Response To Dr Nalaka Godahewa’s Speech At The UNHRC In Geneva – Part VIII

By Lionel Bopage –December 7 2017 

[Part 7 of this series was published on Monday, the 4^th of December 2017]

Correction: The previous parts of this lengthy response was published under the heading ‘In Light of Dr. Nalaka Godahewa’s Speech at the UNHRC in Geneva’. The author regrets this unwitting error ascribing an undeserving distinction to the speaker.

6. Dr Godahewa says: Sri Lanka gives recognition to the minorities in the national flag itself, not many countries in the world give such recognition to the minorities; all public documents including currency notes and those relating to marriage, death and immigration are available in both Sinhala and Tamil languages; all communities receive free education and healthcare with no discrimination whatsoever and they are able to participate in sports and represent the country at national level.

In addition to other state symbols and anthems, many countries use flags featuring animals of all sorts, but all of them symbolises positive aspirations. For example, the National Flag of Zambia is different from the rest of the world in that it uses a green back with “an orange-coloured African fish eagle in flight over a rectangular block of three vertical stripes in red, black, and orange (left to right). Green stands for the nation’s lush flora, red for the nation’s struggle for freedom, black for the Zambian people, and orange for the land’s natural resources and mineral wealth. ”^[1] The African Fish Eagle flying above the coloured stripes implies the people’s ability to rise above the nation’s problems. On the contrary, it is sad that the National Flag of Sri Lanka has become a symbol of ethnic divide for the exclusion of the other rather than exemplifying unity and inclusivity needed for building a better, harmonious and fairer country. Compartmentalising (or pigeonholing) the ‘minorities’ in the country’s national flag as a proportion to the majority Sinhala Buddhists is quite detrimental to the spirit of One Nation. Most successful democracies of diverse ethnicities opt for unifying symbols in their national flags.

 

To the credit of successive governments, limited progress has been achieved in making public documents available in all three languages of Sri Lanka. Despite this, there is no assurance that a public servant will either file or respond to an application in the same language the applicant is conversant with. In such instances the applicant must find at his own expense a sworn translator for a legally valid translation. In many offices in the South, there are no officers who can understand or read or write Tamil. And volumes of documents both in the public and private sector are not available in all three languages.

How much blood had we spilled to avoid the three languages being used in public documentation? How many Police or security force personnel are willing to accept a complaint that is made in Tamil? For people communicating in Tamil, why do public servants respond to only in Sinhala? Why is there no responsible mechanism to ensure that the provisions of the Constitution are more fully enforced? The more we dig, the more discriminatory practices come to light. This list is endless.

As to the free education, healthcare and participation in sports, etc., Dr Godahewa must perhaps be thinking of a wonderland. Not all teachers and doctors can be blamed for the notable deficiency in the fields of education and health. Due to lack of appropriate policy formulation and implementation, and prevalent corruption, mismanagement and inefficiency we face in Sri Lanka today, the standard of education at primary, secondary and tertiary levels continue to deteriorate. In many government hospitals, doctors briefly attend to patients and then soon leave to attend to their more lucrative private practices. No proper treatment, medication, or timely surgery for those disadvantaged people seeking help in the public hospitals. Unfortunately, this is the reality. The waiting times for treatment are much worse in the war affected north and east. Needless to say the rate of Tamil representation in sports at national and international level have been statistically low for over many decades.

The symbolism a national flag represents does not have any useful meaning unless actions are taken to make that symbolism a material reality at the grassroots level. A country may have the best constitution as its basic law, but it is not worth the paper it is written on without genuinely implementing its provisions for the betterment of all its peoples. Sadly, there are those in Dr Godahewas’s camp who do not wish even the National Anthem sung in Tamil! How could it be construed as constructive rather than discriminatory?

7. Dr Godahewa adds: Thesavalamai Law does not allow anybody else other than a Tamil to buy land in Jaffna, but Tamils have no restriction whatsoever to buy properties elsewhere in the country.

In the Northern Province, a code of laws called Thesavalamai Law (Customs of the Land) is in operation and deals with property, inheritance and marriage. This traditional law is both territorial and personal in character. This law is applicable to all lands in the Northern Province irrespective of the nationality and religion of their owners. As a customary territorial law it applies to Tamils in the Mannar area as well, but not to Tamils living in Trincomalee or Batticaloa, or Malaiyaha Tamils living in the plantations.

 

It recognises three property rights: dowry property (Seedhanam) that women receive when they are married; property inherited by a man from his parents (Muthisam); and property acquired by the husband / married couples after marriage, which will be equally owned by the husband and wife (Thediya theddam)[2]. This code existed prior to colonial days. During the Dutch colonial rule in 1706, this was codified. Under Tesawala Regulation No 18 of 1806, the British made it legally valid. As in the case of other laws, this law has been enriched by the case law and precedents, and will have contradictions and conflicts that need to be resolved via clauses of preclusions, exclusions, ultra vires and effective date etc. However, this law is said to be not to have evolved with time or taken into account the social changes.

Additional to the Thesavalamai Law in the Northern Province, Kandyan Law, Muslim Law and Mukkuwa Law are also in operation in Sri Lanka within restricted parameters. The Roman Dutch Law applies outside these restricted parameters. In Batticaloa the dominant Mukkavar caste had similar codes to preserve their dominant economic position in society, its main difference being that the distribution of property followed the matriarchal line rather than the patriarchal one. This way the elites in the north and east put their energies into education to find good civil service jobs, so they could preserve their family and religious traditions.

Maintaining very close family relationships among Tamils by this rigid customary law, was a basic principle of the Tamil Joint Family system. These customs and practices related to land appear to have come into being due to specific socio, economic and cultural conditions that existed in the Jaffna Peninsula, such as scarcity of resources, limited availability of arable land and water shortages for agriculture. Sub-division of arable land to be sold to an outsider will affect agricultural productivity due to lack of economies of scale. It will also lead to problems like sharing a common well which might be on the property, which is also accessed by adjoining landholders.

The joint ownership of property appears to be maintained to prevent that property being transacted without the knowledge of the other owner/s. Under this law, upon marriage guardianship of a woman passes from her father to her husband. Thus, the husband becomes the sole and irrevocable attorney of the wife. Hence, she cannot transact even her own personal investments or sign away ownership of land without her husband’s written consent. It is also the case the other way around. Even husband cannot sell a land in his own name, bought or inherited after marriage, without the written consent of his wife! It is designed to protect the marriage relationship for all times!! Similarly, any inheritance from parents cannot be transacted ignoring their interests and well-being in their old age.

According to Dr H W Tambiah, the notion that Sinhalese cannot buy land in the Northern Province consequent to the law of preemption under the Thesavalamai Law is a grave misconception[3]. Tambiah argues that ‘what is contemplated by the law of preemption is that a co-owner or prospective interstate heir should have preferential right to purchase the land in question; if persons who are able to preempt refuse to purchase the land, then, it can be purchased by anyone else. Preemption does not result in a prohibition on the alienation of land except to certain specified persons. … … It should also be noted that any person could buy land in the Northern Province if he or she was prepared to pay a higher price than the persons who are entitled to preempt’.

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Successive Sinhalese Govts Attempted to change demography - Chief Minister Wigneswaran

2017-12-07

Chief Minister of the Northern Province, Justice C.V. Wigneswaran says, Rear Admiral Sarath Weerasekara's recent interview with Ceylon Today titled 'Wigneswaran should resign', needs to be replied. In his email response, to Admiral Weerasekera's answers to Ceylon Today The Interview of 23 November 2017, the Chief Minister has expressed his opinion, by taking each point he contradicts and has formulated his responses.
CM: Federalism will retain the togetherness of the Country while the disparate groups whether in the North and East or each of the other seven Provinces would be able to govern themselves according to their individual culture, customs and aspirations.

It appears he is interested in a unitary structure to retain the undue advantage the Sinhalese usurped unto themselves at the time of Independence. They promised to look after the interests of the minorities allowing section 29 into the Constitution. But the very next year, in 1949, they deprived the Up - Country Tamils of their franchise. They brought 'Sinhala only' took over schools, brought standardization and colonized traditional Tamil areas all to the detriment of the minorities. This gentleman seems to be interested in keeping the undue advantage gained at the time of independence unto the Sinhalese forever. Surly it is time to become sane and reasonable!

Sarath has said Sri Lanka is a unitary country and for thousands of years the Sinhalese have made supreme sacrifice to keep it unitary.

CM: That's rubbish! Where did he learn his history? Until 1833 the country was divided. The Tamil speaking people had a kingdom of their own, the East was governed by Tamil petty chiefs and the North and East formed a composite Tamil speaking area. There were three or four separate kingdoms in the Island. This country was never unitary unless a king brought the whole country under his suzerainty during his lifetime. Ellalan the Tamil King brought the entire country under his overlordship and ruled for 44 years. But such overlordship was not regular. Hence the country cannot be referred to have been unitary throughout by any stretch of imagination.

He says if federalism is granted the country would be divided.

CM: The country is divided even now. This is not a Sinhala Buddhist country. There are Sri Lankan Tamils, both Christian and Hindu, Muslims, Upcountry Tamils both Christian and Hindu, Sinhalese both Christian and Buddhist, Veddahs and others living in many areas. There is an artificial togetherness brought about by the Unitary Constitution. The Unitary Constitution has conferred overall control over the country unto the hands of the Sinhalese. That is where the problem is. The Sinhalese have misused the trust reposed on them by the British and have been discriminating against the Tamils right from the beginning. When Sir John Kotelawala said parity of status to both Sinhala and Tamils, S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike said "Sinhala only in 24 hours" and won the election in 1956 by pandering to the baser instincts of the majority community. I say baser instincts because in 1958 we had the butchering of the Tamils by the Sinhalese. Since then the majority community has called the shots to the detriment of the Tamils.

Programs and riots were the result of Sinhala hegemony and intolerance towards other communities. Federalism is to install the equality and dignity of the people including the Tamil speaking people. Just because one community is more in numbers they do not in any way become bigger or better than members of other communities. All have equal rights. Thus the individuality of the Tamil speaking people need to be maintained. Presently there is a tendency to call the country Sinhala Buddhist and give wrong information regarding the Tamils. There is also a tendency to colonize the traditional Tamil areas with Sinhala colonists.

Federalism is the ideal arrangement to maintain our individuality and dignity while working with the other communities for the betterment of a united Sri Lanka. Hence we have asked for an Eksath Lanka rather than Ekiya Lanka.

Sarath has referred to my life personally and said you have the audacity to announce that the country should be federated and that Sinhalese and the Muslims have no right to live in Jaffna. That I had advised the Tamil youth not to marry Sinhalese.

CM: I pity this gentleman whoever he is! I am proud of my background. I have lived in many parts of this country. I have some knowledge of all religions in this country. I used to go to Vajiraramaya whenever Ven. Narada Thera used to give talks on Buddhism. I know to some extent the three main languages spoken in the country. I have moved closely with Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims, Burghers, Malays and so on. I consider myself a Tamil Sri Lankan not a Sri Lankan. But I never said Sinhalese and Muslims have no right to live in Jaffna. That's preposterous. I have opposed State sponsored colonization and still do. That is done by the State to bring about demographic changes in predominantly Tamil speaking areas to set up Sinhala hegemony. Therefore, I have opposed such modus operandi of successive Governments.

How could I ask the Tamil youth not to marry Sinhalese when my own children themselves have married into Sinhala families?

He also had said that I must know the true history of Sri Lanka and maintain that Sri Lanka has been historically one country.

CM: Surely the history of the Tamils of Sri Lanka is quite well known now ! The Tamil Dravidians were the original inhabitants of this country. No doubt there had been Tamils coming into the country at various times in history. But they are all to be considered as Dravidian Tamils joining up with the original inhabitants who were Dravidian Tamils themselves. Students join a school at various classes.

But they are all considered as old boys of the same school. All inhabitants of the North and East are Dravidian Tamils. If the country was one country, at any time, before the birth of the Sinhalese language, it was during the 44 years' reign of the Tamil King Ellalan. Otherwise the country throughout had independent states. It was never a united single country unless a king captured or annexed other kingdoms. Their reign lasted until that king lived only.

Uniting of the different disparate parts took place in 1833 when the British wanted to bring in administrative unity. But even then the Northern and Eastern Provinces have been majority Tamil speaking areas until now, despite every effort on the part of successive Sinhalese Governments to change the demography adversely against the Tamil speaking. They are continuing to change the demography even now with the help of the Armed Forces.

The Sinhala Colonists living around Trinco came there as recently as during Madame Srimavo's time in the 1970s. I have gone and met them in the 1970s. They complained then to me that the Government wants them to take over Tamil areas but the Government had not given adequate amenities and protection. They thought I was a Sinhalese and confided in me! It was open colonization to capture traditionally Tamil speaking areas for the Sinhalese.

The Admiral also points out 'what about the 58 percent' of Tamils living in the South among the Sinhalese?

CM: What about them? They would be living in one country. So they could decide whether they should live in the North or South.

There would be nothing to force mass exodus of Tamils from Colombo nor mass exodus of Sinhalese from the North and East.

That is a wrong perception of federalism. This type of misunderstanding is what has made federalism a dirty word among the Sinhalese.

Every learned Sinhalese unless he is a politician talking with his tongue in his cheek welcomes federalism as an appropriate Constitutional arrangement to allow all communities to live in equality, dignity and peace.

He says you have returned money given by the Government to the North for development. He quotes Hon. Douglas Devananda.

CM: Again he is wrong. We have not returned a cent up to date. Only this week the Northern Province CM's Ministry was adjudged number one among 831 Ministries, Departments both Central and Provincial, plus local authorities and received the Gold Medal for proper financial management. In fact we have done development work this year but the money promised to us by the Central Government has still not been paid to us. Contractors have stopped work. Over 1000 million is still due. If this gentleman wants to know about us let him ask us directly. We will reply him. Why is he asking a politician rejected by our people? Though Douglas Devananda is also an MP now, thanks to the proportional representation system he is there. Otherwise he would have been ex-MP as he is ex-Minister now.

He disputes that Devanampiya Theesan was a Tamil.

CM: Devanampiya Theesan lived long before the Sinhala language was born. How could he be a Sinhalese? Sinhala language came into being only around the 6th or 7th century AD. It is idiotic to refer to anyone who existed before the birth of the Sinhala language as Sinhalese.
Later books after the birth of Sinhala language might have referred to our land in anyway their fancies directed them.

Original name of this country was "Sinhale" says Admiral Weerasekara.

CM: Again it is rubbish! Eelam was the original name. Hela is the Pali form of Eelam. Sinhale is a later concoction. If need be let us arrange for independent, impartial international historians to have a debate with the pseudo historians among the Sinhalese to find out the truth. It will not take an hour to demolish the fancy apology put forward as history by such pseudo Sinhala historians.

One has to produce the pre Buddhistic Dravidian finds in this Island to demolish such fancy ideas.

He had said that I do not want to allow Sinhalese in the North?

CM: Again wrong. I am against State colonization of the North and East. There are Sinhalese in Vavuniya living there for over 75 years or so. Surely they are part and parcel of the North! For the sake of two such members from Vavuniya we give all respect to their language and translate all NPC documents into Sinhalese and provide them with translations though at much inconvenience, since translators are hard to come by. We treat our Sinhalese brethren with love and respect. Mr. Weerasekara must be carrying his military insufficiencies in his heart!

He refers to those who are alleged to have committed War crimes as War heroes.

CM: That is the tragedy of our leaders today! Criminals are identified as heroes.

THE ASSOCIATION OF CHIEFS OF POLICE (RTD.) OF SRI LANKA OPPOSES DEVOLVING LAW AND ORDER TO PROVINCES

Image: Sri Lanka Police in action in Tamil dominated Jaffna. (Credit corporatewatch.org)

07/12/2017

The Association of Chiefs of Police (Rtd.) of Sri Lanka has passed a resolution against completely devolving to the Provincial Councils the subject of Law and Order in its recently held AGM. This resolution is based on wrong information and flawed conclusions. This is  an another effort to distort the aims and objectives of the proposed constitutional reform and wipe up extreme Sinhala nationalism. This association made up of  Sinhalese officers  only.

Full text of the resolution fellows:

The Association resolved as follows:

The Interim Report of the Steering Committee of the Constituent Assembly which was debated in Parliament beginning on 30th October 2017 has recommended that the subject of Law and Order which is a Provincial Council Subject be completely devolved to the jurisdiction of the Provincial Councils, as envisaged in the 13th Amendment to the Constitution

1.        It is vital to point out that the provisions of the 13th amendment vis-à-vis police powers were never implemented by any government over the past three decades and one reason for this policy which is quite obvious is that such devolution would have positively rendered the country ungovernable. Devolution of police powers would have rendered the all important concept in good governance, namely accountability, inoperative and that is the fundamental reason  why so many past Presidents including the present, did not devolve police powers, though what is possible is decentralization, which has already been done.

2.       The policy to divide the Police Service into nine Provincial Police Services is conceptually flawed because it is impracticable and unnecessary in this small country of 25000 square miles and 21 m. population, especially, in view of the present and future fast communications systems, road and air transport facilities which facilitates effective central control and direction even in a large country with far bigger population..

3.       It is conceptually flawed for the reason that it fundamentally undermines the unitary and unified command structure. It dismantles the police command structure, thus rendering the chain of command inoperable and national accountability for law and order maintenance impossible. This is especially dangerous in a national crisis or a disaster affecting more than one province, as there will be no one who can be held responsible to the nation in such situations. The most recent example was the petrol crisis, the responsibility for which fell squarely on the Minister in charge of Petroleum and the CPC. This is because the petrol purchasing and distribution was centrally done. The IGP would not have had the authority if police powers were devolved, to give directions to the local police in the southern Provincial Council area relating to the serious clashes which occurred in the Ginthota locality just a couple of weeks ago.

4.       The command and control structure of the Sri Lanka Police Service as articulated by the Police Ordinance is predicated on a unitary model with the IGP at its helm as the head of the Police Force. What is envisaged under the 13th Amendment is the bifurcation of this cohesive entity into two parts by enacting a new Police Act according to which there will be two units, viz National Police and Provincial Police. The IGP will be a titular head of the National police service exercising effective authority only in the Metropolitan Police area, while the heads of the Provincial police will exercise effective authority in their respective areas. In view of this division, the IGP cannot be held responsible to the Minister in charge for the law and order of the entire country and therefore the Minister cannot be held answerable to the Parliament for preservation of law and order in the country. The respective heads of Provincial police will be answerable to the Chief Ministers and through them to the Provincial Councils for the law and order function.

5.        The latter will have powers of enacting legislation pertaining to law and order which will result in    the country not having uniform penal legislation, despite having a common Criminal Procedure Code.

6.       Coordination, prevention, detection and investigation of crime will become complicated and complex with obstacles placed in the area of cross-border crime and investigation and prosecution. For example, the presently most effective 119 system will be impossible under the new devolved proposals. The best example of the centralized co-ordination will be the recent gang rape case of Kayts where the main suspect tried to escape through the BIA with the alleged aid and abetting by the Northern Range S/DIG. It is spectacular that he could be nabbed at the Air Port in no time due to the centralized system.

7.        The National Police will have very few and insignificant functions to perform and would not be entitled to wear the Police Uniform when deployed in the Provincial Council areas.
8.        In this untenable situation the IGP can only stipulate standards and guidelines to be followed by the Provinces and there is no guarantee that they will be followed.

9.       Recruitment will be on a provincial basis which will ensure that the loyalty of the provincial police will be to the local politicians which will threaten the survival of the nation as one unit. No police officer could be transferred out of the province on disciplinary grounds even in cases of serious dereliction of duty. The result would be the flourishing of symbiotic relationships among criminals and corrupt police officers and local politicians.

10.    National and public security will be in veritable danger with the fundamental task of collection of national intelligence made impossible by the division of the police into 10 separate parts. The end result will be not only the degeneration of law and order into a state of anarchy but also the destruction of the nation itself.

11.   His Excellency the President at page 16, in his Election Manifesto dated  19th December 2014, gave a firm commitment that the Police Service will be depoliticized and that promotions will be granted on the basis of merit and performance. But in view of the envisaged devolution of police powers, the police officers and even the Provincial Police Commissions will come under the control and directions of the Provincial Chief Ministers and Governors, which will make the de-politicization promised, a far-fetched implausible fantasy and a dream.

12.   In view of the foregoing submissions articulated after due and careful deliberation, this House resolves that the devolution of police powers to the Provincial Councils will be inimical to the realization of the effective implementation of law and order in the country and to the concept of GOOD GOVENANCE in which law and order occupies a preeminent position and which is in fact the quintessence of good governance.

13.    We furthermore resolve that copies of this Resolution be forwarded to His Excellency the President, Honourable Prime Minister, Honourable Minister for Law and Order and Honourable Speaker and to the National Police Commission for  suitable action.

Bimal calls for resignation of three ministers 

2017-12-07 17

JVP MP Bimal Ratnayake today said National Integration and Reconciliation Minister Maithripala Sirisena, Prison Reforms, Rehabilitation, Resettlement and Hindu Religious Affairs Minister D .M. Swaminathan and National Co-existence Dialogue and Official Languages Minister Mano Ganesan should resign from their portfolios for having failed to spend even half of the funds allocated to their ministries.

"I propose that if Parliament had powers, these three ministers should be removed from their portfolios immediately," he said claiming that the three ministries were vital in promoting national reconciliation.

He told Parliament that the National Integration and Reconciliation Ministry had spent only Rs. 328 million of the allocated Rs. 3,532 million last year, which was only 9 per cent while Prison Reforms, Rehabilitation, Resettlement and Hindu Religious Affairs Ministry had spent only Rs. 6,000 million of the allocated Rs. 10,167 million.

He said the National Co-existence Dialogue and Official Languages Ministry had spent only Rs. 434 million of the allocated Rs. 1,603 million. (Ajith Siriwardana and Yohan Perera)

IT’S DEVELOPED WORLD PROLETARIAT, MIDDLE CLASS THAT PRESS FOR HR

By Vickramabahu Karunaratne-2017-12-07

One leftist friend of mine made a critical remark about my writings in Sri Lankan newspapers. "Putting Mahinda Rajapaksa and Velupillai Prabhakaran in the same level is totally unacceptable. This is an argument that justifies the war. In the guise of peace Ranil Wickremesinghe split Karuna Amman from the LTTE. That was a dishonest move against a movement that trusted a Sinhala leader.
You should also write that when speaking about Ranil's bloodless solution. I think that you should correct this before publishing.

Calling it a tactical mistake is one thing that is subject to friendly debate. But saying that Mahinda and Prabha didn't allow without referring to what Ranil did is a hostile statement against the Tamil struggle. Prabha gave the option for the Sinhalese to decide whether they wanted war or peace and the Sinhala majority opted for war. Later Ranil sent 17 of his men to prop up the war budget. Making sweeping statements will only antagonize the likes of Tamils who collectively seek justice as we saw in the martyr's day commemoration. Actually, we should be attacking people like Ruwan Wijewardene and Champika Ranawaka for calling to punish those who commemorate the war dead." We are discussing the past to bring an acceptable solution to the national problem. There is an open atmosphere to come out with what you think, particularly about what happened in the past.

We have to stop the tragedy of war repeating; hence it is necessary to give credit to those who work hard under difficult situations to build a bridge acceptable to all. It is necessary to remember everything that happened in the past to make a proper analysis; but it is quite unnecessary to remind everything in a purposeful discourse.

British Government

As one would expect the British Government wants Sri Lanka to fully implement UN Human Rights Council Resolution 34/1, according to the answer of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Minister, Mark Field.

Answering three written questions submitted by a Labour MP he indicated that he stressed to Sri Lanka's Foreign Minister, Tilak Marapana the importance of implementing the Resolution.

"The UK is committed to the full implementation of Resolution 34/1 and will continue to support the Government of Sri Lanka in its efforts to promote reconciliation and human rights," he noted. This may influence other counties in Europe and America to take up the same position.

Resolution 30/1 recognized the importance of a credible accountability process for those most responsible for violations and abuses. It also called for the participation in Sri Lankan judicial accountability process of Commonwealth and other foreign Judges, defence lawyers, and authorized prosecutors and investigators. The Government of Sri Lanka has not accepted latter as a necessity. However, the commitments include the return of all military-held private land, the activating of the Office of Missing Persons and the development of new counter-terrorism legislation instead of PTA in line with international human rights standards.

However, the release of another 29 acres of land under military control in Jaffna to civilian owners is a signal that the Government remains committed to the reconciliation process it embarked upon in January 2015 when it came to power. The high point of the Government's commitment came nine months later in October of that year when it went beyond expectations in co-signing the UN Human Rights Council resolution on Sri Lanka. In the past, the Mahinda regime had considered previous UN resolutions on the subject to be imperialist interventions in Sri Lanka and to be necessarily opposed and rejected. In the modern world human rights are implement by world authorities due to the power of the proletariat and the conscious middle class in the developed world. One could see the power of active masses in US against the policies of President Donald Trump. As such the Yahapalana Government turned this negative approach around. The problem, however, has been that the government's implementation of its commitment has subsequently been slow. This has given rise to doubts about the Government's commitment to the reconciliation process.

With the holding of Local Government elections looming on the horizon, the present circumstances are not the best for the Government to disturb the peace process. Though it is Local Government elections, the results of these elections will be seen as a vote of confidence in the performance of the government midway in its tenure. The clearing of the path to conducting the long delayed Local Government election is almost complete. Let us wait for the outcome!

Ranil At Bay: Not My Business If Ravi Also Ensured Massive Profits For Aloysius

By Rajiva Wijesinha ––December 7 2017 

[Part 4 of this series was published on December 5, 2017]

The Prime Minister also dodges the Supplementary Questions

Question Number 27 is as follows-

 

“There is evidence before this Commission of Inquiry which suggests that, on 28th March 2016 and 30th March 2016, the then Hon. Minister of Finance met senior officers of the Bank of Ceylon, the People’s Bank and the National Savings Bank and instructed that these three Banks submit Bids at specified Rates at the Treasury Bond Auctions to be held on 29th March 2016 and 31st March 2016. 

The evidence also suggests that, at these two meetings, the then Hon. Minister of Finance indicated to the officers of these Banks that, the CBSL would not accept Bids at Rates which were higher than the Rates specified by him and that, accordingly, the three Banks submitted Bids at the specified Rates. However, the evidence suggests that, in fact, when these two Treasury Bond Auctions were held, the CBSL had accepted Bids at Rates which were considerably higher than the Rates at which these Banks had placed Bids based on the instructions given by the then Hon. Minister of Finance.

Were you aware, in March or April 2016, of the aforesaid meetings and events?”

My reply is as follows-

I am unaware of the meetings referred to in paragraph 27. I suspect Ravi decided to get in on the act, having got an apartment courtesy of Mr Aloysius and seeing nothing wrong with doing on a large scale what had been done under our aegis the previous year. Since we seemed to have got away with it, having suppressed the earlier COPE report and then keeping Mr Mahendran in office, I can see the temptation. Leave alone what we were responsible for, my spirited defence of Mr Mahendran must have tempted Ravi and his cronies, and there was nothing I could do when I found out what had happened since I could not afford to find fault with something I had happily countenanced the previous year.

And we would have got away with it if the Auditor General had not been determined to do what he thinks is his job, and if Handunetti had not let us down even though I thought he could be squared which is why we put him in charge of COPE. And by the time we knew what was happening, and put Sujeewa on for damage control, things had gone too far.

 

Question numbers [7], [27] and [30] are as follows-

“[7] Please see Cabinet Sub-Committee on Economic Affairs Meeting Minutes of 24.02.2015 & 03.03.2015.

(a) In terms of RDA Projects the decision was that all road projects to be prioritized and implemented with available funds? A list to be prepared and finalised next week. (Vide Minutes of Meeting 24.02.2015).

Therefore, having regard to the above there was no urgent funding requirement which was discussed or agreed upon?”

“[27] In response to question No.12, you have stated that it is incorrect to state that funds for payment of contractors for roadworks was not required to be raised in February or March 2015. However, documents in evidence before this Commission, including the relevant monthly cash flows and the minutes of the meeting of the Cabinet Sub Committee on Economic Management in February 2015 indicate that there was no such requirement. The said Cabinet Sub Committee has in fact decided that these payments should be met with available funds. So, on what basis do you substantiate your position?”

“[30] The briefing note you have produced at X1 does not refer to an urgent funding requirement of Rs.15 billion for payment of contractors for roadworks nor the breakfast meeting held on 26.02.2015. It only refers to the Rs.13.5 billion which was already in the cash flow for the week ending 02.03.2015. In this background, can you explain why you have in your response to question No.12 and in your Statement in Parliament on 17.03.2015 linked the Rs.15 billion for payment of contractors for roadworks and the breakfast meeting held on 26.02.2015 with the funds raised via the treasury bond auction of 27.02.2015?”

My reply is as follows-

Although at the meeting of the Cabinet Sub Committee on Economic Affairs held on 24th February 2015 it is recorded that “All road projects to be prioritized and implemented with available funds”, I was subsequently informed by the Minister of Highways that only about Rupees One Billion was in fact available to make payments for these projects. Though this is not on record and you might think it strange that he should have discovered this so conveniently for the bond issue, I am confident that he too acted in good faith.

I requested the concerned Ministers and officials of the Treasury and CBSL to give priority to sorting out how the funds could be obtained.

Therefore when the meeting of 26th February 2015 was held they had decided that Rs. 15 Billion was urgently required.

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Sri Lanka moving towards debt sustainability

 Dec 07, 2017

The Government will raise money through the issuance of sovereign bonds in the offshore capital market next year to beef up funds for bunched-up debt repayments amounting to a staggering US$13.8 billion before its maturity period from 2019 to 2022, a senior Finance Ministry official said.

There are no repayments for international sovereign bonds in 2018; he said adding that the debt servicing will be maintained without any hindrance as scheduled.
Sri Lanka has commenced a debt sustainability process under the supervision of the IMF, he disclosed. He noted that the Central Bank will go to the market and use financial resources to tackle the bunching-up debt that is going to be experienced from 2019 onwards while concentrating on liability management. A framework is also being worked out for liability management, he said pointing out that there will be a peak in domestic debt repayments in 2018.

A Liability Management Act will be enacted in parliament soon to create the breathing space to address the bunching of external debt from 2019, Governor of the Central Bank Dr. Indrajit Coomaraswamy said at a recent public meeting. This will relax the ceiling on Government borrowing set out in the Appropriation Act to raise financing to reduce the costs of external obligations; he said adding that this will serve to reduce roll-over risk. The ‘Sri Lanka Enterprise’ Budget 2018 had proposed to permit the Bank of Ceylon (BoC) and the People’s Bank to raise debt and equity capital overseas. Previously, the BoC and the National Savings Bank had gone to the international markets to raise capital.

According to Central Bank statistics, Sri Lanka has to pay $2.56 billion in 2018, $3.99 billion in 2019 and $3.46 billion in 2020 for debt servicing. The unsustainable debt burden can only be resolved through prudent policies; proactive liability management, and above all, export transformation, The Government also plans to utilise the proceeds of the divestment of public assets to pay the debt, the Governor revealed.

The long-lease of the Hambantota port will generate much needed non-debt creating flows for liability management which is essential to address external debt repayments from 2019 onwards, he added. Meanwhile S&P Global Ratings recently revised its outlook on Sri Lanka to ‘Stable’ from ‘Negative’. The ‘Stable’ outlook reflects its expectation that the Government will maintain the reform momentum over the next 12 months and smoothen the upcoming surge in debt redemptions, particularly in 2019, S&P said in a media release.

An investment house will be established to facilitate liability management; a senior Finance Ministry official said adding that the National Debt Management Act will also be presented in parliament shortly The debt to GDP ratio increased to 79.3 per cent in 2016 from 77.6 per cent in 2015 reflecting the debt financing of budget deficit, lower nominal GDP growth rate and the significant rupee depreciation on the stock of foreign currency denominated debt.

According to the Finance Ministry’s Fiscal Management Report – 2018, the ratio will gradually reduce to 70 per cent in 2020 with the expected lower fiscal deficit supported by a higher economic growth. The government will implement a forward looking liability management strategy for domestic and foreign debt portfolios under the Medium Term Debt Management Strategy (MTDS) as a measure of resolving high debt stock.

http://www.sundaytimes.lk

Court orders arrest of Sub Inspector

2017-12-07 

 Kayts Divisional Judge M. Riyaz on Tuesday ordered to take into custody the Sub Inspector who released Swiss Kumar, the main suspect in the gang rape and murder of Vidya, the student from Jaffna.

The Judge made this order when the case against Senior DIG Lalith Jayasinghe, who had been under custody and enlarged on bail over the incident was taken up. The evidence surfaced at this hearing detailed that while six suspects including Swiss Kumar were been taken to Kayts Police Station, a sub inspector identified as Gajan had arrived and taken away Swiss Kumar and another to the Jaffna Police Station and released the two suspects and remanded the remaining four.

As this was stated in the Jaffna High Court, as an action taken on the orders of the DIG, the concerned DIG was taken into custody and later released on bail. With the DIG submitting to the courts that he had not issued any orders or instructions to release Swiss Kumar, and he has no connection whatsoever in this regard, the Judge ordered the immediate arrest of the SI and production in courts.

The suspect SI had gone missing ever since the case on the murder of Vidya was being heard. However, on been confirmed that the SI was connected to this incident, IGP Pujith Jayasundera who visited Jaffna in July took steps to interdict him from service.

When this case was taken up for hearing on Tuesday, the Kayts Magistrate postponed the hearings to February 28, 2018. (Romesh Madushanka)

Fr. Michael Rodrigo Crusader for Social Justice (part II)

Rev. Fr. Aloysius Pieris, SJ delivered the Lectio Brevis on the occasion of the commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the death of famed social activist Fr. Michael Rodrigo OMI at the Centre for Society and Religion on 6 November.

THIS IS PART TWO OF THE SPEECH ;

2017-12-07

Already sometime in 1980, I addressed the CMRS begging it to fill this lacuna for we religious have both the experience and the resources others do not have. Fr. Michael was still alive then. My words fell on deaf ears. Later in the same decade, I made a second appeal. It fell on rocky soil. The text of that talk has been published in Vidyajyoti Journal of Religious Reflection and it was distributed at a third meeting in which I repeated the same request that the CMRS should take up the task of providing an alternative theological education. This third appeal fell by the wayside and birds swallowed it.

Then came the Asian Institute of Theology organized with the collaboration of OMI and CMF congregations, with the veterans Bob Luckart, Dalston Forbes and Anselm Silva, leading the movement. (Fr Mike was no more by then). As a member of that team, I appealed to my Higher Superiors in Rome and arranged for the possibility, under some easily manageable conditions, to give AIT the status of an RTC (Regional Theological College) of one of our Jesuit Institutions so that the AIT students here would study for Pontifical Degrees. But soon we found the AIT being restricted only to Oblates of the Colombo region. The opportunity slipped by.
The CMRS is sleeping. We Religious are self-centred and cannot come together to exercise our charismatic leadership in the local church unlike in many other countries.

Alternative Theologate

I cannot speak of this hostile period that brought about these series of failures without mentioning both Mike and Bob, because they joined Bishop Leo in offering an alternative theologate which the CMRS failed to provide when it was at their door-step. But their relationship and their cooperation in theological formation of seminarians was dialectical rather than dialogical.

Bob was one of the best academic guides that Sri Lankan seminarians ever had. He was not an eloquent speaker as Mike was. But he had a way of creating independent and self-confident thinkers among those seminarians who were bold enough to profit by his pedagogical method. He could create the type of seminarians that Gaudiumet Spes expected. But he did not have Mike's rhetorical skills; for Mike had a flair for coming down to the level of the hoi polloi when he gave a sermon or delivered a lecture.

His English was mellifluous and could burst into poetry. Responding to the signs of the times, Mike began to realize already as a National Seminary Professor that he had to come down from his English-speaking middle class platform and become as fluent as possible in the vernacular. The greatest difference between them was in the way each approached the poor and their poverty. Bob was more vocal about his disagreement with Mike than Mike was. Bob Luckart revealed to me his personal anxiety about Mike's alleged obsession with economic and social justice. By now Michael had made a theological synthesis between worship which he once taught in the seminary and social justice which his sojourn in Badulla awakened in him. Bob thought that Mike's radical socialism made him condemn even a poor man as a capitalist if he bought a bicycle. I am quoting Bob's own words. That was not Mike at all, but that was how Mike's rhetoric sounded to Bob's ears.

Martyr to justice

No wonder that many who did not have the IQ that Bob possessed, went to the extent of condemning Mike as a supporter of the remnants of the violently extremist movement of rural youth, a movement which was crushed way back in 1971. By this time Michael had fearlessly taken the risk of being misjudged as an extremist both in the ecclesiastical and the political milieu of our country. Thence forward, Michael was under suspicion and he knew there was no turning back. Incomprehension mounted, especially among the clerical and religious class of that time.

In taking his stand, Mike was only responding to his Master's call. When I think of Mike's bold option I think of Jesus in Galilee as depicted by Sean Freyne, one of the great Scripture scholars of our time. In the book he wrote before his death Sean Freyne shows how the Galilean peasants were exploited by local political leaders, the Herodians, the stooges of their foreign Masters in Rome whose economic policies created enormous destitution among the rural farming populations. Jesus ministered there, antagonizing the Herodians, the local politicos. Mike did just that in Wellassa and faced death threats from our Herodians who served the open economy policies of their foreign masters, and it was at their hands that he became a martyr to justice.

It is not too late to recognize Michael Rodrigo's sanity and sanctity which I think is the purpose of today's meeting and the expected outcome of this book on him: For Mike answered that call when he decided to satisfy his thirst to be poor, and be with the poor, a Galilean among the Galileans, a peasant among the peasants. He fulfilled this yearning when he founded Subha-seth-gedara, at Buttala while Bob Luckart, a pedagogue who inspired creativity in his students continued training the seminarians of the Badulla diocese.

Self-effacing humility

Mike's entry into Wellassa as a learner rather than a teacher was undramatic compared to his exit from Wellassa as a battered corpse. His unique mode of entry into the predominantly Buddhist ethos of Wellassa reveals something of his holiness. I am referring to the way he approached the Buddhists and their monastic custodians. Though a priest and a Religious and an academically qualified intellectual, he did not rub shoulders with Buddhist hierarchs as colleagues and equals as most of us do.

Whenever he visited a Buddhist Temple (as related by more than one witness) he presented himself as an ignorant nobody, taking the lowest seat, and showing a deference that touched the heart of monks and the laity. As far as I know, no Catholic Clergyman had ever exercised such self-effacing humility as a constant principle of inter-religious dialogue. Thus his incarnation among the poor rural folk in Wellassa was a true kenosis, a self-emptying, a reflection of his Master's humility, as I have duly acknowledged in my preface to the Book that is launched today. I was in Manila, giving my annual lectures there, when a phone call from Tulana announced the brutal murder to which his concern for justice led him. I whispered to myself: "Mike, too late have I known thee." For the occasion to have a close-range observation of his inner life and his true self - dawned on me only towards the final years of his life when he, not infrequently, spent the night with us during his visits to Colombo. That was an unforgettable experience for all of us at Tulana. I also have in our archives some very heart-revealing communications penned by his own hand which too gave me a glimpse into the inner impulses that he had received from the Spirit. They revealed to me a man ready to face any challenge in order to be faithful to the option he had made in response to the unique calling he had received from the Lord.

Sense of humour

Before I conclude I like to draw a very important and attractive feature in Mike's character which prepared him for martyrdom. I mean his sense of humour. Let me warn you: Do not work for social justice if you do not have a sense of humour; or else you will end up as a pathological messiah. Mike's emotional richness and its concomitant hyper-sensitivity was tempered by his ability to see the grotesque in the most serious event or occasion. I am not referring only to his play with words which provoked peals of laughter. All remember his pun "I succeed only in the Mango Season." - I suck mango seed.

Let me insist that I am not referring to his jokes and puns as such. The subtle humour I saw in Mike was an essential feature of his authentically Christian spirituality. Humour is an ingredient of the theological virtue of HOPE; for hope is the anticipation of a joyous finale experienced in the midst of pain. Humour is an eschatological virtue. We who believe in the God of the Bible as revealed in Jesus can face martyrdom only if we are capable of 'remembering our Future.' He who remembers the future laughs at the present threats and even at possible death. This is what Christian hope is about.The characteristic of a mature human personality is this way of living in the light of a Future Glory anticipated as the present moment. Hence, an authentic human person is defined as one who has eyes fixed on the horizon. Aristotle warned his students that anyone who was incapable of seeing the future is not just a non-human but a pig. A pig! His students challenged him, so the legend goes. Why single out pigs?

Aristotle explained that all animals can raise their heads and see far ahead on road. Only the pig has a stiff neck and cannot see anything beyond what its snout touches in front of its feet. Most of us according to Aristotle are pigs. It was only small coterie of stiff-necked clerics (for whom Aristotle had an apt nickname) that accused Mike of being a victim of his own political naiveté rather than a martyr to justice.

Rooted in hope

Yes, even in the face of death, we can raise our head and see the horizon, we can delve into the Eternal Now of God, where our future is already available for celebration.... only if we are a people rooted in hope. All martyrs had developed this theological virtue of smiling at the imminent disaster. In the monastery of Lerins in France and in the Xavier Castle in Spain, we have a sculpture of the crucified Christ with a serene smile illuminating the tortuous features of his bleeding countenance. It reveals the Hope of Resurrection radiating from death. This is the mark of all martyrs: they are driven by a hope that brings future glory to the present moment so as to allow themselves to challenge death itself. That is what facilitated the martyrdom of Fr. Michael Rodrigo, however threatening it might have appeared to him initially.

Right before the imminent annihilation of his work and life, he refused to run away from death, but faced the bullets, pouring his blood into the chalice wherein a moment earlier Christ had poured his own. He who taught liturgical worship in the seminary once upon a time has demonstrated what all the Major Prophets, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Amos and Hosea have repeatedly and unanimously shown, namely, that true worship overlaps with justice to the poor. His death which sealed his commitment to justice was his final act of worship.

Ite missaest, thundered the assassin's gun. "Go (ite), this community is sent (missaest)." It was sent on a mission, a mission begun by the martyrdom of a prophet. Mike is sending us to the poor to be with the poor, to be Galilean among the Galileans, peasant among the peasants. His witness unto death is ever echoing in our hearts; his blood cries to heaven not for vengeance but for more and more men and women who can give hope to the poor helpless peasants of Wellassa and everywhere, and today, particularly in the North, but not as prophets of doom but as heralds of hope, with their faces illuminated by eschatological humour and beaming with the victory of resurrection. Michael has left us a mission and also a message. In the book that is launched today, its author, Dr. Nandini Gunewardena challenges the readers to dig out and reflect over our martyr's last will and testament written with his blood. The launching of that biography is the climax of the day's agenda, which all are eagerly waiting for. To allow this programme to unroll, towards that inspiring finale, I press the 'pause button' on my lectio brevissima. Thank you for your kind attention.

Resident US advisor here to assist CIABOC

Sri Lanka categorized among the worst

December 6, 2017, 10:44 pm 

‘US support of global efforts to recover stolen assets and ensure corrupt actors cannot benefit from their ill-gotten gains is an important part of this work’

The US State Department Special Project has made provision for a Resident Legal Advisor in Colombo to provide anti-corruption and asset recovery training and also support the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery and Corruption (CIABOC).

The State Department has revealed the decision in a statement headlined The Global Forum on Asset Recovery: Assistance for Combatting Corruption in Nigeria, Sri Lanka, Tunisia, and Ukraine posted its website, on the eve of International Anti-Corruption Day.

The announcement was made while a high level Attorney General’s Department team was

in Washington to participate in the inaugural Global Forum on Asset Recovery (GFAR) co-hosted by the US and the United Kingdom.

During Barak Obama’s presidency, then Secretary of State John Kerry announced in Colombo his country’s readiness to help track down stolen money. The incumbent government has repeatedly accused former President Mahinda Rajapaksa of having stashed away as much as 18.5 bn USD in foreign accounts.

The State Department has said that since 2016 financial year, the US provided assistance for anti-corruption efforts in Sri Lanka to improve the functioning of Sri Lanka’s legal system and civil society, and to enhance good governance.

In addition, programmes included the provision of a Resident Legal Advisor.

Although the exact amount allocated for Sri Lanka hasn’t been revealed, the State Department says that since fiscal year 2016, the State Department and US Agency for International Development (USAID) has spent USD 115 mn annually to a wide range of foreign assistance efforts to counter corruption, including capacity building of foreign governments to create stronger laws and more effective institutions; investigate, prosecute, and secure convictions for corruption offences; and put in place measures to prevent corruption, foster oversight, and promote government integrity and transparency.

"US support of global efforts to recover stolen assets and ensure corrupt actors cannot benefit from their ill-gotten gains is an important part of this work."

The United States has also provided significant technical assistance to

Nigeria, Sri Lanka, Tunisia, and Ukraine to strengthen anti-corruption and asset recovery efforts.

Moving ahead or looking and living in the past

Thursday, 7 December 2017

We love history and especially our version of it! Someone said that history is what someone wrote and past is what actually happened. Well then for most of the time we will not have an ability to fathom the past the way it actually unfolded. Yet one can say in Sri Lanka we have a strong predisposition towards the past.

Politicians love the past, of course not all what had happened had been written down and most in politics have not really being registered as there are so much in so many heads. Everybody love going back to school – creating a market for oversized school uniforms in some situations – recreating the famous past batch trip and whenever someone from abroad appears, it is always time to party!

I am not exactly sure if those dear friends visit the country of residence of their beloved friends whether the people in those abodes do have the same time and energy to meet and exchange reminiscences of the past. An aspect that I have observed of course with very limited participation is that we tend to discuss the same old event and in the same old way – at least there is some consistency – in those happy sojourns. We must not forget that we have to live in the future and there is no way of really going back.

Einstein of course spent about 10 years of his life thinking about travelling with light and after a decade of such thought transformed physics and the world. No such thinking from our midst yet and quite unlikely too considering the usual chitchat that dominates! Sorry Lanka I know I have downgraded our system, yet remember only we can change this.


Planning

Moving on to planning we appear to base our decisions mainly on data from the past as well and other than cricket scores and election counts that usually may not be that reliable either. Of course you do not have data from the future yet exercising foresight really appears to be truly an act of bravery if one dares.

The future as it increasingly appears has to be understood to be one of complete difference to the past and the present that we appear to cling to so passionately. Stating simply, the country appears to come down on its knees simply for the reason of a ship laden with fuel being turned back. Meanwhile, 80kmh wind can wreak havoc simply because we have never factored these possibilities in most situations and fisher-folk will venture out and even lose their lives as the fax has not been received.

Heart surgeries may get stopped in our premier national hospital because of slow construction work – one can always identify the issue of procurements as the basic evil in many of these delays – as well as due to contaminations from multiple ways. For the latter issue we have heard that innovations that originated from Sri Lanka are serving well in India and abroad for overcoming similar situations.

Our hearts should stop or pulse should race reading these but unfortunately neither perhaps materialises and action based on understanding and evidence is still a distant dream.

Now well-to-do nations do face these situations as well. Hurricane Katrina literally slowed the United States and showed the world a darker side of response, resilience and responsibility even in a mighty economy. When Hurricane Sandy appeared in New York, Sri Lankan software was supporting the emergency operations. However Hurricane Harvey and the one followed almost on its heels – Hurricane Irma – indicated how lessons perhaps have been learnt and those winds were more than twice the speed that we experienced.

The issue for the world is that all of us will have to find some extra 50% of energy, 50% more food and 30% more water in order to support humanity as we move on. The framework for delivery of these requirements are sadly not the same as when the times of mass production successes were changing economies in 1960s. Sandy and Irma are examples for learning from events and the lesson for us is just talking about the past will never do.


Education

There is also the process of education becoming much more fluid rather than grounded in archaic practices. Introducing degree programs to a public university in our climate can be quite tricky based on foresight. Use of consolidated funds may mean having to demonstrate the exact number of job opportunities opening up in the future.

It may be quite easy to expand the conventional streams even without job data availability, as we are quite comfortable with the past practices. However it is quite easy to win the requirement if all the well-accepted normal job functions are indicated. This means an introduction of a degree program perhaps devoted to future studies will be an impossibility. University of Houston, which has the world’s oldest running program in this area, is quite unequivocal about the need.

There definitely is a need, considering that we need leaders and people equipped differently to serve us well in the future. Many of our graduates today do not have any understanding of the tools, etc. that are available and in use for illuminating the path ahead for one to make better decisions. The importance of these stem from the great uncertainties that we have today in the space that we have to call the future!



Malaysia’s S&T Human Capital Roadmap

I was thrilled and very impressed sometime back when a Malaysian delegate – Prof. Halimaton Hamden – to the Sri Lankan National Academy of Sciences conference demonstrated their S&T Human Capital Roadmap mapped into the Malaysian industry. The industry contained both the old and the new. Palm oil and nanotechnology had been addressed side by side.

A detailed human resource analysis for Sri Lanka is not available but quite a few taskforces have spent time on the topic. We do not have a clear idea of our industry requirements in time to come and with the pace of change incorporated. You ignore human capital development at your peril! Sometimes we may not exactly see that the capital that we create is lost to the outside world in quick time too.

I hope the readers will take some time in trying to decipher the Malaysian Human Capital development roadmap – this may have now seen changes as well as further analysis as time has moved on – presented here. Countries do generate their national requirements thinking into the future.


Way behind on research

From the researcher front we can say we are way behind. Korea has shown how the GDP growth closely followed the patents files and the increase in IP lawyers. Well behind all those figures researcher is the key ingredient. You cannot patent the past.

Recently-launched S&T data for Sri Lanka from National Science Foundation indicates a drop in researchers for the year 2014. Again the most current data that we have also the data for 2014 and I shudder to think what may be the reality considering that so many flights have departed from Katunayake since then!

The number of researchers indicated is 261 per million people. This is a drop from 2013 figure, which is 278. A comparable figure for Singapore is 8,486 (2012) per million people. Now considering the entire population of Sri Lanka we cannot match the number for tiny Singapore, which has per million people. This is indeed sad and demands attention at the highest level.

We may be worrying about gender parity in Parliament and in Legislature but if we ignore these deficiencies, Legislature will only be left with emergency debates or finding solace with overseas calls for help and assistance.

We need some drastic changes in our mindsets and the type of issues that we take as most important. The worry is that it is not that easy to change behaviours but change we must if we are to survive the future

Rs 10 Billion Fertilizer Deal Suffers Tender Bender: Agriculture Minister Threatens To Sack Secretary

author: COLOMBO TELEGRAPH -–December 6 2017 

Sri Lanka once known as the Granary of the East is yet again betraying its farmers with the latest allegations of irregularities tainting the Yahapalana government’s Rs 10 billion urea fertilizer deal, with the initial Rs 3.5 billion tender being pressurized to be awarded to a errant bidder, by the highest echelons of the so-called Yahapalana Administration.

Famous English sea captain in the service of the British East India Company – Robert Knox is attributed the axiom that the “farmer is fit enough to be king (Raja) once you wash off his mud”, but the very minister from heartland of paddy – Rajarata, is said to be at the heart of these irregularities in connivance with his close buddy at the helm of the Ceylon Fertilizer Company, sources at the Ministry of Agriculture confirmed.

Colombo Telegraph has in its possession a letter issued by no less than Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture, B. Wijeyaratne imploring the Chairman of Ceylon Fertilizer Corporation- Ruchith Roshana Waduge (a close confidante of Agriculture Minister and SLFP General Secretary Duminda Dissanayake) to terminate this tainted deal by letter dated 24 November, 2017.

However sources at the Ministry informed Colombo Telegraph that instead of the initial bidder- JAT Agro (Pvt) Ltd, a bogus company- Masters (Pvt) Ltd, of which the son of the MD of the initial company is a Director; is to be awarded the latest tender, most likely day after tomorrow (8 December 2017).

In addition Hasanjith Kuruppuarachchi, who is said to be a close friend CCF Chairman Ruchith Roshana Waduge, is a Director of both companies in question, establishing the nexus in this fraudulent collusion.

As stated in the letter, due to grave irregularities in the tender for the first consignment of urea amounting to over Rs 3.5 billion (out of the total Rs 10 billion fertilizer to be supplied to Sri Lanka), the first tender was terminated on 28 November, Colombo Telegraph learns.

Although the pre-qualification criteria required the bidder to have a minimum of 2 years prior experience in the fertilizer business, surprisingly, JAT Agro, a company without any experience in the business, was pre-qualified bidder selected.

Furthermore Ministry sources said that although specifications stipulated for the Urea consignment required was ‘B1’ the consignment ordered did not meet the criteria and as such was unsuitable for the purpose. In addition it is learned that the Agriculture Ministry had probed into the analysis certificate submitted by JAT Holdings and found out it to be fake.

“Further surprising is the fact that the supplier – Mepet of UAE, had never ever supplied fertilizer to Sri Lanka,” a source at the Ministry of Agriculture said.

“In addition although the purchase order stipulates that South Africa is the country of the origin for the consignment, now both the bidder and supplier want this changed to China, which is a clear breach of tender specifications,” a source said.

Due to all these irregularities, the first tender in question was terminated last November 28 and the Ministry called for fresh tenders the right next day, which was scheduled to close on December 5. (The first tender was closed on or around November 08 and the tender was awarded to JAT Agro on November 20)

“However it is very surprising as to why such a vital tender (i.e. first calling of tender) bringing fertilizer for the whole country, was open only for seven days going against internationally recognized tender practices and more confusing as to why even the second tender too is only open for seven days.”

Sources say that the price quoted is USD 328 per metric tonne for 78,000 metric tonnes; and that persons involved in this deal are allegedly getting close to Rs 200 million.

Furthermore, although the Ministry requires the full stock to be handed over to the CCF by December 20, unless the consignments have already been shipped, there is absolutely no chance of the bidder meeting the deadline, sources added.

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