Pressure over Burma as Trump, Tillerson leave on Asia tour

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson (L) sits beside U.S. President Donald Trump during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, U.S., November 1, 2017. Source: Reuters/Kevin Lamarque

By Asian Correspondent Staff | 3rd November 2017 |

UNITED STATES lawmakers on Thursday introduced a bill that would impose targeted sanctions and travel bans on military officials from Burma (Myanmar) over treatment of the Rohingya Muslim minority in Rakhine State.

Introduced the day before Republican Donald Trump leaves on his first trip to Asia as president and signalling the strongest attempt to date for Washington to deal with the Rohingya crisis, the legislation would reimpose some sanctions lifted last year as Burma returned to democracy.

The bill would bar the US from supplying most assistance to the country’s military until perpetrators of atrocities against the Rohingya are held accountable. It does not, however, Burmese leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who still enjoys strong support among some US officials.

SEE ALSO: ‘Make nice’: Trump’s first visit to Asia to be a test in diplomacy

Myanmar’s de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi arrives at Sittwe airport in the state of Rakhine November 2, 2017. Source: Reuters

Congressional aides nevertheless said it is intended to underscore a strong desire among many members of Congress for Suu Kyi to do more to help the Rohingya.

More than 607,000 refugees have fled Burma into Cox’s Bazar in neighbouring Bangladesh since Aug 25, when Rohingya militants launched attacks on Burmese security forces sparking so-called “clearing operations” across the Rakhine.

Burma’s Tatmadaw army has been accused of arson, extrajudicial killings and rape during what the UN has called a “textbook example of ethnic cleansing.”

The legislation is sponsored by lawmakers including the Republican Senate Armed Services Committee chairman John McCain, and Senator Ben Cardin, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

“This bill will allow Congress to strengthen the president’s hand by making it clear to Burmese officials that there will be consequences for their crimes against humanity,” Cardin said in a statement.

Among other things, it re-imposes a ban on jade and rubies from Burma and requires a report on which individuals should be subjected to sanctions, and instructs the US Treasury Department not to support international financial assistance programs that partner with enterprises owned by the Burmese military.

Aerial view of a burned Rohingya village near Maungdaw, north of Rakhine state, Myanmar September 27, 2017. Source: Reuters/Soe Zeya Tun

SEE ALSO: UN Refugee chief urges Security Council to act on Rohingya crisis

A companion bill is also being introduced in the House of Representatives. That measure is also bipartisan, led by Representative Eliot Engel, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and Republican Representative Steve Chabot, another foreign affairs panel member.

Members of Congress have been clamouring for a strong response to the plight of the Rohingya, and the Trump administration has been weighing labelling their treatment “ethnic cleansing”.

The State Department announced on Thursday that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson would accompany Trump on his trip to Asia, and also travel to Burma.

On November 15, Tillerson will travel to the capital Naypyitaw where he “will meet and consult with senior leaders and officials on actions to address the humanitarian crisis in Rakhine State and US support for Burma’s democratic transition.”

Additional reporting from Reuters.

Ratio of indigenous children in Canada welfare system is 'humanitarian crisis'

Minister Jane Philpott says disproportionate number of Aboriginal children taken from families echoes horrors of residential school system that affected 150,000
 
Jane Philpott, the minister for indigenous services, said: ‘This is very much reminiscent of residential school systems … and we will pay the price for this for generations to come.’ Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

Ashifa Kassam in Toronto-Saturday 4 November 2017 10.00 GMT

The disproportionate number of indigenous children caught in Canada’s child welfare system is a “humanitarian crisis” that echoes the horrors of a residential school system that saw 150,000 Aboriginal children forcibly removed from their homes, the Canadian minister responsible for indigenous services has said.

Describing the issue as one of her top priorities, Jane Philpott noted this week that Canada removes indigenous children from their families at a rate that ranks among the highest in the developed world.
“We are facing a humanitarian crisis in this country where indigenous children are vastly, disproportionately overrepresented in the child welfare system,” Philpott told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

She pointed to the province of Manitoba, where 10,000 of the 11,000 children in care are indigenous. “This is very much reminiscent of residential school systems where children are being scooped up from their homes, taken away from their families and we will pay the price for this for generations to come.”

In 2016, there were 4,300 indigenous children under the age of four in foster care across Canada, according to government statistics. While 7% of children across Canada are Aboriginal, they account for nearly half of all the foster children in the country.

Philpott pointed to the enduring effects of residential schools as well as high rates of poverty to explain the figures. The issue also stems from “bad government policies” of the past, she added.

“We see that there’s discrimination against indigenous kids, where they are apprehended from their homes for reasons like poverty, or lack of adequate housing or food,” she said. “Well, kids need to be with their families and in their communities and culture, so we should be addressing the housing issue or the adequate food issue, not taking kids away from their families.”

While First Nations housing and food security on reserves fall under federal jurisdiction, Philpott said she had called an emergency meeting with her provincial and territorial counterparts – who are primarily responsible for administering child welfare programs – and indigenous leaders to address the issue. The meeting is expected to take place early next year.

Philpott’s comments came as indigenous leaders gathered on Parliament Hill for a day of action aimed at pushing the federal government to comply with a 2016 ruling by the Canadian human rights tribunal that found the federal government was discriminating against indigenous children by underfunding health and welfare on reserve.

“Our message today is simple,” Kevin Hart of the Assembly of First Nations told reporters. “Stop taking our children from us, honour the tribunal ruling, and work with us to give our children hope and opportunity.”

A spokesperson for Philpott’s office noted that Ottawa made available C$200m in funding last year to implement the tribunal’s ruling and has committed another C$256m in funding this year. In a statement, her office added: “We recognize there is more work to do, and we remain absolutely committed to putting an end to the colonial policies of previous governments and ensuring the right supports are in place in order to bring justice for Indigenous children.”

Still, nearly two years on – and despite three non-compliance orders issued by the tribunal to the current Liberal government – Ottawa has yet to fully comply with the ruling, said Cindy Blackstock, the executive director of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society. 

Instead Aboriginal children living on reserve continue to receive less than others in the country. “They get less funding for education, less funding for healthcare, less funding for basics like water and sanitation and less funding for child welfare to recover from the multigenerational impacts of residential schools,” she said.

The result has left some First Nation communities struggling with inadequate, overcrowded housing and water that is not safe to drink. Others grapple with a shortage of mental health services, amid youth suicide rates that are 10 times higher for First Nations males and 21 times higher for females as compared to their non-indigenous counterparts.

“Canada cannot become comfortable or acquiesce to the idea that we are a nation that relies on racial discrimination against children as a fiscal restraint measure,” said Blackstock.

She drew a direct line between the chronic underfunding and the staggering numbers of Aboriginal children being taken away from their families, culture and communities. “There are more First Nations kids in child welfare today than at the height of residential schools,” she said. “Ottawa is not doing everything they can to make sure that this isn’t another generation of First Nations kids that don’t have to recover from their childhood.”

31 sexual abuse cases against U.N. personnel filed in three months: official

The United Nations logo is displayed on a door at U.N. headquarters in New York February 26, 2011. REUTERS/ Joshua Lott/Files

Rodrigo Campos-NOVEMBER 3, 2017

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Thirty-one new cases alleging sexual abuse or exploitation by United Nations personnel, nearly half of which involve the U.N. refugee agency, were filed between July and September for events stretching back at least three years, the U.N. said on Friday.

Not all of the allegations have been verified and some are in preliminary assessment phase, said U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric in a press briefing. During the three month period, 14 investigations have been launched and one case has been proven, he said.

 

Of the 31 cases, 12 involve military personnel from peacekeeping operations including those in the Central African Republic and Mali.

The majority of the civilian staff cases, 15, involve the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

Three cases involve the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and one the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

UNHCR and UNICEF did not immediately respond to requests for comment outside office hours. IOM was not immediately available outside office hours.

For decades, media and U.N. reports have exposed sexual exploitation and abuse by civilian and military U.N. personnel in places from Haiti to Darfur, with operations in the Central African Republic most recently in the headlines.

The new type of data collection that began in January, Dujarric said, is part of a U.N. initiative to increase transparency with regards to allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse.

“We’re seeing allegations that date back a few years,” he said, because “people feel freer and safer to come forward.”

The U.N. has deployed victims rights advocates in the Central African Republic, South Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo and Haiti.

A dozen of the reported alleged cases happened in 2017, two last year and six more in 2015 or prior. Eleven have no known date, Dujarric said.

Ten of the cases involved sexual abuse and 19 sexual exploitation, with the remaining two unknown.

Gut bacteria 'boost' cancer therapy

By James Gallagher-3 November 2017

Bacteria living in the murky depths of the digestive system seem to influence whether tumours shrink during cancer therapy, say French and US researchers.

They tested the microbiome - the collection of microscopic species that live in us - in cancer patients.

Two studies, in the journal Science, linked specific species and the overall diversity of the microbiome to the effectiveness of immunotherapy drugs.

Experts said the results were fascinating and held a lot of promise.

Our bodies are home to trillions of micro-organisms and the relationship between "us" and "them" goes far beyond infectious diseases.

The microbiome is involved in digestion, protection from infection and regulating the immune system.

• Gut bugs 'help prevent allergies'
• Parkinson's disease 'may start in gut'

Both studies were on patients receiving immunotherapy, which boosts the body's own defences to fight tumours.

It does not work in every patient, but in some cases it can clear even terminal cancer.

Survival

One study, at the Gustave Roussy Cancer Campus in Paris, looked at 249 patients with lung or kidney cancer.

They showed those who had taken antibiotics, such as for dental infection, damaged their microbiome and were more likely to see tumours grow while on immunotherapy.

One species of bacteria in particular, Akkermansia muciniphila, was in 69% of patients that did respond compared with just a third of those who did not.

Boosting levels of A. muciniphila in mice seemed to also boost their response to immunotherapy.

Meanwhile, at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 112 patients with advanced melanoma had their microbiome analysed.

Those that responded to therapy tended to have a richer, more diverse microbiome than those that did not.

And they had different bacteria too. High levels of Faecalibacterium and Clostridiales appeared to be beneficial, while Bacteroidales species were bad news in the study.

'Game-changing'

Tissues samples showed there were more cancer-killing immune cells in the tumour of people with the beneficial bacteria.

The team then performed a trans-poo-sion, a transplant of faecal matter, from people to mice with melanoma.

Mice given bacteria from patients with the "good" mix of bacteria had slower-growing tumours than mice given "bad" bacteria.

Dr Jennifer Wargo, from Texas, told the BBC: "If you disrupt a patient's microbiome you may impair their ability to respond to cancer treatment."

She is planning clinical trials aimed at altering the microbiome in tandem with cancer treatment.

She said: "Our hypothesis is if we change to a more favourable microbiome, you just may be able to make patients respond better.

"The microbiome is game-changing, not just cancer but for overall health, it's definitely going to be a major player."

Promising

Mark Fielder, president of the Society for Applied Microbiology and professor of medical biology at Kingston University, said the study showed the importance of understanding the micro-organisms that call our bodies home.

He told the BBC: "It's really interesting and holds a lot of promise, we need to do more work but there are exciting glimmers here in treating some difficult diseases.

"Some claim the microbiome is the answer to everything, I don't think that's the case.

"But once we understand more, it could be that microbiome manipulation is important in changing people's health."

Dr Emma Smith from Cancer Research UK, said: "It's fascinating.

"One of the big challenges for using immunotherapies to treat cancer is understanding which patients will respond, and this research is a step towards helping doctors to identify these people."

Follow James on Twitter.

A Federal Spain in a Federal Europe

Featured image courtesy CNN

*Will Sri Lanka Follow The Example Of Nepal?

*The Long Term Solution To Sri Lanka’s Ethnic Problem

GUY VERHOFSTADT-on 11/03/2017

BRUSSELS – I have always been a profound admirer of Spanish democracy, but especially since February 23, 1981. On that dramatic day, Colonel Antonio Tejero attempted a coup d’étatagainst the young democratic regime.

In his acclaimed book Anatomía de un instante (The Anatomy of a Moment), Javier Cercas describes how, under the threat of Tejero’s pistol, three Spanish political leaders sat upright in their seats, refusing to hide under their benches. Not one of them – Communist Party leader Santiago Carrillo, Adolfo Suárez, the first prime minister of post-Franco, democratic Spain, and Suárez’s deputy, General Gutiérrez Mellado – blinked. It was an act of courage and determination that anchored democracy forever in the soul of Spain. Under the pistol of Tejero, Spanish democracy was born.

Today, 36 years later, Spanish democracy must steel itself once more if it is to overcome the deep division created by the Catalan regional government’s unconstitutional bid to secede from the Spanish Republic. Today’s democrats will need to show the same disciplined determination as Carillo, Suárez, and Mellado to resolve Spain’s gravest political crisis since Tejero’s attempted coup.

Spain’s democrats must not believe that law and the judiciary can address all of the problems with Catalonia on their own. Certainly, the Spanish authorities will not overcome the crisis with police violence, even though the national government’s efforts to halt the Catalan independence referendum were based on a court ruling.

What is needed now is a renewed political vision, an inclusive dialogue. Realistically, that vision can only be of a multicultural, multilingual, federal state embedded in a multicultural, multilingual, and federal Europe.

Catalan separatists were wrong to call an illegal referendum. No one can govern democratically without the rule of law. But it is also true that the existing legal framework is incapable of healing such deep political division. Sustained dialogue – the real strength of effective politicians and statesmen – between Spain’s leaders and Catalonia’s separatists is the only way to find solutions.

I do not believe it is in the interests of Catalonia’s people to pursue separatism at all costs. The fact that the referendum clearly violated the Spanish Constitution is not the main reason that I could not support it. The point for me is that the referendum lacked any democratic legitimacy whatsoever. It was clear well in advance that a majority of Catalans, recognizing the illegal nature of the exercise, would not participate. Indeed, from all the evidence that has emerged, it seems likely that a majority of Catalans, including those who stayed home, are against separation.

By refusing to establish a minimum turnout threshold for a secession vote to be declared valid, the pro-independence leaders of Catalonia’s regional government revealed how they would portray the result before anyone cast a ballot. Their deceptive tactic reflected a disturbing willingness to manipulate their citizens. To declare independence on the basis of a defective referendum was a politically irresponsible act of contempt for democratic norms.

Such irresponsibility is a threat not only for Spain, and not just for Europe, but also for Catalonia itself. As with so many referendums, this fake independence vote has opened a deep fracture in Catalan society. Families and neighbors now stand divided – bitterly so in many cases. The only people who will benefit from this legal charade, as we know, are those who want to destroy the EU and who have already started to exploit the cause of Catalonian independence for their own ends.

It is therefore vital that all the people of Spain act to stop any further escalation and instead begin negotiating. The future of Catalonia, and the future of my own Flemish community in Belgium, where some are also agitating for independence, lies not in brutal separation, but in cooperation within federal structures, in a federal Europe.

The experience of the Basque country is illustrative in this regard. Under Spain’s democracy, the Basques have developed their region for the benefit of its inhabitants, not only defeating terrorism, but also reinventing themselves as proud and autonomous.

In politics, there is no shame in compromise. Quite the contrary: When a choice must be made between a constructive bargain and ideological purity, it is always better to choose the path of unity, however small the steps may be.

In her famous book The March of Folly, the American historian Barbara Tuchman warned against the urge to “throw away the greater for the less” and to “pursue the unworkable at the sacrifice of the possible.” Leaders on both sides of Spain’s secession crisis would be wise to heed her words.

Editor’s Note: To view more from our content-sharing agreement with Project Syndicate, click here. 

THE UNIVERSAL PERIODIC REVIEW OF SRI LANKA : OHCHR REPORT ON THE CIVIL AND POLITICAL RIGHTS

Image:  the military presence in the North and East regions remained heavy and a culture of surveillance and intimidation and harassment in certain instances persisted, says the report.

B. Civil and political rights-03/11/2017

1. Right to life, liberty and security of person

16. The Special Rapporteur on torture recommended that capital punishment be abolished or, as a minimum, all death sentences be commuted to prison sentences.

17. He noted that torture and ill-treatment, including of a sexual nature, still occurred, in particular in the early stages of arrest and interrogation, often for the purpose of eliciting confessions, and that the gravity of the mistreatment inflicted increased for those who were perceived to be involved in terrorism or offences against national security. The police resorted to forceful extraction of information or coerced confessions rather than carrying out thorough investigations using scientific methods.

18. The Committee against Torture remained seriously concerned that torture was a common practice carried out in relation to regular criminal investigations in a large majority of cases by the Criminal Investigation Department of the police, regardless of the nature of the suspected offence.

19. The Committee noted with concern that the practice of so-called “white van” abductions of Tamils had continued in the years following the end of the armed conflict. It also noted that people suspected of having even a remote link with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam had been abducted and subjected to brutal torture, including sexual violence and rape of men and women by the military and the police in unacknowledged places of detention. It urged Sri Lanka to ensure that all allegations of unlawful detention, torture and sexual violence by security forces were promptly, impartially and effectively investigated by an independent body, and to close down any unofficial detention centres and ensure that no one was detained therein

20. The Committee urged Sri Lanka to immediately embark upon an institutional reform of the security sector and develop a vetting process to remove from office military and security force personnel at the higher and lower ranks, as well as any other public officials, where there were reasonable grounds to believe that they had been involved in human rights violations.

21. The Special Rapporteur on torture noted that conditions of detention amounted to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment owing to severe overcrowding, insufficient ventilation, excessive heat and humidity, and the denial of adequate access to health care, education, vocational training and recreational activities.The Committee against Torture A/HRC/WG.6/28/LKA/2 4 urged Sri Lanka to reduce overcrowding in prisons by making more use of alternatives to incarceration. It recommended that Sri Lanka improve detention conditions, strengthen reintegration and rehabilitation activities, improve medical facilities in prisons and ensure the swift transfer of patients to the national hospital in cases of emergencies and serious illnesses.

22. The Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances recommended that the Government take decisive action and give clear orders at the highest level to stop surveillance, threats, intimidation, harassment, including sexual harassment, and abuses against relatives of disappeared persons and those acting on their behalf.

23. The Human Rights Committee was concerned at reports of intimidation and harassment, including physical attacks, death threats, administrative detention and politically motivated charges, by State officials against journalists, lawyers, clergymen, members of non-governmental organizations (NGOs), human rights defenders and opposition politicians. It recommended that Sri Lanka refrain from taking any measures amounting to intimidation or harassment against persons exercising their right to freedom of expression, investigate all cases of threats and attacks against journalists, lawyers, clergymen, political activists, members of NGOs and human rights defenders, hold the perpetrators accountable and provide effective remedies to victims.  The Committee against Torture had similar concerns and made similar recommendations.

24. The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination emphasized that women were particularly vulnerable to certain forms of racial discrimination, such as sexual violence during armed conflict. It recommended that Sri Lanka ensure the protection of women in the post-conflict period, ensure that any victims of violations had access to complaint mechanisms and judicial remedies and that reported cases were investigated and suspected perpetrators prosecuted.

25. The Human Rights Committee was concerned about allegations of sexual violence against women in the context of detention, resettlement and other situations that required contact with security forces. It recommended that Sri Lanka thoroughly investigate allegations of sexual violence by the security forces and ensure that perpetrators were prosecuted and punished, and that victims were adequately compensated.

26. The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination was alarmed by reports of hate speech, incitement to violence and violent attacks, including riots, against ethnic and ethno-religious minority groups, which had resulted in deaths, injuries and destruction of property. It recommended that Sri Lanka protect the safety and security of ethnic and ethno-religious minorities and their places of worship and adopt comprehensive legislation on hate speech that prohibited ideas based on racial superiority and hatred, incitement to racial hatred, acts of violence against any race or groups of persons of another colour or ethnic origin, and incitement to such acts.

27. The United Nations country team noted that despite the welcomed steps taken towards demilitarization, such as the removal of checkpoints, the military presence in the North and East regions remained heavy and a culture of surveillance and intimidation and harassment in certain instances persisted.

OHCHR

“Don’t send Sampanthan back empty-handed”: Mano Ganesan

By Dharisha Bastians-Friday, 3 November 2017

Minister for National Co-existence and Official Languages and Leader of the Tamil Progressive Alliance Mano Ganesan yesterday urged political parties in the island’s south to offer TNA Chief Rajavarothiam Sampanthan a reasonable power sharing arrangement he could take back to his people.

“My appeal to all parties is this – don’t send Mr. Sampanthan back empty-handed to the north,” Ganesan said during the fourth day of debate on the Interim Report of the Steering Committee tasked with drafting new constitutional proposals.

The TNA Leader, a veteran lawmaker who is being vilified in sections of the Tamil polity as a traitor who is compromising too much on Tamil demands for new power sharing arrangements in a new constitution, has vowed the TNA will strive for consensus on the issues rather than remain inflexible in negotiations on the new constitution.

In January 2015, Sampanthan’s TNA delivered the northern and eastern Tamil vote to the common candidate Maithripala Sirisena, smoothing his path to victory in that presidential election. The TNA decision to support President Sirisena’s candidacy was based on trust that the new administration would address Tamil grievances deliver on a permanent political solution to end decades of ethnic strife.

Ganesan’s concerns are shared by other moderates across the country, who fear that the failure of southern politicians to work with the moderate Tamil leadership of the day to find a reasonable solution could result in another lost opportunity to resolve the national question, and empower Tamil nationalists who adopt more intractable positions on issues of power sharing and governance structures.

“I have my issues with the TNA on certain issues,” Ganesan admitted during his speech at the Constitutional Assembly, “but I have understood that this is the last chance at finding a long-term solution to the national question. Sampanthan is our last chance.”

He said that while the Sinhalese people had reasonable fears that power sharing could lead to separation, the Tamil people also had justifiable fears that they would always be second-class citizens in a country that was supposed to be multi-ethnic and multi-religious.

Information About The Maruthankerny Desalination Project Comes To Light !

NOVEMBER 3, 2017

The Colombo Telegraph learns that vital documents relating to the Northern desalination project proposed for Maruthankerny, Thalaiyady, Jaffna have been released by the National Water Supply & Drainage Board (NWSDB), following the NWSDB being summoned by Sri Lanka’s Right to Information (RTI) Commission last week.   

Chief Minister CV Wigneswaran

Colombo Telegraph was informed by activists in Maruthankerny who had been agitating on the project for a long time, that the Environmental Impact Assessment Report (EIA), the Environmental Management Plan Report (EMP) and the Feasibility Study (FS) regarding Maruthankerny being selected for the Northern desalination project among other documents had been made available to the public under RTI.

The proposed Maruthankerny Northern desalination project had led to peoples’ protests heightening from last year. Students and residents at Maruthankerny, Jaffna alleged that the proposed project to turn sea water into drinking water negatively impacted fisherfolk of the area as well as the eco-system and the coastal environment. Criticism was levelled against the Northern Provincial Council and Chief Minister C. V. Wigneswaranfor not being sufficiently concerned about the negative impact of the project.

In Sri Lanka, many major developments projects are undertaken with poor EIA and EMP assessments which are not available to the people even though the law requires that these are public documents. The disastrous Uma Oya project in Bandarawela commenced during former President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s time, which has turned a temperate up-country estate region into a hell-hole where the people’s houses are cracked by sub-standard material being used and there is deprivation of water resources across the region, is one example. One of the main criticisms levelled by environmental activists against the Uma Oya project is that the EIA was conducted by people with insufficient expertise.        

n the case of the Maruthankerny Northern desalination project, the EIA and EMP were obtained under the RTI Act when all efforts elsewhere had failed. Maruthankerny activists hailed this as a significant victory for them.

It is also learnt that the RTI Commission had warned the NWSDB regarding its mandatory duty under the RTI Act, No 12 of 2016 to appoint an Information Officer as the Officer had yet not been appointed. Notices were served by the office of the Commission on the head of the NWSDB as the Act allows the CEO of any authority covered by the RTI Act to be cited as the Information Officer if the Information Officer is not appointed.    

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Two STF personnel arrested over Ariyalai shooting

2017-11-03 13

Two Police Special Task Force officers, attached to the Jaffna STF camp, were arrested a short while ago in connection with the shooting incident at Ariyalai in Jaffna, the Police said.

They said the STF officers were arrested by the Crimes Investigation Division officers.

The suspects were identified as Sub Inspector Mallawaarachchige Pradeep Nishantha and Constable Ratnayake Mudiyanselage Indika Pushpa Kumara.

The suspects would be produced before the Jaffna Magistrate for identification parade today.
The suspects were allegedly involved in the shooting incident at Ariyalai after they arrived on a motorcycle and killing a 24-year-old man on October 22.

After the shooting, the suspects had fled the scene.

Jaffna Police conducted investigations and the case was later handed over to the CID by the DIG Pujith Jayasundara for further investigations on October 28. (Chaturanga Padeep)

EU bemoans SL’s broken promises

• Says lack of action to repeal PTA a concern 
• Urges Government to move on the matter after budget process 
• Says SL should diversify products exported to EU market 
• Encourages SL to explore new EU markets 

By Chathuri Dissanayake- Friday, 3 November 2017 

The visiting European Union Parliamentary Delegation yesterday expressed its “disappointment” over the Sri Lankan Government’s failure to come through on commitments given over the repeal of the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) and criminal law.

Delegation chair Jean Lambert raised serious concerns over a lack of progress on changing the laws, warning that the shortcomings would be noted by the European Parliament.

“We are very disappointed to see that we have still not got change on the statutes,” she said while speaking at a news conference.

Stressing that the Sri Lankan Government gave assurances that there would be “rapid changes” in repealing the controversial act, which allows law enforcement authorities to detain individuals without charging them for long periods of time, Lambert said they were under the impression that the Government was keen to repeal the current act to replace it with laws complying with international standards.

“The assurances were that it would be done. That was coming from the highest levels. That the new counterterrorism act we were told would meet the international standards, we were told that was why they are engaging with the United Nations, and the week after I visit was when the UN experts were coming to discuss it. So we were under the impression that it was going to be a rapid change.”

Visiting UN missions have also highlighted the lack of progress in repealing the PTA. According to the figures given by the UN Special Rapporteur on counter-terrorism and human rights, Ben Emmerson, who visited the country in July, there are 81 prisoners held without a charge under the PTA, of whom 70 had been in detention without trial for over five years and 12 had been in detention without trial for over 10 years. Recent demonstrations in Jaffna during President Maithripala Sirisena’s visit to the North prompted him to assure the Tamil community to look for solutions for the issue with Opposition and TNA Leader R. Sampanthan.

Lambert also said that although the EU Parliament did not officially raise objections against reinstating preferential trade conditions to Sri Lanka, a number of concerns remained regarding the commitment of the country to the 27 international conventions that GSP+ was tied to.

“We did raise a number of concerns on a number of issues because our feeling was there was obviously a change of mood in the Government with the 2015 elections but there were still a number of things that needed to happen in order to see progress in the 27 international conventions the GSP+ covers,” she said.

Lambert also said that the EU would be closely monitoring Sri Lanka’s progress over commitments made to the United Nations, noting that the lack of progress in the accountability process was a concern. She also noted that the UN had imposed timelines on achieving the goals, which the EU Parliament would also take into consideration.

However, the delegation also noted that there had been positive developments “with clear declaration of intent” in terms of labour rights and implementing conventions related to the environment.

“The action plans have been drawn up. The next evaluation is on taking action,” she said.

The EU delegation will also monitor if the GSP+ benefits also reach the grassroots level, Lambert stressed, adding that the results of the benefit will be properly visible after a year of receiving the benefit. However, the Government has informed the delegation that results were already visible in terms of export volumes.

The EU also encouraged the Government to diversify products.

“We want the Government to diversify into more markets and diversify the products and services that they are selling. When the Minister of Finance said there is an increase it was in the traditional markets. The real challenge is in diversification into more products and countries,” she said. 

All should rally to bring forth the dawn of Socialism

October 31, 2017

The death wails of capitalism can be heard everywhere today and all should rally to greet the dawn of Socialism says the Leader of the JVP Anura Dissanayaka speaking at the main commemorative rally of the Centenary of the October Revolution held at Viharamahadevi Park on Saturday (28th).
The commemorative rally was held with the participation of JVP Leaders, representatives of foreign political parties and organizations and attended by a large crowd.

Mr. Anura Dissanayaka making the keynote address said, “In the Communist Manifesto Marx “the history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles”. In all these societies there were struggles, revolutions and class struggles. All of them ended with the substitution of a new type of oppressor and a new type of exploitation. After the Paris Commune in 1871, the greatest revolution of ending exploitation in the human history occurred in 1917. Today, we are commemorating the centenary of this great Revolution. We should commemorate the Socialist Revolution in Russia forever. We, together with anti-imperialist, progressive and left movements, commemorate the centenary of the Great October Revolution. Ranil Wickremesinghe and Maithripala Sirisena too are preparing to commemorate the Revolution. They think it is an isolated incident like the birth of a Bandaranayake or a Senanayaka. They should really commemorate Tsar’s rule. We ask Ranil – Maithri coalition not to insult the Great Russian Socialist Revolution.

It is indeed necessary to have a broad discussion on the struggle carried out by the Russian Social Democratic Workers’ Party, which later became the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, to get power, its tasks against counter-revolution, programmes launched to build Socialism, the contribution by the USSR for anti-imperialist struggles elsewhere in the world, the victories of the Soviet people, defeating fascism decisively, the fall of the Soviet Union with the beginning of the 1990 decade and the world after the fall of the Soviet Union. We have begun this task at a time when the centenary of the Great October Revolution is commemorated. The Great October Revolution is not an isolated or a spontaneous occurrence. It is the result of a long-term struggle carried out by the Russian Social Democratic Workers’ Party lead by Comrade Lenin.

The Russian Social Democratic Workers’ Party from its inception in 1903 until it came to power had to endure rightist opportunism on one side and ultra-left opportunism on the other that attempted to disrupt its revolutionary path. However, Comrade Lenin was able to defeat all types of opportunisms and deploy correct strategies to direct the CPSU towards Socialist Revolution. We, of the JVP, have confronted such bitter experiences as well. There have been instances in our movement too when rightist opportunist tendencies have surfaced. We have defeated them. Today, these cliques can only whine hiding in Rajapaksa’s lap.

With the beginning of the first world war in 1914 Russia was entangled in the war. There were famines; mountains of dead soldiers. Farmers were severely oppressed. Lenin thought how such a devastated people could be rallied with the revolutionary strategies of the party. The slogan land for farmers, peace for soldiers and bread for the people was put forward. 2/3rd of the lands in the country belong to Tsar’s family, the church and aristocrats. The Russian Revolution was made successful by building, instead of the left movement that was isolated, a common people’s movement that was linked with the needs of the people. In our party too there was a small clique that attempted to drag the party to the position of doing politics in a crucible instead of attempting to win masses. We are indeed happy that we were able to defeat all sorts of opportunisms when we are commemorating the centenary of the Great October Revolution.

The October Revolution had a political party with a correct ideology and discipline. In our country too we have built a disciplined party with a correct path. It is the duty of all of us who are gathered here today to dedicate ourselves to achieve our final goal of Socialism. We should become the receivers of the experiences of the Great October Revolution to make the Revolution in Sri Lanka victorious.

The extremely serious challenge a communist party is accredited with is making Socialism which exists only as a concept a reality. Today, we have a lot of experiences of Socialist Revolutions in the world. However, the main challenge the Bolshevik Party was confronted in 1917 was making Socialism that was in the conceptual world a practical one. By 1921 counter-revolution was defeated and the plan was implemented to take the victories of the Russian Socialist Revolution to the Russian people and the people in the world.

Victories were achieved in education, industries, science, agriculture through great transformations. One of them were isolated plans or achievements. In our country, the research connected with agriculture are not linked to farmlands. Ample research has been carried out regarding post-harvest waste and storing and preserving the harvest. However, vegetables are buried using back-hoe machines. Education, economy, developing social lives are stringently connected to science. However, in our country, the Ministry of Agriculture is not aware of what the Ministry of Irrigation does. The Ministry of trade doesn’t know what the Ministry of Agriculture does. The people in Russia achieved victories through the Russian Socialist revolution as a result of planned socio-economic policies.

Also, all victories of Russia’s economy were distributed to the whole world. The literacy rate in Russia before the Revolution was 24%. It was 2% in Kirgizia. Such countries that had been oppressed and exploited by Tsar increased their literacy rate to 75% twenty years after the Revolution. By 1970 it had increased to 99%. A state cannot be developed without an education that could comprehend the society. Education is only a commercial item for our rulers. SAITM owner has been allowed to sell medical degrees and earn profits. What is done through Socialism is to provide new knowledge and new education to achieve victories for the human beings. Special schools, adult education were developed and a decision had been taken at the Congress of the Communist Party to broaden the teaching of science, Mathematics and Technology.

During the 1960 – 1980 period 80% of new inventions in Mathematics were owned by the Socialist Soviet Union. ‘Mir’ space station was sent into orbit and obtained outstanding victories connected with space. A society that was ailing with poverty and illiteracy was taken up towards victories in space.

At the 40th anniversary of the Great October Revolution, the Soviet Union was able to send into orbit the first satellite. In 1959 the first living thing – Laika the bitch, orbited the Earth in a Soviet craft. In 1961 Yuri Gagarin became the first man in space and Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman in space in 1963. By 1970 the Soviet Union was 15 years ahead of the USA in space exploration.

In ten Olympic Games held between 1958 and 1990, the Soviet Union won the most number of Olympic medals on six occasions. When development of industries is compared during the period from 1917 to 1957 the USA had a development of 3.5%, England 1.9%, France 3.2% while the Soviet Union achieved over 10% every year. With the development of industrial sector, agricultural sector, fine arts, literature in the Soviet Union it was able to provide the whole world with great victories in those sectors. Only Socialism could achieve such victories. The Soviet Union provided these victories to the masses while fascism begun by Mussolini in Italy and Hitler in Germany was gobbling the whole world.

According to statistics, 50 million died in the second world war. 20 million of them were people and soldiers of the Socialist Soviet Union. It was the Soviet Union that fulfilled the exceptional task of defeating fascism. The whole Nation directly confronted the struggle. What would have happened to the world if not for the Soviet Union? We believe this should be studied by social scientists. There was a massive economic depression throughout the world in 1929. However, the Socialist Soviet Union was able to maintain a healthy economic growth. As such, the victories provided for the human race by the Great October Revolution are immeasurable.

The Soviet Union was fraternally behind all struggles that occurred in countries such as Cuba, Laos, Nicaragua, Yugoslavia and dedicated itself for the victories of these struggles. After the victories of the Socialist Revolutions, the Soviet Union aided those countries and provided knowledge, technology free to such countries. Support was given even to periphery countries that were trapped in the imperialist guillotine. An economic co-operation agreement was signed between Sri Lanka and the Soviet Union on 25th February 1958. With this, there was a close relationship. After the space travel on 12th April 1961, Yuri Gagarin visited Sri Lanka on 7th December 1961. Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman in space visited Sri Lanka on 23rd November 1963. Socialist hands were extended with intense brotherhood to states that were exploited by imperialism.

The Lumumba University was begun in February 1960. At the beginning, 2000 students from 84 countries were given scholarships. Later this was increased to 4000. Many such scholarships were given to countries like ours. In 1962 we were given Oruwala Steel Factory. We were given Keelani Tyre Factory and a flour mill at Mutwal. What has happened to them now? East Germany gave the country textile factories at Thulhiriya and Maththegoda. Yugoslavia gave us Veyangoda textile factory. A cotton project necessary to produce cloth was started at Hambanthota. The whole Socialist system of countries supported the periphery countries. Mahinda Rajapaksa gave ‘Dole’ company in the US 5000 acres to plant plantains to Europeans. However, Russia started the cotton project at Hambanthota for textile production at Thulhiriya, Maththala and Veyangoda. A cold storing facility was given to Kandy. Today, there is no trace of this project. The Socialist Soviet Union also gave a planetarium to Colombo. The Soviet Union has given the developing world may gifts. They were the production of the people in a Socialist state.

What imperialism does is to exploit people throughout the world. It plunders our resources. The Socialist Soviet Union gave the world a fine example of humanity, brotherhood and equality. We ask those who spread falsehoods about Socialism to study it correctly before coming to conclusions. There are a few critics in our country as well who say Socialism is a failure.

The Soviet Union that provided the world with extra special victories collapsed with the beginning of the 1990 decade due to internal rifts and external conspiracies. Many who had high hopes of Socialism fell mentally. There was talk about globalization with the USA as its pivot. Many started saying the world entered a new capitalist stage after 1991. What has actually happened? The economic recession started from the golden cradle of capitalism the USA in 2008. Hundreds of thousands lost jobs and many committed suicides. It was President Bush who had to moan the woe of the USA to the world. It was the head of the central bank that lamented the tragedy in England. What does the fall of Greece and Spain indicate? It is the massive economic breakdown that has extended towards portioning of Spain. We see with our own eyes the breakdown of imperialists’ states. The statistics revealed by the WHO indicate the magnitude and intensity of the disaster. Exactly half of the capital produced by the working masses in the world is partaken by only 1% of the world population. 97% of world capital is owned by 30% of the population. 70% of the population inherits only 3% of the world’s capital. This indicates how economically vicious capitalism is.

The world population is 7600 million. The daily income of half of this population is less than 2 ½ dollars. In Sri Lanka, the daily income of 43% of the population is less than US$2. 1300 million of the world population earns only US$1.25 daily. Due to the economic discrepancy, 1000 million children in the world live in utter poverty. 20 children die daily of hunger. 165 million children under 5 years suffer from malnutrition. 9 million children under five years die every year. Despite there is massive development in science and technology, one million dies of malaria. The main reason for deaths in the world is the shortage of food. The technology had developed to get 50 litres of milk per day from a cow and 300 bushels of paddy from an acre of paddy field. The harvests of new products have been increased in many folds. A massive food revolution has been carried out. However, most of the people in the world die of hunger.

All these indicate nothing else but that capitalism has utterly failed on a world scale. It has proved that capitalism cannot take the world further anymore. Capitalism, in its short period of existence, has proved that it is the most failed period of world history. What it means is nothing else but that the people in the world should rally to build Socialism. We, of the JVP, are fulfilling this task in Sri Lanka.

What we need now is not a mere change of government. At a time when we commemorate the Great October Revolution, our task is to come forward to raise high the flag of Socialism against the broken down, weak capitalism. We have been handed over the task of taking the leadership for such an endeavour. We, of the JVP, have to take the initiative, with experiences of the Great October Revolution, to fulfil the pioneering task of carrying out a refreshing transition. We are at a threshold of a very favourable phase. All enemy camps are in crisis. As the enemy has been weakened, it has intensified its vituperations.

As Comrade Lenin has said a revolutionary movement cannot think of the future without winning the trust of the majority. What the Socialist Revolution needs is the trust of the excessive majority. We have to build the broadest center that incorporates all. The death wails of capitalism can be heard everywhere today. The dawn of Socialism is approaching. Let’s absorb the experiences of the Great October Revolution to make our task successful. We all have a task to fulfil in making the Socialist Revolution in Sri Lanka successful. We invite all people in this country to join us to fulfil this task.”

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