Peace for the World
First democratic leader of Justice the Godfather of the Sri Lankan Tamil Struggle: Honourable Samuel James Veluppillai Chelvanayakam
A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Tuesday, November 7, 2017
RTI reveals ‘disappearance’ of Commission report on Ashraff’s death
Sunday, November 05, 2017
The unexplained ‘disappearance’ of a Commission of Inquiry (CoI) Report relating to the death of Sri Lanka Muslim Congress founder leader M.H.M. Ashraff, has surfaced in a recent appeal hearing before the Right to Information (RTI) Commission of Sri Lanka
The disappearance came after it had been kept in a file at the Presidential Secretariat and sent to the National Archives 10 years ago, during former President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s regime.
The appeal was filed under the RTI Act No.12 of 2016, by former Deputy Minister of Cooperatives & Internal Trade, Basheer Segu Dawood. The ‘disappearance’ of the Report is expected to fuel conspiracy theories that have swirled around the circumstances that led to the death of the former SLMC Leader and 14 others including party officials, in a helicopter crash in 2000, allegedly due to engine failure.
Responding to public agitation at the time, a CoI headed by Justice L.K.G. Weerasekera was appointed by former President Chandrika Kumaratunga to report on the incident. However, the Report was never released to the public. In the appeal filed by Mr Dawood, it has been revealed before the RTI Commission that the file relating to the Ashraff Commission had been sent to the National Archives only in 2007, years after the inquiry was concluded, and during the time of former President Rajapaksa.
Mr Dawood’s initial RTI request to the Presidential Secretariat for a copy of the CoI Report had been rejected. Thereafter, he had filed an appeal to the RTI Commission. In the appeal heard before Commission Chair Mahinda Gammanpila and Commission members Kishali Pinto-Jayawardena, Selvy Thiruchandran and S.G. Punchihewa, on Oct.16, Additional Secretary (Legal) of the Presidential Secretariat, appearing on behalf of the Secretary to the President, had informed that, though the Information Officer (IO) of the Presidential Secretariat had called for the file from the National Archives, upon the RTI request, the Report was missing. (http://www.rticommission.lk/web/images/pdf/basheer-segudawood-new.pdf).
There was only one ‘Minute’ which said the relevant file had been sent to the National Archives by the Presidential Secretariat on 12.01.2007. The CoI Report itself was not available at the Presidential Secretariat. Assessing the matter, the RTI Commission had directed the responsible officer of the National Archives to be present on the next date of hearing, (Nov.20), along with the relevant file for the examination of the RTI Commission.
Earlier this year, trade union activists appealed to the RTI Commission to obtain a copy of the CoI Report into the killing of Roshen Chanaka and injuring of the Katunayake Free Trade Zone (FTZ) workers by the police in May 2011, when they protested against a proposal by the Mahinda Rajapaksa Govt to privatise the Employees Provident Fund and transform it into a dubious pension scheme. Headed by former High Court Judge Mahanama Tillekeratne, the CoI Report was not released for many years, after it was handed over. An RTI request to the Presidential Secretariat this year, by the mother of the slain Roshen Chanaka, was refused on the basis that it violated national security. However, the Report was released shortly after she appealed to the RTI Commission. Celebrating the International Right to Know Day (IRTKD) last month, Roshen Chanaka’s mother praised the RTI Act for being instrumental in the release of the Report relating to her son’s death.
The Tillekeratne CoI Report strongly condemns excessive police force against the Katunayake FTZ workers, castigating the police as ‘uncivilized’ and calling upon police officers to be made aware of the fundamental rights of FTZ workers. Police actions were stated to amount to a violation of the Penal Code, the Criminal Procedure Code, the Police Ordinance and the Constitution.
Appointed under Presidential warrant and often headed by retired or sitting judges, CoIs have been characterized by their Reports being withheld from the public, despite the public funds spent to establish and maintain them.
Under the law relating to the archiving of documents, the Secretary of a CoI appointed under the CoI Act, must deposit all records relating to such CoIs at the National Archives within 3 months of the final Report. This Legal provision is, however, rarely followed in practice. Regulations promulgated under the National Archives Law No.48 of 1973 (as amended), state such records are required to be kept at the Archives. They may be made available for public inspection after 30 years or, following the lapse of such time that, they have been closed for public inspection by the public office creating such records.
However, the RTI Act states in Section 4, that the provisions of the Act maximizing disclosure of information shall have effect, notwithstanding anything to the contrary in any other written Law. Accordingly, in the event of any inconsistency or, conflict between the RTI Act and other Law, the provisions of the RTI Act shall prevail. The National Archives Law has been listed among several Laws that will need to be amended, to be in conformity with the RTI Act.
Jaffna Uni. faculties to reopen next Monday
The faculties of the University of Jaffna, which were recently closed as a result of the class boycott carried out by students over Tamil political prisoners, will be reopened next Monday (November 13).
Vice Chancellor of the university Prof. Ratnam Vigneswaran stated that academic activities of the Faculty of Arts, Faculty of Science and Faculty of Management Studies and Commerce will commence on November 13 and that all students are requested to return to the university on that date.
Meanwhile the mid-year examinations of the Science Faculty which were initially slated to be held on October 30 and 31 have been rescheduled for November 13 and 14.
Academic activities at three faculties of the University of Jaffna were suspended indefinitely by the administration on October 30, after students decided to boycott classes in protest demanding the release of Tamil political prisoners.
All the students of the above faculties who are residing in the hostels were instructed to vacate their hostels on Nov. 01.
Vice Chancellor of the university Prof. Ratnam Vigneswaran stated that academic activities of the Faculty of Arts, Faculty of Science and Faculty of Management Studies and Commerce will commence on November 13 and that all students are requested to return to the university on that date.
Meanwhile the mid-year examinations of the Science Faculty which were initially slated to be held on October 30 and 31 have been rescheduled for November 13 and 14.
Academic activities at three faculties of the University of Jaffna were suspended indefinitely by the administration on October 30, after students decided to boycott classes in protest demanding the release of Tamil political prisoners.
All the students of the above faculties who are residing in the hostels were instructed to vacate their hostels on Nov. 01.
Opponents of the new constitution could be opposing alleviation of poverty as well
Wednesday, 8 November 2017There are various types of opponents of the proposed constitution. Some oppose for political reasons. Others oppose because they have ‘competing commitments’ as pointed out by organisational psychologists. Among the latter are the venerable Buddhist monks.
High levels of poverty
Both groups may be ignorant of the fact that a new constitution giving equal rights to all communities and devolving power to the provinces is of utmost importance to solve the main problem facing the nation, i.e. the high levels of poverty and inequality of incomes.The latest poverty report (2015) by the World Bank reveals that in 2012/13, those earning less than $ 1.25 per day (the destitute) numbered 3.3% of the population, while those earning less than $ 2.50 per day were 32.1% of the population. It has to be noted that poverty is high mostly among the members of the majority community; see table 1.
Low FDI inflows
The major reason poverty has not been alleviated is due to the fact that investments, especially Foreign Direct Investments (FDI), have not been attracted to the country to set up manufacturing industries to create jobs and produce goods and services for export to earn the necessary foreign exchange; see table 2. FDI is required because of the scarcity of local capital, technologies and the absence of ready access to global markets on the part of domestic businesses.FDI has avoided the country due to the country risk involved. This could be due to certain actions of political parties (that gained power after 1956) which have tended to discriminate against people belonging to the minority communities numbering about 25% of the population. Tamils claim that they have been discriminated against in areas such as employment in the public sector, higher education and in the courts of law due mainly to the replacement of English with Sinhala as the official language in 1956.
Another complaint is that the authorities have been slow to act against extremist groups who have unleashed violence against minority communities even recently. It is such tensions that have been created along with the poor regulatory and law and order conditions well as corruption that increase the risk of investment and lower the profitability of business operations even by locals.
According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Country Risk Classification 2017 rank, the level of country risk in respect of Sri Lanka is 6, Malaysia 2, Singapore 0, India 3, Afghanistan 7; however, according to the Worldwide Governance indicators 2016, World Bank, political stability and absence of violence/terrorism %, Sri Lanka’s rank was 49.52, while that of Singapore was 99.52, Malaysia 50.0, India 14.29 and Afghanistan 0.95. It may be noted that the World Bank ranking is much more realistic than the other by the OECD. Nevertheless there appears to be a fairly high risk faced by investors venturing into Sri Lanka.
The need for a new constitution
A new constitution modelled on the South African Constitution of 1996, which is one of the most progressive in the world according to Rohan Edirisinghe, could be the main remedy to the above situation of high country risk for investment and the negative enabling environment for economic development.However, one must first answer the question why Sri Lanka needs a new constitution. It is mostly by modelling the 1972 and 1978 constitutions to favour them and not the people that politicians have made short term political gains, resorted to amass wealth at the expense of the taxpayer, created communal tensions leading to a destructive 30-year war and created a highly indebted economy that is unable to promote the wellbeing of the people.
Sri Lanka therefore needs to formulate a new constitution with the following features:
1.The constitution must be supreme. Article 2 of the South African Constitution of 1996, according to Rohan Edirisinghe, states ‘The Constitution is Supreme. All law inconsistent with it is void’, unlike in the case of the Sri Lankan constitution of 1978.
2.As in the South African constitution, it should contain a Bill of Rights that is compatible with international agreements on human rights to protect the rights of all people belonging to both the majority and majority communities, so that the elected representatives cannot interfere with them.
3.It must emphasise on the values and principles under which people will be governed. Edirisinghe says that Article 1 of the South African constitution contains the values such as ‘human dignity, non-racialism, the rule of law, multiparty democracy, accountability, openness and responsiveness’.
4.It should deal clearly with separation of powers among the legislature, the executive and the judiciary to protect public institutions from politicisation and to ensure the Independence especially of the judiciary, other legal institutions as well as the Public Service (to enable the improvement of its efficiency by making appointments and giving promotions on merit alone and resulting in deregulation), the Attorney General’s Office, the Auditor General’s Office and a new Office dealing with Control of Corruption answering only to parliament.
5.The new constitution should allow the Provincial Councils to operate without interference from the Centre; (the amalgamation of the Northern and Eastern Provinces, however, does not seem to be necessary for reconciliation as people of all communities live in that area).
6.The electoral system in the new constitution should be the First Past the Post system to elect representatives from constituencies and not districts combined with Proportional Representation; candidates should possess some minimum qualifications like the GCE (AL) as legislation and policy formulation for the wellbeing of the people need some education. The number of representatives elected should be reduced considerably to reduce expenditure and improve efficiency.
7.The three languages i.e. Sinhala, Tamil and English should be declared as the official languages of the country.
8.The constitution has to give an assurance that Buddhism and other religions observed by the people will be protected and preserved; in other words the state will be neutral/secular in matters of religion, while supporting them, the significance of which was explained by Neera Chandhoke, Professor of Political Science, University of Delhi in an article dated 2015: ‘It compels people to respect other religious beliefs. Secularism is a part of democracy which grants to citizens equal rights. It protects democracy by limiting the power of the majority. Secularism protects the equal rights of the minorities. Secularism is therefore desirable for a plural society like India.’
Such a new constitution may help to overcome the prevailing social and political instability in the country and help to improve the wellbeing of the people and alleviate poverty especially by attracting investment to create jobs and produce goods and services for global markets. Those opposing the setting up of such a new constitution therefore may be obstructing the alleviation of poverty (especially in the majority community).
Although they say that equal rights and devolution may lead to separation, they should realise that actually it may happen if such a conciliatory approach is not adopted, as it nearly took place when LTTE went to war due to discrimination. The venerable bhikkus and the rest of the clergy could, however, concentrate their efforts to establish ethical values and good conduct to deal with spiralling crime which also threaten investments.
New vision
Actually resistance to a new constitution could be due to the failure on the part of the leaders of the country to create a consensus among the people regarding measures such as investment for improving the general wellbeing; in the absence of such a consensus people would not know what laws and policies are needed, for instance, to alleviate poverty and reduce inequality of incomes. Therefore the clergy, the teachers, intellectuals and the media should step in to support the cultivation of a vision somewhat like the Vision 20-25 declared by the Government recently, to launch the country on the path to prosperity.A well-rounded and inclusive constitution, the main features of which were described above, should be the first step in that path.
(The writer is a development economist.)
Amaradeva – Only Comparables Are Sunil Santha & Jothipala!
“Past the near meadows, over the still stream,
Up the hill-side; and now ’tis buried deep
In the next valley-glades:
Was it a vision, or a waking dream?
Fled is that music: – Do I wake or sleep?”
~John Keats, Ode to a Nightingale
Pundit W.D. Amaradeva [Photo courtesy Sandra Mack]
Quintus Horatius Flaccus known in the English-speaking world as Horace was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus. Contemplative about art in general and painting in particular, he is recorded to have said as follows: “A picture is a poem without words”. A song well rendered by a master is “a drama enacted without a depiction”. Amaradeva’s every song belongs in that rare category. It is not an easy task to talk about Amaradeva and his unmatched contribution to Sinhalese culture and art without referencing the times and events of his era and his peers, if any, and other artists who happen to crowd a fairly challenging field. Amaradeva entered the field of music and song at a time when the standards of singing and music were deplorable. It was either Nadagam or dramatic style singing and straight copies from India, both Northern and southern. The singers too, except a very few like Devar Surya Sena and Ananda Samarakoon, were of South Indian origin. They wrote the lyrics in Tamil and sang out in Sinhala. What a travesty of culture!
The socio-cultural environment that prevailed at the time did demand a pioneering voice, so to speak, to speak out, to throw away the rut and furrow of Sinhala-pretenders whose allegiance was not to a new culture of Sinhala song and music, but to a livelihood that earned them an income far below the level of their brethren in India, yet bragged that they were the pioneers of Sinhalese music and song. The backdrop was wretched yet hopeful and dreaming. It was dotted with scarce emergence of one or two genuine sounding artists who had the misfortune of disappearing from the milieu of the art for lack of listener-following and sponsors. Ananda Samarakoon was one such pioneer who made a very valiant effort at creating a tradition of Sinhalese art of music and song, yet he fell far short of a ‘pioneering’ character.
It was into this scene Amaradeva set his footsteps as Albert Perera. His voice was without match; his discipline of rendering a tune without breaking a single note and his attention to the minutest detail of lyrics and melody was coolly secured and deeply rooted in the construction of the totality of the song. Such discipline and attention to detail in the industry at the time was absent. With the initiation of Albert Perera, another artist of superior value and quality stamped his own creed on the scene of art and culture. That was Professor Ediriweera Sarachchandra. Considered Sri Lanka’s premier playwright, he was a senior lecturer at the University of Peradeniya. His influence on Amaradeva, including changing the very persona from Albert Perera to Amaradeva, was fundamental and the subsequent rise of Amaradeva as the leading singing voice of Ceylon a logical evolution. Not only of the singer-musician Amaradeva but the expansion of Sri Lankan folk cum indigenous music and song was inevitable.
Read More
The March of Folly German funds for the corrupt
By Prof. Rajiva Wijesinha-2017-11-07A couple of months back the retiring Canadian High Commissioner introduced me to the German Ambassador, whose country has been doing much helpful work in vocational education. He seemed a nice young man, but as it turned out, he was cross with me because, in an article in this series about six months back, I had been critical of some pronouncements he had made.
I had quite forgotten what I had written, and I certainly did not associate the football playing youngster with the old man, his predecessor during the war, who used to pontificate to us. But on cue as it were, even while he suggested that I should have spoken to him before making pronouncements, he pronounced again, on much the same lines. Apparently not having read the manifesto on which President Sirisena won election, he continued to pontificate about what he claimed were 'changes that the Sirisena - Wickremesinghe government had promised in 2015' referring almost entirely to what Mangala Samaraweera had signed up to, in Geneva. And most worryingly, in talking about corruption, he twinned it in both efforts with impunity and exemption from punishment.
My article noted that what the President should concentrate on, are the promises in the manifesto on which he was elected, and in particular, dealing with corruption in terms of the suffering it brought to the Sri Lankan people. I did tell him that I would be happy to discuss anything he wished, but since then there has been a deafening silence.
I suspect this is because he also in his message referred to an issue that I would hope he now finds embarrassing. He repeated the old canard about my 'role some years ago which led to the closure of the office of the Friedrich-Naumann-Foundation.' He obviously assumed that the allegation was true, even though the former Deputy German Ambassador had discussed the issue with me at length, and seemed convinced that it was nonsense. The reason for the FNS Head, Sagarica Delgoda, being questioned by the police was, as clearly described by Jehan Perera, its organization of a seminar on 'improving the opposition's ability to win elections by better campaign methods.'
Underlying this of course was the support Delgoda and the FNS gave Ravi Karunanayake for a range of activities. One of these was the Democratic Youth Leagues, for which Buddhika Pathirana and Manusha Nanayakkara were the front men, though later he fell out with both of them.
One reason I think is that Buddhika is an independent personality – hence his now languishing in obscurity despite his evident capacity, and consistently heading the UNP vote in Matara, above Ranil's favoured henchmen Mangala and Sagala – and questioned what was happening to the money the FNS was pouring in. He complained to me that it went into the hands of Ravi and Sharmila Perera, the Secretary of the New Democratic Front, through which both Sarath Fonseka and Maithripala Sirisena contested Presidential elections. The party was again in the news since its chairman, a British citizen, was involved in the hacking of the Far Eastern International Bank. As it happened, the former regional head of the FNS seemed to know nothing of the involvement of Sharmila Perera in the 2010 election.
I wrote to the ambassador when the news first emerged of Ravi's shenanigans with regard to the apartment for which Arjun Aloysius paid. There was no reply, though I hope that, in line with his public pronouncements the ambassador takes corruption seriously and looks into the role of the FNS in funding what seems to be a plundering project. The reports of how Ravi misled the state banks to ensure further profits for Aloysius, and now the role of another of his principle associates, Shalila Moonesinghe, should make the Germans think, if indeed they are concerned about good governance. But unless we have another public pronouncement from the ambassador, noting the misuse of German money, we will have to conclude that all this is hot air, based on personal predilections, not principles.
‘Anti-Corruption HC to be set up can hear bond scam cases’
President’s gaze on illicit commission blinded him : Faces retributive justice after ousting Sinniah !
By Shamindra Ferdinando-November 5, 2017, 12:00 pm
UNP spokesman for Sectoral Oversight Committee on Legal Affairs and Media and Deputy Minister of Power and Renewable Energy Ajith P. Perera yesterday said that those who had been probed by the Presidential Commi-ssion inquiring into alleged Central Bank bond scams involving Perpetual Treasuries could be tried by the proposed Anti-Corruption High Court.
Attorney-at-law Perera said so in response to a query by The Island at a hastily arranged media conference at his ministry yesterday to explain recommendations made by the Sectoral Oversight Committee to expedite legal proceedings in respect of corruption cases.
The UNPer said the proposed Anti-Corruption HC would be established in accordance with Article 105 (1) (C) of the Constitution to hear cases through three benches each consisting of three judges of the High Court.
Referring to the bond scams that had taken place at the Central Bank in 2015 Feb and 2016 March as frauds, Deputy Minister Perera stressed the need for expeditious hearing of the case once the Attorney General served indictments on the basis of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry findings.
At the onset of the briefing, Kalutara District MP Perera asserted that in spite of the change of government waste, corruption and irregularities continued unabated. Without referring to any specific case, the UNPer, who had been also a member of the Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) said politicians, top public sector officials and the private sector perpetrated massive frauds. According to the Deputy Minister major fraudulent transactions couldn’t be carried out without their direct involvement. Some corrupt deals had been perpetrated by two of three categories, the Deputy Minister Perera said, tougher laws were required to tackle corruption.
The UNPer faulted the obsolete Bribery Act for the failure on the part of the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) to fulfill its obligations. The Deputy Minister claimed that the situation was so bad that so far only four persons had been convicted for corruption over the past 23 years.
The Deputy Minister said that the Bribery Act would have to be amended soon. Explaining the process currently underway, Deputy Minister Perera said that the Sectoral Oversight Committee is of the opinion that there should be only one appeal to the Supreme Court.
The Deputy Minister said that their recommendations had the backing of President Maithripala Sirisena and Justice Minister Thalatha Atukorale. The removal of former Justice Minister Dr Wijeyadasa Rajapakse, PC had facilitated their efforts, he said. Expeditious and efficient administration of criminal justice couldn’t be achieved unless judicial and other obstacles were removed, Deputy Minister Perera said.
Asked by The Island whether Wijeyadasa Rajapakse’s removal had really expedited the process, Deputy Minister Perera said that they were in the process of addressing the issues. He said there was no point in talking about the former minister.
The UNPer said that among the key recommendations were an unprecedented increase of the number of High Court judges from 75 to 110, setting up of new High Court each in the administrative districts of Anuradhapura, Kandy, Gampaha, Ratnapura, Matale and five in Colombo and mandatory trials at bar in terms of Section 12 of the Judicature Act No 02 of 1978 in respect bribery, undeclared assets, corruption, money laundering, fraud, criminal breach of trust and the preparation of forged documents and other similar irregularities amounting to over Rs 5 mn.
Asked by The Island for an explanation over the pathetic failure on the part of the parliament to ensure proper investigations into COPE reports that had dealt with large scale state sector waste, corruption and irregularities, Deputy Minister Perera described the situation as an inherent weakness of the Parliament.
Deputy Minister Perera refrained from commenting on the inability of COPE to summon ministers in connection with inquiries undertaken by the watchdog committee.
The UNPer said that Parliament lacked a system to direct the Attorney General to initiate inquiries into COPE findings. When The Island pointed out that the Attorney General could act on those reports and there was no requirement to bring them to his notice, Deputy Minister Perera explained the situation leading to the current crisis.
Queen of the damned
My Dear Sumedha,-Sunday, February 24, 2013
I thought I must write to you after hearing that you are one of the most powerful people in the country. Although you are not very famous you are still a minister-in charge of Parliamentary Affairs- but I think your powers go far beyond that.�In fact, you may be the most powerful person in the Cabinet, next to Mahinda maama. Why, who else would have the authority to call up the Inspector General of Police and ask him to release suspects who have been arrested on the orders of a Deputy Inspector General?Not content with that, you have even gone to the extent of having that Deputy Inspector General transferred to another station. Although most people don’t know about you and ask ‘Sumedha who?’ I think you deserve better.
Why, I don’t think even Uncle Gota will have the courage to call up the IGP and ask for suspects to be released and then have the DIG who arrested them transferred to a different station. At least, that is what we are told-that there is no political interference in Police work whatsoever!�Anyway, Sumedha, what was most interesting about what you did was your explanation. You tell us that you called the IGP and asked for the release of these suspects because ‘they did not know that what they were doing was illegal’.
Of course, it later comes to light that they have been convicted for the same offence before. It is also revealed that they were in fact working for you. But I suppose these are minor issues that can be ignored in the greater interests of justice and of course, your great compassion for the accused.�Now, I heard some people suggesting that you should resign because of what you did, Sumedha. I totally disagree with that. Instead of resigning, I think we should appreciate the valuable contribution you have made in pointing out the weaknesses of our judicial system.
You have shown us that calling the IGP and asking him to release suspects who have been arrested for a serious offence is in fact not interfering with Police work. Instead, you have demonstrated so well that it is a way of expediting the judicial process.�I think, Sumedha, Mahinda maama has not realised your talents which is why he has given you a relatively insignificant subject such as Parliamentary Affairs. Now, with your recent actions you have demonstrated that you deserve a much better position.
I think he should have made you the Minister in charge of the Police or even the Minister of Justice. That way, you could have administered justice in your own special way, and we could have done away with all these complicated legal proceedings.
Just imagine what it would be like if, whenever a suspect is apprehended by the Police, all we have to do is contact you-or any other minister, for that matter- who would request the IGP to release them because they “didn’t know what they were doing.”�It would solve so many problems, wouldn’t it? There would be no need for remand prisons, all these court hearings for bail need not take place and justice would be dispensed promptly and our country would become a law-abiding paradise!
And to think that there was all this fuss about removing Supreme Court judges and impeaching people. Who needs the Supreme Court-or any other court for that matter-when you can, in your wisdom decide who is innocent and who is not?
After all, that is now an accepted principle, isn’t it? During all that fuss about the impeachment we all accepted that Parliament was supreme (or ‘uththareethara’, as you like to call it), so why not leave the rest of the judicial process in the hands of these ‘uththareethara’ people as well?�Of course, then not only would you be releasing your own suspects, who were arrested for illegal sand mining, you would also have to release terrorists, armed robbers, drug dealers and even murderers. But then, if they didn’t “know what they were doing”, you can’t blame them, can you?
I suppose, those who will benefit most from your system of justice will be your colleagues in Parliament. And, as a result, I am sure you will become enormously popular among your fellow ministers, because they will all need your help.�Why, you can call the IGP and ask him to release Duminda from all his charges, you can also help Mervyn solve his many problems and there are many others like Rishaard, Nishantha, Sarana and even Athauda who will benefit from your intervention.
So, thank you, Sumedha, for showing us this enlightened path to efficient Police work and speedier justice. Come to think of it, maybe they should have appointed you the Chief Justice when that vacancy came up a few days ago!
Yours truly,
Punchi Putha
PS-Now that you have begun this new trend, Sumedha, can you use the same tactics to get all those who are accused of war crimes released from those charges as well? Another telephone call to Ban Ki Moon and Navi Pillay perhaps-and then we won’t have to worry about all this nonsense in Geneva!
Punchi Putha
PS-Now that you have begun this new trend, Sumedha, can you use the same tactics to get all those who are accused of war crimes released from those charges as well? Another telephone call to Ban Ki Moon and Navi Pillay perhaps-and then we won’t have to worry about all this nonsense in Geneva!
Sri Lanka: Gamini Senarath et al give undertaking to Supreme Court
(November 7, 2017, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) Petitioner Gamini Senarath, the Chief of Staff of the former President Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday gave an undertaking to the Supreme Court that he would cooperate with the Financial Crimes Investigation Division and the CID, in connection with an investigation into a public property abuse charge against him.
He said he would make a statement to the Magistrate’s Court of Colombo in respect of this charge.
Senarath, is suspected of diverting Rs. 4 billion to build a hotel at Hambantota, without Cabinet approval. Four billion rupees had been unlawfully taken from Rs. 18.5 billion approved by the Cabinet, to build another hotel named ‘Sino Lanka’, with Cabinet approval.
Senarath has filed a fundamental rights violation petition, requesting the court to restrain the FCID and CID from arresting him.
Deputy Solicitor General Thusith Mudalige, who appeared for the Attorney General said if the suspect would cooperate with the investigators, the need to arrest would not arise.
This petition will be next called before the Supreme Court on Nov. 17.
Two other suspects Neil Hapuhinne and J. Kudabalage have also filed similar fundamental rights violation petitions before the Supreme Court. They have said they will cooperate with the investigations and appear before the Magistrate on Nov. 9.
All three petitioners were named as directors of the new hotel to be constructed at Hambantota without Cabinet approval with public funds.
President’s Counsel Romesh de Silva appeared with Sudath Caldera, instructed by Sanath Wijewardene for the petitioners.
The bench comprised Justice Buwaneka Aluwihare, Justice Priyantha Jayawardena and Justice Anil Gooneratne.
Couple arrested with Rs.2.16mn counterfeit notes in Jaffna
2017-11-07
A couple has been arrested by the police on charges of possessing 568 possessing counterfeit notes with a face value of Rs. 2.16 million at Ariyalai in Jaffna yesterday.
Police said the suspect couple was arrested following a tipoff received by the Jaffna police.
Police seized 400 notes with a face value of Rs. 5000 and 168 notes of Rs. 1000.
The arrested man (26) and his wife (19) were identified as residents of Alaweddi and Maniyamthottam.
Police also recovered two printers, a scanner and a laptop that had been used by the suspects for counterfeit notes printing during the raid.
The suspects were to be produced in the Jaffna Magistrate Court today.(Darshana Sanjeewa)
Air Canada ends contract with Israeli arms firm
Air Canada’s Boeing 767 aircraft will no longer be maintained by the weapons maker Israel Aerospace Industries. (Bill Abbott)
Air Canada has ended a maintenance contract with the arms maker Israel Aerospace Industries, activist groups have announced.The Canadian BDS Coalition, which supports the Palestinian-led campaign for boycott, divestment and sanctions, said on Sunday it had been informed by Air Canada management “that the five-year, multi-million dollar contract with Israel Aerospace Industries Bedek Group for heavy maintenance on Air Canada Boeing 767 jets was terminated in ‘early 2017,’ with two years remaining.”
The contract, signed in 2014, was reportedly worth tens of millions of dollars.
Air Canada told the activist groups that the work is being transferred to “another provider in North America,” which it did not name.
In September, Illinois-based AAR announced that it had signed a five-year contract to maintain the Canadian airline’s 34 Boeing 767s at its facility in Miami.
Air Canada provided activists with no reason for its termination of the Israeli contract.
But the coalition pointed out that Air Canada had released the information only “after our #AirCanadaComplicity campaign was taking off and receiving increasing support both from within Canada and internationally.”
The campaign garnered support from trade unions and solidarity groups in Canada and around the world.
Air Canada said in its letter to activists that it still maintains one small contract with the Israeli company, to perform mandatory inspection of aircraft prior to the departure of regularly scheduled return flights to Canada. But if problems are found during those checks, repairs are performed by Air Canada’s own personnel.
“The Canadian BDS Coalition is pleased that the largest and most significant element of Air Canada’s involvement with Israel Aerospace Industries has been terminated,” the activists said. “Given the recent publicity [Israel Aerospace Industries] has received in the international press in the last months, it is not surprising that any company would want to distance themselves from such a partner.”
The Canadian BDS Coalition noted that Israel Aerospace Industries was recently named in media reports as one of more than 100 firms likely to appear on a UN list of companies that are profiting from Israel’s occupation and illegal colonization of Palestinian land.
In September, the US government picked Elta North America, a subsidiary of Israel Aerospace Industries, to build a prototype of President Donald Trump’s planned wall on the US-Mexico border.
Activists are now pushing Air Canada to stop serving Sabra brand hummus aboard its flights. Sabra is made by the Strauss group, which gives active support to the Israeli army.
Israel in Australia
Israeli weapons firms have been pushing into civil aviation in other countries as well.Last month, activists in Australia welcomed a decision by the storied Royal Flying Doctor Service to pull out of a multi-million dollar joint venture with Elbit Systems, Israel’s biggest arms maker.
Nonetheless, Australia remains a major market for Israeli arms companies including Elbit and missile maker Rafael, which just announced it is opening a subsidiary in Melbourne.
Rafael is hoping to capture a big slice of a multi-billion dollar spending spree by Australia to expand its military.
“We haven’t had any substantial activity in Australia in recent years,” Rafael executive vice-president Giora Katz told Israel’s Globes business publication. “Now we’re returning to this market in full force.”
Last month Rafael announced a partnership with Australia’s Bisalloy Steels to supply materials to be used in manufacturing weapons systems.
Punishing opinions
In another sign of Israel’s distress over the effects of BDS, a cabinet committee on Sunday approved a draft lawthat allows Israeli companies to sue individual activists for up to $28,500 without having to prove any damages.The new bill would expand Israel’s 2011 anti-boycott law. Israel’s high court upheld that law in 2015, but invalidated one provision which would have allowed anyone to sue for boycott-related damages without showing proof they were harmed.
If adopted, the law would effectively impose heavy financial penalties on individuals for expressing opinions contrary to the policies of the Israeli government.
The new legislation is backed by Gilad Erdan, Israel’s strategic affairs minister who has been spearheading a campaign of censorship and repression against the BDS movement that has reportedly involved the use of clandestine “black ops.”
Israel is spending hundreds of thousands of dollars for the services of a US law firm as part of what human rights activists see as an effort to take this campaign of repression global.
Priti Patel called for UK to give aid to Israeli army after visit to Israel
UK's development minister had attempted to get officials to give aid money to fund Israeli army operations in occupied Golan Heights
Patel held a secret meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during her 12-day visit to Israel in August (AFP)
Tuesday 7 November 2017
A UK minister embroiled in a row over undisclosed meetings with Israeli officials proposed giving aid money to the Israeli army in the occupied Golan Heights.
International Development Secretary Priti Patel suggested that money should be given to support ongoing "humanitarian operations" by the Israeli army in the occupied Golan Heights.
Downing Street confirmed on Tuesday that Patel had asked whether the UK could send aid to the Israeli army.
The revelations come after Patel apologised for holding a series of undisclosed meetings with Israeli politicians, including the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, while being accompanied by a senior pro-Israeli lobbyist during a "family holiday".
The UK does not recognise Israeli sovereignty over the Golan, which was seized from Syria in the 1967 war, and so providing aid to the Israeli army in this or other occupied territories would likely contravene UK policy and break international law.
In a statement, a Department for International Development spokesperson said: "The secretary of state did discuss potential ways to provide medical support for Syrian refugees who are wounded and who cross into the Golan for aid.
"The Israeli army runs field hospitals there to care for Syrians wounded in the civil war. But there is no change in policy in the area. The UK does not provide any financial support to the Israeli army.”
Labour's shadow international development secretary Kate Osamor told Middle East Eye that Patel's actions were "deeply alarming" and "a clear breach of ministerial conduct".
"If Priti Patel doesn't resign, Theresa May must launch a full Cabinet Office investigation and uncover what really went on," Osamor told MEE.
"It raises more urgent questions about what was discussed in her meetings with Prime Minister Netanyahu and the foreign ministry, why no minutes were taken, and exactly what pressure she applied to her department."
On Monday, Patel clarified previous remarks to the Guardian newspaper on Friday in which she had appeared to suggest that British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson knew of her schedule beforehand.
A statement issued by Patel and the Department for International Development said: "This quote may have given the impression that the secretary of state had informed the foreign secretary about the visit in advance. The secretary of state would like to take this opportunity to clarify that this was not the case. The foreign secretary did become aware of the visit, but not in advance of it."
Patel also said: "This summer I travelled to Israel, on a family holiday paid for by myself. While away I had the opportunity to meet a number of people and organisations. I am publishing a list of who I met. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office was aware of my visit while it was underway.
“In hindsight, I can see how my enthusiasm to engage in this way could be misread, and how meetings were set up and reported in a way which did not accord with the usual procedures. I am sorry for this and I apologise for it."
Patel did not tell British diplomats that she was holding these meetings, which is the convention.
Andy Slaughter MP, a vice-chair of the Labour Friends of Palestine and the Middle East, described Patel's actions as the "final straw" and that Theresa May is "too weak and isolated to act."
"News that Priti Patel used her secret meeting in Israel to advocate sending aid to support the work of the IDF in the occupied GolanHeights should be the final straw for her," Slaughter told MEE.
"The UK is a significant donor to the Palestinian Authority but the future of that aid must be in doubt under a DFID Secretary of State who shows such bias and lack of judgment."
"Any other Prime Minister at any other time would have dispensed with Patel’s services by now, but Theresa May is too weak and isolated to act."
UK Prime Minister Theresa May cancelled Tuesday's cabinet meeting and said that she intended to tighten the ministerial code of conduct after it was revealed that Patel held secret meetings with Israeli officials.
Woman who gave Donald Trump the middle finger fired from her job
- Juli Briskman said marketing company bosses called her in and fired her
- Briskman, 50, says she has no regrets about flipping off Trump motorcade
Juli Briskman said she had no regrets about the attention her public show of displeasure received. Photograph: Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images
Joanna Walters-Tuesday 7 November 2017 07.38 GMT
Juli Briskman was cycling in Virginia last month when she offered the gesture in a gut reaction to Trump’s policies, she said.
“He was passing by and my blood just started to boil,” she told the Huffington Post. “I’m thinking, Daca recipients are getting kicked out. He pulled ads for open enrollment in Obamacare. Only one third of Puerto Rico has power. I’m thinking, he’s at the damn golf course again.
“I flipped off the motorcade a number of times.”
A photographer traveling with the presidential motorcade snapped Briskman’s picture and the image quickly spread across news outlets and social media. Many hailed Briskman as a hero, with some saying she should run in the 2020 election. Late-night comedy hosts also picked up the story.
Briskman had been working as a marketing and communications specialist for a Virginia-based federal contractor, Akima, for six months. She thought it best to alert the HR department to the online fuss. Bosses then called her into a meeting, she said.
“They said, ‘We’re separating from you,’” Briskman told the Huffington Post. “‘Basically, you cannot have lewd or obscene things in your social media.’ So they were calling flipping him off obscene.”
She said the company was displeased she had used the image as her profile picture on Twitter and Facebook, and told her it violated social media policy and could hurt the company’s reputation as a government contractor.
Briskman said she pointed out that her social media pages do not mention her employer, and that the incident happened on her own time. She also said another employee had written a profane insult about someone on Facebook, but had been allowed to keep his job after deleting the post and being reprimanded.
Virginia, however, has “at will” employment laws, meaning private-sector employers can fire people for any reason.
Suddenly, the 50-year-old mother of two found herself looking for a new job.
Briskman, who votes Democratic, said she planned to look for a new job with an advocacy group she believes in, such as Planned Parenthood or People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.
After leaving his Virginia golf club and before passing Briskman, Trump’s motorcade passed a pedestrian who gave a vigorous thumbs-down gesture. Another woman had been standing outside the entrance to the golf club, holding a sign saying “Impeach”.
As news of Briskman’s firing spread, many social media users asked why she was being penalized for expressing free speech on her own time, under the first amendment to the US constitution.
Akima did not immediately respond to a request for comment. On Monday, its website went down. Someone began a crowdfunding page online to raise money for Briskman.
Briskman said she had no regrets about the attention her public show of displeasure received. In fact, she said, she was happy to be an image of protest.
“In some ways, I’m doing better than ever,” she said. “I’m angry about where our country is right now. I am appalled. This was an opportunity for me to say something.”
The Trump administration is up to its neck in Russians
Michael Flynn, center, flanked by Kellyanne Conway and Jared Kushner at the White House on Feb. 13. (Jim Lo Scalzo/European Pressphoto Agency)
The number of Russian connections to President Trump’s campaign and to his administration should stun and worry even the most credulous Republicans. We have never seen such a multiplicity of connections to a hostile foreign power and lack of transparency in a presidential campaign or administration — nor have we ever had a campaign in which Russians interfered in such a widespread and deliberate manner.
Newly leaked international documents reveal even more of the Trump team’s Russian ties, according to NBC News: “Through offshore investments, [Commerce Secretary Wilbur] Ross held a stake in Navigator Holdings, which had a close relationship with the Russian firm. Ross did not disclose that connection during his confirmation process on Capitol Hill.” NBC’s report also states:
Top White House adviser Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, is also implicated. The documents reveal that Kremlin-connected interests invested in social media giants Facebook and Twitter through one of Kushner’s business associates. Russian tech leader Yuri Milner, who funneled the money to Facebook and Twitter, has a stake in a company partly owned by Kushner.Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) was livid. “Secretary Ross’ financial disclosures are like a Russian nesting doll, with blatant conflicts of interest carefully hidden within seemingly innocuous holding companies,” he said. “The Commerce Department’s Inspector General must open an inquiry immediately. Only after a thorough investigation can the American people be sure that Secretary Ross really has their best interests at heart — and that he hasn’t prioritized his own personal profits or those of Vladimir Putin or his Russian business partners.”
President Trump's troubles have only just begun with Special Counsel Robert Mueller's charges against former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort, his associate Rick Gates and former foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos, says Washington Post editorial writer Quinta Jurecic. (Adriana Usero, Kate Woodsome/The Washington Post)
Among Navigator’s largest customers, contributing more than $68 million in revenue since 2014, is the Moscow-based gas and petrochemicals company Sibur. Two of its key owners are Kirill Shamalov, who is married to Putin’s youngest daughter, and Gennady Timchenko, the sanctioned oligarch whose activities in the energy sector, the Treasury Department said, were “directly linked to Putin.”Ross seems to have cloaked his holdings in a web of offshore companies. “The leaked files showed a chain of companies and partnerships in the Cayman Islands through which Ross has retained his financial stake in Navigator,” the report says. “The fact that Ross’ Cayman Islands companies benefit from a firm controlled by Putin proxies raises serious potential conflicts of interest, experts say.” The report continues: “As commerce secretary, Ross has the power to influence U.S. trade, sanctions and other matters that could affect Sibur’s owners. Likewise, Sibur’s owners, and through them, Putin himself, could have the ability to increase or decrease Sibur’s business with Navigator even as Ross helps steer U.S. policy.” It would have been hard if not impossible to divine the Russia connection from Ross’s disclosure forms. (“The complexity of the offshore structures adds legal and reputational distance and obscures the full extent of Ross’s business relationships even as it allows him to profit from them, according to tax and ethics experts.”)
Another powerful owner is Sibur’s largest shareholder, Leonid Mikhelson, who controls an energy company that was also sanctioned by the Treasury Department for propping up Putin’s rule.
Former State Department official and Russia expert Max Bergmann, now with the progressive Center for American Progress, tells me, “Ross must be investigated and should almost certainly resign. How does the Secretary of Commerce divest in some companies but not divest in a sanctioned Russian energy giant with direct ties to Putin’s family?” Bergmann argues, “He didn’t forget, his lawyers didn’t forget. This is an intentional omission. Given this was a sanctioned company, was Ross going to personally benefit if sanctions were lifted?”
As for Kushner, recall this isn’t the first time his ties with Russia have become an issue. Kushner met during the transition with head of a sanctioned Russian bank and discussed a back channel to Moscow using Russian communication lines. He has had to amend his disclosure forms several times to account for foreign connections. During the campaign, he sat in on a June 2016 Trump Tower meeting with Russian officials who were offering dirt on Clinton. He later reportedly urged Trump to fire then-FBI Director James B. Comey, who was investigating campaign ties to Russia. “The additional revelations about Kushner’s ties to Russian financing appears to contradict his public statement in July,” Bergmann says. “If anyone else got caught doing what Kushner did, leaving out essential information on the security clearance form, they would have had their clearance revoked immediately, would be out of a job, and possible criminally investigated.”
Then there is former campaign chairman Paul Manafort, who has been indicted on tax fraud and money laundering charges stemming from his work for Russia’s man in Ukraine, former president Viktor Yanukovych. Manafort also has a connection to a Russian mob figure. (“[H]e used a company called Lucicle Consultants Limited to wire millions of dollars into the United States. The Cyprus-based Lucicle Consultants Limited, in turn, reportedly received millions of dollars from a businessman and Ukrainian parliamentarian named Ivan Fursin, who is closely linked to one of Russia’s most notorious criminals: Semion Mogilevich.”) While Manafort was campaign chairman, the Republican platform was changed to remove a commitment to providing arms to Ukraine to repel Russian forces.
We’re not nearly done. Next is Carter Page, another campaign foreign policy aide, who reportedly went to Russia during the campaign and told now-Attorney General Jeff Sessions about it. He is also linked to a Russian spy recruiter.
Sessions has twice testified inaccurately about his contacts and knowledge of Russian contacts during the campaign. He also assisted in firing Comey, whom Trump said was let go at a time Russia was on his mind.
We move on to fired national security adviser Michael T. Flynn, who was paid for a speech in Russia and was a regular guest on RT, Russia’s TV propaganda station. Then-acting attorney general Sally Yates reported to the White House that Flynn was lying to the vice president about Flynn’s contacts with Russians during the transition. NBC reports that “federal investigators have gathered enough evidence to bring charges in their investigation of President Donald Trump’s former national security adviser and his son as part of the probe into Russia’s intervention in the 2016 election, according to multiple sources familiar with the investigation. … The investigators are speaking to multiple witnesses in coming days to gain more information surrounding Flynn’s lobbying work, including whether he laundered money or lied to federal agents about his overseas contacts, according to three sources familiar with the investigation.” (Flynn has also been under fire for work as a unregistered agent on behalf of Turkey.)
Then we arrive at the president. Trump has insisted he had no contact and no deals with Russia. However, he did host the Miss Universe pageant in Russia and during the campaign pursued a deal for a Trump Tower in Russia. He publicly invited Russia to find Hillary Clinton’s lost emails during the campaign. In the final days of the campaign, he referred to WikiLeaks documents dozens of times. He has disputed that Russia meddled in the campaign, which members of both parties and our intelligence community definitively say occurred.
The blizzard of Russia connections between members of Trump’s team, including his son Donald Trump Jr. (who attended the June 2016 Trump Tower meeting and received an ample speaking fee from French allies of the Russian government) and son-in-law, top members of his administration (the attorney general, former national security adviser Flynn) and his campaign (Manafort, George Papadopoulos, Page), coupled with the utter lack of candor about such ties, all take place in the context of an election in which Russia executed a sophisticated plan to interfere in our democracy. Trump tried to stop Comey from investigating Flynn and then fired Comey, who was investigating the Russia connection.
At best, Trump might claim he was surrounded by Russian dupes with bad memories. Rather than hire “the best people,” it seems he hired a band of misfits in bed with a foreign power. Even then, his obsession with shutting down Comey and discrediting Mueller makes no sense if this was all innocent conduct unrelated to him and the election.
“The constant deception and lying from this administration when it comes to Russia makes it abundantly clear that they have something to hide,” says Bergmann. “It also raises real questions about whose interests they are actually representing — theirs? The Russians’? It certainly seems the American people come last in that order.”
And with all this, we still don’t know the truth about Trump’s own direct financial ties, if any, to Russia because he will not disclose his tax returns or provide a full accounting of his businesses. Is there any doubt why Trump’s business deals should be investigated? If he’s actually free from Russian connections, he might be unique in this administration.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)