Presidential misconceptions

President Maithripala Sirisena

by Rajeewa Jayaweera-January 20, 2018, 6:27 pm 

According to media reports, President Sirisena, addressing the UPFA Matale District Rally in Dambulla, has reportedly stated; "There was a shortage of fertilizer due to private sector’s delay in importing fertilizer. Though Government was not responsible for this problem, I apologize for the inconvenience caused. I contacted Pakistan President on the phone and requested 40,000 tons of fertilizer and the following day he phoned me and said 65,000 tons of fertilizer was allocated to our country. This goes to show that we have won the international relationship crisis." Moving on, he has further stated, "When I was about to return from my recent visit to Qatar, a minister from that country and a delegation of officials was preparing to come to Sri Lanka to make arrangements for their investments in Sri Lanka. They expressed their willingness to develop any town in Sri Lanka we suggest with all facilities of a modern city in the world." Continuing on the same subject, he has reportedly stated; "Recently, I visited South Korea, the President of which is opposed to corruption like me. When I was returning from the two-day stay there, he came close to my car and whispered to me to call him in the event of an emergency and assured that he was ready to help."

President Sirisena has concluded stating; "Could anybody else maintain such close relationships internationally – my predecessors only quarreled with them."

Politicians habitually make absurd assertions, especially during the run-up to elections, particularly to less informed audiences. In this instance, he has been less than candid.

The shortfall in fertilizer was due to the fault of importers and the Yahapalana government. Pakistan bans the export of fertilizer during October, November, and December each year. Even if import of fertilizer is in the hands of the private sector, does not government agencies monitor and ensure the availability of a continuous supply of critical items such as fertilizer?

Pakistan has, and will always come to the aid of Sri Lanka, regardless of the name of the leader in Colombo. In the mid-1970s, Prime Minister Bhutto, responding to a personal appeal from Mrs. Sirimavo Bandaranaike facing a severe shortage of rice diverted several shiploads, already sold to a Latin American country from the high seas to Colombo, thus saving her government.

Addressing a one-day confab in Colombo on Feb. 23, 2005, on Pakistan-Sri Lanka relations, one-time Sri Lankan Army chief and High Commissioner in Islamabad, Gen. Gerry H. de Silva recalled how Pakistan had airlifted urgently needed weapons and ammunition during Operation Riviresa, thus enabling the capture of Jaffna in 1995. Gen. Silva appreciated Pakistan pulling out arms and ammunition from operational areas to meet Sri Lanka’s requirement. Five years later, Pakistan airlifted Multi Barrel Rocket Launchers (MBRLs) for deployment in the Jaffna peninsula, in the immediate aftermath of the LTTE capturing the strategic Elephant Pass base in April 2000. Gen. Silva emphasized that the military was able to thwart LTTE efforts primarily due to what he called prompt and ready military assistance provided by China and Pakistan. A grateful Silva said: "Assistance received from these two friendly nations was always prompt, well within the budget and well suited to our servicemen." This was during the CBK presidency and at a time when some politicians in fair weather friend India were saying, "if Jaffna falls, it will not be the end of the world."

President Sirisena expressed his gratitude and friendship to these nations by permitting the Indian High Commissioner in Colombo to pay an official courtesy call on his first day in office, the Chinese Ambassador on his third day and the Pakistan High Commissioner over three weeks after assuming office.

The state visit by President Sirisena to Qatar, to say the least was ill timed. It was in the immediate aftermath of the blockade of Qatar by the quartet Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, and Egypt. Seven MoUs in non-critical subjects signed during the visit were on visa exceptions for diplomatic and official passport holders, cooperation on diplomatic training and research, emergency drought relief, the field of energy, wastewater management, health and medical science and financial investigations. Despite the inclusion of Minister for Industry & Commerce in the delegation, Trade and Investments did not feature in the list of concluded MoUs. The wisdom of undertaking a state visit to a country embroiled in a conflict with a group of nations equally crucial to Sri Lanka’s interests is questionable. A more balanced approach would have been the postponement of the visit to a later date thus avoiding the possibility of displeasing any of the five nations. Sri Lanka is fortunate nations of the embargoing quartet did not decide to show their displeasure through diplomatic and other channels. Over a million Sri Lankans currently work in Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Bahrain besides more than 200,000 in Qatar.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi played host to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Natenyahu last week during a much publicized six-day state visit. Modi is due to pay a visit to Palestine next week. An excellent balancing act if any, the likes of which is unfortunately beyond the comprehension of those directing foreign affairs in Sri Lanka.

There is no known personal relationship between Presidents of South Korea and Sri Lanka. South Korea repeatedly voted against Sri Lanka during the UNHRC Resolutions in Geneva. The recent interest in Sri Lanka possibly has more to do with the US-sponsored ‘Indo-Pacific’ security initiatives being promoted by the USA through their proxies India, Japan, and South Korea to counter China’s growing assertiveness and its OBOR initiative.

President Sirisena’s immediate predecessor brought the conflict with LTTE to a successful conclusion not by "quarreling internationally" as claimed by the President. When Sri Lanka’s ‘traditional friends’ declined to help Sri Lanka fight terrorism, the former President sought and received assistance from fair-weather friends China and Pakistan besides other nontraditional friends. However, that was not to the liking of our ‘traditional friends’ since their agenda did not include the eradication of LTTE. Hence the last-minute effort to evacuate Velupillai Prabhakaran and the LTTE high command.

The former President received assistance from USA and original LTTE sponsor and promoter India, during the last several years of the conflict.

His mistake was his failure to repair damaged relations after May 2009. He quite rightly rejected requests by the meddling British Foreign Secretary and French Foreign Minister to halt the final campaign. He then blundered by publicizing the act rather than remaining silent. Big and powerful nations do not take kindly to refusals by small countries to toe the line. Publicizing such instances does not help matters.

Does "maintaining close relations" mean total surrender by way of co-sponsoring a resolution against Sri Lanka as was the case at the UNHRC in Geneva in 2015?

If the previous government can be accused of failing to "maintain such close relationships internationally and quarreling", this administration can be accused of extreme servility.

Half-a-million labour demand in the private sector

 Monday, 22 January 2018 

The nominal market in which workers find paying work, employers find willing workers, and wage rates are determined is defined as the labour market. Labour market outcomes result from a combination of the demand for labour by firms and the labour that workers supply. Firms are the focus of trying to understand labour demand, whilst workers are the focus of trying to understand labour supply. Holistic understanding of the current supply and demand for skills is required to analyse how the two interact and to inform policies to support an inclusive economic growth path. With the ever-changing labour market and economy, timely and relevant labour market information is critical for decision making. It is also essential for career development, locating employment opportunities and sourcing skilled workers. Such information should also guide educational and training programmes to suit the demands of the labour market, and more importantly to influence such demands for the benefit of the country.
Labour Supply

The working age population, labour force, economically active population, economically inactive population, potential labour force, employment, underemployment, main and second job, unemployment, et cetera, are key determinants of labour supply. Information on these aspects has been compiled by the Department of Census and Statistics (DCS) on a quarterly and annual basis since 1990 through the Sri Lanka Labour Force Survey (SLFS). The SLFS provides detailed information on characteristics of the labour force such as age sex and education qualification. This information is necessary to understand the supply side of the labour market which is essential to fully understand the labour market situation in the country. However, there has been a lack of information on the demand side of the labour market. Therefore, the DCS conducted its first ever Enterprise Labour Demand Survey (ELDS) in July 2017 and a report containing the key findings of the ELDS was released recently.
Enterprise Labour Demand Survey

The need for conducting ELDS 2017 was driven by recognition of the importance of ensuring adequate and reliable information on the fit between the skills and competencies of the workforce and the requirements of employers. There was also the concern of a mismatch between the availability of and the demand for skills. This can negatively impact the level of employment and productivity in the workplace.

Specifically, the objective of the ELDS was to gather more information from businesses about their workforce, nature of their business, recruitment patterns, vacancies, hard-to-fill positions, and training for employees. The ELDS 2017 includes a detailed disaggregation by occupations, hiring patterns, difficult-to-find skills, and some comparisons of first-time job seekers with different educational backgrounds. Disaggregation of occupation in labour market data in a standardised manner is essential in the analysis of labour market data. Therefore, the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO-2008) was used to classify occupations in this survey.
Survey Methodology

According to the findings of the Economic Census 2013/14, there are little over one million private sector economic units in the country. Among those, there are 189,000 economic units with more than three employees. The ELDS 2017 was carried out as a survey of 3500 enterprises from across the country. The sample was selected using a stratified random sampling technique, to ensure that all categories of enterprises are included in the sample and that it is nationally representative. A structured questionnaire was used to gather and record the data from the enterprises.


Information gathered

Information gathered in this survey was of three types: characteristics of the current stock of employment, labour demand or unfilled vacancies, and the number to be recruited within the next twelve months. This information was collected (a) to ascertain the distribution of workers by key demographics, educational attainment, occupation, skill type, and work experience, (b) to examine the unfiled vacancies by type of occupation, sector etc. in order to identify employment opportunities in the private enterprises, and (c) to ascertain the extent to which employers experience difficulty in recruiting appropriate staff to fill vacancies. Information gathered on recruitment drive during the next twelve months provide an opportunity, not only to identify employment opportunities in the short-term, but also to adjust educational and training programs offered by different institutions.
Employment by sector and age group

The estimated total number of employees in the private sector is approximately five million. The leading categories are service and sales workers (28.8%); elementary occupations (16.9%); plant and machine operators and assemblers (14.6%); and clerical support workers (10.5%). These are skilled or semi-skilled worker categories. Shares reported for managers, professionals and associated professionals were smaller: 7.8%, 8.6%, and 6.2% respectively.

The vast majority (59.3%) of employed persons in the private sector are in the age group of 25-45 years, followed by less than 25 years (21.2%) and 45-60 years (17.8%). Nearly 2% of current employees in private sector enterprises are past the retirement age of 60 years.

Preparedness of first-time job seekers

The employers were asked to report the job-preparedness of first-time job seekers, in terms of vocational and educational backgrounds, as first-time job seekers varied in this regard. The highest ‘above-average’ preparedness was reported for the first-time job seekers having university degrees with vocational training (94.7%), and the lowest reported for those having only technical and vocational training (60.4%). The percentages vary from 67% to 81% for those having only secondary education, university degree, secondary education or vocational training qualifications.
Problems of labour resources

Enterprises experience difficulties in filling vacancies due to lack of applicants and dissatisfaction of job-seekers with the offered salary. A brief analysis on unfilled vacancies, known as labour demand is presented below. Analysis has been carried by sector, province, occupation, difficult-to-fill vacancies etc.

Enterprises were asked to report the vacancies they were unable to fill. The estimated labour demand was 497,300. The service sector reported the highest demand (177,813), followed by the industry sector (175,250) and the trade sector (110,770). Labour demand reported for construction, tourism and agriculture (plantation) sector was 21,000, 20,224, 10,207, and 3,033 respectively.

The top five shortages were reported for: sewing machine operators, security guards, other manufacturing labourers, shop sales assistants and advertising and marketing professionals. Reported demand for these occupations was approximately 77,200, 57,000, 39,400, 28,200 and 21,000 respectively.

The labour demand varies very widely across provinces. Of the 497,302 unfilled vacancies the giants’ share (70%) was in the Western province with the smallest share being in the Eastern province (0.4%). Labour demand in different sectors also varies considerably across provinces. For example, the labour demand in the industry sector varies widely from 3% in the Eastern Province to 83.2% in the North-Western province.
Labour demand by sector

Labour demand in the plantation sector was mainly for tea pluckers (2,474), followed by rubber tappers (437). The demand reported for all other occupations of this sector was less than 25.

The total labour demand in the industry sector was 175,250. The majority of over 134,321 were in the formal sector and it was mainly for sewing machine operators (59,659). The same occupation had the highest demand (13,858) in the informal industries sector as well.

In the construction sector, the total demand was 20,000, almost all of it (18,000) in the formal sector. The highest demand was for building construction labourers (4,300), other manufacturing labourers (4,200), and heavy truck and lorry drivers (1000). For all other occupations, the demand was less than 900. In the informal construction sector, the highest demand was for Building construction labourers (671) and masons (647) and it was less than 380 for all other occupations.

Shop sales assistants (22,255) and advertising and marketing professionals (20,744) had the highest labour demand in the trade sector. Shop sales assistants (4,143) were most in demand in the informal trade sector as well, followed by waiters (1,730).

The service sector has been expanding widely in the economy of Sri Lanka, reporting the highest labour demand. The three occupations that reported highest demand were security guards (56,674), commercial and sales representatives (14,360) and cleaners and helpers in office, hotels and other establishments (13,712). In the informal service sector, the highest demand was for hairdressers (4,182).

Difficult-to-fill vacancies

The survey attempted to find out the occupations for which the employers found it difficult to fill. The reported top four difficult-to-fill occupations in the formal sector were sewing machine operators, security guards and other manufacturing labourers. The number of vacancies which they were unable to fill numbered 46,576, 45,316, 31,277 and 17,568 respectively. In the informal sector, the top four difficult-to-fill occupations were sewing machine operators, other manufacturing labourers, creative and presenting artists and carpenters and joiners. Numbers reported were 14,667, 7,800, 3,347 and 3,229 respectively.
Difficulties in filling vacancies

When asked why they could not fill the vacancies, one-fourth of surveyed enterprises reported that people were not willing to do the jobs offered to them, while a little more than one-fifth reported competition from other employers as a reason. Other reasons given were ‘salaries/payments demanded for this occupation are too high’, ‘low number of applicants qualified for the job’, ‘poor terms and conditions (e.g. pay) offered for post’, ‘job entails shift work / unsociable hours’, ‘remote location / poor transport’, ‘seasonal or time limited work’ and ‘other’, with the percentage of employers who selected those reasons were 13.5%, 13.5%, 9.5%, 5.2%, 5.1%, 3.4% and 3.7% respectively.
Plans for hiring workers

Another important area investigated in this survey was the planned recruitment drive during the next 12 months by the employers. In the formal sector, the highest number of workers to be recruited (74,079) was for the occupation of tailors, dress makers and hatters. Following this was commercial and sales representatives and the expected number was 69,865. In the informal sector, the highest number to be recruited (22,400) was reported for building construction labourers.

Skills improvements

In this survey, information was also gathered from the employers on what skills of their workers needed to be improved. Almost 40% of the employers identified team work as the skill that most needed to be improved. Oral communication came second (30%) followed by taking initiative (26%), and literacy (20%). Advanced IT application, management responsibilities and taking leadership was mentioned by 9% - 10% of the employers.
Conclusion

A key finding of this survey is that there is a labour demand of nearly half a million in the private sector institutions having more than three employees. However, the Sri Lanka Labour Force Survey, 2016 has shown that there is a potential labour force of 210,480 who are not actively seeking employment but ready to work given the opportunity. There is also an unemployed population of 363,000. Thus, there are over half a million people who can be employed. However, to do so they need to be provided with knowledge, skills and opportunities as identified by the employers in the ELDS reported above. By doing so, enterprises may obtain the human resources they need. Equally importantly, half a million people who are not productively engaged may be given employment. Appropriate action to bridge the disconnect between the supply and demand in the labour market can have major economic and social benefits directly affecting half a million people, and a large number of enterprises.

The report on the “Enterprise Labour Demand Survey of Sri Lanka” recently released by the DCS is an important resource to inform the planning and provisioning of vocational and training, as well as to assist individuals to make appropriate career and educational choices. The report is expected to contribute to the improvement of the responsiveness of the post-school education and training system to the needs of the economy and society more broadly, by supporting decision-making on matters pertaining to skills planning.

(The writer is Director General – Department of Census and Statistics.)

Female Principal Forced To Kneel Down Has To Weep For Maithripala To Ask Errant Chief Minister To Resign From Education Portfolio

January 21, 2018

It took more than a week for President Maithripala Sirisena, who is also the leader of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) to move on the Uva Province Chief Minister Chamara Dasanayake who abused in bad language and forced a female Principal to kneel because she refused to implement a request that violated established procedure.

In footage that’s gone viral since, the Principal of a Tamil school in the Uva Province, R Bhavani tearfully related how Dasanayake had abused her for refusing to comply with directives that violate standard procedure, sparking outrage from civil society activists as well as local politicians.

Calls for his removal went unheard and unacknowledged for more than a week and as things stand the abusive politician still remains as Chief Minister of the province.

Dasanayake refuted the charges against him and claimed that he had merely called her to his official residence to inquire into allegations of discrimination against children of other faiths.

He told the media at his office that it was absolutely a false allegation that he threatened and forced a principal of Tamil Girls’ Maha Vidyalaya, Badulla, to kneel down before him. He claimed that the Principal had merely ‘saluted him’ in traditional fashion just before she left.

Ms Bhavani, although later confirming the Chief Minister’s version, was clearly distressed by the incident, raising suspicion that fear of reprisal had compelled her to change her story.

Meanwhile UNP Badulla District MP Vadivel Suresh upon visiting the school told the media that it was wrong of the Chief Minister to make a woman visit his official residence. He added that abusing her in bad language and being racist was the second fault, the third being forcing her to kneel.
‘The fourth is threatening her and forcing her to lie to the media and the fifth is making it impossible for her to continue to work in her school,’ he said.

Ranjith Keerthi Tennekoon of Campaign for Free and Fair Elections (CaFFE) alleges that Secretary, Ministry of Education, Uva Province was complicit in twisting the narrative in the Chief Minister’s favor. He also alleges that journalists attached to the Provincial Council were held in a room and compelled to affirm this narrative and that relevant log entries had been removed.

Read More

'Rosatom' arrives to conclude Sirisena- Maharaja missed blacklisted Co. warship deal - Sirisena’s Rs. 40 billion worth profusion of lies!!

(Lanka-e-News - 21.Jan.2018, 11.25AM) President Sirisena whose eagerness for filthy lucre often outruns his sureness , is once again seeking to push through the missed warship deal after pulling the wool over the eyes of the people.

Initially it was Rosoborono export Co. of Russia, a weapons supplying agency which was chosen for the purchase of the Russian warship plus weapons by Sirisena – Maharaja mahajara (dirt and dross) team in order to collect a cool  illicit commission of over Rs. 40,000,000,000.00 (Rs. 40 billion !)

Sadly for the mahajara Sirisena – Maharaja team , since Rosoborono Co. is blacklisted by America and NATO countries ,  the deal could not be concluded for  economic sanctions could be imposed on SL if that deal was concluded despite  Rosoborono Co. chief Alexandrovich Mikheech visiting  Sri Lanka to finalize the deal 

President’s son in law Tilina Sampath another notorious racketeer

Meanwhile what the Sirisena – Maharaja mahajara team did was , smuggled out Evjeni Meekailovich Borgachev alias Farin Manokin a Russian national and notorious criminal  cum hacker to Russia while he was most wanted by America . Not only he , his family too including his wife and daughter were smuggled out to Russia in the private jet of Rosborono export Co. owner.
 
Unbelievably , president’s son in law Tilina Sampath another notorious racketeer himself had taken the initiative to smuggle out the hacker and family in the private jet of Mikheech ,after  deleting the CCTV camera recordings and under Thilina’s own security protection  despite the intelligence division of America having made known the criminalities  pertaining to this Russian criminal.

All the recordings in  the CCTV cameras at the Airport relating to this smuggling operation  were also deleted in the  evening on the same day . Thilina himself has taken personal interest  in this deletion. After these reports reached American intelligence division  , Thilina is forced to lead  a cloistered life.

The Russian loan program for the purchase of the warship  was to be closed on 31 st December ,but with  'Rosatom' coming  forward in lieu of blacklisted Rosoborono, it  had been extended for a year.

Following the failure  to conclude the warship deal with Rosoborono blacklisted Co.  , representatives of the other  agency 'Rosatom' arrived in SL on the 17 th . They met with the  president first and foremost.

'Rosatom  State Atomic energy Corporation' Truth and Lie

The presidential media division resorted to hole and corner methods when revealing details in this connection to the people. It referred to this agency as 'Russian State Corporation ROSATOM' ,and regarding the purpose for which they are here , the president’s media division stated ‘ this group has arrived in SL with a view to improve SL’s scientific, technological , research sectors , and to offer scholarships in that connection , as well as to  promote ties between the two countries in a number of fields including energy, Industries and  agriculture .This is an absolute lie. The true name of this agency is 'Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corporation'  though Sirisena hid the part ‘atomic energy’ . The activities of this agency includes regulating all the atomic complexes in Russia. These complexes are not only concerned with atomic energy but also nuclear weapons.

To make it more clear , it is this 'Rosatom  State Atomic energy Corporation' which  is the authority for all the atomic resources of the civil and armed forces in Russia . In other words this  has nothing to do with agriculture and are not engaged in agriculture.  Then why should they come here to SL to  offer scholarships pertaining to atomic energy ? is a crucial question .  Where is such education being imparted in SL? Is it in the Paget Road residence of Sirisena or inside some other dungeon of his ? Only mendacious Machiavellian Sirisena can provide the answers . 

We are compelled to ask such  questions because , when such an atomic energy agency arrives in SL it ought to first meet with those who are associated with such affairs before meeting the president.  Always when  a foreign representative arrives he/she first meets the foreign minister and officials of the relevant ministries or the Institutions. The president and P.M.  are met only in the second or third round. Breaking protocol , they  have in this instance met with the president straightaway . This is because the warship deal which could not be concluded with the blacklisted Rosoborono Co. is to be concluded with this agency on the sly , and the latter had come specially for this.

The  'Rosatom  State Atomic energy Corporation' which is  a Russian nuclear resource authority has got linked to the warship deal in a most bizarre manner. The 'Rosatom' is an agency connected with the regulatory relating to  ships that steer through icebergs on nuclear power . Using that link Rosatom has arrived in SL to conclude  the missed warship deal.

Sirisena who is now a bundle of confusion and from whose cavernous mouth never a lie fails to drop each time he opens it , in the opening sentence of his speech itself  pulled the wool over the eyes of the people.

It is hoped the president at least at this belated stage will realize duping Lanka e news is as difficult as is easy for him to dupe the people. Though he may dupe the people , duping Lanka e news is beyond him. Let us warn in the best interests of the nation , LeN is keeping the  prospective warship deal of Maithri and Maharaja detrimental to the nation  under its constant surveillance.

 (In the picture is Nikolay Spasskiy the deputy Director General , Rosatom when he met with president Sirisena)

By Candraprdeep

Translated by Jeff

Connected report. 

* '‘US dollars million Mega illicit deal not second to Gota’s MiG deal –Kili Maharaja moving heaven and earth to push through !! -Tender procedure ignored ; Ruwan Wijewardena’s name too dragged in''

* President’s gaze on illicit commission blinded him : Faces retributive justice after ousting Sinniah !
* Gota’s MiG racket eclipsed by multi million dollar deal of Maharaja and son in law of president !
* President’s babyish pretences petering out ! Navy Commander Sinniah ‘s service terminated in a month !-3 Admirals opposed the war ship deal, yet unheeded!
* Astrologers predict President will descend into ‘dog mark’ category in 4 months! - Therefore seeks to push through sordid warship deal before that !
* Cabinet ratifies millions of Rs sordid warship deal that will line the pockets of Kili Maharaja and president’s s-i-l !

* Maithri -Maharaja ‘mahajara greed’ plunges country into doom and gloom -Rusian Rosoborono agency is a blacklisted Co.! 

---------------------------
by     (2018-01-21 06:22:12)

Counting in LGBT

News report says only 7,500 as gay; but it could be as high as 5% of the population

Recently there has been a spate of speculation as to exactly how many persons in Sri Lanka identify as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender (LGBT). 

2018-01-22

A news article published a few weeks ago, ran a headline stating that the “Gay population in Sri Lanka now tops 7,500,” maintaining there were only 7,500 Gay persons in this country! Based on the total population of Sri Lanka – that would mean that only 0.035% of the population in the country identified as LGBT. That number defies common sense. 

Based on our experience in the field for the past 17 years, our assumption has been that, conservatively speaking, the real figure could actually be close to 10%. 
However, we recently decided to map this phenomenon to check that figure—something the Government of Sri Lanka itself has never done.
An important fact to understand is that stigma and discrimination force LGBT persons underground, therefore an entirely accurate count is almost impossible to determine. In the US and the UK, mapping studies conclude that at least 2-5%of their populations identify as LGBT. Is it possible that the figure could be higher here in Sri Lanka?
A mapping study recently conducted by EQUAL GROUND reported that 19.6% percent of people over 18 living in Colombo, Matara, Nuwara Eliya & Galle identify as LGBT. 

This may seem a rather large proportion and the report does mention that this number may be slightly skewed for the simple reason that the enumerators conducting the mapping were “LGBTIQ” friendly and therefore approached more LGBTIQ persons for the study.

  It also mentions that LGBT persons felt more comfortable with these enumerators and therefore felt free to identify themselves. 

"These hard-working people get up and go to work every day, pay taxes, and even vote in elections. And yet they do not receive the basic protections that every other person in this country can rely on. It’s time for that to change. "

Of course, these figures represent only some districts of Sri Lanka, but already it is safe to say that the nationwide percentage is much closer to 5% than the miniscule number claimed in that article.
If 5% were an accurate estimate, that would mean that approximately over 1,100,000 Sri Lankans identify as either L, G, B or T! 

But perhaps more important than these numbers are the shocking experiences revealed in the mapping study. Our Sri Lankan family members, neighbours, co-workers and friends who are LGBT face a great deal of stigma and discrimination because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. If even one person were being treated this way in our country, that would be too much.  Yet, the study shows that 46.7% of LGBT people experience police harassment, 72.2% were refused education, 57.14% were terminated from work, and 70% were refused medical assistance.
Some face physical and sexual abuse as well as emotional distress. 

In such situations, many of us would rely on support from family and friends, but unfortunately, more than 58% of the respondents reported experiencing discrimination from their friends as well.
The lack of understanding about sexual orientation and gender identity leads to the lack of acceptance by even our parents and loved ones. 

"Based on our experience in the field for the past 17 years, our assumption has been that, conservatively speaking, the real figure could actually be close to 10%. "

Some respondents reported being forced to marry someone of the opposite sex even though they were not physically or emotionally attracted to them. The study reported that 27.2% of the LGB respondents were married.  Sexual and physical abuse have also been reported over and over again, especially by lesbian and bisexual women in forced marriages.  A significant number of LGBT persons stated that they would be willing to be open about their sexual orientation or gender identity if they had a better economic standing. Unfortunately, none of the LGB respondents reported having an income of over LKR 90,000.00 and only 11.3% earned above LKR40,000.00 monthly—because their sexual orientation is limiting their ability to obtain appropriate jobs. 

Every single day across our nation, a large number of citizens of Sri Lanka are discriminated against, criminalised and marginalised with no legal redress because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. The existence of the LGBT community has been confirmed and shown in significant numbers, and the Government of Sri Lanka is responsible for putting in place measures to protect ALL of its citizens regardless of who they are. 

These hard-working people get up and go to work every day, pay taxes, and even vote in elections. And yet they do not receive the basic protections that every other person in this country can rely on. It’s time for that to change. 

“Here are the values that I stand for: honesty, equality, kindness, compassion, treating people the way you want to be treated and helping those in need. To me, those are traditional values.”
- Ellen DeGeneres 

References: ons.gov.uk, pbs.org.equal-ground.org/resources

Listen: How Israel “couldn’t bear” Ahed Tamimi’s slap

Nora Barrows-Friedman-21 January 2018

On The Electronic Intifada Podcast: Palestinian teenager Ahed Tamimi denied bail in an Israeli military court; Activists celebrate the closure of a New York City diamond store owned by Israeli billionaire and settlement profiteer Lev Leviev.

“Ahed is strong, and she is keeping her spirits high,” says Gaby Lasky, attorney for Ahed Tamimi, the 16-year-old Palestinian activist who has been in Israeli military detention for a month.

An Israeli military court denied Ahed’s bail on 17 January.

She was arrested by Israeli forces during a night raid in mid-December days after she and her cousin were filmed attempting to remove Israeli soldiers who were on her family’s property in the village of Nabi Saleh in the occupied West Bank.

Ahed and her cousin confronted the army days after a soldier shot another cousin, 15-year-old Muhammad Fadel Tamimi, in the head causing him serious injuries.

Ahed was seen in a video filmed by her mother, Nariman, slapping and shoving one of the heavily armed men.

Following Ahed’s arrest, Nariman was arrested as well and is also in military detention, facing charges of incitement due to her recording the incident. She was also denied bail.

“We have to remember that this is a military court, and it’s a court of occupation,” Lasky tells The Electronic Intifada Podcast.

“The real task of this court is not to enact justice, but to perpetuate occupation.”

Israel wants to use Ahed’s case “as a deterrent to other Palestinians” who see what Ahed did “and resist occupation the way she has done,” Lasky says.

After the video of Ahed slapping a heavily-armed soldier went viral, many Israelis saw it as a humiliation “for the soldiers, for the whole nation, and they couldn’t bear it,” Lasky notes.

Lasky explains that in Ahed’s case, as well as every other case involving the arrest and detention of Palestinian children, Israel is engaged in numerous violations of international law, including the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

In order to try and get her to incriminate herself, Lasky says Israeli interrogators threatened Ahed, telling her that if she didn’t speak, they would arrest members of her family and bring them to the police station.

Last week, Israeli soldiers indeed arrested another one of Ahed’s cousins, 19-year-old Muhammad Bilal Tamimi, in a night raid. His detention was extended until 25 January.

He is reportedly being held in solitary confinement in Petah Tikva detention center near Tel Aviv, and his parents were prevented by Israeli orders from attending his court hearing.

Ahed is being detained in Hasharon prison, which is also inside of Israel – a clear violation, Lasky explains, of the Fourth Geneva Convention which clearly states that occupied persons cannot be transferred inside the occupier’s territory.

“There are two sets of rules in the occupied territories, depending on your nationality or ethnicity,” Lasky remarks.

“While settlers will be brought to an Israeli civil court, Palestinians – for the same offense – will be brought to military court, where the rules are different, where it is much harder, where the punishments are harsher and where children are kept in detention for the end of the trial,” she adds.

Such threats and clear violations of international law and legal protections for children were systematically ignored by the court in Ahed’s bail hearing this week, Lasky says.

For the first time in a long time, Lasky says that Ahed’s case is forcing Israelis to relate to their responsibility toward Palestinians as their occupiers.

“A 16-year-old Palestinian young woman was able to open the door to the Israeli public, to see again [what] occupation [is] – what occupation is doing to Israelis, what occupation is doing to Palestinians,” she remarks.

Creative protests key to New York campaign

Meanwhile, in New York City, activists celebrated the closure of a Madison Avenue diamond store owned by Israeli billionaire and settlement profiteer Lev Leviev.

Activists had held creative, holiday-themed protests against Leviev’s companies for years.

One of Leviev’s companies, Africa Israel, has been a focus of boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) campaigns because it has built Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank through its subsidiary Danya Cebus.

The campaigns against Leviev’s companies began at the request of Palestinian and Israeli activists working to resist land confiscation in the villages where Leviev’s companies were building settlements, according to Patrick Connors of Adalah-NY.

“There was a snowball effect as different actors around the world either publicly or privately distanced themselves from Leviev,” Connors explains to The Electronic Intifada Podcast.

Connors said that the key to sustaining a decade of protests was creativity.

The street protests, which often parodied Christmas carols and Hanukkah songs, “were fun and exciting and created interest, catching the attention of media sometimes as well,” Connors says.

Listen to the interviews with Gaby Lasky and Patrick Connors via the media player above.

Production assistance and theme music by Sharif Zakout

Photo: Ahed Tamimi, 16, is taken out of a military court at the Ofer prison in the occupied West Bank, 20 December. (Oren Ziv/ActiveStills)

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Kabul hotel attack: guests 'sprayed with bullets as they ran'

Witnesses describe scenes of terror at Intercontinental hotel during attack that killed at least 18 including 14 foreigners

 Michael Safi South Asia correspondent and Haroon Janjua in Peshawar Sun 21 Jan 2018 14.16 GMT Last modified on Sun 21 Jan 2018 16.28 GMT View more sharing options Shares 205

Witnesses to a terrorist rampage at a luxury Kabul hotel have described guests being sprayed with bullets as they ran, whole floors engulfed in flames and a security team that fled “without a fight” from gunmen in army uniforms.

Thick smoke billowed from Kabul’s Intercontinental hotel on Sunday as Afghan and western security forces regained control of the building after a 14-hour siegeinvolving dozens of hostages including foreigners. Some guests tried to escape the carnage and a later fire by using bed sheets to climb down from balconies.

At least 18 people were confirmed to have been killed, including four Afghans and 14 foreigners. The Afghan news agency Tolo claimed one of its reporters had seen “dozens [of] bodies” and other witnesses compared the inside of the hotel to a butcher’s shop.

Representatives from the airline Kam Air told Reuters that about 40 of its crew, including many foreigners, were staying in the hotel and as many as 10 had died and many were still missing.
“Pray for me, I may die,” wrote the Afghan Telecom executive Aziz Tayeb in a plea he posted to Facebook while hiding behind a pillar on Saturday evening after the heavily armed men stormed the building.
“I saw people who were enjoying themselves a second ago screaming and fleeing like crazy, and some of them falling down, hit by bullets,” Tayeb told Agence France-Presse on Sunday after escaping the hotel.
Abdul Rahman Naseri, another guest, was in the hall of the hotel when he saw four men dressed in army uniforms. “They were shouting in Pashto: ‘Don’t leave any of them alive, good or bad. Shoot and kill them all,’” Naseri told Reuters. “I ran to my room on the second floor. I opened the window and tried to get out using a tree but the branch broke and I fell to the ground. I hurt my back and broke a leg.”
Another guest, Ahsan Ali, told the Observer: “People ran to their rooms and locked themselves in – it was a dreadful scene.”
The Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid claimed five gunmen belonging to the group were responsible for the attack, while the Afghan interior ministry blamed the Taliban-affiliated Haqqani network, which killed 21 people in an attack on the same hotel in 2011.
Witnesses said the men appeared in the building from the kitchen at about 9pm local time, spraying bullets at diners in the restaurant before breaking into rooms at the hotel and taking hostages.
Tayeb was one of more than 100 telecom executives and 34 provincial officials who were staying at the site before a conference on Sunday. The building, one of two major luxury hotels in the city, is state owned and not affiliated with the InterContinental chain.

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Large sections of Kabul’s centre were already behind concrete blast walls and police checkpoints and the hotel, frequented by government officials and foreigners, was thought to be well protected.
The interior ministry spokesman Najib Danish said a private company had taken over security at the hotel about three weeks ago. A witness told Agence France-Presse the guards had fled “without a fight”.

“They didn’t attack. They didn’t do anything to them. They had no experience,” the 24-year-old hotel employee said, speaking on the condition of anonymity. He said the security team were alongside him as he fled the building: “I was asking them, where should I go?”

More than 150 people including 41 foreigners were rescued from the hotel as fires spread throughout the building on Saturday night. “I could repeatedly hear blasts one after another, hand grenades, they used many grenades,” Tayeb recalled.

He escaped with a small group to an outdoor pool area where they hid as the attackers moved through the hotel lighting fires.

“The second, third and fifth floors were on fire – the fifth floor was engulfed in flames,” he said. “We contacted security officials who arrived an hour later and as we were being escorted out I saw five or six bodies outside the hotel.”

Colleagues he spoke with who were still trapped inside were crying and afraid they would die of smoke inhalation, he said.

Footage broadcast by Tolo showed people on balconies tying bedsheets together to escape.

“When the sixth floor caught fire this morning, my roommate told me, either burn or escape,” said Mohammad Musa, who was hiding in his room on the top floor when he heard gunfire. “I got a bed sheet and tied it to the balcony. I tried to come down but I was heavy and my arms were not strong enough. I fell down and injured my shoulder and leg.”

The raid is the latest in a long series of attacks aimed at undermining confidence in Afghanistan’s western-backed government.

Ashraf Ghani, the Afghan president, on Sunday ordered an investigation and blamed neighbouring countries for helping militant groups. “As long as the terrorist groups have secure protection and safe haven, the region will not find security, stability,” he said in a statement.

In May last year a truck bomb devastated part of the diplomatic quarter, killing about 150 people and wounding about 400 others.

The most recent major attack was on 28 December, when a suicide bomber targeted a Shia cultural centre, killing more than 40 people.

The attack came just days after a US security council visit to the city to allow senior diplomats to assess the situation in the country and a warning by the US embassy about possible attacks on major hotels.

Reuters and Agence France-Presse contributed to this report

Ethiopia Waldiya: Five killed by police at religious festival

19 January 2018

At least five people have been killed in northern Ethiopia after security forces fired on a crowd at a religious festival who were reportedly shouting anti-government slogans.

Many more were injured in the incident in the town of Waldiya. Angry protesters have blocked roads and businesses are closed.

There have been nearly three years of opposition demonstrations in Ethiopia.

On Wednesday, hundreds of activists were released from jail.

The deaths happened during the second day of Epiphany celebrations commemorating the baptism of Jesus.

Dozens of people are reportedly receiving hospital treatment after the shooting.

• Ethiopia PM 'misquoted' over prisoners
• What is behind Ethiopia protests?
• What do Oromo protests mean?

Anti-government demonstrators in Ethiopia have been calling for political and economic reforms and an end to state corruption and human rights abuses.

Among the suspects released from detention by the government on Wednesday was prominent opposition leader Merera Gudina, who spent more than a year in detention.

At the beginning of January, Prime Minster Hailemariam Desalegn announced the government would close Maekelawi - a detention facility in the capital, Addis Ababa, allegedly used as a torture chamber.

The Ethiopian government imposed a state of emergency from October 2016 to August 2017 to end an unprecedented wave of protests against its 25-year rule.

More than 11,000 people were arrested, mostly from the Oromia and Amhara regions, where many people complain of political and economic marginalisation.

Turkish troops push further into Afrin as both sides report casualties

Eight civilians were killed in missile strikes on Afrin, while a Syrian refugee was killed in rocket fire on a Turkish town near the Syrian border

A Turkish military convoy arrives at a village on the Turkish-Syrian border in Kilis province (Reuters)

Sunday 21 January 2018

Turkish ground forces pushed into northern Syria's Afrin province on Sunday, Ankara said after launching artillery and air strikes on a US-backed Kurdish militia it aims to sweep from its border.

The Syrian-Kurdish YPG militia, supported by the United States but seen as a terrorist organisation by Turkey, said it had repulsed the Turkish forces and their allies after fierce clashes.

Casualities on both sides were reported on Sunday with Turkish air raids killing eight civilians in Afrin, according to a war monitor and a spokesman for the Kurdish forces that control the area.

According to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the dead, who included at least one child, were killed in air strikes on the village of Jalbara.

"Eight civilians were killed in missile strikes on a chicken farm where they were living," said Birusk Hasakeh, a spokesman for the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) in Afrin, blaming Turkish warplanes.

In pictures sent by Hasakeh to AFP, Kurdish Red Crescent rescuers could be seen retrieving bloodied bodies from a collapsed concrete structure and laying them on stretchers.

On Saturday, Hasakeh told AFP that Turkish bombardment had killed 10 people, including seven civilians, but Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Sunday that claims of civilian casualties from the offensive were untrue.

"As always, the PYD/YPG terrorists continue to deceive the world with nonsense propaganda and baseless lies by showing neutralised terrorists as civilians," he wrote on Twitter, referring to the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) and its armed wing, the YPG, fighting in Syria.

"They use civilians as human shields. Our target is neither our Kurdish brothers nor Syrians. We are only after terrorists."

The Turkish army says it is doing everything possible to prevent civilian casualties.

"In the planning and execution of the operation only terrorists and their shelters, positions and weapons are being targeted," the army has said.

Earlier on Sunday, a rocket fire on a Turkish town close to the Syrian border reportedly killing one Syrian refugee and wounding 32 others, a local official said.

Two of those hurt were badly injured, Huseyin Sanverdi, the mayor of Reyhanli, a small town in Hatay province on the Syrian border, told NTV television. Earlier, several rockets hit the Turkish border town of Kilis.

Second day

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had declared on Sunday morning that his forces would crush the YPG militia, as the fighting marked the second day of Turkey's new front in the nearly seven-year-old Syrian civil war.

Speaking to a congress of his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) in the northwestern city of Bursa, Erdogan also accused some of Turkey's allies of providing 2,000 plane shipments and 5,000 truckloads of weapons to the YPG.

Children are unable to sleep and many Syrians are afraid of what the future will hold for them
- British Aid worker in Atmeh, northern Syria 

Erdogan's comments came after Turkey's prime minister, Binali Yildirim, confirmed on Sunday that Turkish troops were continuing their offensive inside Syria.

"The operation will be conducted at speed. This operation will also target any support provided to the terrorists in Afrin," said Yildirim.

Yildirim told media representatives in Istanbul that there were 8,000 to 10,000 militants in Afrin and that Turkey was resolute in its determination to cleanse all militant presence from the area.

He also said the operation planned to create a safe zone that would extend 30km into Syria's Afrin region.

 

Operation Olive Branch

Under what the Turkish government has dubbed as "Operation Olive Branch," Turkish air strikes on Saturday pounded YPG positions in Afrin province.

The military said it had hit 153 targets so far, including shelters and hideouts used by Kurdish militants. The YPG has said Turkey's strikes killed six civilians and three of its fighters and wounded 13 civilians.

The YPG accused Turkey of striking civilian districts and a camp for the displaced in Afrin.

A British aid worker in the Syrian town of Atmeh, southwest of Afrin and close to the Turkish border, told Middle East Eye that she continued to hear the boom of mortar shells fired into the area.

"The shelling hasn't stopped and has kept on going for the last three days," the aid worker told MEE.
"Children are unable to sleep, and many Syrians are afraid of what the future will hold for them."

Kurdish community in Germany protesting against Turkey's ground offensive in Syria (AFP)

President Erdogan's spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said on Twitter: "In its second day, Olive Branch Operation continues to ensure peace and security for our people, protect Syria's territorial integrity and eliminate all terrorist elements in the region.

"Turkey expects its allies to support its fight against terrorism in all of its forms."
On land, the Turkey-backed Free Syrian Army rebels were also helping the operation in Afrin, Turkish officials said.

Continued bombardment 

The intense bombardment continued on the region's Balia and Topal villages, the YPG said.
"Our people are holding on to their land and do not accept surrender ... we repeat our determination to protect our people in Afrin against the attacks," the YPG said overnight.

Turkey's state-run Anadolu news agency reported that four rockets fired from Syria hit the border town of Kilis overnight, damaging houses. Turkish security forces retaliated, it said.

The operation pits Turkey against Kurdish fighters allied to the United States at a time when ties between Ankara and Washington - NATO allies and members of the coalition against Islamic State - appear close to a breaking point.

Turkey sees the YPG as an extension of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has carried out a three-decade insurgency in Turkey's mainly Kurdish southeast.
The United States is backing the YPG in Syria, seeing it as an effective partner in the fight against Islamic State.

While Ankara ruled out the risk of a clash with American forces in its operation in Syria, saying there were no US troops in the area where the campaign was taking place, the campaign risks further increasing tensions with Turkey's NATO ally the United States.

"US officials declared that there has been no American military or American soldiers in the region," Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdag told reporters in Istanbul.

"It is out of the question to have a direct clash between Turkey and the US in the region," he added.

There was no immediate comment from the United States on the offensive but ahead of its launch a senior State Department official had raised concerns it risked being harmful for security in the region.
Additional reporting from Areeb Ullah in London and Suraj Sharma in Istanbul.