(Lanka-e-News - 10.March.2018, 12.45PM) Most Ven.. Dr. Dambara Amila Thera the good governance Sangha ‘King’ who made a huge contribution towards making Maithripala Sirisena the president , at a recent press briefing tore Sirisena (whose pet name now is Sillysena) into shreds. If Sirisena alias Sillysena the hopper gobbling serpent has any sense of shame he would at least now try to wear a decent attire and become a human without standing naked with the naked serpents , his blood relatives that gobble eggs.
The most Ven. Thera had this to say ….
The president should be held responsible for all the violent incidents and mayhem. The present president is a ‘patholaya’ (snake gourd) of two rupee value . It is a pity the country is in a most sorry state because of him . We have never seen such a low bred president anywhere in the world.
Truly speaking , he is a Two rupee worth patholaya having no backbone. It is his primary and paramount responsibility to maintain law and order in the country. If he cannot even maintain that , we have only to say , ‘please get out’ . ‘Do your job properly or get out ’ . He is destroying the entire country , the Ven .Thera told in plain language with grave concern.
He has become a pest to the entire country . He has ruined this country, and driven it into a holocaust by destroying national amity . He is swaying and straying in all directions ,but when it comes to empty bombasts he is most skilled even though he has no backbone to perform deeds . He is a backboneless lubber . He did everything except what we entrusted him to do.
Even when the UNP is making requests , he is not granting the law and order ministry to Field Marshal Fonseka . This is because he is in league with the thieves and murderers. Therefore we are forced to accuse this president as ‘a rogue’.
The president is a murderer. The President who is safeguarding and shielding the rogues and murderers is in the presidential post today. Therefore we tell the country and the world ’ Do not trust this president even for a five cent’
He is spending his whole life in association with a total deal . His white dress is today not worth a cent. It must be revealed fearlessly , ‘we have a president who is a total fraud .’
We did a number of probes . In every one of those it was proved finally he is in league with the rogues, and all along has been totally preoccupied with safeguarding and supporting the rogues.’
Full historic speech of Most Ven. Dr. Dambara AmilaThera is hereunder
--------------------------- by (2018-03-10 07:28:06)
Sat, Mar 10, 2018, 10:29 pm SL Time, ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
Mar 10, Colombo: Sri Lanka's Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, who visited the riots-hit Kandy today, says the common belief is that the racial attacks against the Muslims in the Kandy district was organized and carried out.
Therefore, the Prime Minister said that a comprehensive investigation into these attacks should be carried out and those found responsible for these attacks should be punished irrespective of their status.
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe made these remarks during a meeting with the police, the three armed forces and state officials at the Kandy District Secretariat following an inspection tour in the areas of Digana, Kengalla and Akurana areas to get a firsthand look into the damages caused by the attacks on Muslims in the Kandy district.
The anti-Muslim clashes took place when a Sinhalese man, a father of two, died while receiving treatment at Kandy Hospital for injuries sustained from an attack on him by a group of Muslim youths in late February. Sinhalese mob unleashed attacks following his funeral on March 5th.
A group of Muslim youths have been arrested in connection with the attack on him and remanded.
"Many are of the view that these unfortunate incidents in Kandy was a result of organized attacks. I have directed the Law and Order Minister and the Inspector General of Police to expedite the investigations and take appropriate action against Those responsible," the Premier said in Kandy.
"Such incidents will not take place in this country again only if the guilty is punished. If they are not punished this could be happening in other areas as well. Therefore, the law should be implemented against those responsible irrespective of their status."
Meanwhile, the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka in a letter addressed to the President last week pointed out that the religion based violence in Digana and Theldeniya cannot be regarded as an isolated incident, BBC Sinhala Service reported.
"Our official observation is that there are still good relations between Muslim and Sinhalese communities in the surrounding villages of the deceased who was unfortunately killed in the attack by a group of Muslim youths on February 22 in the Digana area," the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka said.
"Taking into consideration the violence based on religious hatred, not only those directly responsible but those who aided and abetted also should be punished irrespective of their racial, economic, political or social standing," the letter signed by the HRC Chairman Prof. Deepika Udagama said.
Meanwhile, a Muslim representative who met the Prime Minister in Kandy said they still don't feel safe. "Something happens in the night and the people run to the jungle," he said.
Issuing a statement, the Muslim Council of Sri Lanka said that since last Monday (5th March) 17 mosques in Kandy had been attacked and that 91 business establishments and 62 houses have been completely destroyed.
The BBC Sinhala service on a visit to Kandy has observed that many valuable items and jewelry in the destroyed houses had been looted.
The Police say that 140 persons including leader of the hardcore Buddhist movement Mahason Balakaya, Amith Weerasinghe, have been arrested for the religion based attacks.
Amnesty International in their annual report released around two weeks ago on the human rights situation in Sri Lanka stated that serious attention has been focused on the reemergence of religious violence against Muslims and Christians and impunity for the wrongdoers.
Meanwhile, in a special report on Sri Lanka presented to the UN Human Rights Council last month, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein noted that year 2017 was a period of sporadic racial attacks targeting minorities and communal clashes that are difficult to eradicate completely.
The report citing attacks in Gintota in last November noted that due to the Sinhalese-Muslim clashes spread in the area, around 70 homes and businesses belonging to Muslims had been destroyed.
Southern Provincial Councilor M.K.Kasun and his wife were remanded till 13, by Kaduwela Magistrate today (10) for assaulting a private bus driver at Koswatte yesterday (09).
They were arrested by the Thalangama Police yesterday, after the duo assaulted a bus driver who was driving a Route 177 bus that plies between Kaduwela and Kollupitiya.
The Provincial councilor and his wife have stopped the bus at the Talangama-Koswatte junction and have assaulted the driver.
The incident was captured on camera by a person in a bus at the Talangama-Koswatte junction.
The video shows Kasun attacking the bus driver along with his wife who is seen brandishing a pistol and threatening the victim.
The reason for the assault has not yet been ascertained.
Further investigations into the incident are being carried out by Thalangama Police.
It was revealed that much damage had caused to the National Carrier due to mismanagement including bad financial management. Thus Air Lanka too ended in failure.
by Anande Amaraweera-
Views expressed in this article are author’s own
( March 10, 2018, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) Much has been written about the loss making National Carrier for some time in the media and now the President has already appointed a Commission to investigate and inquire into alleged irregularities committed in connection with Sri Lankan Airlines, Sri Lankan Catering and Mihin Airline. This is a welcome sign but such an endeavour should not be another waste of tax payers’ money at the end. Sri Lankan Airline’s Board does not seem to have followed the recommendations made by the previous Commission on Air Lanka wittingly or unwittingly. Sri Lankan Airlines faltered because of capricious decisions of politicians as usual and nepotism. However I thought of putting down my views after having read many such opinions.
AIR CEYLON & AIR LANKA
Air Ceylon had at that time the advantage of having top class Captains most of whom were trained by foreign carriers to operate the aircraft that kept the national carrier within the safety standards and flying quality. During those days reputed International Airlines such as BOAC/ UTA/KLM/QANTAS among others had afforded facilities for training of staff in key spheres of the Airline that helped Air Ceylon move ahead. Passengers normally enjoyed the flights.
President Jayewardene’s decision to start Air Lanka at that time with the assistance of the Premier of Singapore Mr. Lee Kuan Yew who made the most-prosperous country in Southeast Asia was a wise and strategic move as the Singapore Airlines that was profit making and made available to the newly formed national carrier skilled staff and know-how. Thus advent of Air Lanka in spite of rising costs of operation was another right step in the aviation history of this country. The then President hardly ever interfered with the affairs of the airline until malpractices and irregularities came to light that led to appoint a Presidential Commission of Inquiry. The President appointed Captain R Wickamanayake as the Chairman and Managing Director who was a senior Captain when Air Ceylon was wound up to make way for Air Lanka in association with Singapore Airlines but finally he had to leave on the recommendation of the Commission of Inquiry that was appointed subsequently by the same President that conducted an inquiry into the alleged irregularities and maladministration. An Interim Report was submitted to the President after preliminary investigations upon which the Board was asked to resign. Malpractices by an experienced Captain as Chairperson/MD could be many if that person lacks knowledge and practical experience in administration, procedures and other rules and practices. The Chairman/MD acted reportedly on his whims and had been authoritarian. However a bit of credit should go to the then Chairman/MD who trained, disciplined and instilled flying qualities of pilots and cabin crew using his flying experience despite of his failures in administrative and other vital spheres that caused crash. As a result of which Customer Services also were commended and the catch phrase: “Taste of Paradise” was closer though elusive. In this context taking a lesson Sri Lankan Airlines need to revive customer services once again. Later Airline lost its footing once again when the “Emirates” was made to leave due to awful political pronouncement.
The Commission of Inquiry of 1986 advised to keep the two positions of Chairperson and MD separately perhaps because it was found that a combined post of that type could be disastrous as the findings revealed how authoritarian the former Chairman/MD had been. Theoretical knowledge alone will not do in any field that needs practical and proven experience. Findings of the Commission disclosed how a senior Captain sans administrative knowledge acted contrary to established rules and procedures ignoring good practices in making decisions which were found to be arbitrary and authoritarian. It was revealed that much damage had caused to the National Carrier due to mismanagement including bad financial management. Thus Air Lanka too ended in failure.
It was suggested that a Senior Captain could be considered for appointment as Chairperson or CEO. It may be helpful to have an experienced Captain also as a member of the Board but not necessarily as CEO or Chairperson. The reason is that a senior Captain is always available as Head of Operations who could be consulted by the Board when required. A Pilot who is flying needs full time attention to the job in view of the level of responsibility expected of a Pilot.
The Commission of Inquiry advised to keep the two positions of Chairperson and MD separately perhaps because it was found that a combined post of that type could be disastrous as the findings revealed how authoritarian the former Chairman/MD had been. Theoretical knowledge alone will not do in any field that needs practical experience. Findings of the Commission disclosed how a senior Captain sans administrative knowledge acted contrary to established rules and procedures ignoring good practices in making decisions which were found to be arbitrary and authoritarian. It was revealed that much damage had caused to the National Carrier due to mismanagement including bad financial management. Thus Air Lanka too ended in failure.
Therefore a CEO or Chairperson should be competent person familiar with relevant areas of the airline business, and procedures. Interested Politician or nitwit may contradict this position for obvious reasons. The writer reminisces with great delight how Air Ceylon was pronounced as the Safest Airline in the world- of course a national pride- although some financial and other issues were reported. It is sad to note that undue interference by relevant politicians in the public service and similar other public institutions caused misery in many fields in this country since the enactment of Constitution of 1972. The situation was further deteriorated with the promulgation of the Constitution of 1978 that introduced the Executive Presidency. Maladies still continue unabatedly though the status quo may hopefully change for better with the “good governance” policy of this government.
TO BE A NATIONAL PRIDE
Truly an Airline will be a national pride to a country if it is well managed. Losses of Sri Lankan Airlines as reported amounting to billions certainly could be attributed to many factors. It is clear that so called “businessmen” have failed so far in this business of running an airline for the simple fact that a successful businessman in any other business may be out of place in the matters of business of an Airline especially with political interference. Therefore a competent leader as Chairperson who is knowledgeable of laws and procedures is sine qua non. A Board should be given free hand to show results without unnecessary interference. Also a Board must consist of competent professionals with experience in aviation business, administration and finance and needs restructuring efforts looking into all divisions to eradicate waste and corrupt practices to save the Sri Lankan Airlines. Whoever who is appointed to a Board is expected to be familiar with rules and procedures, if not that person must be a person with common sense to consult the relevant authorities and act sensibly. Authoritarian attitudes and disregard for due process especially not being accountable and responsible for the decisions do much harm to the Institution and then to the country. Despite the free hand given by the relevant Minister to the Board under the present government, the Board still failed to perform and presumably mismanaged the airline without much consideration being given to strategic restructuring/turnaround management, cost cutting exercise at the right time. Negotiations when purchasing/leasing aircraft should be handled by ‘professionals’ who are knowledgeable and experienced. Evaluation of route structure is mandatory to identify routes that are profitable.
Major decisions should be taken with the approval of the Board and such decisions have to be taken in the best interest of the airline. Well considered, carefully assessed and defensible decision making is vital instead of arbitrary decision making. Any adverse or arbitrary decision means disaster for the airline and that was well observed in the past decade as never seen before in the aviation history of Sri Lanka. No corrective action appears to have been taken. A political appointee tends to be authoritarian that does more harm to the institution as observed in the past. Appointments made based solely on political patronage ignore or side-line the competent professionals for political expediency whilst the ignorant in most cases are generally given exalted positions who becomes square pegs in round holes much to the destruction of the economy and development which should be stopped for the benefit of the country.
There are sons of the soil who are competent in airline operations whose talents are not made use of and persons of such calibre do not go behind politicians and their henchmen canvassing for posts. Those at the top management of any airline are expected to be familiar with and understand the issues of aviation business in order to make effective decisions and help maintain a sustained business development. The Board must be able to ensure the right balance of skills, experience and acumen in all matters. Studies with regard to route network, pricing, sales, promotion strategy and forecast, market analysis and strategy and implementation, market fluctuations of fares and rates of cargo should be continuously undertaken. Bilateral Air Services Agreements should be entered after carefully considering favourable route structures. In the event of selecting an International Air Carrier to back up the national carrier needs overall analysis of its viability with complementary route structures before embarking on such a venture. Purchasing or leasing aircrafts when the situation permits should be minutely considered and vetted before reaching a final decision.
LESSONS FOR REFORM
One lesson learnt from the past is to keep the Airline free from political interference once a Board with capable and experienced persons is appointed. If the management of the Airline is left in the hands of competent persons without undue political interference allowing a rightsizing exercise the Airline would show profits gradually by bringing in revenue. To enhance and maintain the prestige of any airline flying qualities of its pilots, cabin staff, quality of engineering in the maintenance of its aircraft, proper maintenance of safety standards and competitive and successful commercial operations with workable extension strategy should be in place. Standards should remain high at all times. Maintaining undisrupted timely services adhering to the time schedules, courteous and friendly passenger services and quality catering services will not only attract passengers but also keep the airline flying with colours of which the country can be proud of. Ground handling and cargo services should also keep in line with quality control. Continuous cost benefit analysis and market research should be carried out to keep the Airline within the boundaries in face of competition. Thus passenger base may be increased and retained. Good administrative and financial considerations are necessary. Cancellations, re-routings and delays due to VIP movements should not be allowed as happened in the past that caused heavy losses thereby losing passengers to other airlines that resulted in loss of revenue. Finally country lost both passengers and revenue. Are we ready to reform ourselves to have an Airline that will keep the flag flying?
BE PATRIOTIC & ENSURE MERITOCRACY
If politicians are so patriotic then they must concern themselves not only about safety of the country but also about the progress of the country as well to be meaningful patriots. Patronage whether personal or political, in making appointments to the key posts (except for personal staff & few essential ones) that continues to ignore the capable and qualified professionals will further ravage the country as a whole. Abuse of public funds becomes major issue when a person without integrity is appointed to be the Chairperson who is especially from a political family. Nepotism is another malady in this country. Sadly this is one of the signs of a failing nation. Weliamuna Report too is said to have found fault with former Chairman and some high officials under the previous government who abetted him in taking adverse decisions that made the Airline debt ridden and collapse. Reportedly even the newly appointed Board by the “yahapalana government” under which some of those found fault by the Weliamuna Commission have been promoted without having any inquiry being held.
“Meritocracy” is a concept long lost in this country and has to be revived for good if the country is to be taken forward. The Country has so far deteriorated because of “Nisso sitiyadee pussan wajabeema” in many instances. “Right person at the right position” should be the motto. Patriotic politicians and professionals must get together and change the rotten systems that hinder the forward march of the nation. In this exercise let the Rule of Law and due process prevail unhindered and let laws apply to all equally. Necessity of appointing Commissions of Inquiry will not arise if the Board and the senior management follow the financial and administrative procedures with necessary audit checks at the right time. Public funds can be saved in case any deviation or breach is found and proper action is taken promptly. There are enough laws to deal with such circumstances.
( Attorney-at-Law and a former Secretary, Dept. Of Law Commission -Ministry of Justice)
Clash between Jewish settlers and Palestinians sparks shooting
Israeli border guards clash with Palestinian protesters in West Bank city of Ramallah on Friday (AFP)
Saturday 10 March 2018
A Palestinian man was shot by Israeli soldiers on Saturday and later died after a clash with Jewish settlers near the West Bank city of Nablus, medics and security sources said.
Palestinian security sources said the clash was started by the settlers, after which the army intervened and fired at a group of Palestinians.
Amir Omar Shahada, 23, was shot in the chest in the village of Urif, said Ghassan Douglas, the Palestinian Authority official in charge of monitoring settlement activity in the northern West Bank, Haaretz reported. A 16-year-old Palestinian boy was shot in the leg, Douglas added.
The Palestinian Health Ministry confirmed that a young Palestinian man who was rushed to a hospital in Nablus in critical condition died of his wounds, Haaretz said.
The Israeli army said Palestinians from Urif had approached Yitzhar settlement, sparking "a confrontation between Palestinian and Israeli civilians".
As soldiers arrived, "a riot was instigated, during which troops used riot dispersal means and fired live rounds", a military spokesman told AFP.
On Friday, a Palestinian was killed by Israeli fire in the West Bank city of Hebron and at least four others were wounded in clashes along Gaza's border with Israel.
Tensions have risen since US President Donald Trump's recognition in December of Jerusalem as Israel's capital - a decision that has infuriated Palestinians.
Israel seized mainly Arab East Jerusalem in the 1967 Six-Day War and later annexed it in a move never recognised by the international community.
At least 31 Palestinians and two Israelis have been killed since Trump's announcement.
A prominent member of the European Parliament is demanding an official investigation into the role of a high-level European Union civil servant in an Israel lobby smear campaign targeting her.
Ana Gomes, a center-left lawmaker from Portugal, is being denounced by Israel lobby groups as anti-Semitic after she publicly criticized them for attempting to block her from hosting Palestinian human rights campaigner Omar Barghouti for a talk at the European Parliament in Brussels last week.
The Israel lobby groups’ accusations against Gomes were then amplified by Katharina von Schnurbein, the EU’s top official charged with fighting anti-Semitism, and by the EU embassy in Tel Aviv, known officially as the European Union Delegation to Israel.
Gomes made her call Wednesday in a letter to Jean-Claude Juncker, the president of the European Commission – the EU’s governing bureaucracy – and EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini.
“I demand an investigation into the smear campaign directed against me, as an elected MEP [member of the European Parliament], by someone at the EU Delegation to Israel and Ms. von Schnurbein,” the letter states.
In line with the practice common to democratic systems, EU civil servants are required to remain politically neutral, which makes the public attack on Gomes – an elected politician – by von Schnurbein and the EU embassy in Tel Aviv an extraordinary breach of this obligation.
Gomes has also lodged her complaint with the European Ombudsman, an independent body charged with investigating allegations of wrongdoing at EU institutions.
A “perverse lobby”
On 28 February, Gomes hosted a seminar on the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement with Omar Barghouti.
Barghouti is one of the founders of the nonviolent grassroots human rights campaign and winner of the 2017 Gandhi Peace Award.
At the opening of the seminar, Gomes noted that discussions about Palestinian human rights used to be much more common, “but they became more and more rare in this parliament as a result of a very perverse lobby that tries to intimidate people.”
Gomes added that she had been subjected to such pressure in the days before the seminar by groups that “tell a lot of lies” and “misconstrue the words of many scholars.”
Watch @AnaGomesMEP defame Jewish groups as a "very perverse lobby" that tells "a lot of lies" & uses "intimidation tactics."
In response, the AJC Transatlantic Institute denounced Gomes’ remarks as “anti-Semitic,” claimed she was “demonizing Jewish civil society organizations” and demanded “disciplinary action” against her by her parliamentary faction.
The AJC Transatlantic Institute is the Brussels office of the American Jewish Committee, a lobbying organization that says it “advocates for Israel at the highest levels” from “the hallways of the UN in New York, to the corridors of the European Union.”
The EU’s Katharina von Schnurbein retweeted the AJC Transatlantic Institute’s attack, claiming that Gomes’ objections to being censored by political groups working for Israel amounted to “vile anti-Semitic expressions.”
The announcement of a Trump-Kim summit caught the administration off guard, and officials are scrambling to roll out a policy framework
The White House said on Saturday Trump had also discussed his meeting with Kim with French president Emmanuel Macron. Photograph: Leah Millis/Reuters
Donald Trump’s sudden acceptance of a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has cast a cloud of uncertainty over Washington, with few details emerging over the terms of a potentially historic meeting that is fraught with risk.
On Saturday, Trump vaunted his own work on the meeting and issues around it with a tweet in which he did not spell the Chinese president’s name in the generally accepted fashion.
“Chinese president XI XINPING and I spoke at length about the meeting with KIM JONG UN of North Korea,” Trump wrote, referring to Xi Jinping. “President XI told me he appreciates that the US is working to solve the problem diplomatically rather than going with the ominous alternative. China continues to be helpful!”
Trump tweeted the message again, with the Chinese president’s name spelled according to custom. The original tweet was deleted.
Some critics have feared for the effect on Chinese relations of Trump’s tariffs on aluminium and steel, announced this week. The White House said on Saturday Trump had also discussed his meeting with Kim with French president Emmanuel Macron; Trump tweeted that he had done so with Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe, who he said was “very enthusiastic”.
But after the surprise declaration on Thursday that Trump would meet Kim amid heightened tensions over North Korea’s nuclear ambitions, the White House appeared to slowly walk back on the issue as officials scrambled to roll out a policy framework for the first ever meeting between leaders of the two countries.
On Friday, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said any meeting would be conditional upon Pyongyang agreeing to unspecified demands.
“Let’s be very clear,” she told the daily press briefing. “The United States has made zero concessions but North Korea has made some promises. This meeting won’t take place without concrete actions that match the promises that have been made by North Korea.”
Trump later tweeted that “the deal with North Korea is very much in the making and will be, if completed, a very good one for the world. Time and place to be determined”.
The mixed signals contributed to a familiar sense of confusion under a president who has lost a succession of key aides and whose major policy announcements often catch his own administration off guard.
Rex Tillerson, the secretary of state, was traveling in Africa and had told reporters the US was “a long ways from negotiations”. Earlier in the week, Mike Pence, the vice-president, said the US posture would remain unchanged, barring “concrete steps toward denuclearization”.
Lawmakers and experts alike were skeptical that North Korea would agree to dismantle its nuclear program before engaging in talks, given the regime’s violation of prior agreements to suspend it in exchange for sanctions relief.
“The only difference is the US president, without really giving any condition for this meeting, has immediately agreed,” Suki Kim, author of Without You, There Is No Us: My Time with the Sons of North Korea’s Elite, told MSNBC. “A real part of this is that it is going to be a spectacle.”
Bob Corker, the Republican chairman of the Senate foreign relations committee, said: “Skepticism and caution are critical as these discussions continue.”
Democrats were unusually muted in their criticism of Trump and some were cautiously optimistic that the president had, at least momentarily, stepped back from responding to provocations with bombastic warnings and taunts. But others voiced concerns over the prospective meeting.
“President Trump has given Kim Jong-un a momentous boost by agreeing to meet and seemingly validating his totalitarian regime,” said Richard Blumenthal, a member of the Senate armed services committee. “Given the critical national security stakes and consequences this cannot be another presidential reality show.”
Amplifying concerns was the lack of seasoned negotiators at Trump’s side. Last week, a top diplomat focused on North Korean policy, Joseph Yun, resigned from the state department. Earlier this year, the White House scrapped its nomination for an ambassador to South Korea after he privately disagreed with consideration of a preemptive strike against the North.
In Seoul, President Moon Jae-in celebrated the potential meeting as a “historic milestone” on the way to peace. Young liberals in their 20s and 30s – Moon’s core support – called for the president to be awarded the Nobel Peace prize.
But the news of Trump’s meeting had intense competition from less political topics. There was the constant reporting on K-pop stars, who command a fanatical following, and an actor had killed himself the same day after he was accused of sexual misconduct.
While the White House talked of preconditions, analysts in South Korea were focused on Moon’s own meeting with Kim, scheduled for late April.
Moon, a democracy activist under the military government in the 1980s and later a human rights lawyer, has made engagement with North Korea a lifelong goal. His parents fled the North during the 1950-53 Korean war and he was chief of staff under Roh Moo-hyun, who followed a “sunshine policy” that included sending aid to the impoverished North and launching joint investment projects.
Participants display placards as they participate in a procession against plans to reimpose death penalty and intensify drug war during "Walk for Life" in Luneta park, Metro Manila, Philippines February 24, 2018. Source: Reuters/Romeo Ranoco
THE Philippine government is putting more than 600 people – among them a United Nations human rights expert and dozens of leftist activists – at risk of attack by labelling them on a terrorist watch list, Human Rights Watch said Thursday.
According to the rights group, a petition filed in a Manila court dated February 21, 2018, lists the people as members of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and its armed wing, the New People’s Army (NPA) – groups that have been declared “terrorist” bodies.
The petition said the rebels were “using acts of terror” to sow fear and panic to overthrow the government.
“Government accusations that international human rights experts have links to the NPA seek to undermine the valuable work they do to promote accountability for rights abuses,” Asia division researcher for HRW Carlos Conde said in a statement.
NPA guerrillas in Far South Mindanao in formation during the 46th Founding Anniversary of the Communist Party of the Philippines. Source: Edwin Espejo
The group accused the Philippine Justice Department of sanctioning a “virtual government hit list,” saying that there is a history in the country of the state security forces and pro-government militias assassinating people labelled as NPA members or supporters.
President Rodrigo Duterte previously enjoyed a good relationship with the communist movement, freeing some of the movement’s leaders when he took office in July 2016 to show his commitment to resolving the five-decade conflict.
But the peace process was called off in November after what Duterte called repeated attacks by the NPA during talks.
Since the breakdown of talks, the president has openly vented his fury at the group, saying that he considers them a risk to national security on the same level as pro-Islamic State militants.
The petition will allow government to monitor listed “terrorists” more closely, track finances and curb access to resources, among other measures.
Communist NPA militants march in front of local residents and supporters during the celebration of the 42nd anniversary of the Communist Party of the Philippines, Dec. 26, 2010. Source: AP Photo/Pat Roque
Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, appointed in 2014 as UN special rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples, called her appearance on the list, “baseless, malicious and irresponsible.”
Four former Catholic priests were also named in the case, listed along with 18 top leaders of the communist party, including founder Jose Maria Sison.
There was no basis for the charge of terrorism, said Sison, who was a mentor of Duterte when he was at university, although the two are now bitter rivals.
“Duterte is engaged in a wild anti-communist witchhunt under the guise of anti-terrorism,” he said. “Duterte is truly the No 1 terrorist in the Philippines.”
HRW called on the Duterte administration to “publicly reject this petition and ensure the safety of those listed in it – or risk being complicit in the resulting crimes.”
(Lanka-e-News - 10.March.2018, 12.45PM) Most Ven.. Dr. Dambara Amila Thera the good governance Sangha ‘King’ who made a huge contribution towards making Maithripala Sirisena the president , at a recent press briefing tore Sirisena (whose pet name now is Sillysena) into shreds. If Sirisena alias Sillysena the hopper gobbling serpent has any sense of shame he would at least now try to wear a decent attire and become a human without standing naked with the naked serpents , his blood relatives that gobble eggs.
