TNA SHOCKED: DRAFT CTA CURTAILS CIVIL LIBERTIES, ERODES JUDICIAL CONTROL OVER THE SECURITY APPARATUS.

04/05/2017

Issuing a statement Tamil National Alliance says it is shocked by the extent to which the draft framework curtails civil liberties, erodes judicial control over the state security apparatus and the staggering potential for abuse and torture. We are unequivocally committed to supporting a legal framework that would prevent and punish acts of terrorism in a manner that is lawful, in compliance with fundamental rights and the rule of law. To this end, we have engaged constructively in Parliament. We are therefore deeply perturbed by the turn the government’s latest draft has taken.

Full text of the statement follows:

4th May 2017 / Press Release

The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) is deeply concerned over Cabinet approval for a policy and legal framework relating to the proposed Counter-Terrorism Act. We have not been consulted on the terms of the draft framework, which has recently appeared in the press and appears to be a Cabinet memorandum approved on 25th April 2017.

We are shocked by the extent to which the draft framework curtails civil liberties, erodes judicial control over the state security apparatus and the staggering potential for abuse and torture. We are unequivocally committed to supporting a legal framework that would prevent and punish acts of terrorism in a manner that is lawful, in compliance with fundamental rights and the rule of law. To this end, we have engaged constructively in Parliament. We are therefore deeply perturbed by the turn the government’s latest draft has taken.

We observe that the proposed definition of terrorism would extend far beyond activities defined internationally as terrorism, replicating restrictions on free speech that have previously been used to punish dissenting voices including politicians and journalists such as Asath Salley and J. S. Tissainayagam among others. The definitions are also exceedingly vague and indeterminate, and  would have a chilling effect on advocacy in favour of greater diversity in Sri Lanka.

Moreover, the proposed framework envisages the unconstitutional stripping of judicial discretion even where a suspect is produced before a Magistrate after arrest, and renders the judge a virtual appendage of the executive arm. The safeguards which we believe are essential to prevent torture—such as eliminating confessions—were initially assured, but have since been reversed. The present framework envisages the admissibility of confessions under certain conditions, which are deeply inadequate to prevent torture and abuse given the widespread and continuing practice of torture in Sri Lanka. Moreover, the Act also permits the extensive violation of the rights of those wholly unconnected with terrorism.

We urge the Government to reconsider and urgently reformulate its proposals in light of the fundamental need to avoid torture and enforced disappearance, prevent abuse and effectively investigate actual threats of  terrorism. The proposed framework neither ensures the security nor the liberty of Sri Lankans. 

Instead, it represents an attempt to enlarge the scope of unchecked executive power over the citizen, stifle freedom of speech and diversity, and provide the necessary loopholes for continued torture and abuse. We wish to reiterate that the protection of the rights of our citizens–particularly given the legacy of horrific past abuses–should not be sacrificed on the altar of trade concessions.

M A Sumanthiran MP
Spokesperson
Tamil National Alliance

Sri Lanka’s draft Counter Terrorism Act: a license for continued state oppression, intimidation and torture

May 4, 2017

A joint statement by the Sri Lanka Campaign, Adayaalam Centre for Policy Research (Jaffna, Sri Lanka), the International Truth and Justice Project (Johannesburg, South Africa), People for Equality and Relief in Lanka (Washington DC, United States of America) and Tamil Civil Society Forum (North-East Sri Lanka)

May 4, 2017

The Sri Lankan cabinet’s approval of the new Counter Terrorism Act (CTA) is further confirmation of the state’s unwillingness to meet its obligations on human rights, to its citizens and the international community.

The draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act of 1978 has been used by successive Sri Lankan governments to quash dissent and penalize resistance to the state. It has been employed disproportionately against Tamils, including journalists, political activists and human rights defenders. The PTA permits arbitrary arrests and prolonged detention without charges being brought against suspects. Detention can, in effect, be extended indefinitely. The national human rights commission says 111 individuals remain in detention but the actual number of detainees remains unknown. At least 5 people have been on remand since 1997, without their cases moving forward. One person spent 15 years in prison before he was charged. Under the auspices of the PTA, countless Tamils have disappeared into the prison system. Many of their fates remain unknown. A UN Special Rapporteur visiting in May 2016 found that severe forms of torture of detainees continued.

The current Sri Lankan government committed in UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) Resolution 30/1 of October 2015 to repeal the PTA and replace it with anti-terrorism legislation in line with “contemporary international best practice”. Subsequently, the EU Parliament Trade Committee (INTA) wrote to Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on April 7, stating their expectation that the government table legislation to replace the PTA, in “full compliance with international standards”, prior to the granting of the GSP+ trade concessions.

The latest draft is a failure in these respects. Rather than reining in the PTA’s overly broad definition of terror, the CTA expands upon it, criminalising any activities that threaten the “unity” of Sri Lanka. Troublingly, this offense includes gathering information to supply to a third party deemed to represent a threat to the state’s unity, as well as using words “either spoken or understood” to negatively affect it. Under this definition, the potential for local activists collecting and transmitting information about human rights abuses being accused of engaging in and being tried for terrorist activities is real. Sri Lanka’s past history bears witness to such uses of the PTA and emergency regulations. Calls for federalism or self-determination have been litigated under the 6th amendment to the constitution (which similar to the CTA criminalises speech that threatens the unity of the country) – which in turn will have a chilling effect on free and fair debate regarding a constitutional settlement to the ethnic conflict.

The Sri Lankan state has exploited the similarly broad language of the PTA to crack down on activities by journalists and activists. The CTA leaves the door open for future abuse. This is a concern not only in the near term, with regards to the current government, but also in the long term. A harsh and restrictive terrorism law offers a ready-made tool of repression and intimidation for successive regimes.

It remains the position of the undersigned that any alleged terrorist activity should be prosecuted and punished under the ordinary criminal law of Sri Lanka. But while we demand a full repeal of the PTA, any potential replacement to the PTA must at the very least be in line with international standards. We call on both the Human Rights Council and the EU not to disregard the clear signal the draft legislation sends about Sri Lanka’s willingness to meet its obligations under HRC 30/1, and the conditions outlined for the reinstatement of GSP+, respectively. The government of Sri Lanka, for its part, must immediately withdraw this legislation and – at an absolute minimum – revise its contents in line with international standards.

Government should play their political role –Chameeera Perera

May 04, 2017

Addressing the COC (Citizens’ Organizations’ Collective) organized press conference held at CSR today (May 4) Left centre Co-convener Chameera Perera said that government should play their political role.

“We should not worry about the Mahinda Rajapakse acolytes as they were worship to their Lord. We are really keen about 6.2 million Voters who cast their vote to this government with expectation of the justice for the victims of disappearance and killings and government failed to expedite the investigation on such issues.’

He pointed out that government should take immediate action to investigate about the wealth of Lawyer Namal Rajapakse, Yoshitha Rajapaske and Wimal Weerawansa.

“Namal Rajapakse has a company. Yoshitha Rajapakse was running a media institute being a normal navy officer and Wimal Weerawansa has a luxury palace.  How did they accumulate those wealth? Government should work according to January 8th peoples’ mandate and punish the culprits who have misused people’s money.”

Referring to the GMOA strike Perera said that there is a pro-Mahinda Rajapakse political agenda behind the campaign against SAITM and the token strike to be held on tomorrow.

“GMOA can’t topple the government within three months time.”

D. M.D. Abeyratne and Priyadarshai Ariyaratne also spoke out at the press conference

(Photos and reported by Lawrence Ferdinando)

What Is This Fuss Over Crowds? 

By Shyamon Jayasinghe –May 3, 2017

Shyamon Jayasinghe

Can any rational bystander make any sense about these cries of “Hurrah! We are winning!” while pointing out to relative crowd strengths at political meetings? We have seen this phenomenon occurring with regularity in Sri Lanka for a long time. We never learn lessons. Supporters of rival sides go into euphoria. That is the purpose in political parties gathering crowds. It is to create a false perception about winning. On the other hand, we have known many a time in the past that crowds at meetings do not necessarily translate into votes. Crowds gather for different reasons and your guess is as fair as mine. This is not to speak of the fact that crowds are by nature fickle.

During the last Presidential election huge crowds were drawn to Mahinda’s meetings and the television media relayed that ad nauseam. The result said something else. Writing to the Ugandan ‘New Vision,’ in November 2015, David Mukkholi said this: In the just concluded elections in Tanzania, the opposition presidential candidate Edward Lowassa pulled crowds at some rallies that were larger than those of the ruling party’s John Pombe Magufuli. But in the end Magufuli won.”

Just imagine well-known writer, Sarath de Alwis, writing to the Colombo Telegraph pointing to the conclusion that, “Mahinda is returning,” after looking at the Galle Face attendance last May Day. His fellow-mate Dr Dayan Jayatilleka rushes to Sarath’s side by lauding him for a “lucid analysis.” For heavens’ sake don’t lean on my assessment; but you yourself judge and let me know if there is anything but the opposite of being lucid in such reasoning. It is a totally illogical.

Actually, to be fair I do not have an accurate assessment of the relative attendances. But for the sake of argument, let us say that Mahinda’s rally was more impressive than the other three rallies. Sarath de Alwis’s reasoning isn’t lucid even then.That is not merely due to the obvious truth that one cannot jump from the premise of crowd attendance in one spot on one day to the inference that Mahinda has already won even the momentary concurrence of over 12 million voters spread out all over the length and breadth of Sri Lanka. It is also because the voting time is still over two years away.

Furthermore, Sarath Alwis has not even bothered to recognise the simple maths that the totality of the crowds of the other three meetings would have exceeded Mahinda’s rally. The UNP rally, from all accounts had been huge. JVP’s was impressive,too and the SLFP rally at Getambe was not far away despite the heavy rain. All those are all presumably anti-Mahinda voices. Then, what about the votes of our Tamil and Muslim brethren? The net result is obviously negative for Mahinda. Logically Mahinda has no chance on this line of reasoning.

It is clear. This is all fanciful wishful thinking by the two prominent writers. DJ has been in the fancy La La Land for a while now and there isn’t any sign of his waking. He experienced delusion years ago at the famous Nugegoda meeting when the ‘Mahinda Sulanga started.’ He, or another like him, coined the term “Nugegoda Man.” DJ was thrilled he got a place on the podium and he could not outlive that excitement. He wrote that the meeting signified Mahinda Rajapaksa’s rising. But, like any politician, DJ wouldn’t care repeating fiascos. The basic assumption of politicians in Sri Lanka is that masses can be fooled; that they have no memory. DJ is by now a scholar muted into a politician. He is on record (I have the video), during a Mahinda Sulanga meeting, rhetorically asking the audience: “Do you like a son of yours becoming like a Mahinda Rajapaksa or a Ranil Wickremesinghe?” Would you call a person like that a scholar or political analyst?

I can see one good thing in having public meetings like the May Day. It is an occasion when politicians distribute their black money among poverty-stricken people. It is a great moment of income distribution. Masses jump to the side that give them most cash in return.

Another good thing happened this time on May Day. It was that the CTB made 69 million rupees just on one day -hiring its buses for rallies. This is a sign of yahapalanaya because previously Mahinda and his men ordered the buses but never paid for them; the state had to bear the cost. This time all parties including those of the government paid for the hire. Even enemies of the YP government should congratulate President Sirisena and Prime Minister Wickremesinghe for this record.

Responsible writers and the intelligentsia in our country should get away from this kind of squad cheering and think larger about the country. What we now see is that writers like DJ and Sarath de Alwis and so many others of their ilk regard themselves as spectators in a big game of cricket. Each of them pitch on to sides of their choice and keep cheering. Considering the plight that Sri Lanka faces this is not a responsible move on the part of the of intelligentsia.

Our country is in poor economic shape. It is in the grasp of a severe debt trap. We have to extricate ourselves from this pathetic situation. Since the year 1977, we have not had a single year of trade surplus. It has been a case of recurring deficit trade balances. We have been living far above our means. We managed our Balance of Payments largely because of foreign remittances and that simply means that our economy has been sustained by the slavery of our housemaids. We have boastfully shown “growth,” but that growth is built on debt. We fool the people and the media by concealing that fact. The urgent need, thus, is to restructure our economy from an import dependent one to an export-led one. This means we must create an environment for foreign and domestic investment.

Read More

The Left that almost was

 2017-05-05

As I pointed out last week, when we got independence we were bequeathed a government that believed in the status quo as a means of uplifting the country. That status quo subsisted on incomes generated from a stagnating primary sector. Industrialising the country was therefore never a strong point with them, as can be seen by the fact that our debt-to-GDP ratio, which stood at 18% in 1948, would shoot up to 66% by 1966. While this can be attributed to the expansionary policies following the SLFP’s victory in 1956, the truth is that the economy, even under the UNP, had been slugging at a growth rate of 3% in the fifties.  
Uplifting the economy meant transforming it to an industrial hub. Because the private sector had largely subsisted on the extraction of raw material, this meant that the State had to play a role. Logically, that necessitated the expansion of the State. The political Right did not believe in expanding the State. For that reason, the task of industrialising the country was left largely to the Left. More pertinently, the Old Left. Which is where I get to the subject of my column.  

When Colvin R. de Silva, N. M. Perera, and Philip Gunawardena began reforming the economy, they were vilified as trying to “Sinofy” or “Russify” the country. To date, this propaganda has worked: the Old Left is seen today by Right as having destroyed our potential to equal Singapore and by the nationalists as having destroyed the Sinhalese entrepreneurial spirit. I will get to the second indictment later. I am more concerned here with the first, because in it we see the self-contradictions of the post colonial bourgeoisie.  
The LSSP and the Communist Party, with the spate of constitutional reforms initiated by the granting of the franchise in 1931, were given a historical role. This role had two sides: political and economic. I have outlined the first of these in my previous column. With the various splits (ideological and personal) that castrated these parties during the Second World War, however, they could implement any economic programme only through a monolithic party. That party was the SLFP, though it was Sirimavo Bandaranaike, not her husband, who saw in the Old Left an opportunity to revive a deteriorating industrial sector.  
The Land Reform Act of 1972 was as much an economic necessity as it was a political response. To be sure, it was the government’s way of asserting its socialist credentials after the first JVP insurrection. On the other hand, its detractors consider it as the cause of our economic downfall. What is forgotten here is that the LRA was actually a toned down version of the land ceilings imposed in East Asia (Japan, Taiwan, and Korea). I believe the numbers prove this: while in those other countries the ceiling was as low as two or three hectares, in Sri Lanka it was no less than 10.  
I spoke the other day with the son of a prominent leftist politician from that era who rationalised the LRA with the following observation: “It was necessary simply because Sri Lankans were investing in housing at the expense of productive investment. During the Second World War, the British gave concessions to Sri Lankans to start industries. Instead, they invested in housing.

"It was necessary simply because Sri Lankans were investing in housing at the expense of productive investment. During the Second World War, the British gave concessions to Sri Lankans to start industries. Instead, they invested in housing. This is why a state industrial sector became crucial, simply because local bourgeois investors wouldn’t put their money into manufacturing."

This is why a state industrial sector became crucial, simply because local bourgeois investors wouldn’t put their money into manufacturing.” In other words, it was the Old Left that ironically took the role played by statist, rightwing regimes throughout East Asia with respect to industrialisation.

The failure of the Bandaranaike government to carry these reforms forward, incidentally, has less to do with the failure of the Old Left (inasmuch as it opportunistically caved into chauvinism) than with the shift in the Finance Ministry from N. M. Perera to Felix Dias Bandaranaike.

Perera was the closest we had to a J. K. Galbraith, though their political convictions were different: as H. L. D. Mahindapala noted in 1964 (before the SLFP was routed), if he was born in America, he might have earned a place in the Kennedy administration. Felix Dias was of a different mould: he brought in a blend of authoritarianism and cronyism. Colvin would later fault him for tilting the country to the rightwing excesses that rationalised J. R. Jayewardene’s Open Economy, which to an extent is true.

By the end of his tenure, Felix had appropriated for himself a near-mythical, cartoonish image, the same image that Gamini Fonseka used to lampoon him in Sagarayak Meda (a film which, more than anything else, betrayed Fonseka’s political convictions). That industrial production, which had increased by about 19% annually during the first Sirimavo Bandaranaike government, deteriorated gradually but discernibly after Perera’s departure was only to be expected: Felix simply could not replicate Perera’s reforms.

What most critics of the Old Left in Sri Lanka, whether they be nationalists or pragmatists, therefore miss out is that inasmuch as leftist economics was untenable at a time when neo- liberalism was on the rise, the Left here was combating a real, pertinent issue: the inability of our bourgeoisie to look beyond short-term profits and economic sectors which subsisted on those profits.

By the time J. R. Jayewardene won the presidency, Sirimavo Bandaranaike had wrested the land-based sector from that bourgeoisie. Earlier, for instance, it had been the norm for students from elite schools to join a plantation or an estate: after the LRA, those plantations and estates were opened to less privileged youth, which owing to inevitable class stratifications kept the elite and their children away. That is why the bourgeoisie looked for other channels of earning quick bucks after 1977. They found that channel, not in the industrial sector the previous regime had tried to get them into, but in the Pettah merchant who subsisted on (what else?) short-term profits. The shift from the landowner to the Pettah merchant reflected not only how stunted our bourgeoisie were, but also how incapable they were of aiding the economy even after a horde of tax havens, liberalised foreign exchange laws, and other schemes and incentives had been granted to them.

Moreover, given their slight tilt towards that bourgeoisie, it’s no wonder that even our nationalists, at least the more fiery among them, have an axe to grind with the Left. I leave that for a later column, but I will say this: in Sri Lanka, unlike in the West and the rest of our continent, Marxism and nationalism never really got together. For that, as with everything else I’ve highlighted in this piece, we need to look at the post colonial bourgeoisie. Again.

How vocabulary and snobbishness limits our economic growth 

• “Scientists discover the world that exists; engineers create the world that never was” – Theodore von Karman

 Friday, 5 May 2017

Sri Lankans love to exaggerate the importance of who they are. Or what they do. You will meet more people declaring themselves “Dr.” or even “Professor” with no such qualifications to their name. And worse than that when it comes to what they do.

We seem to have an inordinate love for the phrase “Research & Development” or R&D as it’s commonly known. Even a guy putting a nut on a bolt will say they “are doing R&D”.

How vocabulary and snobbishness limits our economic growth.docx by Thavam Ratna on Scribd

Special task force to combat trade union action – President

May 04, 2017

President Maithripala Sirisena has informed the Cabinet of ministers that he wanted to take steps to form a special task force to face trade union action.

The President has stressed that the purpose of the task force was not to supress trade union activity but to ensure that essential services were not disrupted and that the public no longer be inconvenienced by such actions.

He has also added that after discussions with Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, it was decided that this was a necessary move to ensure that essential services continued to be provided and that it was not about protecting the UNP or the SLFP but ensuring the smooth functioning of the present national government.

The President has further expressed his displeasure with the way certain minister had publicly criticised the joint Cabinet decision made at the previous meeting regarding the possible creation of the task force. The President has advised the ministers that any reservations they had regarding the task force can be discussed at the Cabinet meeting itself.

The President has said that no one had the right to inconvenience the public by disrupting essential services. He has added that creating the task force was to ensure continuity of essential services and not for the purpose of bestowing a designation on any individual.

- http://srilankaedition.com -

The objectification of women in the Sinhala Press

Featured image courtesy Colombo Telegraph 

DEEPANJALIE ABEYWARDANA on 05/03/2017

Sri Lanka’s media continues to deviate from established standards of ethical journalism. This includes graphic pictures, misleading photos and commentary of events, racial labels used selectively against ethnic groups, factual errors and the denial of ‘right of response’ in reporting. Accordingly, the representation of women in Sri Lankan media over the years has breached many ethical standards, resulting in the reinforcement of negative stereotypes. This stereotyping can directly influence how women are perceived in society.

In this context, this article offers observations on the portrayal of women in the Sinhala print media based on data from Ethics Eye, a platform that monitors and flags violations of media ethics in seven Sinhala newspapers: the Dinamina, the Divaina, the Lankadeepa, the Mawbima, Sunday Divaina, Sunday Lankadeepa and the Sunday Mawbima.

The sexual objectification of women in Sinhala newspapers

Some mainstream Sinhala newspapers in Sri Lanka violate this ethical guideline by portraying women as sex objects. Women are frequently objectified in the press with the use of sexist references and pictures. These references are often ones that expose semi-nudity, which are irrelevant to the context of the article. For example, one Sinhala newspaper referred to a woman as “baduwa” in one of their columns, insinuating that women are sex objects. The same newspaper identified all actresses in Sri Lanka as engaging in “the oldest profession in the world”, depicting them all as sex workers.[1]

Further, a series of articles published in one of the mainstream Sinhala newspapers carried images of foreign women in bikinis, which were irrelevant to the story they were reporting. The series did not carry a disclaimer to indicate that the photographs – taken with long-lens cameras – were taken without consent. As stated in the Code of Professional Practice published by the Editor’s Guild of Sri Lanka, the use of long-lens or other cameras to photograph people without consent on private or public property where there is a reasonable expectation of privacy is unacceptable – unless in the public interest.

At the same time, the same newspaper that referred to all actresses as sex workers also upheld women as the ‘guardians of cultural and moral values’ in another article. This comment was in criticism of the gazette notification issued by the Ministry of Education, banning the imposition of dress codes for women entering public and private schools.

Reductionist terms such as “beautiful” are used in the press, especially when referring to rape victims and survivors. The physical appearance of female victims and survivors of rape, accidents or other incidents is referred to in many articles in the Sinhala press. The reporting of unconnected, unnecessary details, such as physical appearance, when it is not directly related to the story is a common occurrence in Sinhala newspapers. For example, when two female students died from a train accident in Dehiwela last year, six out of seven Sinhala newspapers referred to their physical appearance when reporting the incident.

The use of such terms, which are both irrelevant and sexist, raise serious questions on the extent to which the media in Sri Lanka fulfill its ethical obligations.

The objectification of women in the press reinforces stereotyping of women. Moreover, the sexual objectification and damaging representation of women in the media leads to the trivialisation of violence against women. The Guardian recently found that the sexualisation and objectification of women and girls in the media are linked to the development of sexist attitudes in society and the acceptance of masculine ideologies that objectify women.[2]

Violence against women sensationalised

In dealing with social issues of a particularly shocking or emotionally painful nature – such as violence and drug abuse – the Code of Professional Practice states that the press should take special care to present facts, opinions, photographs and graphics with due sensitivity and discretion, subject to its duty to publish in the public interest. However, some Sinhala newspapers violate this guideline by sensationalising and romanticising news when reporting on acts of violence against women, such as rape and sexual abuse. For example, some papers referred to the suspect or perpetrator of sex crime as a “cupid”, a term which romanticises them. At the same time, victims and survivors of rape are often blamed for the attire they wore or for being at the wrong place at the wrong time.

When newspapers hold women accountable for rape, it not only adversely affects the way society views women but also promotes the impunity of perpetrators of violence against women.

In its attempt to sensationalise a story to make it more enticing to an audience, the media neglect the important role it plays in creating awareness about sex crimes. Rape, domestic abuse and other forms of violence are a taboo subject in society and go unreported in many cases. Sensationalising these acts in reportages takes attention away from important aspects such as the prevention and mitigation of such crimes. This includes awareness about helplines for victims of sexual abuse as well as the existence of organisations dedicated to helping women who have experienced sex crimes.

What can be done?

The first step towards fixing this issue is creating awareness about the ethical violations committed by newspapers in reporting on women. On International Women’s Day 2017, Ethics Eye released a video highlighting some of the ethical guidelines violated by Sinhala newspapers in this regard. Furthermore, triggering a discussion around ethical violations in the media and spreading awareness around them gives the public the information it needs to hold journalists and editors answerable to their mistakes and damage caused by harmful reporting. Moreover, training journalists on media ethics, including on reporting on women in a manner that is not discriminatory and sexist, is urgently needed in Sri Lanka.

[1] See the Ethics Eye Facebook page for further reference

[2] http://image.guardian.co.uk/sys-files/Guardian/documents/2009/05/29/joiningupthedots.pdf

Chagie denied Australian visa over ‘war crimes’ allegations

Unsubstantiated UN claims cited as reason

By Shamindra Ferdinando-March 22, 2017, 10:49 pm 

Australia has deprived Maj. Gen. Chagie Gallage of an opportunity to visit his brother, an Australian citizen on the basis of unsubstantiated war crimes allegations against the Sri Lanka Army (SLA).

Australia has found fault with Gallage for being in command of the 59 Division from May 7, 2009 to July 20, 2009. In response to inquiries made by Gallage, the Australian High Commission has stated that troops under his command certainly committed war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Maj. Gen. Gallege, currently functions as Director General, Infantry. The officer, who was in the forefront of the war against the LTTE, is widely considered one of best strategists.

The Australian Department of Immigration and Border Protection has extensively cited Report of the OHCHR (Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights) on Sri Lanka (OISL) to turn down Gallege’s visa. On the basis of OISL report, Geneva adopted Resolution 30/1 to pave the way for foreign judges in a domestic judicial mechanism.

Australia also cited the UNSG Panel of Experts (PoE) report on accountability issues released on March 31, 2011. POE accused Sri Lanka of massacring over 40,000 civilians and depriving the Vanni population of their basic needs.The combined security forces brought the war to a successful conclusion on May 19, 2009.

Australia has cited a statement attributed to General Officer Commanding (GOC) 58 Division Maj. Gen. Shavendra Silva that unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) real time footage had been made available to ground commanders marking targets, to justify its decision. On the basis of Maj. Gen. Silva’s statement, Australia has alleged that Maj. Gen. Gallege had been aware of artillery strikes on third no fire zone.

There have never been specific allegations against Maj. Gen. Gallege before.

Authoritative military sources told The Island contrary to Australian assessment, the deployment of Israeli built UAVs was meant to direct attacks on the enemy. Sources said that Colombo based foreign military attaches were invited to Air Force headquarters to observe real time video footage provided at crucial stage of Vanni offensive.

Australia has accused Maj. Gen. Gallege of planning, implementing and supporting war crimes and crimes against humanity. Australia also held him responsible as the serving officer for failing to prevent troops under his command from committing war crimes.

The Australian report, while identifying Gallege as ‘potential controversial visit’, alleges that the SLA committed atrocities even after the conclusion of the war.

Gallege has been screened by Australian authorities following him seeking visa for a month long visit.

Sources pointed out that the decision to accuse Maj. Gen. Gallege of crimes against humanity meant that Australia believed that the Sri Lankan army carried out systematic attacks against Tamil civilians.

Australia has identified the 59 Division credited with wresting control of LTTE Mullaitivu bastion in late January 2009 as one of the formations responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Formed in Jan, 2008, the 59 Division, deployed on the eastern flank aka the Weli Oya front, fought under the then Brig. Nandana Udawatte’s command for one year to cross the Anandakulam and Nagacholai forest reserves, which served as natural defences for the LTTE Mullaitivu stronghold.

Over the years, the US and some other countries have denied visas to senior commanders on the basis of unsubstantiated accusations. In the case of Maj. Gen. Sudantha Ranasinghe, the US refused to accommodate him on a programme as he commanded the elite 53 Division in peacetime.

The 53 Division killed LTTE leader Prabhakaran.

Artists Of South Asia Tell A Tale Of Two Cities

By Dev N Pathak –May 3, 2017

Dr. Dev N Pathak

The art project A Tale of Two Cities is scheduled to reach Colombo, Sri Lanka, in August this year for an exhibition at Red Dot Gallery of Theertha Artists’ Collective. Based on it’s recently concluded show at Indira Gandhi National Center for Arts in New Delhi in March 2017 the following rumination could be an anchor for the Sinhala audience.

The artists in South Asia are beginning to make concerted effort toward creating a discourse, that can become stimulant for scholars of cultural politics in the region. An effort of similar kind is an art project titled A Tale of Two Cities began in 2015. The project brought together artists from Sri Lanka and India to revisit two cities of profound civilizational significance, Anuradhapura and Varanasi. These cities belong to folklore, history, and memory immaculately coloured with religiosity. But then, they are not frozen in time and space, and hence they have acquired novel facets in the scheme of contemporary. The art project hinged on the insightful conceptualization of Renu Modi (Director, Gallery Espace, Delhi) resulting into over a yearlong collaboration of Serendipity Art Trust (Delhi), Theertha Artists’ Collective (Colombo) and Gallery Espace (Delhi). In the kernel of the concept was the idea of ‘sacred geographies’, an intellectual stimulus for the artists to explore the two cities in this research-based art-making process. A collaborative project of this nature is indeed a befitting response in the wake of cultural globalization. It yields a possibility to re-imagine artists’ South Asia, entailing border crossing, nuanced networking, and empathy for the socio-cultural and political contexts across the modern cartographies. The artists and groups ought to be commended on this front of engendering artists’ regionalism, a nebulous institutional arrangement for more creative version of solidarity in the wake of endangered international relations of nation-states.  The aesthetic consequence of the project is exhibition of artworks, first held at Serendipity Arts Festival in Goa in December 2016, second at Indira Gandhi National Center for Arts in New Delhi in March 2017, and third is scheduled in August this year at Red Dot Gallery in Colombo. The exhibition makes an emphatic statement for an art-lover, critique, historian and anthropologists of art: shared sacred is more important than security threats in the region of South Asia!

Image courtesy: Gallery Espace, New Delhi

Nature of Shared Sacred

The exhibition persuades that the idea of sacred is not enshrined in the religious canons alone. The artists’ tale of two cities brings about a fusion of personal subjectivities and impersonal sacred emblems. Thus, the notion of sacred arising from the exhibition connects histories, biographies, and philosophy in the larger anthropological framework. Anoli Perera’s work titled Geographies of Deliverance dwells upon the famous twentieth century Sinhala song Dano Buddhunge (Those who know Buddha’s Dharma), in order to narrate what she calls ‘mental mappings of the pilgrims’. Anoli underlines an emotionally rooted and experiential sacred in her artworks. It amounts to enabling the artists to narrate- what they saw, what they believed in, and what shook their belief. Pala Pothupitiye, another critically acclaimed artist from Sri Lanka, goes to the extent of suggesting that ‘history of Sinhala Buddhism has been history of violence’. And thus his installation, Victory Dome, performs a meaningful heresy of doubting the presence of any sacred relic whatsoever in the aggressively protected Buddhist domes in Sri Lanka. Gazing at Bandu Manamperi’s Moonstone and Charcoal, one begins to believe that belief in sacred is as vulnerable as the materiality of the signifiers. For anyone versed in the language of semiotics the ensemble assumes poignant promises.

Image courtesy: Gallery Espace, New Delhi

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Dual citizenship: Law should be equal to all: JVP 

2017-05-04

JVP MP Vijitha Herath said today the law with regard to dual citizenship should be equal to both government and opposition MPs.

He told parliament that there could not be three laws - one for Geetha Kumarasinghe, one for government members and one for members of the Rajapaksa faction.

He said the court had unseated Ms. Kumarasinghe for being a dual citizen of Switzerland while some Ministers who held dual citizenships of Switzerland were without any legal action as alleged by Ms.Kumarasinghe.

"Ms. Kumarasinghe has alleged that there are ministers in the government who hold dual citizenship of Switzerland. Minister Mahinda Amaraweera also had alleged that there are some members who held American dual citizenship in the Joint Opposition as well. People want to know who they are? The law cannot be implemented selectively," he said.

Mr. Herath said the 19th Amendment to the Constitution clearly specified that anyone with dual citizenship could not contest parliamentary elections and get elected.

He said the law should apply to both government and opposition members reasonably. (Ajith Siriwardana and Yohan Perera)