Protestors in Jaffna call for release of Tamil political prisoners

A protest was held in Jaffna today calling for the release of Tamil political prisoners who are being held in Sri Lankan prisons.

08 Aug  2017

Heavily armed troops from Sri Lanka’s Special Task Force and plainclothes CID officers watched over the protest, photographing demonstrators as they marched through the town centre, chanting slogans and holding placards.

Amongst those present were the General Secretary of the Ceylon Teachers Union, disappearances activist Jeyakumari Balendran and the father of Nimalaruban Ganeshan, a 28-year-old Tamil political prisoner who was beaten to death in his Vavuniya prison cell.

Read More

Continuing Torture & Sexual Violence In Sri Lanka – Part II

By Brian Senewiratne –AUGUST 8, 2017

Dr. Brian Senewiratne

Continued from last Sunday

The Detention cells – Joseph Camp

I have already referred to Joseph Camp.

“In 2016/17, seven Tamils interviewed by ITJP were brutally tortured in the main army garrison in Vavuniya (Joseph Camp. The ITJP studied in detail a variety of detention sites inside Joseph Camp in its March 2017 report based on 46 victims’ testimony and corroborated by 93 other accounts.

The ITJPs testimony reveals that the Terrorism Investigation Division of the police (TID is still taking suspects to Joseph Camp for torture during 2016 and the early part of 2017, though they are not the only unit to use this site for this purpose”.

The Sri Lankan Human Rights Commission

The national Human Rights Commission reported in 2016 that it “received complaints of persons being held at detention centres that are not gazetted”, which it said “promoted an environment conducive to torture”. Upon inquiry it was revealed the places at which persons were held for at least twelve hours were officers of the TID but not gazetted detention centres. The TID has only three places of detention – Boosa, TID Vavuniya and TID Colombo.

The Victims’ Statements

There now follows a section where the statements made by the victims are recorded. I reproduce some of them here. I have made no attempt to modify the statements made to something less offensive. As an example, if a victim stated he was called a “mother-fucker” I have not said “mother f……er”. If people find this too offensive, there is no compulsion to continue reading.

I have made this mistake once, and will not do it again. It was in writing my book, “Sri Lanka: Sexually Violence of Tamils by the Armed Forces”. I had a photograph of a 5-year old girl raped by the Armed Forces. Several people asked me to remove this photograph because it was too offensive. Foolishly I did and have regretted it ever since. If it is acceptable for the Armed Forces to rape a 5-year old girl, then, by the same token, it is acceptable for us to publish the photograph so that the world can see what has gone on (and is still going on) in Sri Lanka.

The number

The ITJP report is based on information from 24 cases. All but three were males. When such victims say that they were ‘raped’, they were males who were raped orally or rectally.

The statements made by the victims

Read More

No LTTE threat – their attempts at violence are over

BY MIRUDHULA THAMBIAH

2017-08-08

Jaffna District Parliamentarian and Ilankai Tamil Arasu Katchi (ITAK) Leader Mavai Senthirajah said Government and the hierarchy of the security forces had informed them that there is no threat by the LTTE and their attempts at violence are over.

"Many of those who are not connected to the LTTE are involved in this sword attack and other violent activities. Therefore if the Police are claiming that such activities are carried out by former LTTE members, they should tackle the issue carefully. The intelligence should clearly inquire into the matter and seek legal action. However the security forces cannot spontaneously arrest these rehabilitated LTTE members, it will affect them badly and will lead to an unpleasant situation," he said.

Following are excerpts of the interview:

?How do you assess the sudden beefed up security situation in the North with an increase in criminal activities?

A: Sword attack, drug issues, ongoing murder case of Vithya and the attack on High Court Judge Illanchelian have led us to investigate as to why there is an increase in violence and the methods to control the current situation in the North. We would like to raise the question as to how far the Police have done their role in a satisfied manner to control these crimes.

Initially when it was said that the attack was carried out at Judge Illanchelian , the President himself directed to conduct a complete investigation on this incident, however the Police said that it was not aimed at the Judge. Why did the Police rush into conclusions even before completing investigations? We were quite surprised when we heard the Police saying that it was not aimed at Judge Illanchelian and it was too early to rush into a conclusion. We feel it is not the correct way to investigate, if so the Police have the duty to convey on whom it was aimed. Also we would like to question if the investigations are already over?

Meanwhile a series of sword attack incidents were reported in some areas from the North. Also drug trafficking have continued as a never ending issue in the region. Thus the IGP said tri forces will be deployed to control the violence and criminal activities in the North. We would like to tell the IGP that deploying the tri forces in the region will create dissatisfaction among the people.

This will result in terrible effects. Our people have already suffered due to the 30 year war, and if the tri forces are deployed they will be frustrated and disappointed with the situation recollecting the past. People have expressed their dissatisfaction over the current move taken by the security forces.

Therefore the government should deploy honest and skilled Police personnel to overcome the criminal activities in the North including the drug menace. There had been complaints over some Police officers in the region and some of them have been arrested for committing criminal activities. They have tried to refrain from bearing their faults. Thus we would like to emphasize that honest Police officers should be deployed to tackle these issues. It will not be suitable to deploy the army or the tri forces in the region.

?The IGP recently said in Jaffna that terrorism had not been eliminated completely from the country and the attempts made by the LTTE organisation to stage a comeback should be defeated at any cost. Do you see any regrouping taking place?

A: Government and the hierarchy of the security forces had informed us that there is no threat by the LTTE and their attempts for violence are over. The Police have also said that there is no evidence or proof that criminal activities in the North are being attempted by rehabilitated LTTE members.
Many of those who are not connected to the LTTE are involved in this sword attack and other violent activities.

Therefore if the Police are claiming that such activities are carried out by former LTTE members, they should tackle the issue carefully. The intelligence should clearly inquire into the matter and seek legal action. However the security forces cannot spontaneously arrest these rehabilitated LTTE members it will affect them badly and will lead to an unpleasant situation.

? How do you access the activities of Aava Group? Do you see any connection with the LTTE members?

A: We are quite surprised to see the youth being involved in this Aava group activities. Police have the duty to find out the reasons behind why youth are involved in this gang. Once they find out it would be easier to take legal action against those who have operated as Aava group. It has been several months but a proper action was taken on this regard. Does this mean the Police are not skilled enough to carry out proper investigations on this regard? People do not welcome the involvement of the youth in such activities. At the same time it is not suitable to just express opinions on these Aava group activities but to act swiftly to control the situation.

?Why did you write a letter to Northern Chief Minister requesting to remove Provincial Minister Ananthy Sasitharan from her portfolio?

A: We did not send any such letters. We did not request to remove her from office. However when the Chief Minister said he would appoint Sasitharan as the Minister, we told him that our party ITAK had imposed disciplinary action on her, therefore he was told that our party will discuss and give him word on this regard.

However, when Sasitharan was appointed as the minister she spoke to me and thanked for giving her an opportunity. Yet two days before when we had a meeting with the Chief Minister he added if Sasitharan should be removed from her portfolio, he wants a letter from the ITAK hierarchy, we said we do not want such a move. Therefore it is a rumour and a made up story. We did not give any letter or did ask to remove her.

? Recently the Supreme Court held that Federalism is not separation. Do you think this judgment would be supportive to TNA's long term demand?

A: At the 2013 Provincial Council Election, we mentioned in our manifesto that sovereignty, autonomy and right to self-determination are the primary demands to solve the ethnic issue of this country. Some racist organizations challenged our manifesto and demands at the Supreme Court.
However the judgment delivered from this case is quite suitable to the current situation in the country. We feel excited to obtain such a judgment. Most southern politicians were not in favour of the term federalism and had always stressed not to use that term in the event of finding political solution. This had many times postponed the opportunities of obtaining a suitable political solution. Therefore the recent judgment by the Supreme Court states that Federalism will not lead to separation. This is quite a favourable judgment for the demands kept forward by the TNA. I am sure this would have answered the allegations made by the racists in the South. There are favourable reasons to now consider a federal solution in this country.

? It said that a fear psychosis prevails among the people in the North with the recent security changes in the region and a series of arrests of the youth. Is it true? Have you taken any action on this regard?

A: It will definitely create fear and an unpleasant situation among the people in the North. As I said earlier honest and skilled Police officers should be deployed in necessary areas to investigate over this issue. If they have actually committed wrong then legal action should be taken.

We have written to the President and Prime Minister in this regard. We are looking forward to meet both in a short duration to discuss over this matter to control the prevailing situation in the North. We will speak to them patiently and we will also express that people are not ready to accept violence in the region.

We will not allow any reoccurrence of violence in the North. If anyone is actually involved in such criminal activities we will not stop the authorities from taking legal action against them. We will never object to that move. We expect that we will get an opportunity to discuss this issue with the President and Prime Minister by tomorrow (9).
Email: che.myhero@gmail.com

The culture gap… a gaping black-hole on earth

“Culture is the widening of the mind and of the spirit.”
 ~Jawaharlal Nehru

2017-08-09

A black-hole is defined as follows: ‘A region of space having a gravitational field so intense that no matter or radiation can escape’. In today’s context, Sri Lanka is increasingly drawn towards that cultural black-hole which soaks and sucks every ounce of social decency, financial discipline and passionate idealism that once resided in the sublime hearts and minds of countless inhabitants of this once blessed land. 

Travelling down the lane of bygone times and history, one may argue, is an exercise in futility. The past is dead. Rabindranath Tagore said dwelling in dead yesterdays is death-dealing. But this is not an expedition into our past, nor is it a ‘futile’ journey to an era gone by. However much that past has been good and satisfying, however much it has been more analogous to a reasonable period of time in which one citizen was not treated above or below the other in socio-political sense, one has to come to terms with the brutal fact that it is dead, never to be reborn.  

This is the culture that reached its zenith in the middle of the second decade of the twenty first century 

Against a backdrop of such material, socio-econo-political dynamic, how can we try to rationalize the contemporaneous times and its bizarre realities that are manifestly eating into the very tapestry of our society? Along with the palpable collapse of the inherent nature of the cyclical turn of any human society, what has been painfully visible during the last couple of decades, or maybe since the so-called ‘opening’ of the economy, is socio-cultural decadence and a manifestly real degeneration of the core character of a transparent and accountable Sri Lankan. Political influence on the average citizen has expanded slowly after Independence but more raipdly so since the 1956-transformation- the dawn of the common man’s era- that influence gained a rapid acceleration. With the socialization of the economy, as has been evidenced in countries behind the ‘Iron Curtain’ during the Soviet Union days, shaping and defining of daily life of all men, women and children has come under the severe influence of government regulations, either in the sphere of the economy or in the social and cultural development of society. A rapid process of politicization of lives of the ordinary people assumed an accelerated pace.   

A culture of aggressive and vigorous activation of their political supporters aimed at their opponents, especially against the allies of the United National Party (UNP), set in and no continence on the part of the party in power, Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), was forthcoming. Although inter-party rivalries most often climaxing in some instances with violent confrontations, sometimes leading to even murder on rare occasions, set the pattern that has continued to date. Apart from these skirmishes among political party supporters, the general rationalization of such violent confrontations as a natural evolution of a ‘proficiency’ that was deliberately fashioned and crafted to justify and legitimize the angst amongst their supporters who take it upon themselves as a natural ‘right’ to suppress the legitimate rights of their opponents.  

This is the culture that reached its zenith in the middle of the second decade of the twenty first century. A debased and desecrated pattern of human development whose most conspicuous elements were impure practice of corruption and nepotism began to be accepted as the norm in our society. The most dangerous aspect of this process of debasement is, when such corruption was tolerated and condoned at the highest level, it empowered the lower layers of government service to embrace such a corruption-culture as an embroidered garb. From the highest echelons of the bureaucracy to the minor staff level of peons and drivers in the local civil service and from President downwards to Ministers, MPs to Pradesheeya Sabha members, this novel art of socio-political lifestyle took total control of their daily behaviour. The additional money so earned through these nefarious means became a constituent portion of their monthly incomes. This was so not only in the public sector, in some cases, it was more so in the so-called ‘sophisticated’ private sector boardrooms. Unnecessary obsequiousness to higher-ups on the ladder of seniority, unquestioning obedience to carry out unethical, immoral and sometimes illegal directives and orders seem to have come to stay. In the private sector they do it with a cosmetic finesse while in the public sector it is done with obscene brazenness.   

We certainly have arrived at a defining moment in history, a history that has been tarnished with many a scandalous misdemeanors and nepotism; that history of nepotism did not begin with the Rajapaksas and it won’t end with them either. The civil service of the olden days, which was earmarked for the best of the best in the country’s intelligentsia, is now being manned and ‘womanned’ by mediocre personnel of the greediest order. The culture off corruption and nepotism has not spared them.  
A history of forthrightness is being challenged by the dark forces of nihilism and servility. A service which once stood up to the politicos; a service which once was adamant that nothing contrary to the moral compass of one’s beliefs and faiths was materiel in the process of decision-making has given way to the temporary satisfaction of dark and inglorious desires of man. Its hold on the very determination of the masses’ needs and essential demands is absolute. It is not a very palatable consequence of this ignominious conduct of the holders of official reins.  

Whether it’s the Senanayakes or Jayewardenes, whether it’s the Bandaranaikes or Rajapaksas, the wheel of corruption has been turning in its brutally
excruciating spin

 Whether it’s the Senanayakes or Jayewardenes, whether it’s the Bandaranaikes or Rajapaksas, the wheel of corruption has been turning in its brutally excruciating spin. The masses sincerely hope that it won’t be the same with the Wickremesinghes and Sirisenas. The unfortunate victims have been the unsuspecting masses who fell in line at the poling both of each successive election. They, in their naïve belief and faith, expected the would-be rulers would be more honest and plainspoken than the ones they had chosen to reject. It is true of the old men and women who religiously stick to their daily routines of worshipping the gods and other of their choice; it’s true of the middle-aged breadwinners who day in and day out commute to and from their workplaces; it’s true of the youth whose rebellious nature caters for a more rapid and radical transformation of life and objective conditions prevalent in the country.   

A culture of aggressive and vigorous activation of their political supporters aimed at their opponents, especially against the allies of the UNP, set in and no continence on the part of the party in power

In this convoluted context of human aspirations and wishes, politicians who are far behind the sophistication of a developed liberal mindset, invariably look forward to making their own fantasies and avaricious demands prioritized over and above the demands of those who elected them. It is not a confrontation that is conducive to an amicable end. Yet each time the country’s masses chose to rebel against such unbearable odds, the State has overrun the forces of rebellion. In a democratic country it should be so. 

The lack of sophistication of the democratic manoeuvres, the lack of maturity of the societal structures and punishing gap between haves and have-nots have contributed to a massive sense of insensitivity and complacency on the part of the masses. They have not only come to accept the exception as a norm, they have chosen to embrace this culture as part of their own incomplete lives.  

The religious visit Kataragama as part of a pilgrimage; the riotous merchants of corruption and politicos’ henchmen visit the so-called abode of gods as a ritual to purify themselves of all their ungodly sins; children visit it because they are forced to worship a god considered to be all-powerful and more omniscient than any other religious leader. A culture of substitute values has overpowered and buried a culture whose foundations were built, brick by painstaking brick, over centuries of serene and sublime belief in the noble teachings of the Thathagatha.   

Gods and other deities of another religion have invaded the Teachings, corrupted and debased it with short-term solutions to age-old problems of mankind. More easily saleable items such as concepts of deities and instantaneous pardoning of sins have made their way into the Four Noble Truths and their versatile validity. Rational thinking and compassionate responses to human needs have been replaced by ‘credit and debit’ as social barter. When rulers reside in their lonely ‘bunkers’, they don’t realize that mayhem is breaking out outside their protected habitat. The warrens of august corridors are no more august, nor are they hallowed by humility and patience. The culture of all politicians, barring none, who are cocooned in their presidential palaces and other ignoble hideouts, has become insensitive and self-righteous and is a direct reflection of society’s ills. The self-righteous character of politicians has entitled them, according to their own assessment, to offer solutions to all problems facing their constituents. It certainly is not a promising landscape. The choice is between acceptance of this dangerous and destructive culture as our norm and its total rejection. How determined and gritty we could be is the ultimate test of our times.   

The writer can be contacted at vishwamithra1984@gmail.com

THE GAZETTE: POSTPONING PC ELECTIONS AND TAKING OVER PC POWERS BY PARLIAMENT

Image: Chairperson of EC says he is powerless!

07/08/2017

Sri Lanka government has gazetted draft 20th amendment to the constitution in order to postpone 3 provincial council elections due in October this year.

The proposed amendment says that  “Section 10 of the Provincial Councils Elections Act, No. 2 of 1988 is hereby amended in subsection (1) of that section, by the substitution for the words and figures from “Within one week” to “an election to such Council.”, of the words and figures “Within one week from the date specified in terms of Article 154DD of the Constitution, the Commissioner shall publish a notice of his intention to hold an election to all Provincial Councils.”.

“The election of members to all Provincial Councils shall be held on the same date and the Parliament shall determine the date on which all the Provincial Councils shall stand dissolved (in this Chapter referred to as the “specified date”): Provided that, such specified date shall not be later than the expiration of the term of the last constituted Provincial Council.”

Last Provincial Council  election was held in September 2014 in the Uva province. its desolation in on September 2019.

The amendment if pass by the parliament will have the powers to take over the any Provincial Council in case of its dissolution due to any other reason other than ending its term.

Here is the relevant clause: “In the event of dissolution of any Provincial Council by reason of the operation of the provisions of sub-paragraph (c) of paragraph (8) of Article 154B or by any other reason specified in any law, the powers of such Provincial Council shall be exercised by the Parliament until the specified date and the provisions of Articles 154L and 154M shall, mutatis mutandis apply in relation to the exercise of powers of the Provincial Council.”

This means if a provincial council is defeated in a no confidence motion or election petition there will be no by election. In such a eventuality the parliament will run the Provincial Council. This clause completely negate the meaning of power sharing.

Here are the Gazette issued on 3rd Aug 2017 and dated 28th July 2017:
20th amendment gazette 01

20th amendment gazette 02

Why should only Ravi resign? Ministers Kabir and Malik?

40 more high profile politicos including Dayasiri incriminated in Aloysius case! President never told Ravi to resign

By Banker-Aug 08, 2017

The State prosecutors who questioned Ravi Karunanayake went beyond their mandate, dragging in personal issues to make the Foreign Minister uncomfortable and to sensationalise the entire proceedings. Very similar to the infamous Batalanda prosecution in the 90s; there were a lot of similarities. 

Unfortunately the Foreign Minister responded to the questioning like a kindergarten child. Ravi Karunanayake is an accountant by profession. Surely, he could have responded to those questions more professionally. The lawyer who advised him needs his head examined. Moreover he could have conducted his private business in such a way that he would have not got his family humiliated and dragged into controversy and ridicule like this. 

In the first place Ravi Karunanayake was not the Minister in Charge of the Central Bank. The Prime Minister is the Minister of Economic Affairs and his Deputy at that time was Dr. Harsha de Silva. Both are not pushovers, they know the subject matter. Why have they not been questioned so far? 

The Ministers named in the controversy going through the Commission reports are Ministers Karunanayake, Malik Samarawickrama and Kabir Hashim. How Minister Hashim who has nothing to do with the economy in 2015 got dragged into the CB bond controversy only he would know. What was Samarawickrama who has nothing to do with the Central Bank doing in the Central Bank dealing room on that day? When will the prosecution question them? 

But what we now suspect is that none of them (Ministers) knew how a primary dealer makes money from turning a bond around and as a result they were all taken for a good ride by young Arjun Aloysius. They were then forced to do things by the young man to cover their tracks resulting in more losses to the State. 

It is also interesting to find out who authorised BOC to arrange a credit line of Rs. 10 billion in a record 10 minutes to Perpetual Treasures. At that time the State banks came under Minister Ravi Karunanayake. Therefore who gave the order to the BOC Chairman? Therefore the Commissioners, who have very little real knowledge as to what financial engineering really is, should instead of turning the proceedings into a circus, make a genuine attempt to manage the investigations in a dignified manner without making it a public circus. 

Ironically, the Joint Opposition (JO) Members of Parliament by filing a ‘No Confidence’ motion even before the report is made public is clear indication that they are trying move the attention away from the Rajapaksa family investigations which are now near completion. Most of them who are serving bail on corruption charges are using the bond debacle to cover up their sins through Minister Karunanayake. The Sirisena Government is happily walking into the JO stage-managed trap without taking stock of the real situation in the country. Once again political naivety on the part of President Sirisena and his Government.

Sources say it will take around one month to compile the report and also for the full transcript to be made public because it will require the agreement of the lawyers representing both parties. So why the indecent hurry for the Government to prosecute their frontrunner Karunanayake, when 90% of the investigations Sirisena promised in 2015 have not even led to one high profile person getting prosecuted? This is a clear indication of the sorry state of affairs in the Government.

In the final analysis, what is so surprising is that while the Bond Commission has been decisive and brutal in its questioning, the State prosecutors have done very little so far to fast-track many of the high-profile financial scandals involving the NSB, ETF, EPF and SLIC, money during Nivard Cabral’s tenure and Rupa Dheerasinge’s tenure as EPF Superintendent and her subsequent promotion as Assistant Governor. Her husband Dharma Dheerasinghe still continues to be Chairman despite his controversial appointment to a private bank board in 2011 by Nivard Cabral. Arjun Aloysius has surely had a hand in all those EPF transactions. 

The fact that the FCID and the Serious Crimes Division and the SEC have done nothing to prosecute the white collar criminals of the past regime is a direct indictment on the President and the Prime Minister. It seems the fall guy for the Government’s incompetence is now Minister Ravi Karunanayake. But surely the man is not going down without a good fight?

Is Sri Lanka Descending Towards Kakistocracy?

By Ameer Ali –AUGUST 8, 2017

Dr. Ameer Ali

On the eve of Sri Lanka’s independence in 1948 and in the immediate aftermath of that landmark event the island was an envy of many of its Asian neighbours. Domestic harmony and economic prosperity with a democratic polity was a rare combination in the Asian region at that time. Sri Lanka inherited from the British a healthy economy with a strong foreign balance, a robust democratic constitution reflecting the country’s pluralism and an efficient civil service. When Lee Kwan Yew visited the island in the early fifties he was amazed at the standard of living of the Sri Lankans and the level of development of the nation, and wondered whether the Singaporeans would ever reach that level. However, the very same Lee turned around later in the 1980s and warned Singaporeans, as soon as he detected symptoms of Chinese political chauvinism raising its ugly head, and pointed to them the way Sri Lanka was descending fast into an ethnic morass because of chauvinist politics.  In a strange twist of history, the late President JR Jayewardene after instigating the 1983 Tamil pogrom aspired to make Sri Lanka another Singapore. 

The historic political tranquillity and cosmopolitanism that prevailed even before colonialism has been shattered by deliberately cultivating and nurturing ethnic nationalism. In spite of the military victory over the Tamil separatists, Sinhala-Tamil-Muslim ethnic nationalism has risen to a new crescendo today thwarting every attempt at achieving national harmony and returning to the pre-colonial cosmopolitanism that enriched this splendid island. No amount of re-written constitutions is going to bring peace and political sanity unless the political leaders and their think tanks give up their parochialism and believe in the fundamental truth that this country belongs to all its people irrespective of their ethnic and religious differences. Numerical strength and weaknesses should not be allowed to stand in the way of recognising merit, talent, skill and enterprise. Nepotism, corruptionand the fear of the other have become the bane of this nation in recent decades. 

When political aspirants with mediocre talent and questionable personal integrity are eventually empowered to become rulers in a plural society that is a recipe for national disaster. This has been the sorry tale of Sri Lanka’s political destiny over recent decades. Although there had been nominal changes in the personalities of ruling regimes the qualitative decline in their talent, integrity and dedication to the nation has been an observable trend. One should only have to read through the parliamentary Hansards to note the declining quality of the parliamentary debates. What was once a delightful and enlightening source of reference to political observers and university undergraduates and independent researchers have become an embarrassing document of riotous cacophony in print. Is there any better evidence to prove the decent towards a kakistocracy (a Greek term for a government by the most unscrupulous or unsuitable people) than to listen to a foreign minister who pleads total ignorance of foreign affairs?     

What can one expect from a system where at the apex institution of the country’s monetary management, the Central Bank, the governor is chosen not because of his or her managerial and financial expertise but because of political allegiance? What can ordinary citizens benefit from a public service in which public servants are underpaid and are therefore more keen to augment their income through personal favours and bribes than to provide dedicated service to the nation? What justice can citizens expect from the national judiciary when the judges themselves are political appointees? The judiciary and the security forces that are supposed to maintain law and order has become totally impotent even to arrest and punish thugs in saffron robes who have become a law unto themselves. Aren’t these evidence of a descent towards Kakistocracy?                   

On the economic front, while nature has been abundantly kind to this nation justifying the legendary description of a ‘pearl in the Indian Ocean’, that nature’s benevolence has been recklessly squandered and mismanaged with scant regard for costs and benefits. Populist politics has been the driving motive behind many of these projects in recent years.  Several development projects have enriched the politicians and their advisors more than the people who are supposed to benefit from them. This may be the reason why in one of the Middle Eastern countries politicians are compared to cucumbers because both quickly get fatten. Mega development projects with substandard professional input and funded by borrowed money have not only turned Sri Lanka into a huge debtor nation but also have endangered its natural environment. The Uma Oya irrigation project is a classic example of this calamity. The people of Bandarawela have been forced to sacrifice their drinking water to quench the thirst of Hambantota farmers. In a latest revelation, this project is proving to be a disaster to the ancient Mahayana Buddha statue at the Dowa Rajamaha Viharaya. Like Uma Oya the Lakvijaya or Norocholai power plant is another fiasco.

What were the government and municipal administrators were doing for years when Colombo, the capital city, was fast converting into a garbage dump in from of their eyes? I am aware of the clean-up campaign undertaken by Gotabaya Rajapaksa under the former regime. Why was that campaign discontinued? What is the use of crying now about the invasion of dengue mosquitoes after allowing rubbish to flood the environment? Doesn’t a stitch in time save nine?       

Read More

Govt. seeks Rs.70.5 mn to cover ministries' travel expenses

2017-08-08 15

The government today presented a supplementary estimate to Parliament seeking approval for Rs.70.5 million to meet the travel expenses incurred by some ministries and departments in June.

The following five ministries were also among the government institutions which sought funds to cover travel expenses.

Foreign Affairs Ministry	Rs.28.8 million
City Planning Ministry	Rs.1.2 million
Sports Ministry	Rs.1.4 million
Power and Energy Ministry	Rs.1 million
National Co-existence and Languages Ministry	Rs.3.09 million
Sri Lanka Army	Rs.20 million
Navy	Rs.10 million

The government also sought the approval for the payment of

Rs.283.1 million	As royalties for dredging sea sand in the Port City Development Project
Rs.2.041million	For setting up a Digital Multimedia Crime Investigation Centre

Further approval was sought to spend

Rs.250.5 million

to set up a National Cyber Security Unit

(Yohan Perera and Ajith Siriward

ETCA and the FTA agenda: Sri Lanka is a late comer vis-à-vis fast-growing South East countries

Wednesday, 9 August 2017

FTAs are a global trend and all countries in the world are increasingly using them as an engine of trade-led growth. According to the World Bank, more than 50% of world trade is conducted under trade agreements. The fast growing South East Asian countries have an average of eight FTAs per each country. So, why some segments of the Sri Lankan society are opposing FTAs in general, and ETCA, in particular? Are there any rational behind such opposition?

Challenges and prospects
of ETCA

Probably “ETCA” or Economic and Technology Cooperation Agreement was one of the top 10 most debated subjects which received the highest level of media attention in Sri Lanka during the last two years. People from all walks of life – from farmers and trishaw drivers to factory workers and then to doctors, architects, monks and politicians – most of the times without a clue of what it is, talk about it and point the finger at ETCA as the cause for many crises, failures or disasters in the country.

Those behind this unsubstantiated propaganda claim that it would destroy local jobs, industries, services and is beneficial only to India as in the case of the current FTA between two countries or India-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement (ISFTA), to which the current trade balance in favour of India has been attributed. However, the data show that 94% of imports from India came outside of ISFTA while Sri Lanka used preferences granted under ISFTA for 65% of its exports in 2015, indicating Sri Lanka benefited more from it than India.

Interestingly, this blame game is taking place while ETCA is still at a very early stage of drafting and negotiation. Whatever the motives behind this misinformation and misinterpretation of facts/figures, one has to make any rational judgment of its advantage to the country only on the basis of a proper study of costs and benefits of ETCA.

Contradicting most negative claims levelled against ETCA, available empirical research point to the evidence of potential benefits from it. According to a recent Commonwealth study, a full-fledged FTA with India will result in 74% increase in Sri Lankan exports to India. The study also identified 10 export products which could increase exports from $35 million to $655 million.

Another forthcoming study based on quantitative and qualitative research shows that a comprehensive deal covering all areas of cooperation including services, investment, and technology, could bring in more gains than from an agreement focusing only on one sector such as trade in goods. However, these benefits will highly depend on finding effective solutions to the outstanding issues of ISFTA, which were shown to be the major reasons for the poor performance in terms of utilisation of preferences granted under the FTA.

Challenges of ETCA

Amongst the major challenges, it is imperative to address implementing issues of ISFTA including non-tariff barriers related to testing, inspection and certifying of Sri Lankan exports as well as issues of rules of origin and commencing as a parallel process along the negotiations on ETCA to remove quotas on major exports of Sri Lanka to India. While Mutual Recognition Agreements (MRAs) could play a powerful role in minimising or eliminating NTBs, to be more effective, such MRAs have to be backed by strong institutional and compliance mechanisms on the side of Sri Lanka.

Second, Sri Lanka needs to make sure that the scope of the ETCA is adequately deepened, in particular, in terms of trade facilitation and widened to cove trade in services, investment, various aspects of technology cooperation, in addition to trade in goods. In respect of services, it is important to strategically to select service sectors for liberalisation keeping politically sensitive elements of Mode 4 of trade in services, in particular, movement of independent persons, outside ETCA until appropriate legal and regulatory structures are put in place.

Third, in view of outstanding economic asymmetry between two countries, Sri Lanka should seek a special and differential treatment in terms of a larger negative list, favourable rules of origin and a longer period of phasing out of tariffs as was in the case of ISFTA.

Fourth, on the domestic side, it is important to educate and raise awareness of customs officials on and the business sector on the concessions available under FTAs, facilitate testing, inspection and certification, create awareness of standards and regulatory requirements in importing countries including India among Sri Lankan exporters, and establish Help/Information Desks at borders that can address trade facilitation issues in a timely manner.

Fifth, in order to benefit from the market access opportunities of ETCA, Sri Lanka should produce what trading partners demand. It has been pointed out by Indian counterparts that Sri Lanka has utilised only around 50% of quotas given under ISFTA. While the size, as well as certain conditions of quotas, could easily be trade-restrictive leading to under-utilisation, this could also be due to supply side constraints in Sri Lanka, and hence, there is an urgent need to enhance the supply-side capacity of Sri Lankan exporters.

Finally, one cannot overemphasise the importance of securing the cooperation of civil society and partnership with business sector through consultation since it is people who will utilise ETCA and gain from it. It is important is to prepare the local business sector, particularly the SMEs to capture the huge market opportunities that would be created under ETCA. At the same time, business sector should work with the government to correct the misinformation and misinterpretations about the impact of ETCA on the economy and the society.

Most dynamic countries in the world used FTAs as a strategy for trade-led growth

Multilateral trade negotiations are the first best mechanism to create market opportunities as the WTO promotes non-discriminatory, fair and equitable international trading system. Such a process would simultaneously open Sri Lanka’s and all its foreign markets, achieving the maximum benefits from trade, raising living standards and stimulating growth across the world.

Though the GATT/WTO led multilateral negotiations produced remarkable results over the last six decades, they usually take a long time as the whole membership is involved in the decision making process and the most recent round of negotiations is currently stalled. An important alternative course, actively pursued by all countries, is to engage in regional and bilateral trade agreements (RTAs and BTAs) as well as Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreements (CEPAs).Though there are some costs associated with these agreements, they can be negotiated within a relatively shorter period of time because such deals take place among a few countries or between two countries.

As the Doha multilateral trade round has not been moving as expected, in a world of increasing protectionism, countries find no other alternative for seeking market access except to depend on regional and bilateral trade agreements. To date, 445 agreements have been notified to WTO while 279 are in force. After the FTA between Mongolia and Japan, now all WTO members have at least one FTA.

According to the World Bank and OECD data bases, trade agreements cover more than 50% of total world trade. There are 260 trade agreements in the Asia-Pacific region, of which 87% are categorised as FTAs. An interesting observation is that South East Asian countries record an average of 8 FTAs per country. In terms of the value of trade, 33% of region’s total world exports and 44% of region’s total world imports were under FTAs during 2012-2014 with wide variation among countries.

Most South-East and North-East countries (including Brunei, Myanmar, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Korea and Singapore) have conducted over 70% of their trade under FTAs during the same period while some smaller countries such as Mongolia, Marshal Islands, and Micronesia reported the least shares followed by Maldives, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

One interesting observation is that the fast-growing South-East and North-East countries have entered into a higher number of FTAs than the latter group of less advanced developing countries. The table shows clearly that the rapidly growing South East countries used FTAs as a major trade strategy and recorded higher trade/export contribution to GDP. Their FDI contribution to GDP is also high as they appeared to have benefited from the trade and FDI nexus.

In contrast, Sri Lanka which signed only four agreements has recorded remarkably lower trade and investment performance than all South East countries. In particular, it lags behind Cambodia, Lao PDR, and Vietnam which are treated as the less-advanced members of ASEAN and are classified by The United Nations either as economies in transition or least developed countries (LDCs).

Why Sri Lanka should
be part of FTA clubs? 

Sri Lanka cannot afford to go behind the “boat” any longer. It is imperative for Sri Lanka to be better connected with the world taking a more strategic approach in future trade agreements, whilst addressing shortcomings in existing FTAs. There are a number of compelling reasons why Sri Lanka should follow this path:

Sri Lanka’s recent trade performance has been far from satisfactory, marked by a decline as a share of the country’s GDP as well as of world trade

Sri Lanka has lagged behind in pursuing FTAs, especially compared with countries in South and Southeast Asia, hence there is a need to catch up with the rest of the world

Both developed and developing countries are using FTAs as a major trade policy strategy for their trade-led growth. Like or not, Sri Lanka has to be part of this global phenomenon without being further isolated. FTAs are even more crucial for a trade dependent small country like Sri Lanka to go beyond domestic market and to achieve economies of scale.

In view of the changing dynamics of international trade, Sri Lanka should take advantage of the country’s location and low-cost connectivity with the rest of Asia, and establish a trade hub, a logistics hub, and a financial centre which are intrinsically interconnected, well-negotiated FTAs could play a critical role

FTAs could play a vital role in attracting FDI and integrating the Sri Lankan economy with global value chains

Realising the importance of integrating further with the rest of the world, Sri Lanka started negotiating FTAs with the Asian countries including China, India, and Singapore and intends to build similar trading partnerships with some selected countries in the West. Sri Lanka’s new policy direction to increase connectivity through FTAs is well justified not only in terms of its national objectives such as employment creation but also in view of growing popularity among both developed and developing countries to use such agreements as engines of growth and development.

In summary, one, Sri Lanka should use comprehensive economic partnerships agreements covering trade in goods, services, investment, and technology as a major strategy of its Export and FDI-led Development agenda, but some prioritisation based on analysis on costs and benefits is essential. Such a strategy should be part of a comprehensive trade development agenda and be in line with the New Trade Policy of the Government.

Two, the low or slow performing two bilateral and two regional agreements that Sri Lanka is a member demonstrate clearly that just singing a FTA is not sufficient at all for a country to capture benefits from such pacts. FTAs create only market access to foreign markets. In order to gain from such opportunities, Sri Lanka has to prepare domestic economy with enabling policies including tariff reforms, legislative and regulatory structures, trade logistics/facilitation, and in particular, producing what is demanded by foreign trading partners.

Three, international experience shows that a well-crafted negotiation strategy based on in-depth research with adequate domestic reforms and preparations could deliver expected results from such agreements.
(The writer is former Chief Economist and Director of Trade and Investment of United Nations ESCAP.)

Ravi K - Stirred But Not Shaken In The Face Of A Witch-Hunt

By Muhammed Fazl

(Lanka-e-News- 08.Aug.2017, 11.30PM)  “Do not concern yourself with things about which you have no knowledge. Verily, your hearing, sight, and heart -- all of them will be called to account" - (Qur'an 17:36).

When the prosecution is malicious when in a court of law, taking into consideration all possible legal ramifications, it would only be wise for a defendant to feign ignorance than to self-incriminate where it really matters. And this is precisely what I believe Mr. Ravi Karunanayake (RK), the Minister of Foreign Affairs did when he was questioned at the Presidential Commission to inquire into the ‘Bond Scandal’ (PCIBS) on July 31, 2017.

In a flawed judicial system where ‘Presidential Commissions’ are generally set up to appease the voter population, when such a Commission is appointed at the behest of or by a leader of a political party opposed to that of the defendant who may or may not be directly involved in one of the biggest financial scandals in the history of Sri Lanka, a comedy of errors does it not become when its presiding judges are partial towards the prosecution or when they exceed far beyond the realm of their mandate?

Set up originally to inquire and ONLY into possible malpractices related to issuance of SELECTED Treasury Bonds by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL), I believe the PCIBS and its purpose was defeated the very moment judges and prosecuting attorneys alike questioned RK about the lease and purchase of the Monarch apartment by a company whose Directors happens to be his wife Mrs. Mela Karunanayake and his daughter Miss. Ornella Karunanayake. As an investigative writer and an independent social/political activist, going through the transcripts of the Commission and having carefully observed the recent turn of events, sense I do the existence of a possible witch hunt against RK and/or a conspiracy against the United National Party (UNP) itself where he is a key member of.

Being reminded of the following quote of Victor Hugo in ‘Les Misérables’ - “In a little town, there are many mouths which talk, and very few heads which think”, I sincerely hope I am not alone in sharing the following observations,

1. Out of the 88 submitted by the Financial Crimes Investigation Division (FCID), when ONLY 15 of those large scale corruption cases have been filed by the office of the Attorney General (AG) since the ‘Good Governance’ government came into existence two plus years ago, wouldn’t it be fair for one to accuse the Minister of Justice Mr. Wijeyadasa Rajapaksa and the office of the AG of being incompetent and lethargic if not complicit? When cases involving family members of the ex-President Mr. Mahinda Rajapaksa (MR) and members of his Cabinet under his regime are ‘swept under the carpet’ as against the ‘unrelenting’ efforts of the attorneys representing the AG in the ‘Treasury Bond’ case, would it not be a waste of time to expect similar ‘Presidential Commissions’ to investigate cases of such magnitude that took place during the MR regime?
2. If the testimony of one Miss Anika Vinodhini Wijesuriya (AW) is what really triggered the media frenzy and the impetuous questioning of RK especially by the prosecuting Additional Solicitor General Mr. Dappula de Livera, shouldn’t AW, her credibility and her motives be questioned at the same time?

And since her testimony affects the personal lives of those being questioned and or the government they represent, I believe Miss Wijesuriya’s relationships with individuals hell-bent on bringing down the current government becomes relevant to the proceedings of the Commission as well. Hence, the need for AW to come clean by disclosing all information with regards to her relationships with Mr. Kanchana Wijesekara (son of MR loyalist and ex-MP Mahinda Wijesekara), Mr. Namal Rajapaksa (son of MR) and of course with the alleged mastermind behind the ‘Treasury Bond’ scandal, Mr. Arjun Aloysius (AA).

3. As claimed by AW, be they clients or family friends, does not the failure of AW to inform RK or his daughter Ornella well in advance about the impending testimony on the sale/lease of the apartment at the CIBS indicate a sense of maliciousness towards the family of RK? Or could the actions of Miss Wijesuriya be representative of her true nature even after knowing that RK had appointed her father, Mr. Nahil Wijesuriya as the Chairman of Cooperative Wholesale Establishment (CWE) at one point…, and whose inner circle of friends include the likes of Mr. Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
4. Even though Mr. Arjun Aloysius (AA) of Perpetual Treasuries Limited has not been found guilty to date by no court of law over the Bond scandal, on the same premise where Mr. Ravi Karunananyake has been alleged to have benefitted monetarily from AA and being summoned to the PCIBS as a result of it, shouldn’t Miss Anika Wijesuriya be put on a similar spot as well for pocketing a tidy sum from the sale/lease of her apartment? In a hypothetical context, if it is not OK for Mr. Ravi Karunanayake to benefit monetarily from AA’s allegedly swindled money, would it be OK for Miss Wijesuriya to benefit from the same tainted kitty?
5. As per the testimony of RK, since AW did not want to get into a legal agreement with the family of RK for the lease of her apartment, it seems, unknown to RK, Mr. Arjun Aloysius who is known to Miss. Ornella for well over a decade had stepped in temporarily to lend his name and a cheque belonging to one of his companies to cover the entire lease amount in order to seal the deal and for which he was reimbursed in cash as claimed by Miss Ornella Karunanayake.
6. Contradicting her own statements where she maintains that she did not have a problem in leasing out her apartment to the family of RK in the first instance, instead of signing it with the intended tenants, why did then Miss Wijesuriya subsequently opted to sign the agreement with M/s Walt & Row, a company that is unrelated to the family of RK? The way I see it, back then, no one had a problem about who is signing what and with whom. And now that ‘shit has hit the fan’, Miss AW seems to be all gung-ho against her alleged ex-lover (AA), her ex-client (Miss Ornella) and over possible political loyalties best known only to her.
7. In life, under oath in a court of law or otherwise, as a norm, disclose one does not information which could knowingly incriminate people who are near and dear to us. This attitude in general is representative of basic human values towards people we love and or respect. But in the case of ‘holier than thou’ Miss Anika Wijesuriya and her testimony at the CIBS, fact or fiction, she made sure she implicated Arjun Aloysius by testifying that he requested her to destroy the lease agreement in question. Knowing very well that there exist a copy at the concerned government department, I personally doubt very much that the educated AA would have made such a request or for that matter AW entertaining such a request. Either case, this private incident (if it had really happened) known only to AA and AW wouldn’t have been raised by the prosecuting attorneys UNLESS AND UNTILL voluntarily disclosed by AW herself. Anika Vinodhini Wijesuriya, vicious or vengeful, only time would tell.
   
   While a concerted and a collective effort has been made in ‘trying and convicting’ RK in a ‘trial by media’ backed by vested interests, not be outdone by negative comments appearing against AW on social media and on news sites, it was indeed pathetic of Miss. Wijesuriya to release a picture of her with her dad and to use one Jacqueline Senanayake to write on her behalf in making her case look good on Colombo Telegraph.
8. If making a connection between the purchase of the Monarch apartment by a company (for the use of its Directors) and the ‘Bond Scandal’ is what it takes to bring about a successful prosecution for the Attorney General and his miserable team, I feel nothing but pity for the judicial system in this country.

The apartment in question was bought and is owned by M/s Global Transport Logistics, and whose directors happens to be the wife and daughter of Mr. Ravi Karunanayake. RK being one of the first to declare his sources of income and details of his assets at the Election Secretariat prior to contesting the last Parliamentary Elections, should one find discrepancies or irregularities in his statements, the right course of action would be is for the concerned to make a formal complaint at the respective government authority established to address such issues. And for those prosecuting attorneys at the PCIBS, I suggest they read the mandate or the purpose behind setting up the Commission once more…. and before they make fools of themselves in the eyes of the learned.

9. With dozens of cases are pending against members of the Joint Opposition (JO) and their henchmen, when was the last time the AG’s office requested or hacked into phones and computers belonging to such suspects whose cases of fraud involve much larger amounts?
10. When dozens of cases involving racism, racial attacks and racist monks have been filed with the AG’s department in the last 2 years, could there be a hidden political agenda possibly to serve vested interests when comparing the slow pace in bringing about a closure to such cases as against the current ‘witch hunt’ waged by the AG’s department against a prominent member of the UNP who happens to be only an associate of the prime suspect involved in the ‘Bond Scandal’?

Assuming the AG is of the view that RK when as the Minister of Finance would have connived with AA to issue Treasury Bonds worth Rs. 75 billion knowing well the possibilities of raking in billions in profits just by manipulating rates and conveying insider info exclusively to AA among others, and thereby RK receiving kickbacks in return in the form of a luxurious apartment etc., I humbly request the AG and his team to implicate and or convict Mr. Arjun Aloysius, his father-in-law the ex-Governor of Central Bank, Mr. Arjuna Mahendran and all other officials who may have directly been involved in the scam BEFORE zeroing in on associates or friends who may have benefitted from the ill-gotten gains in the aftermath, if that is the case.

Having campaigned for President Sirisena during the last Presidential Elections and operating from his residence at Colombo-07, it is public knowledge and a common practice for corrupt henchmen and wheeler-dealers close to the ex-President Mahinda Rajapaksa to donate campaign funds, gifts etc. to the current President, Prime Minister and to MPs of the current government during and long after elections are over. This age-old practice is none other than to win favors or simply to rub shoulders with the powerful. In this context and hypothetically, if the family of RK too had been recipients of such generosity, I see no reason why they should be the only ones to be singled out by law enforcement or regulatory authorities. Moving forward, I believe it is about time we enact laws prohibiting serving legislators from receiving any kind of gratifications from the public.

While I believe a fraud of gigantic proportions had taken place with regards to the Treasury Bonds, instead of prioritizing just one case, I feel similar Presidential Commissions should be in place in order to investigate all such large scale cases involving fraudulent deals, transactions and theft of public funds.

As for the recent No-Confidence Motion filed against RK at the parliament, is it not an insult to the legislature and to the intelligence of the right-thinking when the 33 odd parliamentarians who signed it are facing serious allegations themselves over abuse of power and theft of public funds running into hundreds of millions?

To make matters more complicated, when UNP Parliamentarians themselves are at each other’s throats, do they not realize that disunity in the party may result in the destabilization of the government and possibly the overthrow of it as well?

On a personal note, unlike most of the current UNP MPs who played safe when murderous and thieving gangs ran amok during MR’s regime or those officials holding high posts in the current government, I was one of the few who literally put our lives on the line to bring about an end to the MR regime. Having developed a sense of zero tolerance towards corruption, moving forward, I believe many of us wouldn’t act any different should the AG’s Department fail to act independently or to get their priorities right…. and sooner.

By Muhammed Fazl

The writer is an independent social/political rights activist and can be contacted at muhammedfazl@msn.com or through Facebook (FB ID – Fazl Muhammed Nizar).

 

---------------------------
by     (2017-08-08 19:41:26)