India: Modern Slavery in Granite Quarries

( August 24, 2017, New Delhi, Sri Lanka Guardian) New research, commissioned by the India Committee of the Netherlands and Stop Child Labour, reveals that modern slavery, low wages, unsafe and unhealthy working conditions are rampant in granite quarries in South India. In some quarries, especially in waste stone processing, child labour is found.

There is an enormous gap in working conditions between permanent workers (mainly supervisors) and casual workers (70% of the workforce). The first group receives safety equipment, insurance and an employment contract, while the casual labourers doing the dangerous manual work, lack those fundamental labour rights.

The research shows that granite sourced from the investigated quarries is imported by 33 natural stone companies and 3 banks from Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Germany, Italy, Liechtenstein, Spain, The Netherlands, United Kingdom and the USA*. China is also a major importer, processor and re-exporter of Indian granite for the international market. Only a few companies are member of a sustainability initiative aiming to improve working conditions in the natural stone sector, but these initiatives still hardly tackle the deplorable working conditions in granite quarries. The draft report was sent to all 36 companies and banks, but only 5 reacted.

Focus on links between quarries and importers

India is a top exporter of granite, widely used for wall and floor tiles, tomb stones and kitchen tops in western countries. Western governments are an important end-buyer of granite for buildings, pavements, public squares etc. Half of the total world exports of raw granite comes from India.

The research was conducted in 22 quarries and 6 waste stone processing sites in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka in South India. These three states account for 75% of the granite production in India. Almost half of the sampled quarries have direct linkages with foreign importers. Other quarries also produce granite for export markets, but this is traded through intermediaries.

Modern slavery

More than 70% of the workforce in granite quarries are casual labourers employed on a daily wage or piece rate basis. With wage advances of one to three months wages and high interest loans, the quarry owners are tying workers to the job. Nearly 25% of the workers are recruited by providing loans, with annual interest rates of 24% to 36%. More than half of the migrant workers owe large amounts to quarry owners or contractors. This creates debt bondage, as workers must clear the amount before they can change employer. In nine quarries this form of modern slavery is prevalent.

Middlemen are recruiting worker, mostly migrants, but offer them no contract and do not respect legal requirements. Migrants constitute around two third of the total workforce in granite quarries. Workers are mostly from so-called ‘lowest caste’ of Dalits or Adivasi (tribal people). They are extra vulnerable due to their low social status in Indian society.

Health and safety in great danger

None of the workers hired through middlemen have access to a mandatory retirement scheme nor are they covered under health insurance, while these workers are most exposed to health risks.

Quarry workers face many occupational hazards and often get injured. Deadly accidents often remain unreported. Workers are also exposed to noise and dust causing work-related illnesses, like the incurable lung disease silicosis. Around 62% of the workers report that they are not receiving safety equipment such as a helmet, goggles, boots, respirator/mask and gloves, except during labour inspections.

Less child labour but still present

Child labour (below 18 years) used to be rampant in granite quarries in the early 2000s, but declined because of interventions by the government, industry and civil society organisations. However, the research revealed instances of child labour in main quarry operations in seven of the sample quarries. None of the investigated sites have a prevention and rehabilitation system for child labour in place.

Child labour is still rather prominent in waste stone processing. Nearly 80% of waste stone processing is done by women and children. Children below 14 years account for nearly 3% of the waste stone processing workforce and 5% of this workforce is between 15 and 18 years old.

Low wages, grossly inadequate housing and no active workers’ organisations
Considering the long working hours, wages in half of the researched quarries do not meet the legal requirements. Overtime is sometimes paid by providing snacks and alcoholic drinks. Daily wages are fixed, depending on work classification, between €3.55 and €6.19 a day. Housing provided for the workers is grossly inadequate. They share small rooms, with little ventilation, water or sanitation facilities and no privacy. Half of the quarries lack clean drinking water while toilet facilities were only observed in four big quarries. In none of the researched quarries an active labour union is present.

Recommendations

The report is offering recommendations to companies, sustainability initiatives, the Indian government and the European Union and its member states. Human rights due diligence by granite companies is needed to systematically eradicate rights violations, increase transparency, conduct risk assessments and implement improvement plans. The Indian government has to enforce existing labour laws and European member states should strengthen their public procurement policy (e.g. for granite).

Download the report The Dark Sites of Granite: Modern slavery, child labour and unsafe work in Indian granite quarries – What should companies do? here: www.indianet.nl/TheDarkSitesOfGranite.html .

Download the 8 page summary of the report: www.indianet.nl/pdf/TheDarkSitesOfGranite-abstract.pdf .

TheDarkSitesOfGranite-abstract.pdf by Thavam Ratna on Scribd

Ram Rahim Singh: clashes outside court after Indian guru convicted of rape

Army deployed in northern city of Panchkula, where tens of thousands of guru’s followers have descended to show their support
    

Ram Rahim Singh is considered one of the most powerful men in India. Photograph: Punit Paranjpe/AFP/Getty Images

Michael Safi in Delhi-Friday 25 August 2017 

A court in the north Indian city of Panchkula has convicted a flamboyant Indian spiritual leader of raping two of his female followers, sparking clashes between police and tens of thousands of his followers.

The Indian army was deployed in the city shortly after the court pronounced Ram Rahim Singh guilty of sexual assault. The self-styled “godman” has been taken into custody and will reportedly be flown by helicopter to a jail in Haryana state before sentencing on Monday.

Electricity supplies, mobile internet and cable television had been cut in parts of Haryana and Punjab state ahead of the verdict as up to 200,000 members of the Dera Sacha Sauda sect massed in Panchkula as a show of defiance and support.

Early reports following the guilty verdict said cars were being vandalised and that Singh’s supporters were clashing with police who were firing tear gas in response. There were also reports of attacks on journalists and media vans that were parked outside the court.

Singh, one of the most powerful men in India, runs the 69-year-old from its ashram headquarters on a sprawling, 1,000-acre Haryana property that boasts its own hotel, cinema, cricket stadium and schools.
Followers of Ram Rahim Singh wait near the court in Panchkula on Friday. Photograph: Altaf Qadri/AP

Singh, who claims to have 60 million followers around the world, has been accused by India’s elite Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) of sexually assaulting two female former members of the sect.

The rape allegations, which Singh denies, first surfaced in an anonymous letter sent to the Indian prime minister in 2002. Scrutiny of the ashram grew when a journalist investigating Dera Sacha Sauda was shot dead the same year.

The CBI alleges Singh was involved in murdering the journalist after suspecting he was responsible for helping to circulate the anonymous letter, according to the Hindustan Times. He is facing a separate, ongoing trial in that case and denies the charges.

Gurus are enlightening influences in the lives of many Indians, guiding decisions both sacred and mundane, but few have the following of Singh nor his political clout.
Soldiers stand guard near the court. Photograph: Altaf Qadri/AP

About 7,000 police officers were stationed in Panchkula ahead of the verdict, and mobile internet services were suspended. Hundreds of hospital beds have been reserved for possible casualties while, in the nearby city of Chandigarh, a cricket stadium has been prepared as a temporary jail, according to New Delhi Television.

In neighbouring Punjab, which shares its capital Chandigarh with Haryana, hundreds of train services have been cancelled while firearms and gatherings have been temporarily banned.


The US embassy in Delhi has also put out a travel advisory urging its citizens in India to be wary of possible unrest in the wake of the verdict.

Lithium in tap water may cut dementia

By James Gallagher-24 August 2017

People with higher levels of lithium in their drinking water appear to have a lower risk of developing dementia, say researchers in Denmark.

Lithium is naturally found in tap water, although the amount varies.

The findings, based on a study of 800,000 people, are not clear-cut. The highest levels cut risk, but moderate levels were worse than low ones.

Experts said it was an intriguing and encouraging study that hinted at a way of preventing the disease.

The study, at the University of Copenhagen, looked at the medical records of 73,731 Danish people with dementia and 733,653 without the disease.

Tap water was then tested in 151 areas of the country.

The results, published in JAMA Psychiatry, showed moderate lithium levels (between 5.1 and 10 micrograms per litre) increased the risk of dementia by 22% compared with low levels (below five micrograms per litre).

However, those drinking water with the highest lithium levels (above 15 micrograms per litre) had a 17% reduction in risk.

The researchers said: "This is the first study, to our knowledge, to investigate the association between lithium in drinking water and the incidence of dementia.

"Higher long-term lithium exposure from drinking water may be associated with a lower incidence of dementia."

Brain-altering

Lithium is known to have an effect on the brain and is used as a treatment in bipolar disorder.

However, the lithium in tap water is at much lower levels than is used medicinally.

Experiments have shown the element alters a wide range of biological processes in the brain.

This broad impact could explain the mixed pattern thrown up by the different doses, as only certain dosing sweet-spots change brain activity in a beneficial way.

Prof Simon Lovestone, from the department of psychiatry at the University of Oxford, said: "This is a really intriguing study.

"In neurons in a dish and in mouse and fruit-fly models of Alzheimer's disease, lithium has been shown to be protective.

"Not only that, but lithium is used to treat people with bipolar disorder and some studies have suggested that people on lithium for this reason, often for life, might also be protected from Alzheimer's."

He said there should now be studies to see if regular, small doses of lithium could prevent the onset of dementia.

No therapy

At the moment, there is no drug that can stop, reverse or even slow the progression of the disease.

Dr David Reynolds, from the charity Alzheimer's Research UK, said: "It is potentially exciting that low doses of a drug already available in the clinic could help limit the number of people who develop dementia.

"[Our analysis] suggests that a treatment that could delay dementia by just five years would mean that 666,000 fewer people develop dementia by 2050 [in the UK]."

The problem with this style of study - which looks for patterns in large amounts of data - is it cannot prove cause-and-effect.

Prof Tara Spires-Jones, from the Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences, at the University of Edinburgh, said: "This association does not necessarily mean that the lithium itself reduces dementia risk.

"There could be other environmental factors in the area that could be influencing dementia risk.

"Nonetheless, this is an interesting result that will prompt more research into whether lithium levels in the diet or drinking water may modify risk of dementia."

Follow James on Twitter.

The Sathyagraha was a success

DR.Vickramabahu Karunaratne-2017-08-24

We organized the Sathyagraha while people were suspiciously looking at clouds of corruption that appeared again. People assumed two years back, those dark clouds of corruption and brutal crimes have drifted with the defeat of the Rajapaksa fascistic government. Now they are suspicious. Are they descending again and are any successors of Mahinda Rajapaksa regime fill the vacancy.

They were wondering with not only a sense of disgust but one of bitter dejection. 'Sixty-Two Movement' with a successful Sathyagraha could challenge the resignation and pessimisms. Obviously, resorting to the old fall-back of resignation is hardly a response deserving of acceptance given the plight of the Sri Lankan nation and what it can and will mean to all of us in all communities: Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim. One could go further, Buddhists, Christians, Hindus, Muslims and other religious groups, too, should be devoted to make use of the opportunity given by the 8 January democratic uprising.

If one takes a step back and tries to project a perspective on the current plight of Sri Lanka, the sense of quiet euphoria that seemed to sweep across the nation with the defeat of the most corrupt and violent fascistic government is only a beginning; there was a massive table of barbarians that was left behind that should have been cleared. It has been a misfortune to see that the huge but temporary uprising has lulled many of us into a false sense of complacency in the matter of the return of fascism; more correctly a reorganized Mahinda Rajapaksa group is behind the power of Yahapalanaya. But now there is no excuse for any of us who participated in the Laksa sixty two uprising and perhaps experienced that optimism to pretend that it was a simple matter of false pretences. No, it was real and precisely because of that we can and must do all we could to turn back that garbage-bearing rising tide of Mahinda group.

This kind of situation is not without history. The current predicament is not without precedent in even many of the western democracies, the difference being that there were proletarian political alternatives as in the Russian revolution. Liberal capitalist leaders deluded into believing that they could practise this liberal philosophy as they wish, without let or hindrance. But they were soon brought down to earth by the democratic proletarian power groups who organized mass campaigns. It is wrong to assume that a similar option does not exist for us now, because the current "alternative" consists of the very lot that we thought we got rid of a couple of years ago, the Mahinda group! What makes it an absolute necessity that we change the present status quo is the fact that certain set of racist thieves and political bandits hidden behind Ranil Wickremesinghe and Maithripala Sirisena are beginning to form the illusion that if they combine that sense of absolute right to whatever they wish for, with the impunity of them and their cohorts being above the law; nothing and nobody can touch them or stop them.

The Sathyagraha was a success and showed everybody that the social and political awareness of the people who brought this government to power is high and they are prepared to fight back to put the Yahapalanaya on to the correct track. It also proved that the power of democracy is not over or receding. On the other hand it sent the message to fascistic Mahinda group and the Polpot SAITM camp that with a short and simple notice nearly 3,000 people turned up to face any kind of challenge. These were wise men or militants from town and country, each representing at least one hundred, in the respective town or the village.

Among them many were trade union leaders. It was a very conscious participation, make no mistake.

Continuing Torture & Sexual Violence In Sri Lanka – Part VI

By Brian Senewiratne –AUGUST 24, 2017

Dr. Brian Senewiratne

Continued from last Saturday 

Chapter 11 – Aftermath

“Family members in Sri Lanka remain under surveillance and intelligence services ask them where the victim has gone. This seems to be more about keeping the family silent and tracking the victim abroad, rather than investigating an escape which the security services themselves facilitated”

Suicide attempts

“The levels of trauma amongst recent torture victims from Sri Lanka, many of whom have attempted suicide, are alarming. Most of those we interviewed describe having contemplated suicide at some point. Typically the trigger is reprisals against relatives or being rejected for asylum……many victims describe themselves as suicidal and/or self harming. They must cope with the physical pain after torture as well as mental trauma and, on top of this, often find themselves in a foreign country.

Two of the 2016/17 torture cases tried to kill themselves almost immediately on arrival in the UK, one had to be hospitalised from the airport. It is worth noting that this is hardly the action of economic migrants desperate to reach Europe to secure a better life.

Immigration detention centres

“Being placed in immigration detention on arrival in the UK also exacerbated the suicidal feelings.”

I might add that asylum seekers arriving in Australia can remain in detention centres for years. I have described these detention centres, some in mainland Australia and some off shore in Christmas Island, Papua New Guinea (Manus Island), and in Nauru as ‘manufacturing centres for mental disease’. It is a gross violation of the UN Refugee Convention, signed and ratified by Australia (and the UK).

Re-traumatising

“The asylum application process is slow, leaving the victim in limbo, unable to work, unable to access support services effectively or reunite with loved ones”.

Australia’s asylum-seeker policy is an international disgrace, probably the worst in the world. There is an excellent book by Jane McAdam and Fiona Chong: “Refugees. Why seeking asylum is legal and Australia’s policies are not”. I strongly recommend this book.

The next two Chapters are very important. I will quote from them extensively.

Chapter 12 – Conclusion

“The UN Investigation into Sri Lanka described the modus operandi of “white van” abductions and established that incidents of sexual violence were not isolated acts but part of a deliberate policy to inflict torture by the security forces. Nothing has been done by the new Government to break this culture of impunity, even when a torture site has been identified by the ITJP and corroborated by visiting International teams.

After two and a half years in office, the Government’s failure to investigate past allegations makes it complicit in the continuation of the violations.

There has also been no attempt to vet public officials despite the commitment in UN HRC Resolution 30/1 to do this. Instead, the Government has rewarded alleged torturers and officials allegedly implicated in war crimes. As the ITJP reports show, alleged perpetrators have been sent abroad as diplomats and members of delegations to UN committees.

The ITJP evidence base s built on hundreds of detailed witness statements, through which the ITJP has now identified several alleged perpetrators (direct and in positions of command responsibility) and torture sites, but there are regrettably no witness protection mechanism for witnesses and victims inside or outside to testify, be it to a truth commission or court. The evidence base has been amplified by insider witnesses who confirm the modus operandi and methodology as well as identity of many of the torturers.

The Government has excused its failure to investigate saying it is waiting for a special court to be set up. However, it is now clear that the Prime Minister and President have no intention of establishing a hybrid court as the (former) Foreign Minister promised in Geneva in 2015. The President reassured the security forces in person and in public that not one of them will be charged with human rights violations, which reinforces the culture of impunity. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has made it clear that another domestic mechanism will not have the trust of victims after so many have failed to deliver justice. Furthermore, the limitations in the current criminal justice system render it incapable of delivering justice for serious crimes.

Chapter 13 – Recommendations.   

General Recommendations 

Independent Investigation

Immediately establish an independent credible body staffed by international investigators, using best comparative experience including CICIG (Comisión Internacional contra la Impunidad en Guatemala- International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala) in Guatemala, to assist the Hybrid Court and the Sri Lankan Governments in investigations of past and current human rights violations and abuses as well as serious international crimes. The body should in the course if their investigations identify alleged perpetrators and share such names with the vetting and screening authority to be established. 

Vetting and Screening Authority

Establish an independent credible civilian body to carry out vetting and screening of public employees and security officials identified as alleged perpetrators of human rights violations and abuses as well as serious international crimes in order to promote justice and accountability, and set out in HRC Resolution 30/1 in October 2015.

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SRI LANKA RTI COMMISSION DISMISSES PRIVILEGE AS A GROUND TO DENY INFORMATION ON RECRUITMENT

Image: waiting for the jobs.

24/08/2017

Thursday August 24th 2017 –  Information on state recruitments and alleged irregularities or malpractices in government/ provincial councils, overseas travel details of politicians, unauthorised constructions, audits of school development societies, compensation payments for land acquisitions, information on school admissions, rental agreements entered into by public corporations and a variety of other information have been released to citizens by Public Authorities (PAs) in recent orders of the RTI Commission of Sri Lanka.

Since the operationalising of the RTI Act, No 12 of 2016 on February 3rd 2017, the first appeal hearing before the Commission took place in late April 2017.  This was when a resident of Hirana, Panadura requested information regarding permission given by the Panadura Urban Council to a developer to fill earth in a lowland area which had allegedly resulted in rainwater flooding surrounding lands. The Urban Council released the requested information on order of the Commission.

Since then, fifty four major appeals have been concluded (some involving several days of hearings) or are before the Commission for final decision apart from a considerable number of other orders/directives being issued. Pending appeals relate to among other matters reports of commissions of inquiries not released to the public and the assets declarations of politicians. Details of the appeals are available on the RTI Commission’s website . An innumerable number of letters/requests sent to the Commission by PAs as well as citizens are being processed. 

Concluded appeal hearings include an RTI appeal filed by the Northern newspaper Uthayan against the Northern Provincial Council in respect of the denial of information regarding recruitments by individual Provincial Councilors on the basis of privilege. Directing the release of information, the Commission observed that ‘Privilege as cited by the Public Authority applies to the Provincial Council and not to individuals’ in terms of the RTI Act; 

It was pointed out that merely citing privilege was not sufficient. A burden rests on the Information Officer/Designated Officer to show in what way the request infringes on the privilege of the Provincial Council which was not satisfied in this instance. It was emphasized that these recruitments are paid out of public funds and that a citizen had the right to ask for this information. A similar order was issued in regard to permissions issued by the Governor regarding overseas travel of provincial councilors.

Other appeals included information released in regard to the detailed monthly accounts of the School Development Society (SDS) of Royal College, Colombo from March 2016 to 14 February 2017 (. Further, upon being noticed to appear before the Commission, the Information Officer and Designated Officer of the Elections Commission were ordered to release an internal circular containing an administrative instruction to elections officials.

In further appeal orders, directions were issued to the Road Development Authority (RDA) to release decision reports on compensation payments for landowners in the Hikkaduwa Divisional Secretariat whose land had been acquired for an ongoing road development project. The Education Ministry was directed to provide files containing details of the residences of children admitted to schools under the criteria that they are ‘children of persons working in Institutes which directly affect School education.’ General details of Grade One admissions to schools have also been provided.    

After receiving public feedback and engaging in consultations with Public Authorities (PAs), the RTI Commission has meanwhile finalised Guidances on Pro-active Disclosures by Ministers under Sections 8/9 and Inquiry Rules under Section 42 (1) (b) to be gazetted. 

These list budgetary and procurement information among information that must be proactively disclosed. For foreign projects which exceeds one hundred thousand US dollars or local projects that exceeds five hundred thousand rupees, mandated prior information that Ministers are required to publish includes regulatory approvals and environmental assessment reports. Further, preparation of report formats of PAs under the Act and the Commission’s Directives to PAs for Record Management under Section 7 are now at the final stage.

The Commission is pleased to announce the recruitment of its Director General, senior public servant Mr. Piyathissa Ranasinghe who was previously involved in the implementation of the Act in Sri Lanka. We are confident that his contribution to our work as the independent supervisory and appeal authority under the Act will be significant.

Uniform doesn't sanction one to commit crimes: Navy Chief

2017-08-23

Navy Commander Travis Sinniah said today wearing a uniform does not give anyone sanction to rob, murder or torture another.

Addressing a recent press briefing at the Navy Headquarters, the Navy Commander said if anyone were proven guilty of committing a crime or punishable offense, then he or she should be punished whatsoever.

"In Sri Lanka, everyone is innocent until they are proven guilty. In the navy, if anyone were indicted with criminal offences and proven guilty either by the Navy Act or penal code, then he or she should be punished accordingly," he said.

Speaking of future challenges to the navy, Vice Admiral Sinniah said their future role was to protect commercial trade between the Gulf of Aden to the Strait of Malacca in case of a conflict.

Responding to a question raised on navy’s capacity to track submarines, the Navy Commander said they were equipped with advanced systems that could detect submarines in Lankan waters.

"So far, we do not have any threat from neighbouring states. Submarines outside our territory are not a threat. However, we would like to enhance our capabilities to be able to detect submarines approaching our waters," he said. (Darshana Sanjeewa)

Video by Danushka

Why no punishment to Yoshitha for the irretrievable damage he caused to the Navy ? Long questionnaire to new Navy Commander

(Lanka-e-News - 24.Aug.2017, 4.00 PM) It was some  days after Lanka e news reported on 2016 -02-14 under the caption 'The present Navy Commander who servilely served Yoshitha then is disdaining Naval laws on his behalf now..!’  and exposed the criminal involvement of Lieutenant Yoshitha Rajapakse in the colossal financial misappropriation relating to the CSN channel , Yoshitha was suspended from the Navy. However  such a suspension is not a punishment because any Naval officer who faces charges is suspended as a matter of routine. It is just  a preliminary temporary action taken by the Navy. 

It was very evident that the then Navy Commander Vice Admiral Raveendra Wijegunaratne had no intention or inclination  to punish Yoshitha . However following the exposure by Lanka e news , all what the Navy commander did was , only not permitting  Yoshitha to perform any official duties . In other words what the Navy commander did to this suspect incriminated in  a grave case of financial misappropriation  was , allowing Yoshitha  to stay at home, idle  and enjoy to the hilt with his family members. That is , the then  Navy Commander when he got  cold feet following Lanka e news’ revelation ,arranged for Yoshitha to be ‘sweetly rewarded’ under the guise of bitter punishment .

After Yoshitha was suspended from  Naval service, there was no progress on the preliminary probe into the charges against him . That is , though his suspension was based on an ongoing  civil case filed against him outside , it is to be noted ,there was  nothing to preclude  him from being called to the Naval headquarters for an internal investigation because suspension from duties does not mean discharged from the Navy.  

Based on these records it was  the general consensus among all of the Navy that Vice admiral Wijegunarane will not take any action against lieutenant Yoshitha Rajapakse. 

Now, the new Navy Commander has assumed  duties . Hence it is important and imperative his attention is drawn to Yoshitha’s incriminations so that  an investigation shall be  duly conducted. Hereunder are several grounds to support this …

1.) To join the Navy as a Officer Cadet, a candidate should have certain  minimum educational qualifications. It is a crucial question , then why did the Navy suddenly bring down  the minimum educational qualification , only in respect of  the 45th intake (Yoshitha's batch  only ) ? Who took this decision and who was responsible?

2.) An  Officer Cadet cannot  join the Executive branch without passing A/L exam either in the Maths or Science stream. Why did the Navy suddenly allow candidates who have  done A/L exam in  Arts stream also to join the Executive branch? This was also only in respect of the  45th intake. Who was responsible for this ?

3.) What happened to the report of the Board of Inquiry appointed by Vice Admiral Wijegunaratne? What were its recommendations and what was  the progress made in that regard ?

4.) It was the established procedure and practice that the Best Cadet or Midshipman of the batch is  selected to follow the training course  at Dartmouth Royal Naval academy , UK. of the Commonwealth  .The UK started offering this rare privilege  to Sri Lankan Navy (SLN) a few decades ago. For example, Vice Admiral RC Wijegunaratne and also Vice Admiral Travis Sinniah also followed this  course.  

On the contrary ,   Lt. Y.K Rajapaksa was selected just after some  couple of weeks of  'special queer training ' at (NMA)  Naval & Maritime Academy (at that time Commandant of NMA was Wijegunaratne), to fill  the vacancy offered to the senior batch (intake 44),  and  was dispatched  to the Commonwealth Dartmouth Royal academy. In addition , to fill   the vacancy which was offered the following year,  Lieut. Dissanayake, was  chosen and dispatched . He was  Yoshitha's batch-mate and a close relative.Who took this decision and  who was responsible?

5.) As per the information we gathered , Lt. Y K Rajapakse did not successfully pass the examinations at Dartmouth, UK. In that event, as per the naval regulations, the total cost of the course should be recovered   from him. This rule applies to any officer who  follows a training course out of  Navy's funds, whether it is  local or foreign training.

6.) The saddest  aspect  of all these shocking violations of Navy regulations is : Because the performance of these two Naval morons selected  sans merits were so egregiously poor while following the training course at U.K. Dartmouth Royal Naval College ,  the latter decided they should not offer such training programs to Sri Lankan officers in the future for they are far below par. That is, the SL Naval officers  are not fit at all and therefore do not merit such training. 

Who was responsible for that huge national loss ?

Let us hope the new Navy Commander will have the strength and spirit to probe into these grave mishaps with a view to mete out punishment to every one of these wrongdoers irrespective of their status or ranks.  

Yoshitha has not been discharged from the Navy yet, meaning that he  can be re-appointed at anytime restoring  all his services/and  privileges  that he missed, including arrears of salary.

It is therefore most paramount in the national interests to take  immediate action to launch an impartial investigation , and if Yoshitha  is found guilty  , it shall be ensured  his commission is withdrawn , and he is  discharged from the Navy in accordance with the Navy regulations applicable to all Naval personnel without exception. 

A concerned Naval officer in the best interests of the Navy

Connected report..
The present Navy Commander who servilely served Yoshitha then is disdaining Naval laws on his behalf now..!

---------------------------
by     (2017-08-24 10:42:47)

Shiranthi & Yoshitha to CID again

 Aug 24, 2017

Shiranthi and Yoshitha Rajapaksa are to be questioned again in connection with the murder of Wasim Thajudeen, reports say. They are to be summoned to the CID shortly.

After several notifications, Shiranthi presented herself at the CID on August 15, followed by Yoshitha on the following day. Shiranthi was questioned for two and a half hours and Yoshitha for around three hours.

CID sources also say several police officers too, will be arrested in connection with this case.