Saturday, February 4, 2017

Is Sweden's deputy PM trolling Donald Trump in Facebook photo?

Sweden's climate minister Isabella Lovin in a photo posted on Facebook of her signing the country's new climate law, 3 February 2017

ISABELLA LOVIN: FACEBOOKImage caption-Isabella Lovin's photo posted on Facebook is being compared to an image of President Trump

3 February 2017

Sweden's deputy PM is causing a stir after posting an image appearing to parody Donald Trump's signing of an anti-abortion executive order.

Isabella Lovin, who is also the country's climate minister, published a photo that shows her signing a new law surrounded by female colleagues.

The image has drawn comparisons with Mr Trump's photo in which no women were present.

Within hours the post was shared and liked thousands of times on Facebook.

"Wonderful Picture! Hope you sent it to the man on the other side of the ocean," writes one user.

"Make the Planet Great Again!" writes another.

Facebook user Kimini Delfos said in a post that such an image should not spark the reaction that it has, suggesting that people "calm down".

"Why is it so difficult to see a picture with just women and not difficult to see a picture with only men?" she questioned

Meanwhile, users of the social media site Twitter have praised what is being described as Ms Lovin's "dig" at the US president.

"Love how the Swedish Deputy PM is taking a dig at Donald Trump in her publicity photo for passing climate change law," writes user Ian Sinkins.

Another, Mikaela Hildebrand, writes: "@IsabellaLovin signs new the Swedish climate law & issues funniest #Trumbburn foto! Epic!"

The comparisons are being made to a photo last month of Mr Trump signing an executive order to ban federal money going to international groups which perform or provide information on abortions.

The image of Mr Trump signing the document surrounded by male colleagues was ridiculed on social media.

Image copyright

On Friday, while signing Sweden's new climate law, Ms Lovin urged European countries to take a leading role in tackling climate change as "the US is not there any more to lead".

The new law sets long-term goals for greenhouse gas reductions and will be legally binding for future administrations.

Ms Lovin said Sweden wanted to set an example at a time when "climate sceptics [are] really gaining power in the world again".

Mr Trump, who has previously called climate change a hoax, has raised speculation that he might pull the US out of the Paris Agreement, which aims to tackle greenhouse gas emissions and limit the increase in global temperatures.

The Swedish government, which claims to be "the first feminist government in the world", has also issued a statement affirming that gender equality is "central" to its priorities.

"Gender equality is also part of the solution to society's challenges and a matter of course in a modern welfare state - for justice and economic development," the statement reads.

Paralysed patients communicate thoughts via brain-computer interface

By Kate Kelland | LONDON-Wed Feb 1, 2017

Scientists have developed a brain-computer interface that reads the brain's blood oxygen levels and enables communication by deciphering the thoughts of patients who are totally paralysed and unable to talk.

In a trial of the system in four patients with complete locked-in syndrome - incapable of moving even their eyes to communicate - it helped them use their thought waves to respond yes or no to spoken questions.

People who are paralysed except for up and down eye movements and blinking are classified as having locked-in syndrome. If all eye movements are lost, the condition is referred to as complete locked-in syndrome.

Researchers leading this trial said the brain-computer interface (BCI), which is non-invasive, could transform the lives of such patients, allowing them to express feelings and opinion to their loved ones and carers.

Counter to expectations, the researchers said, the patients reported being "happy" despite their condition.

"The striking results overturn my own theory that people with complete locked-in syndrome are not capable of communication," said Niels Birbaumer, a neuroscientist at Switzerland's Wyss Center for Bio and Neuroengineering, who co-led the study.

The trial, published in the journal PLOS Biology on Tuesday, involved four patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) - a progressive motor neuron disease that destroys the part of the nervous system responsible for movement.

The researchers asked personal questions with known answers, such as: "Your husband's name is Joachim?", and open questions that needed yes or no answers, such as "Are you happy?".

The BCI technique used technologies called near-infrared spectroscopy and electroencephalography (EEG) to measure blood oxygenation and electrical activity in the brain.

"The machine records the blood flow... and calculates how (it) changes during "yes" and during "no", and the computer develops an idea, a pattern," Birbaumer told Reuters.

"And after a while, we know what the patient is thinking, when he thinks "yes", or when he thinks "no", and from that we calculate the answer."

The "known" questions elicited correct responses seven times out of 10, and the question "Are you happy?" resulted in a consistent yes response from the four people, repeated over weeks of questioning.

John Donoghue, director of the Wyss Center, welcomed the work as "a crucial first step in the challenge to regain movement" for completely locked-in patients.

He said his team now plans to build on these results to develop the technology further and eventually aim for it to be available to people with paralysis resulting from ALS, stroke, or spinal cord injury.

(Additional reporting by Marina Depetris in Geneva; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky)

Friday, February 3, 2017

IF REFORM PROJECT NEGLECTED, SRI LANKA MAY RETURN TO POPULIST AUTHORITARIANISM, WARNS A NEW REPORT

Image courtesy of Getty Images: Supporters of Sri Lankan opposition presidential candidate Maithripala Sirisena chears during the final day election campaign rally on January 5, 2015 in Kalutara, Sri Lanka.

03/02/2017

A new report released by Colombo based think tank The Center for Policy Alternatives (CPA) concludes that “the government must now reenergise the reform project, openly championing it with the people and ensure that partisan interests from within and outside do not jeopardise it. January 2015 presented an unprecedented opportunity for democratic governance on a number of fronts; to squander it, even by delay and default, will hasten the return to populist authoritarianism.”

The report presents a bleak picture of the government’s human record and says that ” the government has showed insensitivity and lack of political will to address stark violations of human rights, even when brought before the international community. The concern is that this trend of indifference on the part of the government might continue this year too, possibly impacting the forthcoming March UNHRC session and UPR process.”

The report ” Two Years In Government: A review of the pledges made in 2015 through the lens of constitutional reform, governance and transitional justice” discuses political context,. constitutional reform, anti corruption and related issues, transitional Justice in separate chapters.

“Despite some successes, the current public perception is of a slow pace or even stagnation. This in turn has resulted in disillusionment and disappointment, with questions posed about the ability of the National Unity Government to govern effectively. These sentiments are justified in terms of promises made and the inability or unwillingness to manage expectations via a comprehensive communication strategy.” says the report.

Section on the Challenges and Trends of the Transitional Justice follows.

Transitional Justice: Challenges and Trends

Despite the ambitious proposals made in 2015, the government has been extremely slow in the implementation of transitional justice promises. These are briefly discussed below

A) Prioritisation of Constitutional Reforms over Transitional Justice

One of the main challenges to progress on Transitional Justice is the common sentiment in government circles that Transitional Justice need not be prioritised. Many in government have pushed for the prioritisation of constitutional reforms instead on the basis that such reforms entails a long term solution of the ethnic question as well as strengthen basic human rights. Some believe too that transitional justice would adversely impact the prospects for constitutional reform as opponents of both distort the former as the process through which war heroes would be turned into war criminals. In this respect the accountability mechanism is of particular salience. The inability to deliver on the commitments made in 2015 including the delay in the establishment of the OMP, further feed into the perception of transitional justice not receiving the same status as constitutional reform. The apparent prioritisation will likely have ramification during the election cycles, especially in the North and East, where there is growing dismay with limited progress with transitional justice.

B) Lack of political will

Despite the legislation on the OMP being enacted in August 2016, there has as yet been no move to gazette the legislation, delaying further the establishment of the OMP and the appointment of commissioners. Similarly, no legislation has yet been introduced for the establishment of the other three mechanisms and there continues to be delays in the implementation of the other commitments such as criminalising disappearances, security sector reforms, further land releases. The delays can be attributed to many factors.

Firstly, Transitional Justice did not significantly feature in the January 2015 nor August 2015 general elections, 124 thus the lack of political will can stem from the fact that Transitional Justice was not part of the mandate for which the people voted. However, the commitments made at the UNHRC in September 2015 (post both elections in 2015) tie the government to a process of Transitional Justice. Secondly, many interviewed by CPA indicated that the internal politics and power struggles within government have resulted in a lack of political will in strengthening Transitional Justice mechanisms. As the honeymoon period of the National Unity Government wanes, the government expends its time and energy on consolidating its power, fending off attacks from the Joint Opposition and maintaining unity within its ranks. Thus, there are not many champions of Transitional Justice in government, with many identifying the Foreign Minister as the lone voice in favour of Transitional Justice. Thirdly, the pushback from nationalist elements within and outside government is another factor. This is clearly demonstrated with the debates around the participation of foreign judges alluded above.

C) Absence of a strategy

Another challenge is the lack of a clear vision or strategy.126 The plethora of ministries and secretariats appointed to look into matters concerning reconciliation and Transitional Justice is an example of this.127 Moreover, there seems to be no clear roadmap as to the sequencing of mechanisms and linkages amongst them. 128 The confusing situation that has ensued stirs up disillusionment amongst the public and renders the government an easy target for criticism.

D) Lack of outreach and communication

The lack of political will, has also led to deficiencies in communication on the part of the government. The main criticism regarding the OMP was the lack of consultation by the government with key stakeholders, especially with victims, as well as the insufficient communication to explain what it entails.

Lack of communication can give rise to many problematic consequences. Firstly, the lack of transparency that this creates, causes distrust amongst the victim groups and other stakeholders in civil society. There would also be no sense of ownership, as the mechanisms or solutions put forward will be those decided behind closed doors by a select few with minimum public participation, compounding the perception of an elitist driven process with no resonance with the actual victims.

On the other hand, the lack of communication also results in the government not keeping the public informed about the good work that is being done such as the release of some lands and the enabling of people displaced for decades to return to their homes.

Secondly, the weak communication results in the factions opposing the government, such as the Joint Opposition, setting the agenda and projecting the dominant narrative the current situation. With inadequate and inept communication, the government has ceded agenda-setting and the dominant narrative to the opposition

Thirdly, contradictory statements have been made by different actors in government, as seen with the accountability mechanism. This reflects the lack of cohesion within government and feeds into perceptions of contradictions and incompetence.

E) Waning international pressure

Added to the lack of political will and lack of a clear vision, is the easing of international pressure. The international community has been lenient with this government and adopted a far more relaxed stance than in the past.

This situation is most likely to continue in the future, especially considering the regime changes in several countries.

Read the full report on line here

Two-Years-in-Government-1.pdf by Thavam Ratna on Scribd

When Will Sri Lanka Become A Country Of Unity ?

By Ayathuray Rajasingam –February 3, 2017

Ayathuray Rajasingam

Sri Lanka, being a multi-racial country, has different aspects of culture and way of living. The Centre with the majority race cannot understand the aspirations of the other minority races. What is required is a co-ordination between the Centre and the Units. The Centre should realize that the minorities are also a segment of the country’s population and as such they are also close partners in the collective decision making. The Centre in the USA, Canada, India, Malaysia, Switzerland, etc, has only enumerated powers where independence of judiciary played a contributory role whenever controversial issues arise between the Centre and the Units. The purpose of having the separation of powers between the Centre and the Units has become necessary for the preservation of liberty and prevention of tyranny by the Centre. This does not in any way lead to division of a country and such arguments are absolutely false, baseless and without any foundation. On the contrary, it can be said that such a structure amounts to expansion of democracy where every subject will have equal rights and right to participation.

Maithiripala Sirisena became president by assuring Good Governance with a minimum number of Ministers in the Cabinet for which confident-building measure is necessary through co-ordination. Good governance does not mean that co-ordination by the Central Government to the Provincial government should be denied. The President with other politicians and religious dignitaries should be fully aware that co-ordination, confidence-building measure and good governance are inter-woven with each other. Co-ordination becomes a futile exercise when the number of Ministers are increased without a limit, as it will be a setback for efficient re-distribution. If Maithiripala Sirisena fails to demonstrate that Sri Lanka is a Country of Unity, then the Chief Minister C.V. Wigneswaran in consultation with other Chief Ministers should remind them the role played by Bismark of Germany or Cavun Cavoor of Italy in unifying Germany and Italy respectively. It is only a federal structure with co-ordination between the Central Government and the Provincial Government for Sri Lanka to become a Country of Unity.

Such a structure demands two levels of government which should be dependent on one another, through the system of Checks and Balances. This system of Checks and Balances has the force of denying encroachment by both the Centre and the Units or even when the Centre terrorizes its citizens through military means. The judiciary should be independent to decide when such cases controversial issues between the Centre and the Units arise. This is one method of prevention of abuse of human rights and paves the path towards the Country of Unity. Therefore, there is nothing wrong in advocating the Right to Self-determination for the Units.

The principles of Self-determination and territorial integrity are interwoven subjects under international law. However, the claim for self-determination has eventually ended in armed conflict in many countries including Sri Lanka, and are subject to scrutiny under international law. The right of Self-determination of peoples is established under international law while the principle of territorial integrity is concerned with the maintenance of international security and stability in the world. The overall objective of international law to maintain peace and security becomes a futile exercise without the recognition of equal and inalienable rights of all people for which co-ordination is essential.

The vital aspect of a Federal system is that Federalism demands the different types of institution to deal the different types of political issues. Since these different types of institution reflect this, the idea that government should be based on a central institution becomes meaningless. Provincial government should have police powers because terrorism has become a challenge to all democratic countries. It is easier for the Provincial Police to crush terrorism and human trafficking. (Vide Police Powers to Provincial Governments).

Every Unit or Provinces has its own natural resources and its people have their own taste of living. Provincial governments have the local knowledge that allows them to tax and spend efficiently. These Units or Provinces always have a keener sense of market value and thus can devise a formula to calculate tax rates than the Central Government. Decentralization can also allow for revenue specialization based on different characteristics of the Provinces. Development projects are efficiently handled by Provincial Governments because the Provincial government is aware of the needs of the people of its Province, while it is better for the Central government to co-ordinate re-distribution efficiently and not to place constraints on a particular Province. Mention should be made of fiscal federalism, which deals with the division of governmental function and the financial relationship between different levels of government. There is nothing wrong for the provinces to levy taxes from its people and the Central government should co-ordinate. If such a method is adopted then there will be inter-Provincial competition which will be for the benefit of their citizens. Such a competition will eliminate waste and encourage economic growth, because competition among the Provinces compels the Provinces to become more efficient in their allocative fields or activities, thus providing better service at lower costs.

Decentralization denotes the transfer of responsibility for the planning, financing and management of public functions from the Central government to the Provincial Government. The contributory role of co-ordination will be instrumental for Provincial governments to be effective when they have access to the necessary human and financial resources to undertake the services they have been conferred. As such, there has to be an unwavering support for the co-ordination to the Provinces, which should be the cornerstone of good governance. Co-ordination by the Central government plays a contributory role for the recognition of the inalienable right to self-determination which symbolizes the guarantee for the protection of fundamental freedoms. The Right to Self-determination focus on the principle of co-ordination. This was the expectation of the international community after the Indo-Sri Lanka Peace Accord was signed. Since the politicians in the Central government failed to co-ordinate with the Provinces, they are responsible for Sri Lanka to become a failed State.

Featured image courtesy Women and Media Collective

LIONEL GURUGE on 02/03/2017

Sri Lanka was ushered into Independence under the Soulbury Constitution in 1948, followed by the Constitution of 1972, making the current Constitution, the second Republican Constitution of Independent Sri Lanka. The Soulbury Constitution, the 1972 Constitution, the 1978 Constitution and the Draft Constitution of 2000 followed the same tangent of being based on ethnic prioritisation and division with no other underlying principle or core values governing them. Despite the Soulbury Constitution being widely speculated to be progressive and fair to minorities, the current constitution and the 19 amendments that followed it have not been able to maintain the same progressive approach. As such, this document has earned widespread criticism and even evolved as a premise that led to an ethnic war that spanned over three decades.

The urgent need for constitutional reform.docx by Thavam Ratna on Scribd

Will the Govt. play fair with the RTI Act?

In a timid, subservient society there is no demand for information

2017-02-03

The Right to Information (RTI) Act will come into effect today, February 03, 2017.

The Sri Lankan RTI Act is ranked 10th best in the world.

Sri Lanka has scored 121 out of a possible 150 in a rating programme founded by Access Info Europe and the Centre for Law and Democracy based in the USA. The government is making good use of it for image building in the international community.

Will the Govt. play fair with the RTI Act.docx by Thavam Ratna on Scribd

Transparency International Sri Lanka urges citizen engagement with RTI

Feb 03, 2017

The Right to Information (RTI) Act comes into effect on 3rd February, 2017 bringing with it a promise – of open government, of citizens’ active participation in governance, and of accountability to the sovereign people of the country.

The government last week gazetted the categories of public authorities that fall within the purview of the Right to Information Act. In a positive move, the government has gazetted all the Public Authorities prescribed in the law. This is a historic moment in Sri Lanka’s RTI story; one that marks the culmination of a movement of over 20 years.

However, it remains to be seen whether both the state and citizens will operationalize the right to its true potential. The Ministry of Mass Media and Parliamentary Reform states that it has been laying the groundwork on the supply side of RTI, with trainings for public officials and appointments of the key public facing information officers and designated officers. The ministry has also been working closely with the RTI Commission, which is vested with wide powers under the Act, such as to hear appeals, institute action against alleged offenders, and prescribe guidelines on record management and proactive disclosure, among other powers and functions.

In spite of these developments, the people of Sri Lanka remain largely uninformed of the right they now enjoy, and of how it may be used. The responsibility cast on the people with this right – to truly take ownership of it and use it as a tool in their day-to-day lives - is also overlooked. The role of the government in demystifying RTI for the people is of paramount importance for its success.

TISL has already begun reaching out to citizens in various districts including Colombo, Matara, Vavuniya, Jaffna, Ampara, Rathnapura, Anuradhapura and Trincomalee, forming civil society coalitions with the intention of mainstreaming the use of RTI. TISL and its partners will also take RTI to the public through a RTI bus which will act as a mobile awareness-raising RTI request facilitation centre. TISL has also launched a trilingual website – www.rtiwatch.lk that disseminates RTI related information.

Sankhitha Gunaratne, RTI Manager, TISL reemphasised that “The RTI law is unique in several ways – it overrides all other written law, where there may be contradiction. Furthermore, all information can be revealed if the greater public interest is served by disclosing the information. This applies even where the information sought could potentially fall within the exceptions in the law.”

On 3rd February, TISL will be filing several public interest RTI requests at the relevant public authorities, seeking information pertinent to open government – including the assets and liabilities declarations of the President and the Prime Minister and a request for the financial reports of political parties from the Election Commission. The public authorities then become liable to respond to these requests within the specified timelines, subject to a maximum of 28 days.

Like many government initiatives there will be inevitable disappointment. However, it is essential that citizens apply themselves diligently in order to make this system work.

RTI now is the people’s. Whether at the level of the officers in charge of giving information or the citizen, political will no longer needs to be a factor. It is now a legal obligation.

SRI LANKA: NO NEED FOR WAR CRIME PROBE; CTF HAVE NO RIGHT TO COMMENT OF FOREIGN JUDGES – CBK

CBK - do YOU REMEBER YOUR STATEMENT ABOUT NO FIRE ZONE 2014?

Image: A Sri Lankan Tamil woman and child look on in the eastern town of Muttur. (c)AFP.

03/02/2017

Chairperson of the Sri Lanka government appointed Office for the National Unity and Reconciliation (ONUR), former president Chandrika Kumarathunga says that after a new constitution and the Office of the Missing Persons, there would not be any necessity to have courts to probe war crimes. She says that “What is urgent now is to bring in a new Constitution, and then comes the establishment of the Office of the Missing Persons”.

She also says that Consultative Task Force for Reconciliation has no right to comment on the necessity for foreign judges in accountability mechanisms. According to Kumarathunga “the CTF was entrusted to obtain the views of the public and submit its report to the government. That was the responsibility of the committee. Their own ideas too had been incorporated in the report”

She has expressed these opinions in a lengthy interview appeared in the Daily Mirror.

The CTF report was presented to her by its chairperson Mrs. Manori Muththettuwegama, who headed two disappearance commissions appointed by Kumarathunaga her self in mid 90s.

In the same interview she has praised the Government for its achievements during last two years.

“During the first nine months of this government, it was not allowed to function by MR. This proves that the government has not completed even one and half years. During this period so many things had been put on the correct track.

That is why I say that I am satisfied. I will be very happy if the government could act faster. Among the Ministers from the UNP, there are many who had never been ministers early, and many SLFP members who are holding portfolios had been ministers of the earlier corrupt government.

This may be the reason for the government to be slow. However it is a happy coincidence that these two parties had been able to work together, which is historical. Another matter I want to state is that there are rogues in this government as well. I know it clearly well. No meaningful steps had been taken to arrest that situation. Even what could have been done initially had not been done. My thinking of good governance is that not only the former Ministers, but even the present ones who had done wrong should be punished.”

The Donoughmore Heritage – Roll Back On Equality & The Challenge Of Identity Politics

By S. Ratnajeevan H. Hoole –February 2, 2017

Prof. S. Ratnajeevan H. Hoole

This paper celebrates the 85 years of universal suffrage in Sri Lanka that came with the Donoughmore Constitution in 1931 with its inherent idea of equality of all persons. This constitution in turn led to the Soulbury Constitution of 1946 which entrenched equality of all citizens and through Article 29 prohibited Parliament from enacting laws that did not treat citizens equally.

However, with a view to reinforcing that highpoint in our achievements, this paper then focuses on how electoral politics has the weakness of candidates having to appeal to differences in identity to outbid others for votes and win. Thus our high achievements were rolled back in the 1972 republican constitution which did away with Article 29 and favoured Buddhism, making lesser citizens of those who are not Buddhists. This regressive change was not corrected in the 1978 constitution that followed and demeaned our democracy further with authoritarian elements. The best part of our colonial heritage was annulled by our own indigenous mismanagement.

As a new constitution is being drafted, these are matters to be thought about and learnt from to ensure that we return to our highpoint as a democratic nation.

The Legacy of Equality and Human Rights

The world is getting to be a better place. As Time put it, Human rights is the legacy of the twentieth century. Our stronger democratic institutions and our human rights legacy strengthen each other.

This march towards an increasingly better democracy came to us in Sri Lanka with the Donoughmore constitution which for the first time gave us Sri Lankans “one-man, one vote.” Whether man or woman, whether Sinhalese, Tamil or Muslim, whether Buddhist, Hindu or Muslim or something else, whether high caste or not, whether we liked a member of a group or not, one was entitled to one (and only one) vote. Intrinsic to this was the revolutionary idea in our feudal society that we are all equal. We had universal adult franchise to choose our representatives and take us into a modern egalitarian society.

The Commissioners were Lord Donoughmore an Irish Peer (Chairman), and Dr. Drummond-Shiels and Frances Butler, both MPs. Donoughmore is said to have been a champion for women’s right to university education. Sir Matthew Nathan served during 1927-1928.

Roll-back on Equality

Universal suffrage and one-man one vote put Sri Lanka on the threshold of the new equality between persons making us very proud. Naturally the 1946 Soulbury Constitution that readied us for independence reinforced the idea of equality of all person through Article 29 which limited the legislative powers of Parliament. Article 29 is reproduced here drawing particular attention to 29(2):

(1) Subject to the provisions of this Order, Parliament shall have power to make laws for the peace, order and good government of the Island.

(2) No such law shall –

(a) prohibit or restrict the free exercise of any religion; or

(b) make persons of any community or religion liable to disabilities or restrictions to which persons of other communities or religions are not made liable; or

(c) confer on persons of any community or religion any privilege or advantage which is not conferred on persons of other communities or religions, or

(d) alter the constitution of any religious body except with the consent of the governing authority of that body, so, however, that in any case where a religious body is incorporated by law, no such alteration shall be made except at the request of the governing authority of that body:

That is, no law could confer an advantage or impose a disadvantage unless it was done to all communities. In addition to this guarantee was the right to appeal to the Privy Council.

LTTE plot to kill Tamil MP

Colonel R Hariharan - February 2017

Sri Lanka police’s Terrorism Investigation Department (TID) arrested in all five rehabilitated LTTE cadres for allegedly plotting to assassinate MA Sumanthiran, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Member of Parliament, known for his moderate views. The TID is reported to have recovered two Claymore mines and large quantities of cannabis from the homes of four of them arrested on January 14 and produced before Kilinochchi district court on January 20. According to Daily FT of Colombo a fifth person Vijayan was also subsequently arrested in the same case.

Significantly, they were not arrested under the infamous Prevention of Terrorism Act but charged with possession of explosives and narcotics. They have been remanded to custody till February 13.

Well known columnist DBS Jeyaraj in his blog says a former LTTE cadre Kulendran alias “Master” of Kilinochchi, one of the four arrested persons, had cultivated ‘Nallavan’ (pseudonym) a rehabilitated LTTE cadre in Kilinochchi; subsequently he offered Nallavan Rs 15 lakhs for killing the Jaffna district MP Sumanthiran. Kulendran told him that some LTTE leaders overseas who would pay wanted this done and assured him safe passage overseas after he carried out the task. Nallavan was horrified at the idea of killing the TNA MP who had impressed him and refused to do so.

Subsequently, when Nallavan came to know the plan was to kill Sumanthiran when the MP came to Jaffna to address a cultural festival at Karaveddy on December 24. Nallavan informed the police of the plot. President Sirisena was informed of the plot and he advised the MP to cancel the visit. Police verified Nallavan’s information and arrested the five persons based upon further investigations.

Though the political reaction to the alleged LTTE plot and arrest of the conspirators was on in keeping with their known stand on release of former LTTE cadres in particular and Tamil militancy in general, the incident raises important issues regarding the scope for revival of LTTE activities by its overseas echelons and supported by LTTE sympathizers among Tamil Diaspora. They had been vociferous in celebrating the LTTE and its mentor Prabhakaran to keep the Tamil Eelam demand alive. No doubt Sri Lanka government would continue to keep a close watch on such developments; India would also be vigilant to prevent such elements entering the country.

Progress of Chinese-aided mega projects

After wrestling with allegations of corruption, violation of environmental norms and bending the rules to favour Chinese investment companies investing and executing massive infrastructure projects finalized during President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s rule, the Sirisena government seems to have to come to terms with them, even as Rajapaksa’s ambitious Hambantota port and Mattala airport projects continued to incur heavy loss.

Sri Lanka government formalized sweeping tax concessions offered to the prestigious Port City project (renamed as the Colombo International Financial City - CIFC) through gazette notifications submitted to the parliament on January 27. The project aims at creating an off shore financial centre to be constructed close to Galle Face Green, Colombo’s famous landmark.

The concessions include exemption of income tax on the earnings of the Chinese company from the project for a period of 25 years. Foreigners working for the company also have been exempted from a number of levies including customs duty.

The prestigious $1.3 billion CIFC project was halted when President Sirisena came to power to vet all Chinese aided projects for alleged corruption and violation of environmental norms. This move annoyed the Chinese government. The Chinese made clear the terms of agreement were not negotiable.

The Sirisena government reworked the CIFC’s master plan and included it in the larger mega polis plan. A tripartite agreement for the revised project was signed in August 2016 by the Megalapolis and Western Development Ministry, Urban Development Authority and the China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC), exempting the Sri Lanka Port Authority which was a party to the earlier agreement.

The new master plan is considered more environment friendly as it will have 45 hectares of parks and 13 hectares of artificial beaches available in the reclaimed land.

Indian projects

Indian government has aided and executed a number of projects including infrastructure (rail, road, port and other public service facilities) and housing projects mainly to benefit the people affected by the Eelam war in Northern province. However, some of them also ran run into rough weather.

For instance, the Sampoor coal-fired 500 MW thermal power project to be executed by the NTPC had been hanging fire for long. When the work started after a lot of foot dragging, Sri Lanka government had a relook at the project, when objections were raised on environmental grounds over the use of coal. Now, it wants the project to be based on liquefied natural gas instead of coal. The project is still pending approval from the Indian government for the proposed changes.

Similarly, India’s involvement in the development of Trincomalee port is a long story that never materialized. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has now clarified that the Trincomalee harbour area would be developed as shipping, manufacturing and tourism complex with 175 sq km high end tourist resort area in its environ. Subarna Jurong, a Singapore-based infrastructure company is to prepare a master plan for the project.

Just like China’s CIFC project, Tata Housing Development Ltd’s $429.5 million One Colombo Project (OCP) to build a modern mixed development and housing project at Slave Island, a suburb of Colombo, also ran into rough weather over contractual terms. After a period of suspense, the project is now being executed after overcoming glitches in contractual terms. The government has given an eight-acre land in Slave Island and an income tax holiday for ten years and corporate tax exemption for six years for One Colombo Project Ltd, formed by THD jointly with the Urban Development Authority.

Written on January 31, 2017

Col R Hariharan, a retired MI officer, served as the head of Intelligence of the Indian Peace Keeping Force from 1987 to 90. He is associated with the Chennai Centre for China Studies. E-mail:haridirect@gmail.com Blog: http://col.hariharan.info

SRI LANKA: PRESIDENT SIRISENA TO PRIORITISE CONSTITUTIONAL REFORM OVER TRANSITIONAL JUSTICE.

Image: Members of the CTF with president Sirisena. ( CTF face book photo)

02/02/2017

A face book post by the Consultation Task Force on Reconciliation Mechanisms (CTF) after having met president Sirisena says that ” the President clearly stated the prioritisation of Constitutional Reform over Transitional Justice”.

This implies that the Transitional Justice process will take a back seat until new constitution is promulgated. Constitutional reform process has been has become uncertain after SLFP central committee headed by Sirisena himself decided not to go for a constitutional referendum. Further SLFP CC wants to keep the executive presidency.

Because of these decisions of the SLFP CC constitutional reform process has run in to a crisis.

The members of the Consultation Task Force on Reconciliation Mechanisms (CTF) had met with H.E. President Maithripala Sirisena on the 30th of January 2017. There was a frank discussion of the CTF report and the challenges and opportunities with respect to Transitional Justice in Sri Lanka, says the CTF face book post. ‬

‪The president has also talked about the need to foster support for Transitional Justice amongst all communities.

Mirak Raheem, Prof. Gameela Samarasinghe, Dr. Farzana Haniffa, Prof. Sitralega Maunaguru, Manouri Muttetuwegama, Dr. Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu, Visaka Dharmadasa, Gamini Viyangoda, Shantha Abimanasingham (PC) and K.W. Janaranjana‬ were present at the meeting with the president representing the CTF.