Thursday, October 12, 2017

The Trump Administration Wants Refugees to Fit In or Stay Out

An obscure new policy would give priority to refugees who seem like they might “assimilate.”

BY LAUREN WOLFE-OCTOBER 12, 2017

Out in New York Harbor in 1903, the bronze plaque with Emma Lazarus’s poem “The New Colossus” was affixed to the Statue of Liberty. It’s the one that begins: “Give me your tired, your poor…” Her poem went on to welcome 5,000 to 10,000 immigrants every day between 1900 and 1914. About 40 percent of Americans are now descended from someone who came through Ellis Island. My great-grandfather was one of them.

His name was Avram. The year the plaque was being installed inside the Statue of Liberty, Avram was living in a place called Bessarabia, then part of tsarist Russia, now mostly in Moldova. Pogroms were ravaging cities across the region. That year, Avram and his wife, Dora, set sail with their son, my grandfather Joseph, aged four.

The family settled on New York’s Lower East Side, where Avram learned English but spoke his native Yiddish at home, reading a Yiddish-language newspaper each night. He didn’t arrive with much money; he did piecework making zippers for a while and went on to become very active in the International Ladies’ Garment Workers Union — a feminist labor organizer ahead of his time. He spent the rest of his life in America, dying in Brooklyn in 1954.

Yet under a new presidential determination from the White House, future Avrams may never have the chance to come to the United States. According to both international and U.S. refugee law, people like my great-grandfather have for decades been candidates for refugee resettlement based solely on their well-founded fear of persecution in their home countries. Their ability to “assimilate” — learn English and embrace the customs of the United States — had no bearing on their asylum applications. That, however, may be about to change: Buried inside the 65-page Sept. 27 directive that also capped the number of refugees to be resettled in the United States next year at 45,000, the lowest since the White House began setting a limit in 1980, there is vague, disconcerting language that lawyers and immigration experts say they have never seen before in reference to refugees in this country.

The Trump administration may now consider “certain criteria that enhance a refugee’s likelihood of successful assimilation and contribution in the United States” in addition to the humanitarian criteria that have long been the standard for refugee claims, according to the determination, which is similar to an executive order in that it has the force of law. That term, “assimilation,” is brand-new in the history of U.S. policy on refugees, and it appears in the document over and over again. Previous directives have used the word “integration,” which comes from the Latin “integrare” — “to make whole” — and implies some change on the part of society as well as those entering it. “Assimilation,” in contrast, “is kind of the erasure of cultural markers,” according to Kathleen Newland, a senior fellow at the Washington-based Migration Policy Institute. “It’s important to make a distinction,” because, she said, the word “has that connotation of erasure of one thing and absorption into the mainstream culture.”

There is little doubt that this is the meaning of “assimilate” the White House has in mind. As a candidate, Donald Trump complained about what he saw as a lack of assimilation among Muslim immigrants, a group he has smeared repeatedly, from belittling Muslim Gold Star parents to pretending his “Muslim ban” never really targeted Muslims, despite the fact that his campaign website called for a “total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the U.S.”. More recently, on Sept. 15, the National Archives in Washington debuted a video of the president welcoming new U.S. citizens in which he says, “Our history is now your history. And our traditions are now your traditions.” He adds, “You now share the obligation to teach our values to others, to help newcomers assimilate to our way of life.”

It remains unclear how exactly the administration would go about assessing refugees’ ability to assimilate. The document itself does not address this, despite claims to the contrary from the International Rescue Committee (IRC), which referenced the “apparent inclusion” of an “assimilation test” in a confusing Sept. 28 press release. In fact, a close reading of the presidential determination yields no mention of a test. There is, however, an ominous undertone that seems to hint at future efforts to gauge the likelihood that asylum applicants would assimilate. “Improved assimilation of refugees and asylees will not only boost their ability to be successful in the United States, but will also secure our communities by fostering a cohesive society based upon shared civic ideals, and appreciation of our history, and an understanding of the English language,” reads one particularly troubling sentence.

Two days after the release of the presidential determination, the White House put out a fact sheet apparently meant to justify what is contained in the larger document. Referring to Trump’s “America First Refugee Program,” the sheet repeatedly emphasizes the “safety” of Americans. “Some refugees who have been admitted to the United States have posed threats to national security and public safety,” the fact sheet asserts. It goes on to say: “Since 2011, there have been at least 20 admitted refugees who have been arrested or removed from the United States based on terrorism investigations.” The fact that this was 20 out of hundreds of thousands — making Americans roughly 3,000 times more likely to be struck by lightning than to be killed by a refugee — was of course left unsaid.

But the fact sheet was similarly devoid of details on implementation. A State Department official who refused to be named said she would have to get back to me on every question I asked about the new language, then followed up later to say she would not actually be getting back to me with specific answers. Still, she assured me that nothing was changing for now. “The standard criteria that UNHCR uses to make refugee resettlement referrals to the United States are not changing. The United States remains committed to helping the most vulnerable refugees and adheres to the principle of non-discrimination enshrined in our Constitution and in international refugee law,” she wrote in an email to Foreign Policy, adding that the U.S. refugee admission program “has sought to achieve self-sufficiency for refugees admitted to the United States as soon as possible, and we carry out various programs both overseas and domestically towards that goal, including English language and employment programs. With this in mind, we will discuss within the [U.S. government] in the coming year how to provide additional support for refugees to help them assimilate.”

But organizations that rely on funding to help refugees worry that the new policy will bring about substantive changes. They point in particular to a section stating that the Department of Homeland Security and the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services “is considering prioritizing grant-funded programs that focus on integrating newly arrived refugees … through a variety of critical assimilation services.” “This part is definitely troubling,” said Newland, echoing advocates who fear they could lose the already limited funds allocated to help refugees find homes, jobs, and education.

Not everyone agrees that the new language is necessarily a bad thing, however. With no clear guidance from the Trump administration on how the goal of “assimilation” will affect the refugee resettlement process, the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) is making no judgments about the determination, at least for now. “UNHCR has long advocated for more focused and sustained efforts to support successful integration of refugees once they arrive in the country of resettlement, and we look forward to discussing ideas on how to help bring this about,” said Chris Boian, a spokesman for the agency.

But migration experts and advocates for refugees’ rights see something more sinister in Trump’s presidential directive: at best a white nationalist dog whistle intended to appease the so-called “alt-right” and at worst a dangerous shift in U.S. refugee policy that could be used to discriminate specifically against Muslims and other minority — especially nonwhite — groups.

“Where is this all of a sudden coming from?” said Hans Van de Weerd, vice president of U.S. programs at the IRC. “We have of course our theories. There is a whole ideological faction right now in the government that is anti-immigration, anti-foreigner, and that really likes to keep America the way it is. But that is not what this country is about.”

Indeed, the language in the directive is suspiciously similar to the language used online by white supremacists and members of the alt-right, including Ann Corcoran, who in June 2013 lamented on her nationalist website, Refugee Resettlement Watch, that the term “‘assimilation’ is no longer a part of government lexicon and does not even occur in dozens of recent reports and papers generated about refugee resettlement. The operative term in vogue now is ‘integration’ with its clear intent of maintenance of ethnic identity.” And it’s not just that Trump’s determination echoes the language of racists and hate groups — such groups seem to have played a direct role in this language modification. The Sept. 29 White House fact sheet cites as a source the Center for Immigration Studies, an organization that the Southern Poverty Law Center classifies as a hate group because of the “fear-mongering misinformation” it publishes about immigrants.

My great-grandfather would not have been considered “assimilated” in the way many on the right — people like White House senior policy advisor Stephen Miller, former chief strategist Steve Bannon, and Attorney General Jeff Sessions — so long for refugees to be.

Avram worked hard here and raised a family. But he chose to keep his religious beliefs and to speak his own language in addition to English. Like the Syrians, Iraqis, Afghans, and Somalis who may wish to hold onto their heritage while at the same time embracing their adoptive country, he was the definition of what makes America great. In one of her lesser-known poems, titled “In Exile,” Lazarus included an excerpt from a letter written by a Russian refugee living in Texas. “Since that day till now our life is one unbroken paradise. We live a true brotherly life. Every evening after supper we take a seat under the mighty oak and sing our songs,” it reads.

In Trump’s America, will refugees be free to sing their songs? Or will there be only silence?

Photo credit: Louisa Gouliamaki/AFP/Getty Images

Myanmar army chief says Rohingya Muslims "not natives", numbers fleeing exaggerated

YANGON (Reuters) - Rohingya Muslims are not native to Myanmar, the army chief told the U.S. ambassador in a meeting in which he apparently did not address accusations of abuses by his men and said media was complicit in exaggerating the number of refugees fleeing.

Myanmar Commander in Chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing (2nd L) attends an event marking the 70th anniversary of Martyrs' Day at the Martyrs' Mausoleum dedicated to the fallen independence heroes in Yangon, Myanmar July 19, 2017. REUTERS/Soe Zeya Tun/Files

Robert Birsel, Wa Lone-OCTOBER 12, 2017

The U.N. human rights office said on Wednesday Myanmar forces had brutally driven out half a million Rohingya from northern Rakhine state to Bangladesh in recent weeks, torching homes, crops and villages to prevent them from returning.

Thousands of Rohingya were leaving the state on Thursday, aiming to reach Bangladesh by boat, citing a shortage of food and fear of repression, residents said. A Myanmar official said people were leaving but he dismissed the suggestion hunger and intimidation were factors.

The army chief, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, gave his most extensive account of the Rohingya refugee crisis aimed at an international audience in the meeting with Ambassador Scot Marciel, according to a report posted on his Facebook page.

The general is the most powerful person in Buddhist-majority Myanmar and his apparently uncompromising stance would indicate little sensitivity about the military’s image over a crisis that has drawn international condemnation and raised questions about a transition to democracy under Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.

The military campaign is popular in Myanmar, where there is little sympathy for the mostly stateless Rohingya, and where Buddhist nationalism has surged.

Min Aung Hlaing, referring to Rohingya by the term “Bengali”, which they regard as derogatory, said British colonialists were responsible for the problem.

“The Bengalis were not taken into the country by Myanmar, but by the colonialists,” he told Marciel, according to the account of the meeting posted on Thursday.

“They are not the natives.”

Coordinated Rohingya insurgent attacks on some 30 security posts on Aug. 25 sparked a ferocious military response.

The U.N. rights office said in its report, based on 65 interviews with Rohingya who had arrived in Bangladesh, that abuses had begun before the Aug. 25 attacks and included killings, torture and rape of children.

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley last month denounced a “brutal, sustained campaign to cleanse the country of an ethnic minority” and called on countries to suspend providing weapons to Myanmar until its military put sufficient accountability measures in place.

The European Union and the United States are considering targeted sanctions against Myanmar’s military leaders, officials familiar with the discussions said this week.

Suu Kyi was swept into office last year after winning an election, but the military holds immense power, including exclusive say over security.

‘FEEL INSECURE’

U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra‘ad al-Hussein has described the government operations as “a textbook example of ethnic cleansing” and said the action appeared to be “a cynical ploy to forcibly transfer large numbers of people without possibility of return”.

Min Aung Hlaing did not refer to such accusations, according to the published account, but said the insurgents had killed 90 Hindus and 30 Rohingya linked to the government.

Insurgent opposition to a citizenship verification campaign, which used the term Bengali, was behind the Aug. 25 attacks that sparked the violence, he said.

“Local Bengalis were involved in the attacks under the leadership of ARSA. That is why they might have fled as they feel insecure,” he said, referring to the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army insurgents.

“The native place of Bengalis is really Bengal,” he said.

He said it was an exaggeration to say a “very large” number were fleeing to Bangladesh and there had been “instigation and propaganda by using the media from behind the scene”.

He did not elaborate but said the “real situation” had to be relayed to the international community. U.N. political affairs chief Jeffrey Feltman is due to visit on Friday.

Rohingya residents of Rakhine said up to 10,000 people had left on Wednesday and Thursday.

One resident, a teacher, said there had been no military offensive recently but people were going.

“There’s no work, nowhere to get food and the government isn’t helping,” said the teacher, who, like the first resident, declined to be identified.

Rakhine state’s secretary, Tin Maung Swe, said people were leaving “every day” to join relatives already in Bangladesh.

”Nobody is starving in death in Myanmar. The government is trying to support those in need,“ he said. ”They can fish or catch shrimps in the creeks near their villages.

“No one’s killing them or intimidating them.”

Suu Kyi, in a televised address, spoke about the importance of humanitarian assistance for all people in Rakhine and said the government would accept refugees back.

She said aid groups, international organisations and Myanmar expatriates would help with the long-term development of the state. She did not refer to accusations of rights abuses by the army.

What Are The Causes Of Kyphosis?

Causes Of Kyphosis

OCT 12, 2017

Kyphosis or exaggerated curvature of the thoracic spine is a commonly found deformity of the spine. While it could be congenital in certain cases, most often, kyphosis is formed as the result of a trauma to the spine or any infection or tumor of the spine. In children, it could be postural and in old age, it could be the result of muscle weakness or bone degeneration.

It is often called hunchback or humpback. Kyphosis, the medical term for an abnormally rounded upper back or the thoracic spine, is a common spinal abnormality.
The thoracic spine is made up of the middle 12 vertebrae of your spine. It has a natural curve in the 20-40 degrees range which varies from person to person. Anything more than that is often classified as kyphosis. In case of kyphosis, the upper back looks more rounded than normal.
While in adolescents and young adults, kyphosis is largely postural, in adults, there are various other causes as well. Here is a detailed look at each cause.

Poor Posture

It is very common to see adolescents, especially teenage girls, slouching while sitting or standing. This is often referred to as postural kyphosis because it is a problem of poor posture and has very little to do with any abnormalities of the spine. For that reason, it can be corrected easily by paying attention to the posture. “Stand up straight” is all that the person needs to do. Postural kyphosis is rarely painful and does not cause further problems.

Scheuermann’s Disease

Scheuermann’s disease or Scheuermann’s kyphosis is another type of kyphosis seen among children. Unlike postural kyphosis, this one is serious and is considered a developmental disorder which gets carried on to adulthood. Also known as juvenile kyphosis, juvenile discogenic disease or vertebral epiphysitis, here, the thoracic curve is usually between 45 and 75 degrees. Moreover, there will be a vertebral wedging of more than five degrees of a minimum of three vertebrae. These vertebrae take a triangular appearance. The disorder is also marked by Schmorl’s nodes, which are small herniations of intervertebral disc (the cushion between each vertebra), at the end of the affected vertebrae.
Scheuermann’s, the Danish radiologist who recognized the problem first, believed that the disorder was due to the death of the cartilage of the spinal bone’s ring due to the lack of blood supply. While the exact reason is unclear, experts have come to the conclusion that some sort of damage to the growth area of the vertebrae starts the process. The abnormal growth that follows causes the excessive kyphosis.

Congenital Disorder

Kyphosis could also be congenital, that is, you could be born with this spinal deformity. A deformity that is severe and catastrophic, there is no known treatment for congenital kyphosis.
Congenital kyphosis is not genetic. It is believed that it happens sometime in the six to eight weeks of the embryonic life. Due to some genetic mistake at this phase, the front part of one or more vertebral bodies and disc fails to form or segment which causes the spine to develop a sharp forward angulation as it grows.
Kyphosis is often seen in old age. Also called Dowager’s hump or gibbous deformity, hyperkyphosis impairs mobility and increases the risks of fall and fractures. Though the exact cause is not known, hyperkyphosis could be the result of either muscle weakness and degenerative disc disease, leading to vertebral fractures and worsening hyperkyphosis, or from initial vertebral fractures that precipitate its development.

Kyphosis From Diseases/Injuries

Kyphosis could also occur as a result of an injury or a spinal disease. Here are some instances.
From paralysis: Kyphosis can happen as a secondary result of paralysis. This paralysis could be from disorders like polio, spinal muscle atrophy, cerebral palsy, etc. Kyphosis does not happen immediately in these cases; it is more gradual.
Post-traumatic disorder: Any trauma to the spine like an injury could result in kyphosis. Post-traumatic kyphosis could happen anywhere from mid to lower back. This kyphosis is often accompanied by severe pain in the region.
Degenerative kyphosis: The kyphosis in the lumbar region of the spine, lumbar degenerative kyphosis is characterized by abnormal kyphosis in the lumbar region due to degenerative changes of the spine and supporting structures. In this case, the trunk stoops while walking and pain and dullness are noticed in the lumbar region. Patients will also find it impossible to lift their trunk up from the prone position. Vertebral wedging and multiple disk space narrowing are commonly seen in degenerative kyphosis. Lumbar extensors could also experience atrophy.
Spinal infection: Any kind of serious spinal infection like spinal tuberculosis can lead to the kyphosis of the spine. A spinal infection is rare and often involves the intervertebral disc space, the vertebral bones, the spinal canal, or adjacent soft tissues. These infections are mostly bacterial in nature and spread to the spine through the bloodstream.

Spinal cancer/tumor: Spinal deformities like scoliosis or kyphosis are one of the symptoms of a tumor in the spine. This tumor could be benign; it could be malignant too, in which case it will develop into cancer of the spine.
Arthritis: Osteoarthritis is a degenerative form of joint arthritis. In the spine, it can affect the facet joints, the intervertebral discs, and the ligaments supporting the spine. In severe cases of spinal osteoarthritis, standing upright becomes difficult due to severe pain in the region. These can lead to changes in the structure and shape of the spine. Kyphosis could appear in the advanced stages of OA of the spine.

Kyphosis can affect every facet of your life. It is not just another deformity, it could also be painful and uncomfortable. While certain kyphosis cannot be treated, some of them at least can be avoided with timely medical intervention. If you suspect changes in your spinal structure, do not delay consulting a medical expert.

Hartal in north, protests in Colombo on Friday for political prisoners’ freedom!

Oct 11, 2017

Reports say a hartal is to take place in the north on the 13th to demand the government releases political prisoners. It coincides with the protest campaign in Jaffna since Monday by the national movement to free political prisoners. A protest will also take place in front of Colombo Fort railway station, a spokesman for the movement said.

Three political prisoners are staging a fast for the 16th day, but authorities are unlikely to address their grievances. They are protesting against the transfer of their case from Vavuniya high court to Anuradhapura high court.

Another reason is the government failure to respond to calls by political parties, civil organizations to release the odd-135 political prisoners being held under the PTA.

Eight years after the war, the government has released LTTE leaders, but these persons still remain behind bars without any justifiable reason, says the movement.

As the first step towards reconciliation, they should be released unconditionally, it adds.

Interview: I was invited by the President — Rev. Fr. S. J. Emmanuel

In an interview with Sri Lanka Guardian, Reverend Father S. J. Emmanuel elaborated and outlined his visit to Sri Lanka after decades at his residence in Colombo

( October 11, 2017, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) By refusing the newspaper reports, Reverend Father S. J. Emmanuel, President of the Global Tamil Forum, states he came to Sri Lanka on the invitations of the President Maithripala Sirisena and other key members of the current government to enhance the reconciliation process in the country.

“I was invited by the President Maithripala Sirisena when we met first time in Germany. Then the other senior members of this government including Minister Mangala Samaraweera as well as the Prime Minister have invited me to visit Sri Lanka. Tamil National Alliance has nothing to do with my visit,” he said.

In an interview with Nilantha Ilangamuwa of Sri Lanka Guardian, Reverend Father S. J. Emmanuel elaborated and outlined his visit to Sri Lanka after decades at his residence in Colombo a few hours before his departure.

Constitution making and yahapalana tricks

Dr. Wickremaratne

By C. A. Chandraprema-October 11, 2017, 10:27 pm

Dr. Jayampathy Wickremaratne has been trying to allay anxieties of concerned citizens about the new constitution that he is involved in drafting. He claims that there will be a special constitutional provision against secession. What he is referring to is the following provision in the recently released interim report of the Steering Committee of the Constitutional Assembly:

"The President may, on the advice of the Prime Minister, where a situation has arisen in which a provincial administration is promoting armed rebellion or insurrection or engaging in an intentional violation of the Constitution which constitutes a clear and present danger to the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the Republic, by Proclamation – (a) Assume to the President, all or any of the functions of the administration of the Province and all or any of the powers vested in, or exercisable by, the Governor, the Chief Minister, the Board of Ministers or anybody or authority in the Province; and (b) Where it is necessary for the effectual exercise of the powers under subparagraph (a) of this paragraph, dissolve the Provincial Council. (c) The proclamation shall include reasons for the making of such proclamation. Such a Proclamation shall be subject to Parliamentary approval and be subject to judicial review."

This is supposed to be the provision that will be Wickremaratne’s magic bullet to prevent separatism. Even the best educated members of society are unfamiliar with constitutional matters and if those drafting a new constitution are out to deceive the public, there is nothing to prevent them from doing it. One glaring example is the way they made the President responsible to Parliament through the 19th Amendment. After the 19th Amendment was promulgated, the yahapalana leaders claimed that earlier the President was a law unto himself and that it was the yahapalana government that had made the president responsible to Parliament. This was, in fact, even touted as one of the ways in which the powers of the presidency had been truncated and the institution made more ‘democratic’. This provision to make the president responsible to Parliament, which was brought in by the 19th Amendment as Article 33A of the Constitution is as follows:

"33A. The President shall be responsible to Parliament for the due exercise, performance and discharge of his powers, duties and functions under the Constitution and any written law, including the law for the time being relating to public security"

What the yahapalana constitution makers did not tell the public, however, was this supposedly new Article 33A had always been in the 1978 Constitution from the time J. R. Jayewardene promulgated it as Article 42 of the Constitution. The 19th Amendment was passed by Parliament on 28 April 2015. The old Article 42 which had been in the Constitution from 1978 till it was repealed on 28 April 2015 went as follows:

"42. The President shall be responsible to Parliament for the due exercise, performance and discharge of his powers, duties and functions under the Constitution and any written law, including the law for the time being relating to public security."

The new Article 33A introduced by the 19th Amendment and the old article 42 are identical both in letter and sprit with not a word or a comma being different. Nobody with an iota of professional or academic probity would perpetrate such a fraud on the people. Never in the history of constitution-making in the world would such open chicanery have been practised on the voting public by an elected government. Constitutional Amendments are complex documents and not even a lawyer can be expected to notice immediately if some jiggery-pokery has taken place. The working assumption without which life would be impossible is that there will be no jiggery-pokery in the drafting of any law, especially constitutional amendments. Yet that is an assumption we are unable to operate on when it comes to the yahapalana government.

The safeguard which provides no protection

The deception that took place with regard to ‘making the President responsible to Parliament’ was just one example. With Dr. Wickremeratne saying that the new constitution will have an inbuilt safeguard against secession on the lines of the provision mentioned earlier, it becomes clear that another Article 42 style fraud is in the pipeline – the chicanery in this latter instance being worse than in the previous instance. From the time the provincial councils system was introduced to our Constitution through the 13th Amendment, there have been safeguards against any attempt at secession. In fact, the first Chief Minister of the merged North-eastern provincial Council did make a unilateral declaration of independence in 1989, but no secession took place. From that point until 2008 when the first Eastern Provincial Council was established, there was no functioning provincial council in the North and East.

The provisions against secession become important only when there are functioning provincial councils. In this respect, the existing Constitution has perfectly adequate safeguards to prevent secession in the form of Articles 154J, 154K, 154L and 154M. Under Article 154J, when the President is of the opinion that the security of Sri Lanka, or the maintenance of essential supplies and services is threatened or that there is a risk of war or external aggression or armed rebellion, and he makes a proclamation under the public security laws, he can give directions to the provincial Governors as to the manner in which they are to exercise their powers. Such a proclamation under the public security laws can be made before an actual situation arises if the President feels that there is the imminent risk of such an event taking place. When such a proclamation under the public security law is in operation in a province, the President may extend his capacity to give directions to the Governors on the exercise of their executive powers to any other province as well.

According to Article 154K, if the Governor or any Provincial Council has failed to comply with any directions given by the President in terms of Article 154J, the President may hold that a situation has arisen in which the administration of the Province cannot be carried on in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution. Under Article 154L, if the President comes to the conclusion in terms of Article 154K that a situation has arisen in which the administration of the Province cannot be carried on in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution, he may take over all or any of the functions of the administration of the Province including those of the Governor. The President may also declare that the powers of the Provincial Council shall be exercisable by Parliament. Such a proclamation by the President will have to be placed before Parliament within two weeks and if it is approved by Parliament will continue for a period of two months and it can be renewed once every two months for as long as a year if necessary.

Under Article 154M, when the President has made a proclamation under Article 154L to the effect that Parliament can exercise the powers of a provincial council, the Parliament can in turn confer on the President, the power to make statutes for that provincial council and to authorize the President to delegate that power to any other authority of his choosing. Readers will see that the safeguards offered by Articles 154J, 154K, 154L and 154M are much more comprehensive and far reaching than the proposed anti-secession provision for the new constitution. So, in the first instance, Wickremaratne is trying to short-change the people of Sri Lanka by bringing in a less comprehensive and less far reaching provision to cater to emergency situations than the provisions that exist in the present constitution.

Concealing the judicial review provision

There is also a vitally important matter that Dr. Wickremeratne has not revealed to the public about his much touted safeguard against secession. All proclamations and directions given under the anti-secession provision that he has proposed will be subject to judicial review – a factor which radically alters its effectiveness. Under Articles 154J and 154L of the present Constitution, the proclamations made and the directions given under the public security laws in relation to the provincial councils ‘shall be conclusive for all purposes and shall not be questioned in any Court or tribunal’. This makes for a radical difference. The additional safeguard given in Articles 154J and 154L of the present Constitution by declaring that proclamations made and directions given under those Articles, cannot be called into question by any court of law, gives the executive arm greater powers to deal resolutely with emergencies. An emergency is, by definition, a situation when normalcy does not prevail and extraordinary measures are required to restore normalcy. To enable the judicial review of a declaration of emergency is to hamper the very process of restoring normalcy. When there is an open rebellion in a province how feasible is it to subject the emergency measures being taken to contain that situation to court procedures with notices to appear before courts, hearings and stay orders etc.? That the supposed anti-secession provision presented by Wickremaratne is subject to judicial review is bad enough. But, it gets worse when one realises that this ‘judicial review’ that Wickremaratne speaks of is not by the Supreme Court, but by a special constitutional court proposed to be set up under the new Constitution. This constitutional court is to function outside the usual court structure and will not have judges but others - lawyers and ‘constitutional experts’ sitting on it – in other words, the NGO types controlling the constitution making process including Wickremaratne himself may end up sitting on this constitutional court which is supposed to review proclamations made and directions given under this much touted anti-secession provision.

It’s not difficult to imagine the attitude that this constitutional court will take towards the proclamations made and directions given under public security laws. A parallel process taking place under the yahapalana government is the move to repeal the Prevention of Terrorism Act and to render the public security laws in this country toothless. When one views Wickremeratne’s proposal to replace the provisions in Articles 154J, 154K, 154L and 154M with his emasculated anti-secession provision in the overall context of things, the sheer perfidy of the whole endeavour becomes clear.

Oppressive Religious Orthodoxy & Orphaned Muslim Women

By Ameer Ali –OCTOBER 11, 2017

Dr. Ameer Ali

The issue of reforming Muslim personal laws and in particular the Muslim Marriage and Divorce Act is dragging on without any firm decision from the government. The article by Shreen Abdul Saroor on “Muslim Women’s Rights – When Is The Right Time?” that appeared in this journal (10 October 2017) is in my view a cry in desperation out of prolonged frustration and disappointment not only at the government’s vacillation and indecision but also at the obsequiousness of Muslim intellectuals to speak the truth in front of power. I have already written in this journal (30 November 2016) on some fundamental issues in Muslim women’s struggle for freedom, justice and inequality.

The major problem that Muslim women face in Sri Lanka is their lack of political strength not only to make their preferences decisive at the elections but also to counter and defeat the opposition from religious orthodoxy, which is historically entrenched in championing misogyny. The power and influence of this orthodoxy is so deep and widespread now and especially after the unimpeded penetration and spread of ultraconservative Salafist and Wahhabi ideologies that it can even impose unspecified threats and sanctions against not only Muslim women groups but also against Muslim intellectuals and Muslim community leaders who try to overstep their designated social and religious boundaries. An orthodoxy claims universal authority and has the power to impose penalties on those who are disobedient. Progressive Muslim women groups should understand the formidability of this opposition and unless they strengthen their political power it will be too difficult to win their battle for equality and justice. These opponents may agree to introduce some cosmetic changes in the legal status quo but not for a fundamental reform. This may be the final outcome of the current attempt to reform the Muslim Marriage and Divorce Act.

The government and the Muslim politicians who are members of it are more worried of capturing the Muslim vote bank than listening to the agony of Muslim women without of course realising an obvious fact that at least one half of that bank consists of women. From the government’s point of view, the Muslim vote bank has been historically crucial in Sri Lanka’s electoral politics that it would be suicidal for politicians to jeopardise their political future by antagonizing the religious orthodoxy that has an overwhelming influence in Muslim electorates. What has been a historical fact with regard to the power and influence of Buddhist monks in Sinhalese electorates is currently true of the Muslim ulema, a growing phenomenon that requires serious political analysis. I know of at least one religious leader in the Eastern Province who used his followers votes as bargaining chip to win favours from a local politician.

One only has to attend and listen to the misogynic sermons dished out during Friday prayers where the imams fervently justify the prevailing gender inequality as equality in their version of the Divine Law, the sharia. What is more the women are disallowed to attend these sermons right throughout the country. Here lies a major issue for Muslim women to fight for and win: the right to enter mosques to pray. It is a sad reflection of Islam as practiced in Sri Lanka that while women are disallowed in mosques to perform their daily prayers their dead bodies are taken inside the mosque to conduct the funeral prayer. Even to this prayer, women are not allowed to join in. This was not true of historical Islam or of Islam in other countries. Isn’t it time for the Sri Lankan Muslim women to demand the mosques be open for them too?

If religious orthodoxy is obstinate towards promoting gender equality Muslim intellectuals are obsequious to this obstinacy or not willing to support the women’s cause openly. It is a strange irony that these intellectuals and community leaders, who are otherwise publicly vociferous in advancing the cause of rationalism and secular thoughts, remain mute or ambivalent when it comes to the status of Muslim women. Why is this ambivalence and pseudo neutrality? Once again it shows the intellectuals’ fear of the power of orthodoxy. An ulema’s collective like the Jamiatul Ulema has an ultimate weapon to pronounce recalcitrant intellectuals as heretics which would tarnish the public image of those individuals. If that is the reason for the muteness can these intellectuals rightly be called intellectuals? All in all, a resourceful and influential orthodoxy in combination with an indecisive government and irresolute Muslim intelligentsia have progressively abandoned Muslim women’s struggle for equality and justice. In essence, Muslim women have been collectively orphaned.

People-centred approach to building ‘50,000 brick and mortar houses’ for war-affected communities

Thursday, 12 October 2017

We welcome the announcement made by the Government to build 50 000 “brick and mortar houses” for war-affected communities. Masonry houses are the time-tested model, technically sound and most suitable for living, cultural and climatic conditions of the North and East. Thus, we are also pleased that the government has recognised and respected the preference of the people for masonry houses.

At the time the proposal for pre-fabricated steel housing was being considered, our group, a collective of independent professionals and social activists, presented a viable alternate proposal for building 65,000 masonry houses. We stressed the importance of ensuring that the housing project is people-centred in every aspect, seeking community participation, maximising local economic benefits and financing options which will enable such a process.

The revised housing policy of Sri Lanka and the Government’s Vision 2025 also recognise the need for such an approach.

We highlight the following aspects which are important to ensuring a people-centred approach for the successful delivery of houses:

nInvolving home owners: when compared to a contractor-driven approach a people-centred approach with involvement from community organisations and a network of technical support organisations in the construction of the houses has shown to better ensure quality, economical and successful completion of housing projects.

nBenefits to local economy and sustainability: implementation of the project (e.g. sourcing of materials, labour, construction services, etc.) must create employment locally and boost the construction industry and economy in the north and east. With traditional incomes in agriculture and fisheries dwindling, housing projects in the region must ensure that incomes from construction reach those families. Requirements to bid need to be such that enable contracting companies from the region to be given opportunities and be considered, instead of only large national or international companies

nCommunity participation and mobilisation: The project should not be seeking to merely deliver the houses, but consider the people as key participants and owners in the project. Thus, having meaningful consultation with beneficiaries and to gain vital support from them in implementation is necessary. In a post-war context strengthening the community by investing in social mobilisation and encouraging participation will also be crucial in terms of furthering social cohesion and reconciliation. The RfP provides very little space for community ownership and community participation in monitoring the construction, and seems instead to strongly favour a contractor driven approach.

nEnvironmentally appropriate options: Masonry houses are not just built of burnt clay bricks (Gadol/Chengkallu), but also of cement blocks, compressed stabilised earth blocks, etc. The most cost effective and environmentally friendly option for the area needs to be considered, e.g. Burnt clay bricks are not the most cost effective in the north, accounting for a small percentage only.

nFinancing the project: Domestic financing options rather than foreign loans will be less burdensome for the national economy. Our proposal suggested raising local resources for the housing project through issuing of rupee bonds via a consortium of local banks as a viable option. The financing method chosen must be conducive towards carrying out the most people-centred building of houses.

We hope and look forward to the above aspects being given serious consideration in the implementation of the project to build ’50,000 brick and mortar houses’ for the north and east; as other programs such as the upcoming housing program in the hill country, are seeking to do. Two years have passed since the first EOI for a housing program in the north and east was issued and the need to invest in the community is that more pressing.

Recognising the hardships and long delays faced by war-affected communities, we urge the Government to implement the project in a manner that is attentive to people’s wellbeing, contributes to strengthening the community and as an initiative towards reconciliation.

(This article was written on behalf of a group of professionals with expertise in engineering, architecture, spatial planning, community development, housing, financing, economics, development planning, law, community organisation, and project management. The writer can be contacted via email: jayaratnechandra@gmail.com.)

‘Match your words with deeds‘ Malaysian P.M. to president Maithri...!

(Lanka-e-News - 11.Oct.2017, 11.45PM) Malaysian state leader cum Prime Minister(P.M.) Dato Sri Mohomed Najib Bin Tun Haji Abdul Razak alias Najib Razak has phoned our State leader cum president Pallewatte Gamaralage Maithripala Sirisena and severely blamed him , based on reports from highly placed diplomatic sources reaching Lanka e news.

Though both leaders did not openly reveal this , the incident happened about a week ago. What prompted the Malaysian P.M. to find fault with SL president was latter’s breach of promises as well as his actions which are not in keeping with international business ethics.

Like the other countries SL too makes its data transfer via fiber optic network which is under the ocean , and Maithripala Sirisena had been taken to task by the Malaysian P.M. over the failure to honor the promise given to a Malaysian Co with regard to ‘ Internet Broad band backbone ‘.

The relevant Co. is the enigmatic Dialog Co., whose parent Co . is Axiata group , a Malaysian Co. It is Khazana National a Malaysian government enterprise that provides entrepreneurial contribution to Axiata group .

The SL government in regard to the international data usage has signed an agreement with Dialog Co. for the Broad band facilities of the latter pertaining to the distribution of the ‘Broadband backbone’

Towards this the Dialog Co. has paid a sum of Rs. 800 million as advance to the Telecom Regulatory Commission (TRC) under the president , and the TRC has issued a receipt in that connection to Dialog.

Meanwhile , the morons and minions like Kili Maharaja alias Mahajara (dirt and dross) who are currently clustered around the president to his detriment have advised such distribution of ‘Broadband Back bone’ shall not be done.

It is common for all governments of the world to distribute their ‘Broadband back bone’ among the private companies ,and by breaking the monopoly , the ensuing competition leads to a better and advanced service to the public , yet president Maithripala who is currently misled by the advice of the goofs, and the guiles of wheeler dealers is dilly dallying without providing the service for the payment collected.

Either, a policy decision should be taken that the broadband backbone shall not be distributed , and a definite answer shall be furnished that the monies shall be returned , or action should be taken in accordance with the agreement signed and money collected.

Instead of that , since the president is just procrastinating without doing either - wasting several years , the Malaysian P.M. has phoned the SL president personally and fastened the blame squarely on him because the primary entrepreneur in this venture is the Malaysian government .

The state diplomatic circles however said with a tinge of sarcasm they doubt whether president Maithripala understood or will ever understand what the Malaysian president expressed because the latter spoke in English.

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by (2017-10-11 19:10:03)

7 Tamils killed by Sri Lankan STF remembered in Amparai

11Oct 2017

On Monday, Amparai residents remembered 7 Tamils shot dead by Sri Lankan Special Task Force Troops in Thirukkovil in 2002.

On October 9th 2002, during the ceasefire, STF troops opened fire on a crowd protesting outside their camp in Kanjirankudah, killing seven, including four students, and injuring several more.

The demonstration was in condemnation of the STF’s assault on LTTE members that day, but tensions between Amparai's Tamil villagers and troops had been boiling over for months due to the forces’ interference in civilian activities, including perpetrating a ban on cultivation in some villages.

After paying tribute to the seven victims of the Thirukkovil massacre, the assassinated TNA MP Ariyanayagam Chandranehru was also remembered.

Chandranehru was the only Tamil parliamentarian for Amparai district at the time and was vocal about the Thirukkovil massacre and about the suffering caused to his constituents by the STF.

He was assassinated by a paramilitary group linked to Karuna in 2005.

Read more from the Tamilnet archives here and here.

IGP’s Videogate: Police Spokesman Ducks 8 Consecutive Weekly Press Briefings After Lying To Journalists

OCTOBER 12, 2017

Ever since he lied to journalists at the last Cabinet Press Briefing he attended on the 16th of August 2017, Police Spokesman ASP Ruwan Gunasekara has now refrained from attending eight consecutive weekly Press Briefings.

ASP Ruwan Gunasekara

During his last appearance Police Spokesman Gunasekara denied all accusations made against IGP Pujith Jayasundara‘s widely publicized video footageseen by millions in the country and also globally of his assault of a fellow police staffer and lift operator. He then went on to lie to journalists present that no official complaint had been made against IGP Jayasundara even up until the morning of that particular Press Briefing.

However sources close to ASP Gunasekara said, it was IGP Jaysundara who had advised him to duck the weekly Cabinet Press Briefings.

In an incident that had taken place earlier on 11 April 2017, IGP Pujith Jayasundara had assaulted a fellow police staffer and lift operator by the name of Abeykoon Mudiyansalage Samarakone Banda. It is reported that the IGP had been incensed that the said lift operator had not attended a meditation program he had made compulsory for all staff in the morning.

In the same video, which went viral on social media, IGP Jayasundara was also caught threatening to rape a fellow police staff receptionist. Incidentally this particular video which went viral on many social and news media platforms on the 14th of August 2017, was two days prior Police Spokesman Ruwan Gunasena’s last appearance at a Cabinet Press Briefing.

However the on the 26th of August 2017, social media published the official letter of complaint that the victim Abeykoon Mudiyansalage Samarakone Banda had made to the Speaker of Parliament.

His Letter dated the 7th of June 2017, further proved that Police Spokesman Gunasekara had lied earlier and misled the media.

In the published news article on social media it confirmed that the victim Abeykoon Mudiyansalage Samarakone Banda had on the day of the incident first complained to his DIG Ravi Seneviratne in charge of the CID. As no inquiry was conducted into his complaint he was compelled to officially write to the Speaker of Parliament with a copy sent to the Police Commission.

Sources close to the Speaker’s Office told Colombo Telegraph that the official complaint made by Abeykoon Mudiyansalage Samarakone Banda was authentic.