Dr Padeniya.. Be honest your self and remember you or your children will earn wraths and the curses of the masses

(Lanka-e-News -03.Feb.2017, 4.45PM) I have been watching with great interest the on going issue pertaining to the quality of medical education imparted by SAITAM and the registration of the students who will be passing out .The college according to many unbiased and right minded people is well equipped and well staffed specially with lecturers and professors who have  taught  for many years almost 95 per cent of the membership of the  so called protesting GMOA. It also has well managed hospital with clinical facilities with almost 1000 odd beds. In addition it provides much needed community service to the people of the neighborhood  which is also an additional training opportunity for the undergrads   in addition to all other controversies that the GMOA is bringing up.

I would like to ask Dr Padeniya  as to what he did when Kotalawela Defence College was authorized to begin a medical degree program  from zero during the previous regime. It is well known that due to fear for his and that of family's life he kept his mouth shut but waited until Yahapalana government came to power and restored the democratic rights of the masses which were suppressed until 8 January 2015 including the White Van culture . It was only thereafter all these protests and demonstrations were begun. I would challenge Dr Padeniya to publish even one  single letter he addressed the then government protesting the establishment of the medical college at KDA. If I may recall it was granted permission to begin medical degree courses almost overnight. No fuss because of fear of White Van.

Dr Padeniya you and your membership were educated at the expense of the poor masses. These are the very same people you are inconveniencing and killing by your illegitimate work stoppages. Just think for a moment if you did not become a doctor and ended  up as a coconut plucker what would have been your situation in the event of a major sickness in the family specially during a strike. So don't bite the finger that feeds you Dr Padeniya . Be honest your self and remember you  or your children will earn wraths and the curses of the masses as well as that of the parents and students of SAITAM for all the pains that you are inflicting on them for no fault of their own. So stop this none sense and come back to the real word and think rationally and out of the box.

Hundreds of children who are unable to gain admission to medical faculties in Sri Lanka go to several countries like India, Nepal, China ( where there are hundreds of medical degree awarding universities)Malaysia, Bangladesh and East European countries which is eroding countries' foreign exchange reserves . Once these students complete their degrees they return to the country and sit for the SLMC prescribed  examination and become fully fledged medical doctors upon passing the examination

My question to Padeniya and his crew  is why this hypocrisy in respect of SAITAM only? Has he visited each and every of these foreign universities and completed an audit  in respect of  facilities available for teaching medicine  and evaluate their standards  including the qualifications of the academic staff before making a judgement on SAITAM. This is sheer  Sri Lankan jealousy  Dr Padeniya.

I would like to appeal to the GMOA as well as IUSF and all others to change their approach and attitude towards students and the medical degrees awarded by SAITAM and instead welcome them to their fold and work as true Sri Lankan family of doctors to provide an efficient service to the suffering poor masses and  assist to further develop this institution to be able attract more foreign students so that country too would benefit.

If countries I have mentioned elsewhere in this letter can recognize and support private medical educations what has happened to our country.

Now that the Court of Appeal has instructed the SLMC to recognize the degrees awarded by SAITAM let's resolve the issues right here and move forward in the best interest of the country sans personal and political agendas

I don't have any one of my family or relatives attending this institution. I am writing this purely in national interest .

By A.H.M. Farook 

Ex SRI LANKAN SENIOR  UN STAFFER

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by     (2017-02-03 11:25:42)

Monks In Politics Should Avoid The Three Poisons

By Shyamon Jayasinghe –February 2, 2017

Shyamon Jayasinghe

Buddhist monks have by, now, been accepted or at least tolerated by our society as simultaneous political players. Soon after the assassination of SWRD Bandaranaike by a Buddhist monk and the revelation that high profile Sangha like Buddharakkita were behind the conspiracy, Sri Lankan society began to openly repudiate the very idea of the saffron community being seen on the political stage. Buddharakhitta’s incursion into the political power game is to-date regarded as a kind of reductio ad absurdum of Sangha involvement in the political power game in that it demonstrated graphically its absurdity and its danger. For many years after that tragedy, monks shunned the political platform. On the other hand, today Buddhist monks have re-emerged with the cloud of guilt blown away out off their halo.

The formation of an officially recognised political party for monks, the JHU, took place in the year 2004. The fact that the JHU or The National Heritage Party succeeded in winning as much as nine seats in Parliament became the signal of a general popular acceptance of a political landscape dotted by the Buddhist clergy. The JHU is still a significant force to be dealt with as its influence spreads beyond the numbers.

There isn’t any scriptural reference that can be interpreted as barring Buddhist monks from politics. On the other hand, Human Rights laws will frown on any disallowance of monks from political participation of any kind.

The issue is, therefore, not a legal one. The involvement of Buddhist monks in Parliamentary politics constitutes an unfinished item in religious discourse. Nobody can avoid politics but the question as to whether it is appropriate for a monk who by definition is a mendicant who has abandoned worldly life in favour of pursuing a spiritual attainment, can get embroiled in the power game that politics is, is still a valid question. Furthermore, the absence of a formally organised establishment that can make dictates to Buddhist monks has made political entry easy. This is unlike the Christian priesthood ,which does have a controlling body to exercise a code of organisational conduct. The Sanga, typically, is like the proverbial barber saloon where anybody can come in and go away.

The upshot is that we still do observe extreme cases of Sangha political behaviour displayed from time. We saw the BBS going on rampage burning Muslim places of worship and beating Mussalmen. Recently, we saw videos on social media where a monk in Batticaloa was castigating a Tamil Grama Sevaka in racial terms and jumping toward him to have a meritorious (or ping) go.

The general public expectation, particularly the response of the Buddhist public, is the only determining and restraining leach. This public expectation is that monks should conduct their political role unswerving in line with the spirit the spirit of the Dhamma. Unlike the lay adherence, the adherence of the Sangha is mandatory according to public opinion. This also is consistent with the general spirit of the Vinaya Pitaka that scripturally governs monk conduct. It is in this Dhammic spirit that Buddhist monks of the past were said to have advised Kings and so on. The ethical behaviour created a respected link between King and monk. That had been a healthy relationship and a productive one, too.

The fundamental Buddhist ethical admonition is that Buddhists (particularly monks) should avoid the three poisons of Lobha (greed), Dosa (hate) and Avijja (ignorance). Fundamental to the three is ignorance or delusion. Buddhist monks must at all times cultivate this three-fold ethic. They have a special responsibility to do so in their political role. Ordinary people do not expect monk-politicians to behave like greedy and lying secular politicians. The distinction in political role play is apparent. Verse 251 of the Dhammapada spells these three pegs of moral underpinnings:

Nathi ragas aggi (There is no fire like passion or greed)
Nathi dosasamo gaho (There is no grip like ill will or hate)
Nathi mohasamani jalam (There is no net like ignorance)
Nathi thanhasamana nadi (There is no river like craving)

The fourth line is an emphatic first line. The Buddha preached this in the Jethavanama Monastery.

Since the operative nature of greed and hate are typically hard to measure, we will focus on the fundamental poison or papa karma that is ignorance. Now, it is admitted that in the specific Buddhist context Avijja refers to ignorance of the Four Noble Truths. However, we take the liberty to extend its application to all forms of ignorance. There is justification for this in that monks engaged in secular politics are expected to evince a critical sense and to make an effort to comprehend issues of the wider jurisdiction of a secular society if what they articulate is to be respected. Monks taking to politics, if they are to be respected as Buddhist monks, should be mindful of the truth of what they say. The public expect monks not to be foolish or superficial but to be endowed with truthful wisdom.

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Government must keep a tab on public opinion

Friday, 3 February 2017

It has now become a national pastime for howls and protests on our streets on a daily basis. Are these protests because the Government has so far failed to deliver on the promises they made on 8 January to the public, or what?

Government must keep a tab on public opinion.docx by Thavam Ratna on Scribd

Bambalapitiya Flats redevelopment project: Govt. taken for a right royal ride?

* Doubts about Indian investor’s involvement
* Champika expresses reservations 

An artist’s impression of the Bambalapitiya Flats Redevelopment Project after completion.

By C. A. Chandraprema-February 2, 2017

In 2014, a plan was floated to redevelop the ten-acre land on which the Bambalapitiya flats now stand. The land belongs to the National Housing Development Authority (NHDA). The plan to redevelop this property involved the demolition of the present blocks of flats and building six towers of 36 storeys each. The project would have a total of 3,762 residential apartments along with shops, offices and hotels. After the new project is completed, 285 apartments and 12 shops would be allocated to the present residents of the Bambalapitiya flats. It was a company called UTL Global Projects Pte Ltd registered in Singapore which brought up this proposal to redevelop the Bambalapitiya flats. At the initial stages UTL Global Projects Pte brought in as a partner, Patel Engineering Ltd, a listed company in India, which had extensive experience in real estate development and considerable financial clout.

A tripartite MOU was signed on 29 March 2014 between UTL Global Projects Pte Ltd, Patel Engineering Ltd and the NHDA for this project. Subsequently however, Patel Engineering Ltd backed out of the project. At that point UTL Global Projects Pte Ltd purported to bring in another Indian investor Engineering Projects India Ltd, a state owned entity in India, which, too, has extensive experience in construction and real estate and solid financial backing. This government owned Indian company is already involved in water projects in Vavuniya and Puttlam with the National Water Supply and Drainage Board.

The ‘consortium’ which was supposed to have been formed between UTL Global Projects Pte Ltd and Engineering Projects India Ltd applied jointly to the BOI on 12 September 2014 giving the address of the consortium as 151 Chin Swee Road, # 14-1 Manhattan House, Singapore. On the same day the BOI wrote to the NHDA and the Condominium Management Authority informing them that an application had been made to redevelop the Bambalapitiya flats at a cost of USD 250 million over a seven-year period and wanting to know whether they had any objections to such a project.

On 25 September 2014 one Vinoo Gopal The Director Projects of Engineering Projects India Ltd wrote to UTL Global Projects Pte Ltd that Engineering Projects India Ltd was ‘on principle’ agreeable to joining in a project to redevelop the Bambalapitiya flats. Gopal had requested UTL Global Projects Pte to send him the MOU signed with the NHDA to enable them to take further action in this regard. He also said that his company would send a delegation to Colombo to discuss the scope of the work before finalising the consortium agreement between UTL Global Projects Pte Ltd and Engineering Projects India Ltd. One thing that does not appear right is that this letter from Vinoo Gopal of Engineering Projects India Ltd is dated 25 September 2014 whereas the application to the BOI by the consortium that was supposed to have been already formed by UTL Global Projects Pte Ltd and Engineering Projects India Ltd had been made earlier on 12 September 2014.

Furthermore, Vinoo Gopal of Engineering Projects India Ltd wrote his letter of 25 September 2014 in reply to a letter that had been written to them by UTL Global Projects Pte Ltd on 12 September 2014. This means that an Indian government owned company agreed on principle to an overseas project in less than two weeks! Can any company, private or public make a decision involving a major overseas project that fast? Looking at the dates on these letters exchanged, it is clear that UTL Global Projects Pte Ltd wrote to Engineering Projects India Ltd making the initial proposal only on the day that they had applied to the BOI claiming that they were already in a partnership with Engineering Projects India Ltd and that they wanted to jointly execute a project to redevelop the Bambalapitiya flats!

On 30 December 2014 Vinoo Gopal of Engineering Projects India Ltd wrote to the NHDA that they were in principle ready to join UTL Global Projects Pte in the project to redevelop the Bambalapitiya flats and that they were now in the process of completing the required documentation. He also attached a letter from the Indian Overseas Bank certifying that Engineering Projects India Ltd had the financial resources to be able to execute the 300 million USD project to redevelop the Bambalapitiya flats if it was awarded to them. This bank referral from the Indian Overseas Bank was signed by the Chief Manager – his name is not mentioned in the letter. For an Indian government owned company to have received an initial proposal for an overseas project on 12 September 2014 and to be at the stage of preparing documentation to join the project by 30 December 2014 looks quite unusual.

After this point the government changed and the Bambalapitiya flats redevelopment project went into abeyance as the new government declared a moratorium on unsolicited proposals. Later, UTL Global Projects Pte Ltd managed to revive the proposal and it was approved by the Cabinet Subcommittee on Economic Affairs of the yahapalana government on 07 July 2015. Then the August 2015 parliamentary election intervened and the matter went into abeyance again. After the new government was formed, it was once again revived by the Cabinet Subcommittee on Economic Management by being approved again on 11 December 2015. Following upon that, on 14 December 2015, the BOI wrote to UTL Global Projects Pte Ltd that the BOI had approved the application they had made jointly with Engineering Projects India Ltd to redevelop the Bambalapitiya flats at a cost of 200 million USD. The project was also given a 15-year tax holiday.

On 17 February 2016, the Minister of Housing and Construction Sajith Premadasa submitted memorandum No: 08/2016 to the Cabinet seeking approval for this project and recommending among other things that a Project Steering Committee be appointed to supervise and guide the project through its implementation. Cabinet approval was duly granted. On 19 April 2016, the General Manager of the NHDA wrote to both UTL Global Projects Pte Ltd and Engineering Projects India Ltd that the Cabinet had approved their joint project proposal and that in terms of BOI requirements, the two partners in the consortium should incorporate a company in Sri Lanka for this project. Thereupon, a company called City Square Projects Pvt Ltd was duly incorporated in Sri Lanka but it is unclear whether Engineering Projects India Ltd is involved in this new company.

Be that it may, on 22 June 2016, a formal agreement was entered into between the BOI and City Square Projects Pvt Ltd. This agreement also states that Engineering Projects India Ltd is a partner in the project but this agreement with the BOI does not have to be signed by Engineering Projects India Ltd. Instead, it was signed by two directors of the local company City Square Projects Pvt Ltd that was incorporated for the project. In a further note to the Cabinet on 08 November 2016, Minister Sajith Premadasa recommended that in order to proceed expeditiously with this project, a gazette notification be issued immediately to acquire this site under the Condominium Management Authority law which provides for any condominium that is over 40 years old to be acquired. He had further recommended that the Bambalapitiya flats be declared a ‘Urban development Site’ under Section 2 of the Urban Development Projects (Special Provisions) Act No: 2 of 1980. This provision of the urban development law disallows appeals to courts regarding the acquisition of property for development projects.

There are 300 housing units in the Bambalapitiya flats and once the project begins, the residents will have to vacate their houses until the new flats are built and they are allocated new apartments. Until such time, they are to be provided with a monthly payment as rent assistance. Once the final project documents are signed, the land on which the Bambalapitiya flats stand will be transferred to City Square Projects Pvt Ltd on a 99-year lease. On 25 November 2016, Minister of Megapolis and Urban Development Champika Ranawaka filed a Cabinet Observation bearing Ministry Reference 2015/MPD/Obs 06 stating, among other things, that the financial credentials of the developers did not appear to have been checked and that a proper feasibility study had not been carried out to ascertain the viability of the project.

As of now, the Prime Minister, the Minister of Housing and Construction, the BOI, the NHDA and even the tenants of the Bambalapitiya flats appear to be under the impression that Engineering Projects India Ltd is involved in this project. Minister Premadasa has stated in his Cabinet memorandum on 17 February 2016 that ‘the redevelopment of the Bambalapitiya flats is a complex project which has to be undertaken with utmost care and expertise preferably by an investor/developer who has experience in similar work’. In his observations to the cabinet made on 08 November 2016, Minister Premadasa described the Bambalapitiya redevelopment project as ‘a novel and complex project the likes of which had never been undertaken in this country’. Hence, the involvement of Engineering Projects India Ltd is absolutely crucial.

It is Engineering Projects India Ltd that has the expertise and experience in construction and real estate development and the financial backing to be able to carry out a project of this nature. The other partner in the consortium, UTL Global Projects Pte Ltd, is a company that was incorporated in Singapore only in February 2011 and its owners are three Indian nationals, Koorapati Premalatha Rani, Meena Pooja and Prashanth Koorapati; they are members of the same family. They don’t have any known background in construction or real estate development and are not known to have the financial resources to be able to handle a project of this nature. The original partner they brought in to do this project Patel Engineering Ltd did have a suitable background and financial resources for this project.

But there are questions over whether Engineering Projects India Ltd has actually formed a consortium for this project with UTL Global Projects Pte Ltd. This has to be ascertained beyond doubt by the government of Sri Lanka before proceeding any further with this project. Because it is a government owned business undertaking, Engineering Projects India Ltd cannot invest any money overseas without the approval of the Indian Cabinet and other agencies such as the Reserve Bank of India. Have the necessary approvals been granted by the Indian government and is Engineering Projects India Ltd a shareholder of City Square Projects Pvt Ltd which has been formed to undertake the redevelopment of the Bambalapitiya flats?

Once all the approvals are granted, the land on which the Bambalapitiya flats is located will be transferred to City Square Projects Pvt Ltd on a 99-year lease. Some fear that Engineering Projects India Ltd which is the purported partner that has the expertise and financial resources to carry out this project is not actually in a consortium with UTL Global Projects Pte Ltd and that once the land is transferred to City Square Projects Pvt Ltd, the land may be used as collateral to raise the capital that UTL Global Projects Pte Ltd obviously lacks. The following questions need to be answered in relation to this project:

1. Is Engineering Projects India Ltd actually in a consortium with UTL Global Projects Pte Ltd?

2. If so where is the consortium agreement?

3. Who are the shareholders of City Square Projects Pvt Ltd which will be receiving the land on a 99 year lease?

4. Have any local or foreign banks been approached by UTL Global Projects Pte Ltd to raise funds by pledging the Bambalapitiya land as collateral?

5. Why hasn’t the Project Steering Committee appointed by the Cabinet looked into the very valid points raised by Minister Champika Ranawaka in his Cabinet Observation regarding this project?

It is up to the government of Sri Lanka and UTL Global Projects Pte Ltd to summon a press conference and explain matters to the public. If Engineering Projects India Ltd is actually involved in this project they, too, should be represented at any such press conference to allay public anxieties. We have heard how a primary dealer borrowed money from the Central Bank at low interest rates to buy high interest yielding bonds issued by the Central Bank itself. If we now have a so-called foreign investor who is trying to raise money for investment by mortgaging land owned by the government of Sri Lanka, how is that any different to the bond scam? If a vacant land is given by the government to a developer and the project fails, the government can take back the land and confiscate the deposit and neither party will be seriously affected. But, in this case, there are residents in about 300 flats who will have to vacate their houses for the project to commence. If it fails, they will all be left high and dry.

SRI LANKA GOVT’S URBAN DEVELOPMENT HAS RESULTED IN LARGE SCALE EVICTION & RELOCATION OF WORKING CLASS POOR

Image from the cover page of the report.

02/02/2017

The previous government’s Urban Regeneration Programme (URP), which is being continued by the present Government, aims to beautify the city and create a slum-free capital has, resulted in large scale eviction and relocation of working class poor away from the city center, says a report by Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA).

The report says that the  rushed  evictions  under  the  previous  regime  paid  scant  regard  to  the  rights  of  affected persons  and  to  the  practical  impact  of  evictions  on  their  lives  including  lack  of  access  to services, loss of shared community, increase in physical and material vulnerability, disruption of education and loss or reduction in livelihood options.

There is no official data available on evictions from 2010 – end 2014. But according to  the Urban Development Authority (UDA)   website states that  approximately  5000  persons  have  been  relocated  to  date.

The report further says:

“The  lack  of  transparency  and  accountability  is  an  overriding  concern.  The  difficulties  of obtaining  information  and  in  the  language  of  the  person  affected  and  misinformation  in attempts  to  prejudice  the  rights  and  interest  of  the  affected  family,  continue  to  be  the  main areas  of  dispute  with  the  Urban  Development  Authority.  On  the  substantive  questions involved there is a clear lack of state policy that accounts for and seeks to serve the interests of those affected. The lack of such policies compound problems arising out of a state- centric understanding of eminent domain, an expanding ‘public purpose’ in state acquisitions of land and  the  entrenched  vulnerabilities  of  affected  persons. ”

Report provides set of recommendations to address the issues outlined in the 38 page report.

Recommendations  
In the immediate term:
1.  Initiate  a  thorough  review  of  the  Urban  Regeneration  Project  to  ensure  that  communities are  substantially  better  off  in  all  respects  and  attain  higher  living  standards  rather  than  just acquire newly built apartments in high-rises. The procedures to achieve these objectives must be  aligned  with  national  and  international standards  and  policies  to  safeguard  the  rights  of those affected.
 2. Make public all the documents and information related to the Urban Regeneration Project in Colombo, especially all aspects pertaining to:
–  Acquisition  of  lands  and  resettlement  including  results  of  surveys,  sites  identified  for redevelopment,  demarcations  of  private  and  state  land,  as  well  as  scheduling  of  proposed acquisition and relocation
–  Agreements  with  private  developers  from  Sri  Lanka  and  abroad  to  build  resettlement housing or to develop lands taken from communities.
3. Take immediate measures to redress grievances of specific affected communities, in
particular:
–   Ensure   that   Mews   Street   residents   who   were   forcibly   evicted   in   2010   are   given compensation  for  their  previous  home  and  the  grievances  caused  in  the  6  years  following their eviction.
–  Provide  written  guarantees  for  grant  of  in-situ  housing  to  all  Kompannyaveediya  (Slave Island) residents whose lands have been taken for the TATA Project; and to those who chose compensation instead of in-situ housing, ensure immediate payment of the same at fair and accurate market rates.
–  Together  with  the  Education  Ministry,  resolve  the  school  admission  issue  faced  by  many residents living in the high-rise, where they are unable to get adequate marks for the school of their choice due to their new location.

For the longer term
1.The  Policy  Principles  of  the  National  Involuntary  Resettlement  Policy  must  be  reviewed, brought  up  to  date  with  national  and  international  standards  and  be  enshrined  in  law  and made applicable to all future instances of land acquisitions involving relocation.
2.  Explore  all  possible  options  with  regard  to  housing  of  low-income  communities,  including and  especially  in-situ  redevelopment  and  upgrading,  to  eliminate  and  minimise  involuntary resettlement.
3. Enshrine in law the best principles of the National Housing Policy and adopt a consultative, participatory and bottom–up process for providing housing for the urban poor. The NHP calls for  “families  who  are  able  to  build  their  own  houses  to  be  directly  assisted  by  way  of regularizing  the  land,  providing  basis  (sic)  amenities  and  releasing  housing  assistance  on concessionary  interest  rates  with  necessary  technical  guidance.”  It  also  specifically  calls  for “[s]trengthening  community  based  organizations  to  promote  community  participation  in housing development and guiding poor communities on decision making processes.

Read the full report as a PDF:Evictions in depth report cover – The-Making-of-a-World-Class-City_Final”

Evictions-in-depth-report-cover-The-Making-of-a-World-Class-City_Final.pdf by Thavam Ratna on Scribd

Towards A Truly Genuine Anti-Graft Body To Combat Corruption

By Nagananda Kodituwakku –February 3, 2017

Nagananda Kodituwakku

Considering the lethargic and ineffective attitude of the CIABOC, President Sirisena was urged today to replace the incumbent Commissioners and the Director General of the government’s anti-corruption body, as the evidence of state-sponsored corruption has reached unimaginable proportions.

Amongst the corruption cases piled up before the CIABOC, the MP tax-free car permit scam, occupies a prominent place especially due to the involvement of those holding public office in the Executive and the Legislature. However in spite of availability of overwhelming evidence of this government revenue fraud running into over 7 billion rupees, the CIABOC has absolutely failed to take any meaningful step to initiate a credible investigation.

This is despite the Sirisena-Ranil government itself condemning the previous Rajapaksa regime in its Nov 2015 fiscal policy statement (budget speech) for causing a loss of Rs 40 billion annually on the abuse of tax-free car permits. Notwithstanding this official acceptance of state-sponsored corruption, the Sirisena-Ranil government within two months backtracked on its own stand and began issuing tax-free car permits by itself to MPs with no legal sanction whatsoever.

Almost one year prior to the revelation of this financial crime by the Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake in the Parliament, this fraud was reported to the CIABOC on 11th Dec 2014. Yet no investigation was initiated on the complaint by the CIABOC, claiming that the said revenue loss had been caused due to the implementation of the government policy.

After the Ranil-Sirisena Yahapalana regime took over on 08th Jan 2015 another complaint on this government-sponsored revenue fraud was made to the CIABOC on 26th Aug 2016 with overwhelming evidence. This was supported with a schedule of vehicles imported on MP tax-free permits and registered in the names of private individuals and companies not entitled to use this tax-free privilege which is meant for MPs to discharge their office efficiently and effectively for the economic development of the country. However, the CIABOC has miserably failed to initiate any tangible action to arrest this abuse or to recover the billions of tax-revenue defrauded by dishonest MPs.

On the top of it, the government MPs and Ministers (eg: State Minister of Finance, Luckshman Yapa Abeywardena and the General Secretary to the United National Party (UNP) and Minister of Public Enterprise Development, Kabeer Hashim) began defending this high profile revenue fraud, stressing that it is the right of Members of Parliament to ‘raise funds’ through the sale of their duty free vehicle permits. Minister Kabeer Hashim on 01st Nov 2016, as usually, went to the habit of heavily criticizing Rajapaksa regime for such frauds but not the Sirisena government in which he is holding a office of a Cabinet Minister.

This pathetic and unacceptable state of government affairs has compelled to urge President Sirisena to remove all the Commissioners and the Director General of the CIABOC and replace them with people who would withstand any political pressure in the unavoidable discharge of their duty for public good. President was also warned not to appoint retired judges to the Commission, which would naturally send a wrong signal to the serving judges to fall in line with the political leadership in power.

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Alibaba politics oriented crook of a judge sent home..! Exemplary punishment -JSC earns plaudits..!

(Lanka-e-News -03.Feb.2017, 7.00PM) A politically inclined  unscrupulous judge who produced  falsified  information and entered the judicial service  was packed and sent home by the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) 

Based on a complaint made by a civil organization which created  a salutary precedent  in the judicial sphere , this judge by the name of D.M.A.I Dissanayake (Asanka Dssanayake) got  the sack. This judge is  a grade one class two magistrate who secured the judiciary position by forwarding a phony address that he resided at Water tank road , Colombo 10 , whereas his true place of residence is Kelaniya. 

Sri Lanka Human rights center lodged a complaint with the JSC against this magistrate . That complaint incorporated the following : 

1.The magistrate has secured appointment to the judicial service by using a phony address : No. 73/1 , Water Tank road , Colombo 10.

2.He had been engaged in politics directly for a long time.

3.In the infamous impeachment motion against ex chief justice Shiranee Bandaranaike , a political meeting  was organized by this magistrate in support of the impeachment .

4.He went against the decision of  the Bar Association (BASL) , and participated as an activist in the manipulations   to  expel Shiranee Bandaranaike from her judicial post.  

In the petition filed by the SL human rights center it is mentioned that Asanka Dissanayake who received the magistrate appointment is  also infected with the face book mania like that suffered by some other judges of SL  , of making unalloyed  political comments and  engaging in politics . Even the BASL has verbally complained against this judge to the JSC ..

This is the first occasion after 1977 , a magistrate  was dismissed from his judicial post following a complaint made by a civil organization to the JSC . Certainly the JSC has won the admiration and applause of the law abiding citizens of the country for taking such a courageous and most   ‘caring for justice’ decision in the best interests  of the judiciary specially and the entire nation generally, thereby creating a most welcome precedent. It is the consensus that such judicial decisions will certainly re build the  image of the judiciary which is currently  tainted and tarnished by judges like Asanka Dissanayake .

( The photos depict how the judge engaged in politics. Unbelievably these photos were publicized via his face book)

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by     (2017-02-03 13:50:56)

Sri Lanka: Pelisge Harrision and Paddy Racket

Of that offer to resign

by Prabath Sahabandu-Feb 3, 2017

Feb 3, 2017

( February 3, 2017, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) Rural Economic Affairs Minister P. Harrison has offered to resign from Parliament if the Joint Opposition’s allegation that he has caused a Rs. 10 bn loss to the country through a paddy racket is proved. His critics including President Maithripala Sirisena’s brother, Dudley, who himself is a rice mill owner, insist that the Paddy Marketing Board (PMB) stocks have been sold below the market prices and middlemen have made a killing.

The Joint Opposition (JO) has made complaints against Harrison to the Committee to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) and the CID. But, it is doubtful whether they will ever conduct investigations against a government minister. Harrison has also threatened to sue the JO for defaming him.

It may not be fair for anyone to prejudge Minister Harrison or subject him to a media trial. Allegations against him have not yet been substantiated and the JO cannot be expected to tell us the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. But, there is no way Minister Harrison can prove his innocence by offering to resign if his rivals could substantiate their claims. For, even the allegations against the JO members who have not been out of power for more than two years have yet been proved. The government hasn’t left any stone unturned in its efforts to have its opponents thrown behind bars, but it has failed in its endeavour. Its failure, however, does not mean that the big guns of the former government are innocent; most of them abused their power to cover their tracks. That is the name of the game in politics. If allegations against Opposition politicians cannot be substantiated, how can those against incumbent ministers be proved?

President Sirisena has appointed a commission to probe the bond scams. That is a step in the right direction. It is hoped that the high-level investigation will help make the culprits pay for their crime. He should also have allegations of bribery and corruption against government politicians probed in a similar manner. The alleged PMB racket if allowed to go uninvestigated will damage what remains of the image of the yahapalana government, which promised to rid the country of abuse of power, cronyism, bribery and corruption.

Meanwhile, it behoves the self-appointed champions of good governance in the present administration to be above suspicion like Caesar’s wife. After all, that is what they promised before the last presidential and parliamentary elections.

( Prabath Sahabandu is the editor of the Island, a Colombo based daily newspaper, where this piece was originally appeared ) 

Story of a teacher who taught humanity to a pack of brutes!

Feb 03, 2017

The commencement of this chain of events was in 2012. That was the period that the Rajapaksas’ brutal rule engulfed the entire country. There was no end to the intimidations of innocent lives by the henchmen of the Rajapaksas. This is the story of a teacher who fearlessly stood up against such a pack of brutes.

Upali Gunasekara was at the time principal of Royal College, Colombo that created many a minister, prime minister and president for Sri Lanka. He was the best friend of the then secretary to the president Lalith Weeratunga. Their friendship was so strong that Gunasekara was able to subdue even Education Ministry officials. When the country’s hierarchy was maddened by power, it was a common occurrence that its henchmen got government ministries to play according to their tunes. Top officials of the ministry had to do the bidding of Gunasekara.

 

Misconduct of Royal’s Upali

 

The deputy principal of Royal College at the time was a female, who was an agreeable, friendly and bonny character. Her son too, studied at the same school, and she was a good woman having a good family life. But, the miserable principal wanted to give her various gratifications in order to lure her into agreeing to his carnal desires. However, knowing her responsibilities and obligations well, she never gave into him.

 

Revengeful pack of brutes

 

We name as the no. 1 brute the principal who tried to lure this beautiful woman who had a good family life and fulfilled her professional responsibilities. After being rejected by her, Gunasekara attempted to take revenge from her. He wrote to the Education Ministry that the deputy principal was inefficient and not suited to the position. Then, through his friend the secretary to the president, he got her removed from the position and transferred to the ministry. What was left for her to do in the face of revenge by this brute of a principal was to file a fundamental rights petition. Some time later, a disciplinary inquiry was held and she was cleared of all the charges.

 

Taking revenge from her son

 

However, the revenge taking by the brutes did not stop. The ex-deputy principal’s son was a talented squash player representing Royal College. In that year, the annual squash championship was to take place at S. Thomas College, Mt. Lavinia. He prepared to compete. But, the principal was bent on taking revenge from the son, after failing to take revenge from the mother. He instructed the squash coach to remove his name from the list of players representing the school. On the day of the tournament, the teacher accompanied her son to S. Thomas College, and related the entire story to the judges and requested that her son be allowed to take part. Understanding that it was an act of revenge, the judges requested the coach to include her son’s name. But, fearing the principal, he disagreed. That is how the principal destroyed the future of a talented sportsman.

 

That is the period Gunasekara was misusing his powers to the maximum. But, unafraid, the teacher said emotionally, “They are trying to destroy my child. A thunderbolt will hit them.” Thereafter, a pack of brutes gets together to act against her.

 

Gunasekara lodged a complaint with Mt. Lavinia headquarters police against her about ‘an incident of threat.’ The teacher did not attend the inquiry. Then, Gunasekara lodged a second complaint, and called brute no. 2, the then DIG Anura Senanayake, into the scene. Notorious for doing the menial jobs of the Rajapaksa mansion, Senanayake was instructed on the matter by brute no. 3, Lalith Weeratunga. On the instructions of the secretary to the president, Senanayake handed over the matter to Mt. Lavinia HQI D.S. Pushpakumara, brute no. 4.

 

Pushpe Aiya, the Mt. Lavinia HQI

 

Something should be said about his Pushpakumara too. It was to him that calls had been taken from the personal telephone line of the then first lady Shiranthi Rajapaksa on the day ruggerite Wasim Thajudeen was murdered. This Pushpakumara was so much prepared to listen to the sorrows of the Rajapaksa princes that Namal Rajapaksa, the eldest son of ex-president Mahinda Rajapaksa, called him ‘Pushpe Aiya’. As the saying goes, bird of a feather flock together. Garbage is heaped on garbage.

 

That is how a pack of brutes got together to help the brute Gunasekara to take revenge.

 

Suhada Gamlath 

 

His heart warmed by the description that Gunasekara ‘will be hit with a thunderbolt’, Pushpakumara immediately reported to the Mt. Lavinia magistrate’s court, which referred it to the attorney general’s department. Thereafter, Senanayake and Weeratunga duo turned to solicitor general Suhada Gamlath to obtain legal advice on behalf of Gunasekara. That is how brute no. 5 joined the pack to take revenge from an innocent woman. Studying the case on behalf of Gunasekara, Gamlath informed court that it was an act of ‘criminal threat.’ Accordingly, the teacher was summoned to courts, and an attempt to refer the matter to the mediation board was foiled by the Senanayake-Weeratunga-Gamlath trio with the intention of cornering her.

 

In trouble after January 08

 

This pack of brutes fell into hot water after the people expelled the corrupt Rajapaksa family at the 08 January 2015 presidential election. After the misconducts of Gunasekara came to be revealed, he lost his position and ended up the education ministry. Senanayake was sent behind bars for his being an accomplice to crime. Then, our heroine went to Gamlath and asked him to explain the charge against her. Losing all his powers and in hot water, Gamlath apologized and told her, “Now, Upali too, is not in the school. Let’s settle this amicably.” After the situation took a reversal, each of the brutes went to her, confessed and pleaded with her to save them.

 

That is how everything came to be revealed.

 

Declaration of a real teacher

 

After all these, the admission of children to grade one started. Our heroine is now the principal is a leading girls’ school in Colombo. The daughter of the younger sister of Pushpakumara, now an ASP, applied to gain admission. According to the level of qualifications, her admission hung on the balance, with the principal having the final say. At the interview, Pushpakumara’s sister introduced herself as the younger sister of ASP Pushpakumara with a request to admit her child to the school. “Do not fear. I will do it,” was what the principal said. If she wanted it, she could have prevented the child’s admission with one stroke of the pen. But, she displayed the true humane qualities of an ideal teacher, as the child was not to be blamed for the sins of a blood relation of hers. 

But, the sister believed the daughter was admitted on the strength of her brother’s powers. Immediately she gave a call to Pushpakumara and gave told the news. Without having much brains, Pushpakumara believed the principal was frightened of him and admitted the girl to the school. Reminding himself of his powers of the past, he gave a call to the principal and thanked her. She replied, “I do not want your thanks. I am not like you. I do not take revenge from children.” Shaken, Pushpakumara apologized and tried through various means to get her to agree to meeting him to tender an apology. Saying, “I do not want to meet you. Do not try to come here.”, she disconnected the line.

She has told her friends that she would continue with the case filed against her by Gunasekara and bring all those involved to book. The proper answer to anyone intoxicated by power and abused same is bringing that person before the law. We should pay our respects to her for being true to her role as a teacher and not taking revenge from the relative of one among a pack of brutes bent on taking revenge from her, and the law should ensure justice for her. Also, this should be an example to others not to become mad dogs where there is power.

 

Truth prevails

 

Last week, chief justice Sripavan ruled that her fundamental rights have been violated. 

 

Lanka News Web has all details of this exemplary, brave and courageous teacher, but we do not publish them as we respect her privacy.

Family of boy paralyzed by Israel sues for damages

Israel argues that its army is not accountable to any victim of its violence in Gaza because they are residents of an “enemy territory.”Mohammed TalateneAPA images

Charlotte Silver-31 January 2017

On his 15th birthday, Atiya Nabahin was shot in the neck by Israeli soldiers while he was on his way home from school. That was in November 2014, less than three months into the ceasefire that ended Israel’s bombing campaign against Gaza during the summer of that year.

At the time Atiya was shot, there were no so-called “clashes” occurring at the boundary between Gaza and present-day Israel. The Israeli soldiers opened fire across the boundary at the young teen.

After spending six months at an Israeli hospital, at the expense of the Palestinian Authority, doctors admitted Atiya was permanently paralyzed in all four of his limbs. He would be dependent on others for the rest of his life.

Now his family is seeking damages from the Israeli army.

They believe the army should compensate the family for the burdensome costs they now face to care for Atiya.

In 2014, the Israeli army tried to justify the shooting, saying the boy was in a prohibited area.

But, in response to the family’s lawsuit, the state is now arguing that the army is not accountable to any victim of its violence in Gaza because they are residents of an “enemy territory.”

Sweeping impunity

Ofer Shoval, deputy district attorney in Tel Aviv, has asked a judge to reject the suit, arguing that Israeli law “explicitly states that the state is not responsible for damages in these circumstances.”

Shoval is correct. But the two human rights groups representing Atiya’s family – Adalah in Haifa and Al Mezan in Gaza – hope to challenge the laws granting impunity to Israeli soldiers.

In 2012, Israel amended its Civil Wrongs Law to grant sweeping impunity to the army, specifically when injury is inflicted on residents from an area that the Israeli government has declared an “enemy territory.”

In October 2014, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued an order declaring the Gaza Strip as enemy territory. Netanyahu specified that the order would apply retroactively, beginning on 7 July that year – just before Israel launched its major offensive on Gaza.

According to Jamil Dakwar, a former senior attorney with Adalah, the Israeli government has long been trying to limit the ability for Palestinians to sue for damages. In 1998, the Israeli high court ruled that the state could be sued under the Civil Wrongs Law when the victim was injured while the Israeli army was “policing” the area, as opposed to conducting “wartime activity.”

“So the Israeli government panicked and rushed to amend the law so that it would provide them with more latitude of immunity from such lawsuits,” Dakwar explained to The Electronic Intifada.

Since the 1998 ruling, Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, has approved a number of amendments to the Civil Wrongs Law. They broadened Israel’s protection against civil suits from Palestinians in order to undermine the high court decision, which Dakwar notes was itself “narrow and did not fully recognize rights of Palestinians to seek meaningful remedy.”

“Given Israel’s continuing military attacks on Palestinian civilian areas,” Dakwar said, noting the rising violence against Palestinians during the second intifada, “there was a need to provide a carte blanche shield for the Israeli military to act with impunity.”

In 2006, after nine human rights groups petitioned against the amendments, the Israeli high court partially struck them down. The court ruled against the government, writing the amendments had the “improper aim of exempting the state from all responsibility for damages in conflict zones … in relation to wide categories of actions that are not combat actions even in the broadest definition of that term.”

But in 2012, the government passed an amendment granting the army even more sweeping impunity.

Atiya Nabahin’s lawsuit is the first attempt to challenge the law in court. It will be heard by an Israeli district court in Bir al-Saba (Beer Sheva).

Expanding the war zone

Ever since the state was established, Israel has claimed immunity from all civil claims against incidents that were a result of “wartime activity.” But because Israel conducts violence in the course of its daily policing, patrolling and occupation of Palestinians, it has had to expand its definition of “wartime activity.”

While Israel’s high court has ruled that Palestinians can in principle seek remedy from the Israeli army, numerous legal caveats have made it all but impossible to do so.

Israel has also imposed numerous obstacles to discourage Palestinians from going to court. Israel requires Palestinians to deposit thousands of dollars to file a civil claim, limits their ability to travel to appear in court as plaintiffs or witnesses and has shortened the statute of limitations, according to Dakwar.

Furthermore, the court has repeatedly assisted the government in broadening the scope of its “war.”

In 2002, Israel’s high court ruled that “wartime activity” includes any conduct directed against “terrorist organizations.”

In 2015, the high court threw out a civil claim made by the family of Rachel Corrie, an American activist who was crushed to death by an army bulldozer in 2003 while she was standing in front of a Palestinian home targeted for demolition. While dismissing the Corrie case, the court upheld this broad definition of war.

“Indeed, modern warfare is changing face,” the high court ruling states. “To a large extent, it no longer entails a war waged by the army of one state against the army of another state, but rather a war, sometimes a daily one, against new threats that we did not know in the past.”

Dakwar, who worked on the Rachel Corrie case, is realistic about the lawsuit filed by Atiya Nabahin’s family.

“If this case is dismissed, it will not be surprising,” he said. “It will just be consistent with a pattern where the Israeli judicial system has become another arm of the occupation, approving the worst policies of the Israeli military since 1967.”

Charlotte Silver is an associate editor of The Electronic Intifada.