Buddhist monk protests Sri Lankan President's decision to visit Hindu temple in Batticaloa

03Mar 2018

The chief monk of a Batticaloa vihara protested the Sri Lankan president’s decision to visit a Tamil Hindu temple during his trip to the city, while neglecting the other faiths.

President Maithripala Sirisena was due to appear in Batticaloa for an event marking the appointment of 385 graduates from the Eastern Province as teachers. The president was then due to visit the Mamangam Kovil in Amirthakali.

The chief monk of Mangalarama Vihara in Batticaloa, Ambitiya Sumana Thero, protested the president’s decision to prioritise visiting the Hindu community and said he would only be welcome to Batticaloa if he also visited Buddhist, Christian and Muslim shrines.

The monk planted a black flag on the Vihara entrance to protest the president’s visit and caused a disturbance in the area.

SRI LANKA MUST NO TO THROUGH ANOTHER ROUND OF VIOLENCE

Image: Ampara mosque was attacked by Sinhala  Buddhist extremists last week.

03/03/2018

Sri Lanka is still in a post-war phase in which the wounds and traumas of the past three decades of violence and war have still not been healed. The violence directed against Muslim-owned shops, mosques and vehicles in Ampara is a continuation of a process of fueling tension, suspicion and hatred between communities.  The anti-Muslim propaganda focuses on the growth of the Muslim population and its expansion into areas inhabited primarily by members of other communities.  Those who foment violence against the Muslim community are citing unfounded allegations of introducing birth control and other drugs into food packets.

Incidents of violence against the Muslim and other minority communities are both political and systemic.  These are often engineered citing fear, distrust and insecurities and the building of enemy images of the victim communities.  Until the national political leadership takes firm and determined action at this time there is an increasing likelihood of Sri Lanka a new cycle of communal violence that will become uncontrollable. A similar phenomenon was seen, with dreadful consequences, in the early 1980s when communal sentiment was directed against the Tamil which culminated in the anti-Tamil pogrom of 1983.

 After enduring three decades of civil strife and internal war, and now having to answer to the international community at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Sri Lanka must not go through another cycle of violence which targets Sinhalese, Tamils or Muslims. In particular we need to remember the Muslim community has international support in many parts of the world including the Middle East, North Africa, South and South East Asia.  This has been a source of strength to our country in many forms, including the provision of employment.  It is the responsibility of the government and opposition to be aware of these realities and take immediate action prevent false propaganda and violence against the Muslim community spiraling out of control.

 The National Peace Council calls on the national political leadership, both in government and opposition, to come out in unanimity against the present polarizing process and not to seek to politicize it for their own advantage.   We note that the leaders of the Muslim and Tamil political parties have already condemned these incidents and made calls to the government to take deterrent action.  However, the paucity of government and opposition leaders making similar calls is most disturbing.  We fear that unchecked this type of activity will gather momentum, and due to lack of adequate response, will become entrenched.

 We call on the government and state institutions, especially the police, to take immediate deterrent and punitive measures against the miscreants and those giving them political and ideological backing. 

The false propaganda which is spread through word of mouth and on the social media needs to be countered by the government and civil society in a systematic manner.  We affirm the role of civil society in addressing these systemic failures with the support of government and in promoting reconciliation initiatives with religious leaders from all communities.

( Press release issued by the NPC)

A truculent President and a tame PM: Are they to be fired, or forced to work together?

Rajan Philips-March 3, 2018, 8:40 pm 

Neither Maithripala Sirisena nor Ranil Wickremesinghe owes their current official positions to their popularity or politics. They are where they are by democratic default when a majority of the Sri Lankan voters said enough is enough to Mahinda Rajapaksa, his family, their cronies and their relentless power grab. That was in January 2015. A majority of the members of the present parliament also owe their parliamentary seats to the same January 2015 wave which carried them to parliament seven months later in August. The mandate the President, the Prime Minister, and the parliamentarians who supported them in January 2015 received from the people, was simple and clear: (1) expose, address and eradicate corruption in government; and (2) bring about constitutional changes to arrest and reverse the nearly 40-year trend of the concentration, personalization and the abuse of presidential power. The desire for national reconciliation was more than palpable but it is fair to say that it did not receive the same universal endorsement as did the revolt against corruption and the opposition to presidential power abuse.

Even the MPs who were elected on the SLFP/UPFA ticket, in August 2015, will not dare say that their mandate is to return to corruption or facilitate power abuse. And a good number of the SLFP/UPFA returnees, including those who were admitted through the national-list backdoor after losing in the elections, joined the Sirisena-Wickremasinghe (S-W) government. Quite a few of them are also ministers in the S-W cabinet that was expanded in size through a special constitutional provision just to include them. Some of them are alleged to be corrupt now as they were before, but even they will not dare say that they have a mandate to be corrupt.

How does any of this change after the February 10 local election? Nothing of the 2015 mandate does, or should, change as a result of the February 2018 election. The two are not mutually exclusive, only mutually reinforcing. The practical question is how do we reconcile the two, or how do we institutionally translate the message of 2018 to reinforce the mandate of 2015. The relevant moral imperative is to keep both 2015 and 2018 linked and in focus, and not to disconnect the two by contriving connections between 2018, on the one hand, and the old political milestones of 1953, 1956, 1964 and whatever else, on the other.

On February 10, the people unmistakably expressed not just disappointment but real anger at the poor performance of the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe government and the grand corruption of its own making. While the initial euphoria after the February 10 debacle targeting Prime Minister Wickremesinghe has somewhat subsided, the uncertainty about his position and the future of the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe government has not at all withered away. The much touted cabinet reshuffle was expected to put the derailed government back on track. But the reshuffle turned out to be a sham of a half-shuffle. It was truly a disgraceful spectacle of a national Sunday show. One can only feel sorry for the three service commanders in full regalia who were summoned to stand behind their commander-in-chief for nothing.

No Confidence in Ranil Wickremesinghe

The half-shuffle spectacle seems to have encouraged the resurrection of calls for either the resignation of, or a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Wickremesinghe. Calls have emanated from within the UNP and have found resonance not only in the Joint-Opposition but also the JVP. Even the SLFP that is still in government is not averse to supporting a no-confidence motion against the Prime Minister. After all it is the (SLFP) President who started the frenzy that he wanted Ranil Wickremesinghe out and to be replaced by another UNPer, or by anybody else other than Mahinda Rajapaksa. Then Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, safely returning from his sojourn in the US, publicly reminded everyone and the President that he could not be PM, because he is still a US citizen. Ouch! That damned 19th Amendment again. There is more, because there is no way that Gotabhaya Rajapaksa can muster majority support to be Prime Minister in the current parliament.

Looked at it from the other end of Kotte, is the 19th Amendment enough to save Ranil Wickremesinghe’s political bacon? All that the 19th Amendment does is to prevent the President from arbitrarily firing a Prime Minister who has majority support in parliament. As it is the Prime Minister has majority support in parliament, and he is not going to lose it unless at least a dozen UNPers break rank and support a no confidence motion against the Prime Minister. The JVP has qualified its support for a no confidence motion, indicating that it should be based on specific allegations of corruption or improper conduct and not just political calculations. That would be a high bar to cross for the SLFP Ministers and the SLPPers in the Joint Opposition given their own record on corruption and propriety. The TNA will most likely will stay with the Prime Minister as long as it could unless the Prime Minister gets stuck with some of the dirt from the bond scam.

While there is no question that Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe must assume hundred-percent political responsibility for the bond fiasco, no one knows except perhaps himself, if he did anything that could be construed as criminal offence. Ordinarily, in such a situation, even without any criminal involvement, a Minister or Prime Minister should tender his resignation. But Sri Lankan politics is in sub-ordinary times and not ordinary or extraordinary times. Singling out and getting rid of Ranil Wickremesinghe will not be anything more than a diversion from the 2015 mandate to root out corruption. Worse, it could make it easier for the old corrupt bandicoots to return home to prosper. There is no doubt that Ranil Wickremesinghe has himself contributed to making it easy for the old bandicoots to return home. For that he already stands condemned in history. The largely footnote question now is if he should be given a second chance to mitigate that historical stricture ever so slightly. That depends almost entirely on his party and its MPs.

The UNP MPs in parliament and other MPs who benefited from the anti-corruption wave in 2015 should keep in mind that their primary obligation to the voters is to accomplish as much as possible of the 2015 mandate in the remaining two years of the present government’s term in office. Is Ranil Wickremesinghe an irreparable hindrance to that task, or could he still be used even as a damaged instrument and serve out a full term as his last term? Is it worth the hassle of replacing him now, or is it more prudent to arrange for an orderly succession while letting him continue to finish his term on strict conditions? These are questions that only the UNP can answer, assuming that it has the resources to find answers that will be of benefit to the party and the government.

The relentless attention and attacks on Ranil Wickremesinghe have made him a tamed Prime Minister. He also shows almost a disingenuous capacity for disengagement. How else could one explain his flight to Singapore when his party and his part of the government are politically burning? In fairness, he is not the only flight risk in government. Almost all the leading SLFP Ministers were taking flight when their President was presiding over the charade of a cabinet half-shuffle. Some of them had threatened to leave cabinet if Ranil Wickremesinghe were to continue as PM. They have not left anything; they are only flying.

And the President, who seems to have got used to breathing fire at Ranil Wickremesinghe, cannot say boo to his SLFP truants. If the Prime Minister has been tamed, the President by extension has become truculent. He is behaving as if he has just been given a new eight-year term in office. Please don’t ask me, by whom? The Supreme Court has shown him the term limit. The people through the local government elections have shown him that he has no path open to him to win a second term. There is no way the UNP is going to sponsor him a second time after its first term experience with him. Even the avuncular TNA leader Sampanthan will have a hard time recommending a Srirsena candidacy to anyone a second time. If Mr. Sirisena is thinking that he could somehow get the Rajapaksas to grant him a second term ticket, someone must be dreaming egg-hoppers big time that no one else can figure out. Whether as sitting duck or lame duck, the President’s days are numbered.

But it is virtually impossible to get rid of the President before his term is over. It would be fantastic and absurd even to think about it, let alone try it. Equally, dissolving parliament in the current circumstances is not a solution but a cop out. It would be a clumsy, cumbersome and expensive one at that – to recall a manifesto phrase from an earlier era. Therefore, to come back to my recurrent theme, if the country and the government are institutionally stuck with a truculent President and a tame PM, why not find a way to force them to work together, rather than bothering to fire one of them and leave the other one hanging and twitching. The so called civil society agents who contributed to Sirisena and Wickremesinghe ending up where they are now, should step in to get the maximum out of them in furtherance of the 2015 mandate before their elected terms are over.

REVIVAL OF THE UNITY GOVERNMENT

by Lakshman I. Keerthisinghe-2018-03-03

"In necessary things, unity; in doubtful things, liberty; in all things, charity."
- Richard Baxter

Media reported that Speaker Karu Jayasuriya had stated in Parliament that legal experts had advised that there was no issue with the continuation of the Unity Government ,as the related parties, have expressed their willingness to continue, He said he was advised that it was required to submit a written agreement to ensure the legitimacy of the said government .Some opposition Members of Parliament were of the view that the relevant parties had answered only the political matter and not the constitutional aspect of the issue. In order to solve the Constitutional matter, the Speaker should use his rights under the Right to Information Bill and get the agreement before Parliament. A copy of the agreement should be submitted before the House, they said.

It is relevant to note that in arriving at a written agreement as proposed by some parliamentarians, it is advisable to consider some thoughts on good governance advocated by that great philosopher, Kautilya (also known as Chanakya and Vishnugupta), who lived in India around 150 AD., as it appears to be very relevant at the present time when the revival of the unity government has taken place.

Kautilya in his treatise Arthashastra states:-'An equal treaty (or agreement) is one in which the stronger king gets a greater share, and equally powerful king an equal share and a weak king a smaller share, while an unequal treaty (or agreement) is one in which, a strong, equal or weak king does not get a share according to his power.' The balance of power between the parties to such an agreement would invariably tilt towards the more powerful party whoever that may be. Whatever the agreement between the parties to the unity government it is advisable that such agreement should be in writing and accessible to the people in whom the sovereignty of the state lies. The most important aspect is found in the advice of Kautilya when it was stated 'In the happiness of his subjects lies the king's happiness; in their welfare his welfare. He shall not consider as good only that which pleases him but treat as beneficial to him whatever pleases his subjects'. Thus the main object of a ruling party should be the happiness of the people governed by them. If that object is not fulfilled their survival in politics would become minimal.

Kautilya in his Arthashastra speaking of the King or the ruler expressed the following thoughts: 'a king with a depleted treasury eats into the very vitality of the citizens and the country'. At the same time 'a king, who impoverishes his own people or angers them by unjust exactions will also lose their loyalty'. When unjust extactions are considered the bonds scam captures the public mind.

Kautilya further states 'impoverishment, greed and dissatisfaction are engendered among the subjects, when the king: (i) ignores the good people and favours the wicked;(ii) causes harm by unrighteous practices; (iii) neglects the observation of proper and righteous practices; (iv) suppresses dharma and propagates adharma; (v) does what ought not to be done and fails to do what ought to be done; (vi) fails to give what ought to be given and exacts what he cannot rightly take; (vii) does not punish those who ought to be punished but punishes those who do not deserve to be; (viii) arrests those who should not be arrested but fails to arrest those who should be seized; (ix) indulges in wasteful expenditures and destroys profitable undertakings; (x) fails to protect the people from thieves and robs them himself; (xi) does not do what he ought to do and reviles the work done by others; (xii) causes harm to the leaders of the people and insults those worthy of honour; (xiii) antagonizes the wise (elders) by lying and mischief; (xiv) does not recompense service done to him; (xv) does not carry out his part of what has been agreed upon and (xvi) by his indolence and negligence destroys the welfare of his people'. 'When one considers the above factors the present day parliamentarians should appreciate how far these factors have been followed by the government in which they serve as legislators.

Further Kautilya stated: 'The king shall be ever active in the management of the economy. The root of wealth is economic activity and lack of it brings material distress. In the absence of a fruitful economic activity, both current prosperity and future growth will be destroyed. A king can achieve the desired objective and abundance of riches by undertaking productive economic activity.'

In conclusion, it must be stated that rather than engaging in petty party politics and fighting among themselves the parliamentarians elected to serve the people should act harmoniously to ensure the happiness of the people and prosperity of the nation.

(The writer is an Attorney-at-Law with LLB, LLM, MPhil.(Colombo) keerthisinghel@yahoo.co.uk

Sri Lanka: Building Long-Term Unity & Achieving Progress

By Lacille de Silva –MARCH 3, 2018

Lacille de Silva

Undue dominance exercised by the Executive President over the Parliament for several decades has been a serious drawback in Sri Lanka. The opposition too has been weakened and rendered ineffective by the President. Furthermore, the enthusiasm to learn parliamentary practice and procedure of parliamentarians and lack of knowledge have also been a major cause for the deterioration of standards both in Parliament and the country.

The elected representatives have deliriously failed to bear in mind that they are duty bound to perform the task of representing the people, (representative function), execute far-reaching duties and responsibilities in legislation (legislative function), and to oversee government control (control function).

They have failed to give good leadership to formulate development policies as an efficient, responsible, open and accountable Parliament, while engaging more closely with citizens, and local authorities in shaping, preparing and implementing and monitoring development policies and plans at local provincial and national level in a transparent, citizen-centric and people friendly manner.

Parliament is the bedrock institution in our democratic system, which should play a critical role to promote democracy and good governance, while ensuring a government by the people and for the people. Having defeated the former regime in 2015, the present government has failed to consolidate the agenda of strengthening the institutions and the democratization process. The massive defeat at the local government elections leave no room for them to revive the programme. Yahapalana team did not foresee the that the political winds change in Sri Lanka!

Major Issues Before The Country 

• Severe economic, political, cultural, religious and other issues;
• Building long-term peace, harmony and unity;
• Weak, unresponsive, self-seeking undemocratic rule;
• Inability to conform to the pledged reformist agenda or aversion to make the change;
• Absence of intellectual ability to review progress on a daily basis on governance issues;
• Current politicians are the root cause of undemocratic weak governance and citizens do not trust the State;
• Successive governments have overlooked the need to find out the reasons why youth engage in numerous crimes;
• Mismanagement, abuse of power, flawed decisions and political leadership errors;
• Citizens are silent observers of ruin and destruction, when in fact they should be active participants of governance activities;
• 43% of the population live below poverty line;
• Judiciary needs to be made totally independent, citizen-     centric; overcome delays; zero tolerance for corruption;
• Pervasive corruption, ethnic/religious issues, flawed institutions, growth of criminal violence, rising population, poverty, illiteracy, deteriorating rule of law, under-world, drugs, declining national and per capita levels;
• Failure to strengthen devolution meaningfully in an effective, prudent and people friendly manner;
• Undemocratic policies, which had triggered state structure to decay and destruction and bad governance;
• Plundering resources, structural deficiencies, weakening of the state foundation, failure to cope up with internal challenges, economy structurally weak to withstand the challenges of nation-building;
• Ever increasing poverty level with a deepened debt crisis, poor economic policies, debilitated state capacity, over-spending for luxury vehicles, unnecessary expenditure for state functions, which should be totally band and thereby pushing the country into a legacy of further confusion;
• Destruction of forest reserves, illegal sand mining/earth and destruction of natural resources
• Lack of common bonds between different communities;
• The need to give protection and incentives to local industrialists (including declining industrialists) to invest in real and human capital to develop new capabilities and skills;
• Deter unfair competition – dumping by foreign firms at prices below cost and save jobs;
• Help and save environment;
• Self-sufficiency in rice and other food stuffs as a sensible economic strategy and avoid over-reliance on imports given the risks of global downturns;

Parliament 

• Being an important arm of the State, does not promote democracy and good governance;
• failed to establish the necessary checks and balances, develop norms and standards for democratic people-friendly governance;
• Does not acknowledge the fact that the Parliament derives its powers directly from the consent of the people, expressed through periodic elections: thereby failed to enforce the ‘WILL OF THE PEOPLE’;
• Does not express people’s voice in making government decisions and people are therefore unhappy that their aspirations have been disregarded by their elected representatives;
• Elected representatives have failed to maintain integrity, ethics, morality and win public confidence;
• Failed to place public interest and the country ahead of their personal interest;
• Enacting Laws/debating national issues/checking the activities to make the government accountable does not happen;
• Does not help to identify problems and policy challenges to overcome bureaucratic inertia;
• Being the only State institution that could hold the President to account by way of an impeachment, the ‘trustees’ themselves together had disregarded the ‘WILL OF THE PEOPLE’ for private gain and had paved the way for ‘bad governance’;
• Needs vast improvements in the legislative process, oversight functions, for budgetary and financial control, Committees, overall efficiency and effectiveness of entire parliamentary process;

• Empower citizens involvement in governance by enhancing people’s participation in a more open, transparent and accessible Parliament and a public service in decision making process;

Public Service 

• Quality of both National/Provincial public services have come down drastically, with a heavily overloaded staff;
• Does not promote and safeguard meritocracy principle in the recruitment, promotion and career management of public servants;
• Professionalism, careerism have been neglected;
• Excessively corrupt and politicised;
• Poor service delivery due to excessive political interference, discrimination, inefficiency and bribery;
• Senior public officers do not have the necessary independence to implement policies to achieve their anticipated goals;
• Public Services Commission has been side lined manipulatively having entrusted constitutional authority to deal with appointments/disciplinary control/promotions of senior public officers vide Article 55 (2) to the Cabinet;
• Appointments of Secretaries to Ministries has been entrusted to the President vide Article 52 (1);
• Need to create a totally independent Public Service Commission (PSC) has been overlooked for several decades, (which is now inferior to the Cabinet of Ministers);
• Public Administration Circular No. 15 of 1990 introduced during the Premadasa government, which had outlined the recruitment/promotions policy in the public sector has been surreptitiously pushed under the carpet to accommodate corrupt politicos;
• Employee/citizen ratio – 1/18 (1990); It had increased to 1/16(2012) This is higher than all our neighbours – India, Pakistan, Indonesia, Nepal, Singapore, Malaysia.

Public Finance Management (PEM)

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The Cabinet reshuffle: No real takeaways

 Friday, 2 March 2018

Events, as they say in politics, have conspired to force the President to reshuffle his Cabinet, to sharpen Government and to shine. President Sirisena and the Prime Minister had decided to reshuffle the Cabinet of Ministers to manage the fallout after the recent election.

Many new faces were expected to be appointed to Cabinet, with a few changes to existing portfolios. The public wanted a thorough shake-up. Their message after the LG elections was loud and clear. Changing a few ministers would not serve that purpose.

After three years in office, some ministers had delivered and some lack ideas and had become stale, detached and complacent. Some were simply out of their depth. Sadly the much-anticipated Cabinet reshuffle proved to be an anti-climax with just a few changes being effected and these too only with respect of a few UNP Ministers.

Despite the full Cabinet of Ministers being invited for the event, only six Ministers, two State Ministers and a Deputy Minister were sworn in before President Maithripala Sirisena at the President’s Office. The rest of the UNP Ministers retained their portfolios while the future of the UPFA Ministers will remain unknown for a further two weeks.

President Sirisena however made it clear that there would be major changes in the subjects gazetted under each ministry. So far the changes are insignificant and short-sighted. Many expected General Fonseka to take over Law and Order at least at non-Cabinet level to give a fresh lease of life to law enforcement in the country. That too did not take place.

Disappointing

The questions raised after Cabinet reshuffles are not unexpected. After all, Cabinet reshuffles are an intriguing affair. At least for one thing, they demonstrate the power of the Head of State. Perhaps, this is only one decision – the other being the date of the general election that he is expected to decide on his own, consulting only the Prime Minister and very close associates, if at all.

Interestingly, reshuffles therefore tend to be highly-secretive affairs, thus adding to the fascination. Even in the case of a modest change. Often the people who are promoted to ministerial rank are told only on the day itself. The other reason for wide interest is that, more often than not, Cabinet reshuffles are heavily laden with hidden motives and agendas.

The public expectation of President Sirisena’s proposed reshuffle was to get the Government to change direction and to inject fresh hope. It was not done with realism and pragmatism expected, therefore it has led to further uncertainty within the Government.

Need for strong leadership

It is often said that the Cabinet in most countries wields tremendous power and authority. However in Sri Lanka, despite the recent amendments, the President still wields substantial power and authority, and few nations in the world have power so highly-concentrated in one office as in Sri Lanka.

It is a sobering thought that the man at the head of the Cabinet, i.e. the President, has the sole responsibility and discretion finally of deciding who belongs to it. This is how most governments work today.

Strong leaders have of course made a big difference, for example Singapore under Lee Kuan or Britain under Margaret Thatcher. Both demonstrated very clearly that without discipline and structure, a country goes nowhere.

Ideal democracy never produced results. However, what is equally very important is to have very strong and pragmatic men and women preferably educated with a commitment to national service in the Cabinet to advise the Prime Minister or the President, and in some instances, to act as a foil.

Needless to say, in the end, the only valid reason as far as the public goes to change a Cabinet line-up is to strengthen it or inject new life, for the benefit of the country. In this case, the overall ‘reshuffle’ was far from a complete overhaul talked of in political circles – especially after the President and Prime Minister vowed to take very bold and far reaching steps in view of the embarrassing defeat of the UNP as well as SLFP at the Local Government elections.

What a shame both leaders did not make use of the opportunity define the issues in their own terms to the Opposition.

Conclusion

Though the coalition to many looks in shambles, it is not all gloom and doom. Sri Lanka had its first primary budget surplus in 2017. The improvements in the economic climate have been reflected in the sovereign ratings by Fitch and Standard & Poor as they upgraded from a Negative to a Stable Outlook.

Sri Lanka’s external sector had performed well with exports reaching $11.4 billion, 10% more than that of 2016 and higher still than the previous best of $11.1 billion in 2014. Therefore whatever that has been achieved so far should not be squandered over political misgivings.

The way out of this political stalemate is for Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe to take careful steps in dealing with President Sirisena, leaving sufficient space for the latter to understand the ground reality. Ranil needs to adopt a model that is based on discipline (someone telling what to do) rather than allow many (who invariably are not the best) who are incompetent.

If any of our leaders can sell that to the masses (not the intelligentsia only), then we get some discipline in our society (which needs to be shaped like Lee Kuan did with the mass of the Singaporeans).

The current leadership at the helm has to reinvent itself to be trusted once again with a fresh mandate. So far its record of broken promises, weak governance, judicial ineffectiveness and above all, tolerance of financial scandals has largely betrayed the confidence that people placed on the regime. The alternative leadership that is challenging the current one also has a past with even more baggage.

As a result of all this young people are now looking for new alternatives to carry the nation forward with a clean slate. Therefore if serious steps are not taken to rectify the errors that in part led to the disappointing election result, the result at the next provincial elections will be the final nail in the coffin. Because is not possible to win elections without hard work and solid results!
(The writer is a thought leader.)

Sri Lanka achieving success in eliminating mother to child transmission of HIV

Sun, Mar 4, 2018, 01:00 am SL Time, ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.

Mar 03, Colombo: The National STD/AIDS Control Programme (NSACP) of Ministry of Health, which spearheads the national response to HIV/AIDS in Sri Lanka, says the country is at the verge of successfully eliminating mother to child transmission of HIV.

Consultant Venereologist Dr. G. Weerasinghe of the Sri Lanka College of Sexual Health and HIV Medicine said this target will be achieved by the end of this year
Eleven children who were born to HIV infected mothers are reported to be in good health. This success has been attributed to the efficiency of the HIV prevention program in Sri Lanka.

HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) is difficult to detect and to determine whether a person has been infected with the virus as the appearance of the person or the health of the person would not change for a long time after infection.

Out of the 300,000 Sri Lankans tested for HIV last year 284 people tested positive to the virus including 223 men and 61 women.

A child could be infected from a HIV infected mother while inside the womb, during delivery and from the mother's milk.

Dr. Weerasinghe sad that the Prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV program mother has successfully been initiated in Sri Lanka since 2002 while reaching out for positive results.

Infection of HIV could only be determined through a blood test. Therefore, if a person who has suspicion of being infected with HIV, they can request a blood a test to determine the state of infection.

With proper intervention Sri Lanka could achieve success in eradicating HIV by 2025, Dr. Weerasinghe said.


National HIV prevalence remains relatively low in Sri Lanka and the country provides free access to HIV treatment for all eligible people.

RTI Commission orders release of Draft Disability Law

March 3, 2018, 8:36 pm 

The Right to Information (RTI) Commission has directed the release of the most recent draft of the law on persons with disabilities to the ICES.

The order follows the refusal of the Ministry of Social Empowerment to accede to a right to information request filed by the ICES in July 2017.

After its request was declined, ICES filed an appeal, first with the designated officer at the Ministry and later with the RTI Commission.

On February 27, 2018, after a brief hearing, the RTI Commission ordered release of the draft law. 

The Appellant Dr. Mario Gomez observed that the draft was of considerable public interest in Sri Lanka with disability groups in particular being interested in its contents.

Responding to a query by the Commission as to the current status of the draft as the dates mentioned in the responses of the Designated Officer to the Public Authority for the completion of the process had long since lapsed, S. D. Udawatta, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Social Empowerment, Welfare and Kandyan Heritage clarified that although the draft law on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (which the Legal Draftsman’s Department had amended, and sent to the Ministry for its observations) had been listed several times before the Governing Council at its meetings, the draft had not yet been considered.

He clarified further that this was why the Public Authority had been unable to provide the Appellant with a copy of the draft. He stated however that if the Commission issued an Order to that effect, the draft could be provided to the Appellant.

Udawatta further said that, given the uncertainty in the process, the Public Authority was regretfully not in a position to state as to when the draft legislation will be approved by the Cabinet and presented in Parliament.

The Commission held that the fact the draft legislation has not been considered by the relevant Governing Council is not an exceptional circumstance under Section 5 of the Right to Information Act No 12 of 2016 warranting the refusal of the requested information.

It is pertinent in this regard that the definition of information in Section 43 of the Act expressly includes ‘draft legislation’ within its ambit. In many countries in the region as well as globally, draft laws are required to be presented before the public in advance and before the Bill is gazetted, in order to obtain public feedback on its contents which is a beneficial process leading to public consensus around the framing of legislation, the Commission said.

While the draft law on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities may be subject to subsequent amendments, the PA is bound to provide a copy of the draft in its current state to the Appellant and there is no requirement to wait until the draft legislation is gazetted, the Commission noted.

The PA was directed to provide the Appellant of a copy of Sri Lanka’s draft law on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (in Sinhala, Tamil & English).

The Appeal was heard before Chairperson Mahinda Gammampila and Commission Members Ms. Kishali Pinto-Jayawardena, S. G. Punchihewa, Dr. Selvy Thiruchandran and Justice Rohini Walagama with Director-General Piyathissa Ranasinghe present.

The Appeal was concluded.

SriLankan Airlines Overflies RTI

MARCH 3, 2018

A fresh controversy has arisen over the Right to Information appeal filed by the Pilots Guild before the Right to Information Commission due to SriLankan Airlines suddenly arguing that it is not subjected to the RTI Act at all.

Ajith Dias – Chairman SriLankan Airlines

Reliable sources at the Guild informed Colombo Telegraph that SriLankan Airlines had retained lawyers who had appeared before the Commission to say that it is not a company incorporated under the 2007 Companies Act but a company which had been incorporated earlier under old company laws and only ‘re-registered’ under the 2007 Act. As such, it had said that it is not covered by the RTI Act which only applies to companies incorporated under the 2007 Companies Act.

The Guild has strongly objected to that argument. It is reported that the RTI Commission too had been taken aback when this point had been raised with the Commission observing that it was concerning for SriLankan Airlines to take up this position after complying with the Act and appointing an Information Officer and a Designated Officer. According to information received by Colombo Telegraph, the Commission had indicated that it was not prepared to accept this argument and reserved Order to be delivered later this month. 

The Pilots Guild had filed an appeal at the Commission after their RTI request had been rejected by SriLankan Airlines. Chairman of Sri Lankan, Ajith Dias went public saying that he will not give the information requested. The RTI request related to the below;

1. Salaries and other allowances and/or benefits of: a. The CEO of Sri Lankan Airlines Limited b. Head of Human Resources (HHR) of Sri Lankan Airlines Limited c. Chief Commercial Officer of SriLankan Airlines Limited

2. All information related and/or connected to Pakistan International Airlines’ (PIA) correspondence with SriLankan Airlines Limited

3. All information related and/or connected to PIA initial entry into an agreement with Sri Lankan Airlines Limited and all information relating to the Agreement with SriLankan Airlines Limited including the said agreement

4. All financial information (including but not limited to profits and/or losses and damages) connected to the Agreement and/or arrangement between PIA and SriLankan Airlines Limited

5. All information related to and/or connected to the termination of the Agreement and/or arrangement between PIA and SriLankan Airlines Limited 6. All information related to and/or connected to the cancellation of the order of Airbus A350 Aircraft (including but not limited to all Agreements and/or correspondence related to ordering of Airbus A350 Aircraft and the cancellation thereof) 7. All information related to and/or connected to the cost of personal flying training for the A320 jet conversion borne by SriLankan Airlines Limited and/or any party for the CEO Mr. Suren Ratwatte.

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Eco-System Conservation Management Project

2018-03-03

To celebrate and raise awareness of the world’s wild fauna and flora, the United Nations General Assembly at its 68th session on December 20, 2013 declared March 3 as World Wildlife Day. Similarly the United Nations General Assembly resolution designated the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora Secretariat as the facilitator for the global observance of this special day for wildlife on the UN calendar. The World Wildlife Day has now become the most important global annual event dedicated to wildlife, and each year would be dedicated to a new purpose and idea to keep people abreast of the changing nature of the world.

On World Wildlife Day we focus on the important role the wild animals and plants play in the sustainability of our societies

Slogan for 2018
On World Wildlife Day we focus on the important role the wild animals and plants play in the sustainability of our societies. This year, the spotlight falls on the world’s big cats. The World Wildlife day theme for 2018 is “BigCats: Predators Under Threat”. This focuses the attention on the need for international, as well as national and individual level actions to ensure the survival of all big cat species. These magnificent predators, include species such as cheetahs, jaguars, leopards, lions, pumas, snow leopards and tigers, found from Africa to Asia and the Americas.   

Over a century ago, there were about 100,000 wild tigers in Asia, and currently a fewer than 4,000 exist. It is evident that their populations are declining at a disturbing rate, and these fascinating creatures are increasingly in danger of extinction. They are facing a wide range of threats from land degradation, loss of habitat and prey, climate change, poaching, illicit trafficking, and human-wildlife conflict.  

Over a century ago, there were about 100,000 wild tigers in Asia, and currently a fewer than 4,000 exist

Why Wildlife Conservation is important 
Wildlife is vital to the balance of nature, because from a broader sense it refers to both plants and animals found in any type of ecosystem. it is a source of inspiration that nurtures a sense of wonder. Thus, it is important to maintain the ecological balance for the provision of man’s basic needs. Presently, threats to Wildlife are mostly caused by human activities. Everyday many endangered species are being threatened, and extinction is at an extraordinarily high rate. Ecosystems and the services they provide are owned by all and protected by none; thus the significance of ecosystems is not recognized adequately. As such they tend to be over-used or improperly used. In acknowledging the challenge of environmental and natural resources degradation, the Ecosystem Conservation and Management Project (ESCAMP) funded by the World Bank; executed by the Ministry of Mahaweli Development and Environment; and implemented by the Forest Department, and Department of Wildlife Conservation aims to enhance the management and sustainable use of ecosystems in selected parts of Sri Lanka through a series of complementary and synergistic components. ESCAMP will be scaling up its efforts to protect ecosystems, wildlife and their habitats. ESCAMP is designed along four main components, out of which three directly deal with ecosystem conservation and management. These components are: -   

1. Pilot Landscape Planning and Management   
2. Sustainable Use of Natural Resources and Human-Elephant Co-existence   
3. Protected Area Management and Institutional Capacity   

Component 1 will support the preparation of strategic conservation landscape plans on a pilot basis for two landscapes (a biodiversity rich Wet zone and a Dry and Arid zone forest landscape), and implementation of selected priority interventions. The planning will include, guidelines for smart green infrastructure compatible with surrounding ecosystems. Landscape management plans will highlight habitat needs of flagship species and related biodiversity considerations, and connectivity of forests. Component 2 will support communities living in adjacent areas of Protected Areas (PAs) and other sensitive ecosystems to plan natural resource use and develop biodiversity compatible, productive and climate resilient livelihood activities such as community-based ecotourism that promote sustainable use of natural resources. These activities will reduce deforestation and forest degradation. This component will also upscale successful pilot models to address human-elephant conflict.   
Component 3 will support demand-driven interventions in PAs in compliance with the Fauna and Flora Protection Ordinance (FFPO) and Forest Ordinance (FO); strengthening the institutional and investment capability of conservation and management; and providing assistance to develop the long-term financial sustainability for managing and improving the quality of nature-based tourism in PAs.

Typical activities will include rehabilitation and development of water resources within PAs for wildlife; habitat management, habitat creation and habitat enrichment; improvement of park infrastructure for better management of forest and wildlife resources; species monitoring and recovery programs; wildlife rehabilitation; protection on inviolate areas for species conservation; implementation of real time field based monitoring systems; strengthening enforcement through the introduction of SMART patrolling; and improving mobility of PA staff for better management and enforcement.   

According to a research there are about 1,000 leopards across Sri Lanka and they are a keystone species in the country (Daily Mirror – “700 - 1000 leopards in Sri Lanka; researcher” - 04/01/2017).   
Yala, the oldest and second largest national park in Sri Lanka consists of the highest population density of leopards in the world. There are also about 44 varieties of mammalian species.   

The Leopard and Human conflicts has become a serious issue for rural communities living in the area around Yala. Leopards roaming outside the boundaries of the park, and protected areas attack the domesticated animals especially the cattle grazing around the buffer zone. This has led to the increase in the number of leopards being killed annually. ESCAMP focusses on protecting the keystone species in Sri Lanka by protecting the vast landscapes they inhabit. Yala is one of ESCAMP’s project areas where we have planned to enhance the habitat area, and reduce threats to animals by improving nature-based tourism. ESCAMP also gives full consideration to the needs of local people, because when local communities benefit from wildlife conservation, wildlife strategies are much more likely to succeed. 

On ‘World Wildlife Day’ we call upon people in Sri Lanka to help raise awareness and to take action to help ensure the survival of the wildlife and all its priceless biological diversity. As wildlife conservation is a shared responsibility, we all have a role to play.
Reference: 
http://www.wildlifeday.org (27/02/2018)   

Nero fiddles while Rome burns

March 3, 2018, 7:29 pm 

Friday Forum earnestly draws the immediate and undivided focus of the public, the government and Members of Parliament, to five matters that require urgent and immediate attention. This is vital in the interests of sections of our society who have been victims of serious disasters, both natural and man-made, in the interest of maintaining reasonably stable prices, because they adversely affect the welfare of people, in the interest of good governance, in the interest of government and corporations in Sri Lanka who will borrow in international capital markets and in the interests of the long term survival of this state as a political entity, unitary and sovereign. We deal with each of them separately.

Recurrent drought in the Eastern, North Central, North Western and Uva provinces and parts of the Southern province during the last three years has severely affected agriculture and the livelihoods, income and well-being of millions of people. Heavy rain and consequent floods in lowlands and landslides in highlands have destroyed lives, dwellings, livelihoods, belongings and crops. Government, in many instances promptly provided succour. However the failure of the 2017-18 maha crop and the prolonged drought affecting coconut plantations have brought untold suffering to the farming population and to consumers, especially those in lower income groups, who have to pay very high prices for staples, including rice and coconuts. Crops in irrigated and rain fed areas have been denied fertilizer in time, which in turn reduced harvests and incomes. It is imperative that these lost incomes be replaced immediately together with working capital to undertake production in yala 2018. The supply of fertilizer of the right mixture and in time must be programmed with due care and the water supply must be both timely and adequate to enable plants to absorb the fertilizer and deliver good harvests.

The payment of lost incomes as transfer payments to those affected will require funds in a situation of acute shortage of fiscal resources. These transfers must be made without printing money. Some items of government current expenditure must be cut back to divert money to defray these costs and others must be postponed for better days. Temporary suspension of subsidies on food served to Members of Parliament within its premises should yield substantial savings. Ceasing to pay monthly Rs.100,000/= to each Member of Parliament for ‘electoral work’ will yield a sum of Rs. 270 million a year. Purchase by government of all cars for the official or personal use of Members of Parliament can be postponed until after the election of a new parliament. (The purchase of two Mercedes Benz S 600 cars for the use of the President was beyond reason, in the circumstances.) These actions will demonstrate to the public the commitment of politicians to the public good. If savings from current expenditure do not suffice, a surcharge of 2.5 percent on income taxes paid by high income receivers may have to come into effect.

Stability in prices is needed both on grounds of a fair distribution of income and to avoid the sharp devaluation of the rupee if we are not to avoid a drop in exports. Maintaining stable prices is not easy because the price level in this country is determined by the prices of its imports, as any examination of the two sets of figures will easily show. However, government must, by fiscal discipline, cut down its contribution to inflationary pressure, in which it has indulged in, during the last three years. Extravagant expenditure on ceremonies and foreign travel can be reduced without endangering efficiency in government and the well-being of the population. There is little need for being airborne for frivolous purposes at cost to the public. The public themselves need to avoid displaying extravagant wealth in a culture where simplicity (alpeccha) is held in high regard.

The Auditor General recently revealed to the public the parlous state of book keeping in government and stated that he was not in a position to state with confidence the total debt of government. Whether this state of affairs is due to incompetence or deceit is yet to be discovered but rumours abound of foul play. The unreliability of government statistics so revealed will create further problems in raising loans in world financial centres, when government, during 2018, 2019 and 2020, needs to refinance large amounts of maturing foreign debt. In November 2017, the inter-governmental Financial Action Task Force classified Sri Lanka among high risk countries, and the country now runs the risk of further downgrading unless accounting and management of financial institutions are improved substantially.

Good governance was the broadest and sturdiest plank in the platform on which the current President and the ruling coalition parties were elected to office in 2015. A major part of that undertaking was that crimes committed by members of the previous government would be investigated and those found culpable be brought before courts of justice and those found guilty punished. These alleged crimes ranged from murder, massive scale bribery and corruption, abuse of public property and illegal financial gains by those in power at cost to the public. The whole latter area was thrown into sharp relief by government bond scams early in the life of the new government. It is commendable that these recent scams have been inquired into and that suspected criminals are now before courts of law. The public has expressed its disgust at the failure of government to bring to book those suspected of graver and nastier crimes committed in earlier periods. There are seemingly purposeful delays and failure to act in the presence of prima facie evidence of wrong doing. The cumbersome and costly legal procedures are often presented as excuses for these lapses. However, the expedition and care for detail that that machinery exhibited in respect of the ‘bonds scam’ is a standing negation of that charge. Friday Forum urges most strongly that government give utmost priority to fulfill the solemn promise it made to the public in January and August 2015 to commit to trial all those suspected of crime, for courts to deal with them according to law. Delay in these matters would be to betray the trust that people have in the capacity of democratic governments to deal with crimes committed by people in high office.

A distinct and separate part of this failure of government has to deal with crimes alleged to have been committed during the recent civil war. Friday Forum expressed, in a recent public statement on ‘Establishing the Office of Missing Persons: Delays, Dilution and Deal-making’, its concern with the fate of allegedly missing persons. The resolution concerning Sri Lanka adopted at the last review by the UN Council for Human Rights in Geneva is scheduled to come up for review at the March meeting of UNCHR. Government will be under pressure for an acceptable account of their progress in the implementation of Resolution A/HRC/34/L.1.

In addressing all the issues that Friday Forum has raised, there is little doubt that there have been real and grave difficulties before government. They have been aggravated by lack of cohesion among constituent parties to the coalition. Each party has sought advantages to itself at much cost to the other. For the nation and individuals to prosper, it is essential that there is able leadership working in democratic ways. One important feature of democratic governance is that government continually communicates with the public on the problems that it faces implementing the mandates that it received from the public. There has been a woeful lack of communication between government and the governed during the last three years causing misunderstandings between the two parties to government. That conversation must start again if government by discussion is to resume.

This society, its state, its government and its people are held hostage to solutions of these multifarious problems that beset it. Competent and wise leadership helped by the international community, most of all its near neighbours, bonded into friendship over many centuries and whose futures are inextricably woven together, can surely release it from this bondage. Friday Forum eagerly looks forward to such leadership and enlightened international cooperation.

Dr. Geedreck Usvatte-aratchi and Mr. Chandra Jayaratne

For and on behalf of:

Dr. A.C.Visvalingam, Dr. Upatissa Pethiyagoda, Bishop Duleep de Chickera, Prof. Camena Guneratne, Mr. Priyantha Gamage, Mr. Faiz-Ur. Rahman, Mr. S.C.C.Elankovan, Mr. Dhammapala Wijeyanandana, Prof. Ranjini Obeyesekere, Ms. Manouri Muttetuwegama, Mr. Danesh Casie Chetty and Mr. Pulasthi Hewamanna. The Friday Forum is an informal group of concerned citizens pledged to uphold norms of democracy, good governance, rule of law, human rights, media freedom and tolerance in our pluralist society.