Thursday, December 22, 2016

A Timely Book On Constitution Making

By Siri Gamage –December 22, 2016

Dr. Siri Gamage

Issues of New Constitution Making in Sri Lanka: Towards Ethnic Reconciliation, By Laksiri Fernando, CreateSpace, Charleston, USA, 2016, pp. 206

Reviewed By Dr. Siri Gamage, University of New England, Australia

This book has come to light at an opportune time when the lawmakers in the country are engaged in a process to formulate a new constitution. The book provides useful comments and insights about political changes since 1948, the year Sri Lanka gained independence. It provides original articulations about the civil society forces that contributed to the change of government in 2015 as well as a conceptual framework based on social capital to comprehend the future direction and challenges these organisations face.

Three Parts

The book is divided into three parts. Part I has 11 chapters. Chapter I deals with general concerns on constitutional issues relating to human rights, effectiveness of civil society, decentralisation, decolonisation, subsidiarity and local governance. It provides a comparison between 1948 and 2012 situations. The author labels the vertical nature of democracy based on a unitary constitution and the authoritarian institutional structure that controlled civil society and human rights as an imbalance. The form and substance of democracy eroded when the masses came to the picture since 1956 changing the elite led political system. Ethnic conflict ruptured vertical structures since 1983. Horizontal democracy spread since 1987 with the introduction of provincial councils. Despite the introduction of provincial councils, devolution has not taken roots. Vertical hierarchies at the Centre tend to resist devolution.

issues-of-new-constitution-making-in-sri-lanka-towards-ethnic-reconciliation

Other weaknesses in the political system in comparison to the pre-1977 era are also provided with examples e.g. lack of checks and balances. This has not only led to tensions in the pluralist society but also a significant lack of understanding pluralism, multiculturalism and minority rights. Notwithstanding the challenges faced, important dimensions of democracy survived due to franchise, people’s participation, multi-party system and international pressure. The current trend is to look for more democracy.

Second chapter deals with human rights and the 1978 constitution while testing the hypothesis that parliamentary democracies are more conducive to HR protection compared to presidential systems. If the state apparatuses are not governed by democratic rule of law, the author claims that HR violations emerge. Violators are not usually the civil society actors.

Chapter 3 is a highly useful one as it addresses the question of why we need a new constitution? To answer this question, the author points out certain defects in the presidential system. He claims that the Presidential system spelled disaster for human rights in Sri Lanka. The country is a polarised society in ethnic and political terms. Constitution making is not an easy task in such a society. However, there is emerging consensus on ‘furtherance of democracy’ while providing justice to the minority communities. This has dawned after changing an entrenched authoritarian regime in 2015. The road map outlined by the Prime Minister for constitution making includes constructive chat author emphasises that there has to be a future vision as well as compromise by key stakeholders to achieve success.

Horizontal Democracy?

Chapter 4 is about how to strengthen horizontal democracy? Author’s view is that the 1972 and 1978 constitutions reflected vertical democracy with minimal checks and balances for the unitary state until the 13th amendment was introduced. He argues that it is necessary to move away from vertical, top down democracy structures to a horizontal structure. For this, both provincial councils and devolution are necessary. In relation to this, Chapter 5 discusses the promotion of local government. It includes useful observations and comments on recent political developments in the country also. Interestingly, Fernando advocates ways of developing solutions to problems by expanding horizontal structures without rejecting vertical structures, in short adopting a middle path. There are aspects in the vertical structure relating to local government that can be reformed. There has to be a balance between efficiency and devolution in such reforms. Some proposals for reform are given including ward based citizens committees, less party competition, resurrection of committee system, and better scrutiny of financial interests of members. In the view of the author, local government system should be enshrined in the constitution.

GROUNDVIEWS on 12/22/2016

Two years into a Maithripala Sirisena presidency, Sri Lankan polity and society are still grappling with dealing with the past, all the while buffeted by new and equally worrying issues. This is reflected in some of the most read articles on Groundviews over 2016, which covered everything from the on-going political and institutional reform and religious unrest to street harassment.

The on-going constitutional reform process is, at best, sporadically covered by mainstream media. Groundviews was one of the few to attempt to demystify the process for its readers. This in turn led to some calls for the reform of personal laws, including the Muslim Marriage and Divorce Act (MMDA) from within the community.

At the same time, Sri Lanka continued to contextualise the divide between majority and minority communities, culturally. Human rights violations continued to be a concern, particularly arbitrary arrests and detention.

Globally, the leaked Panama Papers shed light on the murky world of off-shore companies, with several names associated with Sri Lanka in the tranche. Much of mainstream media misreported the number of Sri Lankans involved, as the ICIJ data also included names from an earlier tranche of documents. Groundviews made the files in the public domain (a subset of the entire tranche) easily accessible, and was the only media organisation to do so.

The full tranche of documents is only accessible to partner organisations, of which, in Sri Lanka, there is only one. Groundviews has continually called on both the ICIJ and the partner organization concerned for detailed investigative journalism on the Panama papers, which has not been forthcoming to date.

Groundviews also produced its own reports on a range of issues, from highlighting the plight of those displaced due to telegenic tourist projects, to visually mapping street harassment.

The top 10 most read articles for 2016 are:

Seven Chief Ministers oppose proposed super ministry

by Maheesha Mudugamuwa-December 21, 2016, 12:00 pm

Seven Chief Ministers had already expressed their vehement opposition to the proposed Development (Special Provisions) Bill, which would confer extraordinary powers on a super ministry to curtail the powers vested in the provincial councils, Western Province Chief Minister Isura Devapriya said yesterday.

Addressing a press conference at the Western Provincial Council (WPC) in Colombo, CM Devapriya stressed that though the bill had no effect on the WPC, he would oppose it for the sake of other councils as it was aimed at curtailing the powers of all provincial councils.

Accordingly, the Chief Ministers of Central, Southern, North Western, North Central, Uva and Sabaragamuwa had informed that they would not support the bill, he said.

The bill had been referred to the Chief Ministers by the Prime Minister’s Office against the normal procedure, the CM said. The accepted practice was for the govern ment to address any matter first to the Governors and then to the Chief Ministers, Devapriya said.

Referring to the draft of the Development (Special Provisions) Bill, Devapriya said the draft bill had proposed the establishment of separate boards for regional development affairs.

The bill would establish the Southern, Wayamba, Central, Eastern and Northern Development Boards. The administrative Districts of Galle, Matara, Hambantota, Monaragala and Ratnapura, would come under the purview of the Southern Development Board. Similarly, the Districts of Puttalam, Kurunegala and Kegalle would come under the Wayamba Board while Matale, Kandy, Nuwara Eliya and Badulla would come under the purview of the Central Development Board. Development in the districts of Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa, Trincomalee, Batticaloa and Ampara would come under the Eastern Board, while Jaffna, Killnochchi, Mannar, Vavuniya and Mullaitivu would come under the purview of the Northern Development Board, he said.

Devapriya said that according to the provisions of the Development (Special Provisions) Bill, these Boards would function for three years, subject to the decisions and guidelines of the agency for development which would also be established through the bill.

The WPC would discuss the matter on January 03 with the council members and so far none of the members were agreeable to the bill, he said.

Devapriya noted that the draft bill was mainly aimed at curtailing the powers of the Provincial Councils and it couldn’t be happening under a good governance government. "During the last regime there had been an unofficial super ministry and that was one of the main reasons for the defeat of the Mahinda Rajapaksa government. Now this government is trying give it a legal effect by passing the Development (Special Provisions) Bill through parliament.".

The Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) would not support the bill, the CM added.

Women can manage the collapse of domestic economy - Dr. Seetha Bandara

Dec 22, 2016

While the prices of home needs increasing in the country due to the VAT, economist who expertise in international economy aware women on domestic economy.

“Most of women living in a fantasy world today due to mega soap operas,” said Dr. Seetha Bandara

“If women control expenses at home they can face to collapse of domestic economy.”

Dr. Bandara, senior lecture at University of Kelanita said that some of women addict to mega soap operas and they never think that they waste their electricity and valuable time.

“When you do telephone conversation limit it to topic, then you can save your money. Most of women are expert in domestic management. Domestic management will control the collapse of economy at home,” said Dr. Bandara, economist.

She pointed out tips to save money at the seminar on “Women in collapse of economy” organized by Women for Rights held at CSR on Dec. 21

Dr, Saroja Paul Raj also aware women who participated for the event.

Talking to Lanka News Web Dr. Paul Raj, co-convener of Women for Rights said that their movement going the organize island wide series of seminars to aware women on domestic economy and youth issues such as drug addicts'

Lawrence Ferdinando - Colombo.

Building A United Community: Practical Strategies To Promote Social Harmony

By FHA Shibly –December 22, 2016

FHA. Shibly

The culture of Sri Lanka has mixed elements where traditional aspects with a modern touch are there. The country is prominently famous for regional diversity. Sri Lankan culture has the influence of Theravada Buddhism and its heritage has been passed on from India. The religious legacy is particularly very strong in Sri Lanka, especially in its southern and central regions. Sri Lanka has earned its fame for being a multi-ethnic and multi-racial country. It has a heterogeneous population and the country has inherited a culture where all communities inhabited non-violence and peace. The people of the country prefer to live with love and affection and they all have an understanding among each other for centuries from the days of their forefathers.

Sri Lankan Colleges and universities usually aim to sustain an expansion of community partnerships with the institutionalization of civic engagement. In this process, they prefer to faculty challenges for following reasons:

• The adoption of faculty on the basis of community where the approach is in pedagogies and research.

• Faculty put a stress on practical and conceptual barrier breakage.

• Involvement and engagement of students in activities.

• Appearance in competitive exams where expected duties such as teaching, research, and service roles are performed.

• Local community’s broad support for institutional environment and advancement.

• Development strategies that seek intentional integration. And here three roles mainly facilitate to improve the society such as research and teaching with institutional impact of education on the community.

The inhabitants of the island celebrate all festivals as Buddhists, Christians, Hindus and Muslims lived in peace, but after independence in parts of the country, people were so badly divided that they become suspicious. The distrustful behavior of all towards each other dis-hearted many people. The distrust has caused an ultimate effect on the growth in a negative way and it led to the progress in a retarded manner. It’s a lovely country, where people could live together in harmony and prosperity in the form of a nation. Undoubtedly, the failure of political leadership has never let it flourish as it deserves.

For decades, instigation to divide the community people on the basis of ethics has been a prominent issue of discussion. The rulers with the subjects are mainly responsible for cultivating the desire of forming a united society. A society where people live as one nation and experience the love and kindness of humanity where co-existence and affection builds a mutual trust in society. The country people follow the core values of Buddhism as it’s a Buddhist nation. The greatest reward which the people bestow their children is a compassion of peace and happiness with love.

Due to few political even as financial issues where social and other issues were blended as well had pushed a group of common people to fight for nearly 30 years against their own people of elected government. It has become necessary to begin a serious dialogue basically on the build up process of a society where the establishment of peaceful co-existence with harmony is needed. As the country follows Buddhism, which defines in the teachings that the root cause of all misconceptions is craving. In the present society of Sri Lanka the politicians and bureaucrats provide a foremost place to common people where they keep on collecting personal benefits. These selfish politicians are not working for the welfare of the common people. For them, their personal interest is much more relevant to their specified work instead of being attentive towards their duties and responsibilities. Under their influence, the police force of the country is labeled as corrupt. The public considers the police as a puppet in the hands of the politician and they alleged that the police never got involved in activities such as the maintenance of law and order.

22/12/2016

Despite the progress made over a few minor matters, since the silent revolution on January 8, 2015, which established the coalition government, no good governance has been established thus far and Sri Lanka is dangerously getting closer to relapsing into a “Rajapaksa dictatorship”, a renowned economist warned this week.

According to Institute of Policy Studies Chairman Prof. Razeen Sally, Sri Lanka is currently just drifting without making much progress in any of the crucial fronts, which will soon make the whole landscape unstable, risking the country relapsing into “a Rajapaksa-like scenario” that existed in the past. “With the rising social discontent, particularly outside Colombo, I think this scenario (a relapse into a Rajapaksa-like scenario) becomes more plausible by the day or by the month in the run up to the next presidential election,” he said. Prof. Sally, who is an Associate Professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore, added that although the government has changed, the political class had not changed in Sri Lanka.

“Musical chairs have been played within the political class,” he stressed, while presenting three future scenarios for Sri Lanka in a public lecture organised by Advocata, an independent public policy think tank, jointly with the business magazine Echelon, in Colombo. Prof. Sally noted that it would be either naive or stupid or both for someone to dismiss this plausibility unless the present regime carries out the promised reforms to uplift the country to the next level.

However, he said the current regime would have to expedite the transition because they would have only a year at best before this window of opportunity closes. “The danger is that if you don’t make judicious moves towards scenario two (take-off scenario), we are going into the scenario three or relapse,” he said.
Prof. Sally further expressed deep worries over the country drifting back into China’s influence, which will bring serious implications not just in the economic front but also in its security front. “This is what worries me; Sri Lanka is now drifting back to Chinese influence,” he remarked adding that this poses risks without appropriate countervailing balance of productive private investments coming from the West, which could be far more productive than from the Chinese state-owned companies.

Sri Lanka’s present rulers have been trying to restore the strained relationship with the Chinese during the last one year or so for dire want of China’s investments and also to renegotiate better terms to repay their commercial loans as their much touted balanced foreign policy failed to bring the expected results, both politically and economically.

The government recently struck a deal with China to lease 80 percent of the Chinese-funded Hambantota port for US $ 1.2 billion and also promised 15,000 hectares for an industrial zone designated for Chinese companies.

Prof. Sally hailed the move as it could relieve the government of its massive foreign debt pile but said nobody other than China is interested in investing in the vanity projects carried out by the Rajapaksas.
However, he was concerned about the style of capitalism practiced by China’s state sector, which is characterized by buying the political and business elite.

“Do we really want to see that happening in Sri Lanka? It’s already happening. It happened under the last government,” said Prof. Sally, urging the media and civil society to scrutinize these projects very carefully going forward.

Further, he also cautioned about the possible security concerns that would arise from realigning with China because that could antagonize the other partners in the West and within the region.

“The last thing we need is another (Chinese) submarine docking in the Sri Lankan port,” he remarked.

Daily Mirror

Indian restricted zone in Trincomalee

December 22, 2016

Indian company said to have taken on lease 84 oil tanks from the oil tank farm at China Bay in Trincomalee has made the oil tank farm a restricted area without allowing any official of the Sri Lanka government to enter the area says All Ceylon Petroleum General Employees’ Union.

The President of Lanka Petroleum General Employees’ Union Ashoka Ranwala says the lease agreement that was to be signed within 6 months of the agreement reached in 2003 was not implemented and as such the Indian company has no right to use any of the oil tanks in the farm.

He said there are 16 more tanks in the farm and the government has approved a cabinet paper to use the tanks. The officials of All Ceylon Petroleum Corporation who had arrived at the oil farm to carry out their duties according to this cabinet paper have not been allowed to enter the complex by officials of the Indian company said Mr. Ranwala.

The officials of the Indian company have said no one would be allowed into the complex without permission from Indian government said Mr. Ranwala adding that it is a very serious situation.

All Ceylon Petroleum General Employees’ Union has asked the government to take over all oil tanks that are being illegally used by the Indian company and if they want to use them to follow a correct procedure to lease them out.

Welgama family’s one rogue misappropriates a staggering Rs. 130 millon – Remanded !

(Lanka-e-News -22.Dec.2016, 11.30PM) In connection with a fraud amounting to a whopping Rs. 130 million approximately involving public funds under the Rajapakse regime , two suspects including CTB chairman Sashi Dilum Welgama were remanded yesterday by acting magistrate ,Colombo .This colossal fraud was committed during the tenure of office of transport minister Kumara Welgama.

During his whole period in office , under the guise of purchasing leaf springs for buses the chairman had misappropriated a staggering Rs. 125,830,735.66 of public funds.

The accomplice who aided and abetted the chairman in this colossal fraud was, L.Nandana Priyantha Perera ,the manager of Nandana Auto products Pvt. Co. who was the fraudulent supplier of leaf springs. Both of them were remanded yesterday.

The CID filed charges against the criminals under the public property Act and the Penal code . It was the present chairman of the CTB , Ramal Siriwardena who lodged the complaint with the CID .

For the whole period between 2010 and 2015 , it was Nandana Auto products Co. that has supplied leaf springs to the CTB . They have not supplied the leaf spring requirements in accordance with the payment collected in advance. The former chairman Sashi Welgama has signed bogus letters of outstanding payments to the Co. and forced the chief financial manager to release payments even without the latter making the supplies duly. These fraudulent receipt of payments had been credited to two accounts of Nandana Auto Co.

Investigations are under way to ascertain whether part of these fraudulent collection of nearly Rs. 130 million was siphoned off to Kumara Welgama who was the ministry of transport at that time.

The owner of Divaina newspaper is another brother of these Welgama swindlers.

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by (2016-12-22 20:24:58)

58 MPs request to dismiss Nimal Bopage

Dec 22, 2016

58 Parliamentarians have signed a petition by requesting to dismiss Mr. NImal Bopage the secretary of Mass Media Communication and Parliament Reform. According to the source, the petition was handed over to the President and the Prime minster today.

The petition emphasis that the secretary of mass Media to dismiss his post with immediate effect as he does not obey on cabinet decision. Nimal Bopage violates government decision and issues contradictory statements against government states in the petition'

This situation was aroused due to contradictory statements of the cabinet decision by the secretary on issuing vehicle permit to 58 parliament members. The petitioners are the parliament members who oblige to get vehicle permits. Secretary unable to take u turn or criticized cabinet decision said by MPs.

Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe Plays With Numbers Again, This Time He Lies About The Sinhala Population In Batticaloa

December 22, 2016

Flanked by two notorious Buddhist monks, Justice and Buddha Sasana Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe once again played with numbers, claiming that there were 28,000 Sinhalese in Batticaloa before the war, even though statistics released by the Department of Census and Statistics very clearly state that that there were only 11,255 Sinhalese in Batticaloa in 1981, in comparison to 233,713 Sri Lanka Tamils and 78,829 Sri Lanka Muslims.

Addressing media at the Mangalarama in Batticaloa on Wednesday, in the presence of Bodu Bala Sena’s Galagoda Atte Gnanasara and Ampitiye Sumana, Rajapakshe also came to the rescue of Buddhist monks saying that even though there is a belief that certain monks were inciting racism, he faulted that no one has taken the initiative to sort out matters through discussions, which is why some situations had escalated.

“There is a serious issue facing the Sinhalese community in the area, because they are a minority here. Before the war there was 28,000 but today this has reduced to a very small number. The Sinhalese have serious grievances but they don’t have a representative in parliament from this area to highlight their grievance, and neither is there anyone in the Eastern Provincial Council to speak on their behalf,” he said.

According to Rajapakshe, the Sinhalese in the area were meted out step motherly treatment, where in many instances even the Grama Sevakas refuse to include the names of the Sinhalese in the electoral register. “If they go to the Pradeshiya Sabha, the officers there won’t read their letters because it is in Sinhalese. Even if there are officers who can read letters, they will throw them to the dust bin,” the minister disclosed.

Rajapakshe said that the meeting was convened by the Buddhist monks to educate him on the situation the Sinhalese community was facing. “But, the Chief of the Mangalarama did not only focus on the issues facing the Buddhist, he even told me about the grievances the Tamils and the Muslims are facing in the area. He was not partial and asked me to find solutions to the grievances faced by all communities,” Rajapakshe said of Ampitiye Sumana, who in November threatened to kill a Grama Sevaka and called him a ‘Tamil Dog‘ after the Grama Sevaka filed several court cases against the Sinhalese living in the Batticaloa district over a land issue.

Rajapakshe assured that his government was doing everything possible to create a country where everyone and every community can live peacefully.

A voice from the past

Thursday, 22 December 2016

A DEAD RINGER FOR DUPLICITY – While the republic reels under the regime-normalising deceptiveness of realpolitik, voices from the past speak to their former readership from beyond the grave and their present polity in funereal tones. Be that as it may, Good Governance need not be gulled into abandoning it pledges to pursue and prosecute those guilty of egregious crimes against media freedom, if it is to prove its credentials to the stakeholders in Sri Lanka who are not as gullible as they look…

If things go on like this, Christmas – like local government elections to come – will be a piece of cake… and that joint anniversary on the eight of January next year (Good Governance alive and kicking after two whole years, and gadfly editor Lasantha Wickrematunge dead and buried eight long years) will be just a hole in the ground. That the ghosts of Christmases past cannot forbear to cheer when rank commercialism and crony republicanism kick in, in tandem, as if on cue, is rapidly becoming a foregone conclusion. It is galling that we can see the writing on the wall… and, at present, all it seems to be saying is MEGA SALE and ALL ITEMS MUST GO! (At bargain-basement prices, to boot…)

As much as the hoi polloi protest when parliamentarians get an undeserved pay rise at public expense, the average person in the street seems to manage better than most come the Silly Season. We may grumble about the increasing cost of living and grouse about the burgeoning debt cycle – but come sales times, and we’re no better than the grubby politicos we’ve come to despise in making sure our bread is buttered with le beurre d’echiré and the X’mas turkey or goose is getting fat!

The thrice-blessed MPs themselves – blessed to be born into a coconut republic like ours, blessed to be favoured by the gods AKA their political masters, blessed if we the people can fathom what earthly good they are – are sitting pretty (even if they don’t always show up when the House sits) and sitting in clover (never has so much been owed to so few by so many).

That the powers that be have justified the perks for already privileged members – the Premier with a cheeky smile and flippant witticism, as is his wont when under pressure; the President with a reluctant nod, as grim as death warmed up these days – is a great pity… We can see the writing on the wall… it says LG POLLS – and methinks the gentlemen protest too much when they insist that sops to Cerberus (the wolf at the gate, those hyenas or hangers-on who are needed to boost the numbers in the House as much as on the ground) are genuine requirements to guarantee that ‘Good Governance’ continues apace.

The revelation

Now, you may be wondering what has brought on all this Christmas cheer from your usually curmudgeonly columnist. True, the joie de vivre generally deserts me and a certain je ne sais quoi replaces it at this time of the year, with its empty traditions and careworn rituals and hollow customs. And, if you add the mindless fun, frolic, fellowship, festivities, and fricasseed light-fantastic-tripping to the meaningless waste of delicious food and fizzy drink in a country where too many citizens for mindful comfort are going to hell in a hand-basket, you would understand my melancholy and refusal to be sanguine about the condition of our café society’s soul. But, it is not all this jism-inducing jollity or all that irksome jazzed up faux celebration that has brought up the choler and bile… rather, a recent pseudo-development on the realpolitik front that has flushed the phlegm and my peace of mind down the tube…

The ramification

The thing that has cropped up off the main political radar to set alarm bells ringing is a less than ten minute long video. In it, a former President and the gadfly Editor I mentioned above have a nice friendly chat on the phone. They talk about mice and men, and women, a certain woman President, an erstwhile Army Commander, corruption and the imperatives a chief executive has to stem and stymie such goings-on under his watch, a plethora of other concerns that boggle the plebeian mind.

For those who take a more sophisticated or patrician view of politics – in which a private citizen can speak openly to a sitting president – it is full of insights into the state patronage of cronyism, the same old political culture as has always seemingly prevailed, the state of the nation in all its dirty rotten scoundrel-ness. At any rate, it is clear that Lasantha and Mahinda were close friends and colleagues in the grimy give and take of republican politics under an altogether grimmer and grottier dispensation that now prevails.

The shocker for me is not that Mahinda and Lasantha talked to each other. That is hardly a revelation, since the latter’s proclivity to inveigle powerful politicians was as well-known as the former’s penchant to spill the beans about goings-on under CBK’s regime, for instance, to a sympathetic ear – which he evidently had in this senior journalist and one-time politico. There is parity of status, as it were, that reeks of complicity and familiarity which is shocking to those who observed the nexus between State and Fourth Estate under the Rajapaksa administration.

As much as it challenges its hearers now, the audio track of the tape must have comforted these two interlocutors then. To all intents and purposes, Lasantha – for all the power and pathos of his posthumous editorial: that piece of alleged accusation from beyond the grave – seemed to slumber in a wonderland where (although all was not well) neither he nor Mahinda envisaged the intentional assassination of an iconic anarchic Editor under a war-winning President’s victorious watch.

The resolution

All of which raises a panoply of questions in my troubled mind’s-eye:

Why this tape of all tapes, now?

Whose interests does it serve most, maybe thereby pointing the finger of suspicion for its release in these uncertain transitional times?

What purpose does a partial revelation like this serve, and whose agenda will it further, while realpolitik in all its rottenness envelops the state on all sides?

Would that you had heard the tape, O reader! No doubt you would be able to add a cataract of questions to my kaleidoscope of inquiry?

Be that as it may (as Lasantha was fond of essaying in his trademark editorials, not many of which sounded anything like his much-trumpeted last post), I’m going to take the plunge – and a risk – in suggesting some possible scenarios as to the timing, purpose, and effect of the video’s spurious positing on social media earlier this week…

NAÏVE: This is just another example of a media outlet doing its job, its duty, in keeping the nation informed about what transpired in the past… so that our present governors and their governed can be better informed and understand future developments more insightfully. (No one believes this. If they do, they’re less than naïve; they’re deluded.)

NICE: It’s good to know what past Presidents and late Editors got up to in private phone conversations, so that the voting public – curious and/or inquisitive – can have an insight into why (although political cultures may change superficially) human nature’s face cannot be touched up by cosmetic make-up.

NORMAL: In the usual run of things, it is par for the course for parties with a vested interest – such as regime change – to drop bricks like this… to put their political opponents on the defensive, to dumbfound the voice of civil society agitating in favour of accountability and transparency.

NATURAL: In the bleak midwinter of “Good Governance’s” honeymoon coming to an end, it is a legitimate tactic by former mandarins ambitious to regain control of state apparatus to bowl a googly at law enforcement’s plodding but perhaps inevitable grind towards exposing the identity of egregious wrongdoers.

NASTY: Good Governance finessed this! So that it wouldn’t have to prosecute powerful previous holders of office! So that everyone could live happily ever after!

NAUGHTY: Colonel Mustard did it, in secret behind the scenes, with an ulterior motive that smacks of psychosis as much as political ambition.

While (as a beloved former Editor’s weekly column customarily began) this happened, the plot thickens. Don’t be surprised if it transpires that Lasantha killed himself. Cheers, and a very merry Christmas!

‘Abhishek Joshi planned a bank in Sri Lanka, met President Sirisena in Goa’

Ashish Mehta| TNN | Updated: Dec 22, 2016

JAIPUR: The investigation carried out by the special operation group (SOG) of Rajasthan police, which revealed that Rs 16 crore was embezzled at Alwar Urban Cooperative Bank, brought to light plans hatched by the accused, which included starting a bank in Sri Lanka.

The 37-year-old BBA graduate and mastermind in the case, Abhishek Joshi, had not only allegedly met the president of Sri Lanka in Goa, he was also in touch with top administrative officers of the island nation to start financial institutions.

During the investigation, the SOG team also found that he was planning similar frauds in the neighbouring country after starting the bank.

On Wednesday, the SOG unearthed the embezzlement of nearly Rs 16 crore and illegal money exchange of Rs 1.38 crore by cooperative bank officials, and arrested five ,persons including the CEO, former chairman, present chairman and the mastermind of the fraud.

Abhishek is seen as the kingpin in planning and executing the whole embezzlement.

Joshi is a BBA graduate and fluent in English. While investigating the case, the sleuths of SOG were stunned when they recovered a photograph of Abhishek with Maithripala Sirisena, the Sri Lankan president.

"We found that the accused Abhishek had visited Sri Lanka and had explored possibilities to start a bank in any of the states in the island nation. We have also recovered a photograph of the accused with the Sri Lankan president. He was in touch with some top-ranked administrative officers of a few states in the neighbouring country," said a senior officer of the SOG on Wednesday on condition of anonymity.

Asked about the interest of the accused in Sri Lanka, Dinesh M N, inspector general of police, said, "All I can say is that we are investigating and looking into every angle in this case. Various things that we have recovered need to be verified."

A senior officer close to investigations, said, "He was expected to meet Surendra Gunaratney, who is an adviser to the government of Sri Lanka on international affairs, and also a chief secretary rank officer to discuss investment possibilities on Wednesday. During his interrogation, Abhishek had also confessed to planning to start a bank in Sri Lanka. Thus, there could be a possibility that the Rs 16 crore, which he had embezzled with his family, was to be invested in Sri Lanka."

TOI has also come to know that Surendra, who is in Delhi, had even called up a senior officer of SOG on Wednesday to enquire about the whole racket. Sources further said that SOG officials had also told the Sri Lankan bureaucrat that the accused has been nabbed before he could execute his plan in their country. "So far, we could make out a case of embezzling Rs 16 crore. The quantum of fraud could be much bigger than what has come out so far," said an officer.

Sleuths further stated that Abhishek had hired 12 personal bodyguards and used their services whenever he visited Alwar. "Prior to the seizure of Rs 1.32 crore, Abhishek's lifestyle was the talk of the town in Alwar. He used to travel in a gold-plated SUV," the officer added.

Customs seize aprons with Buddha images

2016-12-22

A stock of 5,424 sets of kitchen apparels with printed images of the Buddha was seized today by the Customs in a container in transshipment, Customs Spokesman Dharmasena Kahandawa said.

He said the kitchen apparel sets were found during the Customs checking on several other goods from India.

“Each set included an apron, two oven gloves and a table serviette in 904 cartons,” he said. The stock was detected while the container was opened for unloading some other items in Sri Lanka.

The shipment had arrived from Tuticorin (Thoothukudi) few days ago and the ship was travelling to Slovenia, in the Central Europe via Sri Lanka.

The cargo arrived at the BQ4 warehouse of the Colombo Port on December 2 and the shipment arrived on SS St. John Ark.

Officials said investigations would be done and relevant actions would be taken by the Customs

He said the Sri Lanka Customs would inform to the Indian Customs to conduct an inquiry and to stop such items that hurt the sentiments on any religion.

After the investigation Customs will hand over the consignment to the Ministry of Buddha Sasana, he said. (Chaturanga Pradeep)