First global pledge to end cholera by 2030

By Tulip MazumdarGlobal health correspondent-3 October 2017

Health officials from around the world are meeting in France to commit to preventing 90% of cholera deaths by 2030.

The disease, which is spread through contaminated water, kills about 100,000 people every year.

It is the first time governments, the World Health Organization, aid agencies and donors have made such a pledge.

It comes as Yemen continues to fight one of the worst cholera outbreaks on record.

Cholera has been spreading in the war-torn country due to deteriorating hygiene and sanitation conditions and disruptions to the water supply.

More than 770,000 people have been infected with the disease, which is easily treatable with the right medical equipment, and 2,000 have died. Many of the victims are children.

These huge outbreaks tend to grab the headlines, but there are also frequent outbreaks in so-called cholera "hotspots".

Disease of the poor

Cholera is an acute diarrhoeal infection caused by ingestion of food or water contaminated with the bacterium Vibrio cholera.

It can spread quickly and widely in cramped, dirty conditions.

The infection is cheap to treat with rehydration salts, and easy to avoid altogether if people have access to clean water and decent toilet facilities.

But about two billion people globally lack access to clean water and are potentially at risk of cholera, according to the World Health Organization.

The UN health agency says weak health systems, and outbreaks not being detected early enough also contribute to the rapid spread of outbreaks.

Dr Dominique Legros, who heads up the WHO's cholera programme, told the BBC: "We can't keep seeing these huge outbreaks every year.

"We have the tools at hand to prevent them, so let's use them.

"If you provide water and sanitation, it's enough to stop the transmission of cholera.

"We've seen that today in countries like Senegal, where we have been able to stop transmission."

Cholera is a disease of the poor, and building basic infrastructure for communities costs money.

However, there is no expectation of any major pledges of cash at Tuesday's meeting.

'Badge of shame'

The charity Wateraid estimates it would cost $40 (£30) per person to provide water, sanitation and hygiene.

Its chief executive, Tim Wainwright, says that is "surprisingly affordable".

"Looking around the world, the map of cholera outbreaks is essentially the same as a map of poverty and marginalisation.

"The fact that this preventable disease still sickens 2.9 million people every year and kills 95,000 people is a global badge of shame."

The oral cholera vaccine is another important part of the fight against this enduring disease.

It only offers protection for up to 3 years. But in situations where outbreaks are highly likely, it can save thousands of lives.

Some 900,000 doses of the vaccine are currently being sent to refugee camps in Bangladesh where almost half a million Rohingya Muslim refugees are gathering in squalid conditions after fleeing violence in neighbouring Myanmar, also known as Burma.

"The vaccine alone doesn't solve the problem, the water and sanitation is a more long-term solution," said Dr Seth Berkley, chief executive of the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisations.

"In the interim, we need to work to ensure we are doing both."

Northern Europe and the US managed to eliminate cholera 150 years ago.

Tuesday's pledge aims to, finally, achieve that goal for some of the world's poorest people.

Estimated global annual cholera cases:

• India: 675,188 cases, 20,266 deaths
• Ethiopia: 275.221 cases, 10,458 deaths
• Nigeria: 220,397 cases, 8,375 deaths
• Haiti: 210,589 cases, 2,584 deaths

Source: Johns Hopkins University

Sri Lankan families demand answers on missing relatives

Families still wait for answers two years after the UN called on Sri Lanka to address war crimes and disappearances.

02 Oct 2017 08:53 GMT

For the last decade, Arulanadam Pushparani has not seen her son, who she says disappeared after being rounded up by security forces during Sri Lanka's civil war.

During the final phases of that conflict, which stretched from 1983 until 2009, Pushparani was separated from her youngest son as they fled from shelling.

He later called her to inform her he had been arrested with several other ethnic Tamils, but it was the last she ever heard from him.

Breaking down in tears, Pushparani recalled: "He would always take me around on the motorbike, so I never walked anywhere; but now we have no one."

The United Nations estimates that up to 100,000 people were killed during the fighting between government forces and the Tamil Tigers, an armed secessionist group.

At the height of the conflict, some 800,000 people were displaced.

Pushparani is not alone. She is one of hundreds of Tamils waiting for news of relatives who went missing during the 26-year conflict. Across the country's north, where the ethnic group constitutes a majority, families have been staging protests to demand justice.

'They must give us answers'

Rathnasingham Muralither, a spokesperson for the Association of Families of the Disappeared, said the government should work harder to provide the aggrieved families with closure.

Speaking to Al Jazeera, Muralither sat on a tarpaulin in a protest tent maintained by relatives of missing for more than 200 days.

"Either [our relatives] are alive or they are not. They [the government] have to tell us that," he said. "We will continue our campaign until they do."

READ MORE: Sri Lankan Buddhist leader stokes anti-Muslim tension

On October 1, 2015, the UN adopted a resolution calling on Sri Lankan authorities to investigate allegations of war crimes and human rights violations during the upheaval. That resolution mandates that the government address and investigate enforced disappearances.

In order to ensure justice to civil war victims, the government was meant to establish four transitional justice mechanisms to address various war crimes that were committed, among them forced disappearances.

Speaking at the UN General Assembly last week, Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena insisted that investigations are a slow process.

"As a free and peaceful country, we hope to address allegations and take on board suggestions of how we should deal with them in a slow but effective journey toward a clear target," he said. "I ask for your support while we do that."

This was my youngest child. We can't imagine living without him.

Arulanadam Pushparani, mother of missing Tamil.

'Disenchanted'

In March, Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussain, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, urged the Sri Lankan government to make good on promises to implement a "comprehensive strategy" to address crimes committed during the war. 

Although Sri Lanka has made advances in the field of human rights, Hussain added, the "slow pace of transitional justice" has created the "risk [of] derailing the momentum towards lasting peace, reconciliation and stability".

Rights groups and critics echo accusations that authorities have made little progress. KS Ratnavale, a lawyer who represents several war victims, said that families of missing people are "very much disenchanted". 

"They are on a war path because the government is unwilling to take on the security apparatus," he told Al Jazeera. "Ultimately it is the army and the government who the people are alleging did this."

Back in her home,Pushparani continues to wait for progress. "This was my youngest child," she said. "We can't imagine living without him."

Dark side of politics and its play on the local stage

 2017-10-04

“We are all travellers in the wilderness of this world, and the best we can find in our travels is an honest friend.” 
~Robert Louis Stevenson 

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• Ranil-Maithri journey towards self-destruction seems to have slowed down
• If any Minister is going astray, he/she must be removed without any hesitation or favour
• President and PM need to prioritize their workload to regain confidence and trust of the people who voted them in with immense faith and loyalty

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Politics is scarcely pure. Its intrinsic quality of being sinister and cynical is concealed by its practitioners; without that concealment, the drama is disgustingly gross; its heroes and heroines are plain culprits of the worst kind. It has brought forth the maliciousness of its merchants and exposed the widening gap between politicians and the people whom they have sworn to serve. Instead of a service industry, politics has turned out to be a trading enterprise where the politician makes the maximum profit with minimum labour, capital and land. Of Adam Smith’s factors of production, the politician is charged with enterprise and he is using and abusing his entrepreneur-expertise to the maximum. And his profits are enormous, satisfying the greed and luxuries that he or she pursues. 
It is this enterprise that is confronting us all today.

This lamentable saga of Sri Lankan politicians cannot be suppressed. It cannot be told with joy and delight as a childhood story narrated by a grandfather to his grandchildren. Columnists and writers will continue to pen these unforgiving emotions and sordid thoughts

It does not matter whether these politicians come from whichever political party. The allure of power is so great and so powerful; those who are engaged in the game become ruthless when it comes to possessing that power and then keeping it for whatever time limit that they prescribe for themselves. That ruthlessness is exercised to the hilt. Especially when it comes to safeguarding their financial interests, their immediate family and close henchmen and most of all, their jealously guarded seat in the political tiers, it becomes limitless. That seat they occupy may have been secured thanks to a violently fought election campaign. That campaign may have started with violence and may well have ended in violence.
But the law enforcement officers may have been helpless because such violence had been condoned and endorsed by the leaders of his political party. Yet such violence has been the norm instead of an exception. Progressive elections have shown this propensity for violence and mayhem, principally by the incumbent party. No system or process has been set in motion by the succeeding party to find a resolution to these burning issues; these issues of repeated violence and mayhem have fortified each political party and its supporters to a very sophisticated level. Violence, instead of being at the end of the process, has become the means to an end- more violence. 

The story is not a very pleasant one to hear. It is being told and told over and over again without the very politicians attempting to find a way out. We are not asking these politicians to be Upasakas or saints. What has been the exclusive character of the Banana Republics and emerging countries in the African Continent is evolving as the DNA of Buddhist Sri Lanka. Sri Lankans, particularly Sinhalese Buddhists, pride themselves as the custodian nation of the Dharma.

A set of principles and values encapsulated in Buddha Dharma as a ‘way of life’ by the sublime teachings of the Thathagatha is being used as a shameful shield to conceal an utterly empty and barren interior. The festering wounds of yesteryear are being ignored and opened out for those political vultures to peck and devour. Non-Buddhists are not without moral error. They too, either by omission or commission, are an active party to this disgraceful exhibition of moral decay. 

Showing their faces at every funeral house or wedding party, meeting the helpless constituents on every Wednesday and sending them from one pillar to another post has not stopped this radical decay. A culturally decadent mindset has been settled in, not only by the systems and processes, corrupt politicians have been the masterminds behind a latent game of political chess and the poor hapless masses are the pawns that are being taken literally for a ride of their lifetime. One of Oscar Wilde’s quotes goes as thus: ‘Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth’. All politicians, whether in Sri Lanka or anywhere else, belong to that description of man. Whether man has corrupted the system or the system has corrupted him is not relevant.
Being enmeshed in the web of this cold-blooded cycle, today’s politician clearly indicates that no reason, compelling or not, would he listen to; for he is afraid that such reasoning would expose his naked character, perpetually inhibited by narcissistic oddities constantly feeding his utterly infertile intellect. Instead, he has chosen to dwell in the dark corner of his being. A dull and dishonest representation of humanity, politician has become a meandering drifter only in pursuit of a mirage that’s slowly fading away on the darkening horizon. 

This self-consuming eccentricity has totally eclipsed the greatness of the human spirit which Jawaharlal Nehru describes as “…nothing that can happen is likely to overcome the spirit of man which has survived so many perils. Remembering also that life, for all its ills, has joy and beauty, and we can always wander, if we know how to, in the enchanting woods of nature.”(Source: The Discovery of India, page 21/22). But our politician, the Sri Lankan kind, is far from such greatness.
In the past, at least a couple of decades ago, we did have, both politicians and other academics and intellectuals in our midst, who had chosen to defy unlawful orders, to risk cruel transfers and harassment by short-sighted political masters, to journey along a path that they only knew from their childhood, a knowledge handed down to them by their parents and school teachers. That era is only a dim

memory now. 

Both Maithripala Sirisena and Ranil Wickremasinghe need to lead by example, not merely repeat slogans that the people increasingly find empty and of no solid substance  

Whatever slogans politicians express today, good governance or Yahapalanaya, transparency in governance or merciful resolution of burning problems masses face day in and day out, the unfeeling story of our politicians is continuing to be told in street corners as well as air-conditioned boardrooms and social clubs. The sheer insensitivity, that gross lack of empathy of a great majority of our local politicians has taken hold of our political culture. It’s having a strangling grip on the advancement of society, which eventually lead our country to a nation called a rogue-state and that is going to manifest itself sooner than later. That tragic spectacle of a fast disappearing value-system and a speedy voyage towards stormy shores of corruption, bribery and brutal polarization is looming large and real. 

This lamentable saga of Sri Lankan politicians cannot be suppressed. It cannot be told with joy and delight as a childhood story narrated by a grandfather to his grandchildren. Columnists and writers will continue to pen these unforgiving emotions and sordid thoughts. They might make an abortive attempt at convincing the masses to turn the corner with a different end in mind. They may venture out to dispel the ignoble and contemptible character of society that is assuming a thoroughly forgettable profile. The most distressing slice of this story is the oblivion and apathy exhibited by the very victims of this maddeningly pathetic mass of the public. No bad government or unsustainable rule would last unless the subject mass of people decide to tolerate it and endure the hardships visited upon by that cruel rule. 

Under the present government of Maithripala Sirisena and Ranil Wickremasinghe, that journey towards self-destruction seems to have slowed down; that slippery slope of self-immolation seems to have applied brakes; yet the brakes, more often than not, seem to be weakening by the day. Both Sirisena and Wickremasinghe need to lead by example, not merely repeat slogans that the people increasingly find empty and of no solid substance. 

Maithripala and Ranil need not be afraid. Those who hurl stones at them were corrupt and utterly dishonourable when they were in power. Their strength lay in the power they held. Those mindless merchants of dishonesty and deceit are engaged in a losing battle. Their deeds are being investigated and the findings, if the reports are correct, are nauseating and ghastly. But both President and Prime Minister need to prioritize their workload in order to regain the confidence and trust of the people who voted them in with immense faith and loyalty. Letting the voter down is no option. If any Cabinet Minister is going astray, he/she must be removed without any hesitation or favour. Indecision in government is killing the smooth operation of the state. The end-goal is what really matters. Establishment of good governance is never easy, nor is it sustainable unless close monitoring is enforced.

Private-sector-efficiency and skill distribution must be reintroduced to the government sector. No person, Minster, State Minister or Deputy Minister is indispensable. Political power is not a means to enhancing personal finances and self-glorification. That was in the past 20 years. 

Politics, as described in the first couple of paragraphs in this column, has to be transformed into a vibrant and honourable adventure. A profession that has within itself easy paths to self-destruction can be practised as a noble venture in which one shines not on the shoulders of the poor but the bare breast of an honest politician. 

The writer can be contacted at vishwamithra1984@gmail.com  

A “Tenth Province” Or Coastal Authority To Deal With Climate Change

Fig. 2 – The map on the left shows the inundation from the floods due to rain storm in Jan 2011. The right panel shows the extent of the area affected by the 2004 December Tsunami to varying degrees.

By Chandre Dharmawardana –OCTOBER 3, 2017

Dr. Chandre Dharmawardana

A “Tenth province” or Coastal authority to deal with climate change – A must for a 21st century constitution of Sri Lanka 

The proposed constitution has provoked much debate, but mainly within the framework of traditional thinking with emphasis on the usual issues, i.e., “Unitary and  Devolved power, the place of Buddhism, or the Executive Presidency. Whether devolution should be district-based  or province-based has been debated for at least 50 years, with the same arguments being brought out. While the demand for devolution originally came from the Tamil Nationalist politicians, the majority ethnic group has not supported this, as has been the case all over the world. The ensuing violence between the government and the  Tamil minority led to the entry of India into the fray. Rajeev Gandhi  kept two Indian armed frigates in the Colombo harbour to impose its solution in terms of provincial devolution. But, given the first opportunity, even Prabhakaran  rejected the Indian solution, fought the Indian army and assassinated Rajeev Gandhi to show his capacity for vengeance. India failed to keep its side of the agreement, making it null and void. But Sri Lanka is still in labour with the fetus of a  13A , her legs held apart by international agents and NGOs, while the mistrust between communities has long snuffed out the fetus. 

The two communities are still licking their war wounds and angling to wound the other with international tribunals and sanctions. They invent new words like “Aekeeya Rajya”, and “Orumitta Nadu” but threaten each other under their breath, and over their breath, hurling accusations of genocide or of creating terrorism to break up the country. They fail to see that a major threat of global scale has completely changed the stakes.

Climate change and its dramatic effect on the maritime region.

Just after the defeat of the LTTE, in 2009 I presented a talk to a gathering of officials at the Presidential secretariat, entitled “Four Challenges to Sri Lanka and their Technological solutions”. One of the challenges was the looming danger of global warming and the rising  sea level. This is a national tragedy requiring a concerted national effort. The North and a good part of the East are the most affected, and will indeed go under water even if preventive steps are launched right now.

But politicians and constitutional pundits are oblivious to the harsh reality of global warming and the rising sea levels all over the world. Sri Lanka, being at the equator will face a larger increase in the sea level than off-equitorial latitudes. Current constitutional debates ignore  the most urgent issues that Sri Lanka will  face in the next decade due to climate change as well as the on-going technological tsunami.  I discussed how we may  harness the digital revolution to our advantage in a previous article (Island, 25 September 2017)  entitled “Unit of Devolution – look in cyberspace”.  Someone will ask, what has climate change to do with the constitution? Here I try to show that it has everything to do with the constitution in enabling us to deal with the inundation of large parts of the country that will occur in the coming decades. The creation of an over-arching supreme authority that transcends districts, provinces, and even religious monuments since the choice is between saving the maritime region of Sri Lanka, or letting it become part of the sea.

The inter-governmental panel for climate change (IGPP) and other bodies studying climate change have published predictions of the expected rise in sea level due to global warming. Figure 1 shows the predictions done in 2013 (these documents are  available at:  dh-web.org/place.names/posts/CD-long-10thProv.pdf). Today it is believed that the more dangerous prediction (i.e., higher sea levels, marked RCP8.5) is most likely to hold, as most nations have defaulted in cutting down on carbon and green-house gas emissions. The rise in sea level may be as high as 0.5 to 0.8 meters within the next 15 years. This occurs with the warming of the oceans and melting of the polar caps. This is accompanied by increased humidity in the air. According to a law in chemical physics, the increase in humidity follows an exponential law, i.e., it is proportional to exp{-H/T} where H is the heat of evaporation and T is the temperature. Hence  even  a few degrees of heating can have a dramatic effect. The excess water and heat powers up tornadoes and torrential rain where precipitation is not in rain drops, but sheets of down pour! The world has already seen this intensified catastrophic weather events of recent times. Sri Lanka too has seen unprecedented floods, earth slips and inundation. 

Fig.1 – Rise in sea level with time

The flooding pattern from recent storms are a  guide to how much inundation can occur. Topographical maps show the extent of Sri Lanka’s coastal  low-lying areas  that go under with a one meter sea rise. In fact, the Tsunami inundation gives an extreme measure of what could happen when the sea flows in. In  figure 2, the left panel shows the region inundated in the January 2011 floods, while the right panel shows the areas affected by the 2004 Tsunami, adapted from an official  emergency response map issued at the time. Waves varying from one to twelve meters in height hit the shores of Sri Lanka, with the bigger waves hitting the Eastern province and the Northern province. 

Read More

SRI LANKA:EIGHTEEN GIRLS SEXUALLY ABUSED BY MALE WORKER AT AN ORPHANAGE

03/10/2017

According to reliable information received by the Asian Human Rights Commission, eighteen young girls in the Dehiwala Orphanage in Colombo District have been sexually abused by a male employee.

 After receiving the information, the National Child Protection Authority (NCPA) of Sri Lanka had taken steps to force entry into the Orphanage and arrest the suspect. The investigation was transferred to the Kohuwala Police Station, but has not yet been started. Concerned parties state that the lethargic approach by the Police to investigate the crime has strengthened impunity for the suspect charged with the crime. This case clearly illustrates the disintegration of the Rule of Law in Sri Lanka.

The following information was received by the Asian Human Rights Commission: 18 girls, residents of Dharul Nusra Orphanage of No: 39/7A, Peiris Mawatha, Off Hospital Road, Kalubowila, Dehiwela in the Colombo District have been continuously sexually harassed by a male employee for about ten years.

There are about 23 girls residing in this orphanage. There are two ways the girls come to the Orphanage. Some are sent directly to the Orphanage as directed by the Courts under the supervision of Officers of the Probation Department. Some girls were directly handed over to the Orphanage by their parents.

According to information received, these 18 girls have made complaints on several occasions of sexual harassment. They suffered abuse from one male employer of the orphanage for about ten years. Initial complaints were made to the Administrator-in-Charge of the orphanage. She never gave any consideration to the complaints. She neither investigated nor took any effective action to report the incidents to any Law Enforcement Agency. She never took any active measures to stop this illegal activity.

According to the girls, the accused person is the husband of the Administer-in-Charge of the Orphanage. The information was later successfully transferred to the National Child Protection Authority of Sri Lanka (NCPA). Several days later, Officers of the NCPA forced entry into the Orphanage and arrested the suspect, Mohammadu Sarippuge Mohar (62). It was revealed later by officers of the NCPA that the suspect and his wife, the Administer-in-Charge of the Orphanage, both lived inside the Orphanage itself. This has further aggregated the situation by putting these girls into a more vulnerable position.

According to the 18 girls, the suspect Mohar continuously molested and exploited them after entering into their living quarters. Mohar is the driver of the school van which provided transportation to these children to and from school. On the way, he also molested them. Mohar even installed a ‘closed-
circuit television’ (CCTV) camera system in his home. This included several cameras installed in the girls’ living and sleeping rooms in areas where they disrobed and changed clothes.

After arresting the suspect, the NCPA Officers handed him over to the Kohuwala Police Station. Later, Police produced the suspect before the Nugegoda Magistrate’s Court. Currently the AHRC has updated information that Mohar has been granted bail and released from Remand Prison.

Concerned activists stated that although the NCPA arrested the suspect and handed him over to the Police, their investigation has not been properly, effectively or successfully conducted. The Police have been lethargic investigating the crime and reporting the further steps taken to discharge their professional duties.

THEY HAVE SUPPRESSED JUSTICE FOR THE VICTIMS.

They state that the Police have not properly investigated the crime. Rather, they have acted to protect the suspect of this heinous crime, misusing the protection of our Criminal Law System.

Some Above the Law Ignoring the Elephant in the room 

2017-10-04 

The Constitution is the supreme law; or that is what we generally believe. And the Constitution says that all persons are equal before the law. In fact the whole edifice of a constitutionally governed democracy hinges on the rule of law which derives from the premise that all citizens are equal before the law. The bottom line being, no one is above the law. An act defined as an offence or crime when committed by one should be so defined in relation to another.

Well, the 1978 Constitution created one entity above the law -- the Executive President. The manner in which Article 35 of the Constitution was worded created a political leviathan totally beyond the reach of the arms of the law, granting it blanket immunity from the law. Hence some constitutional experts say that it was an unmistakable deviation from constitutionalism which envisaged that all under the supreme law should be subjected to the law.

The 19th Amendment to the Constitution made sure that the draconian nature of that article was watered down and today even the Executive President of the country stands susceptible before a court of law. The theoretical aspect being so, the reality cuts an entirely different scenario; i.e. that there are persons or groups whom even the mighty and lengthy arm of the law is unable to reach. Recent incidents showed how tremulous the law enforcers were to arrest a monk who was absconding court and acting in brazen contempt of court. There seems to be a taboo over issuing or implementing an order for the rounding up of a clergyman unlike any other citizen in such a case of contempt.

Recent incidents showed how tremulous the law enforcers were to arrest a monk who was absconding court and acting in brazen contempt of court. There seems to be a taboo over issuing an order for the rounding up of a clergyman unlike any other citizen in such a case of contempt

The untouchables

Politicians too seem to be beyond the law with the exception of a rare few. Bigwigs whom the credulous voters thought would be brought to book soon still thrive while the law enforcement grinds on lethargically. The Lawyers, Doctors, University Dons, Students and even private bus owners as well as three-wheeler drivers all seem to think that they are immune from being subject to the law of the land.

The general sense of impunity is widespread and every Tom, Dick and Harry on the street seem to be of the view that they are above the law applied to average citizens. The lack of fear or regard to law is clearly evident from the number of traffic offences committed in broad daylight.

To this heap add the members of the State security apparatus. Bellowing cries emanate from all sides that they should not be touched come what may. The famous tag, ranaviruwa, or the war hero is used indiscriminately to all members of the security forces, including those who have never been to the front-lines. For some it is unimaginable that soldiers could commit crimes during war and should be dealt with under the law as in relation to ordinary citizens. They are oblivious that separate statutes that govern the conduct of armed forces as well as police demand that they be dealt with, at least, within their establishments, if not according to the ordinary law of the land.

Yet the misconceived patriotic euphoria flushes all these concerns out to such an extent that even the head of the State is compelled to state that soldiers would not be touched in pursuance of the law enforcing machinery, thus, indirectly saying that he is interfering with the law enforcement process, for starters and also, that there are persons who are beyond the law. More disturbingly he is saying that the rights of one group of citizens is less important than those of others though both groups come under the purview of the
supreme Constitution.

Realities of war

With utmost gratitude and respect to our soldiers who sacrificed life and limb for our motherland, it should, nevertheless be stated that nothing could justify grave abuse of human rights, whether done in uniform, robe or some other garb. Our military is highly disciplined yet a brutal war is a scenario where people tend to become a law unto themselves. The sentence of a Senior Police Officer along with his son for murder illustrates that even in times of peace those in uniform could misuse them and commit offences. Add the scenario to places where law enforcement, court houses or any semblance of the justice system is absent and thousands of men armed have the unarmed at their mercy.

The UN Special Rapporteur on Sri Lanka, Ben Emmerson, recently on a visit to the island, was unequivocal in his disappointment over the lack or absence of measures taken to address alleged violations of human rights during the last stages of the war. “None of the measures so far adopted to fullfil Sri Lanka’s transitional justice commitments are adequate to ensure real progress, and there is little evidence that perpetrators of war crimes committed by members of the Sri Lankan armed forces are being brought to justice,”his report reads.

Defending our soldiers from International War Crime Tribunals or pro-Eelam groups hell bent on revenge, is one thing; allowing war crimes and grave human rights abuses, if they have taken place, to go unchecked is completely another. Wouldn’t it be the duty of the majority as a collective to inquire, as victors of a thirty-year war, whether the conquered and their ilk, who are no lesser citizens of the country than us, have been wronged and need to be redressed? Are we weaving a social fabric that does not ensure safety and confidence of our brothers and sisters by alleviating all falsehood directed at our forces?

The Constitution does not envisage preferential treatment to one group of citizens over another, the uniform being the only difference. Any reconciliation between the two estranged communities would only be an utopia until and unless credible fact-finding is carried out and offenders, if any, whether they are in uniform, civilian clothes or robes tried under the criminal justice system of the country. The Sri Lankan Judiciary is more than capable of meting out justice to all concerned and would avert the danger of Sri Lankan security personnel being exposed to the jurisdiction of foreign judges.

Security forces accused en masse

The 19th Amendment has taken away the blanket immunity that Article 35 of the Constitution in its original form bestowed on the Executive President. The constitution would never tolerate a situation where instead of one, there being hundreds or even thousands of individuals who stand above the law. Implement the law to all citizens equally, whether they were in the battlefield, factory, office or play ground and whether they don uniform , civils , robes or cloaks. 

Civil rights groups moving to prosecute a former army commander in Brazil as well as accusations of war crimes by him by another and a more distinguished former commander who finished the war indicates that this issue of allegations of war crimes can not be hushed up or shoved under the carpet; it is not going to simply go away due to inaction on our part. A conspiracy of silence is not going to help us.

The 19th Amendment has taken away the blanket immunity that Article 35 of the Constitution in its original form bestowed on the Executive President

Allowing pro LTTE lobbyists to direct an accusatory finger at the State security forces en masse, for a few, if any, indiscretions committed by some, is doing injustice to tens of thousands of brave young soldiers who fought a valiant , fearless yet disciplined war. The more delayed the investigation process becomes the more it seems, to the onlooking international community that the State is trying to hush up grand scale genocide, which in reality, never took place.

This is hardly about war crimes; it is about a flawed perception that some are simply above the law. The sooner we realize it the better for our Nation and the State.

But we as a nation have a habit of ignoring the elephant in the room.    

My Kind Of Buddhism: The Power Of The Mind & Meditation

By Shyamon Jayasinghe –SEPTEMBER 30, 2017

Shyamon Jayasinghe

Pragmatism of Buddhism

In part one of this three-part series, it was pointed out how Buddhism, very sharply, focuses on the human being living in this world and on his own responsibility for his life. Unlike the authors of Abrahamic religions, the Buddha was not other-worldly. Buddhists have their feet firmly planted on the ground. In My Kind of Buddhism, I even set aside rebirth and samsaric ideas in order to concentrate on this central and practical quality of Buddhist teaching. My kind of Buddhism identifies the vein of Buddhism as something very pragmatic and I pick and choose what accords with such a perception. The notion of rebirth, therefore, doesn’t attract me. Buddhism has many sects and each of these emphasis different aspects. In like manner, my emphasis is on the pragmatism of Buddhism

I find the human-centric approach of this pragmatism very refreshing and very life affirming. The Suttas show us how many times the Buddha avoided brain teasing questions about the ‘ultimate reality,’ and other metaphysical questions. Is the universe finite or infinite, for instance? Renowned Buddhist scholar, KN Jayatilleka pointed out that the Buddha refused to answer such queries deliberately because he considered them to be meaningless in the sense of what contemporary logical positivists  call meaningless. For example, AJ Ayer, in his classic, ‘Language, Truth, and Logic,” stated that any question that is not even in principle verifiable is nonsensical.

The Jayatilleka view in the latter’s  classic, “Early Buddhist Theory of Knowledge,” asserted the same. Jayatilleka cites one  instance, where when posed with  metaphysical questions about so-called ultimate reality, Buddha famously remained silent. When asked  by the interrogator why he was silent, the Buddha responded: “I have answered you.” This response is in line with the kind of Ayer thinking, according to Jayatilleka. When a question is meaningless what answer can one give but remain silent?

In the famous Parable of the Bow and Arrow, one observes a similar Buddha focus on practical issues. A man hit by a poisonous arrow should first treat his wound before the poison takes over, said the Buddha. It is silly to rush and try to ascertain the source and other details of the arrow. Living right in this world we are in trouble (dukkha) and let’s fix that, the Buddha seemed to have urged. I am not inclined to regard this as a negative view of  existence, although many expressions of popular Buddhism does seem to believe it that way. Rather, I take it that one has to fix problems in order to live our life well. Extreme greed, for instance, is central to our concerns. The Buddha tried to show a path of enlightened living.

Power of Mind

In pursuing such a human-centric path what is most central is for us to focus on our mind. We are what we are because of what goes on in our minds and we can take control of ourselves by taking control of our minds.One has to develop self-awareness so that one can grasp the structures of one’s thoughts and thinking processes. The Buddha urged that we should attend to our minds as of prime necessity. Examine our minds and be watchful how we live.This is very much what Socrates, many years after the Buddha, said when he urged, “the unexamined mind is not worth living.”

The very first stanza in the Dhammapada is about the foremost power of the mind in our practical lives. “(The mental) natures are the result of what we have thought, are chieftained by our thoughts, are made of our thoughts. If a man speaks or acts with an evil thought, sorrow follows him  even as the wheel follows the foot of the drawer.”

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Robed rowdy monk who attacked police , refugees and disgraced Buddhism and country remanded ! Another evading arrest !

(Lanka-e-News - 03.Oct.2017, 9.00PM)    Akmeemana Dayaratne the murderous monk who despite wearing  the sacred saffron robe incited  the public and led the  attack on  innocent  refugees at Mt.  Lavinia , as well as on the police thereby creating a breach  of the peace,  was summoned to the Colombo Crime division yesterday(02) , and remanded until the 9 th  when he was produced before court after recording a statement. Akmeemana a so called sentinel of the Buddhist  faith disgraced his own religion and sacred saffron robe he wore , before the entire world by his hooliganism and rowdy behavior ! Instead of committing sacrilege wearing  the  robe , it would have been better if he stripped nude and committed the crimes . At least by that he could have shown to the world what he wanted to show of his shamelessly , but saved Buddhism and his saffron robe from insult.

The other rascally robed monk  Arambepola Rathnassara who appeared with Akmeemana and misbehaved in the same way as the latter too was summoned to the police today , but he has not responded. 

Six others were earlier arrested and remanded in connection with the same incident.

The  photograph herein depicts the two shameless self degrading rowdy monks arguing with a police officer. In the red circle is Rathnassara  who is dodging the police. 

If anybody knows the whereabouts of this rowdy robed rascal who belongs  to the group which is wantonly disgracing the lofty Buddhist tenets , please inform the CCD. Without duly punishing these robed rowdies and baldies  they can never be reformed.

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by     (2017-10-03 18:00:03)

Inhuman attacks on Rohingya refugees: What is wrong with Buddhist Sangha?

Wednesday, 4 October 2017

The recent violent attacks led by some Buddhist monks against a small group of asylum seeking Rohingyas have brought the Burmese reality into Sri Lanka. The Mahanayakas have not condemned the extremist incidents, although the incidents constitute the polar opposite of the basic tenants of Buddhism and Ahimsa (non-violence), not to speak of Metta (compassion). It is quite unlikely that they would condemn, or criticise, other than condoning directly or indirectly because of the reasons that this article is going to discuss.

Inhuman attacks on Rohingya refugees What is wrong with Buddhist Sangha.docx by Thavam on Scribd