Care after miscarriage 'not consistent enough'

Corinne Fowler was left with no closure after her miscarriage at 13 weeks

10 October 2017

 

Women are not being told all the options when deciding how to dispose of pregnancy remains after miscarriage in England, a report suggests.

Corinne Fowler did not realise she could take her baby's remains home - instead they were disposed of with other clinical waste.

Looking back, she says she would have found a special place to bury the child she would never see again.

The Miscarriage Association said better and more consistent care was needed.

The Death Before Birth report, carried out by researchers from the Universities of Birmingham and Bristol, looked at the experiences of women who had gone through early pregnancy loss, such as miscarriage, terminations for foetal anomaly or stillbirth before 24 weeks.

In the UK, one in five pregnancies end in miscarriage and there are around 2,000 terminations following pre-natal screening each year.

The report found that although care was good and improving in many hospitals, it was inconsistent across England, leaving some women feeling misinformed and distressed at a vulnerable time.

'No time to say goodbye'

When Corinne, 47, from Birmingham, miscarried some years ago at 13 weeks, she brought the remains to be checked at hospital in an ice cream tub.

But they were taken out of her hands with no warning.

"I was completely taken by surprise. I felt this visceral feeling of trauma at being separated from my baby and I immediately burst into tears.

"For a long time I didn't feel I had any closure - I had no baby pictures or scans and no records."

She says it would have made a huge difference if all the available options had been explained to her clearly at the time.

"It's like a bereavement - and you need time to process what has happened and say goodbye.

"Some women may not want to take the remains home, but they should still be taken sensitively from them.

"If I had been able to bury the remains, then I would have a dignified place for them," Corinne says.

In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, pregnancy remains can be cremated or buried - either separately or with other remains - taken home or incinerated by the hospital.

If a woman does not express a preference, hospitals can dispose of the pregnancy remains as they do with clinical waste, but separately, known as "sensitive" incineration.

In Scotland, the default option is communal cremation, rather than incineration.

While charities like the Miscarriage Association support the Scottish model, others feel it is important to keep the option of incineration for women who don't want any record of their loss.

The report recommends that:

• women are provided with a full range of choices for disposing of pregnancy remains
• patient information leaflets on disposal methods should be produced and handed out
• the options for disposing of pregnancy remains are discussed automatically as part of pregnancy loss care
• so-called "sensitive" incineration of remains in hospitals is fully explained to parents and hospitals

Dr Danielle Fuller, report author from the University of Birmingham, said there was a need to raise awareness and encourage more discussion around pregnancy loss.

"When families don't know all the options, they can't make informed decisions - the chance to acknowledge the loss is important."

Sarah Bedwell, from the Human Tissue Authority, said disposal "must reflect the woman's own circumstances, values, understandings, and beliefs".

She said the current guidance set out what is expected and how women should be involved in any decisions made.

Sri Lanka: Rt. Rev. Dr. Rayapu Joseph — The Prophet of our Time

The meaning of the voice of Bishop Rayappu is that justice should be a flowing steam and righteousness a river flowing without drying up. A prophet while witnessing the truth tries to warn of the dangers ahead.

This is a story of a man who dedicates himself to propagate the Kingdom of God(Kingdom Values) and established a Just and Peaceful country for all those Men and Women who born, live and die together as members of one family. He is one who has devoted himself to achieving spiritual liberation, but in his it is not only for him, but more importantly, for the sake of others, specially the Tamil language speaking people live in North and East of Sri Lanka who have humiliated, brutally killed, suffered for more than 50 years in the history and he is doing so from the Island of Mannar situated in North predominantly Tamil population live.

by Susil Hettiarachchi-Oct 10, 2017

( October 10, 2017, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) We have confused and complicated our struggle in gaining independence as a country which had been colonized by the imperial powers for nearly five centuries, while our elder sister gained independence effectively; we paid allegiance to the imperial powers but was allergic to the use of English language. India opposed the imperial powers and preserved the English language. As a consequence, we and our children lost our way in social, economics and political development. Even in the field of education we have stranded ourselves.

Sri Lanka Rt. Rev. Dr. Rayapu Joseph — The Prophet of our Time.docx by Thavam on Scribd

Frequent Visits By UN Special Rapporteurs & Sri Lanka’s Defiance In Implementing Their Recommendations

By Kumarathasan Rasingam –OCTOBER 11, 2017

Kumarathasan Rasingam

Although Sri Lanka has invited several UN human rights experts to visit over the past two years and has given them free and unfettered access, the government has largely disregarded their recommendations.

UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and Counter-Terrorism, Ben Emmerson, at a media briefing at the conclusion of his mission to Sri Lanka after his visit from 10 July to 14 July 2017

The Special Rapporteur is encouraged by the Government’s recent adoption of a ‘zero tolerance policy’ towards to the use of torture; and by the appointment in July 2016 of a Committee to Eradicate Torture by the Police. In Sri Lanka, however, such practices are very deeply ingrained in the security sector and all of the evidence points to the conclusion that the use of torture has been, and remains today, endemic and routine, for those arrested and detained on national security grounds. Since the authorities use this legislation disproportionately against members of the Tamil community, it is this community that has borne the brunt of the State’s well-oiled torture apparatus.

This is widely used for those who are arrested under the DRACONIAN Prevention of Terrorism Act [PTA} [torture sexual assault and obtaining false confession letters for crimes not committed by the victims]

He notes that the Human Rights Commission is now routinely informed when an individual is detained under the PTA and has unfettered access to all places of detention. However, in a system that is premised on obtaining convictions by confessions, this, and other safeguards, have proved entirely insufficient to protect suspects against this most cowardly of international crimes.

Note: The DRACONIAN Prevention of Terrorism Act [PTA] is not repealed until now:

It is one on the condition [to repeal PTA] by the European Union to offer GSP+ concession which is not yet implemented.

The Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, Juan E. Méndez, conducted a visit to Sri Lanka from 29 April to 7 May 2016

Regarding the legal framework, the Special Rapporteur recommends that the Government:

(a) Immediately repeal the Prevention of Terrorism Act;

(b) Review any draft legislation to replace the Prevention of Terrorism Act (national security act, state intelligence services act and prevention of organized crimes act) to ensure safeguards against arbitrary arrest and torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment; provisions for access to legal counsel from the moment of deprivation of liberty, strong judicial overview of law enforcement and security agencies and protections for the privacy rights of citizens; and that there is a timely, robust and transparent national debate on the bills that is inclusive of all civil society;

(c) Immediately withdraw the proposed amendment to the Code of Criminal Procedure Act that would deprive a suspect of access to a lawyer until his or her statement has been recorded, and enact legislation that strengthens the right of suspects to prompt and regular access to lawyers from the moment of arrest;

(d) Ratify the Protocols Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949 and sign, and ratify, the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court;  (Enact implementing legislation for all international treaties Sri Lanka has ratified, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

Read More

Getting election held for the whole country is a victory for the people

October 10, 2017 by

“We had taken a political decision to propose that the local government election that would be held throughout the country should be held first and the provincial council election should be held under the new electoral system. Using this stance Rajapaksa clique charged us of helping the government to postpone elections. We didn’t come out with various statements like that clique does all the time. We had a definite plan to get the government to hold the local government election that is held throughout the island. For, it is a good opportunity to get the people’s views about the government. Also, it would be possible to hold a provincial council election with a proportionate, just representation, without preferential system, with a strong women’s representation and a system that gets a representative for a constituency,” said the Leader of the JVP Anura Dissanayaka.
Mr. Dissanayaka made these observations at a press conference held at the head office of the JVP at Pelwatta today (10th). The Member of the Central Committee of the JVP Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa MP too was present.

Speaking further Mr. Dissanayaka said, “The JVP, with a definite plan regarding holding local government elections, initiated an operation. We took measures to change the local government election system and win a just electoral system. The electoral system set up with the mediation of Basil Rajapaksa in 2012 was a distorted one. That system discarded the multi-party politics and paved the way for a two-party political system. The likes of Basil Rajapaksa attempted to centralize the local government election to two main parties. The Chairman of delimitation committee Mr. Asoka Peiris said if elections are held according to the proposed system there would be bloodshed in the country. For, Basil’s electoral system had denied opportunities for opinions that differ. As such, we stated that we would have to consider whether we would take part in such an election. Also, we carried out an intense struggle to get this electoral system changed. The delimitations process prepared for the system was erroneous. The delimitations were decided in residences of former SLFP organizers. Delimitations were carried out so that they would get an advantage. Those places that were disadvantageous to them were made multi-member constituencies. As such, the electoral system and the delimitation process prepared by Basil Rajapaksa and the group were distorted ones.
A committee chaired by Mr. Asoka Peiris was appointed to correct the delimitation process. The committee re-arranged delimitations within one and a half years taking into consideration views of the masses. Later the Minister published it in the gazette. The next challenge was to change the distorted electoral system. A lengthy struggle had to be carried out in party leaders’ meetings in parliament to amend the Act. As such, it was possible to get the new electoral system that gives a justifiable power to every vote, gives the ward a representative, strengthens women’s representation and abolishes preferential system passed in Parliament. We do not say this electoral system is the most impartial and correct electoral system. However, it is more democratic than the distorted electoral system Basil Rajapaksa wanted to bring in.

The long delay in holding the local government election was due to the issues of the existing electoral system and the delimitation process. Also, the government too had wanted to get the elections postponed. The government, instead of getting solutions for the issues hid behind the issues and postponed the elections. The next challenge was to hold the election. While preparing for the local government election the terms of three provincial councils were to be ended on 2nd October. Then, there would be a provincial council election and there was a possibility of getting local government elections postponed again. We had taken a political decision to propose that the local government election that would be held throughout the country should be held first and the provincial council election should be held under the new electoral system. Using this stance Rajapaksa clique charged us of helping the government to postpone elections. We didn’t come out with various statements like that clique does all the time. We had a definite plan to get the government to hold the local government election that is held throughout the island. For, it is a good opportunity to get the people’s views about the government. Also, it would be possible to hold a provincial council election with a proportionate, just representation, without preferential system, with a strong women’s representation and a system that gets a representative for a constituency.

According to the new Local Government Councils Act the number of representatives would increase. As such the Acts have to be amended. The JVP proposed tht a special Parliamentary session should be convened on 26th September and 9th October to present the acts and get them passed. The three local government councils constitutive acts have been completed. The Minister said in Parliament that the gazette announcing the election would be issued within a week. Once the gazette is issued the Elections Commission has the authority to hold the election. Getting the election was a well-planned process. We tried our best to get the election held in December. It is not compulsory to hold the local government election on a Saturday but having it on a Saturday would increase participation. As it would not be possible to get schools for election work in December the attention is to hold the election on a Saturday at the end of January.

The JVP, as a party, is carrying out a continuous struggle to protect the voting right of the people and people’s representation is justly reflected at the election. We feel the people in the country should appreciate what we do for their voting rights and they value our work. We have already begun the initial organizational moves for the election. At the moment we are planning g our propaganda activities. We are also discussing the message the party should take to the people with the local government election campaign.

Rajapaksa clique whimpered at times regarding the election and at times it moaned, growled and spread slanders. They all lasted only about two weeks and died down when our attempts became successful. Now, there is an opportunity to hold the local government election properly. We are content with the result of our attempt. With our contribution, it was possible to give the people a fair election. Also, the Minister of Provincial Councils and Local Government acted in a very flexible manner. We appreciate that and are thankful to him.”

3 things we now need from the Government

Tuesday, 10 October 2017

For the past two years, Social Enterprise Lanka (SELanka) and Lanka Impact Investing Network (LIIN) together with ITN have been working to develop the new hit TV show Ath Pavura (Wall of Tuskers) which airs on ITN every Sunday 9:30 p.m. Let me set the record straight once and for all, it has absolutely nothing to do with the UNP.

Ath Pavura is a factual TV show where social entrepreneurs pitch their new social business ideas or plans for expansion to five Impact Investors, who are called the Tuskers. What is unique and exciting about the show is that these tuskers decide then and there to invest or not. You can watch the episodes so far on our YouTube channel www.youtube.com/c/ATHPAVURA.

We are actually doing what the Government should be doing, “promoting entrepreneurship”. Ath Pavura is even greater because we are promoting social entrepreneurship, the undeniable future of business and development.

For the first time in the history of Sri Lanka, we have democratised the modern start-up culture which was confined to the English-speaking, urban, tech community. Ath Pavura brings to light the ordinary Lankans from across the country, from all walks of life who have the desire to solve social and environmental problems combined with the spirit of entrepreneurship.

Ath Pavura is also disrupting how entrepreneurs are funded. Chandula Abeywickrema, the pioneer of introducing “Impact Investing” to Sri Lanka, reminds us that entrepreneurs can’t thrive under debt. Entrepreneurs need real venture capital. Ath Pavura only provides private equity investments which allows the investor to be part of the social business and develop it together, but the primary objective is to create social-environmental impact.

We have now proven there are thousands of aspiring and existing social entrepreneurs in Sri Lanka. The research and the results are shown every Sunday on primetime TV. The proof, the evidence, the facts are all there. The public response is overwhelmingly positive as anybody can see from the social media reactions. We now need three key things to fast track the social enterprise ecosystem in Sri Lanka.


1. A separate legal identity for social enterprises

Social enterprises don’t fit into any of the existing business registration models. They are not hard commercial enterprises nor charities nor traditional NGOs. (The conservative definition of for-profit vs. not-for-profit needs a new interpretation.)

Therefore, the very first thing we need from the Government is to introduce a suitable incorporation for them. Unlike the current limited liability companies, social enterprises need to be clear about their purpose. They can’t just do whatever they want and whenever they want. Limited by Guarantee model has its own shortcomings and is not favourable for any serious investments needed for serious scale-up.

But like any private limited company, social enterprises also need to generate profit. However, the core-purpose of any SE is not profit maximisation, but to solve a specific social and/or environmental problem. And to demonstrate that, there needs to be a dividend cap, which enforces a uniform percentage of profit being reinvested back in the company’s mission.

For example, in the UK, at least 65% of year-end profit needs to be reinvested in the company’s mission (which means up to 35% can be distributed as dividends among the shareholders). The exact percentile split needs to be adjusted to the Lankan context. For example, we may start at 51% and move up as the sector grows.

Similarly, there needs to be an asset lock which prevents the shareholders from acquiring assets and then sharing those assets at the event of liquidation. We have seen both private companies and NGOs using the “social” label to acquire vast amounts of assets for private gains. An asset lock enforces that any asset remaining after paying liabilities can only be transferred to another asset locked body preferably with a similar mission. The purpose of a SE is not to accumulate more and more assets, but to use all assets optimally to create social impact.

There are some more nitty-gritties such as impact reporting, etc., but this can be done fairly easily by altering the standard Limited Liability constitution. The only structural addition needed is a separate unit under the Registrar of Companies to monitor the social enterprises’ adherence to their legal and impact reporting requirements.

We don’t have to reinvent the wheel by appointing a 10-member expert committee who will take 10 more years to tell us what other countries have already done. We need this to happen by the end of 2018.

2. Social impact bonds and new financial instruments

What the Government needs to understand is that social enterprises are essentially doing social service, environmental service, public service and contributing to GDP, while creating employment! Social enterprises are a huge asset for the Government because they are helping the Government to do their job. So, if the Government is smart, it should create more and more opportunities for social enterprises to thrive.

There’s not much point in creating a legal model if it doesn’t offer incentives exclusively to that model. We need the Government through the Central Bank and state banks to issue Social Impact Bonds to raise capital which will be used to fund only social enterprises to achieve pre-agreed and measured outcomes. This will allow the Government to save public spending on identified social and environmental problems. This way, the Government does not have to spend public money, and the returns to investors come from the cost savings. It’s a win-win-win.

We also need the Government to gazette a mandatory score for social enterprises in all government procurement. In other words, the Government and all public institutions should give an additional score for legally-registered social enterprises when evaluating tenders. For example, a social enterprise which is already delivering measured social impact in the healthcare space, thereby saving an X amount of government expenditure, will stand a higher chance of winning a healthcare related contract. This will enable the social enterprises to scale their impact. This can be independently adopted by the large corporations right away.

We don’t need special tax incentives as we expect the social enterprises to operate as commercial businesses, and not as charities. Social enterprises need to run as commercially competitive businesses.

3. Teach social enterprise in schools and universities

This is the most important need. The only way we can face the imminent challenges in the future is by changing how we do business and everyday living. We need to build the next generation of Lankans with the insight of the global and local problems. We need them to understand and live by the principles of sustainability. We need them to be equipped with the knowledge, skills and tools to solve social, environmental and economic problems using a market-based approach.

And to do that we need to start teaching them about social-environmental problems, sustainability, social innovation, social enterprise, circular economy and many more modern concepts and practices from primary level all the way to the university level. We need the students to answer exam questions about global poverty, ocean pollution, climate change, water crisis, domestic violence and the ever-growing world problems.

We want the students to study about how innovative people around the world and in Sri Lanka are trying to solve those problems through social innovation and through enterprise. We need to have school level and university level social entrepreneurs who will learn by practice what it takes to be a social entrepreneur at a young age.

What we don’t want is unnecessary Government intervention and regulation. We don’t want a separate minister with a fleet of political appointees warming seats inside a glass-cladded office and a car park full of latest SUVs. We don’t want bureaucrats trying to teach the social entrepreneurs how to do their business. We don’t want to create crippling power structures, cronyism and collusion as we see in all other sectors. Please let’s do this one important thing, right. We have an opportunity to create a new sustainable future for our country. We need to do this right for the sake of our future generations.

SELanka, LIIN, Good Market and Lanka Social Ventures are the key stakeholders in this space working together with a shared vision of building a thriving social enterprise sector in Sri Lanka by the year 2025. We collectively possess the knowledge and commitment to make it happen and we now welcome the government to do their part in partnership with us.
(Ath Pavura TV show is sponsored by Hatton National Bank, Dialog Axiata PLC, Horizon Campus and Wijeya Newspapers; and supported by the Good Market and Youth Business Sri Lanka.)
(The writer is Founder of Social

Enterprise Lanka.)

Constitution Proposals & V2025: A Double Deception?

By Sumanasiri Liyanage –OCTOBER 10, 2017

Sumanasiri Liyanage

A couple of weeks ago, the Prime Minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe, tabled in the Parliament the recommendations of the steering committee on constitutional reforms. Prior to that six committee reports were tabled. It is good that all these documents in all three languages are now available in the web so that people who are interested in the subject can consult them. This article by any means does aim at a comprehensive analysis of these reports although such an effort would be extremely important as these documents would be the basis of the future supreme law of the island. So far the discussion has revolved round two issues, namely. (1) is this a unitary or federal constitution? and (2) will the changes introduced into the Article 9 of the present constitution water down the constitutional status of the Buddhism? The subject that I intend to discuss in this article is of course linked with the first issue. However, the level and degree of devolution, does not affect directly the basic argument of the present article. Here, my intention is to examine the nexus between devolution and development. First, I shall discuss, at somewhat abstract level, the impact of devolved state structure on economic development. In the second part of the article, the relevant constitutional proposals would be examined in relation to the government economic perspective document, V2025 that was released sometime back at a big ceremony at the BMICH.

I should emphasize my definition of economic development closely follows Dudley Sears’s well-known definition of development. It includes (1) a reasonable rate of growth; and (2) the reduction of poverty, unemployment and inequality from its existing levels. I would add to the list a third element, the maintenance of ecological balance at a reasonable level.

Decentralized/ devolved / federal state structure would impact on economic development in four ways. First, the setting up of a multiple tier state structure would invariably increase total government expenditure as new governmental units need staff recruitment, infrastructure, and payments and fringe benefits for newly added peoples’ representatives. As a well known public finance economist, Prof Ursula Hicks had pointed out ‘a single unitary constitution would almost certainly be cheaper to run’. However, the adoption of federal/ quasi-federal/ devolved state structure is a decision based primarily on non-economic considerations. Hence Prof Hicks adds: “The choice of a non-unitary constitution is evidence that the citizens of one area are not prepared to treat their co-citizens in another area entirely all fours with themselves, although at the same time they are willing to pool such fundamental public responsibilities as defence and external relations.”

The additional fiscal burden emanating from new state structures may be compensated at least partly by increasing governmental revenue if the provincial states are more effective in revenue collection than the central administration is. Similarly, the provincial governments may be cost-effective in case of program implementation especially due to proximity factor.

Secondly, it has been generally agreed that matters ought to be handled by the smallest, lowest or least centralized competent authority so that needs and aspirations of respective communities will receive due respect in decision-making. In other words, decisions should be taken at a local level if possible, rather than by a central authority. This principle of subsidiarity allows peoples’ direct engagement in decision-making on subjects that affects their life. Thus decision-making and responsibility go together.

Thirdly, as VitoTanzi has argued, “a decentralized system can become a surrogate for competition, bringing to the public sector some of the allocative benefits that a competitive markets brings to the private sector”. Hence, It may have positive impact on economic development as people can compare different economic policies adopted by respective local administration.

Finally, Decentralized/ devolved / federal state structure would help reducing regional economic disparities by minimizing center and urban bias in economic decision-making. However, to what extent these four principles would impact on economic development has to be examined by either analyzing the performance of the existing provincial council system or looking at the place and importance given to the proposed state structures in the new economic plan. This requires not abstract theorizing but the  concrete analysis of the concrete situation.

Constitutional Proposals and V2025

Read More

Shalila Munasinghe chairman of Litro gas cum ‘Swan’ who robbed Taiwan bank of millions of dollars via wire transfer arrested..!

(Lanka-e-News - 10.Oct.2017, 11.30PM)   Shalila Munasinghe the chairman of Litro gas Co. was arrested by the CID yesterday (09) on charges of massive financial  misappropriation committed by hacking the bank chain of the Far Eastern International bank Taiwan branch  through the internet wire transfer method . Of the total sum of US dollars 60 million approximately that was robbed via  this scam  , a part of that sum had been siphoned off into Munasinghe’s account with his knowledge . Munasinghe was therefore arrested on the 9 th on charges of fraudulent misappropriation of funds and money laundering. 

It is specially noteworthy when Maithripala Sirisena won the presidential elections as common candidate , it was Munasinghe who was appointed as president of the New Democratic Front party. Maithripala in fact won the elections  under the ‘Swan’ symbol  of this party .It was minister Kabir Hashim who appointed Munasinghe as the chairman of Litro Gas which owns most shares of Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation coming  under the purview of Kabir Hashim.

The Taiwan bank was hacked using its international bank code (SWIFT) on the 4 th. The sum of US dollars 60 million that was so collected was credited  to  banks  in America , Kampuchea and Sri Lanka  . US dollars 57 million was credited in Kampuchea ,  1   million dollars in America and 1.6 million dollars( about SLRs.250 million )  in SL. 

Following this discovery , a team of investigators of Taiwan arrived in SL  and conducted an investigation along with our  CID . Of the sum that was robbed , a certain part had been credited to an account under the name of J.C. Nammuni  who was arrested recently. He had credited Rs. 30 million into his account. When he was on the way to  the bank to collect a further sum of Rs. 8 million he was taken into custody. 

Subsequently , a further sum of US dollars 1.6 million that came into SL has been   credited to ‘Shalika Foundation’. As this account belonged to Shalila Munasinghe and this sum has been credited to this account with Munasinghe’s  knowledge , he was arrested on the 9 th. A sum of Rs. 110 million of the robbed monies had been credited to Munasinghe’s phony Foundation account. In other words the largest fraction of the robbed sum that came into SL , was credited to Munasinghe’s ‘Shalika foundation’ account.

Yet another   portion of this robbed money which came in had been credited to another account , and investigations and investigators are on the trail of  the owner of that account.

According to the International  bank ‘s  Taiwan branch , out of this robbery of US dollars 60 million , only a small  sum of US dollars  500,000 .00 had not been found still. The balance  monies in Kampuchea , America and SL have already been tracked down. 

About a year ago , a Sri Lankan businesswoman  on the same lines using the wire transfer method and the SWIFT symbol , robbed US dollars 20 million from Bangla Desh Central bank . The Sri Lanka  CID however was able to make the detection  and recover the sum in  full. 

( Courtesy –Taiwan Times , Taiwan News, Shanghai Daily , and News Talk Taiwan )  

---------------------------
by     (2017-10-10 18:31:26)

Namal, five others fixed for trial

Iresha arrested at the BIA

MP Namal Rajapaksa arriving at the Colombo High Court with his lawyers. Pictures by Shan Rupassara

Lakmal Sooriyagoda-Wednesday, October 11, 2017

A case filed against Hambantota district Parliamentarian Namal Rajapaksa and five others for their alleged involvement in laundering money amounting to Rs.30 million through Gowers Corporate Services (Pvt) Limited was yesterday fixed for trial by the Colombo High Court.

Iresha Silva, one of the  directors of Gowers Corporate Services, was present in court  when the case was taken up and later released on bail. Silva seen leaving the High Courtpremises yesterday.

The Colombo High Court fixed the case for trial on February 16 and prosecution witnesses of the case were noticed to appear in Courts on the next trial date.

The four accused are: Namal Rajapaksa, the eldest son of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Nithya Senani Samaranayake, Sujani Bogollagama and Iresha Silva who functioned as the directors of Gowers Corporate Services.

Director Iresha Silva was also present in court when the case was taken up before High Court Judge Piyasena Ranasinghe. However, the second and sixth accused Indika Karunajeewa and Gowers Corporate Services (Pvt) Limited were not present in Court but were represented by attorneys.

At a previous occasion, the High Court permitted the prosecution to proceed the trial in the absentia of second and sixth accused in the case in terms of section 241 of the Criminal Procedure Code.

The Colombo High Court served indictments on three accused earlier regarding this money laundering case.

The Attorney General has filed indictments against Namal Rajapaksa, Indika Karunajeewa, Sujani Bogollagama, Iresha Silva, Nithya Senani Samaranayake and Gowers Corporate Services (Pvt) Limited on 11 counts under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act for their alleged involvement in money laundering amounting to Rs.30 million in a company (Gowers Corporate Services (Pvt) Limited) owned by Namal Rajapaksa between 2013 and 2014.

It was reported that Gowers Corporate Services (Pvt) Limited of Colombo 5, is providing coordinating services to SriLankan Airlines.

The FCID had initiated investigations into this matter following a complaint by Voice Against Corruption Convener Wasantha Samarasinghe.

Samarasinghe alleged that MP Namal Rajapaksa had bought shares of a company named Hello Corp and set up a company called Gowers Corporate Services (Pvt) Limited while being an MP from the Rs.125 million earned through illegal means.

State Counsel Padmal Weerasinghe appeared for the Attorney General.

President’s Counsel Jayantha Weerasinghe appeared for Namal Rajapaksa. President’s Counsel Anil de Silva appeared for the third accused.

Counsel Sampath Mendis appeared for the second and fourth accused.

Iresha arrested at the BIA

The March of Folly The dance of deceit

By rajiva Wijesinha-2017-10-10

Ceylon Today Features
Amongst the more endearing explanations offered by Ranil's friends for his involvement in the Bond Scam is that he was taken for a ride. The response then to the question why he defended Mahendran so vociferously is that Mahendran also was taken for a ride. Then the answer to the question why Mahendran went down to bully the Public Debt Department was that he was following instructions. I presume the same answer would have been given to the question why he insisted on appointments within the Bank that facilitated Arjun Aloysius having his wicked way with bond issues and the EPF.

The fact that Aloysius was Mahendran's son-in-law is considered irrelevant it seems, in this account of why Mahendran acted as he did, to knowingly cause such a massive loss to the country. But even if one believes that all this was done under pressure, it is clear that we will not find out from him who applied the pressure since he can now employ the Aloysius stratagem of refusing to give evidence.

I believe the Commission set a bad precedent in permitting Aloysius to get away with this stratagem, given that it has no judicial authority and is a fact finding body only. But even if it is right in the stance it took, it does have a mechanism to promote justice by ordering Aloysius' arrest on the basis of the information it already has. The case for this is strengthened by the fact that he has not just refused to testify, but was actively involved in suppressing evidence. And doing this would send a message to Mahendran that the Aloysius stratagem will hasten rather than delay judicial procedures.

But the Commission also has a wider responsibility, to find out who pushed Mahendran and Ranil to behave the way they did, on the friendly interpretation and who helped them to fulfil their dishonest desires on a more rational view. Fortunately the evidence, or rather a direction in which to search, has already been provided by Ranil himself. He declared in Parliament, in his infamous statement claiming that Parliamentarians were not capable of judging the issue, that Mahendran had acted in accordance with desires expressed by individuals who had unprecedentedly gone to the Bank to request vast amounts of money.

Amongst those individuals were two Cabinet Ministers who held office in the UNP. What Ranil did not say, is also significant. He omitted the fact that Malik Samarawickrema, the Chairman of the UNP, had accompanied the group that gave Mahendran an excuse. Fortunately Mahendran himself if I recollect aright, gave the game way in COPE in citing Malik too. It seems he thought that someone who held no executive office also had a role to play in dictating the financial policies and practices of the country – an understandable view given the massive financial obligations of the UNP at the time and the view that the interests of the country and the UNP were synonymous.

I must confess that it had not occurred to me before the evidence broke of Malik's involvement that he was dishonest. My naiveté led, way back in November 2014, to my telling him that I hoped the UNP would not bring crooks like Tilak Marapana back if Sirisena won the Presidency. My reason for this is the allegations about contracts that had been prevalent when Marapana had been Defence Minister, combined with his culpability in trying to stop the search for weapons Chandrika had insisted on, when the Tigers were bringing loads of them in on his watch under cover of the Ceasefire Agreement (in the particular case I knew best, the Norwegian monitors had found weapons whereupon they were ordered to jump overboard and the Tigers on the shipblew themselves up along with the weapons).

Malik's response was that I should not blame Marapana, there had been corruption but someone else had been responsible. Now, understanding better how his and Ranil's sense of humour works, I suspect he was talking about himself. I may be wrong, but certainly, the son of Ivan Samarawickrema has nothing like his father's integrity, just as Ranil has fallen far from the standards of Nalini Wijewardene and Cyril Wickremesinghe.

Ironically, in order to defend Ranil against the charge of dishonesty, his friends have to invoke ignorance. Given the massive amounts the country lost – far more that Aloysius made – the defence has to claim that he does not know about such financial matters. So, in effect his friends must put him in the same boat in which he placed the Members of Parliament that he declared would confuse Bank Bonds with James Bond or Brooke Bond.

A little learning then, is a very dangerous thing. The danger is compounded when those who know better or think more coherently are shoved aside, and decision making powers given to a bunch of jokers and crooks.

Was the same true when the Rajapaksas ruled? One thinks of Sajin Vas Goonewardene and shudders, but his authority was under the table as it were – though by 2014 the table was transparent and the President did not seem to care. But formal authority was in more respectable hands, and even Basil Rajapaksa actually delivered on development in a manner that Ranil, who has taken on his mantle, has failed to do.

By the time this article appears, we will know how soon this farce will be terminated. I write this early, since I shall be travelling, but if elections to Provincial Councils are held as required by the Constitution, and if President Sirisena realizes that his party and his legacy can only be saved by getting rid of the more obvious crooks, we can hope for a more balanced approach. But if the current polarization continues, the ever more frenzied dance of deceit, whoever the dancers, can only lead to the country, not the dancers, dying on its feet.

Vedda cries from Vakarai lost in the sound of sea

2017-10-11 

A tale about a vanishing fisher community as told by  its leader Ambalawarige Velayudham
Veddas, said to be descendants of King Vijaya, are known to be the earliest inhabitants of this land. Referring to themselves as forest-dwellers, the Vedda communities are shrouded in secrecy, mythology and mystery than any other group of people in the country. As of late, we have only been referring to one clan – the UruwarigeVeddas of Dambana. But there are several others who have settled down in other parts of the island. While each clan has different livelihoods and hunting practices, they also have different ceremonies unique to them.

Amongst these clans, the Vedda community of the Ambalawarige clan has its settlements in Vakarai. Also referred to as the Coastal Veddas of Sri Lanka, they speak mainly in Tamil and do fishing as their main occupation. But as of now, their traditions are dying and their culture has been subject to extinction. While on a recent visit to Vakarai, the Daily Mirror sat down to have a chat with AmbalawarigeVelayudham, the Vedda Leader of Vakarai. 

Firstly the Government has to give us prominence since we are the earliest inhabitants of this land. During the previous regime, we were asked to visit Temple Trees and we got an opportunity to voice our issues. But to date, the present Government hasn’t inquired about our well-being

Following are excerpts of the interview. 

Q  Tell us about your settlements in the East Coast.

Our ancestors have always told us about a Vedda settlement in Mahiyangana, but we didn’t see them till recently. My father and grandfather claimed to be descendants of the Veddas and engaged in various activities from fishing to hunting, agriculture and paddy cultivation as the main sources of sustaining their families. So in 1966 they settled down in Vakarai and in other places along the East Coast. Since then we have been peacefully living here except for the days during the ethnic conflict. During that period we resided at a temporary shelter given by an NGO. But now we live in peace. 
Q Where are the other settlements in the East Coast?

There are Vedda settlements in Verugal, Kayungkerny, Talaway, Modera, Kaduwalay, Nakareni and various other places. 

Q How does the Ambalawarige clan which you belong to, differ from the rest?

We have different ways of sustaining our families and aren’t very much involved in hunting like the Uruwarige clan. We are mainly involved in fishing and cultivation. Hunting has been made difficult by the authorities themselves and it’s difficult to find food the way we used to. You may have seen that my wife and daughters wear dresses when ideally they should be wearing ‘redda and hattai.’ This is mainly due to commercialization. We have various other clans including Morana, Namudan, Tala, Rugam and many more. 

Q What are the special ceremonies that are unique to your clan?

Many of us follow Saivite Hinduism and therefore worship God Shiva. But we also worship other deities such as Murugan, Pillayar and Amman. We also worship two other deities known as ‘Kapalpei’ and ‘Kumara Deivam’. In order to worship them with respect and honour, we have a ceremony known as ‘Sadangu’ which is a devil-dancing ceremony. During this ceremony many local Tamil people experience being possessed by spirit, going into a state of trance and speaking a different dialect of Tamil altogether. Since we don’t very much understand it people believe that they are speaking something similar to the original Vedda language. 

Hunting has been made difficult by the authorities themselves and it’s difficult to find food the way we used to. You may have seen that my wife and daughters wear dresses when ideally they should be wearing ‘redda and hattai.’ This is mainly due to commercialization.

Q As of today, with the rapid phase of modernisation, how challenging is it to engage in these traditions?

If you see my family members, they dress and look like normal Tamil people. Since we settled down in the coastal areas, we were influenced by modern practices. So, as I mentioned before, my wife and daughters wear dresses. Therefore, in terms of preserving our culture, we are facing a major risk. It has been difficult to identify how our customs and norms would be passed on to the next generation. Once I pass away, the tribe will be taken over by my brother. If he doesn’t take this forward our clan will be extinct. Another issue is that our children are reluctant to take these traditions forward. One problem is that they (Children) are both daughters, but they too have an important role to play. Unlike the Vedda womenfolk in the Dambana area, we have given them more freedom. 

Q With deforestation and environmental pollution, what challenges have you faced in terms of hunting, fishing and other practices?

Water is one of the main scarcities here. This should have been a result of the on-going drought, but it has greatly affected us. We don’t have water to use for cultivation purposes and as a result there’s no way we could continue the crop cycles. The entire harvest has been affected. This is where the Government should look at us, but we have been classified as normal people and it’s difficult to maintain our identity. So if we also engage in commercial jobs, we wouldn’t have faced any of these challenges. With various chemicals being washed off to the lakes and the sea, there’s a dearth of fish that is considered suitable for consumption. 

Q You mentioned about a risk in passing down tradition. Since you have a bigger role to play in this task, how will you take-up this responsibility?

I think the Government must look at our past. If you go to Dambana you could find a lot of information about us, but we don’t have a similar facility here. At least if a museum could be setup we could have explained about our traditions and lifestyles to visitors. In addition to that our children also could have referred to such a facility in time to come. We have failed to preserve the weapons and other materials we used back in the day and therefore we have nothing to prove as being unique to our clan. We mainly used the bow and arrow to hunt animals, but after bans were imposed we have stopped hunting practices too. 

Q Do you think that the younger generation would continue with these practices given the rapid phase of modernisation?

That is something I fear as well. One problem is that they can’t understand or speak Sinhala. So in time to come it will be difficult for them to move around with the visitors who arrive. They go to school, but each one is considered as another Tamil student and not as a child coming from a Vedda family. Therefore they have naturally adjusted themselves to the modern setup. They definitely wont engage in farming or fishing activities and will look for Government jobs. So there itself they have moved largely away from tradition. Unless what we have now is conserved, they will never identify themselves with their Vedda background in time to come. This is why we fear losing our own identities as the earliest inhabitants in this land. 

Q Language is another unique feature of the Vedda clan, but you speak only Tamil. What is the reason for this difference?

The Vedda language is only used to speak. It has never been documented. So, unless a child is exposed to it at an early age, one will never learn it as it needs more practice. But we have spoken Tamil throughout this period of time and as a result our children also speak Tamil. If we have to learn the Vedda language we have to visit the Uruwarige Leader in Dambana, but we don’t have the necessary funds to do so. It’s true that this language is unique to us, but it would be difficult to introduce it to this clan now. 

Many of us follow Saivite Hinduism and therefore worship God Shiva. But we also worship other deities such as Murugan, Pillayar and Amman. We also worship two other deities known as ‘Kapalpei’ and ‘Kumara Deivam’

Q What immediate actions should the Government take in order to improve your livelihoods?
Firstly the Government has to give us prominence since we are the earliest inhabitants of this land. During the previous regime, we were asked to visit Temple Trees and we got an opportunity to voice our issues. But to date, the present Government hasn’t inquired about our well-being. I doubt if they even know that we exist. Therefore we would like to urge from the Government to either visit us or give us a chance to visit them and improve our livelihoods and help us preserve what we possess.

Expert fishermen 

According to research done by anthropologists such as C. G. Seligman, the chief Vedda settlements north of Batticaloa are Pellanchenai near Kalkudah and at Varkanari, some 10 miles north of Kalkudah on the far side of the river which is crossed by a ferry at Valachchenai. At Panichchenkeni, some 14 miles further north is another ferry, where the local Veddas act as ferrymen. There are two other Vedda settle­ments some three miles beyond the ferry at sites called Vellaiade and Kandaladi respectively. 

At present, most of what is remaining of this tribe of East Coast Veddas has mixed with various races and its members are living, especially with Tamils, in and around Batticaloa town. Some look very much like modern Tamils, attired in modern dresses and using Tamil as their mother tongue. The Vedda community is considered the lowest of the regional castes and its members are shunned by persons of higher castes in the region. As a result of denying themselves thus, the coastal Vedda clan has experienced a tremendous loss of heritage and roots. 

The Coastal Veddas have become expert fishermen and make and use various forms of nets including a cast net. They also spear and shoot fish, using a bifid iron spear-head which they have adopted from the Tamils. To shoot fish they use the usual Vedda bow, but the arrow has become a harpoon with a shaft being as long as the bow and into which the iron with its running line fits loosely.