India finalises bills to launch GST in July

 Sat Mar 4, 2017

India moved a step closer on Saturday towards launching a new national sales tax from July after a panel of federal and state finance officials finalised two key bills to be put before parliament.

The Goods and Services Tax (GST) has missed several launch dates. On Saturday, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said the measure is on track for a rollout from July 1 with the bills set to be discussed in parliament after it reconvenes next week.

To meet the deadline, parliament must pass the bills, which spell out the operational details of the new tax, before its current session concludes in mid-April.

After a meeting with state officials in New Delhi, Jaitley told media that the panel would meet again on March 16 to complete two more bills on the GST that require approval from state legislatures.

"This is a very welcome development and signifies that we are on track for (the) GST on July 1," said M.S. Mani, a senior director at tax consultancy Deloitte Haskins & Sells LLP. "It is now essential that all businesses are adequately prepared to face the new era of (the) GST."

The long-awaited GST is hailed as India's biggest tax overhaul since independence in 1947, which would replace a slew of federal and state levies, transforming Asia's third largest economy into a single market for the first time.

Proposed tax rates range from 5 to 28 percent, with 12 percent and 18 percent being the standard rates. It has not been decided yet which tax rates will apply to which categories of goods.

(Reporting by Rajesh Kumar Singh; Editing by Clelia Oziel)

MAM – Middle Aged Men

One of the greatest myths of society is that middle age is “on the downward slope of satisfaction”, if that is so why is it that those aged 90 and over are enjoying high life satisfaction and happiness compared with people’s perception?

by Victor Cherubim- Mar 4, 2017

Mar 3, 2017

(  March 4, 2017, London, Sri Lanka Guardian) Why do middle aged men feel as if they are on the road to nowhere?

Why do young men want to be middle aged men?

An ageing population is not only in England, so in Japan and in many parts of the Western world. There could be a time bomb ticking? However, it is the “sandwich generation” the middle aged which has been conveniently swept under the carpet. We are living longer but poorer in health. Experts say we store up our problems as we reach middle age.

Is it an age crisis?

“Eight in every 10 people, particularly men aged 40 to 60 in England are overweight, drink too much or get too little exercise. Health officials are concerned of the “sandwich generation,” caring for children and ageing parents but do not take enough time to look after them. Desk jobs, fast food and the daily grind are taking their toll because of unhealthy lifestyles”. The Budget in England is next week; could we expect the Chancellor clobbering a tax on “overweight”? Perhaps, there are other ways of achieving this objective.

On the other end of the spectrum, isn’t it strange for young men to long to be middle aged. There are many reasons the young want to look older than their age. Of course, you cannot stop time, but it appears youth is wasted on the young. It happens the young try over-expose their skin to the sun to look old and come out like a “dried out piece of leather”. They may also over exercise, and look twice their age. Besides, smokers look older than their age. The magic is how one wants to feel and who can complain?

Middle Age (not Middle Ages) an attitude of mind?

Men especially middle aged men want things comfortable to remain as they were, they don’t understand change. They hardly plan for growing old. To be emotionally and physically lazy is a disease among this generation. They seem to be caught between generations of their austere parents who worked all hours to provide for their families and who survived every downfall as it was a windfall. It is known that the middle aged men want to think and count to be more progressive and individualistic. These “kids” now Middle Aged Men seem to be unloved, uncared and “surplus to requirements.”

There is no harm wanting to be individualistic and not to follow the crowd. It is an irony to say they have lost their way. They have pressures which perhaps, they themselves have created. They want to live up to what is expected of them, or has society brought about these pressures? Personal trouble or the desire to achieve is a rollercoaster. Not being able to adjust to losing a job or being divorced or being suddenly disabled makes them to feel they are on the scrapheap. Instead, it appears, they have not moved on and tried how to cope with the challenges or changes life has thrown on them.

Male pride, male role model, male identity has undoubtedly changed over time and instead of looking back at what has happened as a challenge, they sink into a slump of despair. Many middle aged men find it difficult to talk about their hopes and fears like women in such circumstances. Women in such difficulties help each other. See the difference in style between a divorcee, a woman and a man? They somehow find ways of changing their lives around, and they succeed?

Some ways to overcome 

If age is indeed a number, where do you draw the line between middle aged and elderly? There is 45 year old Stephen who has lost his job, got divorced and has tried hard to find a new partner. He says he feels lonely and does not know what to do with his life. Then there is Nick who is 53 years old, is single and says he has not achieved what he wanted. Then there is Ryan 48 who really does not know what he wants in life.

They are all part of this so called “Middle Aged Generation” who feel a sense of rejection, of internal suffering, of missing the boat when the responsibilities of their counterparts are seen to be at the greatest. The old model of being the head of the household, being the breadwinner, compared to what’s today; not mastering the role of sharing everything, including being a “dogsbody” or a washer up.

Unless you look back at what has happened one cannot move on. Many have lost self confidence and self respect in them. They have become inward rather than outward looking. It is very easy to chastise them. It is very difficult to find ways to give them back their self worth which is to show them their own ability to achieve a better life. The joy of life satisfaction has not been taken away from them, but their self confidence has been literally submerged in layers of concrete.

From depression to deliverance 

From receding hairlines and advancing waistlines, middle age is by no means being on the “on the shelf.” Middle Age is a life cycle when you are older, wiser, more experienced, more knowledgeable. You have to search hard for the ambition which seems to have been waylaid, by years of loss of self worth from work and society and seeking the due recognition of one’s abilities.

Age gives you a well developed sense of purpose, shows you the absurdities of modern life and the folly of unhealthy lifestyles. You may not have much hair on your head, but you have lots of it growing from more interesting places. Your expectations may be like current interest rates in England, sensibly low, but if you pursue what you wished to do when you were younger and persistently plod at it in an innovative way as the years roll by allowing for change, there is nothing stopping you reaching success.

One of the greatest myths of society is that middle age is “on the downward slope of satisfaction”, if that is so why is it that those aged 90 and over are enjoying high life satisfaction and happiness compared with people’s perception?

You need to restart life once again for which you need determination, discipline and degree of confidence in your ability to achieve your ambition.

Hairdressers of the world unite against hidden dangers of the salon

Asthma, arthritis and even cancer are occupational hazards – but Britain has helped block EU safety rules

 Rebecca Walker started her own salon, quirkydo, in Macclesfield, Cheshire, after developing arthirits. Photograph: Christopher Thomond for the Observer

James Tapper-Saturday 4 March 2017

Hairdressing is not an obviously dangerous occupation. Yet working in a hair salon or a barber’s shop can provoke skin conditions, musculoskeletal diseases such as arthritis and tendonitis and work-related asthma.

Now Usdaw, the shopworkers’ union which represents many of Britain’s estimated 140,000 hairdressers, is calling for a “new deal” to protect them. Paddy Lillis, the union’s deputy general secretary, said the government needed to give “proper protection” to barbers and hairdressers, the majority of whom are female and younger than 40.

A Europe-wide agreement on health and safety standards for the industry has been blocked by the European commission, under pressure from successive British governments. “It’s time we had a new deal for hairdressers,” Lillis said. “All too often the safety of shopworkers is overlooked in the mistaken belief they work in low-risk environments.

“This is a mistake the UK government made when they scaled back Health and Safety Executive inspections and slashed inspections by local authorities who enforce safety in shops, warehouses and offices. It is time that the government and the European commission took these risks to the health and safety of hairdressers seriously and gave them proper protection.”

Research indicates that hairdressers are at risk from seemingly innocuous activities such as washing hair, cutting hair and using hairspray. Repeatedly washing hands can lead to dermatitis, a non-contagious sensitivity to chemicals that causes painful cracked skin and bleeding, and research has shown that 70% of hairdressers have suffered from skin conditions.

Breathing in hairspray and other chemicals may be linked to asthma, according to some studies. Using scissors day in, day out can provoke arthritis and tendonitis in the hands and thumb, through loss of cartilage.

And hair dye has been blamed for a link between hairdressing and bladder cancer, although Cancer Research UK believes this is more likely to be the result of older hair dye ingredients which have been discontinued. Most of these issues could be solved by wearing appropriate gloves and taking regular breaks.

Rebecca Walker had been a hairdresser for nearly 10 years when she developed arthritis. The first signs were a “really stiff shoulder”. “I thought that maybe I’d been overworking it, but it didn’t go away and the pain moved to my elbow,” she said.

Within two months she had resigned because she was taking too much time off because of the pain in her wrists and hands. “I suppose I’m quite a determined person so I didn’t want to give up,” she said. So in 2011 Walker opened her own salon, quirkydo in Macclesfield, and now employs several other people.

“There have been times I’m not sure how I’m going to get through the day, but if I give myself a break for half an hour between clients, it’s OK,” she said.

The picture is different on the continent where hairdressers are more likely to be employees. Regina Richter has been a hairdresser in Leipzig for 51 years, but for the last 30 years she has suffered major back problems due to standing up for eight hours a day. “It seems to be affecting my younger colleagues more now,” she said. “After four or five years they are starting to experience pain. I think it is because the pressure has increased – now everyone has to cut hair as quickly as possible to get as many clients as possible.”

She believes that sometimes being able to sit down while cutting hair, and using ergonomic scissors and lighter hair dryers, would have prevented or delayed her condition.

In 2012, the union that represents about one million hairdressers across the EU, Uni Europa, was involved in drawing up an agreement for EU member states to sign up to shared health and safety standards for hairdressers. But since Jean-Claude Juncker became president of the European commission, the agreement has been blocked, under pressure led by Britain and some other parts of the EU, according to Oliver Roethig, regional secretary of Uni Europa.

“When we look at hairdressing, it’s the tip of the iceberg,” he said. “Social legislation by the EU has been completely taken off the agenda by the Juncker commission. He said the EU must not be big on the smaller things. But we don’t think that hairdressers having to give up work is a small thing.”

In the UK, where nearly half of all hairdressers are self-employed, it can be difficult for individual stylists to raise health and safety issues in their salon, and given the role of Britain in obstructing progress at a European level, life after Brexit is unlikely to get any easier.

In 2009, the Health and Safety Executive handed over responsibility for its campaign on dermatitis to the Hairdressing and Beauty Industry Authority (Habia) and the National Hairdressers’ Federation.

However, Habia’s website refers to health and safety only from an employers’ perspective and does not offer guidance to hairdressers.

Hilary Hall, chief executive of the National Hairdressers’ Federation, said it did offer guidance to employers on contracting dermatitis and advised staff to wear vinyl gloves when washing hair.

“The directive pretty well captures what is available in the UK,” she said. “The difference is enforcement. The individual is responsible and they could be subject to inspections. We feel it is better to let people choose.”

THE DANGERS

Dermatitis

A study in 2004 revealed that 70% of hairdressers in Britain had suffered from work-related dermatitis, in the form of red, sore and sometimes itchy skin, mainly to the hands and fingers but also to the arms, face and neck.

Asthma

In France, a paper published in 2003 showed that 20% of women affected by work-related asthma were hairdressers, compared with 1% for the general population.

Arthritis

According to the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, musculoskeletal disorders are five times more prevalent among hairdressers than in the general population. Research published in the journal Work in 2009 showed that in a study of 145 hairdressers, 41% experienced ‘work-related upper limb disorders’.

Cancer

An analysis of 42 bladder cancer studies in 2010 showed that hairdressers faced a risk 30 to 35% higher than the general public. However, Cancer Research UK says that because cancer can take many years to develop, this may be due to exposure to older chemicals that are no longer used.

Sri Lanka: UN urges country not to miss chance to advance justice, reconciliation

High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein. UN Photo/Jean-Marc Ferré

3 March 2017 – The slow pace of transitional justice in Sri Lanka and the lack of a comprehensive strategy to address accountability for past crimes risk derailing the momentum towards lasting peace, reconciliation and stability, a United Nations report said today.

“Seventeen months ago, when we published a detailed report on the grave human rights violations committed during the conflict in Sri Lanka, I urged the Government and all the people of Sri Lanka to ensure that this historic opportunity for truly fundamental change should not be squandered,” UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein said in a news release on the report.

He noted that in many ways, Sri Lanka appears to be turning a corner on the promotion and protection of human rights, but he stressed that hard-won gains could prove illusory if they are not tethered to a comprehensive, robust strategy.

“This critical opportunity in Sri Lankan history cannot be missed,” he said, urging the Government and people of Sri Lanka once again to prioritize justice alongside reconciliation to ensure that the horrors of the past are firmly dealt with, never to recur.

The report, issued by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), assesses progress made in tackling the legacy of grave violations in Sri Lanka between 2002 and 2011 and acknowledges that there have been positive advances on human rights and constitutional reform.

However, the report notes that the structures set up and measures taken until now have been inadequate, lacked coordination and a sense of urgency.

“Party politics, including the balancing of power between the different constituencies of the coalition in the run-up to constitutional reforms, have contributed to a reluctance to address difficult issues regarding accountability or to clearly articulate a unified position by all parts of Government,” the report states.

The report makes a number of concrete recommendations, including calling on the Government to embrace the report of the Consultation Task Force, to formulate a communications campaign to inform the public about details of the reconciliation agenda, to invite the UN human rights office to establish a presence in Sri Lanka, to give the highest priority to the restitution of all private land that has been occupied by the military, and to adopt legislation establishing a hybrid court.

The report also highlights a number of serious human rights violations that are reportedly continuing to occur in Sri Lanka, including the harassment or surveillance of human rights defenders and victims of violations, police abuse and excessive use of force, and the use of torture.

The High Commissioner will present the report to the Human Rights Council on 22 March in Geneva.

A_HRC_34_20_EN (1).docx by Thavam Ratna on Scribd

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News Tracker: past stories on this issue

UN food relief agency working with Sri Lanka to end hunger and malnutrition

TNA WELCOMES ZEID’S REPORT: TIME BOUND PLAN TO IMPLEMENT COMMITMENTS MADE.

 

Image: Keppapulavu residents occupying  the front gate of Mullaithivu Security Forces HQ demanding to return their village/482acres. ©@Garikaalan.

03/03/2017

Welcoming the report of the Human Rights High Commissioners  on the implementation of the HRC resolution 30/1 by the Government of Sri Lanka the Tamil National Alliance says that although  the report acknowledges some areas of progress, such as discussions on constitutional reform, it is critical of the government’s failure to deliver with respect to a number of critical issues.

TNA wants the government to to present a time-bound action plan to implement its own commitments. Further is says that the failure of the government to address the burning issues like  land releases, release of prisoners, repeal of the PTA, reform of the Victim and Witness Protection Authority and ending military involvement in commercial and civilian activities are steadily eroding the trust of Tamil people

Full text of the statement follows:

The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) welcomes the report of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on the implementation of the 2015 Human Rights Council resolution, and its recommendations. While the report acknowledges some areas of progress, such as discussions on constitutional reform, it is critical of the government’s failure to deliver with respect to a number of critical issues. The TNA shares the concerns of the Report that confidence building measures such as land releases, release of prisoners, repeal of the PTA, reform of the Victim and Witness Protection Authority and ending military involvement in commercial and civilian activities have not been pursued satisfactorily. In fact, the failure of the government on these issues are steadily eroding the trust of our people.

We have continued to express our concern about the lack of progress on the issue of accountability, and have called on the government to present a time-bound action plan to implement its own commitments. The systemic failure to make progress on emblematic cases in the regular courts highlights the need for a special court with robust international participation in keeping with the government’s commitments. We welcome the High Commissioner’s recommendation echoing this demand. We also call on the government to operationalize the Office on Missing Persons forthwith. The inexplicable delay in doing so unconscionably prolongs the agony of the families of the disappeared.

We therefore welcome the High Commissioner’s call that the Human Rights Council sustain its close engagement with the Government of Sri Lanka and ensure monitoring of developments in the country. We call on the Government to demonstrate good faith by making swift progress on the issues highlighted by the High Commissioner.

-Tamil National Alliance

Mangala Samraweera’s briefing back-fired in Geneva

Mar 03, 2017

Mangala Samaraweera had a side event (parallel meeting) to the participants of the 33rd session of Human Rights Council on 1st March in the UN Geneva.

During the question and comment time, the General Secretary of the French based, Tamil Centre for Human Rights, S. V. Kirupaharan has asked some reasonable questions to which Sri Lankan delegation could not give any reply!

This was witnessed by many diplomats including the US and UK.

Kirupaharan says that he quoted Dayan Jeyatilake as an example because Dayan was Sri Lanka representative to UN Geneva in the recent past.

A ‘House’ divided, and a country at crossroads

12 Little Known Laws of Karma (That Will Change Your Life)

Friday, 3 March 2017

In the past week or so, two news items of national interest have driven if not dominated some media discussion. The first was when a spokesman for the governing coalition reawakened a country’s dormant interest in the constitutional reform process. This provoked something of a furore when so-called nationalist elements started barking at the referendum-caravan. The second was in the immediate aftermath of our Foreign Minister’s crafted statement at the UN sessions, which was essentially a canny appeal to all stakeholders concerned in the national-reintegration process for more time. That resulted in a spate of hurrahs, catcalls, and hard to interpret tweets; none of which was as succinct as a moderate Tamil politician’s response that the Government had not delivered on promises made at the human-rights confab as far back as 2015…

In both of these media reportages, a common thread has been debate and discussion – with some diatribe – about the constitution-reforming process. Maybe no other issue in recent times has been as contentious for the people and their elected representatives. Which makes it all the more ironic that the stated aims and objectives of a new constitution include inter alia a new, united, integrated, national identity. In this context, it comes as something of an anti-climax to hear our FM say to the UN that we “must have the courage to acknowledge that Sri Lanka’s first experiment in nation-building post-independence in 1948 has failed”; adding bathetically that “as a result, for 69 long years, we have journeyed through pain, violence, loss of life, and precious human resources, ruining our chances of socio-economic progress”.

Be that as it may indisputable, one of the main concerns for nation-builders and national-reintegraters has been the plethora of voices drowning out sense and sensibility in the marketplace of ideas today. On one hand, citizens sensitive to the challenges faced by government can sympathise with those at the helm of the ship of state. On the other, more impatient stakeholders cannot but help sense that something has gone wrong, radically, somewhere, to effect this slowdown in the reforms process and even suspected backsliding on promises made…

An analysis of the competing nationalisms represented by the panoply of stakeholders in the constitution-remaking process might offer further insights into why government – and nation-state with it – are at something of an impasse today.

Naïve 

If we were to begin with the Government’s position, we’d see that it is natural for the Foreign Minister himself – Sri Lanka’s chief ambassador – to embrace the normalised view that “the January 8 mandate was to create a unified nation” … by shaping “a new constitution that would protect minority rights”. Maybe it is naïve – and not a little disingenuous, given Mangala Samaraweera’s track record as a sophisticated campaigner in realpolitik – to further essay that “this is the wish of the people from north to south of the island”. Would that it were the case, indeed, that these amorphous ‘people’ were anywhere nearly as ‘united’ as that… No, regrettably, it is only tender-minded philosophers and perhaps other sophisticates who conveniently assume such a ‘uniformity’ of will, desire, purpose, such that government’s imposition of a monolithic constitution will prove that one size fits all. Perhaps apologists for the Government will rebut this apparently lopsided assessment, for Samaraweera’s own position – that “there needs to be a reasonable solution for the issues of the Tamil people” but “every nationality within this country has equal rights” – suggests that government’s valence is far more nuanced than the Joint Opposition amongst other nationalists would give it credit for.

Normal/natural

Such a nuanced position would gain traction with moderates while going against the grain of competing nationalism with the ‘nations’ (or did he mean ‘ethnicities’ at best or less desirably ‘races’?) that our Foreign Minister slips so insidiously into the discussions – as reported in media analyses.

At one end of the spectrum, it is becoming entirely normal for what has been criticised (by nationalists on both sides of the national chasm) as a lame, tame, Opposition to essay that they can be content – or at worst, simply satisfied – by steps taken by the Government. A corresponding normalisation has been to jointly credit both President and Prime Minister with the constitution reshaping process – although it is clear to all but some woolly-headed moderates that there is growing tension between these two heads. The more impatient Tamil nationalists – or, seen through a different lens – the less moderate middle-of-the-path Tamil legislators – have countered such complacency by their unequivocal commitment to the process; while not hiding their displeasure at the relative lack of progress made since Sri Lanka co-sponsored the resolution at the UN Human Rights Council.

At the other end, a gamut of nationalist correspondents expresses what else is par for the course in this push and pull between competing nationalisms:

Politicos in the fray can be quite outspoken, as was this player who began with the UNP, broke ranks to join the SLFP, and is now a JO mouthpiece: (QUOTE) “This government is attempting to fulfil its promises to the leaders of the north in order to establish power. It is clear that the president is fully entangled in this conspiracy as well. Meanwhile, there is also an ongoing operation to weaken intelligence agencies and the defence services. This short-sighted government is trying to take the country before an international chopping block and split it into pieces via a new constitution.”

Prelates have been no less expressive: (QUOTE) “We are also slowly going mad from the confusion that is ‘yahapālanaya’. No such thing exists. In the recent past we had a ‘chinthanaya’, which also turned out to be a myth. Today there is talk of a new constitution. The people have no real need for a new constitution. This constitution is an illusion.” (QUOTE) “The constitutional reforms stipulate the devolution of police powers to provincial councils. This would bring about the loss of [several national assets named] … This government is attempting to implement a constitution that ransoms the country to divisive interests, while separatist conspiracies plague the country economically, politically and culturally.” 

Nuisance

In-between these two camps or shades of opinion, there are those players whose kaleidoscopic positions over the years has not diminished their appeal to the hoi polloi. On the contrary, if anything, their penchant for swinging – or appearing to swing, simultaneously – both with and against the pendulum has won them applause from both government and opposition. Often at the same times for the same positions taken – or not taken. If such an analysis of the JVP annoys you, imagine how much more mundane their public utterances on matters of the most import could be – if only they would cease and desist from commenting in the vein, “the Joint Opposition is engaging in opportunistic politics”, and in the same breath, “we are suspicious as to why the Government is postponing the reforms process”! To back or not to back, and whom or what to support if it is not part of their own strategy, will always be this has-been party’s dilemma? Me, I can’t make up my mind if they’re a nuisance or a necessary evil…

Not necessary evil

Amidst some chaos and much confusion as to status of the new social contract in the making – or not – comes the statements of government ministers designed to curry favour with party leaders while shaping their own futures within a coalescing SLFP. Ironic that they should accuse other stakeholders in the process of a pack mindset or even tribal mentality, when it is clear that they are the ones running with the hound. Especially when their personal position tantamount to something like this… As reported in media analyses: “On behalf of the President and the SLFP, I will say that we have decided not to support any amendments to the constitution which would harm the country’s unitary character, territorial integrity, and sovereignty. We will support a new constitution or constitutional amendments which will not require a referendum. It should be understood that the public mandate entrusted to the SLFP and the UNP during the last election was not for the implementation of a new constitution.” Coming from a strongman of the SLFP – and previously the UNP – the reintroduction of the traditional bastions of ‘unitary character’, ‘sovereignty’, ‘territorial integrity’, are less than useless in a post-war milieu tending, straining, leading, yearning for a post-conflict mindset.  

Necessary

instrument/agency

Thankfully, amidst this storm and stress, saner counsel prevails. Some maintain that a referendum is necessary not only to publicly ratify the desirability of an actual new constitution presented, but also assess whether the proposed new constitution is desirable as an idea in itself. Media – especially in the mainstream vernacular newspapers – have kept questions, issues, discussion, commentary, alive and well… And political actors even on the fringe of engagement have contributed rational thoughts to the debate: (Quote) “Especially in a country divided by religion and ethnicity, it is essential to call for a referendum before implementing a constitution that would institute devolution of power.” Meanwhile, some members of academia as reported are also bolstering the necessity – but limitations – of a referendum: (Quote) “A constitution should not be implemented without effecting a change in public opinion … Creating a constitution according to the views of the public is futile since a constitution must always be more far-sighted than the people.” However even the present lacunae in presenting the people with even a draft of the proposed constitution has come in for no little condemnation by public-interest bodies: (Quote) “Not even a draft of the new constitution has been created yet, let alone a new constitution … Currently there are only proposals. No draft has been prepared as yet.”

Only time will tell.

Colombo Telegraph Challenges CPA Under RTI Act – Colombo NGOs Yet To Appoint Information Officers! 

March 3, 2017

In its first challenge under the RTI Act No 12 of 2016, the Colombo Telegraph (CT) filed a Right to Information (RTI) request to the Colombo based Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) asking for the full report of a 2014 inquiry held into alleged corrupt practices by CPA.

Dr. Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu

This was a report commissioned after repeated exposures made by CT in regard to alleged fraudulent practices of CPA but the full report dated December 1st 2014 was not released. Only a short executive summary was made public.

CT editor filed the request late last month stating that the CPA is a non-governmental organisation which is substantially funded by an international organisation or a foreign Government. Section 43(i) of RTI Act covers an NGO funded in that way and rendering a service to the public, to the extent of that public service.

The request was filed in the background of many Colombo based non-governmental organizations who advocate on RTI, including the CPA and Transparency International Sri Lanka (TISL) not appointing information officers in their organizations as required under the RTI Act. This is despite loudly criticizing failures of the government authorities. Even though TISL filed RTI requests on the very first day that the RTI Act was operationalised, claiming publicity by filing requests for assets declarations of the Prime Minister and the President, TISL has not itself conformed to the provisions of the RTI Act!

Where this information request was concerned and as no information officer had been appointed by CPA, CT filed the information request to the head of the CPA as permitted by Section 23 (b) of the Act. In response, the head of CPA Dr Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu has written on March 2nd 2017 (Thursday) acknowledging the request under Section 24 (3) of the RTI Act, No 12 of 2016 and stating that ‘we will inform you of our decision on your request within 14 days (of 27 February 2017).

The RTI request was to provide CT with the full report of the special investigation assignment on identifying whether there had been any non compliances by the CPA with standard procedures, fraudulent transactions or any unethical practices committed causing a loss and damage to the organization or to its shareholders, in the process of carrying out specific identified projects during the period 1st April 2005 to 31st March 2007.

The title of the report requested for was the CENTRE FOR POLICY ALTERNATIVES (CPA) (GUARANTEE) LTD, REPORT ON SPECIAL INVESTIGATION ASSIGNMENT by Corporate Doctors (Private) Limited Corporate Consultants, dated December 1st 2014. Only a so-called executive summary was published despite repeated demands by CT.

However the question is whether the CPA can respond in this manner by saying that it will decide within 14 days when this is a report that is immediately available to the CPA itself. The RTI Act says that the decision to provide the information must be given ‘expeditiously’ or without undue delay under Section 25(1) of the RTI Act. This implies that if information is clearly and immediately available, it must be given. It is only if that is not the case that a maximum time of 14 days can be taken to give a decision. Otherwise the public authority is in violation of the RTI Act.

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UN raises concerns over abuses, torture in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka slow in addressing atrocities, UN says, calling for a clear timeline for prosecuting crimes during civil war.

Sri Lanka Tamils who fled during the war returned home as part of an UNHCR-Sri Lanka initiative[AP]

03 Mar 2017

The United Nations has decried Sri Lanka's "worryingly slow" progress in addressing wartime crimes, warning that a range of serious abuses, including torture, appear to remain widespread.

The world body and rights activists have previously accused the Sri Lankan military of killing thousands of civilians, mostly Tamils, in the last weeks of a 26-year civil war with Tamil separatists that ended in 2009 and have demanded redress.

In its latest report released on Friday, the UN expressed alarm that Sri Lankan security and police forces are reportedly still committing rape and torture, and said the country must investigate and prosecute those involved, as well as those implicated in past wartime atrocities.

"Cases of excessive use of force, torture, arbitrary arrests and failure to respect due process during arrests by the police also continue to be reported," it added.

The lack of accountability risks derailing the momentum towards lasting peace, said the report by the office of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein.

"I urge the government and people of Sri Lanka to prioritise justice alongside reconciliation to ensure that the horrors of the past are firmly dealt with, never to recur," Zeid said.

"The authorities at all levels, from the head of state to military, police, intelligence and local-level leaders, need to publicly issue unequivocal instructions to all branches of the military, intelligence and police forces that torture, sexual violence and other human rights violations are unequivocally prohibited and will be punished," Zeid said.

"OHCHR received credible information from a well-known human rights organization according to which 'white van' abductions, and torture and sexual violence, by the Sri Lankan security forces persisted. These allegations must be properly investigated," the report said.

The UN and activists have also demanded that Sri Lanka include foreign judges in a credible inquiry, which President Maithripala Sirisena has opposed.

A task force appointed by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, however, said in January the country should bring in international prosecutors and judges.

Addressing the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on Tuesday, Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera said the government "maintains a zero-tolerance policy towards torture".

He said he expected draft legislation on a truth-seeking commission to be presented to the cabinet "within the next two months".

Sri Lanka: Families of missing persons threaten hunger strikes

Sri Lanka Dodges Questions on Women’s Rights at UN Committee

Bodes Ill for Performance at Human Rights Council

A woman walks past a cooking fire along a road during Eid al-Fitr in Colombo, Sri Lanka, August 8, 2013.© 2013 Reuters

Brad Adams-MARCH 3, 2017

If there were any doubt where women’s issues rank in the Sri Lanka government’s list of priorities, it was laid to rest last week in Geneva.

When the Sri Lanka delegation appeared before the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW Committee) on February 22, it should have been well-prepared for the occasion. It was the country’s eighth periodic review, and the questions that the committee would raise were no mystery – the CEDAW Committee and Sri Lankan civil society groups have had steady dialogue with the government over their concerns.

But the government delegation seemed incapable or unwilling to address any issues of substance regarding women’s rights: discriminatory marriage laws, land and livelihood concerns, and strengthening laws that protect women, to name just a few. Instead, the delegation fell back on platitudinous responses that existing laws were sufficient to meet the government’s obligations and that constitutional amendments now under consideration will address other issues.

Of particular concern was the delegation’s inability to answer questions related to the role women will play in current efforts to seek truth, justice, and reconciliation for the widespread human rights abuses committed during Sri Lanka’s 26-year-long civil war, which ended in 2009.

When it became clear that the committee wasn’t about to let the delegation off the hook, Sri Lanka’s long-time Geneva Ambassador Ravinatha Aryasinha rose to respond. But instead of providing direct answers, he delivered a preview of Sri Lanka’s presentation to the Human Rights Council during its 34th session, which began this Monday.

In sending a delegation to the CEDAW Committee unprepared to answer obvious questions, the government betrays a lack of commitment to women’s rights issues. Governments and human rights activists watching Sri Lanka over the next few weeks during its review at the Human Rights Council would do well to remember Sri Lanka’s appalling performance before the CEDAW Committee. No one at the council should let Sri Lanka dodge critical questions a second time around.

The fabric of life

Featured image courtesy Raisa Wickrematunge

AMALINI DE SAYRAH AND RAISA WICKREMATUNGE on 03/03/2017

Videography courtesy Amalini de Sayrah

At the time of founding Selyn Handlooms in 1991, Sandra Wanduragala did not know much about the handloom industry, but this didn’t stop her. “I thrive on challenges,” she says, laughing. Despite having initial difficulties in deciding which products to develop and finding skilled employees, Selyn has come a long way – it is now a fair trade company, which means that it works to international standards in ensuring workers enjoy conducive working conditions, receive fair wages, operate transparently and impact the environment as little as possible.

In the initial days, many people asked Sandra why she didn’t simply choose to get into the garment industry, but Sandra felt that she could contribute more to society by working to preserve the traditional practice of handloom weaving. By extension, she quickly discovered, she could also support the livelihoods of women in a sustainable way.

The women employed at Selyn hail from the communities surrounding their plants in Kurunegala, and are very much the backbone of the organisation.

Watch these women at work in this short video, shot during a recent visit to Kurunegala organised by Selyn.

Auditor General: Acid Test For Your Credibility

By Amrit Muttukumaru –March 3, 2017

Amrit Muttukumaru

My ‘Colombo Telegraph’ article ‘Auditor General Silent on Corrupt CA Sri Lanka’ published last week was written in the context of:

1) The Auditor-General is an EX-OFFICIO member of the powerful ‘COUNCIL’ of CA Sri Lanka (Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka). You are also a senior Chartered Accountant.

2) Previously you were Director- General of Sri Lanka Accounting and Auditing Standards Monitoring Board (SLAASMB)

3) The failure of CA Sri Lanka and SLAASMB to hold the ‘Partners’ concerned of the two largest audit firms in the country – PwC & EY accountable for the ‘Open & Shut’ case of professional misconduct in the fraudulent privatization of SLIC (Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation) confirmed by (i) Supreme Court (ii) Parliament’s COPE (iii) Attorney-General and even CA Sri Lanka ‘Ethics’ Committee itself.

4) Chartered Accountants and Auditors are the first line of defence against corruption in all entities dealing with financial resources

Auditor General Gamini Wijesinghe

5) The alleged Treasury Bond scams for which you seek accountability – could not have taken place without the complicity of professionals in the hierarchy of the Central Bank and Bank of Ceylon – accountants, lawyers and others.

6) The alleged egregious corruption and abuse of power in Sri Lankan Airlines with banner headlines glaringly omitting to identity its longstanding auditor – Ernst & Young. This is avoided by all purported ‘good governance’ activists!

7) You will enhance your CREDIBILITY & MORAL AUTHORITY if you use your membership in the CA Sri Lanka ‘Council’ to demand accountability for the ‘Open & Shut’ case of professional misconduct in relation to the fraudulent SLIC privatization.

8) A regular columnist espousing ‘good governance’, W.A Wijewardena – Former Deputy Governor, Central Bank of Sri Lanka was previously longstanding Chairman, SLAASMB

9) Prominent media coverage to the several ‘Open Letters’ from Chandra Jayaratne held out to be a “good governance activist”
Conclusion

It is deplorable that apologists/proxies? (many nameless!) have come up with ‘red herrings’ in the continuing saga of the ‘cover-up’ of the said professional misconduct.

This include (i) “What is CA Sri Lanka? Canadian Aids?” (ii) “Do you have any private grudge or jealousy against CA Sri lanka?” (iii) “Can you please tell What is your profession.” (iv) “Who is Chandra Jayaratne .. Is he Dimu Jayaratne`s brother?”

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