Is Buddhist extremism less dangerous than other extremisms?

2017-10-03

Last week’s extremist monks-led mob attack on a safe house for Rohingya refugees in Mount Lavinia marked a dangerous new low in Buddhist extremism in Sri Lanka. Some government ministers had the guts to condemn it. Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera, the former foreign minister, described the attackers as a group of ‘thugs in robes’. Co-Cabinet Spokesman and Health Minister, Rajitha Seneratne denounced the monks who carried out the attack as ‘animals’. The JVP in a statement called it an attack on humanity.   

But where is former president Mahinda Rajapaksa, the self-proclaimed ‘appachchi’ of the nation?  

His many acolytes who regularly flood the media with press releases, more for self-aggrandizement than for public consumption, seem to have thought this one was not worth enough bothering about.   

Mr. Rajapaksa does not denounce Buddhist extremism for he thinks it offers a glimmer of hope for him to crawl back to power. Behind the curtains, he has done much to keep this poisonous pot boiling.   

To give the man his due, Mr Rajapaksa is not a racist, but just like many other politicians in this part of the world, he is not a principled politician. He is a selfish operator of power. Even when he was firmly in power, he equivocated on the Bodu Bala Sena and the attacks on Muslims. The reason being he valued his electoral prospects more than security of ethnic minorities or ethnic peace in the country. He was a victim of his miscalculations (he lost the election for that), but  diehard habits and thinking live long. Now, he is dreaming about a wave of raging Sinhala nationalism that would wash away the proposed new Constitution. For him, this is the time to cozy up to bigots, why slam them?   

There is also the noticeable silence by the Mahanayakes and this is rather disturbing since those like the Ven. Maha Nayaka of Asgiri Chapter has recently been hyper active in defending Buddhist rights, including the foremost place granted to Buddhism in the Constitution. That provision, this writer himself agrees is worth retaining, taking into account the demographic reality of this country, and the sensitivities of the Sinhala-Buddhist majority, for any Constitution making exercise to be practical. However, defending Buddhist rights also means defending it from being smeared by bigotry of a few who claim they represent Buddhist interests. A few saffron-clad racists who regularly spew forth bigotry against religious minorities, instigate attacks on Muslims, and last week terrorizing of hapless pregnant women and children who were in a UN safe house in Mount Lavinia have done more damage to the image of Buddhism than Velupillai Prabhakaran could manage to do during his three decades of a nihilistic campaign. Temples destroyed by terrorists could be rebuilt, though some could still be irreplaceable, but when a religion is hijacked by bigots to advance their sinister ends, it cannot easily be redeemed. You have seen it in graphic detail in the Middle East.   
This is however not a problem unique to Sri Lanka. All faiths and their chief interlocutors have failed to a  varying degree to keep up with the upsurge of modernization and enlightenment in the post-modern world; and in some cases, they try to block that progress and have found receptive retrograde elements in their respective societies.   
What is important for the government and of course for the religious elites is not to let those fringe elements to blackmail the State or the religion. That the Police have arrested five suspects in connection with the attack on refugees is a sign that the government has the political will to confront the bigots who masquerade as the defenders of Sinhala-Buddhist interests. However, that the monks who were seen instigating the attack have not yet been arrested smacks of a degree of vacillation in the part of the police and probably the government. Those individuals are known peddlers of racism and need to be locked up by any sensible government that values ethnic harmony and national security.   

What is important for the government and of course for the religious elites is not to let those fringe elements to blackmail the State or the religion. That the Police have arrested five suspects in connection with the attack on refugees is a sign that the government has the political will to confront the bigots who masquerade as the defenders of Sinhala-Buddhist interests

Sri Lanka should not differentiate between Buddhist extremism and Tamil separatist extremism, which ravaged this country in the past. Extremism by any community is evil and socially destabilizing, and begets extremism in the other communities, since other communities would not submit to it lying down. What could have been the public reaction had last Tuesday’s attack been committed, say for instance, by the Eelam loving Tamil fringe on Sinhala interests and broadcast live on social media for several thousands of its followers (which the attackers did last week)? Such an incident should have mandated any proactive government to double its security measures, monitor these groups, arrest them, and probably lock them up in preventive detention under counter terror laws and adopt a long-haul strategy to quash any long-term threat. Human right champions may have a different take on things, but a government that fails to provide security and stability (and in our case to maintain that hard won security) is not worth to be in power.  

The same criteria should apply here, because the last week’s attack was not an isolated incident. It was the latest in a long sequence of attacks perpetrated by these groups. A dispassionate take on events suggest that this particular branch of Buddhist extremism pose an emerging threat to ethnic harmony and by extension to long term national security. In the absence of any other significant domestic and external risks, counter measures on this particular threat should be prioritized. 

 
It is often argued that the police and criminal justice system is better equipped to confront such threats. But, it has been proved to be a lie, now in the West and long before in Sri Lanka. Both Tamil insurgency and the JVP in the 80s grew in numbers and strength while the police were trying to catch the troublemakers. Finally, Rohana Wijeweera was dragged out of his hideout in Ulapane by the Army’s Rapid Deployment Force, a precursor to the Special Force, and during the height of LTTE terrorism, security in the South was ensured by a combination of a hardened military intelligence apparatus.   

Of course, Sri Lanka should not use a sledgehammer to kill a fly. Security measures should be proportionate. But, it should also not under react, because, if you do so, terrorists and extremists would prevail and at one point, a future government, though grudgingly will be forced to induct all those unsavoury elements, its predecessors had to use in the South and the North in the past. At that point, such measures become a necessary evil, if the country is to be salvaged, even at the expense of a bout of brutality.   

A series of past attacks by Buddhist extremists highlight the need for these groups to be confronted with available security and legal means. They also need to be regularly monitored. Police have their hands full of law and order issues. Terrorism Investigation Division and military intelligence units can do a far more effective work in monitoring extremism in this country. They raise the stakes for extremists. The government should not mollycoddle Buddhist extremism; there is no guarantee that it would be different from other forms of extremism. 

 
Follow @RangaJayasuriya on Twitter  

Let Women Decide: Some Feminist Perspectives on the ‘Abortion Debate’

Featured image courtesy Edson Chilundo/Flickr 

SUBHA WIJESIRIWARDENA- 10/01/2017

At this moment in Sri Lanka, ‘the abortion debate’ has sprung up once again; with the cabinet purportedly attempting to pass a bill which would legalize abortions for women under two circumstances[1] – if the woman is a victim of rape or if the foetus is detected to have ‘Lethal Congenital Malformation’. The Sri Lankan Penal Code of 1883 (yes, that’s right, that’s the year our criminal law is from: 1883) criminalizes all attempts to abort a foetus, including  assisting in an abortion – other than when a physician performs an abortion to save the life of the woman – which would of course have to be duly proven.

Sections 303-306 of the Penal Code of Sri Lanka detail this law, and even goes so far as to say, ‘It is not essential to this offence that the offender should know that the act is likely to cause death.’

This Penal Code – that part of our colonial inheritance – has seen the rare amendment, but never in these sections. The ‘abortion debate’ has risen and fallen multiple times over the last few decades, most significantly in 1997 when there was a push similar to this for amendment. There have been objections and blocks right along, often arising from religious institutions. Just some weeks ago our ‘religious leaders’ said, almost unanimously it would seem, ‘No’.[2]

Many positions on abortion have been re-established via media reports; several opinion pieces have emerged (I speak only of the English) – particularly interesting to me are the ones coming from those seemingly pro-choice, all of which attempt to unpack the moral and philosophical layers of the discourse around abortion and abortion law. Several of these pieces provide traditional Liberal modes of analysis such as offering up ‘better sex education’ or greater access to information around sex and contraception, and greater access to contraceptives as solutions to the ‘problem’ that is abortion.

None of the articles, of this recent spate, as far as I can tell, in the mainstream press or otherwise, have addressed what I believe is the elephant in the room: the patriarchal history of the criminalization of abortion universally, as a method by which the institutions of patriarchal power (the state, the church etc) asserted their control over women’s bodies, sexualities, and sexual lives. Fundamentally, it was a method to limit women’s autonomy and to trap women in these systems – to enforce a reality in which women are reproductive vessels who belong not to themselves but to their husbands, their families, communities and finally, to the state.

Only one article in English that I have read so far attempts to frame the ‘abortion debate’ as a women’s rights issue at all.[3]

It seems strange – and yet revealing – to me that even in 2017, when we talk about abortion law, a large part of the conversation is dedicated to handwringing debates on the morality or immorality of abortion itself, while wholly excluding a more critical and analytical look at the historical, cultural and political circumstances which gave us abortion law to begin with and which continue to fuel abortion law even now.

None of these articles as far as I can tell, attempt to set this discussion against the wider context of the historic arc of a range of other laws which all sought to control decisions related to women’s sexuality and reproductive choices – laws around the dissemination of, or dissemination of information on, various kinds of contraception; laws around women’s ability to autonomously choose delivery methods, like caesareans – some of which are even in practice today[4] . If they did, it would be hard to ignore that abortion laws were not introduced in a vacuum, and are not upheld even today solely out of concern for the life of the foetus.

These laws have historically been tools of control and often arose almost directly as a response to various surges in movements for women’s liberation.

When we do not address these things, we do not address the reality: that the criminalization of abortion has proven to be a crisis for women’s rights, women’s autonomy and women’s health everywhere. We do not address the larger context within which, in Sri Lanka, we are fighting for amendments to abortion law at this moment: a global shift to the far-right, with things such as the ‘Global Gag Rule’ imposed by Trump[5] putting the lives of scores of women in the Global South at risk.

It’s useful to note that, in keeping with tradition, Trump’s gross declaration came days after the historic Women’s March of 21st January 2017 brought around 5 million people on to the streets across the world.

It is important to do this groundwork and interrogate our histories and contexts to really understand what it is we want now. What are we fighting for, when we call for amendments to this harsh law? As feminists, many of us consider the amendments themselves deeply problematic – an inadequate measure at best to win women some manoeuvring space in dire circumstances. The amendments themselves do not centre the autonomy of the woman and her ability to make decisions about her own body, her sexuality and her health.

Instead, the proposed amendments could reinforce the idea that women should first be victims of terrible circumstances before she can be afforded her full human rights – in this case, she should either be proven a victim of rape (and/or incest, statutory rape etc.), or have a foetus so tragically malformed that it may not have chance for survival. This ‘victim’ is a ‘poor, innocent’ woman, a victim of crime or a victim of tragedy.

The other ‘ideal’ candidate for legal abortion – this framing given even by many who are sincerely pro-choice – is, of course, ‘the married woman’. The Good Married Woman, Already a Mother. She seeks abortions because she is already the loving mother of three children and she and her legally wedded husband have arrived at the decision together that it would be complicated for them to have a fourth child.

Dinesha Samararatne writes, “Research on abortion in Sri Lanka suggests that most abortion seekers are married”[6] and many of us in the pro-choice wing are quick to use these findings to bolster our arguments, because The State likes to hear that it is married women who are seeking this service, not young, unmarried strumpets. In principle, however, we must stand by every woman’s right to abortion – even the strumpet’s! – whether she is married, unmarried, a victim of rape or someone simply struggling with the problem of an unwanted pregnancy acquired out of a consensual, pleasurable encounter.

We are well aware of the widely held attitudes and beliefs about women who seek abortions which prevail within government. In an essay documenting the 1997 process which sought to bring similar amendments to this section of the Penal Code, S. Abeysekera wrote of the parliamentary debate on this issue, “…throughout the debate, the MPs presented their own personal opinions, coloured, of course, by their general attitudes towards women. These attitudes ranged from seeing women as promiscuous, to conniving or vulnerable.” Unfortunately, not much has changed today.

The medicalization of abortion as a strictly ‘health’ issue is another conflict we have to navigate; previous proposals for amendment, and this one as well, have all been framed medically and spearheaded by those in the medical profession; women’s rights and women’s autonomy are not at the helm of this framing but it is at least concerned about the risks involved in subjecting women to illegal and unregulated abortions. Socio-economic arguments are also made in this way, to say that it is often women from low-income social groups who are most vulnerable to unsafe abortions, as a result of criminalization.

However, while none of these formulations are ideal for many of us, sometimes they’re all we’ve got. We have to be realistic and we have to be strategic. So how do we proceed, especially those of us who are women’s rights activists and advocates?

In her landmark essay ‘Sexuality: A Feminist Issue?’[7], Abeysekera wrote, “The control of female sexuality is a critical element of patriarchy.” This is what we must pay attention to, when we create and shape discourses around the legitimacy of decriminalizing abortion.

What is important at this juncture is to be able to push the conversations about amendments to the law forward, in the way that they are being proposed now, but to also always be able to bring the conversation back to what is easily invisiblized: patriarchal systems of control, which determine the pushes and pulls; we have to be able to centre women’s autonomy in the debate. We have to be able to articulate seemingly contradictory things together – while pushing for amendments to lighten existing abortion law, we must – and will – continue to articulate our desire for full decriminalization.

Furthermore, what is interesting for us to ponder is the default heteronormative framing of our campaigns and advocacy around ‘reproductive justice’. I think it is our responsibility to consistently link ‘the abortion debate’ to a larger discourse around women’s sexualities and the historic, patriarchal crusade to control women’s sexualities – whether women are ‘reproductive’ or not. The language around ‘reproductive rights’ often excludes queer women who may not choose to bear children, and even heterosexual women who may not wish to bear children, who are already done bearing children, who cannot bear children etc.

We must always find the space to assert our right to sexuality, and bodily and sexual autonomy, parallel to the assertions of our reproductive rights. We must, at this time, continue to broaden and deepen discourses around ‘sexuality’ itself, expanding our understanding of it in a critical and inclusive way. Therefore, the ‘abortion debate’ even in the present day, to me, remains deeply linked to what seem like very traditional feminist concerns: the full autonomy of women – to which sexual and reproductive autonomy is key – and finally, the full liberation of all people from patriarchy.

For different perspectives on this issue, click here, here, here and here. 

---

[1] http://www.dailynews.lk/2017/08/23/local/126027/bill-allow-aborting-foetus-two-counts

[2] http://www.dailymirror.lk/136652/Abortion-Medical-doctors-brief-religious-leaders

[3]That elusive right to control your life and body – Abortion: Prabodini Munasinghe (Daily FT, 2017) http://www.ft.lk/opinion/That-elusive-right-to-control-your-life-and-body-%E2%80%93-Abortion/14-64064

[4] http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/woman-labour-begs-family-caesarean-11122021

[5] https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2017/01/trumps-global-gag-a-devastating-blow-for-womens-rights/

[6] The Abortion Debate: Mismatched and Misplaced?: Dinesha Samararatne (Groundviews, 2017) http://groundviews.org/2017/09/13/the-abortion-debate-mismatched-and-misplaced/

[7] Sexuality: A Feminist Issue?: Sunila Abeysekera (Women in Action, 1999)http://tinyurl.com/ybbrz4sc

Engaging employees for enterprise effectiveness: Emerging evidence from Sri Lanka

Meaningfulness and the awareness of the job and supportive senior management are factors that drive employee engagement in the IT and apparel sector while supportive co-worker relationship and meaningfulness and awareness of the job plays an important role in the KPO/BPO sector

Monday, 2 October 2017

As I mentioned in my previous column, employee engagement in a disruptive environment is an emerging challenge. There was an exploratory study involving more than 12,000 employees recently done by the Postgraduate Institute of Management (PIM). Today’s column is all about employee engagement in the Sri Lankan workplace, with the aid of a fresh “12 S” framework.
Overview

“5 S” approach for better housekeeping is popular in Sri Lanka. “12 S” framework for employee engagement is refreshingly new for Sri Lanka. It connects employee engagement to enterprise effectiveness. As we saw in my last column, employee engagement refers to his/her psychological state (e.g. one’s identification with the organisation), his/her disposition (e.g. one’s positive feeling towards the organisation) and performance (e.g. one’s level of discretionary effort). In brief, it captures affective (feeling), cognitive (thinking) and behavioural (acting) dimensions of an employee.

According to Forbes magazine, the issue of “engaging people well” is becoming one of the biggest competitive differentiators. It further reveals that in a 2014 Deloitte Global Human Capital Trends research, 78% of business leaders rated engagement as something urgent or important for them. We at the PIM deployed six final year students to study employee engagement in three industries. Let’s discuss the details further with the aid of figure 1.

Our approach to measure employee engagement 

Employee Engagement (EE) in the apparel sector and Information Technology (IT)/IT Enabled Services (ITES) and Knowledge Process Outsourcing (KPO)/Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) services industry in Sri Lanka was our main focus. T. Mukunthan, A. S. Hameed, F. F. C. Ajward, S. N. Jayasinghe, J. P. Peter and W.L.A. Pathirathna were the final year MBA students who got involved. They had to develop a scale to measure and to use that scale in the above two industries.

The apparel sector is one of the largest contributors in export revenue in Sri Lanka. In addition, IT, KPO, and BPO sectors have been identified as potential key growth areas in Knowledge services sector with the potential to create export revenue. However, low productivity and low quality have been identified as major issues prevalent in the Apparel industry, while staff turnover has been identified as a significant issue in the IT and KPO, BPO sector in Sri Lanka. Therefore, the degree of engagement level in these sectors was questionable. As a result, these sectors were selected for this survey in order to measure the level of EE and identify what drives EE in these sectors.

The study population of the apparel sector consisted of executive and operational level employees in five Export Processing Zones (EPZs) – (Seethawaka, Biyagama, Katunayake, Koggala and Mirijjawila) and fifteen Apparel companies outside the zones. The IT, ITES and KPO/BPO sample consisted of managers, executives and non-executive level employees mainly from the Colombo District. The total population reached was 17,113 of which 10,766 responses were collected. 10,412 valid responses were reached after rejecting 354 achieving a response rate of 63%.

The survey was carried out using two methods, i.e.: through printed questionnaire and online survey. The questionnaire was developed by the researchers, which included 36 questions. Out of that, 21 statements focused on identifying and measuring EE and 15 statements focused on identifying the drivers of EE. All questions were answered in a five point Likert scale, where 5 being “Strongly Agree” to 1 being “Strongly Disagree”. Based on the Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS) analysis (included Exploratory Factor Analysis and Confirmatory Factor Analysis) the researchers finalised five new scale dimensions of EE, which are the first set of five Ss in the 12 S framework.

Engagement to effectiveness 

Meaningfully combining the PIM study with globally acclaimed consultancy studies such as AON Hewitt can result in the next three Ss in the 12 S framework. Say refers to the freedom to express oneself. Stay is the continuation with the existing organisation. Strive refers to the effort one puts into his/her work.

The combined effect of engaging and enabling employees is the employee effectiveness. The achievement of objectives in performing up to the expectations, which legendary Peter Drucker called “doing the right things”. Effective employees contribute to the achievement of results in a balanced manner in line with the Balanced Scorecard pioneered by David Kaplan and Robert Norton of Harvard Business School, in early nineties. The four facets of financial, customer, processes and people are all integrated, interrelated and interwoven, in demonstrating the path towards excellence.

Four key elements in effectiveness outcomes have been identified as strategic competencies, streamlined processes, satisfied customers and sustained financials. These are the final four Ss of the 12 S framework. Strategic competencies refer to the people perspective of the Balanced Scorecard where innovation is the key. In fact, competencies lead to compete in a competitive environment. Streamline processes refer to efficient and consistent functioning of the input to output conversions. Satisfied customers and sustained financials are obviously essential for survival and success of any enterprise.

Further results 

The survey results indicated that the engagement level among the surveyed employees as 40%. Low engagement is shown in 17% of employees; 42% of male employees show high level of engagement and 20% demonstrate low level of engagement. Among the female employees 37% show high engagement and 13% show low engagement. The executives display lower level of engagement at 31%, whereas the non-executives display 51% of engagement. Overall male employees show higher level of engagement, and employee and non executives show higher level of engagement.

Significantly, 89% of the apparel sector employees were aware of what was expected from them at work. 74% of employees trust the senior management while 72% of apparel employees believe that they have mutual respect at work and 71% of employees knew their potential career path at their work place.

Also, findings of the apparel employees revealed that, 22% perceived that promotion opportunities were not purely based on their performance, 12% responded that they were not rewarded adequately, 12% responded that performance evaluations did not reflect the effort they have put at work and 11% responded that managers were not aware about what motivates them at work.

The key findings of IT, ITES and KPO, BPO sectors in Sri Lanka indicated that overall EE level is 31% based on the surveyed sample. In addition, it was noted that male employees are more engaged than female employees in both these sectors; 50% of the male employees in KPO, BPO industry demonstrated a low engagement level; 39% of IT sector employees are highly engaged in their job and 16% show low engagement; whereas 26% of KPO, BPO employees are highly engaged in their job and 33% show low engagement. Overall, IT sector employees are more engaged than KPO, BPO sector employees. The findings indicate that executives show lower level of engagement than the non-executive employees do.
The survey findings have several implications for the human resource professionals in Sri Lanka. The findings indicate that immediate supervisors are less supportive. This implies that immediate supervisors should be selected correctly and trained on soft skills. Non-availability of career development opportunities implies that employees will leave the organisation for better opportunities. Employees feel that the organisational policies and procedures are biased. This implies that the organisations are not transparent in their policies, and even if they are, that there is a communication gap between the senior management and the employees. Therefore, it indicates that senior management should have a better rapport with the employees.

Specific findings in the Sri Lankan apparel sector indicate that the industry leaders and relevant authorities should focus on upgrading and development of performance management systems and appropriate policies and ensure a rigorous, transparent and continuous cycle of improvement, review salary levels and welfare facilities given for apparel employees regularly and more willingly. Employee productivity and quality levels could be enhanced through career development programs.
Implications for the IT and KPO/BPO industry indicated that in order to drive EE levels in the IT sector, more career development opportunities must be available to employees who are over 30 years. In order to drive engagement levels in the KPO, BPO sector, the organisations should take measures to improve dialogue with the senior management and the employees. More improvement to increase organisational procedures and HRD practices are necessary in this sector. Using stringent selection methods to select the best managers and improving teamwork and enhancing co-worker social support could drive EE levels in this sector.
Way forward 

In summary, the survey results indicated that meaningfulness and the awareness of the job and supportive senior management are factors that drive EE in the IT and apparel sector while supportive co-worker relationship and meaningfulness and awareness of the job plays an important role in the KPO/BPO sector. More such research are needed to cover many sectors in Sri Lanka in shedding more light into how employee engagement leads to enterprise effectiveness.

(Prof. Ajantha Dharmasiri can be reached through director@pim.sjp.ac.lk, president@ipmlk.org or www.ajanthadharmasiri.info.)

Ven. Akmeemana Dayarathana Thero arrested

By Yusuf Ariff-October 2, 2017 

UPDATE: (4.13pm) - Venerable Akmeemana Dayarathana Thero has been remanded until October 09 by the Mount Lavinia Magistrate’s Court.

Venerable Akmeemana Dayarathana Thero of the Sinhala Ravaya organization has been arrested in connection with threatening Rohingya refugees in Mount Lavinia last week.

The Buddhist monk was arrested after he arrived at the Colombo Crimes Division (CCD) earlier today to give a statement regarding the incident.

The Police Spokesman’s Office said another suspect, Ravindra Warnajith Perera, 40, was also arrested after he surrendered to the CCD.

They are scheduled to be produced at the Mount Lavinia Magistrate’s Court.

Ven. Akmeemana Dayarathna Thero and Ven. Arambepola Rathnasara Thero were both called to appear at the CCD today in connection with the incident.

However, according to reports Ven. Rathnasara Thero is yet to appear before the CCD.
Two police officers had to be hospitalised after the attack, in which monks and their supporters threw stones and smashed windows and furniture.

Five men and a woman have already been arrested and a government official said several police officers were also under investigation for failing to prevent the violence.

The refugees had arrived in Sri Lanka five months ago after the navy found them drifting in a boat off the island’s north coast.

Before that, they had been living in India for several years.

The 31 Rohingya refugees, including 16 children and seven women, were evacuated by the police and accommodated at a former detention centre in Mirihana.

Sri Lanka: The attack on the Rohingya Refugee safe house — contrary to all civilized norms

It is unfortunate that Sri Lanka which has been a model of co-existence and inter communal harmony over centuries notwithstanding the brutal armed conflict of the last three decades is facing the current situation of uncertainty due to the actions of a few who with callous disregard to human values as well as Sri Lanka’s name are acting in this manner.

by Javid Yusuf-Oct 2, 2017

( October 2, 2017, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) The unseemly incident at the UNHCR safe house at Mt. Lavinia last week where the 30 Rohingya Refugees had been located highlights the fact that the seeds of racism planted during the time of the previous regime have still not been uprooted.

Apart from the fact that the purveyors of hate like Sinhala Ravaya, Ravana Balaya and Bodu Bala Sena are lurking in the background making use of every opportunity to stoke the flames of religious and racial hate, what is even more disconcerting is the fact that new outfits such as Mahason Balakaya and the Sinhale Organisation and some others have cropped up taking advantage of the new climate of freedom that the Yahapalanaya Government has ushered in.
These groups seem to be undeterred by the fact that the country as a whole has spoken up loud and clear on January 8,2015 rejecting the path of hate and embracing a path of reconciliation on which platform President Mathripala Sirisena and the UNP campaigned.

It is unfortunate that Sri Lanka which has been a model of co-existence and inter communal harmony over centuries notwithstanding the brutal armed conflict of the last three decades is facing the current situation of uncertainty due to the actions of a few who with callous disregard to human values as well as Sri Lanka’s name are acting in this manner.

It is even worse when a few members of the clergy are associated with such mobs who seem to be wanting to take the law into their own hand to achieve their own objectives. This is a continuation of the philosophy of the Bodu Bala Sena who declared and acted during the previous regime as an unofficial police force.

Last week’s incident targeting the Rohingya Refugees witnessed the presence of individuals who had been previously arrested and bailed out for similar incidents of hate speech brazenly acting in violation of such bail conditions.
As was well known and officially confirmed after the incident last week, these Rohingya refugees did not come to Sri Lanka on their own volition. They had been travelling in a boat to Australia or some such destination and had been rescued by our Navy when the engines in their boat had stalled. These innocent victims of the horror that is currently being enacted in Myanmar numbering 30 including 15 children and 7 women had been thereafter produced in the Sri Lankan Courts where order had been made by the Magistrate that they be handed over to the UNHCR to be cared for and thereafter sent to another country. It is the UNHCR that had arranged for them to be located in the safe house at Mt. Lavinia.

The members of the mob that targeted these refugees if they were genuinely concerned about the presence of these refugees should have gone like any other law abiding citizen and informed the Mt. Lavinia Police who would undoubtedly have inquired into the matter and appraised them of the situation. Instead as has been the practice in the past by this group and those of their ilk they attempted to take the law into their hands and terrorise these unfortunate human beings.

Consequently the authorities have been compelled to transfer them to the Boosa detention camp for their own safety. The situation that the Rohingya refugees are compelled to face can best be described by the Sinhala phrase ‘Gahen Weticcha Minihata Gona Anna Wage’ which translated into English means ‘ Like being gored by a Bull after having fallen from a tree.”

The action or inaction of the Police officers present at the scene have also come in for criticism by some. In fairness to the Police officers video footage clearly showed them valiantly taking all efforts to prevent the mob entering the safe house. The mob was heard warning the Police not to lay hands on the clergy and clearly the Police would have been uncertain as to how to handle the situation by arresting the miscreants or taking any further action.

The Police who are the guardians of law and order and are therefore in the frontline in situations of this nature have to be given clear and unambiguous guidelines by the Government as to how such situations have to be handled. Such directions must be given wide publicity in order to ensure that those who wish to take the law into their own hands will think twice before doing so. The failure to do so without further delay will leave the Police uncertain as to what would be their fate if they took action in accordance with the law of the land against such mobs and with particular reference to members of the clergy who act in contravention of such laws. This is all the more important because these violent mobs attempt to use the presence of the clergy and put them in the fore front to prevent the Police from acting.

A classic example of such a predicament faced by the Police is the incident before the UN headquarters in Colombo where the Parliamentarian Wimal Weerawansa was engaging in a fast unto death during the previous dispensation. A senior Police Officer was taking steps to control the unruly crowd when he was given a phone call and asked to step back by some higher authority. While he was doing so one of the members of the unruly crowd humiliated the officer by dislodging his cap in the full view of television cameras and the officer had to eat humble pie and take no action.

That the Police is capable of taking action where necessary is seen by another episode. A few months back when there was a spate of attacks on Muslim places of worship and Muslim businesses the National Shoora Council together with other civil society orgainsations like the Puravesi Balaya and the National Movement for Social Justice made representations to the Inspector General of Police and urged him to take action to prevent the recurrence of such incidents. One of the measures that was proposed to the IGP was to have mobile patrols in potential trouble spots which the IGP promptly actioned. Consequently all the attacks came to an immediate stop.

In arresting this menace of hate mongering the behavior of politicians is a critical factor. The Joint Opposition does not seem to be learning from their past and continues to repeat their mistakes which was a contributing factor in their defeat at the last elections. National Freedom Front leader Wimal Weerawansa and another NFF Parliamentarian raised the issue of the Rohingya refugees housed in Mt. Lavinia in Parliament last week without a word of condemnation against the targetting of these refugees.

In contrast Government Ministers Mangala Samaraweera, Rajitha Senaratne and Lakshman Kiriella condemned the actions of these mobs and called upon the Police to take stringent action. At the same Press Conference at which Minister Rajitha Senaratne did not mince his words when he condemned the actions of the mob at Mt. Lavinia, Minister Dayasiri Jayasekera chose his words carefully and struck a different note when he only explained that the refugees were here temporarily and would not be given citizenship but carefully avoided any condemnation of the mob attack in Mt. Lavinia.

The JVP too has come out strongly and condemned the incident.

Minister Rajitha Senaratne stated at the Press Conference that the matter will be taken up at the next Cabinet meeting. It will be salutary if the Cabinet appoints a Cabinet sub Committee to immediately formulate a plan to address the issues relating to hate mongering and to suggest ways and means of countering such actions.

The Rohingya refugees are some of the most marginalized people in the world. They are poor and deprived of citizenship in the land of their birth and are being hounded and killed in what the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has described as a text book case of ethnic cleansing. The international community including Pope Francis, the Dalai Lama and Bishop Desmond Tutu have unreservedly condemned this unfolding human tragedy.

Yet a mob that includes members of the clergy sought to attack the safe house where these refugees three fourths of whom were women and children without showing an ounce of human compassion for their plight.

As Sri Lankans we must surely hang our collective head in shame at the uncivilized and heartless actions of a few of our countrymen.

If the members of the mob paused for a moment to put themselves in the shoes of the helpless refugees who had been driven away from their homeland, relocated temporarily in alien territory in another country where they did not know the language of the land and depended on the largesse of the UN and suddenly found themselves being targeted by a screaming mob they may have thought twice.

But they did not consider about the impact their actions had on the unfortunate women and children who must have been terrified inside the safe house. Instead they acted in complete variance with the character of the Sri Lankan nation nourished by the teachings of the four great religions and well known for its hospitable and kind nature.
Even in the dark days of July 1983 it was a microscopic few who attacked and killed the Tamils while large numbers of Sinhalese and Muslims opened their doors to provide protection and look after the victims. But Sri Lanka’s proud standing in the world and as a respected member of the Non Aigned Movement and as a country that stood up for justice and peace took a severe beating due to the actions of a few.

Sri Lanka is only now slowly but surely rehabilitating itself and rebuilding its image in the eyes of the international community. The Government cannot allow its efforts in this area to be jeopardized by the actions of a few who are clearly unconcerned about what is right and wrong or as to what happens to the image of the country. The Government must act now before it is too late.

The writer is a Colombo based political commentator. He can be reached at javidyusuf@gmail.com)

The optics of raiding Rohingya safe house When movements are led by low IQ – low T individuals

By Rathindra Kuruwita-2017-10-03

Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) last week condemned the group that protested/raided a building which housed 31 Rohingya refugees in Mount Lavinia. This condemnation essentially boils down to this, even Ven. Galagodaatte Gnanasara Thera and the BBS understand that this was really, really bad optics.
Attacking a group of refugees, housed by an UN affiliated body, does not look good on you. I mean this may go down really well with the small core of diehard fans, and I am also sure that a lot of Sinhala Buddhists would have nodded in silent approval of the motives behind those who led the protest/raid but no one would openly support anything like this and this makes you look really, really bad to the 'international community'.

The international audience

This is the problem with groups like these, led by low IQ dudes like Dan Priyasad; they have no understanding of how important the international audience is. They can only think about themselves and those who egg them on social media. And the lack of awareness is such that they don't get that; no credible politician would ever take your side because the 'international community' thinks you are an extremist and that the average person is not going to come out of his comfort zone and stand for unpopular beliefs.

They should just ask themselves whether Mahinda Rajapaksa, who is their god, has ever said a word in support of them and if not, why. Rajapaksa has actually condemned them several times over, in this way Rajapaksa is very much like Trump who really has no problem in throwing his supporter under the bus, because he knows that supporting these assorted weirdos would make him look bad. So instead of realizing that and without making themselves more presentable and respectable, these men keep on making bad spectacles, giving your brand, i.e. Sinhala nationalism, a bad rep.

And this is why ultimately the Sinhala nationalist movement is likely to fail, because it really can't attract anyone bright.

Earlier I have spoken about the sad state of the Sinhala nationalist movement and spoke about how the Sinhala nationalist movement was immediately taken over by a bunch of opportunists who wanted political power, without actually caring about the race or having ideals. Instead of developing a cohesive and coherent seat of ideas and policies about strengthening the Sinhala nation and addressing historic injustices, bigotry became the be all and end all of this movement. The Sinhala nationalist movement has no ideas, from Dan Priyasad to Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka, and most of its supporters seem to be really low IQ. But looking at photos from the latest debacle, also in a way confirmed what I had been feeling about the most visible leaders of the movement, they also seem to be low on Testosterone (low T essentially.) I mean look at the monks who led the attack and most of their supporters, all of them look like bugmen and in need of Testosterone Replacement Therapy.

What these low T dinosaurs don't understand is that their way of doing things no longer works and that the best thing they can do, if they care about the Sinhalese, is to just retire. Go home, Dan and make some babies.

Sad!

The last few years have been good for ethnic nationalism. In the United States Richard Spencer and the alt-right memed a president into power; Narendra Modi and his BJP won big in 2014 and the Identitarian movement in Europe has propelled a number of 'fringe' parties into positions of power.
And of course, startled by these developments, we have started hearing a lot about Sinhala nationalism again, from the liberal left and what passes on as the 'right' here. But the point everyone seems to be missing is that elements that try to pass as the political right in Sri Lanka, from Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) to Joint Opposition (JO), have learned nothing from what has been happening around the world in the last five years.

That is why you see the JHU repeating what they were saying in 2002 and Champika Ranawaka and Nishantha Sri Warnasinghe are trying to become the anti-corruption crusaders. Really? Anti-corruption? That's all you can come with? Anti-corruption is for Dilrukshi Dias Wickramasinghe.

This is why this movement is unlike the intellectual framework of Darmapala, and Gunadasa Amarasekara who is the best out of the 'jathika chinthana' thinkers were unable to lift the movement and mentor a newer generation of Sinhala nationalistic thinkers. That is why we don't see Richard Spencer or even a Markus Willinger and that is why the national movement is trying to get Gotabaya as President.

Rathindra holds an M Sc in Strategic Studies from S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, NTU, Singapore, and can be reached via rathindra984@gmail.com

Wasim Thajudeen Murder case; CID seeks arrest warrant against Prof. Ananda Samarasekara

Lakmal Sooriyagaoda-Monday, October 2, 2017 

The CID conducting investigations into the murder of former rugby player Wasim Thajudeen today sought a warrant for the arrest of former Colombo Chief Medical Officer Prof.Ananda Samarasekara over the alleged role in the cover up of evidence when conducting the first post mortem on Thajudeen’s body.

Filing a motion before Colombo Additional Magistrate Jayram Trotsky, the CID further sought Court’s intervention to name former JMO Ananda Samarasekara as the third suspect in the Thajudeen murder case.

However, Additional Magistrate observed that he would make a suitable order regarding these requests after inspecting the facts pertaining to a Fundamental Rights petition filed by Ananda Samarasekara.

Prof. Samarasekara had filed a Fundamental Rights petition in the Supreme Court seeking an interim order preventing CID from arresting him in connection with the alleged loss of body parts of late Wasim Thajudeen.

Filing a further report in court, ASP Wickremasekara of CID Homicide Investigations Unit said that Ananda Samarasekara can be charged for concealing evidence under section 198 of the Penal Code.

'The investigations conducted so far have revealed that Prof. Samarasekara had also threatened his junior staffs when preparing the post mortem report. Investigations have also revealed former Colombo Chief JMO had acted in an irresponsible manner when he was conducting the first post mortem on Thajudeen’s body,' ASP Wickremasekara said.

Meanwhile, the Additional Magistrate directed the CID that information pertaining to the FR petition and anticipatory bail application filed by Prof. Ananda Samarasekara be submitted in court tomorrow.

At a previous occasion, the Attorney General informed Court there is a possibility of arresting former Colombo Chief Medical Officer Prof.Ananda Samarasekara over the alleged loss of body parts of rugby player Wasim Thajudeen.

Former Western Province Senior DIG Anura Senanayake and former Narahenpita Crimes OIC Sumith Champika Perera had been named as first and second suspects of this case. They were arrested over their alleged role in the cover up of evidence in the former rugby player Wasim Thajudeen murder and conspiring to commit the murder.

They are currently out on bail.

The business case for tackling childcare: good for employees and employers, good for Sri Lanka 

 

Tuesday, 3 October 2017

 My friend Kavi, a senior manager with one of Sri Lanka’s top service-industry companies, is going through difficult times. Both of her parents recently passed away – an incredibly sad series of events. If losing one parent after the other was not traumatic enough, she also lost a vital support system.

Kavi found herself without the support she needed to care for her children while working and so faced a critical decision about her more than 15-year career. Stay in the job or leave? This is a question that’s commonly faced by many families in Sri Lanka, where vital decisions are made around the availability or lack thereof, of quality childcare.

In many parts of the world formal, quality childcare remains scarce. Fewer than one in four children under five in South Asia and most of Africa benefit from preschool provision . Moreover, traditional sources of childcare from close or extended family members are becoming less available as families are becoming more dispersed .

Yet, formal childcare is often unavailable, expensive and outside the reach of employees, not only in developing economies but also in developed ones. For those who can afford it, the available options are often limited and poorly aligned with full-time working hours.



The business case

for employer

-supported childcare

Lack of access to quality childcare can affect the choices that employees make about paid employment. The unavailability or affordability of care affects the choices that parents make regarding the type of work that they do, whether they stay at home or how they combine work with care .

While women in Sri Lanka have made significant strides in education, women’s labour force participation remains low at 35.3%, half that of male participation (which stands at 75.9%) .This prevents employers in all industries from accessing Sri Lanka’s entire talent pool.

Improving access to childcare can improve gender equality, and help parents enter and advance in the workforce. The recognition, reduction and reallocation of care responsibilities are vital determinants of women’s and men’s ability to contribute equally to the community, economy and public life. Because women are more likely to carry the responsibility for looking after children, a lack of childcare options presents a major barrier to their full and equal participation in paid work .

Global research shows how companies that invest in childcare initiatives can experience multiple benefits for their business. Providing childcare support can boost the quality of a company’s labour force by supporting the needs of a diverse workforce, improving recruitment and helping businesses retain talent throughout the employee lifecycle.

The good news is that the private sector realises that there is a strong business case for employer-supported childcare as an enabler for (female) labour force participation. MAS Holdings, the global Sri Lankan apparel and textile manufacturer - an IFC client and member of IFC’s Tackling Childcare Partnership – recently participated as one of 10 IFC-led case studies on the business case for employer-supported childcare.

Having provided childcare-support for their employees in one of their ILO/IFC Better Work factories in Jordan, MAS Kreeda Al Safi-Madaba, the company quickly reported numerous benefits to having a crèche onsite. These included reduced absenteeism and turnover rates among beneficiaries, and more stabilised production lines. Absences due to sick leave fell by 9% after only eight months.

MAS Kreeda Al Safi-Madaba also found that the childcare facilities strengthened the company’s relationship with their major international buyer and boosted the company’s reputation as an "employer of choice” for local women.

“Before the childcare centre, I had to walk to my relative’s house to drop my child there even in winter. I would often have to stay at home when my child was sick or if my relative was unavailable to provide care. But now with the childcare facility and transport, it is so much easier,” said a childcare centre user and team member at MAS Kreeda Al Safi-Madaba.

The case of MAS Kreeda’s childcare facility in Jordan shows that employer-supported childcare can be a win-win for all: employees, companies and ultimately, economies. 

Locally, the Board of Investments has put in place a childcare facility in the Special Economic Zone in Katunayake in response to demand from garment producing companies (including MAS). The SEZ and its companies had identified childcare support as a potential solution to better attract and retain their female workforce and to bring in smaller enterprises to the SEZ. Additionally, the SEZ wanted to support the Government’s mandate to empower and support working women.

Businesses that invest in childcare can improve employee performance by reducing absenteeism, enhancing worker productivity, and increasing the motivation and commitment of their workforce. Employer-supported childcare may also help the firm access new markets that have high corporate social responsibility benchmarks .


An opportunity for private-public partnership

A study by the McKinsey Global Institute estimates that global GDP will increase by 26% by 2025, adding $ 12 trillion, if the gender gaps in economic participation were closed . Tackling childcare can make a major contribution in closing these gaps.

Tackling childcare is among one of the priorities in the Sri Lankan Government’s Vision 2025, and builds on the Government’s ongoing efforts to ensure a supply of quality childcare provision.

This is a commendable and ambitious target. The private sector, which globally creates nine of ten jobs, can play an important role in achieving this vision.

As part of IFC’s ‘Tackling Childcare’ research, we had the opportunity to examine policies and regulations across 50 economies that can encourage or hinder employer-supported childcare. This was done in partnership with the World Bank Group’s Women, Business and Law team


What did we learn? 

Women's employment is significantly higher in countries that mandate paternity leave ; more women work in the labour force in economies with longer, fully-paid maternity and parental leave ; and more women receive wages where governments support or provide childcare .

As employers increasingly understand and pursue employer-supported childcare in Sri Lanka, the scalability of innovative solutions will largely depend on an enabling regulatory framework, partnering with private sector companies and investing in providers that can deliver quality childcare. 


What about my friend Kavi?

Kavi misses her parents a lot. Her children miss their grandparents. For now, Kavi decided to take a career break to be there for her children. Her employer, who values her contributions to the company immensely, is working with her to explore potential part-time options. At the larger corporate level, her company is also exploring employer-supported childcare for its employees going forward.

Much has been written about the need for investment in childcare, yet there is a dearth of information on what companies can do to address their employees’ childcare needs and how companies might benefit as a result.  IFC’s Tackling Childcare report fills that gap. It discusses how companies can analyse their workforce to identify the type of childcare support they can offer to their employees—from onsite childcare to subsidies—that best suits their needs. The report draws on 10 case studies of companies around the world offering various childcare options, highlighting how investments in employer-supported childcare can strengthen the bottom line. For more information visit www.ifc.org/tacklingchildcare.

IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets.

(The writer is the IFC Program Manager of the recently launched Women in Work Program, a partnership with DFAT that aims to promote women’s private sector labour force participation in Sri Lanka. Going forward, the Women in Work program aims inter alia to explore solutions around employer-supported childcare in Sri Lanka).

SL Cricket muddle - Arjuna and Reno are the cause from behind the scene !

(Lanka-e-News - 01.Oct.2017, 7.45PM)   It is my desire to publish this article via Lanka e news because it is a news website which publishes the unalloyed truth to the readers come what may . As a fan of Sri Lanka cricket and am fully aware of  the inside story and have  insightful knowledge of the happenings within , I decided to  send in this article .

Currently a media channel (better known by many as a ‘kudu’ channel ), is every day slinging mud at the SL cricketers and the cricket administration. One or two media coolies of the print media  too are among them . 

According to them , the SL team lost to Zimbabwe ,3-2, and to India in all the matches because the cricket board chairman cum bookie owner has together with the  players rigged the game. This channel is daily concocting news to confirm this. 

However  behind all these manipulations are Arjuna Ranatunge and kudu channel chief Reno De Silva . Both of them are bitterly castigating sports minister and cricket board chairman. 

These two individuals are in broad daylight discrediting  the players and destroying the prestige of SL cricket without let or hindrance. 

It is the aim and ambition of Arjuna to somehow occupy the chairman seat  of the cricket board exploiting the beleaguered   state of  SL  cricket . Nursing this dream   he is in the process of enticing the president and the prime minister (P.M.) into making it a reality. 

We are fully aware Arjuna who calls Thilanga Sumathipala the cricket chairman as a bookie owner was a bosom pal of the latter some years ago and was engaged with him in a number of transactions  in the cricket arena. Then ,  , why is he suddenly describing Thilanga as a bookie owner and is  using the players for match fixing ?

Truly speaking , it is Arjuna who has been a lead role  player in match fixing . The FBI report regarding the Lucknow test in 1994 bears full testimony .it is Arjuna who knows Gupta , an Indian bookmaker. Today Pramodha Wickremesinghes who are dancing to the tune of Arjuna were accomplices in Arjuna’s match rigging in the Indian tournament . Pramodha who abused the cricket association vehicles for his plantain  plantation project is now talking nonsense and indulging in claptrap regarding the Association. It is   same Pramodaya who is tainted with rackets now  pointing an accusing finger at the association.

When Arjuna became the minister of Ports Authority, its cricket team was the  champion  , but after his taking over , the  team fell into second place. 

In order to avert the team from declining further into third place and to uplift it to first place again ,Arjuna in order to  save the club, made use of a member by the name of  Tissera of the Raddoluwa , Seeduwa club who sold that  earlier to Ports authority. 

The Ports authority played against Panadura sports club  in  the tournament to enter the first round of the top  division  , and when it played with Kurunegala SC , using the umpires dragged the match until after dusk , to finally secure full points for the Ports Authority.

Reno has an inveterate grudge against Thilanga based on a conflict that erupted between the latter and  Reno’s brother Duminda De Silva who was sentenced to death , over the polling when they contested elections. Due to this , Reno beginning from morning is slinging mud at Thilanga via his kudu channel, while attacking sports minister Dayasiri too  in the belief that the latter is helping Thilanga. Though one or two individuals are supporting this , a majority of the media personnel of the Kudu channel are disillusioned with and averse to it , according to what they revealed to us.

One day  , after inviting minister  Dayasiri for a political program , using the kudu channel powers Reno employed his close media personnel , to see too it Dayasiri was well and truly ‘smashed to smithereens’ while  asking questions pertaining only to   the cricket sphere.

Dayasiri who perceived the dubious motives of these personnel between  the breaks  tore the three announcers into shreds with his answers. The three rascally announcers then withdrew themselves into a shell , and began questioning on politics.   Many journalists are thoroughly disillusioned with  such  prostitution of office by  the  kudu channel . 

Reno De Silva had an old score to settle with Sanath Jayasuriya a former cricket association chairman stemming from the relationship  Sanath had with Reno’s wife, Maleeka. Reno who was provoked by the leaked video footage of this affair , informed the kudu channel news division to castigate and condemn Sanath relentlessly . Each time the SL team lost a match , Sanath and the selection team were criticized bitterly and unrelentingly by the kudu news channel, to pressurize the selection committee including Sanath  to resign.  

Finally ,Sanath Jayasuriya  resigned. Though that was not due to the  kudu channel pressures , the latter claimed plus points Sanath, and blowing Sanath’s  faults out of proportion while  disparaging  and discrediting  the entire sport of cricket  of SL .  As cricket fans we absolutely condemn this action  because , after all  he was a cricketer who had made a huge contribution to SL cricket when compared with Reno .

There is also some redeeming feature from the standpoint of the public  amidst  the indifference of the bankrupt politicos and the issues that are being faced by the SL sport of cricket . That is not something which  should be destroyed by the many based on their ideas ,  opinions and  their needs.  Because of  one media distorting the facts and giving only one side of the story , obviously the people are being misled, we therefore wished to  communicate our  views based  on our investigation into the behind the scene murky activities   to Lanka e news.

By a SL cricket fan.
Translated by Jeff 

---------------------------
by     (2017-10-01 14:27:21)