Is Mexico Ready for a Populist President?

Andrés Manuel López Obrador's ascension seems like an increasingly good bet.

Mexican presidential candidate Andrés Manuel López Obrador at a rally in Tijuana, Mexico, on Jan. 30. (Guillermo Arias/AFP/Getty Images) 

BY RICHARD G. MILES-

 FEBRUARY 9, 2018, 6:32 PM
With the July 1 presidential elections approaching, Mexican voters will soon take their turn to vent their anger at the established political order. Like previous disruptive long shots — Brexit, Emmanuel Macron’s election in France, and Donald Trump’s election in the United States — the ascension of a populist to Mexico’s presidency is an increasingly good bet.

But the leading candidate is not exactly a breath of fresh air. Andrés Manuel López Obrador, 64, has been active in partisan politics for over 40 years. Despite a successful tenure as mayor of Mexico City from 2000 to 2005, he lost two successive bids for president in 2006 and 2012. Largely, this was because he was unable to shake the image of a left-wing, populist rabble-rouser with Hugo Chávez-like tendencies. López Obrador himself reinforced this perception when he had himself sworn in as the “legitimate president” in the aftermath of the 2006 election, a stunt that caused him to lose credibility with many Mexicans.

This time around, however, he has maintained a disciplined focus on the two issues that overwhelm all others in the current electoral season: corruption and out-of-control violence. In the last four years, nine of 32 state governors have been imprisoned, indicted, or are under investigation for money laundering, fraud, or racketeering. Last August, the former head of the state oil company (and a top campaign aide to President Enrique Peña Nieto) was shown to have accepted $10 million from the Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht. In 2014, Peña Nieto himself was indirectly tainted by charges that a government contractor had paid for a $7 million home for the first lady. Somehow these frequent allegations tend to go nowhere, leading to a pervasive disgust among Mexicans and a feeling that politicians from the two major parties — the Institutional Revolutionary Party and the National Action Party — can get away with nearly anything.

Meanwhile, Mexico just completed its most violent year since at least 1997, when the government began tracking murders. Homicides topped 29,000, with cartel executions driving the numbers. Add to that, however, increases in other types of crimes, and Mexicans feel under siege. Many blame the violence not solely on the cartels, but on failed government strategies and outright collusion between senior government officials and cartel leaders.

Consistently leading in the polls by double digits since last fall, López Obrador faces uninspiring opponents from the main parties and a handful of independents. His campaign message is relatively simple. Everyone else is corrupt or craven, while he is not. Sensitive to criticism that he is a radical in waiting, he has highlighted policy proposals of austerity, low taxes, transparency, and nonintervention. The ruling party has done its best to depict him as sympathetic to, and longing for, authoritarian government, but there is little evidence that this strategy is working.

If elected, López Obrador is likely to change Mexican policy towards the United States in at least three areas: energy exploration, security cooperation, and support for democratic norms in the region. On energy, he said he would review existing contracts, and continues to view the opening of Mexico’s oil industry to foreign investment as treasonous. A López Obrador administration could slow down or halt bidding on new oil and gas finds in the Gulf of Mexico and refuse to approve new cross-border natural gas pipelines.

Similarly, he could freeze existing security cooperation with U.S. agencies to fight heroin production in Mexico and capture cartel leaders. “Problems of an economic and social nature cannot be solved with coercive measures,” he wrote last year. “It’s not military assistance, or intelligence work, or deliveries of helicopters and arms, that will solve the problems of insecurity and violence in our country.”

Finally, López Obrador, who has never uttered an unkind word about the Castro brothers, Chávez, or Nicolás Maduro (but named a son after Che Guevara), would be likely to withdraw Mexican diplomats from the mediating role they have played in the region on Venezuela, and refuse to participate in international resolutions concerning Iran, North Korea, or Syria.

What about the personal chemistry between López Obrador and Trump? Shortly after Trump was inaugurated, López Obrador undertook a speaking tour of the United States, during which he repeatedly compared Trump to Hitler. Recently, López Obrador vowed to put Trump “in his place.” What could go wrong?

Maldives reaches a critical state with internationalisation

Saturday, 10 February 2018

The political situation in the Maldives is now at a critical stage with the possibility of international intervention in one form or another due to the efforts of the internationally influential Maldivian Opposition Leader in exile, Mohamed Nasheed.

A former President of the Maldives and now the Opposition’s mascot, Nasheed had rather brazenly asked for a “military-backed” Indian diplomatic intervention.

To justify this demand and to allay any fears Maldivians may have about an “Indian occupation” of the Maldives as a result of his invitation, Nasheed recalled what India did in 1988.

He said that in Operation Cactus of 1988, the Indian Navy promptly withdrew after foiling a bid by Sri Lankan Tamil militants belonging to the Peoples‘ Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE), to overthrow the then Maldivian President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.

Nasheed said that it is safe to seek Indian help because the Indians would do the job and leave as they did in 1988. But there has been no response from New Delhi to Nasheed’s demand couched diplomatically as a “humble request”.

India’s displeasure with Male
However, sensing a big juicy story waiting to be exploited, the fiery Indian electronic media roped in strategic “experts” to urge intervention, if only to assert India’s power vis-à-vis China which has gained ground in the Maldives since Abdulla Yameen was elected President in 2013.

Despite its studied silence, it is clear that New Delhi is displeased with Male. This was evident when it declined to entertain a Maldivian Special Envoy who was going to come to explain the Yameen government’s case on the crisis.

The envoy would have told the Indian leaders how the Supreme Court’s procedures and its orders to release top opposition leaders and reinstate unseated members of parliament, bristled with illegalities; also how these moves wreaked of a deep and well-planned conspiracy to overthrow a legitimately established government. The envoy would have urged the powers that be in New Delhi to see the issues legally and dispassionately.

But New Delhi used the absence of External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s scheduled visit to the UAE this week as excuses for not entertaining Yameen’s envoy. However, the Maldivians have taken this with a pinch of salt and believe that India deliberately cold shouldered them to show its overall displeasure with the Yameen regime.

Perhaps India wanted to send a message that it is not at all pleased with the Yameen regime’s frontal assault on the Maldivian Opposition. As of date, the Opposition is pro-India, pro-West, and anti-China to boot. Perhaps India was also put off by the Yameen regime’s decision to send a special envoy to China and Pakistan. India’s past behaviour indicates that if it is to intervene, it would like to do it solo, without any other country alongside it. It would certainly not like to be in the company of Pakistan and China. No way.

Lost opportunity

But then, by cold shouldering the Maldivians, New Delhi may have lost an opportunity to constructively engage with the Yameen government as well as the Opposition, and be a useful mediator.

Maldives needs a mediator. China, which is the Maldives’ only really useful friend, has said so too explicitly.

Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Geng Shuang has said that though the current issues in the Maldives are best solved internally by talking across a table, the international community can also play a “constructive role” but without disrespecting Maldives’ sovereignty.

Beijing may have used the visit of the special envoy to lay the foundation for such a “constructive role” for itself. China has the economic clout to play that role, given the fact it is contributing the bulk of development funds received by the Maldives from overseas.

China’s role

China is modernising Male’s airport, building a new township in nearby Huluhumale, and constructing a bridge to link it with mainland Male. The Chinese are the single largest group among tourists arriving in the Maldives, accounting for 324,000 in a total of 1.3 million arrivals in 2017.

Apart from briefing the Chinese leaders about the situation in the Maldives; the reasons why the government had to declare a state of emergency and take the stern measures it did; the special envoy would also have told the Chinese that it is extremely important to have the Chinese travel advisory lifted.

China’s travel advisory was unusually harsh and stood in sharp contrast to the advisories from the US, UK and India. It had asked its citizens to “avoid” the Maldives “till the political situation stabilizes”.

According to sources in Male, this advisory has led to a spate of cancellations of Chinese bookings in resorts and hotels causing a great loss to the tourist industries.

China is believed to have issued a definitive warning because a very large number of Chinese take off for destinations abroad during the Chinese New Year observances in the latter part of February. Many would go to the Maldives too and Beijing has a responsibility to safeguard the life and limb of Chinese travellers.

The special envoys sent out to China, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia would have assured the governments of these countries that there is peace and normalcy in Male and the resorts, that it is business as usual, and that their investments are and will be safe.

Indeed, the political conflict in the Maldives appears to be a struggle between politicians and political groups for power and the loaves and fishes of office rather than a struggle of the masses.

Maldivians have been living in the midst of political instability and arbitrary actions on the part of the powers-that-be and irresponsible actions and utterances on the part of the opposition of the day for a decade now and have grown indifferent to the goings on.

As the government has said, there is no curfew and no barriers to normal movement and business transactions. International travel writers have also given the thumbs up for Maldivian tourism even as recently as Wednesday.

US suicides 'spiked after Robin Williams's death'

Robin Williams was famous for films such as Good Morning,Vietnam and won an Oscar for his role in Good Will Hunting

7 February 2018

US suicide rates spiked in the months after Robin Williams killed himself in 2014, according to researchers.

In the five months after the actor's death there were 10% more suicides than might be expected, or 1,841 extra cases, PLOS One journal reports.

The potential risk of copycat incidents after celebrity cases is known to public health bodies.
It cannot be known for certain if his death led to the spike but it appeared to be connected, the new study said.

Experts say "irresponsible" media coverage of suicides can play a big part in copycat cases.

'Twenty-four-hour news cycle'

Williams, who starred in films such as Good Morning, Vietnam and Good Will Hunting, was found dead in August 2014.

At the time of his death, the Samaritans warned about a large number of news articles giving too much detail about the nature of his suicide, against media guidelines.

Guidance from the World Health Organization, the Independent Press Standards Organisation's editors' code of practice, the Ofcom broadcasting code and the BBC's editorial guidelines all advise against going into explicit detail about the methods used.

However, researchers said there was "substantial evidence" that many media outlets had tended to deviate from these guidelines.


Williams won an Oscar for his role in Good Will Hunting

For the latest study, they looked at the monthly suicide rates from the US government Centers for Disease Control and Prevention between January 1999 and December 2015 to see if there had been a spike.

They found there were 18,690 suicides between August and December 2014 compared with the 16,849 cases they would have expected.

In the weeks after Williams's death, there was a "drastic" increase in references to suicide and death in news media reports, as well as more posts on an internet suicide forum researchers monitored, the study found.

David Fink, one of the study's authors, from Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, said research had previously shown that suicide rates increased following a high-profile celebrity suicide, but this was a first time such a study had been done within the era of the 24-hour news cycle.

He told the BBC: "By other people being aware of this person that they saw and can relate to having this experience, they gained the ability to take this action that otherwise wouldn't have been possible.
"That is where the press comes in.

"The more people hear and learn about the specific details of it, the more they can relate to it, potentially."

The researchers said it was possible another event also capable of increasing suicide rates had occurred during the same period as Williams's death but "unlikely".


Netflix added an extra warning to a TV series called 13 Reasons Why

Last year, Netflix added an extra warning to a TV series called 13 Reasons Why amid concerns that viewers might copy its depiction of suicide.

Lorna Fraser, from the Samaritans' media advisory service, said: "This study builds on a strong body of research evidence that shows that irresponsible or overly detailed depictions of suicide can have a devastating impact.

"In the case of celebrities, the potential for someone at risk to make an emotional connection and over-identify with them is greater, in some cases even to interpret their death as affirmation that they could take their own life."

'Jade Goody effect'

The influence celebrities can have on the public, whether positive or negative, should not be underestimated, said Robert Music, chief executive of Jo's Cervical Cancer Trust.

When British reality TV start Jade Goody was diagnosed with cervical cancer, in 2008, and died, in 2009, research showed about an extra 400,000 women attended cervical screening appointments.
Goody had spoken out publicly about her disease and the importance of screening.

Mr Music said the "Jade Goody" effect had since faded and screening attendance in England was now at a 20-year low.

SRI LANKA: TRANSFER ALL SCHOOLS RUN BY MILITARY TO MINISTRY OF EDUCATION – UN CHILD RIGHTS COMMITTEE

Image: The symbol of Civil Security Division’s Seva Vanitha Unit on the   ‘uniforms’  given to  military run pre-school children in Vanni. 

09/02/2018

In its Concluding observations on the combined fifth and sixth periodic reports of Sri Lanka United Nations Child Rights Committee  wants the government to ensure that all schools currently run by the military are transferred back under the Ministry of Education. This recommendation comes  under the sub paragraph of reconciliation, truth and justice which fellows:

Reconciliation, truth and justice:

47. While welcoming the pledges made by the State party during the recent Universal  Periodic Review process, to implement its commitments under the Human Rights Council Resolution 30/1 concerning the truth, justice and reconciliation processes for the violations during the armed conflict, the Committee is concerned about the slow progress in relation  to implementation of such commitments. In particular, it is concerned that:

(a) The number of missing children or persons who were children during the conflict remains high, including children who have surrendered and been sent for rehabilitation, and that the Office of Missing Persons established in 2016 has not yet been operationalized;

(b) Many persons who recruited and used children during the armed conflict continue to enjoy impunity, and paramilitary leaders allegedly responsible for killings, abductions and widespread recruitment of child soldiers, continue to hold public positions.

48. The Committee urges the State party to implement its commitments under the
Human Rights Council Resolution 30/1 in an effective and timely manner, while ensuring that children, and those who were children at the time, be given a voice in national reconciliation and transitional justice processes and be supported as victims, witnesses or claimants. In particular, the Committee urges the State party to:

(a) Strengthen its efforts to operationalize a fully independent Office of Missing Persons with a special attention to addressing cases of individuals who were children at the time of conflict and are still missing; and

(b) Ensure that all persons responsible for recruitment and use of children in the course of the armed conflict are brought to justice. Follow up to the Committee’s previous concluding observations and recommendations on the Optional Protocol on children in armed conflict

49. The Committee recalls its previous recommendation and urges the State party to:

(a) Consider formalizing its commitment not to prosecute children or persons who were children involved in armed conflict ;

(b) Provide psychological support to former child combatants to address the trauma and other mental health issues, and children who have been internally displaced and/or deprived of a family environment owing to violence and/or enforced disappearance;

(c) Ensure that all schools currently run by the military are transferred back under the Ministry of Education;

(d) Ensure that training of the Cadet Corps does not include military activities; and
(e) Consider acceding to the additional protocols to the Geneva Conventions and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.

Read the full report here:CRC_C_LKA_CO_5-6_30178_E

70 Years of Independence | Sarah Ashaya Soysa

What does it mean to be Sri Lankan?

GROUNDVIEWS-02/08/2018

70 years after independence, our identity is defined mostly along majoritarian lines, which can be traced back to the divisions created under British rule. These divisions have contributed to violence and war, in the years since 1948.

To this day, there are communities who feel that what is commonly projected and defined as the Sri Lankan identity does not reflect their reality, or themselves.

Looking at this, Groundviews produced a series of videos exploring identity and belonging in a country emerging from war, but not yet out of conflict.

Programme & Advocacy Coordinator for Sri Lanka-Médecins du Monde Sarah Ashaya Soysa talks about the systems that continue to marginalise women in Sri Lanka. She highlights regional disparities in issues faced, including the impact of a patriarchal culture on tackling issues such as gender-based violence and sexual and reproductive health rights.

Editor’s Note: To view earlier videos in the series, click here, here, here and here. Click herefor more content around Sri Lanka’s 70th Independence Day. 

Progress of modernism

By Dr. Vickramabahu Karunaratne-2018-02-09

Anybody coming to the Indian sub-continent will see that Indians are very much the same; surprisingly common things are so much, one can forget where you are in this vast land. However, once you are in, slowly, you will see the differences. Person arriving from Delhi to Colombo and on the road from Colombo to Kandy may thank the Gods for having allowed this break from the bitter cold of Delhi into such a lush paradise of warmth and water and throat-searing food. But we have to be careful because many say it is also a bit disorienting to be in this country.

It feels like Indian, the landscape is especially so and yet there is something that is distinctly different. One does not get this kind of disorientation in a patently different land — Japan or Sweden for example; there everything is new and different and modern so one is clearly an outsider. And within greater India, even in places far away from one's usual place of residence there are reminders of the larger country one claims citizenship of the SAARC — Hindi film music wafting out of narrow lanes, life-sized posters of unpleasant politicians wishing someone or being wished by someone.

So, how are Sri Lankans different from greater Indians? of course there are all the text book stuff on Sri Lanka that was rammed down throats in classes on development in college — the remarkable literacy rates (virtually universal), the excellent health (infant mortality, maternal mortality and life expectancy levels that rival Western Europe's), the fantastic public services for health and education that persist in the face of a neo-liberal economy. Also everybody knows that this country has seen more than two decades of brutal violence, which appears to have finally ended or at least paused due to a period of even more brutal violence. But these are not things that one notes visually and emotionally disturbed enough to account for one's feeling of disorientation. Then what are these more obviously visible unique features of life in Sri Lanka? One media person answers 'I think that three startling differences make up the root cause of my disorientation. Maybe they are related, but maybe they are not — they are quite distinct and don't automatically accompany economic growth.'

First of all (and dearest to any democrat) is the ease and joy with which women traverse public spaces. In the densest crowds, such as in the packed public buses they ride in Colombo and in the heaving masses pay their New Year's respects in the Temple of the Tooth Relic in Kandy. Apparently if this had been India (and especially if this had been Delhi), there would have been few women daring enough to actually be present as well as to smile pleasantly at strangers. In Sri Lanka women smile at even male strangers, as male media people happily discover. Instead in India they would be fearful of being groped and mauled if young (or even middle-aged) and pushed roughly aside if old and weak. The second reason for feeling out of place in Sri Lanka, we are told, is that public spaces are unreasonably clean. Neither in Colombo nor on the road to Kandy did they see the mounds of filth-encrusted plastic bags and other forms of smelly or environment-contaminating waste that even the most expensive parts of Indian cities and towns revel in. Nor were public buildings and roadsides ungrudging receptacles for fiery red spit. We know this is an achievement in the last few decades due to the progress of modernism.

The third striking absence, according to them, was of the kind of degrading poverty one sees in such abundance in any place in India. One media person said "I don't think their poor and homeless get hidden from view as ours reportedly were in Delhi during the Commonwealth Games and, yet, even the one apparent beggar I saw on the street, and tried to give some change to, turned out to have a sheaf of lottery tickets she pressed upon me in return."

70 TOO MANY

70 TOO MANY

FEBRUARY 5, 2018

 

Voices are heard in the North, weeping. A thousand women weeping for their children, refusing to be comforted, for they do not know if they live or have died. The earth at and around their feet is soaked, layers deep, with the blood of people whose bodies we can’t even dignify with an accurate number.

As enough time passes, the blood will seep deeper into the ground. Fear not, the only red rivers that will touch your feet are the monsoon flows of red dust turned to mud, staining your soles like henna on the feet of a dancer. It will be absorbed by the roots of the new palmyrah. As their dry fronds rustle like thunder in the wind, as the fiery liquid drawn from its fruit burns our throats, they will ensure that we do not forget, that pain still lives with and in us. Maybe now, we will finally understand.
–
An Eastern playground beckons in blue, white and more blue. It matches the logos on the dirty tarpaulin that counts as the roof of their homes. Even a tent counts as home when home itself has been razed to the ground by someone you did no wrong to. But to gaze upon where home once stood, only to find that someone else has now claimed its contours and crevices as their own, is more of an insult than seeing it torn to rubble.
–
Then there’s that one place further up the coast. The one everyone knows, but doesn’t speak of. They know the name from the gritty footage and glaring headlines, though they cannot spell or pronounce it. Blue horizon meets blue sky in a seamless union. The white sand is so fine that as the ocean breeze sweeps it onto your feet, it coats them in a near-glittering sheen. The place on which you are standing is unholy ground.

There are the signs of life that are strewn on its periphery, hidden enough that you could easily miss it, jarring enough to make you acknowledge. Clothes, shoes, a handkerchief, half-covered in the almost-blessed sand, in craters close to the forest line. Sweep inward from here to a still, dark lagoon – from monsoon to scorching sun, its colour remains the same deep murky green, the shade you’d get if you mixed all the colours on a paint palette together. The snaking bridge that cuts through it has collapsed in a few places, the physical reflecting the emotional of those who live in its vicinity. It has seen and borne too much, more in one month than the hundred that have passed since, more than anywhere should witness even in seven decades.
–
Two centuries they have lived as children of an adoptive mother who could never quite care for them in the way that she did for her own. Does she see then, when blood runs in rivulets, mimicking the abundant mountain springs, through the cracks on their thumbs and index fingers? Does she feel indignation at the denial of home, identity and a voice that they have borne since? Instead she ensures that the cup of tea you sip, you who call yourselves her real children, bears no mark of their aching hands. After the machines have been at the leaves that they plucked all day in the biting cold, it erases all traces of them from the process, just like she guided you to erased them from your collective memory.

Strange, isn’t it, how a beautiful-enough ‘bigger picture’ is all we ever need to be convinced that everything is normal. But like the pieces of plastic rubbish caught in between the rocks of a waterfall, like the leeches that lurk in the sweeping forest foliage, so does suffering lie in places so seemingly-beautiful that we don’t want to think of them as troubled.

So we build empires to shield our bloodshot eyes and stubborn minds. Giants of steel, concrete and glass break through the tree-lined avenues of the familiar metropolis. The earth shakes – literally and metaphorically – with the force of machines drilling layers deep, altering our foundations physically and otherwise. A kingdom is being built around us, and you could swear that we are shrinking as it rises daily, to a place almost beyond the clouds. But like haunted houses being turned into palaces, or mansions erected on the ruins of graveyards, the colourful tinge on the rubble call out to remind us. The cracks in the walls where homes once stood, like lips parted in a rasping whisper – we are building the future over the present, rewriting over stories that are still being told.
–
Three hundred years you toiled for a land that you didn’t recognise, broke your bones and poured out your tears but she was still not yours. You watched from afar, with despair and greed, as someone else made her home. They changed her form, made indelible marks on her beautiful face, and drove spokes through her body that still hold, seventy years later.

And suddenly she was yours. Freedom like a rush of blood to your head, or like a knife through the heart.

Her mountains, plains and oceans have run with blood and tears for half of the seventy that has passed. For forty years you too walked in the wilderness, and for the next thirty you ravaged paradise in search of a promised land. Her core shakes as it absorbs the heartache of her children, the ones she longed to protect, the ones who spurned her and each other in search of another kind of victory. That pain now reverberates in every grain of sand, every palm leaf, every ripple, and lives on.

Where you once lived under the Other’s watchful hand, so you’ve kept Each Other under your heel.
–
Still you pray with the fervour of someone naïve enough to think that their inhuman actions towards their fellow human beings affords them any form of divine grace, that any god is even listening anymore. Where your prayers should rise to the skies, they fall as curses to the ground. Flowers wilt in shaking hands and the smoke from the incense sticks draws blood from your lungs. Every lime you cut falls into the water upwards, a blood red. You go without food, and it is not enough. Blood flows from where the metal hooks pierce your skin, pain multiplied in every centimetre of their surface area that touches your nerves.

Punishment maybe, for the original sin that was the copulation of woman and lion, the first gross indecency. A union that bred a mutant that was neither human nor animal. You are yet to realise that the supposedly majestic creature that you staked your pride and identity on is a beast so unnatural that it is unfit to roam the earth. Its blood closer to poison than bodily fluid, contaminated, scorching the earth wherever it falls.

Do you deserve independence?

70 Years of Independence | Yamini Ravindran

GROUNDVIEWS- 02/08/2018

What does it mean to be Sri Lankan?

70 years after independence, our identity is defined mostly along majoritarian lines, which can be traced back to the divisions created under British rule. These divisions have contributed to violence and war, in the years since 1948.

To this day, there are communities who feel that what is commonly projected and defined as the Sri Lankan identity does not reflect their reality, or themselves.

Looking at this, Groundviews produced a series of videos exploring identity and belonging in a country emerging from war, but not yet out of conflict.

Yamini Ravindran is the Legal and Advocacy Coordinator of the National Christian Evangelical Alliance of Sri Lanka (NCEASL) She comments on the often-overlooked discrimination against the Christian community. She addresses the relationship between religion and politics, and the problems that arise when the State attempts to control or channel religious practice.

Editor’s Note: To view earlier videos in the series, click here, here and here. Click here for more content around Sri Lanka’s 70th Independence Day. 

Election forecasting in a land of chaos!

By Chandre Dharmawardana-February 9, 2018, 10:17 pm 

Canada

Can you predict the outcome of a toss of a coin, given enough data and a sufficiently large computer? Can you predict the outcome of the next election if we are given enough opinion polls and a sufficiently large computer? These are of course the sort of questions that might interest many people on the eve of a national election, in a country like Sri Lanka where political fever can end up in blue murder. We all know of astrologers, soothsayers, and election forecasters claiming to predict the outcomes even to near-100% accuracy – nothing less! They will justify it by saying, "look, I predicted the outcome of such and such a previous election with perfect accuracy, I am not like Mr. Pandit X who is a fake; I have a computer programme and I feed into it the election facts and even astrological data"!

A sure criterion of a "fake prediction" is that they rarely come with error bars or confidence limits. They may even predict a "46.3273% of the vote" to some party! The result is given to six significant figures, when no such measurement can be more accurate beyond two significant figures. In fact, we immediately understand that the forecaster has no understanding of what he is doing. It is a "pretence of knowledge", ever so common in this age of fake news that can be instantly loaded on to the social media, enabling them to acquire a global dimension. The prediction is quoted and re-quoted, and hence used even to influence the outcome, since people have a tendency to vote for the winning side. Political parties set up their own political predictions as part of the strategy, but disguised as if the predictions are coming from independent forecasters or astrologers. They can then say, "All predictions favour us".

Another feature of these fake election predictions is bias. When we say "bias", we mean cherry-picking of data to ensure that a certain outcome is obtained. It is like a detective who only selects the evidence that will incriminate a preselected accused person, ignoring the inconvenient evidence. But a scientist or statistician must follow all the evidence, even if they lead to conclusions contrary to one's strongly held beliefs. When Charles Darwin set off on the Beagle to collect data to prove that God had created the world of fauna and flora in all its splendour, he found evidence to the contrary, and took decades to come to deal with the implications. There is, however, the need to discard evidence that is contaminated or compromised, and make a judicious selection of the data. Galileo and Einstein knew what information should be prioritized, while recognizing the need to explain ALL the data.

Of course, prediction of elections is possible as soon as actual polls arrive. When even 10% of the vote is in, extrapolations can be made with increasing confidence. But to claim that one can make a 99% accurate prediction a few weeks ahead of a poll, in an uncontrolled (i.e. free) election, is an attack on our very rationality. Unfortunately, such claims abound in this age of "fake news" and should be resisted by every public-spirited person.

Unfortunately, this "pretence of having knowledge of the future" is common, not only among prophets and election forecasters, but even in many areas of social "sciences". These include political science and even economics. It was Bernard Shaw, who stated that if `you asked 10 economists to predict the direction the economy is headed, they will point in 12 directions'. The most telling indictment of this "pretence to knowledge" came from the Nobel winning economist, Friedrich von Hayek, in his Nobel acceptance speech, entitled a "Pretence of Knowledge". Even without naming names, he claimed that some of his highly distinguished colleagues were charlatans and deceits, or at best self-deluded fools! Basically, he stated that in dealing with complex systems, predictions of specific events, or even the catastrophic collapse of an economy, are impossible; even with the best computers and the most complete knowledge of the system. Leave aside predicting the outcome of elections or the downturns in economic systems; we are still unable to predict earthquakes and Tsunamis.

Poincare was one of the most famous mathematicians of the late 19th century, over-arching into the 20th century. It was he who wrote the letter of recommendation to Einstein, enabling the latter to get his first job in the Patent office in Switzerland. Poincare was also the first person to prove that even if we had all the data, and all the information about three billiards colliding, while the outcome is determined by the laws of mechanics, the outcome is in fact NOT predictable in most instances. The motion – deterministic but without the possibility of a useful prediction - is said to be "chaotic". Poincare's result was regarded as a bit of arcane mathematics, and was soon forgotten, especially in the excitement of the discoveries of the Quantum Theory and the Theory of Relativity. However, the ideas became poignantly relevant in the 1960s, when von Neumann, a renowned name of 20th century physics and the computer revolution returned to the work of Poincare. One could see chaos "happening" in computer simulations. Small planets were discovered whose trajectories are beyond prediction! Sinai, Mandelbrot and others opened a fascinating world of fractals and unpredictable "Sinai billiards". Murray Gell-Mann – Nobel Laureate of eight fold-symmetry fame, and others founded the study of complex systems, and averred that social systems are simply systems which are always at the edge of chaos. So Friedrich von Hayek was completely abreast of the latest thinking in his Voltaire-like indictment of his colleagues who claimed to formulate tools for predicting the future of economic systems.

Popular writers came forward, and coined the terminology of the appearance of "black swans" to characterize the unpredictable qualities of chaotic systems. In "regular" systems, swans are always white! In chaotic systems, there can be those unexpected black swans at any moment, in an uncontrolled way! The direction of history CAN be determined by Cleopatra’s nose.

Of course, Sri Lankans don't need a Poincare or a von Neumann to know about chaotic systems. They have it ready made, created by our politicians who find troubled waters to be most congenial for their moneymaking activities. No one even really knows the number of cabinet ministers – they are a non-countable set? Every election in Sri Lanka is a moment when the country is said to be "at the crossroads" - a sure sign of a chaotic system. It is at least a sign that the system is not controlled, since the outcome is foregone in "elections" held under dictatorships.

Of course, the public has heard of the misuse of statistics, and how "Statistics and damn lies" are equated. But statistics, if correctly used, is an essential tool of our world. Insurance companies, banks, businesses and public health administrators use highly trained statisticians, actuaries, and epidemiologists to evaluate and avert risk, determine the cost of compensation, or the amounts that have to be set aside for dealing with emergencies. Public-opinion polls are used for marketing and product design. Scientists use statistics in analysing their experiments. These are valid applications of statistical methods, and what I have written here is no indictment of such methods, in the sense that you may find in some nonsensical post-modernist writings.

The Circus Is Back In Town – But You Can Change The Act!

By Ruvan Weerasinghe –February 9, 2018

Every few years, the politicians around us have been successful in getting us all excited to participate in a circus they put up on our behalf. And this February’s lowly Local Government polls is no exception – in fact it maybe even more of a success! They’d have us believe that the rest of our lives absolutely depended on it. In case this sounds frivolous and appearing to be discouraging voters, let me be clear and say at the outset that as citizens of this country, it is our duty to cast our vote at this and all future elections – else we in effect are abrogating our responsibility and permitting others to make decisions for us. However, this post is about NOT pinning all our hopes on the outcome of elections.

Signs of the circus

Many have been quick to point out that this election is different: it allocates a 25% quota for women. True, that is a remarkable achievement. More importantly it has the potential to be a game changer, since it would be the largest group of un-likeminded people in Sri Lankan politics, and far more potent than one or two honest male politicians in our broken system.

However, it has to also be taken together with the fact that to ‘accommodate’ this 25%, we have increased the total number of our representatives by almost 100% (from ~4500 in the whole country to ~8500)! And so, in effect, we’ve smuggled in a whopping 50% more of the same, largely rotten core of male representation, to appease the career politicians involved in drafting this ingenious new scheme.

Add to this the fact that many parties had a tough time finding female candidates, resulting in wives, sisters and other kith and kin of the same rogue male politicians being nominated by them. Anecdotal accounts from a ward in the Kotte area (along the Nugegoda railway line) shows that all the major parties’ nominees are drug peddlers well known in the area! Stories from some of the other wards and electorates indicate that this may not be an isolated case. A few of these have already appeared in the news.

The line up

Of course there are some honorable contestants in the lineup. The JVP’s candidates appear to be by far the most impressive: educated individuals capable of speaking up for issues on principle rather than expedience. Unfortunately, only a few of them are likely to be elected, and even then, would have the unenviable challenge of sparring with a bunch of opportunists who are unused to the application of logic, ethics or pure common sense in issues of governance (if they know that concept in the first place). As history has shown by the sad examples of those such as G. L. Peiris, the only ones who’d survive among these educated candidates even if elected, are the ones who in the end submit to the ways of the ‘career politicians’. More dangerously, they could then start espousing the agendas of whatever political party they eventually represent, with clever arguments and pseudo intellectualism as seen in these forums in those of the likes of Dayan Jayatilleka.

Clearly, the winner at the other end – that of fielding the worst kind of individuals for the LG polls is the ‘pohottuwa’ group, which is led by none other than the aforementioned, once excellent academic. In the best of cases, their candidates match up to the worst of those fielded by the two traditional parties in Sri Lankan politics, the SLFP/UPFA and the UNP.

The SLFP/UPFA consists of another caliber of opportunists. Those who have one foot with the incumbent leader and another with the former leader! Judging by the highly mixed signals that their current leader is sending out to the population (amounting to the greatest display of opportunism), they’d probably create history by allowing a ‘breakaway’ from a major party in Sri Lanka to defeat the parent party in a number of wards and electorates.

However, the saddest tale for Sri Lankan politics is that of the UNP. After waiting for years in the opposition, and fielding some very strong, able and rational candidates at the last election, it has let them and their voters down badly in the 3 years they’ve ruled the country. In their defense, they were hampered by having to work together with a bunch of the ‘corrupt old guard’ who the new leader of the SLFP had to bring back to important ministries even though being thoroughly rejected by the people at that election.

So what do we do?

Firstly, let’s call a spade a spade. These, and even the general and presidential elections are a ‘circus’ put on for the people once every few years. Unfortunately, we the people, get all excited and align ourselves to one or the other of the ‘clowns’ on show! We really don’t have to do this. Yes, there is an alternative.

Sri Lanka is slowly but surely maturing as a democracy (though that may seem to go against all I’ve stated above!). But that is not by the number and frequency of the elections we have (which should make us the most democratic country in the world) nor the sheer number of candidates we elect to represent us (a colossal waste of public funds). No, the maturing of our democracy is happening completely outside the realms of elected politicians.

Never in our history, has government decision making been influenced so much by normal citizens (not politicians) than in the past 3 years. This is not a wish, but a fact, and facts are stubborn. It is the civil society that has brought about this change, thanks largely to electronic media, citizens journalism and social apps. Even 4 years ago, this level of influence was absolutely unthinkable! However, our civil society still needs to be nurtured to become a strong force able to withstand governments which could use authoritarian powers to suppress it. Given another 5 years, we could potentially have a civil society voice that could ensure democracy in this country irrespective of which political party comes to power! That should be our goal – to become a true modern democracy in the region, where citizens’ true aspirations are highlighted without the need for paying obeisance to politicians. This of course is a highly dangerous situation for career politicians, who (fortunately) I’m quite sure, don’t have time these days to watch this space.

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Three historical moments: Mahinda’s, Sirisena’s and Ranil’s

Friday, 9 February 2018

Unlike King Asoka, our King Mahinda lost the Kalinga moment that would have made him adorn the annals of Sri Lanka and even world history as one of those great men – although he reigned over a tiny island. He would have been president for life and the afterlife also.

One of the articles I have most enjoyed writing was under the caption ‘How Mahinda lost his Kalinga moment’. That was written during the regime of Mahinda Rajapaksa when I observed Mahinda fleeing from a great historical opportunity. I wrote that for the Colombo Telegraph. I think it also appeared in one of the national print papers.

Kalinga

The Kalinga war (c.262-c.261BCE) had been the only war that Emperor Asoka fought since his accession to the throne. That was between the state of Kalinga, an independent feudal kingdom located on the Eastern coastline in the present day state of Odisha, north of Andhra Pradesh. Says Ramesh Prasad Mohapatra in his book, Military History of Orissa: “…no war has ended with so successful a mission of peace for the entire war-torn humanity, as the war of Kalinga.” This represents a great turning point for Indian history and for the personal life of the Maurya Emperor. It was one of the bloodiest wars in history. Emperor Asoka describes the situation thus in one of his famous rock edicts:

“Beloved-of-the-Gods, King Priyadarsi, [reference to King Asoka] conquered the Kalingas eight years after his coronation. One hundred and fifty thousand were deported, one hundred thousand were killed and many more died (from other causes). After the Kalingas had been conquered, Beloved-of-the-Gods came to feel a strong inclination towards the Dharma, a love for the Dharma and for instruction in Dharma. Now Beloved-of-the-Gods feels deep remorse for having conquered the Kalingas.”

The moment for Emperor Asoka

The catalytic change was that Asoka transformed from ‘Chandasoka’ or violent Asoka to ‘Dharmasoka’; and so he set out to create a peaceful and humane land through the length and breadth of his vast empire. Every detail pertaining to the welfare and comfort of his people was attended to. There were even shady trees and water spouts by the roadside for travellers; there were hospitals for the sick; there was a flourishing agriculture. The transformation in both man and nation had been so impressive that historian H.G. Wells remarked in his ‘History of the World’; “amidst the tens of thousands of columns of world history, the name of Asoka stands and stands alone- a star.”

Mahinda’s

Kalinga Moment

It is easy to surmise that our own President Mahinda Rajapaksa, endowed with all that absolute power, had faced a fairly similar situation in Sri Lanka after the LTTE was downed in battle at the end of a thirty-year war. Probably a difference in the quality of the two men explained the different results. Mahinda obviously hadn’t the spiritual upliftment and moral fibre to affect a similarly wonderful metamorphosis in Sri Lanka. He had all the peoples’ goodwill. He had even the backing of Western powers for transformation and reconciliation efforts.

The fact that Mahinda Rajapaksa had no intention of going on the path of reconciliation was evident when he decided to celebrate the triumph on an annual basis. Triumphalism was his path and that was incompatible with reconciliation. He made this an occasion for celebration just for the sole reason of propelling his image so that he could consolidate himself in his position of power.

From day one of the victory, Mahinda and his powerful brother, Gotabhaya, set out on a series of abuses of power and privilege. Many murders and disappearances of dissentients took place under their charge and no attempt was made to investigate them. Mahinda invested himself with the powers of the Finance Minister, which was outrageous for a President to do. The very General who fought the war on ground was jailed under fake charges and his hard-won medals were taken away. We need not repeat ad nauseam the litany of misrule under Mahinda Rajapaksa. The thing is that Mahinda lost the plot and failed to grasp the tide of the moment and bring peace, law and order, and development to the country. Unlike King Asoka, our King Mahinda lost the Kalinga moment that would have made him adorn the annals of Sri Lanka and even world history as one of those great men – although he reigned over a tiny island. He would have been President for life and the afterlife also.

Maithripala Sirisena, too, may be regarded as having had his moment in history. That was when he was elected as common-candidate-President by the broad masses under the leadership of Sri Lanka’s largest single party, the United National Party. For the first time, Sri Lanka had a movement by civil society organisations that backed Maithri as the common candidate. That had been an extraordinary moment. The passionate call among the sixty-two lakhs of voters was for the re-establishment of normal governance procedures and systems that had been ingloriously uprooted by Mahinda Rajapaksa and his men. There was also a demand for making the criminals of the dispossessed regime face court and be punished. The 8th of January, 2015 saw a silent revolution for a decent society where human dignity is preserved. A lot has been achieved by both the President and the Prime Minister and their teams. Maithripala Sirisena’s role at this historical moment is to continue that record and offer leadership to usher in the expected changes and restore the country to a normal development course. President Maithripala Sirisena has to be the great historical restorer. There have been some unfortunate developments during the local government election campaign that could undermine this role. The President must stand above the fray and lead everyone and not only a party.

The conspirators of the Opposition camp have utilised some of the crossovers from the MR camp to poison the President’s mind and give him illusive baits. Sirisena has only got to see some of the videos going viral on social media where he is reviled, insulted, and spat at by some of these crossovers during the 2015 election campaign. Minister Susil Premajayanth (a sissy crossover) outrageously says that, “the people have had enough of this Government and that there has to be a change soon.” Susil Premajayantha is obviously having worm problems in his stomach.

Ranil’s moment

Ranil’s moment is more coming than having come. It has come already in the sense that he is required to play a formidable role as peacemaker in this unfortunate current crisis with the President. He is doing his job with considerable understanding, political sagacity, and patience. He ensures the matter is not escalated. Ranil – the most underestimated political leader in our country – has exhibited gargantuan resilience against setbacks and he has come out triumphant in the end. Have we not witnessed how he kept his party together while in opposition for twenty long years and despite all the undermining. However, the Ranil moment may have yet to come in the sense he has plan B in case the crisis goes out of hand. Simultaneously, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has taken charge of the economic drive of the Yahapalanaya government. He talks nothing but economics these days – except for Wifi the other day. Wifi is also important for development and it can be regarded as part of soft infrastructure that the island needs for rapid and efficient communication.

The writer can be contacted at sjturaus@optusnet.com.au

CARTOON: Uneasy Spectators

R C PRADEEP KUMAR-02/09/2018

The celebrations the public sees on Independence Day attempt to project the idea of national unity. Yet this is misleading. The divisions we continue to see in Sri Lanka are often caused by the same forces that host and actively participate in these celebrations. Members of the public cannot grasp the flag; cannot achieve the unity that is celebrated every year on February 4, as much as they might like to. They are forced to be uneasy spectators instead. As a result, these celebrations unintentionally highlight the many divisions that continue to beset this country. The multi-cultural, pluralistic nature of Sri Lanka is shadowed by these divisions. As long as this remains the status quo, these issues will persist beyond February 4.

For more content around Independence Day, click here. To view our video series, click here. 

Exasperation and desperation of silly Sirisena , Brigadier’s squalor and diplomatic privileges …

-By Diplomatic mission officer (retired)

(Lanka-e-News - 08.Feb.2018, 11.30PM)  It is a matter for deep regret Pallewatte Gamaralalage Sirisena has demonstrated and confirmed once again that he is  ignorant of the country’s laws and regulations so much so that he does not have even  that little knowledge a remote village grama  sevaka is expected to have, leave  alone his lack of knowledge of a State’s diplomatic affairs.

It is a well and widely known fact,   to the consternation  of all he reinstated a brigadier who was interdicted by the foreign ministry for behaving in a grotesque uncivilized  manner that damaged the image of the country , and on grounds of gross indiscipline. 

Vienna Convention ..

It is a universally acknowledged fact that Diplomatic officers  are expected to serve as bridges between nations and build cordial  international ties. They  cannot therefore violate  international laws and rules under any circumstances. In the Vienna convention pertaining to  diplomatic affairs, it is clearly stipulated , they cannot exceed their limits . That is they cannot  act beyond their powers and duties to hinder any  section of the population .

Any diplomatic officer  can enjoy  immunities only if he carries out  his duties duly without causing harm or hindrance. He cannot exploit his immunity to threaten or intimidate others .In fact he cannot disclaim responsibility even in a traffic offense citing his  immunity , to  escape the penalty of fine. If the officer conducts himself in a manner that  obstructs the public , the officer ‘s motherland can under the  laws demand his/her  repatriation;   take action under its laws;  or dismiss him/her from the post.

When viewing this within    the confines of the law ,the brigadier who is  the accused by making veiled or overt threats has acted in breach of the provisions of Vienna convention. He had issued threats to an individual who protested in order to articulate his views  in a free country ,  and subjected him to distress. He has indeed  challenged  the right to freedom of a citizen of that country.

In every main Institution at every place in London , the rights of the citizens are vividly displayed. Hence even if a finger is pointed at an individual it can be construed as a threat and legal redress can be sought. Therefore  ‘slitting the throat’ gesture of the brigadier can be interpreted  as a threat , and the citizen of that country who staged a  protest legally can evoke the laws of that country  against the brigadier.

Gladstone and Brigadier 

We think we should shed some  light  on this protest in order that  Sri Lankans who do not know the actual background can understand it more fully…

As in SL so in London , protestors cannot stage protests         whimsically at any time and at any place as  they want .They must obtain prior permission  ,and a payment must be made  on that account.  Based on the permission  granted the Police allocates a venue and a definite time limit for the protest . Moreover the protestors have to abide by a number of rules and regulations when they are engaged in the protests. If  they violate the conditions and terms , those to whom the license was issued  are held answerable.

In the circumstances , the brigadier and those who are shedding tears for him may not be aware those protestors have abided by the laws and were only enjoying the rights conferred on them legally when they protested in front of the SL High Commission  .Hence if the laws of that country are evoked by a protestor against the brigadier , the course of legal action followed  in  Britain  will serve as a model for our own.

During the late Premadasa  era, because a complaint was made  to the police in connection with the casting of vote by a SL citizen , the SL government deported the  then British High Commissioner in SL ,David Gladstone on charges of interfering with the internal affairs of the country. Though Britain was a powerful country it had to keep its mouth shut , because it was Gladstone who violated  the provisions of Geneva convention.

Already two British M.P.s had made a written request to their  foreign minister to intervene at State diplomatic level on this issue. Based on that if the British Foreign ministry  makes an official  request that the brigadier be repatriated , our president’s toffee nosed instructions to keep the brigadier there will have to be swallowed by him like a sour toffee humiliatingly. 

Though the SL foreign ministry secretary  acted with foresight and perspicacity  , the characteristic shortsightedness of the president   put the whole process on reverse gear. It is doubtless , because President Sirisena alias Sillysena  is fixing his gaze only  on winning elections even at the expense of national interests and thereby  muddling up the country’s foreign affairs ,he  is  certainly going to learn a bitter lesson on the same lines as deposed discarded ex president Rajapakse.

The many disadvantages …

There are many dark sides  to the  conduct of the brigadier . One …. because his behavior was  directed against the Tamil group , it could sow  doubts among the international community as regards the reconciliation  efforts  of  SL. This is because when the foreign ministry is pursuing a fixed policy , the leader of the state is villainously and myopically following a diametrically opposite policy .

Two…. Since the individual  who was involved in this ugly episode is a high ranking officer of the forces ,  suspicions the international community is harboring already against the SL forces is being confirmed  . This  incident is also adding credibility to the  charges in the documentaries  that were publicized by  popular channel 4 of Britain .Their principal accusation was , the SL forces are not disciplined.  Hence the brigadier has contributed to that accusation by his undisciplined conduct.

The third -the most  important…  The view that is propagated in Britain by the pro LTTE Diaspora that the rights of the Tamils are being deprived in SL, is being further fanned intensely by this episode. 

As reported by Lanka e news earlier on  , in the latest protest   there weren’t so many participants  , unlike in the pro LTTE  protests in the past when tens of thousands took part. In the latest protest there weren’t even 500 participants. Hence this brigadier by his obnoxious conduct had given the much needed boost to the LTTE extremists,  which they would not have received even spending money. Silly Sirisena alias Sillysena despite being the president had also contributed to  multiply  that boost  two or three fold through his stupid cheap political gimmicks  .

In this delicate situation , the SL foreign ministry took the right decision initially. True enough the brigadier  is a military officer , yet he is still employed under the foreign affairs ministry . Therefore as the official appointing him , the foreign ministry secretary can take action. Moreover , the decision taken by the foreign secretary to minimize the pernicious  fallouts of this episode  is of  paramount importance.

 If Britain takes action under the international convention and laws , the outcome could be most disastrous , and even the relationship between the two countries can turn bitter and be in jeopardy.

President himself violates the laws ! 

What was rudely shocking was ,  president taking  steps which were not in conformity  or consonance with the foreign secretary ‘s action. It is true the president has powers to release a prisoner sentenced to death , but he must understand he has no powers to rescind an interdiction order served on an individual by  the foreign ministry secretary .It is the relevant ministry secretary who has powers under the Establishment Act’s  rules and regulations. The  president  if necessary can only notify the foreign ministry secretary via his own  secretary. But  it is the ministry secretary who should implement the action. 

It is a  pity , the president by issuing orders directly to the SL High Commission in Britain to vacate the interdiction order of the Brigadier has only betrayed his gross ignorance of the government rules , regulations and procedures. Besides , if there is an investigation against a State officer facing charges  , interdicting that officer until the probe is over is the common practice .

If the president himself - the highest in the hierarchy of the country is flouting the rules and regulations , he is doing an injustice to the other public servants who are facing punishment based on similar  charges. Much worse , in a country where the president himself is violating the laws , nothing can be more dangerous than that.  

Hence ,what the SL government should do is get down the brigadier , conduct an investigation, and mete out punishment duly .If anyone  thinks such a move is an abject  surrender to the pro LTTE protestors , that is a misconception .

 On the contrary the president himself making attempts to save the accused will only tarnish the image of the country before the entire  world. In addition it will only go to prove that there is no  rule of law in Sri Lanka .

There is also another side ….

It is the deputy High Commissioner who was close to the accused when the incident occurred, yet unbelievably he took no measures to avert this ugly episode. While the  British police were on alert and at the scene of the protest to control the  situation , the SL  diplomatic officers darting out to counter the protestors  is most reprehensible and repugnant. It is tantamount to aggravating the tension and making the situation more volatile to the detriment of the motherland. The  most rudely shocking part ?  Neither the High commissioner nor the deputy High Commissioner gave instructions  to refrain from such foolish and impetuous moves. 

‘General’ Vijitha Herath and the light foretelling goddess .. 

Though many people say this military officer is  law abiding, I am not ready to accept this notion because he was not attired in  the official uniform he ought to have worn at least on the independence day .On that day what he should have worn was the  Ceremonial uniform, instead  he was wearing only the ordinary attire. Vis a vis  the army laws , that alone is a punishable offence. What heroics he performed on the battle field cannot be mixed up with his misconduct  here. 

Like how one is rewarded for the heroic feats , one should also be punished for one’s wrongs. That is what is state service.  

In conclusion a comment must be made with regard to the statements made by a General of the forces and JVP ‘General’ Vjitha Herath  that it cannot be decided  a wrong was committed based on pictures and video footage. 

As far as our knowledge goes , in the modern advanced world ,video footages and pictures are accepted as evidence . In contradistinction ,  these blokes however must be accepting as evidence only the pictures produced by light foretelling goddess’ and Hanuman’s 

-A High Commission Officer (Retired)

Dr. Ratnadeva    

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by     (2018-02-09 03:03:28)