Solving national issues through reconciliation

Saturday, September 16, 2017

Though the Arabian Prince, highlighted Lanka’s lack of progress, and called on the Yahapalana government to realize that its obligations are not child’s plays to fool the world council but as an essential undertaking to address the rights of Lankan people of all nationalities; the European Union praised the Yahapalanaya Government for the progress made in advancing human rights, labour and environmental standards, but stressed that there were still many areas where reform had yet to be delivered. Of course we should be clear that setting up various reconciliation offices and talking of progress is not the same as implementing the 2015 resolution.

Clearly long-suffering Lankans, especially the minority nationalities need to see the resolution fully carried out, and they need to be convinced that justice is being achieved.

International conventions

All those foreign critiques must understand the struggle that is going against fascistic enemy who resort to sabotage and violence. Because of that Lanka failed to implement the UN resolution in time. After the struggle is won with mass actions, Lanka’s President formally created an Office of Missing Persons, as set out in the resolution and enacted by parliament. It is a victory for the anti fascistic democratic movement that the gazette notification took place on September 12, just as the Human Rights Council session got underway and a few weeks before Sri Lanka is to present an oral update on steps it has taken to carry out the resolution.

War between the Lankan state and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam was a tragedy where both sides committed many grave human rights abuses, including summary killings, abductions and enforced disappearances, torture, and sexual violence. There are well-documented allegations of laws-of-war violations, particularly during the final months of the war. The government’s lack of progress in investigating and prosecuting these many crimes spurred the Human Rights Council to adopt the consensus resolution. A team of senior officials from Brussels have been in the country for 10 days recently, on a fact-finding mission. The mission has focused on the status of the implementation of 27 international conventions of which Sri Lanka is a signatory.

Progressive implementation of the conventions is the condition for continued preferential access to the European Union market - the world's largest and Sri Lanka's biggest export market – under the GSP Plus. The team had a range of meetings with Government Ministers, civil society, trade unions and other organisations. They also travelled to Jaffna and Kilinochchi to meet the Chief Minister of the Northern Province and hear the views from civil society, including a number of human rights activists. They were able to see the development in the Tamil homeland and freely discuss with representatives of various sections of the Tamil society.

Following a constructive meeting with Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, Ambassador Tung-Lai Margue said: “The excellent cooperation by the Government is a reminder of how much the situation has changed in the country over the last two and a half years, including real advances in human rights. But there are still important concerns about the lack of concrete progress in key areas. Torture has to stop. It is of paramount importance that the Government delivers on its commitments, including replacing the Prevention of Terrorism Act with counter-terrorism legislation consistent with international standards and allowing people in custody to have access to a lawyer from the point of arrest.

Pro Mahinda union

Clarifying the fate of those who disappeared at the end of the war and speeding up the return of land will help to restore confidence, particularly in the North and East, in the policy of national reconciliation.” Concerns were also raised about continued discrimination against women and girls and against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Sri Lankans. This is very important; as fascistic elements are strongly against the liberty of such oriented people.

All these discussions and presser politics show that the liberal bourgeoisie cannot be pressurized by arguments alone. In the history it has not been so. On the other hand there may not be a threat to them of a possible takeover by the proletariat, either. No need to keep hopes so high, it could still end in a flop, but there is a need to keep relentless pressure and criticism on the government in the language they could stomach.

On the other hand criticisms of the opposition may be the best way to expose the mistakes of liberalism. It is by solidly exposing the fascistic menace that one could show the gentlemen of liberty and justice how to keep friendship with the proletarian masses. On that basis one must keep vigilance of the Yahapalana government. Vigilance must be real and should come from the side of the organised proletariat. Conscious workers must show clearly that fight against racism and fascistic actions are already in the streets; in actions voiced by many ways. Proletarian leaders must be seen in the streets with banners and placards.

There were not only debates but number of actions including ‘Sixty two’ sathyagrha; these were powerful enough to galvanize, at least certain extent the government into taking a purposeful approach to dealing with the gross malfeasance of the previous regime and curbing corruption in its own ranks. Leading workers have seen the impression made in liberal intellectuals by the sensible but unrepentant anti fascistic actions by proletarian and plebian masses against the thuggery of pro Mahinda union and student actions.

It is better not to have hopes that during the tenure of this government there will be successful prosecution of the corrupt big fish of the Rajapaksa era; because that is not what we hope from liberal capitalists. Capitalists always search and look towards accumulation of capital legally or otherwise; nor we should be hopeful that corruption in UNP-SLFP ranks will be curtailed.

What we should be eagerly interested is exposing fascistic murders, cruel war crimes and the establishment of democratic constitution with power sharing. We must keep pressing for a solution based on equality, autonomy and the right of self determination. We must press for inclusion of bill of rights within the new constitution approved by a national referendum.

Ravi resigned to clear the path for investigators to work without any disturbances; but he is doing important political work behind the seen. On the contrary firing Wijeyadasa is a victory to the anti racists and a moral disaster for the fascistic Mahinda gang. As 2020 approaches most certainly pressure will mount against fascistic forces and more mass actions are likely. Also there will be desperado attacks from the side of Mahinda and Gotabhaya.

New Constitution

The attack with guns and bombs to the house of Nandimal Silva cannot be taken lightly. Men who committed crimes against humanity are frighten of their own shadows. Though this is true, some people expect much progress on corruption related matters and live in a dream of a country without corruption. As the battle grows they will lower their expectations. Because fight against murder and barbaric actions will gain the ground. However, all these will be connected to the battle for a new Constitution.

What we do in this country is important, but as or more important the struggle of the proletariat in the outside world. Because the theory of permanent revolution is applicable globally, as the revolution has become a subject in international arena today, more than any time before. The rise of Donald Trump is globally answered by the giants of the left such as Bernie Saunders and Jeremy Corbin.

There are many in the horizon, the power of proletariat should be estimated locally as well as internationally. In that sense the pressure on Yahapalanaya has to be improved both locally and internationally. Already Turkey and South Africa have made contributions on national problem, very interesting!

Govt. in hot water if 20A gamble backfires

by C.A.Chandraprema-September 16, 2017, 7:52 pm

With just 15 days to go for the Sabaragamuwa, North Central and Eastern provinces to automatically stand dissolved, the coming week will be a make or break period for the yahapalana government. The 20th Amendment to the Constitution is to be taken up for debate on Wednesday. The Supreme Court we believe has already conveyed its determination on the constitutionality of the proposed 20th Amendment to the Constitution. It was all over the social media that the SC had determined that the 20th A needed a referendum to be passed into law. No surprise in that. If fact the surprise would have been if the SC had determined that no referendum was necessary to extend the terms of the PCs and to postpone elections. In any event the SC’s determination is to be announced in Parliament by the Speaker on Tuesday before the 20th  Amendment is taken up on Wednesday for debate.

Govt. in hot water if 20A gamble backfires.docx by Thavam on Scribd

Implement Promised Transirional Justice Mechanisms Without Further Delay

Saturday, 16 September 2017

The war crimes cases registered against former army commander General Jagath Jayasuriya in five South American countries even while he was Sri Lanka’s ambassador to Brazil would alert the government that it needs to take remedial action without further delay. Although the former army commander had diplomatic immunity, international law also states that those accused of war crimes are subject to universal jurisdiction. Last week at the current session of the UN Human Rights Council meeting in Geneva, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, expressed his concern over the slow pace of reforms in Sri Lanka and said the absence of action on accountability meant exercising universal jurisdiction would become even more necessary.

The possibility exists that the cases registered against General Jayasuriya and the international publicity they have generated, will encourage similar international legal actions not only military personnel, but also political leaders and public service officials who had significant roles to play in the war. International law comes into operation when the national (or domestic) law is not properly implemented. The resolution of the UN Human Rights Council that was co-sponsored by the government in October 2015 states that the government will set up four special domestic mechanisms to deal with the aftermath of the war. These are a truth commission, office of missing persons, office of reparations and special court for accountability purposes.

In March 2017, at the last session of the UN Human Rights Council session in Geneva, the government obtained two more years to implement its commitments. Instead of procrastinating on setting up the four mechanisms promised to the world, the government should start operationalising them. So far only the legislation for the office of missing persons has been passed by parliament and gazetted by the president which will become operational from today. If the government is able to show that it has a credible domestic legal process underway in the transitional justice mechanisms it sets up, and that justice is done within the country, the requirement of international legal processes will diminish correspondingly. The National Peace Council calls on the government to implement the four mechanisms it has promised without further delay.

Governing Council
The National Peace Council is an independent and non partisan organization that works towards a negotiated political solution to the ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka. It has a vision of a peaceful and prosperous Sri Lanka in which the freedom, human rights and democratic rights of all the communities are respected. The policy of the National Peace Council is determined by its Governing Council of 20 members who are drawn from diverse walks of life and belong to all the main ethnic and religious communities in the country.

RELEASE OCCUPIED LAND IN KEPAPILAVU & RESETTLE THE VILLAGERS IN THEIR TRADITIONAL PLACES

Image: School students’held a  solidarity protest for ongoing struggle of Keppapilavu residents on 20th  Feb 2017. ( @Shalin)

16/09/2017

Praja Abhilasha (Joining Hands Network) with its 22 partner organizations around the country write this statement to express solidarity with the protesters of Kepapilavu. The Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) failed to respond appropriately and timely to the demands of the protesters and to take action to release the occupied land.

The Kepapilavu people have been displaced at the end of the war in 2009. Since then, the military occupied 438 acres of the peoples’ land. Subsequently, the villagers had to live in a model village built by the military. The conditions in the “Model Resettlement Village” which Kepapilavu villagers were forced to settle in 2012 after living for three years in the infamous Menik Farm Camp, remain a matter of grave concern, with restricted access to land, sea and lagoon. The villagers face enormous difficulties to maintain their traditional livelihood as farmers and fishers, which results in huge loss of income for the affected families. Only two years after their construction the houses in the “Model Resettlement Village” show already signs of deterioration.

The villagers of Kepapilavu have taken many different steps to return to their traditional land. However, the former and the current regime refused to fulfil the peoples’ demands to release the occupied land.

Finally, the people decided this year to start a continuous campaign. On 1st March 2017, the villagers went to the entrance of the military camp, where their land is situated, to demand the release of their traditional land. They stated that they would not move until they get their land back.

For over two hundred days, villagers from Kepapilavu, have been protesting at the entrance of the Security Forces Headquarters Mullaithivu. The situation in Kepapilavu is indicative of the GoSl’s slow progress on the release of occupied land across the North-East of Sri Lanka. Vast areas, including both private and state land remain occupied by the security forces, in some cases since over 27 years. In the Kepapilavu area, several large military camps are functioning in private land, including fertile farmland.

Due to the military occupation of their land, villagers lost or are in danger to lose their traditional livelihood. Especially women who have been engaged in fishing related activities are unable to continue their work because of the restricted access to lagoon and sea.

Therefore, people are demanding the GoSL to release their traditional land, which is currently occupied by the military. Since the GoSL is stalling the promised reforms, there is a serious concern that the release of occupied land and the demilitarization are not moving ahead sufficiently.

The Government has to show strong leadership and dismantle the vast military cantonments occupying private and state land in the North-East. Any hopes for justice, reconciliation and sustainable peace are seriously hampered by the apparent unwillingness and insincerity of the GoSL to act on these matters. On the Kepapilavu land issue the promises of the government were not implemented at all.

Therefore, Praja Abhilasha Joining Hands Network demands that the Government of Sri Lanka:

• Fulfils the demands of the protesting villagers from Kepapilavu and return the occupied land
  to their traditional owners
• Provides resettlement support to help the people to rebuild their traditional livelihood and
  homes
• Directs the military to support the release of the land in Kepapilavu
• Ensures access to land, lagoon and sea for traditional farmers and fishers
• Reopens the Kepapilavu school and supports the education of the children and youth in
  Kepapilavu
• Accelerates the process to return all occupied private and state land across the North-East to
  their traditional owners
• Signatories :
  1) Praja Abhilasha Joining Hands Network
  2) National Fisheries Solidarity Movement
  3) Society For Threatened People-Switzerland
  4) Southern Fisheries Organization -Galle
  5) Praja Vimukthi Foundation-Kurunegla
  6) Paanama Paththu Protection Organization
  7) Sri Vimukthi Fisher women Organization
  8) Southern Fisheries Organization -Matara
  9) Praja Shakthi Development Foundation
  10) District Fisheries Organization
  11) Uva Wellassa Women Organization
  12) Savisthri Women Orgnization
  13) Rural Labour Society
  14) Puttalam District Fisheries Organization
  15) Trincomalee District Fisheries Solidarity
  16) Mannar District Fisheries Solidarity
  17) Ecumenical Institute for Study and Dialogue
  18) Kalutara District Fisheries Organization
  19) Social Institute For Development of Plantation Sector (SIDPS)
  20) Movement for Malayaga People’s Land Rights
  21) Miridiya Fisheries Organization
  22) Praja Association
  23) United Negombo Lagoon Fisher People’s organization
  24) Kadal Kattru organization-Mullaithivu

One more symbolic step: Wigneswaran’s audience with the Mahanayake Thera

by Rajan Philips-September 16, 2017, 12:00 pm 

We need a break from the tedium, rather the opprobrium, of national corruption. To paraphrase Dr. Harsha de Silva’s public lamentation, the whole country is awash in corruption. The continuing non-promotion of people like Harsha de Silva and Eran Wickremaratne to full cabinet rank shows the depth of cabinet entrenchment by the corrupt and the crooked and the extent of exclusion of the bright and the honest. The government leadership has a lot to answer for its cabinet choices even as it has a lot of explaining to do about its highway contract choices.

There are plenty of potholes in the government’s Central Expressway explanation that was presented in parliament by the Prime Minister (and not some ‘e miniha’ in government). But I thought I will stay away from political potholes this week and use my space today and the good editor’s indulgence to applaud the historic audience that the inscrutable Chief Minister of the Northern Province, CV Wigneswaran, sought and was given by the Mahanayake of the Malwatta Chapter, the Most Venerable Tibbatuwawe Sri Siddhartha Sumangala Thera.

This is yet another small but significantly symbolic step on a long road, the direction and destination of which are yet to be figured out. But a starting point for the road has been established by three judges of the Supreme Court in August of this year. The Chief Minister, himself a former Supreme Court Judge, referenced the court ruling ever so gently to make a soft sell, so to speak, of federalism in the highest precinct of the First Estate of Sinhalese society. Symbols are significant when there is nothing substantial going on in the political realm. Nothing tangible will come out of this meeting, but the intangibles of the occasion and its meanings deserve recognition and celebration.

A major expectation of those who were enthusiastic about the TNA’s choice of Mr. Wigneswaran as candidate for Chief Minister in the first Northern Provincial Council election in 2013, was that he would be a bridge builder between the north and the south and a political ambassador for the Tamils among the Sinhalese and the Muslims. It was also expected that by being a bridge builder and ambassador, he would be able to speedily facilitate the rebuilding and restoration of postwar North not only physically and materially, but also emotionally and psychologically. The Chief Minister’s aplomb and ambassadorial abilities were in full display on national television during his meeting with the Mahanayake. And the main purpose of his meeting was not to advocate federalism but to ask the Mahanayake to intercede on behalf of the Tamils in the North and impress on the government the urgency of rebuilding and restoration work in the Peninsula and the rest of the Northern Province.

The Mahanayake does not have to do anything to intercede. His audience to the Chief Minister was the intercession, and it is up to the President and the Prime Minister to respond in kind by giving priority to addressing the land question and the livelihood of people who are still destitute even after eight years since the war ended. As the Chief Minister laid it out before the prelate, there are 89,000 war widows, almost one for every ten people living in the north, and 60,000 acres of land (a quarter of the area of Jaffna) are still in the control of the army. People’s traditional means of livelihood, farming and fishing, are still struggling to become barely subsistent, let alone reach the surplus status that they once occupied. The people of the North need government help to turn things around from rock bottom and not the building of steel houses and super highways. Super highways can come later, but prefabricated steel houses should have no place in the north or anywhere in Sri Lanka.

Better late than never

Although it is now water under the bridge, if not the Elephant Pass, one cannot help speculating how things would have worked out for Mr. Wigneswaran and his Administration if he had started doing soon after becoming Chief Minister what he is doing now in visiting the Mahanayake in Kandy. On the contrary, he was given and followed wrong advice in turning his ambassador role into the role of a propagandist of an old narrative that needs no new elaboration. Against his better judgement, it would seem, he took flight to bandy the message of the Tamils among the converted overseas and forgot the hard work of seeking and persuading audiences here at home.

For a time, the Chief Minister was carried away by passing high-octane resolutions that evaporated into thin air, instead of sober canvassing to achieve real redress for a battered people. He became an instrument in the hands of those who are desperate for an electoral vehicle to win an election because they badly need a seat in parliament to scratch their ‘parliamentary itch’ - as GG Ponnambalam QC memorably described a congenital condition among peninsular candidates. Not that Mr. Wigneswaran could have done much to help unworthy candidates win elections on the pseudo-premise of self-determination, except to help them save face by saving their deposits.

In applauding the Chief Minister’s audience with the Mahanayake, I am not envisaging or speculating about a new trend in Tamil politics. I have no clue about what Mr. Wigneswaran will do tomorrow, the next week, or for the remaining months in his first term as Chief Minister. What we can be certain about is that he would do himself, his reputation and his administration much good if he were to stay the new course that he seems to have started in Kandy. What he has started in Kandy is something that has not been attempted previously by any Tamil leader. There were good reasons and bad reasons why such bridge building and ambassadorship were not attempted earlier. But after a century of fruitless experience, it is never too late to try something that has not been tried before. And the meeting between the Mahanayake Thera and the Chief Minister can certainly be described as an encouraging first step.

A paradox of Sri Lankan society and politics is the incongruence between the intensity of political differences between the Sinhalese, the Tamils and the Muslims, on the one hand, and the extent of commonalities between their social and cultural spheres, on the other. Unlike in most situations riven by ethnic conflicts, it is not the social and cultural differences that manifest as political conflicts in Sri Lanka, but it is the aggravation of political contentions that has almost always disrupted the social peace and communal harmony. The politics of language and religion, despite the eloquent warnings of both SWRD Bandaranaike and GG Ponnambalam, have created permanent fissures – to paraphrase the latter – in the structures of the state and society.

The evolutions of the Sinhalese, the Tamils and the Muslims from caste groups and village communities into ethno-national entities were for the most part in separate and even hostile silos. There was never an overarching process to synthesize and integrate the highest commonalities of the three groups. No one ventured out to discover Sri Lanka the way Jawaharlal Nehru embarked on his Discovery of India. And Nehru was not the only Indian leader to be preoccupied with nation making and nation building tasks. The task in Sri Lanka should have been much simpler and easier but we made heavy weather of it through a lack of mutual appreciation and the absence of synthesizing efforts. The only Sri Lankan political leader who showed some interest in overarching synthesis was Sir Ponnambalam Arunachalam, whose 164th birth anniversary was this week – on September 14. But even he couldn’t survive the squabble over representation in Colombo, and was apparently "hooted in the streets of Jaffna" when he went there after his disappointment in Colombo.

After a hundred years, representation is still debated in Colombo, and Jaffna would have been much better off if it had stayed with hooting as its mode of politics instead of shooting. The legacies of hundred years are still a dead weight on the country’s future. The Supreme Court ruling in August and the meeting between the Mahanayake and Chief Minister Wigneswaran are small steps leading away from the past to avoid being buried under it. But the country is not short of people who will not let go of the past even when it suffocates them. They are not at all happy with the Supreme Court ruling on federalism and are digging up irrelevant authorities to second guess and spread alarm about a very sound and well-reasoned ruling.

There is some concession in the grudging admission that federalism might be legal, but it is nullified in the next breath by alluding to its supposedly worrisome geopolitical implications. Another delusion is about ethno-federalism, as if the experience of ethno-unitarianism has been a bed of historical roses. There is some truth in what Alexander Pope, the English poet, wrote: "for forms of government let fools contest; whatever is best administered is best." Sri Lanka is a living example of much contestation over the form of government with no consideration for achieving even a second-best administration.

Rohingya Crisis: Don’t Look Through Coloured Glasses!

By Mohamed Harees –SEPTEMBER 17, 2017

Lukman Harees

Facts, eye witness accounts and statistics are stubborn. It is a matter of conscience, the world leaders, Nobel Laureates, intellectuals, Media and also the human rights lobby groups have agreed upon( of course except some avowed anti Muslim sections). The Rohingya Crisis referred to as a human catastrophe of exceptional proportions; a text book case of  ethnic cleansing, a total genocide in the making, a clear case for being charged for crimes against humanity and the lowest level of barbarity, humans can stoop to!   

An estimated one million stateless Rohingyans who have been stripped of their citizenship in Myanmar and were forced to live in modern-day concentration camps, surrounded by government military checkpoints for a long time are now being reduced to a status of non-entity and their identity targeted for ultimate extinction, with scant regard to human dignity and rights. Every day seems to bring worse news about the spiralling conflict in Rakhine State in western Myanmar. Evidence cannot be clearer. As Lynsey Addario, in Time says, ‘I have seldom seen the systematic oppression and abuse of an entire population go almost entirely unaided and undocumented. The camps and settlements in Myanmar and Bangladesh are conspicuously bereft of the international aid community and, consequently, a countless number of Rohingya are dying undocumented. This is the invisible genocide’.

It is therefore a matter of extreme shame for the Myanmar military government, and Aung San Suu Kyi to be in a state of denial , say it is more misinformation or fake news, or put all the blame on a weak militant outfit ARSA and say that this wipe-out is unfinished business. Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar’s de facto leader, has denied that ethnic cleansing is taking place and dismissed international criticism of her handling of the crisis. Myanmar has also gone further by asking China and Russia to shoot down any UN Security Council initiatives to force its hand to do justice to this most persecuted and single largest stateless community in the world.   

A shameful attempt is also being made to portray these Rohingyan victims of this ethnic cleansing as perpetrators by posting fake photos of them burning their own homes and villages. This assertion cannot be further from the truth. Aung San Suu Kyi’s spokesman, Zaw Htay, recently posted what he said were “photos of Bengalis setting fire to their houses”. The pictures of several sword-wielding women wearing headscarfs and men in Islamic prayer caps setting a house on fire, which were published in one of the country’s leading newspapers, were also shared widely by the military.

But the photographs were criticised on social media with some pointing to signs they said showed the photos had been staged. Also, it did not take long for Internet sleuths to raise questions: Why was one of the men putting on a prayer cap as he watched the house burn? Why did the two women who appeared in some of the photos have their heads covered in scarves that resembled table cloth? Also hours later, an eagle-eyed reader spotted one of the “Bengalis” in a photo published online by another media group, Mizzima. The photo accompanied a story about Hindu families who had fled the recent violence in Rakhine state. The man was wearing the same green plaid shirt. But after the images began stirring doubt. Zaw Htay said the following day that government was investigating the images and would take action against those who set the fires. He also said police were interrogating the Rakhine man who took the images; the man could not be reached by phone. It was unclear when those images were taken. But pictures recorded at the public school housing displaced Hindus clearly showed the same man and woman, in the same clothes.

While global attention has thus focused on the horrific tales of shooting, arson and rape emerging from the many hundreds of thousands of Muslim Rohingya who have fled from western Myanmar to Bangladesh over the past few weeks, Burmese language media have been trying to divert attention by dwelling more on the threat posed by Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), which has declared war on the Myanmar military on behalf of the disenfranchised Muslim Rohingya minority. Myanmar has declared it a terrorist organisation. ARSA leader said in an interview that the attacks were carried out to “defend our civilian population who have lost their voice, identity and humane status to stand up in the face of an inhumane regime hell-bent on their extinction . UN in fact also blamed decades of persistent and systematic human rights violations against Rohingya as one prime reason which has almost certainly contributed to the nurturing of ‘violent extremism’, with everyone ultimately losing. UN Secretary General rightly said “Shuffling all the blame on insurgents doesn’t spare the Burmese [Myanmar] government from its international obligations to stop abuses and investigate alleged violations.”

Rohingyans are not ‘fly by nights’. The Rohingya trace their origins in the region to the fifteenth century, when thousands of Muslims came to the former Arakan Kingdom. Many others arrived during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, when Rakhine was governed by colonial rule as part of British India. Since independence in 1948, successive governments in Burma, renamed Myanmar in 1989, have refuted the Rohingya’s historical claims and denied the group recognition as one of the country’s 135 ethnic groups. The Rohingya are largely considered illegal immigrants from Bangladesh, even though many trace their roots in Myanmar back centuries.

The government refuses to grant the Rohingya citizenship, and as a result the vast majority of the group’s members have no legal documentation, effectively making them stateless. Myanmar’s 1948 citizenship law was already exclusionary, and the military junta, which seized power in 1962, introduced a law twenty years later stripping the Rohingya of access to full citizenship. In 2014 the government held a UN-backed national census, its first in thirty years. The Muslim minority group was initially permitted to identify as Rohingya, but after Buddhist nationalists led by dreaded Ven Wirathu of 969 movement, threatened to boycott the census, the government decided the Rohingya could only register if they identified as Bengali instead. Similarly, against under pressure from these Buddhist nationalists protesting the Rohingya’s right to vote in a 2015 constitutional referendum, then-President Thein Sein cancelled the temporary identity cards in February 2015, effectively revoking their newly gained right to vote. Ven. Wirathu is under a ban but his movement is very much lively spreading hatred.

Read More

Over 200 inmates in Welikada and Bogambara Prisons on hunger strike

2017-09-16

At least 150 remand prisoners, sentenced to death and serving life imprisonment in the Welikada Prison, launched a hunger strike yesterday, Prisons Spokesperson Thushara Upuldeniya said.

This follows close on the heels of a hunger strike launched by around 50 inmates of the Bogambara Prison on Thursday (14).

Upuldeniya said the Welikada remand prisoners, who had refused to eat since yesterday morning, were demanding to be paroled via a common pardon.

Upuldeniya said their demand would not be fulfilled immediately as they needed to wait for the recommendations of a committee headed by retired Supreme Court Judge Nimal Dissanayaka, appointed by the Justice Ministry in 2013, to decide on the fate of prisoners on death row.

Currently, Welikada Prison houses more than 200 prisoners on death raw and more than 150 serving life sentences.

Upuldeniya hinted that the hunger strike might be an attempt by some outside organization to sabotage the peaceful environment that exists in the prison system.

Speaking to the Daily Mirror, Attorney at Law Senaka Perera, representing the Committee for Protecting Rights of Prisoners said that more than 50 prisoners at the Bogambara prison were still refusing to eat.

“Prisoners in all the prisons, including the one in Bogambara, are living hellish lives, as all prisons lack even basic facilities. The authorities should open their eyes and take appropriate measures to solve these long-standing issues,” he said. (Piyumi Fonseka and J.A.L. Jayasinghe)

Rupee ends higher on inward remittances



Saturday, 16 September 2017

Reuters - The rupee ended firmer on Friday as inward remittances and exporter dollar sales surpassed mild dollar demand from importers, dealers said.

The spot rupee, which was traded at 153.02 per dollar during the day, ended at 152.80/90 per dollar, compared with Thursday’s close of 152.95/153.05.

“The demand (for dollar) eased since banks met the dollar requirement over the last two days to service the takeovers,” said a currency dealer requesting anonymity.

“There were not many sellers, but remittance flow was there (today) being Friday.”

Dealers said the rupee was under pressure with some equity-related transactions.

After market hours on Wednesday, diversified conglomerate Hayleys PLC said it will purchase 61.73% of Singer Sri Lanka PLC for Rs. 10.9 billion ($71.27 million) from Retail Holdings (Sri Lanka) BV a subsidiary of Retail Holdings.

The rupee has been under pressure since January after the Central Bank stopped defending the currency and started buying dollars to build up the country’s depleted foreign currency reserves.

The island nation saw Rs. 16.7 billion ($109.26 million) of net inflows into equities up to Friday’s close, and Rs. 6.6 billion worth inflows into government securities as of 6 September, official data showed.

Ensure trade union rights of journalists

Sep 16, 2017

'Open Letter' to Media Minister,

There is going to be an "Open Media Workshop" for journalists in Colombo, on 25 September organised by the State agency, the "SL Media Training Institute" that comes under the Media Ministry. Improving reporting skills is said to be the purpose of the workshop. It is appreciated such training is undertaken by this State agency, when universities and other training institutes have for more than 03 decades failed to produce working journalists of professional quality. Sri Lanka does need high quality professionalism in media that lacks basics.

Media is talked of as the hallmark of democracy in this modern world. Democracy sans free media is no functional democracy. While professionalism is ignored, we are told the media in Sri Lanka enjoys freedom of expression. With the advent of the present "yahapalana" unity government, the pressures and threats there was during the Rajapaksa regime is no more.

This media freedom said to be without interference by the government and the State is a total fake. Media lacks ethics, even to the extent of honouring the 'Code of Ethics' "The Editors' Guild" formulated over 02 decades ago for themselves and journalists. By now, even the Editors don't respect their own 'Code of Ethics'. Media freedom without ethics and professionalism is no media freedom the society needs for informative, intellectual engagement in a democratic society.

Quality professional and ethical media practise requires conditions beyond training. There can be no ethics and professionalism in an industry that does not recognise the independence of journalists. In today's media, journalists do not know what their fundamental rights are and do not demand those rights as even FTZ workers do. Without independent journalists who are conscious of their own rights, there will be no professionalism and independence necessary for an independent media, however much they are trained.

All employees in Sri Lanka including journalists are entitled to the fundamental right to association guaranteed under the Constitution. The Constitution under 14(1)(c) says "every citizen is entitled to the freedom of association" and then under 14(1)(d) says "every citizen is entitled to the freedom to form and join a trade union", a right no private media allow their employees including journalists. It is the private media that dominates and impacts, having leased a major share of airwaves and also running their own print media.

It is surprising and saddening too, politicians who depend very much on media coverage don't ever talk about journalists' rights. It is far more serious when the Labour Department that is mandated to ensure these basic rights to employees does not do so in private companies that own media. No government has done so either, while Sri Lanka is a signatory to ILO Core Conventions and has ratified them too. ILO Conventions 87 and 98 hold governments responsible in ensuring the right of employees to "form trade unions of their choice" and also to ensure "collective bargaining".

This present "yahapalana" government is now held answerable to the EU Trade Commission as well in ensuring human and labour rights, with EU GSP "Plus" benefits provided once again with a promise to abide by those conditions. As such, it is now the responsibility of the Media Minister to ensure, journalists and all media workers are allowed the right to form and join trade unions of their choice and owners of both print and electronic media accept and recognise trade unions. It is also the responsibility of journalists to first demand their own fundamental rights, while covering issues and rights of the people. It is time they demand the right to form trade unions for that collective presence alone would ensure media freedom and independence of the media.

Kusal Perera
Political critic and journalist
Colombo
16 September, 2017

President Maithri gets tough by rocking the ‘rock star’

BY GAGANI WEERAKOON-2017-09-17

President Maithripala Sirisena is scheduled to address the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York next Tuesday 19 September. The Head of Sri Lankan State is attending the UNGA at a time when United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, during his opening statement at the 36th session of the UNHRC on Monday (11) expressed his frustration over delays the Sri Lanka Government has thus far displayed in implementing the USA co-sponsored resolution.

President Maithri gets tough by rocking the ‘rock star’.docx by Thavam on Scribd

Government gasping; Rajapaksas dead-meat

A third-alternative is indispensable

September 16, 2017, 6:28 pm 

NHC’s 20-track forecast for hurricane Irma on 1 September 2017
(Source: https://www.wunderground.com/cat6/hurricane-irma-mighty-storm-where-it-heading)

‘Gota next President? Waa Haa, tell me another!’

by Kumar David

It’s time to move on. Maybe the January 8 victory has delivered all it can, with one exception and this is of utmost importance, the constitution. Last week I dealt with this and expressed my hopes and my fears. In human affairs, more so than even weather forecasting, uncertainty is built into the fabric of reality. I have reproduced a diagram, released on Sept 1 by the US National Hurricane Centre, of the 20 most likely paths of hurricane Irma (strongest ever Atlantic hurricane; 200 mph wind gusts; Category 5 classification much of its life). The NHC said on Sept 1 that three of its models favoured a northward track but the UKMet model favoured a southerly path which in the event proved more correct.

On Sept 1 the NHC was looking just nine days ahead and using sophisticated algorithms running on the world’s most powerful computer networks. See how difficult it was to forecast ‘known-unknowns’ such a short time ahead (nearer landfall uncertainty was less). This is the analogy I am setting up. Looking a year or two ahead in politics entails a heady whirlwind of known-knowns, known-unknowns and unknown-unknowns. But look again, you will notice the forecasts are bunched; they pass over the northern Caribbean and possibly make landfall in the eastern or south-eastern United States. This is the probable, the extent covered by known-knowns, and corresponds to what in politics we can expect, with a reasonable degree of certainty, from Ranil and Sirisena (R&S), UNP-SLFP (Sirisena) and followers camp, or from the Joint Opposition and Rajapaksa pack. My penchant for abbreviations drives me to call them RS&C – C for cabinet of Ministers and government parliamentarians - and MaRaJo (Mahinda Rajapaksa Joint Opposition) respectively.

Next notice the outliers; Irma may swing into Florida and work its way as far as the Great Lakes or veer right and dissipate in the Atlantic, east of the US mainland. I will liken these to the latitude arising out of known-unknowns. That is the extent to which the two political formations denoted above may vary their behaviour; things that are less likely but possible. I will not today touch on unknown-unknowns in politics or hurricane forecasting. To repeat, what I am taking pains to say is that there are expectations that carry a degree of certainty, and there are other less likely possibilities that cannot be ruled out. Though politics, like the weather, involves high risk estimating, one must nevertheless judge because one must act. But one must also retain intelligent flexibility in this changing world; "Theories grow grey my friend, but the tree of life is ever green" - Goethe.

The art of the possible

From whose point of view am I setting out this narrative? It is easier to say whose perspective I do not represent, RS&C and MaRaJo. The third option that I am edging towards may need relationships with the other formations; because of known-unknowns it needs to be flexible. But the point is that this third option is not one of the other two, it is separate, it is another, it has its own identity. Who potentially belongs here; who can participate in an alternative that can emerge with an identity of its own?

First, I have in mind the civil society organisations who participated in the January 8 Movement (J8M for short) to defeat and eject Mahinda Rajapaksa from the presidency but now think that this game has nearly run its course and it is time to move on. A few that spring to mind are the late Sobitha’s Just Society Movement and 48 associates, Purawasi Balawegaya and Rights Now, and are others – too many to name. Second come the political parties, some now connected to the government – ULF (LSSP Majority Group) and the NSSP – and of course the JVP, who played an important role in defeating Rajapaksa. Third, there are the anti-Mahinda leftist sects and fragments, now lost and in search of shelter who could be enticed into a new home.

Apart from J8M participants there are others who will find a place in the third alternative. I refer to those who may have supported Rajapaksa in the presidential election but do not see any useful purpose in his return to power, like the Communist Party which has broken ranks with MaRaJo on the constitution issue.

Many, originally not in J8M, now realise that to hanker for a Rajapaksa as the next president is a doomed exercise. There will be "fire and fury" confrontation before a Rajapaksa is allowed to assume the presidency again. Could revulsion overstep bounds of democracy on Colombo’s streets? Will an armed or unarmed Eelam demand surface in the north and east if faced with a Rajapaksa option? I don’t know the answer to these questions, but these are raw choices. The return of a Rajapaksa is akin to the return of Hitler in Germany; millions may say "Over my dead body!" The Rajapaksas are dead-meat, perish the thought of the return of Godzilla or Gota.

The CP is intelligent enough to see that hankering after Gota is a non-starter. Pity that vacillating spineless SLFP MPs don’t understand that there is no future for their scum-bag ambitions on that road. SLFPers who, in the light of scandals close to Ranil or the UNP, look to a return of their party to power must start by jettisoning all and every vestige of Rajapaksa flavour and aroma. This is sine qua non to defuse perceptions of peril in the eyes of all Lanka’s non-SLFPers; it is unconditional, or it is political war.

The scene today is (a) growing space and need for a political alternative to RS&C and MaRaJo; (b) visible political trends, but like in hurricane forecasting, degrees of certainty and uncertainty; (c) the imperative need for a new constitution; and (d) the next hurdle, economic concerns. Next I describe an attempt to respond to this scenario, to make realistic judgements about the art of the possible, and to remain principled. Phew, it’s tough to reconcile all three objectives!

Vame Kathikava (Left Discourse)

I have been bawling my head off that a "left, progressive and social democratic" alliance is imperative. The United Left Front (former LSSP Majority Group now a recognised party) has been the first to respond and will host a Left Discourse on Saturday September 23. Party Secretary Attorney-at-Law Lal Wijenayake in a Media Release expressed "concern about the breakdown of democracy" and added "although it was possible to arrest the trend to an extent by the people’s victory of January 8, roadblocks have been encountered. Apart from resistance offered by backward and defeated political forces, there has also been resistance from within the government against reform of the State structure".

And he goes on, "In order to counter such resistance and ensure the reform of the State structure, including the abolition of the executive presidency and the realization of social justice, we recognise the need to build a broad coalition based on short and long-term economic and social programmes. Therefore we wish to broaden the United Left Front by involving comrades with leftist, progressive and social democratic inclinations" who would like to participate in a Vame Kathikava (Left Discourse) for the purpose of evolving such a programme". Wijenayake has invited those wishing to participate to contact the ULF by phone/fax on 011-2885 394, or e-mail unitedleftfrontsl@gmail.com.

Five discussion documents have been prepared; I have had sight of four. The approach is not to discuss organisational unification, which is tricky, but to seek issue based consensus by optimising agreement on topics represented by these documents. Two are on topics I have flogged to death in this column (economy and constitution) so no more. The two on Health & Education and on the Working Class are new and worth summarising. What I like is that they cut loose from the stereotyped jargon that one has got accustomed to in unimaginative left propaganda. They examine circumstances as they are, and address ‘what should we do’ questions imaginatively. There is a realistic appraisal of the changing nature of the working class due to the changing nature of the economy (services and design, computers, communication tools, disappearance of old jobs) and whether previous objections to collective decision making with management in the private sector still hold.

The document on Health & Education raises several issues that have not been frankly discussed by the left previously. I can only give a flavour of the content here. "Education to instil knowledge in literate citizens to improve their lives and society has been jettisoned to provide skills for business and industry". Education should be re-aligned to correct this defect while creating resourceful individuals conversant with technology and able to do well in diverse environments. Insufficient resources are committed to rural and estate areas; the district quota system must be replaced by a school-based system with lower cut-off for less privileged schools; private, not-for-profit and international institutions and private tuition are among the issues flagged for discussion.

"The need for pro-active commitment to preventive care cannot be over-emphasized" the document says echoing a now universally recognised concern. Lanka has an efficient vaccination and communicable disease reporting programme but needs to deal with non-communicable diseases like diabetes and cardiac aliments. The document throws open a broad challenge of the need for "vector control programmes involving both medical and environmental initiatives and research on recently emerged diseases to identify and eliminate their causative agents".

Exploration along new lines relevant to Lanka’s Twenty-first Century challenges is a welcome advance on slogan filled old fashioned left discourses. This is a first step in preparing to deal with known-knowns and known-unknowns and in building resilience to measure up to future unknown-unknowns as they surface. However, I forecast that the organisers will not get through the material in all four (five?) documents in a half-day session if the discussions are robust and ample. I make an easy forecast; fixing the date for continuing the kathikava will be the last item on the agenda.

SRI LANKA MONKS BEG FOR CASH TO PAY CORRUPTION FINE

16/09/2017

ECONOMYNEXT – Dozens of Buddhist monks loyal to former president Mahinda Rajapaksa begged from office to office in Colombo today seeking cash to pay fines slapped on two former top officials convicted on corruption charges.

The monks walked one behind the other with two women leading them and asking bystanders to donate only cash. Usually, monks on routine begging are offered food for the consumption of the clergy.

The Buddhist monks are trying to collect 104 million rupees — the collective fine and penalties imposed on former presidential secretary Lalith Weeratunga and Telecom Regulatory Commission (TRC) director general Anusha Palpita.

Both were convicted of criminal misappropriation of 600 million rupees of TRC cash and diverting it to fund “sil redi” or white cloth worn by Buddhist devotees in a bid to boost Rajapaksa’s failed re-election bid in January 2015.

The begging monks came under intense social media criticism while the JVP said those clergy taking part in the fund raising were only insulting Buddhism.

JVP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake said the monks should have protested the use of religion to bolster Rajapaksa’s electoral fortunes.

Both Weeratunga and Palpita have appealed against the convictions. (COLOMBO, September 15)

Chathurika’s robbed ‘President father’

(Lanka-e-News - 16.Sep.2017, 2.15AM) The book entitled ‘President father’ supposedly written by Darshani Chathurika the eldest daughter of Maithripala Sirisena was  launched on the 15 th at the BMICH , Colombo. 

For this book launch  , there were six video  advertisements by the companies owned by her . However the publicity given were contradictory . One of those revealed  this is Chathurika’s own biography. Another revealed  it is the biography of the president. No matter what following Chaturika’s interview over the Maharaja TV channel on  the 14 th night , it became very evident that she is ignorant of the correct meaning of  most of the Sinhala words.  There are many examples in support of this view.  She used the word ‘Dholanaya’  though it was clear she used that word improperly. She did not know even the meaning of the word ‘Charithapadanaya’ (biography) . Instead of Charithapadanaya she said , Charithapradanaya . It was apparent she had not even read the books and other materials  at home which  her Father who speaks Sinhalese correctly had read . Based on these glaring lapses of hers even in respect of simple Sinhala language usage, doubts  cropped up whether Chathurika herself wrote this book . Lanka e news therefore decided to delve into this. Following were the discoveries…..  

The name of the book has been robbed...

What we preliminarily discovered was , even the title ‘ President father’, has been robbed by her.  This title is that of a popular drama which won the presidential award in 2001 which  was produced by Dr. Indika Ferdinando , and Chathurika has hence robbed even its title.  We say this definitely and undoubtedly, because Chathurika did not have the courtesy to contact Indika Ferdinando nor  get his permission to use that award winning title for  her book. Such a  practice is nothing but  ethical among decent society . Owing to this ‘robbery’ , there is no chance for Indika Ferdinando to publish now a text book of his award winning drama under that name.

Next we probed into whether this book was actually written by her… 

Lo and behold ! it has been written by someone else !

According to reports reaching us , that book has not been written  by her ,and she hasn’t the ability to accomplish such a feat .

The first part of this book has been written by a chief of the business section of Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT). Thereafter he had given it up . Then another individual associated with business publicity  was enlisted to complete the balance. He too after writing some parts of the book , had lost interest. Finally , it is the third writer who had completed the book.  Though we have the names and addresses of all these writers, because we had to heed their  requests , we have refrained from revealing those.

Strange skills of president’s children … 

In backward South Asian countries like Sri Lanka, the children of leaders of such countries acquiring queer ‘extraordinary’ skills has become a fad. During the corrupt nefarious decade the children of Rajapakses too  acquired bizarre  talents . Namal Rajapakse passed the law final examination with ‘f- lying colors’ getting an average of 98 marks . Yoshitha Rajapakse was supposedly so talented he was chosen for Dartmouth Royal Naval Academy , England for training . But he was specially ‘talented’ so much so that the Royal academy decided  after he was there  for training  , in future not to offer opportunities to Sri Lankans for training in that academy. 

Rohitha Rajapakse acquired so called ‘specialized’ knowledge on rockets that he was supposed to have sent a satellite even beyond the  sky , though  until today there is nobody who had seen or searched and found it.  Interestingly they are all siblings  of the notorious Machiavellian  ex president. 

In fact Rajapakses were defeated  because the masses rejected these dubious and devious accomplishments. Now , it is Chathurika Sirisena who  is shamelessly and despicably toeing the same line.  May be Chathurika is indulging in this type of activity not realizing she is only making her father the butt of a  joke of the 6.2 million people  who elected him  as president,  and came to power  on the solemn promise to abolish the executive presidency within 100 days of his appointment as president.  

It is also most unfortunate , Namal and his clan  could not understand , it was his father who became a laughing stock before the country’s intelligentsia when Mahinda Rajapakse was extolled to the sky describing him as ‘Maharaja’ , and as a relative of Lord Buddha by the hangers on  around him .

Sadly , Chathurika who suddenly became a multi millionaire after her father became the president too seemingly cannot understand her indiscretions  right now. .

‘Father who did not abolish executive presidency’ ….

If Chathurika who subsisted on people’s  funds since the time she became known , if she is true towards the people of the country , what she should have written is not  a book about ‘President father’ with pride, rather a book entitled,  “Father who did not abolish the executive presidency’’. That would have been most appropriate. That is , about a father who after making solemn pledges to the people to abolish the executive presidency within 100 days of his appointment, but  failed to honor the pledges  even during  the last nearly 3 years as president.

She should have instead got a book written  titled “Father who did not abolish the executive presidency’’, expressing her regret over her father’s failure  to honor his pledge,  and  exposing what are militating against that fulfillment.  If she does make such a revelation  it will undoubtedly  help to boost the image of her ‘president father’.

It is a matter for deep regret  ,Chathurika who did not then take the trouble to  write a word to put Maithripala on the presidential throne  or to chase out the Rajapakses ,the deadliest enemies of the people is now trying to stage a ‘greatest show on earth ‘ attracting all the cheap publicity. Sadly by that ‘circus’ she is only  making her father a clown of  clowns  which can only court disaster to him and the country.

In any event it is following Chathurika’s request on the 14th ,  Lanka e news decided to post this report. Chathurika at the conclusion of her interview on the 14 th , told with Peacock pride, anybody can level criticisms against her book , and she will ‘proudly’ accept those criticisms. ( What she should have told was she will humbly accept those criticisms. But  the word she wrongly used instead was ‘proudly’).  In the circumstances ,  it is our conviction based on her enunciation,  through friends and sponsors pressure will  not be brought to bear via phone or other means on Lanka e news for these criticisms,  to withdraw the news report after it is published.

By a staff writer of Lanka e News.

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by     (2017-09-16 21:09:46)