The 7 most interesting aspects of Stormy Daniels’s lawsuit against Trump

It's been nearly two months since allegations surfaced of a past affair between President Trump and adult-film actress Stormy Daniels. Now Daniels is suing. (Jenny Starrs/The Washington Post)

By Aaron Blake March 7 at 8:52 AM

Porn star Stormy Daniels is suing President Trump, arguing that her hush-money arrangement to not talk about an alleged affair with him is null and void because Trump never signed it.

The lawsuit represents the latest development in an increasingly troubling situation for the White House. First it was reported that Trump's personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, paid Daniels $130,000. 

Then Cohen confirmed it in a carefully worded statement saying that the Trump Organization and campaign weren't involved — but conspicuously did not rule out Trump's involvement. Then this week, the Wall Street Journal reported that Cohen had complained in the past about not being able to reach Trump during the process and not being reimbursed — both suggesting that Trump was indeed involved. That could open Trump up to legal jeopardy.

Exactly how likely Daniels's lawsuit is to succeed is a major question. If she does prevail, it could free her up to talk about the (alleged) affair. But if nothing else, the lawsuit itself serves as confirmation of key details.

The full lawsuit is 28 pages and includes the alleged nondisclosure agreement. Below, I've isolated the key parts. (Note that the lawsuit refers to Daniels by her real name, Stephanie Clifford.)

"2. Defendant Donald J. Trump a.k.a. David Dennison ('Mr. Trump'), an individual, is a resident of the District of Columbia (among other places). ...

"18. By design of Mr. Cohen, the Hush Agreement used aliases to refer to Ms. Clifford and Mr. Trump. Specifically, Ms. Clifford was referred to by the alias 'Peggy Peterson' or 'PP.' Mr. Trump, on the other hand, was referred to by the alias 'David Dennison' or 'DD.' ”

And the “Carlos Danger” saga all comes rushing back. Expect plenty of “David Dennison” jokes going forward.

The aliases were used in the nondisclosure agreement to protect the parties involved. The people to whom they referred were identified in another document attached to Daniels's lawsuit, although Dennison's real name is redacted in it.

"9. Ms. Clifford began an intimate relationship with Mr. Trump in the Summer of 2006 in Lake Tahoe and continued her relationship with Mr. Trump well into the year 2007. This relationship included, among other things, at least one 'meeting' with Mr. Trump in a bungalow at the Beverly Hills Hotel located within Los Angeles County.”

In some ways, this lawsuit seems to be a way for Daniels to put her side of the story into the public record without directly telling it. Here, she confirms details about the alleged affair that she previously shared with InTouch magazine in a 2011 interview that wasn't published until recently.

"13. Within days of the publication of the Access Hollywood Tape, several women came forward publicly to tell their personal stories about their sexual encounters with Mr. Trump.

"14. Around this time, Ms. Clifford likewise sought to share details concerning her relationship and encounters with Mr. Trump with various media outlets.”

This also confirms previously reported details. But it's the first time Daniels has confirmed that she was shopping her story before the election. She has publicly been coy about the whole thing, apparently because of the nondisclosure agreement.

"16. After discovering Ms. Clifford's plans, Mr. Trump, with the assistance of his attorney Mr. Cohen, aggressively sought to silence Ms. Clifford as part of an effort to avoid her telling the truth, thus helping to ensure he won the Presidential Election. Mr. Cohen subsequently prepared a draft nondisclosure agreement and presented it to Ms. Clifford and her attorney (the 'Hush Agreement').”

Two points here: First, this is Daniels alleging that Trump was personally involved — something the White House and Cohen have declined to confirm or deny (despite the Journal's reporting). And second, she alleges that the effort was geared toward aiding Trump's election. That may seem like a given, because it happened just before Election Day, but as The Washington Post's Philip Bump has reported, the payment is more legally problematic if it was clearly for this purpose.

Exactly how Daniels knew Trump was involved is a big question, as is how she knows this was election-related.

"22. On or about October 28, 2016, only days before the election, two of the parties signed the Hush Agreement — Ms. Clifford and Mr. Cohen (on behalf of EC). Mr. Trump, however, did not sign the agreement, thus rendering it legally null and void and of no consequence. On information and belief, despite having detailed knowledge of the Hush Agreement and its terms, including the proposed payment of monies to Ms. Clifford and the routing of those monies through EC, Mr. Trump purposely did not sign the agreement so he could later, if need be, publicly disavow any knowledge of the Hush Agreement and Ms. Clifford.”

Whether Trump needed to sign this agreement is the major legal question here. According to the nondisclosure agreement attached to the lawsuit, there was a line for “DD” — apparently Trump's alias, “David Dennison” — to sign it, but the line is blank. The NDA is signed by Daniels (using her real name) and Essential Consultants, the LLC set up by Cohen.

"25. ... Also in January 2018, and concerned the truth would be disclosed, Mr. Cohen, through intimidation and coercive tactics, forced Ms. Clifford into signing a false statement wherein she stated that reports of her relationship with Mr. Trump were false.”

When the Journal first reported on the payment, Cohen released a statement from Daniels denying “a sexual and/or romantic affair.” Daniels added: “Rumors that I have received hush money from Donald Trump are completely false.” Daniels now says this was coerced.

From the alleged NDA:

“2.1 Prior to entering into this Agreement, PP [Daniels's alias] came into possession of certain 'Confidential Information' pertaining to DD, as more fully defined below, only some of which is in tangible form, which includes, but is not limited to information, certain still images and/or text messages which were authored by or relate to DD. ...

"2.2 ... DD claims that he has been damaged by alleged actions against him, including but not limited to the alleged threatened selling, transferring, licensing, publicly disseminating and/or exploiting the Images and/or Property and/or other Confidential Information relating to DD, all without the knowledge, consent or authorization of DD. PP denies all such claims.”

This may be the most salacious aspect of the whole 28 pages — an allusion to possible images or text messages that Daniels allegedly tried to release. If the agreement is voided, she could ostensibly release them.

China’s influence looms as Sierra Leone goes to the polls

Beijing has been a close ally of outgoing president and is seen as a powerful player in an unusually open election


 The outgoing president, Ernest Bai Koroma, at a campaign rally in Kambia. Photograph: Issouf Sanogo/AFP/Getty Images

Cooper Inveen in Freetown, and Ruth Maclean-Wed 7 Mar 2018 05.00 GMT

A strange slogan went up from the hundreds of Sierra Leoneans struggling to catch a glimpse of Samura Kamara, the presidential candidate for the ruling All People’s Congress. “We are Chinese!” they chanted during the campaign stop last week. “We are Chinese!”

Sierra Leone is voting on its first new government in 10 years on Wednesday in an election that a prolonged economic crisis and a slow recovery from the Ebola epidemic has left unusually open. A new party led by a former UN executive, the National Grand Coalition, stands a chance of upsetting the traditional two-party system.

But many people perceive one of the poll’s most powerful players to be a trading partner 8,000 miles away that has invested heavily in the struggling west African country and has been a close ally of the outgoing president, Ernest Bai Koroma.

Over the course of Koroma’s presidency, Sierra Leone has broadened trade relations with China to levels not seen since the 1980s. Chinese companies have secured the largest iron ore concession in the country and built roads through underdeveloped areas, including a £115m toll road. China has become one of the largest importers of Sierra Leone’s fish and timber.

Sierra Leone, one of the world’s poorest countries, faces decades of debt bondage for a new $300m international airport on which construction has just begun, despite warnings from the IMF, the World Bank and many others that it would be a white elephant and a vanity project.

Solidarity with China and its people has taken root in Koroma’s party, the APC. Photos taken in January during a campaign rally in the country’s interior show ethnically Chinese men openly campaigning with local APC candidates, wearing APC clothing. Much of the APC merchandise – cups, fans, T-shirts and banners – was made by Chinese companies. A new seven-storey APC headquarters was constructed recently in downtown Freetown by a Chinese construction firm.

The APC’s presidential aspirant, Kamara, a former finance minister and foreign minister, has been a consistent advocate for Chinese investment in Sierra Leone. Last year, he told an audience at the Chinese embassy in Freetown that China’s success had ushered in a “new era of development” for the developing world, and that Beijing it was an “all-weather friend of Sierra Leone”.

Officials at the country’s embassy in Freetown said China was “apolitical” when it comes to Sierra Leone, and Chinese companies did not equal the Chinese state.

But for many Sierra Leoneans they are synonymous. For Michael Kamara, an APC supporter, chanting “We are Chinese” was an expression of gratitude and solidarity. “They’re trying to show their affection for the Chinese in the only way they know how: by pledging allegiance,” he said. “We’ve done it for the west for 60 years. Now we’re giving the Chinese a try.”

Koroma was praised for attracting international investors and development funding over his first term, but he has been criticised for the response to the Ebola outbreak. At least £10m-worth of donor funds went missing, leading to corruption allegations by opposition groups, and the Red Cross has claimed £3m meant to fight the deadly disease was lost to fraud and embezzlement. Meanwhile, thousands of people were left with no source of income after mudslides killed 500 in the capital last year.

Sixteen candidates have put their names forward in the election, but the person seen as having the best chance of breaking with two-party tradition is the NGC’s Kandeh Yumkella, who broke away from the main opposition Sierra Leone People’s party when it refused to sack Julius Bio after he lost the 2012 election.

Topics

Myanmar is now killing Rohingya through “forced starvation,” says the U.N.

By Tim Hume Mar 7, 2018

The U.N.’s human rights chief said Wednesday he strongly suspects Myanmar has committed “acts of genocide” against the Rohingya, as his office warned of continued ethnic cleansing of the country’s Muslim minority.

Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein said in a speech to the U.N.’s Human Rights Council that the reported bulldozing of mass graves showed a “deliberate attempt by the authorities to destroy evidence of potential international crimes, including possible crimes against humanity.”

His comments came after his colleague Andrew Gilmour, U.N. Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights, said Tuesday that Myanmar’s ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya was continuing through a systematic campaign of “terror and forced starvation.”

Speaking after meeting with Rohingya who had recently arrived in refugeecamps in neighboring Bangladesh, Gilmour said the nature of the campaign had changed since Myanmar’s military launched its brutal crackdown six months ago, driving hundreds of thousands to flee across the border.

“The nature of the violence has changed from the frenzied bloodletting and mass rape of last year to a lower-intensity campaign of terror and forced starvation that seems to be designed to drive the remaining Rohingya from their homes and into Bangladesh,” he said.

He said the ongoing persecution of the Rohingya meant that any potential return of the refugees was impossible at present, despite Myanmar’s claims it was ready to begin accepting returning refugees.

“The government of Myanmar is busy telling the world that it is ready to receive Rohingya returnees, while at the same time its forces are continuing to drive them into Bangladesh,” he said.

“Safe, dignified and sustainable returns are of course impossible under current conditions.”
James Gomez, Amnesty International’s regional director, backed the U.N.’s assessment.

“There is no question that the Myanmar authorities’ vicious campaign of ethnic cleansing against Rohingya is still ongoing. Fleeing Rohingya told us how they are still being forcibly starved in a bid to quietly squeeze them out of the country,” he said,

“This is yet more evidence that any plans for organized repatriation of Rohingya refugees from Bangladesh are extremely premature. No one should be returned to Myanmar until they can do so voluntarily, in safety and dignity – something that is clearly not possible today.”

Some 700,000 people have fled into Bangladesh since August, joining 200,000 who had already taken refuge in the camps during a previous wave of violence.

Despite extensive evidence to the contrary, Myanmar's military has denied committing abuses, apart from one incident in which it said security forces were involved in the killing of 10 unarmed Rohingya. It says its military operation has been a legitimate response to target Rohingya militants who fatally attacked police posts in August.

It denies that the Rohingya, a long disenfranchised Muslim minority in the predominantly Buddhist country, legitimately belong in Myanmar, where the campaign against the group has widespread support.

Cover image: A Rohingya refugee child at Cox's Bazar refugee camp in Bangladesh on January 27, 2018. (Masfiqur Sohan/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

NASA Juno Findings - Jupiter’s Jet-Streams Are Unearthly

This composite image, derived from data collected by the Jovian Infrared Auroral Mapper (JIRAM) instrument aboard NASA’s Juno mission to Jupiter, shows the central cyclone at the planet’s north pole and the eight cyclones that encircle it.

Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/ASI/INAF/JIRAM

Full image and caption

March 7, 2018

This computer-generated image is based on an infrared image of Jupiter’s north polar region that was acquired on February 2, 2017, by the Jovian Infrared Auroral Mapper (JIRAM) instrument aboard Juno during the spacecraft’s fourth pass over Jupiter.

Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/ASI/INAF/JIRAM

Full image and caption

This computer-generated image shows the structure of the cyclonic pattern observed over Jupiter’s south pole. Like in the North, Jupiter’s south pole also contains a central cyclone, but it is surrounded by five cyclones with diameters ranging from 3,500 to 4,300 miles (5,600 to 7,000 kilometers) in diameter.

Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/ASI/INAF/JIRAM

Full image and caption

Data collected by NASA’s Juno mission to Jupiter indicate that the atmospheric winds of the gas-giant planet run deep into its atmosphere and last longer than similar atmospheric processes found here on Earth. The findings will improve understanding of Jupiter’s interior structure, core mass and, eventually, its origin.

Other Juno science results released today include that the massive cyclones that surround Jupiter’s north and south poles are enduring atmospheric features and unlike anything else encountered in our solar system. The findings are part of a four-article collection on Juno science results being published in the March 8 edition of the journal Nature.

“These astonishing science results are yet another example of Jupiter’s curve balls, and a testimony to the value of exploring the unknown from a new perspective with next-generation instruments.  Juno’s unique orbit and evolutionary high-precision radio science and infrared technologies enabled these paradigm-shifting discoveries,” said Scott Bolton, principal investigator of Juno from the Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio. “Juno is only about one third the way through its primary mission, and already we are seeing the beginnings of a new Jupiter.”

The depth to which the roots of Jupiter’s famous zones and belts extend has been a mystery for decades. Gravity measurements collected by Juno during its close flybys of the planet have now provided an answer. 

“Juno’s measurement of Jupiter’s gravity field indicates a north-south asymmetry, similar to the asymmetry observed in its zones and belts,” said Luciano Iess, Juno co-investigator from Sapienza University of Rome, and lead author on a Nature paper on Jupiter’s gravity field.

On a gas planet, such an asymmetry can only come from flows deep within the planet; and on Jupiter, the visible eastward and westward jet streams are likewise asymmetric north and south. The deeper the jets, the more mass they contain, leading to a stronger signal expressed in the gravity field. Thus, the magnitude of the asymmetry in gravity determines how deep the jet streams extend.

“Galileo viewed the stripes on Jupiter more than 400 years ago,” said Yohai Kaspi, Juno co-investigator from the Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel, and lead author of a Nature paper on Jupiter’s deep weather layer. “Until now, we only had a superficial understanding of them and have been able to relate these stripes to cloud features along Jupiter’s jets. Now, following the Juno gravity measurements, we know how deep the jets extend and what their structure is beneath the visible clouds. It’s like going from a 2-D picture to a 3-D version in high definition.”

The result was a surprise for the Juno science team because it indicated that the weather layer of Jupiter was more massive, extending much deeper than previously expected. The Jovian weather layer, from its very top to a depth of 1,900 miles (3,000 kilometers), contains about one percent of Jupiter’s mass (about 3 Earth masses).

For hundreds of years, this gaseous giant planet appeared shrouded in colorful bands of clouds extending from dusk to dawn, referred to as zones and belts. The bands were thought to be an expression of Jovian weather, related to winds blowing eastward and westward at different speeds. This animation illustrates a recent discovery by Juno that demonstrates these east-west flows, also known as jet-streams penetrate deep into the planet's atmosphere, to a depth of about 1,900 miles (3,000 kilometers). Due to Jupiter's rapid rotation (Jupiter's day is about 10 hours), these flows extend into the interior parallel to Jupiter's axis of rotation, in the form of nested cylinders. Below this layer the flows decay, possibly slowed by Jupiter's strong magnetic field. The depth of these flows surprised scientists who estimate the total mass involved in these jet streams to be about 1% of Jupiter's mass (Jupiter's mass is over 300 times that of Earth). This discovery was revealed by the unprecedented accuracy of Juno's measurements of the gravity field.

Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech

“By contrast, Earth’s atmosphere is less than one millionth of the total mass of Earth,” said Kaspi “The fact that Jupiter has such a massive region rotating in separate east-west bands is definitely a surprise.”

The finding is important for understanding the nature and possible mechanisms driving these strong jet streams. In addition, the gravity signature of the jets is entangled with the gravity signal of Jupiter’s core.

Another Juno result released today suggests that beneath the weather layer, the planet rotates nearly as a rigid body.  “This is really an amazing result, and future measurements by Juno will help us understand how the transition works between the weather layer and the rigid body below,” said Tristan Guillot, a Juno co-investigator from the Université Côte d’Azur, Nice, France, and lead author of the paper on Jupiter’s deep interior. “Juno’s discovery has implications for other worlds in our solar system and beyond. Our results imply that the outer differentially-rotating region should be at least three times deeper in Saturn and shallower in massive giant planets and brown dwarf stars.”

A truly striking result released in the Nature papers is the beautiful new imagery of Jupiter’s poles captured by Juno’s Jovian Infrared Auroral Mapper (JIRAM) instrument. Imaging in the infrared part of the spectrum, JIRAM captures images of light emerging from deep inside Jupiter equally well, night or day. JIRAM probes the weather layer down to 30 to 45 miles (50 to 70 kilometers) below Jupiter’s cloud tops.

“Prior to Juno we did not know what the weather was like near Jupiter’s poles. Now, we have been able to observe the polar weather up-close every two months,” said Alberto Adriani, Juno co-investigator from the Institute for Space Astrophysics and Planetology, Rome, and lead author of the paper. “Each one of the northern cyclones is almost as wide as the distance between Naples, Italy and New York City -- and the southern ones are even larger than that. They have very violent winds, reaching, in some cases, speeds as great as 220 mph (350 kph). Finally, and perhaps most remarkably, they are very close together and enduring. There is nothing else like it that we know of in the solar system.”

Jupiter’s poles are a stark contrast to the more familiar orange and white belts and zones encircling the planet at lower latitudes. Its north pole is dominated by a central cyclone surrounded by eight circumpolar cyclones with diameters ranging from 2,500 to 2,900 miles (4,000 to 4,600 kilometers) across. Jupiter’s south pole also contains a central cyclone, but it is surrounded by five cyclones with diameters ranging from 3,500 to 4,300 miles (5,600 to 7,000 kilometers) in diameter. Almost all the polar cyclones, at both poles, are so densely packed that their spiral arms come in contact with adjacent cyclones. However, as tightly spaced as the cyclones are, they have remained distinct, with individual morphologies over the seven months of observations detailed in the paper.

“The question is, why do they not merge?” said Adriani. “We know with Cassini data that Saturn has a single cyclonic vortex at each pole. We are beginning to realize that not all gas giants are created equal.”

Abstracts of the March 8 Juno papers can be found online:

The measurement of Jupiter’s asymmetric gravity field:

 http://nature.com/articles/doi:10.1038/nature25776 

Jupiter's atmospheric jet-streams extending thousands of kilometers deep:

 http://nature.com/articles/doi:10.1038/nature25793 

A suppression of differential rotation in Jupiter’s deep interior:

http://nature.com/articles/doi:10.1038/nature25775

Clusters of Cyclones Encircling Jupiter’s Poles:

 http://nature.com/articles/doi:10.1038/nature25491

To date, Juno has completed 10 science passes over Jupiter and logged almost 122 million miles (200 million kilometers), since entering Jupiter’s orbit on July 4, 2016. Juno's 11th science pass will be on April 1.

Juno launched on Aug. 5, 2011, from Cape Canaveral, Florida. During its mission of exploration, Juno soars low over the planet's cloud tops -- as close as about 2,200 miles (3,500 kilometers). During these flybys, Juno is probing beneath the obscuring cloud cover of Jupiter and studying its auroras to learn more about the planet's origins, structure, weather layer and magnetosphere.

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California, manages the Juno mission for the principal investigator, Scott Bolton, of the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio. Juno is part of NASA's New Frontiers Program, which is managed at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, for NASA's Science Mission Directorate. The Italian Space Agency (ASI), contributed two instruments, a Ka-band frequency translator (KaT) and the Jovian Infrared Auroral Mapper (JIRAM). Lockheed Martin Space, Denver, built the spacecraft.

https://www.nasa.gov/juno

https://www.missionjuno.swri.edu

The public can follow the mission on Facebook and Twitter at:

https://www.facebook.com/NASAJuno

https://www.twitter.com/NASAJuno

More information on Jupiter can be found at:

https://www.nasa.gov/jupiter

DC Agle
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
818-393-9011
agle@jpl.nasa.gov

Dwayne Brown / Laurie Cantillo
NASA Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1726 / 202-358-1077
dwayne.c.brown@nasa.gov / laura.l.cantillo@nasa.gov 

2018-044      

Last Updated: March 7, 2018

Editor: Tony Greicius

Tags:  Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Juno, Jupiter, Planets, Solar System

Tens of thousands of dead sea creatures wash up on British beach

British photographer Lara Maiklem shared photos of thousands of sea creatures washed up on a beach near her hometown of Kent, England.  (Lara Maiklem/SWNS)

By Jennifer Earl | Fox News- MARCH 6, 2018

When British photographer Lara Maiklem heard tens of thousands of sea creatures washed up on a beach near her hometown of Kent, England, over the weekend, she had to see the scene for herself.

So she woke up her 5-year-old twins in time to catch the low tide.

Maiklem described the scene as "shocking" and "sad," but at the same time, she admitted it was an "incredible" sight. In fact, it was "almost biblical in scale," she said.

"There were thousands upon thousands of starfish, with crabs, sea urchins, fish and sea anenomies mixed in with them," Maiklem told Fox News. "Someone even found a lobster."

It was "almost biblical in scale."

- Lara Maiklem

The creatures covered the sandy beach like a thick blanket. Maiklem and her two kids tried to rescue as many fish as they could, tossing them one by one back into the sea.

The animals were the victims of a cold spell – what Maiklem called a "beast from the east" – that hit the U.K. last week. Similar scenes were reported down the coast, Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, a wildlife conservation charity, said in a news release on Wednesday.

“There was a three-degree drop in sea temperature last week, which will have caused animals to hunker down and reduce their activity levels," Bex Lynam, North Sea marine advocacy officer for Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, said in a statement provided to Fox News. "This makes them vulnerable to rough seas – they became dislodged by large waves and washed ashore when the rough weather kicked in."

Yorkshire Wildlife Trust is working with local fisherman to clear the beach and rescue any remaining species that are still alive.  (Lara Maiklem/SWNS)

Crabs, starfish and mussels were "ankle-deep" in some places, though at least two lucky marine species seemed to survive the freeze: lobsters and crabs.

“Lobsters and crabs can survive out of water, unlike the majority of the other creatures washed up," Lynam told Fox News. "Also they have a hard exoskeleton, which offers them a certain level of protection when being thrown around by the sea.”

Maiklem said she also found several dead sea birds washed up along the same stretch.

"I understand it is a natural phenomenon," Maiklem said. "I'm pleased I went to see it, but I wouldn't like to see it again."

Wildlife officials also hope they won't see a repeat of the disaster.

Yorkshire Wildlife Trust is working with local fisherman to clear the beach and rescue any remaining species that are still alive.

"This area is very important for shellfish and we work alongside fishermen to promote sustainable fisheries and protect reproductive stocks," Lynam said. "It’s worth saving them so that they can be put back into the sea and continue to breed."

Dr. Lissa Batey, senior living seas officer with The Wildlife Trusts, an organization made up of 47 local wildlife trusts in the U.K., said the government can help the creatures by designating more marine conservation zones.

“We can’t prevent natural disasters like this – but we can mitigate against declining marine life and the problems that humans cause by creating enough protected areas at sea and by ensuring that these sites are large enough and close enough to offer fish, crustaceans, dolphins and other marine life the protection they require to withstand natural events such as this," Batey said in a statement.

Missing persons search begins after clearing obstacles placed by Mathri in much the same way as Mahinda !

(Lanka-e-News - 06.March.2018, 4.45PM)  The enactment to appoint the Office of Missing Persons (OMP) was passed in August 2016, in  fulfillment of  a main promise  of the government of good governance. However , the appointment of  Commissioners to run that office was delayed following president Sirisena’s pair of wheels going off  track as of late  – from good governance to racism . Consequent upon this despicable derailment of policies , the president did not appoint the Commissioners which was   long overdue. 

‘The facts and grounds   searched and found  by the OMP  do not permit room for  any criminal or civil court proceedings.’ Yet , Sirisena dubbed  Sillysena because of his idiocy ,imbecility and silly racist proclivities  , went on procrastinating  for  over  1 1/2  years to appoint  Commissioners. 

At the upcoming UN Human Rights Commission sessions this lapse is going to be most seriously viewed.  Hence the president had to wake  up like Rip Van Winkle  from his slumber  to appoint the Commissioners on 26 th  February. They are …
Saliya Peiris P.C. ( president)
Jayadeepa Punyamurthi  (member)
Retired Major General Mohanty Antonite Peiris (member)
Dr. Sriyani Nimalka Fernando (member)
Mirak Raheem (member)
Somasiri K . Liyanage (member)
Kanapathipillai Vendhan (member) 

In the budget 2018, a sum of Rs. 1.3 Billion was allocated  towards this Commission, and its activities. 

Some had found fault for appointing a retired major General to this Commission , but let us remind them there were also over 5000 officers of the forces who went missing among the missing persons. 

It must be pointed out , minister of foreign affairs Mangala Samaraweera played a most vital and pivotal role in the appointment of this Commission , and made a huge contribution in that connection.

Minister Mangala Samaraweera mostly instrumental in  the appointment of members of the Commission and its commencement  has issued a long statement . As we deem that is of importance to the public we have published it hereunder…

The Undeterred Journey for the Missing

We are fortunate to witness this moment when the Government led by President Sirisena and Prime Minister Wickremesinghe has given life to an important promise made to the people of this nation. The Office on Missing Persons Act was passed in August 2016 and on 27 February, a seven-member commission was announced to lead its activities and investigations starting immediately.

My commitment to the struggle of the missing, goes back as long as my journey in politics. I recall a time in the 80s when cases of large scale disappearances were at alarming rates. The decision to devote myself to politics was driven by my concern with these atrocities that occurred around my hometown, and a strong desire to bring justice to those families suffering as a result of this. It may be the greatest irony that during those times I was inspired by the words of many individuals who championed the cause, including our former president Mr. Mahinda Rajapakse. He spoke fervently about our responsibility to find these missing people and to prevent such outrages from occurring in the future. I was struck by his moving words and his dedication to the cause and so began our journey for justice. In 1990 it was Mr. Rajapakse and I who were co-conveners of the Mother’s Front movement. This was a movement against missing children of the South and had a significant impact in setting the discourse surrounding this sensitive topic. Today, I am dismayed by the sentiments that he vociferously articulates, to tear apart initiatives that seek to alleviate the pain of innocent mothers of this country.

The journey thus far has been long and by no means easy. A history of 30 years of violence is witness to the absolute necessity for the OMP today, perhaps even more crucial than it has been ever before. We have suffered through many conflicts from the time of the JVP insurrections in the 70s and 80s to the post-war violence just a few years ago. In these trying times, when the numbers of the missing have been steadily rising, few walked with us to see this journey to completion. The voices that spoke so passionately against these crimes suddenly started changing their tone. These same voices began switching camps so unexpectedly that lately many of the attacks on the OMP have been directed from Mr. Rajapakse himself. If the question of the missing still remains high on the agenda with the reported numbers of the missing rising each day, the question remains why it is no longer a cause worth fighting for. The answer is sad and simple. Self-serving policies and party politics have taken precedence over the suffering families of those gone missing over the past 30 years. For Mr. Rajapakse in 1989, this cause was worth getting arrested for at the airport while he carried documents with information regarding the missing to the UNHRC in Geneva, and today the same movement has been portrayed by this camp as an attack on our war heroes. The discourse has been distorted and manipulated for political gain, becoming a tool in the hands of power hungry individuals. Misconceptions have been drawn out to confuse the public and the victims of this have been none other than the affected families who have had no means to redress their loss. But make no mistake, this journey will not be ended by the selfish actions of these self-serving individuals. 

The OMP does not aim to benefit only one community and does not threaten another. It is merely a truth-seeking mechanism. It aims to investigate and find out the truth about those identified as “missing” or who have disappeared during conflict. According to the international Committee of the Red Cross, over 16,000 individuals have gone missing during the civil war. Of them, 5100 belonged to the armed forces. These are the very same individuals who fought against the terror that the LTTE created. We as a nation, have a responsibility to find the truth about where they are, and to bring an end to the agony faced by their families and loved ones. 

The OMP mandate cuts across all ethnic and religious boundaries. It seeks to investigate persons missing in connection with the conflict of the North and East and its aftermath. This includes those of all ethnicities; including the armed forces and police who have been identified as “missing in action”. It will investigate into those gone missing during political unrest or civil disturbances in the south as well as victims of enforced disappearances island wide. The mandate of the OMP ensures that it will carry out searching and tracing of missing persons, clarifying the circumstances in which such persons went missing and their fate, making recommendations to relevant authorities in order to reduce incidents of missing and disappeared persons, and identifying proper avenues of redress available to the families of the missing persons and informing them of the same.

Despite its role as an investigative body, the OMP is not a law-enforcement or judicial body such as a court of law, and the Act clearly states that “the findings of the OMP shall not give rise to any criminal or civil liability.” The myths that have been spread about the OMP claiming that it is a witch hunt to prosecute our war heroes is a lie. The OMP cannot prosecute perpetrators of violence. These rumors are political manipulations to deter the fair and just actions taken by the government towards peace and reconciliation. It is merely an office set up to address grievances of the families and friends of those gone missing during conflicts and to ensure fair treatment for them in the future. The OMP gives the chance for renewed faith and hope for those who have lost their families and friends. It is not limited to an area or ethnicity but promises dignity and prosperity for all. These steps will prevent isolating and radicalizing aggrieved communities and avoid new forms of terrorism that can shake the peace and stability of our nation.
       
In 2015 the coalition government vowed to develop a culture of consensual politics. The OMP took into strong consideration the recommendations made by the general public and civil society groups. Families of the affected voiced their concerns and ideas on the best ways to improve the OMP bill. Today their voices have been heard. Accordingly, the OMP is ready to engage with all groups, irrespective of their ethnicity, religion, or geographic location in order to get their valued input and information. The decision to do so was demanded by the people. 

At the UNHRC in 2015 I stated that our political change was bringing an end to short-sighted policies and a triumphalist approach to the end of the war. The OMP is the primary example for this promise. This independent body is set to continue its investigations despite changing government interests. It is an autonomous, transparent commission acting independently to any political biases or affiliations. 

This multiethnic island is one step away from lasting peace and prosperity. We as citizens of this great country must take this step together. We have made it through the difficult times. We have endured adversity in all its forms and we are here today looking forward to a better future.

Mangala Samaraweera

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by     (2018-03-06 11:21:17)

Govt. urged to set up remaining three accountability mechanisms

By Shamindra Ferdinando-March 6, 2018, 12:00 pm

Welcoming the establishment of the Office on Missing Persons (OMP), a civil society grouping, ‘Platform for Freedom’ which has campaigned for an internationally acceptable permanent mechanism to probe disappearances, yesterday urged the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe government to establish three remaining mechanisms in accordance with Geneva Resolution without further delay.

Secretary to the Consultation Task Force on Reconciliation Mechanisms (CTF) Dr. Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu emphasized the pivotal importance of swift implementation of the Geneva pledges.

Geneva sessions commenced on Feb 26 and will continue till March 26.

Saravanamuttu, who is the founder Executive Director of the Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA), a member of the Foreign Policy Advisory Group and of the Board of the Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute for International and Strategic Studies said so addressing the media at the Center for Society and Religion (CSR), Maradana.

Emphasizing that the four mechanisms were part of the mutually accepted Geneva package, Saravanamuttu pointed out that the OMP had been finally established one and half years after the passage of the relevant law in August 2016.

Saravanamuttu asked whether they had to wait for another one and half years for the operationalization of second mechanism. The activist expressed concern that a dillydallying government was likely to fail to set up all four mechanisms during the stipulated period.

In addition to OMP, Sri Lanka agreed to establish a truth seeking commission, an office for reparations, and a hybrid judicial mechanism with a special counsel.

Sri Lanka last March received additional two years to carry out the project.

Saravanamuttu explained how the four mechanisms could help Sri Lanka achieve genuine post-war national reconciliation.

Sri Lanka brought the war to a successful conclusion in May 2009.

Senior representative of Families of the Disappeared Britto Fernando faulted President Maithripala Sirisena for the inordinate delay in the implementation of the Geneva pledges. Fernando pointed out that the failure to establish OMP for so long after the passage of the relevant law couldn’t be justified under any circumstances. The government should be ashamed of its failure, Fernando said, blaming the President for easily giving in to those Buddhist monks and the likes of Joint Opposition parliamentary group leader Dinesh Gunawardena opposed to the Geneva initiative.

Fernando flayed President Sirisena for twice putting off the debate and vote on the Enforced Disappearances Bill scheduled to be taken up on July 5 and Sept 9 last year due to political pressure.

Alleging that President Sirisena lacked strength to overcome the JO challenge, Fernando warned of dire consequences unless the government addressed accountability issues in accordance with the Geneva Resolution. Fernando recalled how former President Mahinda Rajapaksa had to pay a heavy price for not heeding the international community.

Both Dr. Saravanamuttu and Fernando said that full implementation of four mechanisms would ensure Sri Lankans wouldn’t undergo rights violations in the future.

Fernando strongly condemned Minister John Seneviratne (SLFP) and UNP MP Kavinda Jayawardana for being recently critical of the OMP. Alleging that National Freedom Front (NFF) leader Wimal Weerawansa had exploited the situation to his political advantage, Fernando said that the likes of Seneviratne and Jayawardana playing politics with such a sensitive issue couldn’t be justified under any circumstances.

Commenting on severe criticism of the appointment of Dr. Sriyani Nimalka Fernando as a member of the OMP headed by President’s Counsel Saliya Pieris, Fernando said that an attempt was being made to discredit the outfit on the basis of her inclusion. Strongly defending her appointment, Fernando said that former President Mahinda Rajapaksa and Vasudeva Nanayakkara couldn’t be unaware of Nimalka Fernando’s role in support of their efforts in the 80s to bring the situation to the attention to the then Geneva Human Rights Commission.

The media was told of the civil society group’s displeasure over the inclusion of retired Major general Mohanti Antoinette Peiris in the OMP. The grouping also blamed the LTTE for enforced disappearances during the conflict whereas the JVP was accused of politically motivated killings.

Fernando said the Geneva prescribed probe on disappearances between 2002 and 2009, the government decided to inquire into all cases beginning with 1971 insurgency.

He referred to three separate incidents in the Batticaloa district during Premadasa presidency. The civil activist alleged that there had been three separate incidents that resulted in the disappearance of 184, 156 and 18 men, women and children. Blaming the army for disappearances, Fernando urged the government to inquire into such brutalities.

The civil society grouping expressed the hope that the OMP would have the strength and the vision to fulfill its obligations.

China’s consistency vs. India’s empty rhetoric…

 

“Freedom has cost too much blood and agony to be relinquished at the cheap price of rhetoric.” ~Thomas Sowell

2018-03-07

Sri Lanka is surrounded by the Indian Ocean. Yet, the physical presence of India up north has had an intimidating influence on most of Sri Lankans. While its admirers, especially those Indophiles, who have made it a point to be more conversed in India’s history, culture, cuisine and her people than their own history and people, have chosen to subordinate their love for the country to an intellectual odyssey.

These intellectuals have voyaged on that odyssey and the majority whose misplaced patriotism has overwhelmed their common sense and compassion for their equals in the north of their own land opted to be more aggressive in safeguarding their rights and privileges even more violently at times.

That parochial thinking has caused irreversible polarisation in the country and that polarisation is being exploited by the last regime of the Rajapaksas and continues to be so to date.

That is the context within which I propose to present the following.

Chinese involvement in our country’s economy and its unmistakable influence on the continuation of massive development programmes financed and undertaken by its own companies are featured most prominently within this context.

According to official reports: “On Saturday, December 9, 2017, the Government of Sri Lanka completed the formal handover of the strategic port of Hambantota to China, which will take control of the facility on a 99-year lease.”

There are no uncertainties whatsoever about China’s profound involvement in the development and being a stakeholder of the totality of the project.

However, our immediate neighbour India could advance many a speculative theory. A takeover of Sri Lanka as a Chinese satellite country, exploitation of Sri Lanka’s resources for the benefit of an expanding Chinese financial empire are some of these theories India seems to be subtly floating around the nations that are geopolitically engaged with Sri Lanka’s politics and economy.

Yet, India’s credibility has been damaged. At least inside Sri Lanka, especially in the context of the 30-year war against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam (LTTE), Chennai’s sympathy with the LTTE and their flirtations with the militant Tamil groups who did not believe in a Unitary State of Sri Lanka, so far as to drive our Sinhalese Buddhists to the brink.

China, while watching this gaping gulf between the two communities in Sri Lanka developing into a geopolitical canyon between the two countries, India and Sri Lanka, played her geopolitical cards with utmost craft and they trumped all her rivals, mainly India. 

The allegiance of Tamil militants to Tamil Nadu, first with M. G. Ramachandran and then with Jayalalithaa of Chennai challenged the spine of Sinhalese Buddhist majority in Sri Lanka. A military conflict between the respective armies became a war between two peoples- Sinhalese against Tamils.

This simple political dynamic was not understood by the Federal Government of India at the power centre in Delhi.

China, while watching this gaping gulf between the two communities in Sri Lanka developing into a geopolitical canyon between the two countries, India and Sri Lanka, played her geopolitical cards with utmost craft and they trumped all her rivals, mainly India.

China’s proactive approach to assist Sri Lanka’s flailing economy during the Rajapaksa’s regime paid dividends.

With scarce attention to local politics, she chose to cultivate the financial hub of the country, befriending the bigwigs who matter, not necessarily in politics but in economics, China’s inroads into Sri Lanka’s economy literally went through the highways in the country.

With the financing of the Colombo Port City project, its superlative presence and being the main instrument in reshaping the Colombo skyline that has mesmerised many an observer, China’s profound engagement in Sri Lanka’s economy has taken root.

Into this friendly geopolitical scenario entered the renewing of the Hambantota Port City development project.

This project was initiated by the Rajapaksas with no pre-feasibility studies conducted by any credible engineering sources, was languishing in the backyards of Hambantota. Sri Lanka’s new Prime Minister, after a serious misstep during the Presidential Election campaign in 2015, wasted no time in rejuvenating this dying giant of a project.

Ranil Wickremesinghe, while campaigning as the leader of the Opposition against the then President Mahinda Rajapaksa, stated publicly on the election platform that he would close the Colombo Port City Project in the event of victory. He knew that he made a serious gaffe.

Terribly upset by this statement, the senior staff of the Chinese construction company directed an immediate and abrupt halt to the ongoing work on the Colombo Port City site. It took more than twelve months for the work of the Colombo Port City to recommence.

Subsequent to this turnaround of events, after new Parliament was elected and a new Government led by the United National Party (UNP) was in place, new Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe could not abide by his election-statement.

All realities on the financial and economic platform suggested that the work of the Colombo Port City had to go on. On the geopolitical sphere, it was even more attractive and urgent for Sri Lanka that a geopolitical reality of a friendly China is infinitely more advantageous for Sri Lanka than as an unfriendly Superpower.

The same mindset prevailed for the country’s economic growth’s sake and Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe attended a special event in December last year, 2017 to mark the handing over, formally described as a Concession Agreement, in the Port City of Hambantota.

Hambantota International Port Group (HIPG) and Hambantota International Port Services (HIPS), two new companies set up by the China Merchants Port Holdings Company and the Sri Lanka Ports Authority, will collectively own the Hambantota Port.

That ceremony marked the beginning of operations in Hambantota Port. Earlier in July 2017, China Merchants Port Holdings Company agreed to pay $1.12 billion for an 85 percent share in Hambantota port on a 99-year lease.

In the backdrop of the country’s dire financial needs, China’s open and aggressive engagement comes as a welcome relief for the recipient country, Sri Lanka. But what is intriguing is what the former President Mahinda Rajapaksa did just in the wake of signing the agreements between China and Sri Lanka.

It was reported that during a visit to China, Sri Lanka’s former President Mahinda Rajapaksa warned that there could be mass public unrest in Sri Lanka if China were to carry out its plan to take over the Hambantota deep-sea port and create a nearby 15,000-acre special economic zone.

While the former President had not been hesitant to publicly hurl political vituperation against his country’s current administration, he seemed to have been dead accurate.

Earlier, the same day he made this statement, as the ceremonial first brick of what was christened as the ‘Southern Industrial Zone’ was laid in Hambantota; the place erupted in violent protests.

The violence left more than ten people hospitalised and many incarcerated. Security personnel and Buddhist monks clashed in Hambantota on January 7, 2017. Sri Lankan nationalists, monks and local residents protested against the creation of an Industrial Zone for Chinese investments.

Mahinda Rajapaksa’s statement in China negates the much assumed ‘purity of purpose’. Sri Lankans may well be convinced that Chinese are here for good reason; good for China and better for Sri Lanka.

In the current environment of a cash-crunch, Sri Lanka’s positioning in the marketplace has got weaker. Its negotiating ability has been weakened and if there is one person who has understood the brutal reality of this positioning is the Prime Minister.

With all his political shortcomings, which have been his Achilles Heel, his reading on the economy has been proven right over and over again. A solid foundation laid down by his party’s ideological tilt and a practice of voracious reading has helped him in that.

Since the opening of the economy in 1977, Sri Lanka’s economy has been journeying only towards one end-goal: the capitalist economy.

By the dawn of the seventh decade of the Twentieth Century, the Mecca of Socialist Economy, the Soviet Union was trembling with its own inner economic problems. With over-spending on their military, in order to stand equal with the American military might, the Soviet Union’s continuing policy of starving the population at the altar of military might not withstand any more threats from the crumbling of its satellite nations.

Poland began her trek to freedom from the Soviet Czar of Socialist economic strangulation. With the fall of Poland, the rest of the Eastern European socialist bloc began its collapse like a pack cards. What was introduced as the salvation of the proletariat in the early 20th Century would not last one hundred years.

The other Communist power China began her own adoption of free-market economic policies with Deng Xiaoping. According to Ezra Vogel, a scholar of contemporary East Asian history and culture, ‘no one in the twentieth century had a greater long-term impact on world history than Deng Xiaoping. Once described by Mao Zedong as a “needle inside a ball of cotton,” Deng was the pragmatic yet disciplined driving force behind China’s radical transformation in the late twentieth century. He confronted the damage wrought by the Cultural Revolution, dissolved Mao’s cult of personality, and loosened the economic and social policies that had stunted China’s growth’.
That is the China we are dealing with today.

The writer can be contacted at vishwamithra1984@gmail.com.