orders in the parliament. But it is better to broaden this scope."

 

There is no doubt with the fact that there should be order at any place. Any action taken to ensure such order must be approved. However, it is unfortunate to see a most prestigious institution in the country creating a rule book to educate its members as small children. Yet its track record has shown us that it is a necessary pain that has to be taken in order to put the house in order.

 

AshWaru Colombo

UN BODY DECLARES THE DETENTION OF 5 HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS IS “ARBITRARY”

Image:A gate at the entrance to the Pray Sar prison near Phnom Penh, 8 December 2016,  AP Photo/Heng Sinith.

21/12/2016

This joint statement was originally published on cchrcambodia.org on 18 December 2016.

Our organisations welcome the recent Opinion adopted by the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) that recognises the arbitrary nature of the detention of human rights defenders Ny Chakrya, Ny Sokha, Yi Soksan, Nay Vanda, and Lim Mony. Our organisations call upon the Cambodian authorities to implement the Opinion of the WGAD by releasing the five human rights defenders immediately and providing them appropriate compensation.

On November 21, 2016, the WGAD ruled that the ongoing detention of Mr. Ny Chakrya, Deputy Secretary-General of the National Election Committee (NEC), and four staff members of the Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association (ADHOC), Messrs. Ny Sokha, Yi Soksan, Nay Vanda, and Ms. Lim Mony, was “arbitrary.”

Following a submission made by the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders (OMCT- FIDH partnership), the Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR) and the Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights (LICADHO) in June 2016, the WGAD’s Opinion No. 45/2016 ruled that the five human rights defenders (HRDs) “have been discriminated against based on their status as human rights defenders, and in violation of their right to equality before the law and equal protection of the law under article 26 of the ICCPR.” This is the first time ever that the WGAD – or any other UN mechanism receiving individual complaints – has referred to HRDs as a protected group that is entitled to equal legal protection under Article 26 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). The ruling also recognised the violation of the five HRDs’ “rights to offer and provide professionally qualified legal assistance and other relevant advice and assistance in defending human rights.”

In addition, the WGAD found that the targeting of ADHOC staff members for having provided “legitimate legal advice and other assistance” violated the five HRDs’ right to freedom of association. It ruled that violations of fair trial rights (including the fact that the five were denied legal counsel from the beginning of their questioning), unjustified pre-trial detention, and statements made by the Cambodian authorities which denied the five the presumption of innocence – all of which contravene Cambodia’s international human rights obligations in respect to the right to a fair trial – are also serious enough to consider their ongoing detention as arbitrary.

The WGAD concluded that “the deprivation of liberty of Ny Sokha, Nay Vanda, Yi Soksan, Lim Mony and Ny Chakrya, being in contravention of articles 7, 9, 10, 11 and 20 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and of articles 9, 10, 14, 22 and 26 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, is arbitrary.”

“We welcome this landmark Opinion adopted by the Working Group, and now call upon the Cambodian authorities to act on the ruling and immediately release Ny Chakrya, Ny Sokha, Yi Soksan, Nay Vanda, and Lim Mony and drop all charges against them,” declared our organisations today.

The five human rights defenders have now been in pre-trial detention on charges of bribery for 234 days since their arrest in April 2016. Their deprivation of liberty infringes on both international human rights law and Article 205 of Cambodia’s Criminal Procedure Code, which sets out the conditions under which provisional detention can be ordered. On November 30, 2016, the Supreme Court upheld a previous decision adopted by the Court of Appeals on June 13, 2016 to refuse to release the five HRDs on bail. On November 28, 2016, the Court of Appeals upheld the extension of the pre-trial detention for another six months and refused to close the investigation. All five detainees are being held alongside convicted criminals, contrary to Article 10(2)(a) of the ICCPR, and Article 26 of Cambodia’s Law on Prisons.

On September 22, 2016, the Phnom Penh Municipal Court convicted Mr. Ny Chakrya on charges of defamation, malicious denunciation, and publication of commentaries intended to unlawfully coerce judicial authorities and sentenced him to six months in prison. The charges stemmed from a criminal case dating back to the time when he was Head of the Human Rights Section at ADHOC. Mr. Ny Chakrya’s conviction was upheld by the Court of Appeal on December 14, 2016.

“These cases bear all the hallmarks of politically-motivated harassment of human rights defenders because of their legitimate human rights activities, and are illustrative of the Cambodian Government’s deliberate effort to eliminate all dissenting voices. We urge the Cambodian authorities to stop the harassment of all human rights defenders in the country,” concluded our organisations.

***

The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders (the Observatory) was created in 1997 by the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and FIDH. The objective of this programme is to intervene to prevent or remedy situations of repression against human rights defenders. OMCT and FIDH are both members of ProtectDefenders.eu, the European Union Human Rights Defenders Mechanism implemented by international civil society.

The Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association (ADHOC) is a non-governmental, independent and non-partisan human rights organisation founded in 1991, which promotes and protects human rights in Cambodia by means of its 24 provincial offices and its headquarters in Phnom Penh. ADHOC’s Human Rights and Legal Aid Section, Land and Natural Resources Section and Women and Children’s Rights Section monitor the human rights situation on the ground, intervene in case of violations, provide assistance to victims of rights violations – including free legal aid, and engage in empowerment activities.

The Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR), founded in November 2002, is a non-aligned, independent, non-governmental organisation that works to promote and protect democracy and respect for human rights throughout Cambodia.

The Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights (LICADHO), established in 1992, seeks to protect and promote civil, political, economic and social rights in Cambodia through advocating for the rights of Cambodian people and monitoring human rights abuses from its main office in Phnom Penh and 13 provincial offices.

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Cambodia Free Expression & the Law Freedom of Assembly

Govt. should implement pledges: CV


2016-12-21

“The government should implement without delay the pledges made regarding the Tamil people while entering into pacts,” said C. V. Wigneswaran, the Chief Minister of the Northern Province 

He made this statement at a media briefing which followed a meeting of the Tamil National Council held on Monday at the Jaffna Library. 

He said that, in 2009, the then President of Sri Lanka had made a promise to Ban Ki-moon that the government would undertake to ensure the welfare of the Tamil people in future. "It is good to examine whether the present government has honoured these pledges," he said. 

"Another pact had been signed in Geneva and it is relevant to examine whether what was contained in that pact for the betterment of the Tamil people has been implemented. A third describes how our country should change by 2030 and what should be done for the people. It is prudent for the government to show what changes they would make and what they intend doing for the people," he said. 

He said most of these promises could be fulfilled. "What has to be done in accordance with all these pacts has not been done, and that had led to various problems. If what needed to be done had been done, we could forge ahead in peace and harmony," he said. (Romesh Madushanka)

Stop discrimination of women in Sri Lanka – Women’s rights activists.

Dec 21, 2016

Twenty five civil organizations which work for women’s rights demand Stop discrimination of women in Sri Lanka.

“We urge government to take measures to stop discrimination of women in Sri Lanka,” said R. M.Premawathi at a program on “A dialogue on the parallel CEDAW Report to UN” held at CSR on Dec. 20

“Many of commercial sex workers were discriminated by the society. But we create a culture to respect them.”

She added, “They face to many problems such as police arrest, discrimination, no validity for their earnings etc.”

Activists rushed to the CSR, under the theme, “Let us unite against all forms of discrimination against women” to discuss their problems

After the sharing problems faced by women in the country they discussed and suggest their opinions to the final Shadow port to be presented to the office of CEDAW (Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women)

Addressing the women rights activists Swarna Sumanasekera, Chairperson of National Committee of Women said that government has implemented some resolutions raised by CEDAW.

“CEDAW pointed out the practical measures for stop discrimination of women.”
She appreciated the women rights groups’ contribution to stop discrimination of women.

“We are working in national level for uphold the dignity of women, But it is difficult to listen to the grass root level women rights activists,” she said.
She added, “We are ready to listen to the problems faced by women and help them.”
 
Lawrence Ferdinando - Colombo.

The Story of One: On some lives erased and others that give hope

Together with his friend Father Eugene Hebert, the young men travelled by train from New Orleans in 1948 and then took the ship from New York to Colombo. Their final destination was the Jesuit Mission in Batticaloa.

KANNAN ARUNASALAM on 12/20/2016

I first met Father Harry Miller in 2013. We sat and talked in his office on the top floor of St. Michael’sCollege, Batticaloa. Noisy crows had gathered outside his window, threatening to disturb my filming. ”We didn’t volunteer for a few weeks, a month or a year. It was for life,” Miller said in his lilting, Louisiana accent, as he recounted the beginnings of his life in Sri Lanka. Miller left America as a student priest in 1948. Then followed 60 years of service to the people of Batticaloa as educator, priest and a witness of human rights abuses on a gargantuan scale.

The 1990s was marked by a period of horrors and massacres. Miller would increasingly take on roles beyond that of a parish priest, helping to build bridges between communities through the work of his Batticaloa Peace Committee. Disappearances were rife, especially in eastern Sri Lanka, where Miller recorded some 8,000 cases of missing persons. Bodies were never found. No investigations were ever conducted. ”Where is he? He went out and didn’t come back. Where is my son now? That frenzy was there in them,” Miller said. He knew there had been terrible abuses of human rights that he was powerless to prevent and could only bear witness to. ”We were not able to satisfy them. All we could was record them. To keep track of it as far as we could”. To expect anything else was futile.

Young Tamil men were mostly at risk. They faced recruitment by the Tamil Tigers (LTTE) or arrest, intimidation and being disappeared at the hands of the security forces. To further heighten communal tensions, there were Tamil Tiger attacks on mosques and retaliation by Muslim gangs on civilian Tamils.

As a documentary filmmaker, I believed the people who knew the missing could still tell their stories. When I met families and friends of the disappeared, they were desperate to talk to me. The stories had been bottled up inside them. Interviewing them released decades old memories.

Miller would eventually document the disappearance of his companion Father Eugene Hebert. The two men had travelled together from New Orleans to Colombo. Hebert was passionate about basketball and had coached the school’s team to national heights. He was a popular priest among the locals and seen as a protector of students and young men at risk of disappearance and recruitment. In a cruel twist of fate, Hebert himself disappeared on 5 August 1990.

During the course of filming interviews with Miller and others who knew Hebert, I discovered that there was not one person who disappeared that day but two: the priest and a young Tamil boy.

Father Eugene Hebert with St Michael’s brass band and former Prime Minister D.S. Senanayake.

At the height of inter-communal troubles, a Tamil woman sent her son Bertram with Hebert to the next village. She believed no harm could come to her boy if he travelled with an American priest — it was like sending her son ”with God”. She was wrong and neither of them made it to their destination.

My film, ”The Story of One”, looks back at the lives of Hebert and the boy, and through the recollections of the people who knew them both, attempts to trace what likely happened. In 2014, the film was due to be screened at Film South Asia, a documentary film festival held every two years in Kathmandu. Before the screening, at the insistence of the Rajapaksa regime, the Nepali government forced the festival organisers to stop the event. The Sri Lankan government banned the documentary as a knee-jerk reaction to a film that it saw as criticising the country. They likely never saw the film.

Father Eugene Hebert and the St. Michael’s basketball team, before the All Ceylon Championships, 1978.

After 22 years, Bertram’s parents are just coming to terms with their loss. Meanwhile, Father Hebert’s legacy continues with the “Hebert Cup”, a basketball tournament played annually in his honour in Batticaloa. Observing the lives of the people closest to Hebert and Bertram, and the communities around them, the film explores how parents of the disappeared struggle to get on with their lives, and how communities polarised by violence re-learn to live together in contemporary Batticaloa.

The complexities that lay behind Hebert’s disappearance underscore how sensitive we need to be today in our response to continuing conflict. The disappearances in Batticaloa happened decades ago, but it is a story all too familiar in Sri Lanka. Those that went missing during the ”Southern insurrection”. The thousands who were disappeared during the war and as its brutal end unfolded. When I interviewed him Miller had been pessimistic, ”There was never a time when we could take those cards to anyone in this country and say will you now explain these 8,000 people to us. That time was not then and it will probably never come.” How our country deals with the story of the missing will demonstrate how serious she is about its promises to the world about addressing grave abuses of human rights. Crucially, it will signify how it will be judged in the eyes of her people. All of her people. If it fails, Sri Lanka will forever be haunted by the ghosts of its past.

Watch on Vimeo here. Best viewed in full screen.

* In 2014, the National Peace Council awarded Father Miller with the ”Citizens Peace Award” for his long years of service to the war affected people of Sri Lanka.

* ”The Story of One” won the Manuel Rivera-Ortiz Foundation prize for documentary film in 2013, and selected for Travelling Film South Asia, 2013.

###

Kannan is a British Sri Lankan documentary filmmaker and visual journalist.

Kannan’s work has appeared in The Guardian, The New Yorker, AOL Originals, in addition to broadcasts on BBC and Al Jazeera English. His films have screened at international film festivals and art museums, including Seattle South Asian Film Festival (2015); Neuberger Museum of Art, N.Y. (2014); Rubin Museum of Art, N.Y.C. (2015); and selected for Film South Asia’s Travelling Film Festivals (2011, 2013, 2015). Kannan is a director at the Los Angeles based production company, Stateless Media that produces its signature shortreals for online platforms. In 2013, he was awarded best documentary short for Kerosene (16 mins) at the Seattle South Asian International Documentary Festival and the Manuel Rivera-Ortiz Foundation’s best documentary short prize for The Story of One (19 mins). He studied Psychology at the University of Cambridge (1992-95) and International Human Rights at the University of Oxford (2007-08), focusing on media and conflict. In 2015 he was a visiting lecturer at Cornell University, N.Y., teaching a course on media representations of the Sri Lankan conflict.

http://kannanarunasalam.com

Newspaper report about ministry portfolios to us is an absolute lie and conspiracy: Viyan and Saman

-Dhamasiri too says his statement was distorted

(Lanka-e-News -21.Dec.2016, 11.30PM) A newspaper last weekend reported that  Gamini Viyangoda a prominent author  cum  genuine  social activist , and Saman Rathnapriya a social activist and leader of trade union are to enter parliament via the national list, and are in the ready to secure ministerial portfolios under the government of good governance.

However Viyangoda and Rathnapriya speaking to Lanka e news  revealed that this an absolute lie and is a cold ,calculated conspiracy.

Viyangoda who was enraged over this  said , the journalist of  the newspaper had a duty to first inquire from him  regarding this before publishing such a report .Owing to this newspaper canard , as a   non partisan  social activist his name has been tarnished and it had gravely dented  his reputation .This was a ploy to bring disrepute on him by creating the impression in the minds of the public that  he was shouting all the while  only to get an M.P . post , and aimed at eroding  the faith the public   are having in him, Viyangoda asserted.

Saman Rathnapriya too when answering the queries posed by Lanka e news replied , this was a cold calculated conspiracy. He is a trade union activist who is bitterly castigating the government for its failure to honor the promises it made to the people, hence this false news was  designed and disseminated among  society based on a calculated conspiracy to make the people  turn hostile towards him and get disappointed , he pointed out.

Rathnapriya also explained that when he attended the Christmas party of Mangala Samaraweera on the 19 th  , he met the president and expressed his displeasure as regards  the bogus news report.

Dharmaisri Bandaranaike’s name too was  mentioned in that newspaper that he is to be appointed as the Cultural affairs minister  . When we tried to contact him to verify the truth of this report , we were informed he has gone to Hong Kong to attend a Human Rights conference. He revealed , when he was in the ready to leave for Hong Kong , a reporter inquired from him whether he is going to accept the post of minister of cultural affairs which the president is going to offer ? Dharmasiri told us his reply to him was ,  ‘the president must first ask me about it . When he has not asked me such a question , how can I give an answer to you?’

Dharmasiri also said , in response to the reporter’s question , if the cultural ministry portfolio is granted by the president to him , whether he would accept ? Dharmasiri had  stated, it must be  something suitable  , and if it is unsuitable he would never accept. Yet  the newspaper has distorted his answers, based on reports reaching him after he left for Hong Kong .

Bandaranaike also went on to comment , he mounted the election stages during the run up to the last general elections without expecting positions , but now those tasks are over   .

In any event , Gamini Viyangoda and Saman Rathnapriya have organized  a media briefing on the 22nd to clarify the position . Both of them are working committee members of the National movement for just society. 

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by     (2016-12-21 20:21:44)

Humanity And Art

By Dharmasiri Bandaranayake –December 21, 2016

Dharmasiri Bandaranayake

The time we are living in is a very unfortunate time in human history. From every corner in the world what we hear is mourning and lamenting about a dying humanity. It is an unbearable pain to see women and children becoming victim to one tragedy or the other. Where is there a right for someone to grab another’s life, or to assault, or to make someone disappear, or to assassinate someone else? As an artist, this is the problem that tortures my mind. In truth, it is but a manifestation of the deterioration of humanity. Therefore, my questioning about the present world is in the name of humanity.

Leo Tolstoy said once something to the effect that human being can live without art or literature. However more beautiful world can exist without human beings. The creative aesthetic, beauty, is enlivened by art and literature, and human beings have a link that is not breakable at any time. Art is fundamental human rights.

If human life forgets art and literature, i.e. creative talent gets dried up or lost for some reason, civilization will go into crisis and violence against each other will rise to the surface. In social existence of the human being, conscience is art and literature. The society that lacks conscience is a violent womb that creates opportunities for looters and crafty intellectuals. In past history, art and literature helped develop the human being from wretchedness to civilization.

Therefore art and literature is not a commodity to be sold in competitive consumer market but it is a way of social discipline. Art and literature create compassion and sensitivity in human beings. Compassion and sensitivity repeatedly regenerate within human beings living in social diversity the importance of co-existence and for relating closely with nature. Therefore, art and literature is the creative and regenerative capacity of humanity.

We know art is human expression that has a certain distance from truth. However art and literature creates the path to take us towards the reality of genuine truth. In the life of the person and the lives of others, creating critical capacity to understand the beauty and variety of nature, is something generated by art and literature.

In the journey towards that beauty the capacity for introspectiveness blossoms and puts out new leaves. In order to reveal this feeling to others, we use art and literature as a medium of communication. A human being who understands the world and nature through his or her senses, can recreate that again and share it with wider society and thereby create in other persons the capacity for appreciation. Through such capacities for appreciation, the sensitivity towards nature and others’ sensitivity is born like a fetus and thereby social co-existence is spread and the civilization matures. Therefore, civilization is not tall concert buildings or big highways, but genuine art and literature spread into every corner that becomes human culture manifested with proper discipline.

Human beings in the past have used art and literature as a common medium of expression. Not only in the stories, but also in dancing, poetry, singing, drawing, and dresses but also in housing created for daily needs, the creative capacities get spread. That was based on the knowledge and the experience gained from nature. And this knowledge was bequeathed from one generation to the other. We call this the generation of knowledge. There is no past human group that has not done this.

In order to maintain our humanity, respecting each other and gaining interpersonal knowledge, reconciliation or common existence is an important practice. What was meant by reconciliation was language, beliefs, worships, customs, of a people who are living in a particular territory without breaking its continuity and keeping its unity. In the same way, one of the common features of reconciliation is the manner in which a sense of dignity of every group of people, keeping equality and the brotherhood among them, is maintained.

Reconciliation is not just another word in the language or a fantasy created to hide incapacity. Reconciliation does not have a commercial basis and is not a consumerist project. Reconciliation flows from one generation to another without a break and is a harvest of a long conversation on the common discipline.

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SL alerted to the need for a balanced foreignpolicy in the wake of ‘overdependence on China’

By Hiran H.Senewiratne-December 21, 2016, 7:05 pm 

"Sri Lanka should not depend mainly on Chinese development assistance, which is dangerous, because Sri Lanka would not be able to craft a balanced foreign policy with India and the West, as a result, Razeen Sally, Associate Professor of Lee Kuan Yew University, Singapore said.

"Today going thorough a period of dangerous policy drift with mediocre governance which is inherently unstable with the danger of falling back to a 'big man illiberal', politics is getting nearer with the overdependence on Chinese financial assistance, Sally told a public seminar recently organized by Advocata Institute, a free market think tank in association with 'Echelon' business magazine.

"Foreign relations have been re-balanced from a 'China weighted' one, to one that has restored relations with India and the West. Initial frost between China and Sri Lanka has also been mended, he said.

Sally said that Chinese development projects will have to be scrutinized by the respective authorities.

"Unless trade and investment liberalization was done to draw investments into services and industry, including shipping, Sri Lanka could become over-dependent on Chinese investments by state firms, without productive private sector investments from the West or India.' he said.

"Chinese state investments have to be balanced by investments from competitive private firms to have a take-off,  that will give productivity boosting growth that will bring broad benefits, Sally said .

Though private Chinese firms were 'incredibly entrepreneurial', state firms operated in a different way, he added.

He said that People seem to have lost their fear for the moment. The media is freer. There is a 19th amendment to the constitution. There are restored independent commissions.

"The ethnic temperature was lower than it was a couple of years ago and yes, the right symbolic overtures have been made to the minorities."

"The bad news to begin with is that there is no Yahapalanaya (good governance), he said. "Governance is back to where it was under the Rajapaksa's, in other words, bad to mediocre governance, rife with corruption and nepotism.

"And that is what I suppose disappoints people most of all.he said.

"Under Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, the problems in the economy have been better diagnosed, Sally said.

Sally added: "There were two policy statements by the Prime Minister. But so far not much of it had been implemented, especially in doing business reforms and trade. Sri Lanka's trade to gross domestic product ratio was about 50 percent, compared to over 100 percent in fast growing Asian economies. There was a trickle of foreign investment. Reforming state enterprises, land, and education also remained, but which could be politically more difficult. Sri Lanka had windows of opportunity to change direction in the past, but had 'missed the bus' several times in its post-independence history according to many commentators.

"Brazil is the country of the future, it always was and it always will be. There is that golden potential out there, but it is never achieved. Of course, Sri Lanka never misses an opportunity to miss an opportunity. I hope that opportunity has not been squandered. It is late in the day, but it is still there. Sri Lanka's economy did not have enough competition with 'commanding heights' of the economy controlled by oligarchs".