India's poultry producers cash in on feed cost slump, beef slaughter curbs

A man transports chickens on his motorbike at a roadside poultry market in Kolkata, May 4, 2016. REUTERS/Rupak De Chowdhuri/Files--

Workers carry chickens from trucks at a poultry market in Mumbai, June 1, 2015. REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui/Files--A worker unloads chickens from a truck at a poultry market in Mumbai, June 1, 2015. REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui/Files

By Rajendra Jadhav | MUMBAI

India's poultry producers are posting record profits as feed costs have dropped to a five-year low and on rising chicken demand after cattle slaughtering restrictions were enacted in the majority Hindu country.

Poultry company profits should continue to rise as raw material costs are set to remain depressed and demand rises due to the political fight over cattle slaughtering in India, home to the world's biggest population of Hindus, who hold cows to be sacred, plays out in the courts.

On May 31, the Madras High Court in the southern state of Tamil Nadu overturned a government ban on cattle trading for slaughter, an industry dominated by Muslims, but the case is set to go before the Supreme Court.

The cattle restrictions have been good for poultry producers as average broiler chicken prices in Mumbai have jumped 47 percent so far in 2017 to 100 rupees ($1.55) a kg, while corn and soymeal prices, the main chicken feed ingredients, have fallen 7 percent and 2 percent respectively.

"For the first time, broiler prices sustained above 100 rupees (per kg) for a fortnight," said Uddhav Ahire, the chairman of leading poultry firm Anand Agro Group based in the western city of Pune. "The average margin of integrated poultry firms was more than 30 rupees."

Usually soymeal and corn rise during the summer as supplies drop, but this year bumper harvests and sluggish exports have kept prices in check, Ahire said.

Feed typically makes up two-thirds of poultry production costs. Back-to-back droughts that crimped grain output in India in 2014 and 2015 pressured the poultry farmers but that has changed.

Shares of Venky's Ltd, India's biggest poultry producer, shot to a record high on Thursday after the company reported net profit more than doubled during the quarter that ended in March and full-year profit was a record 1.25 billion rupees.

Poultry profits may be even higher in the June quarter on the rising average chicken prices, said Prasanna Pedgaonkar, general manager at Venky's, which is also the owner of Blackburn Rovers Football Club in Britain.

Venky's profit during the next fiscal year could rise by 32 percent to 1.652 billion rupees, estimates Shalini Gupta, an analyst with Quantum Securities.

GLOBAL GRAIN GLUT

Feed costs should remain lower as ample monsoon rains lifted corn and soybean production in 2016/17. But farmers are also struggling to export crop surpluses as the rupee has appreciated and grain and soymeal values are pressured by a global glut.

"In December we were exporting more than 300,000 tonnes, but now shipping 100,000 tonnes per month is a challenge," said Davish Jain, chairman of the Soybean Processors Association of India.
Chicken demand has risen because of the cattle restrictions, especially in northern states where Muslims are a large minority, says Ahire of Anand Agro.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi leads the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party. In May, after state elections bolstered his power base, the government handed down the cattle restrictions.

Even with the court suspension, cattle movement remains disrupted after incidents of Hindu activists beating cattle handlers.

($1=64.275 rupees)


(Reporting by Rajendra Jadhav; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)

Weight-related deaths can affect non-obese too

Energy-dense foods are one of the reasons behind the increase in obesity rates worldwide--A build-up of fatty deposits inside the arteries occurs in cardiovascular diseases

Image copyrightGETTY IMAGES

12 June 2017

You don't have to be diagnosed as obese to be at risk of dying from illnesses related to excess weight, a global study suggests.

Of the 4 million deaths attributed to being overweight in 2015, nearly 40% were not considered clinically obese.

The study found more than 2 billion children and adults suffered from health problems linked to being overweight.

These include type 2 diabetes, heart disease and some cancers.
But an increasing percentage had a body mass index (BMI) of less than 30, the threshold for obesity.

The paper, published in the the New England Journal of Medicine, said the findings highlighted "a growing and disturbing global public health crisis".

"People who shrug off weight gain do so at their own risk - risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer and other life-threatening conditions," said Dr Christopher Murray, author of the study and director of the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington.

"Those half-serious New Year's resolutions to lose weight should become year-round commitments to lose weight and prevent future weight gain."

The study, which looked at 195 countries and territories over a period of 35 years, from 1980 to 2015, has revealed that 30% of the world's population - 2.2 billion children and adults - are affected by excess weight.

This includes nearly 108 million children and more than 600 million adults who are categorised as a having a BMI of higher than 30 and therefore medically defined as obese.

'Love of sugar'

Obesity has been increasing around the globe since 1980, doubling in more than 70 countries.
The United States has the highest level of obesity among adults and children, at nearly 13% of the population.

Egypt topped the list for adult obesity, at about 35%.
Speaking to the Guardian's Ruth Michaelson last year about the issue of obesity in Egypt, Dr Randa Abou el Naga of the World Health Organization, blamed a lack of "vigorous physical exercise", while dietitian Dr Sherine el Shimi cited the typical Egyptian's "love of sugar".

The report also found that the rate of obesity is increasing faster among children than adults.
China, with 15.3 million, and India, with 14.4 million, had the highest numbers of obese children.

"The problem is not simply a function of income or wealth," cites the report. "Increased availability, accessibility and affordability of energy-dense foods, along with intense marketing... could explain weight gain in different populations."

The lowest rates of obesity were in Bangladesh and Vietnam at 1%.

"Excess body weight is one of the most challenging public health problems of our time, affecting one in every three people," said Dr Ashkan Afshin, lead author of the study and an assistant professor of Global Health at IHME.

The authors stressed the need for intervention to reduce the prevalence of high BMI and its consequences.

Tam Fry, chairman of the National Obesity Forum, said: "Governments throughout the world, caught like rabbits in car headlights, become petrified in the face of escalating obesity. Year after year, mega-statistics like these are published confirming that administrations appear powerless to avoid being crushed by them."

Dr Alison Tedstone, chief nutritionist at Public Health England, said urgent action was needed in every country the global obesity epidemic was to be addressed.

"Our work to tackle obesity in England is world leading and we want to see other countries following our example.

"We have set clear guidelines for the food industry to reduce sugar in the foods children eat the most of and will openly and transparently monitor and report on their progress."

SRI LANKA: CAMPAIGN FOR PANAMA PEOPLE’S TO RIGHT TO OWN LAND TOMORROW

13/06/2017

A public campaigning event organized by the Peoples Alliance for Right to Land (PARL) will take place tomorrow  to hand over a petition of 20,000 signatures calling for the release of lands in Paanama to their original owners.

The campaign action will take place in front of the Presidential Secretariat office tomorrow (June 14th) at 10 am with the participation of community members from Paanama, civil society representatives and activists from across the country.

Organises  call on concerned citizens to support them in creating a public discourse on this petition handover.

For any queries feel free to contact Chintaka Rajapakse (0766568663), Sampath Samarakoon (0777248304) or Rashmini de Silva
Press release issued by the PARL re the campaign follows:

Peoples’ Alliance for Rights to Land

We demand for #LandRightsNow – 20,000 signatures calling for justice to Paanama
The following is a statement issued by the Peoples’ Alliance for Right to Land (PARL). In continuation of the global campaign #LandRightsNow launched in calling for the release of Paanama lands back to its people, we plan to hand over a petition of over 20,000 local and international signatures to the Presidential Secretariat office on 14.06.2017 at 10.00 am.

In 2010, 350 families of farmers and fisher folk living in Paanama, a coastal village in the east of Sri Lanka, were forcibly and violently evicted from lands they had cultivated and lived on for over forty years. These lands were taken over by the military to establish camps, and they are now being used to promote tourism. PARL calls on the Government of Sri Lanka to immediately act on the decision to release these lands back to the community who depend on them for their livelihoods and food.

Undeterred by threats, intimidation and legal action taken against them, the people of Paanama have worked together in unison in the struggle to win their lands back. Despite these dangers, the community refuses to give up. In 2015, the government finally agreed to return the land, recognising the community’s rights. But the government has yet to keep its promise.

The community is still waiting for their land and their home back. A gathering of Paanama community members, civil society representatives, journalists and activists will convene outside the Presidential Secretariat office tomorrow (June 14th) to hand over the aforementioned petition in demand of justice, calling for the release of Paanama lands. We invite all supporters, campaigners and media personnel to join us in this collective effort of handing over this petition of 20,000 signatures.

#LandRightsNow – The global call to action on indigenous and community land rights was launched as a joint effort of Oxfam International, International Land Coalition (ILC) and Rights and Resources Institute (RRI) in March 2016. This global effort supported a series of public campaigning spikes in 3 selected countries: Sri Lanka, Peru and Australia. The campaign in Sri Lanka was spearheaded by PARL and Oxfam in Sri Lanka.

The Peoples’ Alliance for Right to Land (PARL) is a voluntary coalition of civil society organizations and individuals, working together against land grabbing and for housing, land and property rights of poor and marginalized communities since 2011.

On behalf of the People’s Alliance for Right to Land, yours sincerely,


Chintaka Rajapakse – 0766568663
Rashmini de Silva – 0774443024
Sampath Samarakoon – 0777248304

Three years since Aluthgama: Hopes for co-existence remain more elusive than ever

Featured image courtesy Thyagi Ruwanpathirana

AYESHA ZUHAIR on 06/15/2017

Today marks the third anniversary of the Aluthgama riots, a seismic event in the history of Sri Lanka’s troubled ethnic relations. The dark days of 15^th and 16^th June 2014, saw marauding mobs unleash collective violence on Muslim-owned businesses, buildings and homes in Aluthgama, Beruwala, Dharga Town, Welipenna and Mathugama in the Kalutara district located along the island’s south-western coastal belt. The rioting and looting resulted in the loss of four lives, injuries to 80 persons, and caused extensive damage to property.

Apart from the tangible losses, the violence of June 2014 brought into full focus the very real and devastating consequences of a coordinated programme by divisive forces to drive hatred, fear and suspicion into the minds of the Sinhala-Buddhist population. A result of the anti-Muslim sentiment cultivated in the post-war period, the riots in Aluthgama and its neighbouring towns severely impaired relations between the country’s Buddhist and Muslim communities on the one hand, and between the minorities and a then indifferent government on the other.

Based entirely on propaganda, this virulent anti-Muslim campaign conjured a narrative in which the Muslim minority was falsely portrayed as representing economic, cultural, demographic and political threats to the Sinhala-Buddhist majority. By levelling unsubstantiated allegations of growing ‘radicalisation’, it sought to demonise the vastly peaceful and well-integrated Muslim community of Sri Lanka.

Aluthgama was the culmination of a hate campaign which began on 10^th September 2011 with the demolition of a Muslim shrine in Anuradhapura, believed to have been around 400 years old. As the monk-led mob attacked the religious site, police personnel stood by watching idly. Eerily enough, the visuals of the incident exposed the crux of the problem: the unwillingness of law enforcement agencies to enforce the law, and arguably even their complicity in the crimes, as violence targeting the country’s Muslim and Christian minorities escalated sharply over the coming months.

In their treatment of the monks and their lay supporters as somehow above the law, the police, possibly well-aware of the political patronage these discordant groups enjoyed, thus emboldened them in their vigilante actions.

On 20^th April 2012, around 200 Sinhalese including Buddhist monks staged a protest outside the Khairiya Jumma Masjid in Dambulla demanding the removal of the ‘illegally constructed’ mosque from a ‘Buddhist sacred area’. Again, despite a formidable police presence, the protestors were able to disrupt the traditional Friday Muslim prayers, and some among them broke into the mosque and damaged the premises as well as Islamic religious texts.

The actions of an apparently fringe minority of Buddhist clergy and lay persons are not representative of Buddhism with its emphasis on pacifism and non-attachment just as much as the actions of the anti-Islamic so-called Islamic State (IS or Daesh) are not representative of Islam.

Yet there has been no condemnation of the recent spate of hate crimes by Buddhist spiritual leaders. There has been no vocal calls by them to return to the Buddhist values of tolerance and non-aggression in the way Muslims the world over are expected to condemn the atrocities committed allegedly in the name of Islam and disassociate Islam from IS.

The silence of the Sinhala-Buddhist majority, notably the Maha Sangha, on the growing hostilities, hate speech and anti-minority attacks in post-war Sri Lanka is perhaps an indication that these extremist groups are capitalising on deep-seated prejudices against the minorities – the Muslims in particular of recent times.

The core assertion of the nationwide campaign to fuel and intensify ethnic tension led by the Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) and supported by groups such as the Sihala Ravaya and Ravana Balaya is that Buddhism is under threat – and that Muslims are now the primary threat – must have sunk into the recesses of the minds of a fairly significant proportion of Sinhala-Buddhist society. This is also compounded by the Mahavanmsa mind-set which regards Sri Lanka as a Sinhala-Buddhist land where others may live so long as they accept the primacy of the Sinhala-Buddhist race.

This line of thinking is captured in the threat uttered by BBS leader and General-Secretary Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thera at the Aluthgama rally on 15^th June  2014, the day prior to the eruption of the Aluthgama violence:

“In this country we still have a Sinhala police; we still have a Sinhala army. After today if a single Marakkalaya [derogatory term for Muslim] or some other paraya [alien, outcast, also a derogatory term] touches a single Sinhalese…..it will be their end.”

Chauvinism thus gave rise to direct and violent attacks on Muslims that night and the next day. The Aluthgama attacks appear to have been hurriedly planned by the Buddhist extremist groups following the spread of a false rumour on 11^th June, just two days earlier that a Buddhist monk had been attacked by a Muslim near a temple in the area. The fact was that a Muslim-owned trishaw parked haphazardly on a narrow lane leading to the temple had obstructed a van transporting a monk to the temple which had led to angry words being shouted by the van driver at the missing trishaw driver who turned up to be assaulted by the van driver.

It was a minor incident of two drivers hitting each other with neither being even injured. Meanwhile the monk had alighted from the van and intervened to prevent further incidents by which time neighbours had informed the police that a monk was being attacked, which did not happen. The false report of a monk being assaulted spread like wildfire leading to a sizeable crowd gathering outside the police station which led to three Muslims being remanded.

Two days later the BBS exploited the minor incident through a public hate speech inciting violence against the Muslims of the area without intervening to settle the issue or allowing the law to take its course. The BBS-led rally in the heart of the tension ridden area, while engendering fear and demanding subservience, resulted in four deaths (three Muslims and one unarmed Tamil security guard) and the widespread destruction of Muslim property.

The mission to instil fear was a success – until a key member of the Mahinda Rajapaksa government under which the violent attacks took place, in an unprecedented development, decided to part ways on 21^st November 2014. Maithripala Sirisena’s leadership to a joint opposition, many had hoped, would kick-start Sri Lanka’s long awaited transition to peace and stability.

From Hope to Fear

A historic agreement was signed on 01^st December 2014, to field a common candidate to defeat the incumbent at the 08^th January 2015 presidential election. Thirty-six political parties and civic groups entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at the Viharamahadevi Open Air Theatre in a bid to restore democracy, stability and good governance in Sri Lanka.

The MoU which was signed at a time Sri Lankans were desperate for change took cognisance of the country’s predicament. It averred that a country once seen as a model of democracy had degenerated into a place where its citizens were no longer able to live in dignity and safety. Manifestations of this reality, the agreement noted, was evident in (amongst other factors): the total breakdown of the rule of law and the severe strain on co-existence among different ethnic and religious communities.[1]

Taking into account the above, the agreement stressed the need to guarantee the primacy of the rule of law, restore democracy on the foundation of good governance, secure and advance fundamental rights and freedom, and to ensure the human right to live in dignity. Just a little over two weeks later, on 19^th December 2014, the ‘Maithri Manifesto’ was released promising swift and sweeping reforms.

When Sri Lankans went to the polls on 08^th January 2015 to elect a new president, they voted decisively in favour of change. Having endured violence, fear and discrimination, the peaceful majority of diverse religions and ethnicities gave a fresh mandate to the ‘Yahapalanaya’ coalition to live in a climate of freedom, dignity and equality. The Muslim community, revolted by the manner in which extremist groups were allowed to operate with impunity under the Rajapaksa government, voted en-bloc for the common candidate.

Yet 2 ½ years into the Yahapalanaya rule, a renewed sense of fear has gripped the Muslims of Sri Lanka. Anti-minority activities have re-surfaced, with Muslim properties, notably shops, being attacked on a regular basis. Even as the innocent victims of the Aluthgama riots await justice three years on with the new government taking no action, a new form of low-intensity violence has created a climate of fear in place of the climate of hope that prevailed during the early days of the Sirisena administration. According to the Police, 16 major racially-motivated incidents targeting Muslims have taken place across the island since April 2017, while Muslims put the number at 30 incidents.

Beyond the rhetoric of holding perpetrators accountable, no effective action has been taken towards this end. There is a deep sense of scepticism even about the recent arrests made as Gnanasara Thera, the key instigator, is still at large. In fact, there is a growing acuity that the troublemakers are being given protection by the highest echelons of the government despite public pronouncements of equality and justice.

Rebuilding Strained Relations

The false belief that the problem lies in ‘extremist’ ideas being propagated within Muslim society is deeply troubling. This notion makes it harder to mitigate the rising inter-religious tensions and to build mutual trust between communities. It is to the credit of Muslims that they have been peaceful and patient in the face of continued provocation.

However, one cannot altogether dismiss the idea that an undercurrent of anti-Muslim sentiment was always there, that the end of the war simply gave an opening for this to emerge. There are genuine concerns among the Sinhala-Buddhist population about the survival of their religion and culture, an anxiety that has been misdirected at minorities through false propaganda.

Writing on Myanmar’s ‘Ma Ba Tha’ for the Asia Times (09^th June 2017), Matthew J. Walton, a Senior Research Fellow in Modern Burmese Studies at St. Anthony’s College, Oxford University, noted:

“The current government is hesitantly and inconsistently taking steps to try to change the enabling environment that the previous government created for consequence-free anti-Muslim violence, but it needs to sincerely engage with these complex feelings of Buddhist vulnerability (without sanctioning violence or discrimination) if it hopes to facilitate reconciliation and peace.”

As prescribed for by Walton for Myanmar, policy responses in Sri Lanka too must find a way to engage with groups interested in the protection of Buddhism while making it clear that violence will not be tolerated. This is in the interest of all communities in Sri Lanka.

Just as much as apprehending those behind the violence is essential to end the culture of impunity that prevails, it must be coupled with a proactive approach in which Buddhism is assured of its ‘primus-inter-pares’ status. Unless such an approach is adopted, Sri Lanka is likely to remain trapped in ethnic friction for years to come.

[1] http://www.dailymirror.lk/article/mou-signed-57787.html

Whose baby is the new constitution?


Thursday, 15 June 2017

This Government has taken several important steps towards the new constitution. As the first step of the process the Government established the Public Representations Committee on Constitutional Reform headed by Lal Wijenayake. After conducting number of sessions of public consultations the Committee issued the report in May 2016. Thereafter the Parliament met as a constitutional assembly with the powers of Parliamentary Select Committee to draft the new constitution.

Whose baby is the new constitution.docx by Thavam on Scribd

Sangakkara’s many steps towards reconciliation and sensible institutional governance

By Michael Roberts-June 14, 2017, 8:16 am

In July 1983, Chokshanada and Kumar Sangakkara – in step with some Sinhalese, Malay and Burgher and other Sri Lankan families and in implicit opposition to the actions of Sinhalese people of violence –sheltered a number of Tamils who were in severe danger from the assaults on person and property that was a frightening element of the pogrom that occurred then. Many Sinhalese families in the central and southern districts protected their neighbours and/or friends in this manner. In conjectural manner, one can say that humane considerations and cultural traditions of alms-giving and amity informed such actions --- a dimension of riots/pogroms in southern Asia that has been sidelined in historical studies of various "riots" in southern Asia. Perhaps inspired thus and perhaps encouraged also by the ecumenical spirit nurtured by his parents as well as Trinity College, Kumar and Yehali  have continued this line of enterprise. In a significant step Yehali was beside Kumar when he visited St. Patrick’s College in Jaffna in April 2011 during the World Cup.

This was a reconciliatory outreach at a significant moment, one complementing the several measures taken by Sri Lanka Cricket to foster cricket in the north and east –efforts further consolidated by Kushil Gunasekera and the Foundation of Goodness with the active participation of cricketers spearheaded by Murali, Sanga, Mahela and others.

This signal was capped in outstanding manner by the content of Kumar Sangakkara’s Speech at the Cowdrey Lecture for the MCC in July 2011 – a presentation which an English acquaintance from Surrey considered the best MCC speech he had heard thus far. It was a talk threaded by political messages for all Sri Lankans – and for all those espousing hate.

I had the good fortune to meet Sanga’s parents in pursuing a historical venture arising from my researches into the Hannadige Pieris family. I can readily endorse what Kumar emphasises about his parents in his recent session with Rex Clementine. Like his parents, Kumar Sangakkara is a lover of aesthetic good things. Among these pleasures are books. A little bird told me that he purchased that cricket tragic Mahinda Wijesinghe’s stock of cricket books. From just one encounter with him I am also alive to Kumar’s taste for books on Sri Lankan history.

More to the point, Sangakkara’s eminent good sense is only too evident in the comments essayed in response to Rex Clementine who is to be commended for his enterprise in this regard. The kind of dirty politics encountered within the history of the SLC board is, alas, found in virtually all institutions in Sri Lanka and has bedevilled our politics for decades.

I thank Rex and Kumar sincerely for the insights they have provided through this exchange. I only wish that my pal "Hema" was still in this world so that he could have could have derived the same sort of pleasure I did from this exchange. DH de Silva was my cricketing ‘enemy’ in Galle in 1955 and my cricketing mate at Ramanathan Hall and Peradeniya in the late 1950s. He had re-invented himself as a tennis coach while working as Municipal Commissioner in Kandy. It so happened that he tutored Kumar’s elder sister at tennis in Kandy in the 1980s and I believe Kumar also received tennis tips and cricketing tips from him. Knowing him as I do Hema would not have let young Kumar escape ‘cricketing advice’. In fact, the families became firm friends and the Senior Sangakkaras stayed with de Silva relatives during Kumar’s first tour of England. So, Hema would have simply lapped up this Q and A exchange in the Sunday Island.

Thank you, Kumar. Keep batting as commentator within both the cricketing and political fields.

Mahinda Rajapaksa trying to distort facts on GSP+: Samaraweera

Wednesday, June 14, 2017

Finance and Mass Media Minister Mangala Samaraweera said today that former President Mahinda Rajapaksa is trying to distort facts regarding the GSP+ concession.

The Minister said this in a statement made in response to the comment made by former President Mahinda Rajapaksa regarding the GSP+ concession.

Minister Samaraweera said that by saying that the ‘Government should not create unrealistic expectations about GSP +’ former President Rajapaksa is saying that obtaining GSP+ concession is trivial since Sri Lanka is very close to passing the threshold of an upper middle income country.

‘A country has to be classified as ‘upper middle income’ by the World Bank for three consecutive years in order to be no longer eligible for the GPS+’ he said.

‘Even if Sri Lanka was to reach that threshold tomorrow, we would still have access to the advantaged of GSP+ for three years, and for one additional year after the decision is taken to withdraw the benefit’ the Minister said.

Minister Samaraweera said that Rajapaksa cannot acknowledge that the Unity Government has managed to obtain a formidable boost to Sri Lanka’s economy, in application of Article 4(1) of the GSP+ regulation of 2012, for four years.

The Minister said by the end of these four years the European Union will show growth recovery.

‘With less unemployment and more consumer demands, this is the moment to join in and enhance partnership with the European Union’ the Minister said.

Furthermore Minister Mangala Samaraweera said that the statement made by the former President saying that GSP+ puts Sri Lanka under the supervision of the EU is absurd.

‘By committing to a number of universal human rights principles, we do nothing that was not already recommended by Sri Lankan people who came before the Lessons Learned and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) to give their input and views. Protecting every citizen from torture is not  an alien imposition’ Minister Samaraweera said.

In addition to this, Minister Samaraweera said that Mahinda Rajapaksa failed to retain the GSP+ facility by misjudgments made by his advisors who advised not to implement the 2011 recommendations of the LLRC, which he himself appointed to protect citizens from torture, criminalized disappearances and fully investigate cases of human rights violation.

‘We know very well how Rajapaksa and his advisors tried until the last minute to retain the GSP+ facility in 2010 and lost’ he said.

The Minister said that the GSP+ system is  a partnership that helps our nation to gain it’s due place once again in the international stage to stand shoulder to shoulder with the international community.

‘On the contrary, we feel stronger when our laws reflect the best of global humanism and when our citizens benefit from the best law enforcement’ Minister Samaraweera said.

The full statement is reproduced below: 

Statement issued by Mangala Samaraweera, Minister of Finance & Mass Media in response to a recent statement made by  Mahinda Rajapaksa, MP for Kurunegala District on GSP+ concession.

Mahinda Rajapaksa and his advisors, instead of working to take our country to the heights that our country could have achieved soon after the conclusion of the conflict in 2009, chose to run our country to the ground. He made our country heavily indebted on the one hand, having borrowed at exorbitantly high, commercial rates; while taking decisions that made Sri Lanka withdraw from the international stage, on the other, thus making our country and our people isolated and shunned by the world. He hides the fact that time after time, major donor countries voted against Sri Lanka at the time, in international financial institutions.

Having eventually lost an election which he himself called for, ahead of time, he appears to still not be able to come to terms with that loss. His hunger for power makes him and his advisors continue to indulge in the lies, tricks and games that were so much a part of his regime and so much a part of his personality. Just recently we saw how he lied to the people about his travel to Japan. He said that he was travelling to Japan at the invitation of the Emperor of Japan! The Embassy of Japan responded to a question from a journalist denying this. Why resort to this kind of lying to hoodwink the people, Rajapaksa? If you are in fact a follower of the teachings of Gautama Buddha as you try to show the people, isn’t it about time, at least at this stage of your life, to try to abide by even one of the five precepts, and refrain from indulging in lies.

Rajapaksa, in a statement titled ‘Government should not create unrealistic expectations about GSP Plus’ says that obtaining the GSP Plus facility is trivial, since Sri Lanka is very close to passing the threshold of an upper middle income country.He conveniently hides a fundamental issue. A country has to be classified as "upper middle income" by the World Bank for three consecutive years in order to be no longer eligible for the GSP Plus. Even if Sri Lanka were to reach that threshold tomorrow, we would still have access to the advantages of GSP Plus for three years, and for one additional year after the decision is taken to withdraw the benefit. This shows that Rajapaksa is clearly trying to distort facts because he can’t acknowledge the fact that the National Unity Government has in fact managed to obtain a formidable boost to Sri Lanka’s economy, in application of Article 4(1) of the GSP Regulation of 2012, for at least four years.

This period of, at the very least four years, comes just when the European economy starts to show signals of growth recovery. With less unemployment and more consumer demand, this is the moment to join in enhanced partnershipwith the European Union!

But let me add a point. Rajapaksa’s reasoning that we shouldn't aspire to a better deal, because some time in the future the economy will grow is callous and insensitive to the workers of our country and their families. It reflects a complete lack of concern for our workers who expect progress in the immediate present, and they deserve progress in the immediate present. So what if Sri Lanka, thanks to the ingenuity and hard work of its entrepreneurs and workers looks poised to cross a certain threshold of average income? Does it mean that we, as a government, should sit on our hands without giving them the opportunity for a better deal that they deserve now in the present? Shouldn't we help them to reach our national goals sooner rather than later?

The idea that GSP Plus puts Sri Lanka "under the supervision" of the EU is simply absurd. By committing to a number of universal human rights principles, we do nothing that was not already recommended by Sri Lankan people who came before the Lessons Learned and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) to give their input and views. Protecting every citizen from torture is not an alien imposition. It is a sovereign decision from a humanistic nation, towards its own citizens, inspired by the most sacred human values and principles. How ironic that Rajapaksa who claims to be not just a follower but a guardian of Buddhism in Sri Lanka, does not advocate granting the very basic human rights principles and rights and freedoms to the citizens of this country! Don’t our citizens deserve the highest standards of protection? Don’t our citizens deserve the highest standards of human rights and freedoms?

It was incompetence and arrogance of Rajapaksa and his advisors, and their determination to deny the people of this country their rightsthat resulted in Mr. Rajapaksa failing to retain the GSP Plus facility. It was ill-advised to not implement the 2011 recommendations of the LLRC, a Commission which he himself appointed, to protect citizens from torture, criminalize disappearances, and fully investigate cases of human rights violations. In fact it was an injustice caused to the law abiding soldiers of this country as well. Having failed himself, and the people of our country, now in 2017, it is simply invidious to criticize a successful measure that the Government seeks to implement for the benefit of the people of our country.

We know very well how Rajapaksa and his advisors tried until the last minute to retain the GSP Plus facility in 2010, and lost. Licking their wounds, they then sought to lie to the people by saying that he decided to not pursue the facility, to avoid damage to the country’s political, legal and institutional framework. He probably still can’t get over those lies. So he keeps repeating them in different formulations and words even seven years later in 2017.

For this government, the GSP Plus system is a partnership that helps our nation and our people regain their due place once again on the international stage as a respected nation and a respected people standing shoulder to shoulder with the international community, shedding the pariah tatters that the former government chose to put on our nation and our people. Sri Lanka and the Sri Lankan people deserve the best in the world. Sri Lanka is a proud nation and the Sri Lankan people are a proud people with the self-confidence to speak and act as equals with every country or group of countries in the world. We don't need to hide from global dialogue in order to feel better. On the contrary, we feel stronger when our laws reflect the best of global humanism, when our citizens benefit from the best law enforcement, when our workers and entrepreneurs see the ports of the world open to the fruit of their efforts.

Aviation Authority’s profit only for its bigwigs!

Jun 14, 2017

The Civil Aviation Authority is earning net annual profits of Rs. 871/881 million, but its dividends are enjoyed by only its director general and a handful of top administrative officers, employees charge.

Since May this year, top officials of the Authority have got special allowances of between Rs. 100,000 and Rs. 400,000 approved for themselves. It has around 180 employees.

 

For 2016, it earned an income of more than Rs. 1,660 m and a pre-tax profit of Rs. 1,227 m, according to its draft annual report for 2016. After paying a Rs. 386 tax, the net profit is Rs. 881 m.

 

In 2015, it earned an income of Rs. 1,578 m for a Rs. 1,214 pre-tax profit and a net profit of Rs. 871 m after paying a Rs. 343 m tax.

 

However, the Authority is housed in a rented building.

Buddhism & Good Governance: The Case For A Sangha Rebellion

By H.L. Seneviratne –JUNE 15, 2017

Prof. H.L. Seneviratne

“Buddha’s disciples were never a horde of uncivilized beggars“~ Max Weber, The Religion of India

Starting with independence from British rule in 1948, mal governance in Sri Lanka has been steadily on the increase and practised by both major parties that came to power alternatively. Over time it has become pervasive and systemic, and has now infected the society’s underlying value system, bringing the society to the brink of disintegration known as “anomie” in the literature of sociology. This paper is an account of that dangerous decline and a call to the more progressive and ethically sensitive sections of the saṅgha of Sri Lanka to help the society regain its health by renouncing the Sinhala Buddhist worldview that is at the root of the problem, and living up to the noble teachings of their founder.

To begin with, we must recognize the distinction between Buddhism as a set of philosophical and ethical ideas, and Buddhism as it is popularly understood and practised by its adherents. We can call the first “Philosophical Buddhism” and the second “Cultural Buddhism”. Different Buddhist societies have different Cultural Buddhisms such as Sinhala Buddhism, Burmese Buddhism and Thai Buddhism. Philosophical Buddhism’s universalist ethical system makes it a potentially powerful influence in facilitating good governance and the rule of law. As reflected in the earliest Buddhist literature and the principles of governance allegedly followed by the paradigmatic Buddhist emperor Asoka, Philosophical Buddhism also includes a general outlook of urbanity, civility and modernity. Philosophical Buddhism thus defined is all good, but in contrast, Cultural Buddhism is a mixed bag of good and bad. The bad, if it gains the upper hand in any given society, can be detrimental to its happiness, prosperity and well being. In Sri Lanka, it is unfortunately the worldview of Sinhala Cultural Buddhism that has overwhelmingly taken hold over the society, to the near exclusion of Philosophical Buddhism. Our challenge therefore is to try and imbue the society with the universalist ethicality of Philosophical Buddhism, and its ethos of urbanity, civility and modernity; and, I am calling upon the more educated and dynamic sections of the saṅgha to accept that challenge, and give leadership to a social movement for meeting it.

In what follows, I try to show how Sinhala Cultural Buddhism’s worldview has functioned to the detriment of the society of Sri Lanka when the founding myth of its majority ethnic community was mistaken to be history, and its relation with the political exceeded the boundary of acceptability. This development, that we might call “politicization”, consisting at the broadest level the exploitation of sentiments of religion and ethnicity for political gain, gradually invaded the society as a whole, its myriad mutations infecting the value system on which the society’s health was anchored. The landmark event in which Sinhala Cultural Buddhism’s worldview effectively intervened in politics in a manner deleterious to the health of the society was the general election of 1956 when the then ruling United National Party (UNP), a party of western-acculturated upper class urban politicians was ousted by a party led by a more “nationalist” bloc of the same urban class, but widely supported by a rural middle class of the indigenous literati consisting of Buddhist monks, vernacular teachers and indigenous physicians. Since then it has been downhill for Sri Lanka as far as good governance, the rule of law, and general civility are concerned. The increasing hegemony of Sinhala Cultural Buddhism’s worldview over the society is the most damaging development of its mixed bag of good and bad, giving the bad a decisive upper hand.

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Three years since Aluthgama: Hopes for peaceful coexistence remain more elusive than ever 
The BBS led public rally in the heart of the tension-ridden area in June 2014 resulted in the four deaths and the widespread destruction of Muslim property while engendering fear and demanding subservience

By Ayesha Zuhair-Thursday, 15 June 2017

Exactly three years have lapsed since the Aluthgama riots, a seismic event in the history of Sri Lanka’s troubled ethnic relations. On 15 and 16 June 2014, mobs, in a well-organised manner, unleashed collective violence on Muslim-owned businesses and homes in Aluthgama, Beruwala, Dharga Town, Welipenna and Mathugama in the District of Kalutara, located along the island’s south-western coastal belt. The two days of rioting resulted in the loss of four lives, injured 80 persons, and caused extensive damage to property.

Three years since Aluthgama Hopes for peaceful coexistence remain more elusive than ever.docx by Thavam on Scribd

SRI LANKA: OVER 20 ATTACKS ON CHRISTIANS THIS YEAR

A BUDDHIST SHRINE IN HAMBANTOTA DISTRICT, SRI LANKA, JULY 2016. (PHOTO: OPEN DOORS INTERNATIONAL)

14/06/2017

There have been over 20 violent incidents against Christians so far this year, according to the National Christian Evangelical Alliance of Sri Lanka. Following a parallel surge in violent attacks on Muslims in the country, the alliance calls on the government to ensure the protection of minorities and their places of worship.

“Since the current government took office in 2015, over 190 incidents of religious violence against churches, clergy, and Christians have been recorded,” said the alliance in a declaration on 27 May.
The recent attacks on Christians and Muslims have been blamed on a Buddhist nationalist organisation called Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) or the “Buddhist Power Force”.

Embed from Getty Images

Image: Venerable Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thero, the controversial Buddhist monk and leader of the Buddhist nationalist organisation who is in hiding.

The police are seeking to arrest its secretary general, the controversial Buddhist monk Venerable Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thero, who is in hiding. Meanwhile, another BBS member was one of five people arrested for instigating religious violence against Muslims.

In a video message released on 11 June, a BBS spokesman denied that the group was behind the anti-Muslim attacks, but accused the government of allowing Islamic extremism to flourish in the Buddhist-majority nation.

“Within a decade or two, Buddhism will be under serious threat in Sri Lanka,” spokesman Dilanthe Withanage said.

“If we want to resort to extremists, violence or terrorism, we have the power and the strength to do it. But we will never resort to such things.”

‘Disrupting the peace’

Human rights groups, religious leaders, lawmakers and the United Nations have all called on the Sri Lankan government to take immediate action against sectarian violence and growing tensions in the northern and eastern parts of the country.

The Christian Evangelical Alliance pointed out that freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) is a fundamental right guaranteed by the constitution but that protests continue to occur unrestrained against minority places of worship.

hold church services, but he said he did not know that he needed permission. A mob of around 200 people gathered outside the police station, including two dozen Buddhist monks, who began shouting and blocking Sampath and his wife’s passage home.

When the couple eventually made it home, they found that their house had been pelted with stones, which had smashed the windows.

When Sampath confronted the mob, who had followed them home and were still shouting, he was hit with a pole.

‘To be Sri Lankan is to be Buddhist’

President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe have both ordered police to “uphold the law”, but the violence continues.

According to UCAN, another large protest against a Christian place of worship was staged on 18 May in Devinuwara – in Matara district, in the south – by around 2,000 protesters, including 30 Buddhist monks.

In Sri Lanka, race and religion are intertwined and the background to the simmering tensions and outbursts of violence is the commonly-held belief that “to be Sri Lankan is to be Buddhist”. (Photo: Open Doors International)

The surge of religious and ethnic violence is particularly concerning in a country that only emerged from a civil war in 2009 – a war that lasted more than 25 years, during which between 70,000 and 80,000 people were killed.

In Sri Lanka, race and religion are intertwined and the background to the simmering tensions and outbursts of violence is the commonly-held belief that “to be Sri Lankan is to be Buddhist”.

Understanding this belief, thought to be held by more than 70% of the population, is key to understanding the opposition to minority religions, especially Christianity (7% of the population), Hinduism (12%) and Islam (9%).

The island-country is 45th on the Open Doors 2017 World Watch List, which ranks the 50 countries where Christians are most under pressure for their faith.
*Name changed for security.

Uma Oya destruction aggravates – Name Bandarawela – Ella region a disaster zone

June 14, 2017 by

The authorities should declare the Bandarawela – Ella region that has been destroyed due to the ‘multi-destructive Uma Oya project a disaster zone says the convener of the People’s Front against Uma Oya multi-destructive project the JVP Councilor of Uva Provincial Council Samantha Vidyarathna.

He said already 4625 houses have been damaged, some have been flattened to the ground and 2,333 wells, springs and streams have completely dried up.
He said cracks have appeared at several public buildings and among the damaged buildings are Makulella Vidyalaya, Makulella Temple, Egodagama Temple, Heeloya Temple, Kurundugolla Temple, Udaperuwa meditating center, Dickarawa Nunnery and Medaperuwea Mosque.

Mr. Vidyarathna said farmers have to abandon their cultivations due to non availability of water due to the destructive project while tea small holders, businessmen and self-employed in the area too have been affected.

Speaking further Mr. Vidyarathna said, “The destruction has escalated  during the last few weeks. A large crack has appeared on Colombo – Badulla road and a part of the road has collapsed. Bandarawela – Heel Oya main road too has collapsed.

Cracks have appeared in the area where Damro building is situated and a seven story building is being built. Buildings with 6 or 7 stories have reclined and wide cracks have appeared on walls in houses in the area.

To save human lives, as there are several schools in the area and it is a populous city center it should be declared a disaster area considering the destruction it would cause and action should be taken accordingly,” said Mr. Vidyarathna.

Yahapālanaya Suppresses Investigation Of Rs 16 Billion Duty Free Vehicle Permit Scam Involving Govt Servants And BMW Importer

JUNE 13, 2017

Sri Lanka Customs has suppressed an inquiry into a 16 billion rupee tax revenue fraud involving government servants and the BMW motorcar importer, Prestige Automobiles, Colombo Telegraph can reveal today.

Heinz Adolf Reuter – Chairman and Managing Director of Prestige Automobiles

According to documents in the possession of Colombo Telegraph, Customs had inquired into the importation of 1728 brand new BMW vehicles under the concessionary duty permits issued by the government for the public servants between 2011 and 2014. 

The Central Investigation Bureau of the Customs (CIB) elicited evidence in May 2016 to the effect that the subject 1728 brand new BMW vehicles imported through Prestige Automobiles, Colombo in the name of various permit holders were in fact imported not by the permit holders themselves but by third parties who are not entitled to avail of duty concessions offered to public servants by the Government. It has also been found that the value of the Imported vehicles disclosed in the commercial invoices, proforma invoices and the CusDecs, tendered to Customs by declarants in the names of permit holders are not the actual transacted values for the vehicles in question.

CIB estimates that the loss incurred by the government on account of this fraud is estimated to be over 16 billion rupees, Rs 16,263,535,365.00 to be exact. (see the document below)

Prestige Automobiles, Colombo, the authorised representative of the BMW AG Germany, has not provided the invoices with true market value to the Customs for the cars imported on tax concessionary permits and had instead had submitted fictitious invoices through another German company called Navigare International which, established by the same founder member, Heinz Adolf Reuter – Chairman and Managing Director of Prestige Automobiles, Colombo.

Surprisingly on 21st of May, 2016 the Director of Customs had instructed all officers to postpone all inquiries and investigations with regard to valuations of motor vehicles. 

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