China: Govt bans ‘overly religious’ Muslim names in Xinjiang – report

 Muslim Uighurs kneel on prayer carpets outside of Id Kah Mosque at the end of Ramadan month in Kashgar, Xinjiang province western China. Source: Pete Niesen/Shutterstock

A child sleeps beside a riot shield at a stall at the bazaar in Hotan, Xinjiang, on March 21, 2017. Babies with banned names would not be allowed to be registered under the government system for healthcare and education. Source: Reuters/Thomas Peter

25th April 2017

IN a bid to combat Islamic extremism, Chinese authorities in the northwestern region of Xinjiang has banned dozens of baby names that carry religious meanings and are widely used by Muslims across the globe, according to a report.

According to Radio Free Asia (RFA), names such as Islam, Quran, Mecca, Jihad, Imam, Saddam, Hajj, and Medina are among those banned under the Chinese Communist Party’s guideline for naming newborns for ethnic minorities.

The ban, according to sources in southern Xinjiang who detailed a list of banned names in 2015, told RFA the new ruling has been enforced region-wide.

An unnamed official from a police station in Urumi, the regional capital, confirmed “overly religious” names have been banned. Babies with banned names, the official said, would not be allowed to be registered under the government system for healthcare and education, known as the “hukou” system.

“You’re not allowed to give names with a strong religious flavor, such as Jihad or names like that,” the official was quoted as saying. “The most important thing here is the connotations of the name … [it mustn’t have] connotations of holy war or of splittism [Xinjiang independence].”

“The most important thing here is the connotations of the name … [it mustn’t have] connotations of holy war or of splittism [Xinjiang independence].”

SEE ALSO: No veils, ‘abnormal’ beards: China sets rules to fight extremism in Xinjiang

The official, when asked, said names of Islamic scholars were not acceptable.

“Get [the parent] to change it; it’s the sort of thing that [could be regarded as] promoting terror and evil cults.”

The official also said names, such as “Yultuzay”, that referenced the Islamic star and crescent symbol were prohibited as they represented pagan symbols.

“[Mecca] would be a bit over-the-top … I don’t think you could call someone Saddam, either,” he said in response to questions on those names.

“Just stick to the party line, and you’ll be fine,” he said. “[People with banned names] won’t be able to get a household registration, so they will find out from the hukou office when the time comes.”

“They have received training in this sort of thing over here [in Xinjiang] so they’re the experts [on what is allowed],” he said.

A source said the ethnic Uighurs could use “safer” names that sounded more “mainstream.”

“I have been talking to friends in Xinjiang about this, and they all say any name with potentially extremist overtones will be banned, but names like Memet … that you see everywhere are considered more mainstream by the Chinese Communist Party,” the source told the RFA.

Earlier this month, the Chinese government stepped up the campaign against religious extremism by implementing a range of measures, including prohibitions against “abnormal” beards and the wearing of veils in public places, as well as punitive measures against those refusing to watch state television.

In response to the latest ruling, Dilxat Raxit, a spokesman for the World Uighur Congress group – an international organisation of exiled Uighur groups – said the ban proved the Chinese government is continuing to suppress Uighur culture.

SEE ALSO: China’s ‘War on Terror’ is fracturing Uighur society

“In setting limits on the naming of Uighurs, the Chinese government is, in fact, engaging in political persecution under another guise,” Raxit was quoted as saying.

“They are afraid people with such names will become alienated from Chinese policies in the region.”

“‘Yultuzay’ (the Islamic star and crescent symbol), for example, is seen by the Chinese government as carrying separatist connotations, [as having connections] with religion,” he said. “They are placing limits on Uighurs’ religious beliefs.”

For decades, the Muslim Uighur population has challenged Beijing’s authority in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region in the far west corners of China by resorting to terrorist attacks aimed at undermining central authorities.

The Uighurs are native to Xinjiang – also known as East Turkestan – and are culturally and linguistically related to Turkey. This fact defies the widespread influence of Han Chinese culture in the region.

The Chinese government says foreign militants have stirred up tensions in Xinjiang, where it says it faces a determined campaign by separatists who want to establish an independent state called East Turkestan.

However, many rights groups and exiles doubt the existence of a coherent militant group in Xinjiang, and say the Uighurs’ anger at repressive Chinese policies bears more blame for the unrest.

The Chinese government denies any repression in Xinjiang.

Additional reporting by Reuters

Indian farmers should pay tax, adviser says, challenging government

Farmers sprinkle fertilizers on a paddy field on the outskirts of Ahmedabad, India, February 1, 2017. REUTERS/Amit Dave/File Photo

By Douglas Busvine and Manoj Kumar | NEW DELHI- Tue Apr 25, 2017

A senior adviser to the Indian government proposed on Tuesday that farmers pay tax, in remarks that challenged government policy in a country of 1.3 billion people where there are only 37 million income tax payers.

Economist Bibek Debroy, a member of the Policy Commission that serves as the government's own think-tank, told a news conference that farmers should pay income tax in line with urban dwellers.

They should be liable to tax on their incomes at the same thresholds, he also said, taking into account typical fluctuations in incomes experienced by farmers over a three-year period.

India's public finances are notoriously precarious, with the International Monetary Fund estimating that tax revenues are equivalent to just 17.7 percent of gross domestic product - low by comparison with other emerging markets.

Still, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has ruled out taxing farmers, telling parliament last month: "Income from agriculture will not be taxed." Prime Minister Narendra Modi has, meanwhile, promised to double farmers' incomes by 2022.

The finance ministry declined to comment.

Debroy's remarks overshadowed a news conference held by the Policy Commission to mark the end of India's 12th, and last, five-year plan - a legacy of the Soviet-style command economy set up by independence leader Jawaharlal Nehru.

The Policy Commission, set up by Modi to replace Nehru's Planning Commission, is now circulating a draft three-year "Action Agenda", to be followed by a seven-year "Strategy" and a 15-year "Vision" for India's development.

Debroy's boss, Policy Commission Vice Chairman Arvind Panagariya, parried further questions on whether to tax India's 220 million rural households.

Although most farmers are poor, the tax loophole they enjoy has been exploited by rich politicians and even Bollywood movie stars to generate "black" cash from illicit sources.

"We support the proposal ... to tax agricultural income provided the government takes steps to improve the income level of the majority of farmers," said Dharmendra Malik, spokesman of a farmers' union that is allied to Modi's ruling party.

Income tax in India starts at 5 percent when earnings exceed 250,000 rupees ($3,900), climbing to a top rate of 30 percent on incomes upward of 1 million rupees.

The government plans to launch a nationwide goods and services tax (GST) in July that would broaden the tax base.

But, critics say, by focusing on indirect taxation India risks burdening the poor who spend a greater share of their income on daily needs than the better off.

($1 = 64.2600 rupees)

(Writing by Douglas Busvine; Editing by Robert Birsel)

Premature lambs kept alive in 'plastic bag' womb

PARTRIDGE, E. A. ET AL. / NATURE COMMUNICATIONSImage captionThe premature lambs matured and grew a wool

By Michelle Roberts-25 April 2017

Scientists have been able to keep premature lambs alive for weeks using an artificial womb that looks like a plastic bag.

It provides everything the foetus needs to continue growing and maturing, including a nutrient-rich blood supply and a protective sac of amniotic fluid.

The approach might one day help premature human babies have a better chance of survival, experts hope.

Human trials may be possible in a few years, according to researchers.

First, more tests in animals are needed to check it is safe enough to progress, the researchers say in the journal Nature Communications.

The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia team insists it is not looking to replace mothers or extend the limits of viability - merely to find a better way to support babies who are born too early.

Currently, very premature infants, born at around 23 weeks of gestation, are placed in incubators and put on ventilators to help them breathe, but this can damage their lung development.

Plastic bag womb

The plastic "biobag" womb contains a mixture of warm water and added salts, similar to amniotic fluid, to support and protect the foetus.

This fluid is inhaled and swallowed by the growing foetus, as would normally happen in the womb. Gallons of the mixture are steadily flushed through the bag each day to ensure a continuous fresh supply.

The bagged lamb cannot get a supply of oxygen and nutrients from its mum via the placenta. Instead, it is connected to a special machine by its umbilical cord, which does the job.

The baby lamb's heart does all the pumping work, sending "old, used" blood out to the machine to be replenished before it returns back to the body again.

The whole system is designed to closely mimic nature and buy the tiniest newborns a few weeks to develop their lungs and other organs.

Researcher Dr Emily Partridge explained: "The challenging age that we are trying to offset is that 23- to 24-week baby who is faced with such a challenge of adapting to life outside of the uterus on dry land, breathing air when they are not supposed to be there yet."

In babies born preterm, the chance of survival at less than 23 weeks is close to zero, while at 23 weeks it is 15%, at 24 weeks 55% and at 25 weeks about 80%.

The premature lambs in the study, equivalent in age to 23-week-old human infants, appeared to develop normally in their bags.

They opened their eyes, grew a woolly coat and appeared comfortable living in their polyethylene homes.

After 28 days, when their lungs had matured enough, the lambs were released so they could start breathing air.

Shortly after, the lambs were then killed so the researchers could study their brains and organs in detail to see how well they had grown.

In later experiments, however, a few more bagged lambs were allowed to survive and were bottle-fed by the team.

"They appear to have normal development in all respects," said lead investigator Dr Alan Flake.

There are still many potential problems to overcome, however.

There is a significant risk of infection, even though the biobag is sterile and sealed. Finding the right mix of nutrients and hormones to support a human baby will also be a challenge.

Even if the work can progress, it's not clear how parents-to-be might feel about it.

Fellow researcher Dr Marcus Davey said: "We envisage the unit will look pretty much like a traditional incubator. It will have a lid and inside that warmed environment would be the baby inside the biobag."

Prof Colin Duncan, professor of reproductive medicine and science at the University of Edinburgh, said: "This study is a very important step forward. There are still huge challenges to refine the technique, to make good results more consistent and eventually to compare outcomes with current neonatal intensive care strategies.

"This will require a lot of additional pre-clinical research and development and this treatment will not enter the clinic any time soon."

Follow Michelle on Twitter

Sri Lankans united in lack of faith in justice

Raviraj case ruling violated faith in justic

By Tejshree Thapa-Tuesday, 25 April 2017

The refrain I heard over and over again, travelling through Sri Lanka’s southern Sinhala belt, was this: “Politicians rise on the bodies of our dead children.” 

Parent after parent, across political divides, repeated this phrase. Politicians, they said, promise justice and accountability only to win votes. But when the time comes to act on the tens of thousands of enforced disappearances, killings, cases of torture and sexual violence, and other grave human rights abuses by all sides during Sri Lanka’s nearly three decades of civil war, they all renege on their campaign vows. The sense of despair is palpable, even as people cling to the hope of justice for their dead children.

In this country of 20 million, 200,000 people have died in violent conflicts since 1983. In the south from 1987 to 1989, the insurrectionist Sinhala Marxist movement, led by the Janatha Vimuktha Peramuna (JVP) party, attacked Government facilities and executed political opponents. Government security forces and “death squads” operated with impunity, forcibly disappearing and executing anyone deemed to be a JVP member or supporter. For many years Sri Lanka held the ignominious record of having the highest number of “disappearances” in the world. 

In the north, civilians, largely but not exclusively Tamil, bore the brunt of horrific abuses by both the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and Government security forces. LTTE suicide attacks and car bombings targeted civilians in southern cities. The LTTE was militarily defeated in May 2009, but at a heavy price to civilians. United Nations estimates put civilian deaths during the final months of the war as high as 40,000. 

The abuses during the separatist conflict in the north were documented by local and international human rights groups and two United Nations inquires. While the serious abuses in the south received coverage at the time, they have received almost no attention since.

One man told me he lost his entire family – father, mother, sisters, and uncle – allegedly at the hands of the JVP. He says they were shot and their house burned down with their bodies inside. One of his sisters was 15. He was 21. He said that the murder of his family members, who were involved in mainstream politics opposed to the Marxist movement, had driven him to join the Army. Yet, 30 years later, he says he is still waiting for answers.

I heard this same lament from parents whose teenage children were killed by Government security forces for alleged sympathies with Marxist political positions. Security forces took teenagers from their homes as they were preparing to sit for their exams or from the streets as they did errands, and their families these many years later have no answers, no apologies, no bodies.

Another man I spoke with, a student at that time whose many classmates became victims, survived by fleeing the district and hiding with relatives. He said he had not been involved with politics, but witnessing what the army did to his schoolmates drove him to join the JVP. “I understand the injustices that Tamil youth must feel,” he said. “I experienced that same feeling of injustice at that time.” 

These injustices are three decades old, but the wounds run as deep as ever. 

In 2016, the Government appointed a Consultation Task Force on Transitional Justice to seek public opinion on how to deliver justice for past human rights abuses. The task force gathered input across various communities and submitted an exhaustive report with comprehensive recommendations for accountability. But the Government has responded with silence.

Many in both the north and south read this silence as a rejection of the report’s recommendations for reconciliation and justice. They have similar accounts of grief and loss. Those who family members remain “disappeared” endure the added pain of not knowing their fate. But the initial willingness to engage with the authorities is fast fading, particularly given the Government’s sluggish and shadowy response to its promises to obtain justice.

One element that unites both north and south is the need for international attention and participation for any possibility of justice and accountability. Most victims and victim families repeat the need for continued international pressure and participation. The Consultation Task Force report reached the same conclusions. While Sri Lanka is expected to deliver a report on its progress on transitional justice before the UN Human Rights Council in 2019, many believe that meaningful action by the Government and the international community must be taken now. 

In the southern town of Embilipitiya, I asked a father, still grieving 28 years after his son’s murder, if he thought the current Government could provide the justice promised to the United Nations. He burst out in surprised cynical laughter: “I have no faith at all. The only reason my son’s case got any attention was because of international pressure. But how long will that last?”

(The writer is a senior Asia researcher at Human Rights Watch.)

The Damage Done By Ban Ki-moon To The Tamils In North-East Sri Lanka

By Brian Senewiratne –April 23, 2017

Dr. Brian Senewiratne

In the 70 year history of the United Nations, there has not been a Secretary General worse than Ban Ki-moon. The UN Office of Internal Oversight Services said that the UN Secretariat under Ban Ki-moon was “drifting into irrelevance” He has damaged the standing of the UN so much that Richard Gowan, a UN expert at the European Council on Foreign Relations believes that Antonio Guterres, who succeeded Ban Ki-moon on 1 January 2017, “could give the UN the kick up the backside it needs”. Under him, the UN has become a joke, not to be taken seriously, and very different to what the UN was expected to do when it was formed.

For the misfortune of the Sri Lankan Tamils in the North and East, Mahinda Rajapaksa and his murderous brother Gotabaya, took over Sri Lanka in November 2005, and decided to slaughter the Tamils in the North and East. Ban Ki-moon assumed office in January 2007, and took no action despite overwhelming evidence (supplied by his own office, the UN office, in Colombo), that a major massacre of Tamils in the North and East was imminent. Of serious concern was the expulsion of all humanitarian works, including international and UN workers from the conflict zone by the Sri Lankan government so that the slaughter could be done without witnesses. Ban Ki-moon did nothing. It makes him as culpable as the Rajapaksas, even more so, because he was mandated to act to prevent this (see below).

Can Ban Ki-moon be charged? Was he properly informed of the impending slaughter of Tamils? The available information was that he was informed. Did he do what he was obliged to do to prevent a bloodbath? No, he did not. If so, is he liable? It strongly suggests that he is. These are serious questions that must be answered.

The role of the Secretary General

The UN Charter designates the Secretary-General as the Chief Administrative Officer and Head of the UN Secretariat with its 50,000 international civil servants. He has the authority under Article 99 of the Charter to bring to the attention of the Security Council matters that threaten international peace and security. Aside from his formal functions, the Secretary General is expected to uphold the values of the UN and act as its moral authority.

When after receiving the Report of the Panel of Experts whom he appointed (see below), he did nothing saying that there was nothing he could do, it was a lie. Under Article 99 of the UN Charter he had the authority to forward it to the UN Security Council for action. This he did not do.

The UN’s second Secretary General, Doug Hammarskjold defined the role of the job as a diplomat who has the ability and courage to navigate a course independent of the major powers and in defence of the world’s population. Soon after his election in 1953, he said, “The right of the Secretariat to full independence, as laid down in the Charter is an inalienable right”. He went on to define the purpose of the UN – not to submit to the major powers but to seek “solutions which approach the common interest”.

Ban Ki-moon

Ban Ki-moon was an unknown politician from South Korea. The question is how he was appointed as the UN Secretary General. From January 2004 – November 2006, he was Korea’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade. In February 2006, he began to campaign for the office of the UN Secretary General, to replace Kofi Annan at the end of 2006.

Initially he was considered a long shot for the office. However, he had other ideas. For the next eight months using his position as Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, he visited every country with a seat in the UN Security Council to ensure votes in his support by signing trade deals and pledging aid to developing countries. No less a paper than The Washington Post claimed that rivals have privately grumbled that the Republic of Korea, which has the 11^th largest economy, was wielding economic might to generate support for his candidacy.

One way or the other, this unknown politician from South Korea, received fourteen favourable votes with one abstention (Japan) from the fifteen-members of the Security Council. Later he obtained all fifteen votes. Ban was America’s man from the start. When he was elected in 2005, John Bolton, America’s UN Ambassador, said, “We got exactly what was asked for”.

Read More

Constitutionalising economic, social and cultural rights

One of the key issues is land, as the military is occupying large chunks of land in the region

 2017-04-25

The current constitution of Sri Lanka does not contain judicially enforceable, economic, social and cultural rights, though they are very much a part of daily life. With the onset of the debate for a new constitution, the discourse for the inclusion of Economic, Social and Cultural (ESC) rights in the constitution has taken center stage. ESC rights include the right to education, housing and health. Though these rights are not constitutionalised people in the country have access to free healthcare and education, which signifies that the state recognizes ESC rights. Hence the question emerges as to why constitutionalising ESC rights is so important and why certain groups oppose the constitutionalizing of these rights. Proponents of constitutionalizing these rights firmly maintain that ESC rights are equally important as their civil and political counterparts. In a panel discussion held recently on this theme the panel, which mainly included the Chairperson of the Human Rights Commission, the Secretary General of Amnesty International and the Executive Director of the Law and Society Trust, countered the arguments against constitutionalizing ESC rights, and highlighted the importance of guaranteeing these rights through the constitution and providing judicial remedy when they are breached.   

Constitutionalising economic, social and cultural rights.docx by Thavam Ratna on Scribd

World record ! Subordinates complain against IGP (Imbecile General of Police) – two charges leveled including sexual harassment !!

(Lanka-e-News -24.April.2017, 6.30PM) In an unprecedented turn of events , for the first time in  Sri Lanka‘s history , a subordinate police officer (female )  and  an employee of the police force have  made complaints based on two  criminal charges  to two DIGs of the police itself against notorious  IGP Poojitha Jayasundara alias police Koloma (Police eccentric) .

This is a sequel to the exposures made by Lanka e news recently regarding the conduct or rather misconduct of the IGP who is barging into every  section of the police headquarters to check whether his stupid obnoxious order that every police officer should do meditation between 8.30 and 8.45 in the morning is being carried out .

On the 11 th this notorious IGP by now dubbed as the Imbecile General  of Police went berserk scolding and screaming at the officers,  using raw filth . Based on this crude and criminal behavior of this mentally deranged  IGP , the above  complaints have been made .

The IGP Koloma went on a rampage on the 11 th like a mad dog whose testicles have been  soaked in petrol . On that day the eccentric IGP had  barged into the 3 rd , 4 th , 5 th and 6 th floors , and furiously berated those who were not meditating, in the most filthy and foul language.  He had  also caught the collar of   a civil employee M. Samarakoon Banda , the lift operator  , squeezed his neck and assaulted him most fiercely . Mind you Banda is an old person on the verge of retirement – he is to go on retirement in August. When an IGP is behaving worse than  a rowdy , how can discipline be maintained in the police force , and law enforcement in the country  be carried out ?

It was on that same day the OIC of anti narcotics bureau , Ludowyke , an orthodox Christian was also taken to task for not  following the IGP’s meditation directive. Ludowyke was  scolded in raw  filth in public , which led to latter’s hospitalization consequent upon  his blood pressure shooting up because he could not endure the humiliation .

The meditation maniac   Poojitha had then gone to the 6 th floor on that same day and furiously  berated the reception officer (female) in most foul and filthy language for not meditating. Poojitha had screamed ‘ look , I will screw you’  . That is , he threatened  , he will f….k  her .

Banda has lodged a complaint against Poojitha the IGP  (Imbecile General of Police)   based on charges of ‘torturing’ while the reception officer has complained based on charges of ‘ sexual harassment ’ .

The laws to protect women from sexual harassment are very strong since the period of former president Chandrika Bandaranaike. Even making advances or signals to kiss a woman  can constitute sexual harassment liable to punishment.

Moreover, even if the victim does not complain , if somebody who witnesses the harassment  makes a complaint , that will suffice to arrest that wrongdoer, because law views sexual harassment so much seriously . Therefore the sex starved shameful  behavior of Poojitha and use of the word ‘screwing’ (f……king) while scolding in filth in public , as well as the CCTV camera testimony are enough ,and  no more evidence is necessary to prove Poojitha’s guilt.

Under the right to information Act , anyone can request for the video footage , and the police too are bound to release it . In the circumstances , doubtless, this video footage will be released by the media .

The IGP may be the highest in the hierarchy of the police but he is obliged  to abide by the laws , irrespective of whether he is a barbarian , criminal brute or a sex starved two legged animal by birth  without any sense of shame. Besides , being the chief in charge of law enforcement he must obey the laws all the more and set an example to the citizens . Let it be made clear although this IGP eccentric(koloma) may not be aware , the abbreviation IGP stands for Inspector General of Police , and no changes can be permitted   even if Poojitha moves heaven and earth to prove  through his eccentric conduct he is an incorrigible  ‘Imbecile  General of Police’.

Connected report ..
IGP Koloma (eccentric) goes berserk ! scolds OIC in raw filth ; assaults lift operator with fists and feet ; police discipline crashes to zero level !!

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by     (2017-04-24 15:12:40)

Must not wait until problem comes crashing down again

By Jehan Perera-April 24, 2017, 10:00 pm

The tragedy at Meetotamulla, in the outskirts of Colombo, where a massive garbage dump came crashing down on people living on its perimeter, has generated an outpouring of support for the victims and frustration about the failure of successive governments to deal with the problem.  About 40 persons are confirmed dead and several more remain unaccounted for giving rise to speculation that the actual death toll may be even higher.  Unfortunately, this was a tragedy that could be seen to be coming.  Those living in the vicinity of the garbage dump had been agitating for many years about the dangers posed to them by the prospect of disease and also by the stench but to no avail.  In the meantime the mountain of garbage simply grew and grew and grew.

 In societies such as Sri Lanka where systems of good governance are still not in place, even if aspired to, the priority of governments are not necessarily in order of importance or urgency.  When systems are not strong it is those individuals who are in positions of power, and who are self-interested about their use of power, who have their way.  Even today when there is a government in office that has a stated policy of being committed to good governance, priorities can be seen to be warped.  The budgetary allocation for vehicles of parliamentarians and other officials who serve them seems unduly large when the country is said to be facing an economic crisis due to past profligate spending on the part of the previous government.

 The problem of dealing with the garbage issue has been the absence of a system to prioritise the problem and solve it.  It is also the absence of individual champions of garbage disposal in the ranks of those who have been and are power holders who were prepared to work for the national interest even at the expense of their own.  As a result there was no political will to push the solutions that were proposed to their conclusion.  The problem was not the dearth of possible solutions.  Many creative solutions were proposed, some of which are being proposed again today.  This is no dissimilar to the much larger and still unresolved problem of the ethnic conflict and minority rights where systems of good governance have yet to be put in place.

POSITIVE ACTIONS

In the aftermath of the tragedy there have been many contributions made to the victims by the general public.  There have also been many contributions made to the newspapers and media giving possible solutions.  The interest that the intelligentsia of the country is indicative of the large reservoir of untapped problem solving skills that can be drawn upon to resolve not only this but other major problems as well. Another notable feature of the post-disaster activism has been the generous support of the international community.  Japan immediately sent humanitarian relief and a team of its experts in the field to visit the disaster site and to make recommendations.  China has offered to set up a new garbage disposal system.

 Another positive feature of the post-disaster situation is the limited scale of the political one-upmanship than might have been expected.  Both government and opposition politicians have blamed each other for what happened, but underlying their criticisms is a sense that all have been at fault.  The more significant part of their engagement has been their constructive suggestions with regard to providing the victims with adequate compensation, both in monetary terms and in the provision of housing.  The government started by offering Rs 100,000 for funeral expenses, but soon that has been supplemented by the grant of houses and much greater financial assistance.  The media too has given prominence to efforts to assist the victims and to making a critique of past actions and publicity to proposed solutions.

 The humanitarian relief effort has been victim centered.  This is the way it should be not only with regard to the garbage crisis but also with regard to other humanitarian crises that the country has faced.  There is a need to ascertain the truth of what happened, compensate the victims, and ensure non recurrence of the problem by ensuring accountability and setting up new structures to address the problems that arose in the past.   The tendency to seek to move easily to the future, without dealing with the root causes, needs to be guarded against.  It is good to remember the forgotten people of past tragedies at this time.  

PERIPHERY NEGLECTED

 In October 2014, 39 people died and hundreds were displaced by landslides in Koslanda where tea plantations are the main source of livelihood.  However, according to media reports, people still continue to live in line rooms near the site of the landslides despite the area being designated as a danger zone.  Another example would be Aranayake where 37 people died and another 4,000 people were displaced by landslides in May 2016.  Most of the affected families continue to remain in temporary shelters.  A further 3000 people continue to live in danger zones that are prone to landslides.  They are the forgotten people of past tragedies who continue to wait for assistance.  They can be forgotten because they are not at the centre of either national politics nor can they disrupt life in the national capital.

 By way of contrast, the pressures on the government to deliver a solution to the garbage problem are high.  Despite the government’s declaration that garbage disposal is an essential service there is resistance from the general public to garbage from Colombo being dumped in their areas now that the Meetotamulla dumping site is no longer available.  As the piles of garbage mount the government risks a political backlash in the national capital itself unless it solves the problem in a way that accords with public sentiment.  For this reason as sustainable solution is likely to be found soon.  However, in the case of more distant problems, where the political costs of inaction are less, the problem continues to fester. 

 Today it might seem that the plight of war affected people of the north and east is far away and so it is not a priority to the decision makers in the capital city.  The weakness of good governance structures in the country have meant that lesser priority is being given to resolving their problems.  The controversial nature of ethnic conflict which is the root cause of the three decade long war also means that there are few political champions who will devote themselves to solving the problem.  Without waiting for anger and resentment to build up, as it did in the past, it is necessary that the government to obtain the cooperation of the opposition, who are jointly responsible and address the roots of this problem as well.

Bringing In Gotabaya Rajapaksa: Playing With Fire?

By Chamindra Weerawardhana –April 24, 2017

Dr. Chamindra Weerawardhana

The defining feature of present-day Sri Lankan politics is a sense of sheer inaction. The UFPA, the coalition technically headed by President Sirisena, ‘appointed’ politicos who lost the 2015 general election to parliament via the national list. This was the only way in which it could concoct a joint government with the UNP. The concoction, as such, has been farcical. It has resulted in policy incoherencies at all levels, an absolutely diabolic and inconsistent repartition of portfolios and a situation in which conflicting ideologies collide. The power [non]transfer within the same political class has resulted in the continuity of the ‘vices’ of the Rajapaksa administration, in terms of mismanaging public funds and the continuing condemnation of marginalised groups (e.g. the underprivileged, local university students, the entire state-run system of education, and the national health [non]system). Politics of austerity have been reinforced, the joint government, if not its key stakeholder – the UNP under Ranil Wickeremesinghe, Ravi Karunanayake et al. – being extremely cooperative with the World Bank and the IMF. In the rest of the joint government’s tenure, harsher austerity measures that will adversely affect the most vulnerable are to be expected.

Sri Lanka’s political economy: capitalist and repressive?

The general, if not very basic reading is that neoliberal politics in Sri Lanka ‘began’ in full swing since the open market economic reform policies of the Jayewardene administration. This, however, does not tell the full story. The state structure of present-day Sri Lanka (as in the ‘unitary’ state, a direct inheritance of the structure of a crown colony that covers the entire island, governed separately from the rest of the Imperial possessions in the Indian Subcontinent) and the island’s socioeconomic landscape are deeply interconnected to, and represent an unscathed continuity of Western (especially British) colonial rule. The Crown Colony was exploited as a commercial venture, where cheap labour and a servile local elite (the ‘cream’ of which the British ‘created’, the Bandaranaike family being the prime example) and locally-recruited (and British controlled) law enforcement ensured that the business ventures were run uninterrupted. Where disruptions occurred in the form of communal collisions (e.g. 1915 marakkala kolahalaya) they were brutally suppressed.

Colonial antecedents?

In other words, the plantation economy was the epitome of capitalism, with very cheap, if not near-free labour enabling the British and their senior local officials to make tremendous and disproportionate profits. This was how the Ceylonese economy was built. The exploitative practices of capitalism thus formed an integral element of the political economy of Ceylon, the legacy of which has persisted right throughout the dominion state to the Republic of Sri Lanka. This legacy received an unprecedented ‘kick’ from Jayewardene’s open market reform project, which continues in full swing. The point made here is that the present-day class demarcations, problems of wealth distribution, concentration of wealth among a handful are all elements of Sri Lanka’s political economy with very strong historical antecedents. They are so deeply ingrained in Sri Lankan society that anyone, or any movement that seeks to challenge them face opposition not only from the wealthy beneficiaries of the system, but also, and very especially, from those at the receiving end. This [partly] explains, for instance, the mediocre performance of the JVP, especially at the 2015 general election, despite speculations that the party would perform well. Those who are most oppressed by this rampant neoliberal capitalism are often the first to oppose the slightest move to challenge the system and its functional dynamics.

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