Stop ethnic profiling and hate speech


2017-03-18

On Tuesday, March 21 the world marks the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, with this year’s theme being racial profiling and incitement to hatred, including in the context of migration. This is significant in view of the emergence of the explosive Donald Trump as President of the United States and his two executive orders imposing a temporary ban on immigrants from six Muslim majority countries. In the states of Hawaii and Maryland, federal judges have ruled that Mr. Trump’s orders are illegal. The judges went beyond the letter of the law and gave a contextual ruling provoking the Twitter tycoon to accuse the judiciary of going beyond its limits. But many legal analysts have praised the rulings as judicial activism. The trend towards populism, which started with the Brexit in Britain, set off a political nuclear explosion with the election of Donald Trump and has cast a cloud over upcoming elections in the mainline European Union states of France and Germany. Thankfully, Holland on Wednesday gathered up plenty of Dutch courage to reject Populism or extremism and give new hope for moderation and the respect for diversity.   

According to a United Nations statement, every person is entitled to human rights without discrimination. Yet in many parts of the world, discriminatory practices are still widespread, including racial, ethnic, religious and nationality based profiling and incitement to hatred. According to the UN, racial and ethnic profiling is defined as a reliance by law enforcement, security and border control personnel on race, colour, descent or national or ethnic origin as a basis for subjecting people to detailed searches, identity checks and investigations or for determining whether an individual is engaged in criminal activity.    -

Refugees and migrants are particular targets of racial profiling and incitement to hatred. Last year with wars raging in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and other countries, the number of refugees or migrants reached the highest proportions since the Second World War. While the US, Britain and other countries reacted negatively if not wickedly by slamming the door in the face of people suffering from deep despair and destitution, countries like Germany responded in an enlightened way with Chancellor Angela Merkel risking even her political career to accommodate about one million refugees. Not surprisingly Mr. Trump slammed Chancellor Merkel for her liberal or merciful policies. The two leaders met at the White House on Thursday and reports indicated that Chancellor Merkel told President Trump that the US - German relationship needs to be value- based and not just a business partnership.   

In the New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants, adopted in September 2016, United Nations Member States strongly condemned acts and manifestations of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance against refugees and migrants. It asked members states to give a commitment to a range of steps to counter such attitudes and behaviours, particularly regarding hate crimes, hate speech and racial violence.   

In September last year, a Summit for Refugees and Migrants sparked “Together”, a United Nations initiative to promote respect, safety and dignity for refugees and migrants. It aims to change negative perceptions and attitudes towards refugees and migrants, in partnership with Member States, civil society and the private sector.   

The UN Human Rights Office is asking people around the world to stand up for Someone’s Rights Today. The campaign, launched on Human Rights Day 2016, aims to encourage and support actions in our daily lives to defend the human rights of others. Wherever we are, we can make a difference. It starts with each one of us.   

In Sri Lanka the national government is giving high priority to multi-ethnic and multi-religious unity in diversity. President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe have  repeatedly called upon all political parties, religious groups and others to work proactively, towards reconciliation and lasting peace. While we sincerely practice our own religious or cultural beliefs or traditions, we need to respect the beliefs and traditions of others to bring about unity which could be sustained by the parallel economic process of bringing about a more equitable distribution of wealth and resources. So let us mark this year with a personal resolution to stop racial or ethnic profiling and  hate speech.      -

Conspiracy to disrupt Russia-Lanka ties

Mar 17, 2017

A certain group is trying to disrupt government attempts to strengthen relations with Russia, reports say. On the instructions of president Maithripala Sirisena and prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, foreign affairs minister Mangala Samaraweera is taking steps to restore ties with Russia as well as India.

The main saboteur of this diplomatic drive is Udayanga Weeratunga, the notorious Rajapaksa crony. Accused of fraud over his shady deals with Ukraine, he is still dancing to the tune of Ukrainian companies. Ukraine Nash, blacklisted in India and many other countries for having violated business deals, is pumping money to disrupt Sri Lanka’s ties with Russia. Its local agent is CEO of Lanka Logistics Dr. Lalith Liyanage.

At a time it is at odds with Russia, Ukraine is trying to isolate its opponent internationally by sabotaging its ties with other countries.

Weeratunga continues to serve the racketeers after misusing public property and committing financial fraud during the previous regime. It is not a secret that money-hungry persons like him will do any bidding of racketeers.

Despite whatever efforts are taken by the government to win over the world community, it should see that no harm comes from notorious racketeers. Furthermore, legal action against them should be made more strong, or else Sri Lanka will become internationally isolated under the ‘Yahapaalana’ government too.

Manpower Plunder: The Plight of SLT’s Contract Workers

Videography by Amalini de SayrahText by Raisa Wickrematunge

GROUNDVIEWS on 03/16/2017

The giant hand gripping a telephone has become a landmark on Lotus Road. Just beyond it loom the offices of Sri Lanka Telecom. Look closer, though, and you will see banners. “Enough talking!” one reads. “No to Manpower plunder,” another says.

A makeshift tent has been set up. Nearby, clusters of people are gathered. These are the ‘manpower workers’ of Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT) – those hired using a manpower agency called Human Capital Solutions (HCS) – a fully owned subsidiary of SLT.

                                          Screenshot from SLT’s website.

The manpower workers comprise some 2,100 out of SLT’s total workforce, and have been striking for 80 days, continuously.

SLT first began hiring contract workers from manpower agencies in the 1990s. Initially, only drivers were hired through manpower agencies. Over time, SLT also began hiring technical officers this way from around 2002. The contract workers were supposed to be hired to fill positions that were not part of SLT’s core operations.

However, the striking workers say that this is certainly no longer the case. “We all do the same job, but they [the permanent employees] get paid much more. We aren’t sent to meet customers as ‘manpower workers.’ We wear the SLT uniform. It is only in terms of salary that we are treated differently,” said D M S Rajapakshe.

It’s a vast gap – these workers only receive one-third the salary, although they do the same work. For instance, one of the striking workers tells Groundviews he receives a basic salary of Rs. 28,000. A full-time employee’s basic salary is Rs. 60,000. The full time employees also receive almost double in terms of annual bonuses and overtime, plus allowances for food, transport, medicine and housing.

Many of these ‘temporary’ workers have been working for SLT for decades – Rajapakshe for instance, has been with SLT for 12 years, starting as a driver and working his way up to the post of technical officer.

It is for this reason that the workers have been striking for so long, facing great difficulties.

“We have struggled for every increment we have. For every increase of Rs. 2,500, we have had to strike,” T K G Jayalath says. They say they began organising strikes as far back as 2006.

Hope came with the change of the Government in 2015, and promises to make the SLT contract workers part of the permanent cadre. In fact, the President, Minister of Telecommunications and 

Infrastructure Harin Fernando and the Prime Minister have all made promises to this effect, according to a statement released by the Solidarity Movement for Sri Lanka Telecom’s Manpower Struggle.

“Now whenever he sees us, he promises to solve the problem and doesn’t do anything. This government came into power with promises of good governance. The President’s own brother is the Chairman of Sri Lanka Telecom, so we had hope. Yet nothing has changed,” Jayalath says.

The strike has impacted all of the workers in different ways. “It’s difficult to find food to eat and drink… difficult even to find Rs. 50 to come by bus here and continue the strike,” Jayalath says.

Newly married, and with a baby on the way, Jayalath has had to leave his wife for long periods in order to participate in the strike. “My bank loan is in arrears… and I have no way to make the payments on time,” he says.

Others have had more violent pushback. Rajapakshe says when he requested to meet the Group CEO, Dileepa Wijesundera, the latter filed a police entry against them. “They don’t understand that we are downtrodden,” he says.

Yet the plight of these workers has remained largely un-reported in the mainstream media – and the strikers say it is because the company is a major advertiser. “SLT is a top company. They spend millions on advertising. They tell the media, ‘Don’t show the unions striking. If you give them coverage, we’ll stop placing advertisements,” Sujiva Dissanayake said.

More ominously, the Vice President of the All Ceylon Telecommunications Employees Union (ACTEU) Sujeewa Mangala was also abducted by armed men, blindfolded, and warned to give up strike action before being dropped off after two days.

None of this appears to have daunted the striking employees.

“Even to find food to eat and drink is difficult, without this job. But we are determined to see this through. We want to change this unfair system [whereby we are treated differently.], We are fed up of working in this manner” Sujiva said.

A Minister had promised to visit the striking workers on Monday (13) but the workers were still waiting on Wednesday (15).

“If we don’t get a response soon, we will fast until death,” one of the strikers vowed.

According to the tenets of commercial or corporate law, there are certain tests to define who an employer is. If the contract workers could show that the workers were under the direction and control of SLT, they could still claim they were SLT employees, even if they were employed by HCS, an attorney specializing in corporate law who requested not to be named said. “If the employees worked on [SLT’s] behalf, it could be argued that they are in fact employed by them.”

However, more firms were beginning to use third party manpower agencies as a method of cutting costs. “It’s a commercial trend to hire manpower-sourced employees. Generally they would hire crucial personnel as permanent employees and the others would be hired using these agencies,” the lawyer explained.

When contacted, Sri Lanka Telecom directed Groundviews to contact Human Capital Solutions, the manpower agency through which these workers are recruited. Founded in 2008, Human Capital Solutions CEO is P Roshan Kaluarachchi, who incidentally joined SLT as its Marketing Officer in 2010, according to their website. Kaluarachchi was not available for comment when Groundviews attempted to contact his office.

The fact that SLT directed Groundviews to contact HCS for a comment indicates that they do not consider the strikers as part of their workforce. As of today, it has been three months since any of them received their salary.

Sri Lanka finance minister pledges fiscal discipline

Strict adherence to IMF's demand to cap budget deficit at 3.5% by 2020

JOYCE HO, Nikkei staff writer-March 17, 2017

Ravi Karunanayake, Sri Lanka's minister of finance, at an investment summit in Hong Kong on March 16. (Photo by Joyce Ho)

HONG KONG -- After a warning from the International Monetary Fund about its thin foreign-currency reserves, the Sri Lankan government has pledged its commitment to strong fiscal discipline in line with conditions stipulated for a bailout by the Washington-based organization.

"We should have a national vision to address burning issues in the economy, including fiscal-sector operations," Ravi Karunanayake, Sri Lanka's minister of finance, told the FinanceAsia Sri Lanka Investment Summit in Hong Kong on Thursday. He said the "best way" for the South Asian island nation to move forward is through "fiscal consolidation" supported by reforms in tax policy and administration.

"We set our target at 3.5% of budget deficit by the year 2020. And we gradually ensure the impacts of fiscal consolidation coming in," said Karunanayake, reiterating that the government is targeting a budget deficit of 4.6% this year -- 10 basis points below the IMF's projection.

Karunanayake indicated that the government could grow its revenue to 15.3% of the country's gross domestic product from 13.8% last year, made possible by a higher rate of value-added tax and by relying more on public-private partnerships to lessen the expenditure burden. He was confident that government expenditures would be "controlled" because projects would be implemented on the basis of "necessity" and would have to go through the "national plan system," whereby market-oriented analysis would be applied regarding their feasibility.

"For the first time, in 2017, the total revenue of the government [will] exceed the recurrent expenditure," said Karunanayake, adding that surpluses would be put toward debt repayments.

Last June, the IMF approved a three-year loan worth $1.5 billion to help the country ease its balance-of-payments stress, which stems partly from tighter liquidity conditions in the U.S. "The capital and financial account position has weakened due to foreign exit from government securities, lower [foreign direct investment] inflows, and slow implementation of externally financed public and private projects," commented the Washington-based organization on Sri Lanka's economic health.

Following an assessment visit to Sri Lanka, the multilateral lender noted in a review last week that there was a "resumption of capital outflows" and that the country's net international reserves fell short of the target -- a condition likely to be exacerbated by a more hawkish U.S. Federal Reserve, which on Wednesday raised its benchmark interest rate by a quarter point to a target range of 0.75% to 1%. At least two more hikes are expected this year.

Credit-rating agency S&P Global estimated that Sri Lanka's usable international reserves, which stood at $3 billion as of January, represented less than two months' coverage of current-account payments. It maintained its negative outlook on the country, citing the "vulnerability of public finances to any exchange rate shocks," among other reasons.

Fitch Ratings, which revised its outlook on Sri Lanka to stable from negative last month, said the country's exchange rate could face downward pressure in the case of a shift in investor sentiment and as authorities allow for greater exchange rate flexibility.

William Foster, senior credit officer at Moody's Investors Service, believed the interest rate hikes would have a limited impact on Sri Lanka's credit profile, considering the Fed had indicated the increases would be "well-telegraphed."

Falsely framing the money shot

Friday, 17 March 2017

BOOM AND/OR BUST – on one hand congratulatory enthusiasm by the international monetary and political powers that be, coupled with handouts that underline their largesse as much as global commitment to Sri Lanka’s burgeoning investor and development profile; on the other, on the other, a lack of critical engagement by domestic voices of a content polity seduced by sundry prosperity gospels

I am hardly an expert when it comes to finance. My best fiscal efforts have brought tears to my better half’s tender eyes. The most tough-minded fiduciary decision I have ever taken would have Keynes, Friedman, and Greenspan, nodding solemnly and agreeing that some men just don’t understand money. That probably has you smiling and wondering whether this is a column on subversive politics or the confessions of a self-made pauper. It is less of a laughing matter that if and when a prime minister in general and a finance minister in particular stand accused of the same naïveté, or something nastier, the joke somehow seems to be on us – Or that someone is laughing all the way to the bank…

But I don’t want to fruitlessly digress into overripe scandals about Central-Bank bond-scams, suspicious deals made on the never-never with Government adopting a hush-hush policy on public matters that it wishes kept private, or the laughable laissez-faire, laissez-passer approach that too many of our more democratically minded leaders seem to be adopting for comfort as far as republican values go. (He said breathlessly.) There is no space for gossip, rumour-mongering, reaping the whirlwind of RTI among principled commentators in responsible rag-sheets who eschew damned lies and statistics; while desiring the whole truth no matter how sour or rotten. This is not the time and place for it – as the bishop said to the actress.

So bear with me while I attempt to frame a question that has been skulking at the back of my thick skull cogently enough for the kos polos to comprehend. It is to do with how money matters at the macroeconomic level are presented for the consumption of a public greedy for good news and still gullible enough about good governance.

On the one hand 

In the right corner: 

• Government is growing a pair and threatening to expose the power and financial abuses of the likes of Gota in advance of LG and/or general elections; 
• The foreign minister is a fountainhead of eloquence, erudition, and effervescent egalitarianism overseas – while the finance minister is a wellspring of brilliant schemes (pun intended) to rake in the shekels for state coffers and streamline non-strategic, non-performing, non-state enterprises; 
• A German tourism giant (TUI) is looking to expand into and invest in Sri Lanka’s travel and hospitality industry including setting up training ops here… a sign of their confidence as investors in the island-nation’s greater future, enthusiastically posted on social media by scurrilous spinmeisters with vested interests in fanning the flames of the propaganda blitzkrieg of the powers that be in the absence of a real war to garner the sympathy of the starving masses or the popular vote of captains of commerce and industry;
• Plus many other sunshine stories about booming investor confidence and a blossoming macro milieu too numerous, numinous, amorphous, and generally painful for human beings challenged by the BS factor to mention here… 

On the other

In the left:

• A head of state who preaches austerity to an audience of prelates and the progressive hoi polloi he fondly imagines will prop up his presidential ambitions; but is compelled to hand out perks, powers, privileges, positions, to the parasites in parliament who perpetuate a crumbling coalition for the specific purpose of passing unpopular but perhaps desperately pressing constitutional reforms
• An irascible premier who believes in the republican virtues of honesty, integrity, probity, as long as his cabinet colleagues and blue-eyed boys are not expected to toe the line when it comes to transparency and accountability; especially if they’re upper drawer super ministers or loyal underhand finks (short for what I can’t say to sathosa – er, satisfy, you for fear of libel and slander)
• The dismal picture that no democrat worth his salt will spill: one of “irredeemable debt, unfavourable markets, diminished reserves, lack of FDI”, rupee value declining and falling, flight of foreign capital, growing suburban street demos signifying middle-class unrest (as only editorialists and letters to the editors of national newspapers dare to essay)That shameful phenomenon known as supplementary estimates for the House to approve of super-luxury vehicles for MPs’ carless garages, while members themselves remain careless about their surprised, shocked, or starving constituencies short of election time
• _ A country that is parched peevish at the lack of rain, but drummed out or drowned under the periodic deluges when the heavens open to signify that our guardian deities are still pleased by the virtues of our governors

My question – posed purely as an amateur and someone whose opinion in monetary matters (or for that matter: issues fiscal, financial, fiduciary, macroeconomic – and call me jaded; but I think even the experts would struggle to distinguish and differentiate these spheres in real life) is nil, nada, nein, niet, non est – is this…

WTF is (really and truly) going on here, dear? Is it a boom or bust, a bulge in the investment cycle and not a gun in the finance minister’s pocket, inflation, stagnation, stagflation, or some general silliness like business as usual while the country goes to hell in a hand-basket as has been par for the course under successive corrupt regimes (to one extent: systemic nepotism; or another: strategic cronyism) that you and I know nothing about or could care less for?

There is a time and place for everything under the sun – and now that the bad guys are out of power and only the ugly are hovering on the fringes of government like an old girlfriend who still has feelings for you, it’s the good guys on whom it’s incumbent to present a clearer, sharper, lucider bigger picture. Sadly, it’s the good guys and their gospel of prosperity – with their peace for the periphery and ripe plucking for the powerful – that mother might warn us about today.

In the meantime, I have another confession to make… in what must surely be an off day in the great scheme of my foolishly undertaking to bark like a mad dog at the caravan of realpolitik. As circuses go, it’s a good enough circus, but as caravans go, it went… and with it my reputation as a voice in the wilderness, prophesying against the good, the bad, and the ugly alike. But my confession is more to do with the weather: I can’t make head or tail of it – and as my German meteorologist friend said just the other day: “Mann kann sich nie auf das wetter verlassen, nicht wahr?” (Which, roughly translated for consumption in a republic tottering under the rainclouds of realpolitik, reads: ‘Being your brolly, brother, it’s the sunshine we’re bothered about.’) There is something rotten in a democracy where the former rogues and scoundrels ripped our entire republic off by auctioning the national silver to foreign powers with glad eyes on a ‘String of Pearls’. But where the decent blokes – who decried it then – are endorsing the principle as well as the practice now – who deny it today with equal vim, vigour, and vitality. While, to boot, they give their good wine needing no bush the full propagandistic treatment!

What’s that, dear? It’s drizzling? Yes well, when troubles come they come not single spies but in battalions. That downpour of international largesse, that thunder shower of tremendous investment boosts, the flash flood of brilliant ideas to raise castles in the air of revenue for state coffers? It’s advance warning of the rain and shine – and/or rain and/or shine – to come… It’s realpolitik with the ante upped – It’s the economy, stupid – It’s where the battle-lines for the blessed-isle’s real well-being and future progress and prosperity are really and truly being drawn! Time to brush up on matters fiscal, financial, fiduciary; time to mug up on the bottom line; time to get in on the down and dirty; because the money shot is why, where, what – and how – the frame of our fame and fortune are being made up – the honey pots…

Govt faces rupee crisis

-

by Shyam Nuwan Ganewatte-March 17, 2017, 10:56 pm 

 

A decline in foreign investments and reserves has caused the government to face a rupee crisis.

Last year foreign investments dropped to USD 444.5 million (34 per cent) and investment in Treasury bonds also declined.

In 2016, the government lost USD 324.3 million due to withdrawals by Treasury bond investors and this year up to February 14 there had been a loss of USD 309 million in Treasury bonds withdrawal.

As a result, investments made by foreigners in Treasury bonds had dropped to USD 4.4 million, Central Bank sources said.

The net payments of the secondary market of the Colombo Stock Exchange up to Feb. 15, 2017 was USD 2 million, according to sources.

Mahindananda, still a govt. minister?

 Mar 17, 2017

Four wine shops, located at Nawalapitiya town and owned by MP Mahindananda Aluthgamage, are reportedly selling liquor illegally. However, the police and the excise departments have failed to take any action against these wine shops.

The Nawalapitiya, Paramount, Browns and Tabot wine shops have been given the FL-4 category permit, under which only liquor bottles could be sold. The permit does not allow anyone to consume liquor at any of these wine shops.

However, Aluthgamage is selling liquor that can be consumed at the wine shops, with the knowledge of the police and excise departments. It is an illegally act, a violation of the permit and a big tax fraud.

Only places with FL-7 or FL-8 category permits allow buyers to consume liquor then and there. These permits cost more, and should be renewed every year. How Mahindananda behaved when he had the power of government needs not be mentioned here. The question is his continued conduct in the same manner, despite having lost that power.

UN official resigns after pressure to withdraw Israel apartheid report

Rima Khalaf (via Facebook)

Ali Abunimah-17 March 2017

A senior United Nations official has resigned, following pressure from Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to withdraw the landmark report published earlier this week finding Israel guilty of apartheid.

Rima Khalaf, the head of the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) which published the report, announced her resignation at a press conference in Beirut on Friday.

Reuters reports that Khalaf took the step “after what she described as pressure from the secretary-general to withdraw a report accusing Israel of imposing an ‘apartheid regime’ on Palestinians.”

“I resigned because it is my duty not to conceal a clear crime, and I stand by all the conclusions of the report,” Khalaf stated.

As of Friday, a press release announcing the report remained visible on the ESCWA website, but the link to the report itself from the press release no longer works.

A full copy of the report is available below.

It concludes that “Israel has established an apartheid regime that dominates the Palestinian people as a whole.”

It finds “beyond a reasonable doubt that Israel is guilty of policies and practices that constitute the crimes of apartheid” as defined in international law.

It urges national governments to “support boycott, divestment and sanctions activities and respond positively to calls for such initiatives.”

Palestinians warmly welcomed the report, but Israel angrily denounced it as akin to Nazi propaganda. Nikki Haley, the US ambassador to the UN demanded that the report be withdrawn.

That demand came just as the Trump administration announced a budget plan that includes sweeping cuts in US contributions to the UN.

Khalaf’s resignation indicates that Guterres acted obediently and swiftly to carry out the orders from the United States. In a tweet, the Anti-Defamation League, a powerful Israel lobby group in the United States, thanked Guterres for urging ESCWA to withdraw the report.

The Israeli government has long targeted Khalaf for retaliation for doing her job. In 2014, its UN ambassador demanded she be removed from her post for criticizing Israel’s policies of occupation and Jewish colonization of Palestinian territory at the expense of Muslim and Christian communities.

The Palestinian BDS National Committee (BNC), the civil society coalition that leads the global boycott, divestment and sanctions movement, condemned Guterres’ intervention.

“The fact that a UN secretary general has bowed to threats and intimidation from the Trump administration to protect Israel from accountability, yet again, is hardly news,” the BNC said. “The real news is that this time round, Israel, with all its influence in Washington, cannot put the genie back into the bottle.”

“Palestinians are deeply grateful to ESCWA’s director, Dr. Rima Khalaf, who preferred to resign in dignity than to surrender her principles to US-Israeli bullying,” the BNC added.

Khalaf’s resignation, under pressure to suppress factual and legal findings unfavorable to Israel, will send a chilling message to other UN officials that they are better off serving those in power than in upholding any mandate to advance human rights and respect for international law.

un_apartheid_report_15_march_english_final__0.pdf by Thavam Ratna on Scribd

Inside Libya: The war for oil

Warring factions see Libyan oil production central to securing power in country torn apart by political and military rivalries

Members of the Libyan National Army hold a position during fighting against militants in Qanfudah, on the southern outskirts of Benghazi (AFP)

Maryline Dumas-Friday 17 March 2017

AL-SIDRA/RA’S LANUF, Libya – “I wish you people had found water. Water makes men work. Oil makes men dream,” remarked King Idris of Libya when black gold was discovered in Libya in the 1950s. Today, the former ruler’s prophetic words seem to have come true. In al-Sidra, Libya's largest oil terminal, which is located between the sea and desert, lies a desolate landscape of enormous storage tanks destroyed by fighting in December 2014.

Though production since last fall has started up again, the employees of Waha Oil – owned by Libya’s National Oil Company (NOC) and in a joint venture with three US companies – are mainly busy with repairing the damage. On Friday 3 March, their efforts were cut short after yet another dramatic turnaround in the Libyan oil crescent.

Ibrahim Jathran, a 30-year-old with close-cropped hair and a tailor-made Italian suit, defends the idea of a federal system, a popular idea these days in the eastern region of Cyrenaica.

The race to control the oil-rich region, which contains 70 percent of the country’s reserves, has been on for some time. In summer 2013, Ibrahim Jathran was the first to enter. As commander of central Libya’s Petroleum Facilities Guard (PFG) [the government force protecting national oil facilities], he broke with the government and imposed blockades at oil facilities, which slowed production and demanded the creation of a special commission to investigate the management of oil revenue under former ruler Muammar Gaddafi. The 30-year-old, with close-cropped hair and a tailor-made Italian suit, defended the idea of a federal system, a popular idea these days in the eastern region of Cyrenaica.

“We want a federal system for Libya, with Benghazi as its capital. Oil revenues should be allocated according to the law of 1958 (15 percent for the oil producing region, 15 percent for central government operations and 70 percent for development projects),” he was reported as saying in late 2013.

The outspoken Jathran is not to everyone’s liking in Libya, but he’s still in the race – and giving people food for thought.

Inhabitants and armed groups in other regions no longer think twice about shutting down pipelines that pass through their territories or blockading local refineries to demand jobs, wage increases, and so on.

And the government, with 90 percent of its budget derived from oil, has little leeway. A year later, in the summer of 2014, when political power was split between the Tobruk-based parliament in the East and the Tripoli-based General National Congress (GNC) in the West, the zone under Jathran’s control would act as a buffer zone.

Operation 'Libya Dawn'

In December 2014, the Fajr Libya coalition of brigades, allied with the GNC in Tripoli, launched attacks on oil crescent facilities. Dubbed operation “Libya Dawn”, they destroyed hundreds of thousands of barrels of oil, including seven of al-Sidra's 19 storage tanks, each worth 32m euros.

But fighting to the west of Tripoli in the township of Zintan, which backed the Tobruk parliament, along with inroads made by the IS in the in the region of Sirte, and in particular at Nofilia, 65km west of al-Sidra, would force the Fajr Libya fighters out of the oil crescent.

In 2012, oil production was operating at 1.6m barrels per day (b/d). By 2016, production had dropped to 250,000 barrels p/d. Production has increased since early this year, reaching 700,000 b/d in February – with Jathran, a member of the region’s powerful Magharba tribe, still firmly in place.

One of his brothers, Salem, was elected mayor of Ajdabiya, the largest city in the region, while another brother, Osama, headed a local militia suspected of having ties to Ansar al-Sharia.

In July 2016, Jathran had formed an alliance with the UN-backed GNA and made a deal with the head of the UN support mission in Libya, Martin Kobler. Jathran was particularly proud of having rolled out the red carpet for the German emissary in Ra’s Lanuf, 30 kilometres east of al-Sidra, the region’s main oil refining complex.

His dealings set a lot of Libyans’ on edge, in both the east and west. For them, Jathran’s efforts were tantamount to stealing their national resources. Mustapha Sanallah, president of the NOC, wrote to Martin Kobler expressing his doubts: “The individual you are officially negotiating with has done more harm to our country than any other.” Sanallah estimated losses caused by Jathran’s blockades at over $100bn. In any event, Jathran went on to announce the reopening of al-Sitra's production sites – but he wouldn’t have time.

On 11 September 2016, joint forces from the Libyan National Army (LNA) – a coalition of soldiers from the former government – and the revolutionary brigades under the command of General Khalifa Haftar made a clean sweep through the country’s oil crescent.

“We had been negotiating with the region’s tribal leaders for months,” General Mohamed Hamouda, NLA commander for region, told Middle East Eye during an interview at the Ra’s Lanuf complex in February 2017.

“According to our agreement, the tribal elders were to convince the Petroleum Facilities Guards to lay down their weapons and return home. This is exactly how it happened. We gained control of the oil facilities with hardly any fighting,” he said.

Libya’s economic livelihood was in the hands of the GNA. By mid-September 2016, the interim government in Bayda (established by the Tobruk parliament but not recognised by the international community), with the help of its military arm, had taken control of 70 percent of the country’s oil reserves.

But in truth, only the management had changed. “The agreement specified that once the facilities were completely under our control, the guards, who had been cooperative, would be able to return to work. It is how they make a living,” Hamouda said. In short, Jathran’s guards had simply become LNA guards.

Perhaps this explains the LNA’s weak defence on Friday 3 March, when two of the region’s key oil export terminals, R’as Lanuf and al-Sidra, were won by forces of the Benghazi Defence Brigades (BDB), a coalition formed in 2016 to oust Haftar.

These forces have close ties to the Prime Minister Khalifa al-Ghweil, appointed by Fajr Libya in 2015, as well as the Tripoli Grand Mufti, Sadiq al-Ghariani and - more disturbingly for the international community - the GNA Defence Minister, al-Mahdi al-Barghathi. But their interests do not really lie in the oil facilities – their main objective is Benghazi, the country’s second-largest city about to be lost to Haftar’s forces. So they basically handed over al-Sidra and Ra’s Lanuf to the GNA.

On 7 March, Jathran placed the facilities under the control of Idris Bukhamade, a close political ally who is currently in command of the PFG. The Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj has denied having any connection with the attack, though the UN-backed government clearly has much to gain from recovering control of the country’s economic lifeblood.

Production at three of the six oil fields has once again stopped. But the problem at present is how the fighting will affect Libya’s economy, which had been given some oxygen in September when production at the oil facilities were back online.

In February of this year, during a visit to al-Sidra, MEE reported on the efforts underway to increase production and export.

“Four of the reservoirs can be repaired. Two will be put back to work within the next two months.”

- Ibrahim Malhouf, manager of the al-Sidra complex

Waha Oil employees were repairing storage tanks damaged by fire. While one group of workers worked on the replacement of a valve blocked by oil, which had hardened after months of inactivity, another man gave the tank a coat of white paint. Workers on another tank remove a metal staircase threatening to collapse.

Ibrahim Malhouf is the manager of the complex. “Four of the reservoirs can be repaired. Two will be put back to work within the next two months. We should be able to increase production from 80,000 barrels per day to 100,000 barrels [compared to 450,000 barrels in 2010]” he told MEE, raising his voice over the clamour of construction and the gusts of wind.

CIA vet: I still don’t like leaks, but they do seem to be part of the American system

By Dennis J. Gleeson-MARCH 17, 2017
Best Defense guest columnist

The recent spate of leaks seems to be all but designed to impede President Donald Trump’s administration from accomplishing its political agenda. Given that the agenda is, in the words of one of Trump’s closest advisors, built around a relentless drive to “bring everything crashing down, and destroy all of today’s establishment,” I take odd comfort in knowing that the women and men who comprise the federal civil service are not mindless automatons, but rather are committed to their oaths to support and defend the Constitution. History tends not to be kind to the “just following orders” crowd.

Last month, the Washington Post ran an article that highlighted how the leaks that plague the current administration come from across the government, including from within the White House itself, and celebrated them as something of a “bonanza” to news organizations.

While I tend to be far less enthusiastic about leaks — professional habits die hard — the article was useful in that it discusses the myriad reasons why individuals might leak information to the press; the leaks might represent factional infighting within the administration, be attempts to curry favor with the press, or reflect “misgivings … about policies and would-be policies.”

In short, the Post article eschews the idea of a “deep state” in lieu of the fact that there are groups of individuals, driven by a range of motivations, who release information for either personal gain or for what they believe to be the public good. The idea of “personal gain,” for most non-executive employees of the federal government, strikes me as laughable: These are men and women — patriotic Americans — who take the idea of civil service seriously.

The fact of the matter is that leaks have long been part and parcel of U.S. politics. Consider the Pentagon Papers, which caused Americans to think about U.S. operations in Vietnam in an entirely new way, or “Deep Throat,” who provided unimaginable insight into the Nixon administration’s involvement in the break-in at the Watergate Hotel. While the unauthorized disclosure of information is a violation of the trust the government puts in an individual — a violation that, in the case of classified information, rightfully carries with it the very real risk of imprisonment — leaks tend to say something about the intersection of government policy and the values held by our civil servants.

Are leaks of classified information illegal? Absolutely.

However, when this administration is comfortable with publicly floating the idea of separating children from their parents at the U.S. border as a means of deterring illegal immigration — a cruel and unusual punishment if ever there was one — perhaps we all should pause and consider the deeper ethics not only around leaks, but also around civil service writ large.

While some policies and programs are truly sensitive and should be appropriately classified as such, policies that speak to our national identity and aspirations as a modern, developed country are different: Knowing that this administration, for example, has resorted to pressuring bureaucrats to support one of their more misguided policies is important as knowing that we, the people, are the ones who will bear the costs of Washington’s decisions long after the sun has set on this administration.

It goes without saying that we live in a deeply divided country. I am not talking about the simple narrative built around “red” and (or versus) “blue,” but also about the 40 percent of Americans who are so disenfranchised by or disgusted with American politics that they opted to stay home last November. While the GOP might trumpet its electoral victory and the Democrats might bemoan their loss, a plurality of Americans seems to feel more affinity for “none of the above” than for either Trump or Democratic Nominee Hillary Clinton.

Should we really be surprised when a small number of people put what they see as our national interests above petty ideological politics at risk to their careers, reputations, and liberty? Disagreement with the aggressive pursuit of an ideology held by the few is not disloyalty: It is putting country ahead of politics.

Dennis J. Gleeson is a former director of strategy in the Central Intelligence Agency’s Directorate of Analysis. He is currently the Chief Evangelist and Corporate Strategist for 1010data. The views expressed in this article are his and his alone and, as such, do not represent the views of the United States Government, the Central Intelligence Agency, or 1010data.

Photo credit: Flickr

The Storm That Wasn’t

If we think of having a good harvest down the road, surely a desirable objective, then we must acknowledge that both the snow as well as the summer is there for all of us. It is our obligation to our children and society at home and abroad, to help aim for progress and to build better life conditions.

by Michael R. Czinkota- Mar 17, 2017

( March 17, 2017, Washing DC, Sri Lanka Guardian) Here in Washington D.C., the nation’s capital, we were drilled over the past few days to expect the snowstorm of the century. A minimum of 12 inches of snow were forecast and major anticipatory adjustments were taken. For example my health care office called to let me know about their closure – since the commute would be unbearable. Schools were closed (or on a ‘contingency’ basis), and even the visit of German Chancellor Merkel was postponed due to concerns about the plane and its landing.

As I looked around me, I was startled to find myself just as Democrats must have felt on November 7th of 2016. With Mrs. Clinton’s election about to take place, a big national transformation was coming and, that change, like a snowstorm, would cover everything. Soon after, all of us would be able to ski, skate, and sled to our predestined output locations. Not!

Many leading minds had already made key preparations for their indubitably arriving life changes. Some had moved to Washington already, others at least selected a location where to live (yes, McLean has a great school system) or had come for a visit. For them, just as for the school kids waiting for the snow day, dreams and hopes collapsed after all that luminous white cover turned out to be less than an inch deep, and life moved on, albeit in a non-expected direction. What a disconcertment!

So- like it or not – we now have a President Trump who is at the national and global steering wheel and nurtures some very unconventional ideas. There are opponents who try to shovel snow pretending to make it remain on the ground longer. They should listen to the German song “Patrona Bavariae” in which the term for a very brief time is equated with the lifespan of snow in March. No matter what the sometimes-political adversaries say, there will be a Spring, followed by Summer (possibly quite parching for the friends of snow).

If we think of having a good harvest down the road, surely a desirable objective, then we must acknowledge that both the snow as well as the summer is there for all of us. It is our obligation to our children and society at home and abroad, to help aim for progress and to build better life conditions. Temporary delays, however cleverly designed, produce overall delayed and even denied outcomes. With all the debates about different measures one needs to keep in mind that whether you measure temperature in Fahrenheit or Celsius, the freezing point of water still stays the same. Progress comes with new thinking, but speeds up when supported on a broad basis.

After more than 50 days in office one can’t expect a world of change, even from a U.S. president. But for President Trump having to hold his first cabinet meeting with a number of significant positions still unconfirmed and therefore officially unfilled is like being in a car race but drive a Zamboni ice vehicle. Just think how slowed down we all are for example by the lack of Mr. Lighthizer’s confirmation as U.S. Trade Representative. How will we develop re-negotiators for all the inappropriate trade deals? Who decides new direction in these policy matters?

For any world power it is essential not to have to fight on the ground in many locations, but rather to avoid such entanglements, by having other nations and institutions take the acceptable steps before they mushroom into disasters. The most crucial support for such an achievement is the influence of a nation, which results from the projections and impressions a nation conveys. It is here where directions are shaped and world affairs harmonized. Weakening the U.S. and its leader’s ability to successfully project influence weakens the capability of the nation to achieve policy goals without significant exertion and risk. It also raises the potential of creating global positions which sharply restrain success. Let us not make such a grave mistake. The snow has passed. More benign demands and responses will keep us going better, more powerful and quicker!

Professor Michael Czinkota (czinkotm@georgetown.edu) teaches at Georgetown University and the University of Kent in Canterbury in the field of International Trade. He served in the Reagan and Bush administrations. His key book (with Ilkka Ronkainen) is International Marketing, 10th ed. Cengage.

In first Trump-Merkel meeting, awkward body language and a quip

U.S. President Donald Trump meets with Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, U.S. March 17, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

By Jeff Mason and Andreas Rinke | WASHINGTON

The first face-to-face meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and German Chancellor Angela Merkel started awkwardly on Friday and ended even more oddly, with a quip by Trump about wiretapping that left the German leader visibly bewildered.

The two leaders share different views on trade, Russia and immigration, leading to some uncomfortable moments at a joint news conference on Friday in which they took pains to downplay differences that were hard to mask.

Friday's meeting was the first between the new U.S. president and the long-serving stateswoman, who leads Europe's largest economy. It was seen as one that could help determine the future of the transatlantic alliance and shape their working relationship.

Though Merkel appeared relaxed, the body language between them was not especially warm.

Trump and Merkel shook hands when she arrived at the White House but did not do so in the Oval Office where she frequently leaned towards him while he stared straight ahead, sitting with his legs apart and hands together. In the Oval Office both leaders described their meeting in brief remarks to reporters as having been very good.

She began her remarks at the news conference by saying it was better to speak to each other than about each other.

"We held a conversation where we were trying to address also those areas where we disagree, but we tried to bring people together ... (and) tried to find a compromise that is good for both sides," Merkel said.

They shook hands again at the end of the press conference and then exited the East Room together.

Near the start of the news conference, Trump pressed Merkel for Germany to meet NATO's military spending target, and Merkel reiterated her country's commitment to the 2 percent military spending goal.

"I reiterated to Chancellor Merkel my strong support for NATO as well as the need for our NATO allies to pay their fair share for the cost of defence. Many nations owe vast sums of money from past years, and it is very unfair to the United States. These nations must pay what they owe."

Trump also stood by unproven claims that the Obama administration tapped his phones, and expressed solidarity with a surprised Merkel, whose government charged Washington in 2013 may have been spying on her.

“As far as wiretapping, I guess, by this past administration, at least we have something in common perhaps,” Trump said to Merkel, who looked bewildered as she stared back at him from her podium.

In 2013 the German government said it had information that the United States may have monitored Merkel's mobile phone, prompting her to call Obama to demand immediate clarification.

The Republican and Democratic leaders of the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee issued a statement on Thursday rejecting Trump's assertion that the Obama administration conducted surveillance on him.

IMMIGRATION DIFFERENCES

Trump, who as a presidential candidate had criticized Merkel for allowing hundreds of thousands of refugees into Germany, said immigration was a privilege, not a right.

Merkel hinted at differences, saying: "This is obviously something we had an exchange of views about."

The new U.S. president has sought through executive orders to ban people from six Muslim-majority countries temporarily from entering the United States, causing an uproar domestically and internationally among critics.

Aside from business and foreign policy goals, relationship building was an important if less overt agenda item.

Merkel had close relations with Trump's Democratic and Republican predecessors, Obama and George W. Bush, and she is likely to seek a strong working relationship with Trump despite major policy differences and wariness in Germany about the former New York businessman.

"Those who know the chancellor know that she has a knack for winning over people in personal discussions. I am sure that Donald Trump will not be immune," said Juergen Hardt, a conservative lawmaker who helps coordinate transatlantic relations for the German government.

The two also discussed Ukraine and Afghanistan.

Trump said he expected the United States to do "fantastically well" in trade with Germany, while Merkel said she hoped the United States and the European Union could resume discussions on a trade agreement. Trump said he did not believe in isolationism but that trade policy should be fairer.

Before the news conference, Trump and Merkel held a meeting with business leaders from the United States and Germany at the White House.

(Additional reporting by Noah Barkin in Berlin, and Emily Stephenson and Susan Heavey in Washington; Editing by Yara Bayoumy and James Dalgleish)