Shame ! Wijedasa’s blatant lie against proposed appointment of special high courts to eliminate delays exposed !

(Lanka-e-News - 21.March.2018, 6.45PM) The statement made by ex minister of justice Wijedasa Rajapakse (of all people) that the proposed Judicial organization draft bill has been declared as illegal by the Attorney General via a 19 page document  is an absolute lie !  and this ex minister has deliberately tried to mislead the public , said the state counsel before the supreme court (SC)  day before yesterday (19 ). This draft bill is designed to appoint special    high courts each with a three judges panel to eliminate delays in courts when hearing cases of corruption and crimes.

The media in SL which has nowadays descended to unbelievable sordid levels gave a huge publicity to the rascally ex minister ‘s  statement , however  failed to give adequate publicity to the revelation made by the state counsel exposing the discarded minister and his blatant  lies.

The abridgement  of the revelation made by the state counsel is hereunder …

About one and half years ago , minister Sarath Amunugama made a proposal to cabinet to appoint  a special criminal investigation Commission  ( vested with  judicial powers on the same lines of the   Commission which heard cases pertaining to the 1971 rebellion ) with the aim to avert   delays in courts when hearing cases of frauds and corruption  .

The draft was  prepared by Nigel Hatch , an attorney at law.  Since Hatch was not famous , the cabinet at that time decided to forward the draft to the AG to obtain his advice.  It was Wijedasa Rajapakse who was the justice minister under that cabinet then . The AG at that time via a 19 page document explained , under the 1978 constitution , an Institution  to mete out punishment outside the country’s judicial system  cannot be established.

Consequent upon this , Amunugama’s proposal was put aside , and through a parliamentary  sectoral  committee represented by all parties this was explored. It was then it came to light under our  ‘wonderful’   judicial system , in SL it takes about 17 years to conclude a case and mete out punishment to a criminal.( This  is not surprising when crooked ex  justice ministers like Wijedasa contributed to injustice and abetted criminals instead of improving the judicial system).

Following the Parliamentary sectoral committee report the cabinet entrusted the AG with the task of appointing a court constitutionally in conformity  with the judicial system , to hear fraud and corruption  cases expeditiously .It is following this the new judicial development draft bill was born after  a draft bill committee headed by the AG . This initially contemplated the appointment of three High courts each with a panel of three judges to hear cases continually . In order to draft this bill the AG and his committee met 68 times. 

It is despite  this backdrop the discarded ex minister of justice Wijedasa told lies shamelessly, profusely   and brazenly. Going by  his conduct , one can imagine  what amount of perversion of justice could have taken place when he was the minister .

The AG at that time submitted the  19 page document in connection with Amunugama’s proposal , and not in relation to the present Judicial development draft bill which has been  prepared by the AG himself . Hence the ex minister  of justice Wijedasa  lying this shamelessly while knowing the actual position is most deplorable and detestable.

The State counsel before the SC gave details in this regard supported by  evidence yesterday .

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by     (2018-03-21 13:32:17)

Re-Enacting Rajapaksa Tamashas: Health Ministry Busts Millions Of Public Funds To Glorify Rajitha

MARCH 20, 2018

The Ministry of Health in the guise of a confab on health development initiatives has spent millions of rupees for a tamasha at the BMICH on Marhc 9, 2018 that was all about glorifying Minister of Health Rajitha Senaratne, Colombo Telegraph learns.

Rajah Senaratne – Minister of Health

According to a Health Ministry official present at the event and who wished to remain anonymous for obvious reasons, the ‘National Conference on Recent Health Development Initiatives’ was a large gathering of medical administrators with over 2000 invitations having been sent out.

The five and a half hour ‘conference’ included treating the audience to various videos of ‘health sector development initiatives’ featuring Senaratne, dance items and a testimonial glorifying Senaratne by someone who underwent a heart transplant.

Apparently students of paramedical training institutions and ministry employees had performed theatrical performances once again to elevate the image of the minister, the source told Colombo Telegraph.

The source added that the entire exercise was reminiscent of events organized at public expense to glorify Mahinda Rajapaksa when he was President.

The invitation cards, food and drink for participants, production costs for videos, payment for dancing performances, fuel, and the total man hours lost in forcing officials to participate and rehearsals for theater performances would add up to several million rupees, he added, pointing out that the time and money could have been better spent actually serving the people.

Colombo Telegraph’s attempts to reach Senaratne for comment did not meet with success.

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President congratulates Russian President

Watch: CCTV footage shows alleged ballot-stuffing in Russia elections

Wednesday, March 21, 2018

President Maithripala Sirisena congratulated President Vladimir Putin of Russia on Monday in a Twitter message, on the latter's recent electoral victory.

“Congratulations to President of Russia Mr. Vladimir Putin on his solid victory of the Presidential Election,” he wrote on Twitter. “We are confident in the Russian people's ability to achieve new level of progress in the country's development under his leadership in the new term.”

President Putin was re-elected for a six-year term by a wide margin on March 18.

Racism, riots, and the Sri Lankan State

Terrorism exercised blatantly in the streets by violent, extremist nationalists to harm other religious or ethnic groups should not be met with silence – Pic by Shehan Gunasekara


“One’s life has value so long as one attributes value to the life of others, by means of love, friendship, indignation and compassion” – Simone de Beauvoir

Thursday, 22 March 2018 

Only when fear and hatred is spread by extremists does serious reflection haunt a community. The teardrop-shaped island of Sri Lanka, a seeming paradise hanging off the Indian subcontinent, has been provoked yet again. Within a few hours arose an ugly incident of violence, the hill country’s vibrant colours serving as a backdrop to death and destruction – a systematic break-down of lives, religious spaces, and personal property.

The July 1983 riots, insurrections quashed in 1971 and 1989, and 2014 Aluthgama riots were among these unexpected bursts of violence. In all cases, the unprepared State reacted slowly before resorting to brutal force to restore order. How could Sri Lanka become riven by hostility and terror in a short time? Recent events suggest that this question deserves further attention and study to better inform the work of policymakers.

A nation plunged into a state of emergency with a heavily State-influenced media is the present situation in Sri Lanka. Terrorism exercised blatantly in the streets by violent, extremist nationalists to harm other religious or ethnic groups should not be met with silence, especially in a town that treasures the Buddha’s sacred Temple of the Tooth, symbolising the purity of the words of non-violence uttered by the Buddha. Extremists should be punished to restore the rule of law in society, regardless of the religious or political affiliations of the perpetrators.

Violence was sparked by the death of a Sinhalese Buddhist man on 4 March, who was allegedly attacked by three Muslim men due to a traffic accident in Teldeniya. Following this, a state of emergency was declared by the Government. The last time a state of emergency was in place was during the country’s 26-year civil war with the Tamil Tigers.

During the quarter century-long war, one of the most significant incidents that triggered communal violence among the Sinhala Buddhist majority and the Tamil minority was the 1983 riots. Yet neither the majority of Sinhalese Buddhists nor Tamils were part of the riots. It was terrorist, extremist nationalists – mainly Sinhalese Buddhists – who set off anti-Tamil pogroms in the south. The Government at that time was silent and prominent members of the majority religious community, including the preachers of Buddha’s words of ‘Ahimsa’ (‘do no harm’), were also silent, as in the present.

The recent racially and communally-minded riots by certain sections of the majority Sinhalese Buddhist community targeting the Muslim minority was a warning of the deteriorating threads holding together Sri Lankan society. Yet it was several days later that the Government tightened its control over the ugly situation by blocking social media platforms through which ‘fake news’ was disseminated to create more tension. Stories of exploding Muslim population growth and surreptitious administering of sterilisation pills to Sinhalese were attempts to escalate the situation by pandering to extremist elements promoting hatred and fear.

The vulnerability to social distress and division caused by ‘fake news’ in Sri Lanka is high in the persisting shadow of ethnic tensions. The central aim of a nation on a path to reconciliation should be to ensure zero tolerance for hate speech and violent nationalism.

On a recent visit among fellow South Asian and East Asian researchers at a program on ‘Digitisation in Asia and Germany’ with a special focus of tackling fake news, this author was present at the Berlin Ministry of Information and Foreign Affairs on the day the Ministry’s website was hacked. Not limited to smaller nations like Sri Lanka but cybercrime prevails.

Tackling fake news is a costly and serious challenge. Sri Lanka could learn from Germany that has taken rigorous steps to tackle fake news deemed dangerous to public peace and discourse. The 2018 Network Enforcement Act (NEA) aimed at major social networks without much radical alteration to existing German law is only a restatement to German panel code. Due to this social media companies are now setting up legal compliance offices specifically for the NEA. Facebook in Germany has hired over one thousand content moderators to comply with NEA.

President Maithripala Sirisena’s Government has taken measures to curb the tension. However, it should not allow violent nationalists to routinely and easily spread their message, as this runs counter to the Government’s wishes to achieve sincere reconciliation in the country. A Sedition Act to prevent hate speech and swift action could ease the situation and assist the process of seeking ethnic harmony.

The perpetrators of these vicious attacks should be punished. If unpunished, extremists working towards different agendas will take advantage of the opportunity to dominate the narrative and shape the national agenda. ‘Fake news’ and misinformation could construct a powerful narrative that would gain traction and detrimentally influence society. This would be a dangerous path, perpetuating and exacerbating instability across the nation. Examples of this phenomenon have played out globally in recent years, from the US and Europe to the far corners of Asia. Yet Sri Lanka cannot become another Myanmar and it is the role of majority Buddhists and clergy to ensure this is not the case, to defeat the ideologies of extremism.

To make sense of, and exist safely in the midst of rising extremism and violent nationalism, it is vital to promote the true essence of various religions. An attempt to address fear and hatred spread by extremism can be made by placing emphasis on the ethic of non-violence.

This task will require a sturdy and responsible government safeguarding justice and the rule of law. But as the past reflects, it could also choose to do little while leaving the innocent to burn.
[The author is a visiting Professor for Geopolitics and Global Leadership at the Northern Kentucky University (USA) and the Director General of the Institute of National Security Studies Sri Lanka, this article was initially published by the IPCS, New Delhi for Dateline Colombo, the views expressed are the author’s own.]

Tamil-Muslim Relations In The Eastern Province

By Ameer Ali –MARCH 20, 2018

Dr. Ameer Ali

The deterioration of Sinhalese-Tamil Relations (STR), Sinhalese-Muslim Relations (SMR) and Tamil-Muslim Relations (TMR) are three interconnected segments of the same macro-issue of plurality mismanagement. I have discussed this problem in an earlier piece (Colombo Telegraph: 1 November 2017). However, among these segments, the last, TMR, has not been well understood by many and received scant reference in published writings and discussions. I drew attention to this problem in another piece in this journal (Colombo Telegraph: 11 January, 2018).

The Eastern Province (EP), which has nearly 43% of the country’s agricultural land and produces one quarter of the nation’s paddy, is emerging as the next theatre where TMR will come under severe strain due to issues that are peculiar to this province. An aggressive post-civil war policy of state aided colonization of this province, especially its Batticaloa District, with Sinhalese-only ex-army men and their families; and an equally aggressive mission of a few ultra-nationalistic Buddhist monks, who, basing their claims on invented myths and dubious archaeology, are on a spree to plant Buddha statues even on private lands legally owned by Tamils and Muslims, have already put STR and SMR in this province to a gruelling test. It is as a by-product of these two has TMR risen to add fuel to the fire.     

Demographically, EP’s population in the 2012 census showed nearly 40% Tamils, 37% Muslims and 23% Sinhalese. On district basis, the corresponding ratios were roughly 17% for Tamils, 44% for Muslims and 39% for Sinhalese in Ampara, 72% Tamils, 25% Muslims and 1% Sinhalese in Batticaloa, and 31% Tamils, 40% Muslims and 27% Sinhalese in Trincomalee. It is the very low percentage of Sinhalese population in the Batticaloa District, which is agonizingly worrying the ultra-Sinhala nationalists, who believe that Sinhala Buddhists must form the majority in every district and province of the country.  Populating the Batticaloa District with more Sinhala Buddhists is their strategy to thwart any attempt by any government to bring into reality either a federal state or a merged North-Eastern Provincial Council in future. Thus, the deteriorating TMR in EP is an unfortunate consequence of what Michael Robert described as “majoritarian part subsuming the whole”.

What is at stake in this ‘Great Game’ in EP among the three communities is the distribution of land.  Muslims are the biggest losers in this distribution.  Being one-third of the population of EP, Muslims hold only 3% of the land. Just as there was hunger for land amongst the Kandyan peasantry on the eve of independence there is now land hunger amongst Tamil and Muslim householders in EP.  While the government is refusing to allocate crownland to the two national minorities, for fear of angering the Sinhala-Buddhist nationalists, the minorities in turn, with encouragement from their respective political leaders, are engaging in a mutually destructive game of encroaching into each other’s lands.  It is this competition for land between Tamils and Muslims that is at the heart of the rouble in TMR, and the failure to solve it will cause another Tamil-Muslim riot in EP.

The concentration of Muslims and the massive size of their vote bank in the Ampara and Batticaloa districts has led to the emergence of a new generation of Muslim parliamentarians, of whom at least one entered the current legislature through the back door. Their lack of political far-sightedness and patriotic spirit has driven the Tamil and Muslim communities to the edge of another violent confrontation. The most disastrous outcome of their short sightedness and parochialism was the founding of the SLMC. This monster has caused enough trouble to the entire Muslim community in the island and unless it is dissolved it is bound to engender even more trouble particularly to the Muslims of EP.

A few examples will help highlighting the danger that is facing the two communities in the Batticaloa and Ampara districts. In one of the recorded messages that has gone viral in the social media, one Muslim parliamentarian, who is also a minister in the MS-RW government, appears to brag that he had singlehandedly engineered to grab a piece of land that belongs to a Hindu temple and given it to the Muslims.  Did this parliamentarian ever think of the repercussions that his act would cause within the Hindus? Is this not a blatant abuse of power? Very recently in another location, Attapalam near Addalaichenai, a Muslim landowner appears to have illegally acquired a few acres of paddy land that belonged to some poor Tamil peasants. Obviously, he could not have done this without some support from the Muslim politician of the area. Similarly, in the municipal area of Batticaloa itself, some Hindus have acquired land belonged to the mosque at Kalliyankadu, and built on it a Hindu prayer centre. Finally, it appears that the Urban Council of Kattankudy is planning to convert it into a Municipality by extending the area within its jurisdiction to include the adjacent Kallady, a Tamil settlement. Kattankudy is the most densely populated township in the country, where, according to the 2012 census, over 40,000 Muslims cramped into a land area of just 6km2. The Tamils of Kallady feel that the hidden agenda behind this plan is to acquire land for Muslims to spread out. They are already demonstrating against the move. A similar agenda may be the reason for the agitation for a separate council by another thickly populated Muslim township, Sainthamaruthu, with over 25,000 Muslims living in 8km2 area, and lies next to another Tamil settlement Karaitivu. 

What all these instances show is the absolute shortage of land for Tamils and Muslims. The obvious solution is for the two communities to join hands and agitate under a single banner for the release of more crown lands from government. The Muslim parliamentarians, who are all corrupt and holding ministerial positions in the present government, are obviously gutless to advance this cause, because that will jeopardise their status and positions with the regime. They do not want the two communities to join because they fear that such cooperation if succeeds, and there is no reason why it cannot, may pave the way for an eventual North-Eastern Provincial Council, which the Sinhala-Buddhist ultra-nationalists also reject.  Such is the painful dilemma facing both minorities under leaders who do not realise that there is strength in unity. 

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The Reality of Sirisara Uyana: Redefining apartment living in Colombo

IROMI PERERA- 03/21/2018

On March 15, 2018 (Thursday) at around 7.45 pm, a fire broke out inside a fifth floor apartment at the Sirisara Uyana complex in Dematagoda. Sirisara Uyana is one of the high-rises built by the Urban Development Authority (UDA) for the working class poor of Colombo who were evicted or forcibly relocated there. It was declared open in November 2014 and has 12 floors and 780 apartments. The complex is visible from Baseline Road as one passes Welikada Prison on the right.

Photo by Devaka Seneviratne – Sirisara Uyana on left.

The apartment where the fire occurred was occupied by a family of three. They were not at home at the time of the incident. The head of household earns a daily wage by selling onions on a cart parked outside the apartment complex. His wife worked in Cyprus for five years and returned recently. Their son is eleven years old. Everything in the apartment burned that night. Nothing could be salvaged – including all the items purchased using the money earned during the wife’s time in Cyprus. This includes a refrigerator, a washing machine, furniture and other items.

Interviews conducted the morning following the fire with floor residents, relatives of the apartment occupants and others in the building raised several issues of concern. It is also worth noting that several of these issues have been consistently raised by the Centre for Policy Alternatives (See reports from April 2014, May 2015, November 2016, and January 2017) and other civil society actors over the last three years with the Urban Development Authority with no indication of any of them being addressed.

1. No smoke detectors in the UDA complexes – None of the complexes have smoke detectors or alarms, either in the apartments or in public spaces like corridors or staircases. Residents said that they did not know there was a fire until people in the adjacent building (Sahaspura) started shouting. Some residents when interviewed said that they did not know why people were shouting and running downstairs and assumed it was a fight taking place. There are alarms fixed at the top of every staircase on each floor, but residents said no alarms went off that night.
2. Building maintenance issues – The breakdown of facilities in the UDA buildings has been consistently raised over the years, but no measures have been taken to address them. Most elevators in the buildings are broken. Some compartments where fire extinguishers and hoses are kept have been vandalised. However on the night of the fire, residents said that the fire hose on the fifth floor did not work and there was no water. Some residents attempted to put the fire out by bringing fire extinguishers from other floors or by using buckets of water, with no success. The fire raged on for more than one hour.
3. No prior evacuation training – Sirisara Uyana is a building that spans 12 floors. More than 1000 families living in 780 apartments call it home. Residents said that they have never participated in a fire drill or evacuation since they moved in in 2014 and that Thursday night was the first time they had to leave the building in this way. They reported that the evacuation itself went well and people helped each other. However, a resident of the fifth floor said that not everyone evacuated and in addition to the people who tried to put out the fire, the floor was packed with people who wanted to watch. When the fire brigade did arrive more than one hour later they were delayed in reaching the apartment as they could not make their way through the crowd gathered. Considering the cracks on the walls and floor that have appeared in the apartments adjoining the affected apartment, as well as cracks on the apartments directly below and above, it is evident that people were not aware of the danger of continuing to occupy a burning building.
4. Lack of support for people with disabilities – Apartments on the ground floor not being assigned to people with disabilities is a key issue that has been raised for years. A wheelchair-bound resident who lives on the second floor said she was undecided as to whether she should go downstairs or not as she did not know why people were evacuating. Finally two young men that she had never met before had offered to carry her down and then, back upstairs when it was safe to go return to the building. We have met other disabled persons as well as elderly people with various ailments, including cardiovascular disease, who had been assigned apartments on top level floors across many of the UDA buildings in Colombo.
5. Delay in fire brigade reaching Sirisara Uyana – Residents reported that it took more than one hour for the fire brigade to reach Dematagoda. One lady reported that she had made several calls while the fire brigade was en route. She was curtly told by the operator that the fire brigade would reach there soon and that perhaps the residents should learn to look after their apartments better. This speaks to the attitude officials have towards the working class poor of Colombo and the petty tyrannies faced by them at the hands of authorities.

Moving forward, there are some key issues the UDA needs to address. For years, residents have been complaining about the quality of the apartment complex with visible cracks appearing on the outer walls as well as inside apartments. This fire has only intensified the fear among residents, about how livable and safe these high-rises are in the long run. The disconnect between the residents and their built environment is evident in the badly kept public spaces and vandalism that takes place. By continuing to blame the residents for the state of the buildings and therefore not maintaining them, the UDA continues to create vertical slums.

The UDA must address the lived realities of the residents, take into consideration the involuntary nature of their move to the apartments and take measures to rectify their relationship with the affected people in order to avoid the current situation going from bad to worse. An assessment of the buildings must be done to ensure that the apartments are compliant with building standards. Awareness meetings must be conducted in order to inform residents as well answer questions they have about the building as well. Not only is it problematic that the UDA continues to see densification as the only way to house the working class poor (by the time of completion of the Urban Regeneration Project, 65,000 families will be living in one of these apartments), that basic standards are not being met despite residents’ continuous complaints is equally problematic. While their homes in the “wattes” may not have not had smoke detectors, they also did not have to run 12 floors downstairs along with 1000 other people in an emergency.

The standards, including on building compliance, maintained for the construction of prime ‘seven star luxury’ or ‘world-class-living’ apartments in other parts of Colombo (a few of them, ironically, built on land that some of the relocated apartment dwellers used to live on) must be applied to the working class poor of Colombo as well. We are lucky that lives were not lost that night due to the fire and we hope that it does not take the loss of a life, or a situation like the Grenfell Tower fire for the UDA to act.
For more information on evictions and forced relocations in Colombo, visit the Right To The City Sri Lanka initiative.
Editor’s Note: Also read “Evicted Under the World Bank’s Watch” and “The Meethotamulla tragedy: The face not fear of development“

Communal riots and the usual search for scapegoats

“All our silences in the face of racist assault are acts of complicity”- Bell Hooks, Killing Rage: Ending Racism

2018-03-21

In the aftermath of the Digana incidents, there were various programmes on visual media where the clergy from all communities, Muslim and Buddhist in particular, made appeals from their respective followers to exercise calm and restraint in the circumstances. Phrases like ‘the Sri Lankan identity,’ ‘sons of Mother Lanka’ and ‘harmonious living’ were bandied about in abundance. According to them, it was a simple matter of the clashing communities suddenly remembering they are all Sri Lankans, sons and daughters of Mother Lanka and living in harmony; a few who could not comprehend this causing mayhem. 

Simmering Underneath the Surface

I wish it was so simple; I wish the rioters from both sides would pay heed to the counsel of their leaders and realise the folly they are engaged in. I am afraid that is not the case. The communal hatred and tension that flares up in violence leading to murder, assault, looting, arsonry and threats are merely expressions of a deep-rooted, racial and communal bigotry that simmers underneath the surface. The social media that has fallen into the hands of elements who are not good exponents either of society or media, has contributed to the explosion of incendiary hate speeches. Yet, that too has not appeared overnight. Casual observation would have revealed that social websites were increasingly being inundated with outrageous expressions of racial bigotry, particularly aimed at Muslims. 

Came the 2014 Aluthgama riots, the wide margins of tolerance towards Sinhala racist elements on the part of the then government was all clear to see

When the government forces were warring against the LTTE and even after, it was the mantra of the Sinhala official media that it was not a war waged against the Tamils. But take a random example of social media conversations based on incidents like the death of Prabhakaran, fall of Kilinochchi or claims of war crimes. They fall nothing short of expression of utter hatred towards each other between the two communities. Present as well as the previous regime, which were quick to ban websites and online news portals criticizing them, were oblivious to this danger that was lurking online to the harmony, security and peace of the country. Either that or they were direct or indirect beneficiaries of hate speech in that they saw political mileage in the arousement of basic instincts of parts of the populace. 

Looking the other way

Post independent local history is replete with periodical communal riots that remain as black spots in the national psyche among the three communities; 1958, 1977,1983, 2014 and now 2018, the latest! The sum total has brought the country to the verge of disintegration based on communal and sectarian lines. 

Came the 2014 Aluthgama riots, the wide margins of tolerance towards Sinhala racist elements on the part of the then government was all clear to see. Hardly any perpetrator was taken to task and an attempt to whitewash the gravity of the brutality of the mayhem caused ultimately was one of the factors that contributed to the defeat of the Rajapaksa regime. The minority vote, if not 100% was predominantly against the regime. Just as the Black July made a split in the Sri Lankan society that has not yet been repaired even after the cessation of the thirty-year war, 2014 was a very clear fault line in Sinhala-Muslim relations which is now showing signs of deepening. 

As always, we console ourselves with tales of the extremist few in either community who engage in this type of mischief. Hardly any soul searching is carried out in earnest. Propping the clergy on television to preach harmonious living and having calendar pages in January with children from all communities dressed in their national costumes hardly improves harmonious living. Admittedly, Sri Lankans do not take part in pogroms or ethnic cleansing in the classical sense; yet that is not necessarily an indicator of immunity from racial bigotry in our minds. In ordinary and mundane things as marriage, business and place of residence, a Sinhala supremacist attitude is common. If we were all ‘children of Mother Lanka’ a Sinhala Buddhist mother would have no issue with her daughter marrying a Muslim youth from Walachchena; conversely a Hindu Tamil would not shudder at being proposed to a Buddhist from Matara. But we know things are not that rosy. 

There are politicians who use these for political mileage and others who are by nature ethno-religious bigots

The Islamophobia that seems to have permeated some segments of the Sinhala society does not seem to be based on rational or tempered evaluation; for that matter, no racist sentiment ever is. That is what it is; a sentiment, one at the base plateau of the human being that could be whipped up more easily than any other such sentiment. Such base instincts are not uncommon even among developed civilizations and refined individuals; yet what stands out is the instant flaring up of violent and heated action that crystallizes into acts of assault, arson, intimidation and rioting. The difference is that there are politicians who use these for political mileage and others who are by nature ethno-religious bigots. 

Sins of omission by the State

Communal rioters have the assurance of past examples where no action has been taken by the State to punish them, Black July being the glaring example. The legacy of impunity they enjoy encourages more such elements to have a free reign in situations of anarchy. As always, the lethargic and lacklustre response of the police and the security apparatus is mind-boggling. There always seems to be that reluctance to act swiftly and decisively when members of the majority ethno-religious block take the law into their hands. Racists do not need active or positive support from the authorities to get emboldened; lack of punitive action is all they need. That, in fact, is more than enough support and even a casual word by a political leader in playing down the gravity of such rioting is sufficient to send a green signal to them. 

As always, a scapegoat was found in the social media and online groups which led to the banning of social websites such as facebook, twitter and whatsapp; no evidence has surfaced that any of the rioters were egged on by what they saw or read online. Rather it all seemed premeditated and a result of a very tense relationship the two communities have had in the recent past. None of the more violent riots of the past has been due to social media as there was no such thing until very recently. Hate speech, whether online or off, is just a symptom of a deep-rooted bigotry that has existed over generations; suppressing the symptom is no cure to those entrenched evils. 

Spectators and cheerleaders 

As far as I am concerned, and as I have written in this column before, the most disturbing part of the whole episode is not the brutality or violence committed by the rioters of either community, but the indifference of the many who were not part of it. 
Were the non-rioting majority mere spectators or were they cheer leaders?   

Strong brands can sustain shocks!

Over 6,000 people have been killed in Thailand due to bombings and explosions but yet the country attracts record tourists into the country 

 Thursday, 22 March 2018

The recent media highlighted the impact of communal violence on the tourism industry. The press conference earlier this week threw out a number as high as 10% whilst the actual cancellation was around 500 room nights around the Kandy vicinity was reported.

Whilst the actual impact will be seen in the near future, the incidents sure shocked the industry and took their minds back to the time when curfew was a daily occurrence prior to 2009. The blackout of Facebook and WhatsApp did not help the cause too. Whilst there can be merit for this decision internally, from a crisis management perspective it was against the grail.


Thailand – over 600 killed 

From a marketer’s point of view, we come with the experience that if our brands are strong it can withstand any shocks that the environment throws out. From a tourism industry view we can take the case in point of Thailand.

The country attracts almost 30 million visitors a year, but if we Google Thailand security, the news is startling. Over 6,000 people have been killed since 2004.  If we take the near future, in 2015 the bombings inside the Eswaran Shrine killed 20 people and injured almost 200 people. In 2016, two bombs exploded in the tourism town of Hua Hin. One person died with 23 injured that included tourists. Last year a pipe bomb ripped a crowded street leaving 25 critically injured. On 22 January a motorcycle bomb exploded killing three people and dozens injured. If we take the press release of yesterday by the foreign office the wording is very clear: ‘Extreme caution must be made when travelling in Thailand as civil unrest, eminent terrorism attacks can be prevalent including Bangkok and places of highlight.’

But the question which is important to us in Sri Lanka is, how does Thailand attract 30 million visitors into the country with so many issues highlighted by the media?


Best practice 

The logic goes back to basics of human behaviour. If the positive stories that come out of a destination is higher as a share of voice (SOV) as against the negative vibes, then the attitude formation is more positively biased to the country. This leads to stronger behaviour such as more visits into the country. This is essential the reality of Thailand tourism.


Five strategies of TAT

If we track back to the strong equity of Thailand tourism, from a mere 81,000 visitors in 1960 today, there is over a 30 million coming into the country. Sri Lanka had around 19,000 tourists way back in 1966 whilst today we attract around two million. The question is, what has Thailand tourism done to develop such a strong brand globally with all the issues that have challenged this brand such as the 6,000 killings in the last 14 years?

The thinking is simple. Thailand Authority of Tourism (TAT) wants to be a top five destination to visit in Asia. This has a four-pronged strategy;

1) Develop infrastructure and logistics which link domestic tourism with international.

2) Develop and rehabilitate tourism sites and introduce clear guidelines which will enhance the countries potential for accommodating increased tourism.

3) Development of the creative economy with new products and services.

4) Keep the brand salience high and contemporary with the changing competitor landscape.


Building brand equity

– SL example

If we track back to the strong brands in the market, a clear thread that connects the best practice is ‘have a set of values around the brand’ and thereafter sustain this in the communication strategy over time, the logic being a clear identity in the market place. The stronger the coherence of the communication campaigns, the stronger the brand. This is the strength that helps a brand absorb any shocks that it faces in reality.

A classic example is the Fonterra brand Newdale in Sri Lanka. Even with all the issues it faced a few years ago on the product element, it was able to take the hit and bounce back quickly to win consumer demand pull from Sri Lankan housewives. This is the benefit of driving strong brand building.


Thailand model 

If we track back on the brand building initiatives of Thailand, way back in 1980 Thailand launched its first-ever tourism campaign. It was called ‘Visit Thailand Year’. The campaign attracted two million tourists and made the industry the number one foreign exchange earner.

Once again in 1987, the campaign ‘Visit Thailand’ was relaunched to mark the 60th birthday of King Bhumibhol Adulyadej. It was once again made a strong impact on awareness and share of mind that attracted 3.4 million visitors as against the 2.8 million a year ago.

In 1998-’99, the world saw the launch of one of the best destination marketing campaigns themed ‘Amazing Thailand’ together with a strong private-public partnership. The campaign coincided with the 72nd birthday of King Bhumibhol Adulyadej and it was linked to the recovery process of the 1997 Asian currency crisis. The impact was significant with tourist arrivals crossing 8.5 million in number.

Thereafter in 2003 came the creative ‘Unseen Thailand’ which was a partnership project with Association of Thai Travel Agents, The Thai Hotels Association as well as Thai Airways. This was aimed at building a positivity post the SATS virus epidemic. Even though the industry numbers dropped by almost 10% the arrivals reached a number of 10 million which shows that strong brands can withstand shocks from the market.

In 2006, millions of people worldwide had the chance to witness Thailand’s many spectacles associated with the Royals. This included the Royal Barge Procession and the global communication campaign ‘Thailand Grand Invitation’. The year-long celebration attracted a record 13.8 million visitors into the country.

In 2007, with the celebration of the 80th birthday of King Bhumibhol Adulyadej, Thailand launched the campaign ‘Thailand Talk to the World’. The share of voice was able to attract 14.4 million tourists into the country which was an interesting dimension of simple communication creatively executed on a central theme.

Year 2010 saw the celebration of Thailand Tourism’s golden jubilee. The communication campaign was branded ‘Amazing Thailand Always Amazes You’. It was aimed at attracting visitors who have come to Thailand to once again come back to the country. It was a record breaking year with number crossing 22 million travellers by 2012.

By 2014, the Thailand Authority for Tourism had to move to communication based on a new insights that people make the difference in making an experience novel to a traveller. The campaign was themed ‘Amazing Thailand – It Begins with the People’. Even though the target was 26 million travellers, Thailand ended the year at 24.7 million at a growth of 19.6% as against the previous year, which was another record performance.

In 2015, Thailand did not rest on its laurels but launched another campaign called ‘Discover Thainess’. It included traditions and beliefs. Also included was Thai boxing and Wai kru dance as a way of life that helped get attention of the global traveller. The objective been to give a rub off the ‘Thainess’ feel to the world that was well received. The year ended at 29 million visitors. Year 2016 saw the launch of the ‘Quality Leisure Destination Thainess’ year where the focus was to promote Thailand as a ‘Quality Leisure Destination through Thainess’ where the Unique Selling Proposition (USP) was the Thainess campaign. The numbers shot up to 32 million and 2017 ended at an amazing 35 million, a feat which explains the power of the brand Thai Tourism even with all the issues faced with arson attacks, bombings and explosions that have killed over 6,000 people that includes tourists.


Next steps – SL

Whilst Sri Lanka is yet grappling to launch a global marketing campaign since 2015, the numbers have crossed from 0.5 million travellers to 2.01 million even with a positive environment. In my view, it is not the numbers but the quality of the tourists that matters, the logic being that the room-stock is increasing daily whilst the cost of living is increasing disproportionately and the industry is challenged to keep the brand alive.

The Thailand story is an example of how a strong brand can absorb the shocks that the environment throws out and also generate the footfall on tourism.

(The writer is a business personality and Board Director in the private and public sectors of Sri Lanka and former Chairman of Sri Lanka Tourism and Sri Lanka Export Development Board. He is an alumnus of Harvard Executive Education.)

On Sexual Harassment and the Portrayal of Women in Corporate Advertising

Featured image courtesy Global Press Journal

ANONYMOUS-03/18/2018

It certainly was a good Women’s Day this year, when I read on Groundviews about two very brave women who related their experiences of sexual harassment, one in the public service sector here and the other at one of the country’s top garment manufacturers/exporters (8 and 9 March 2018).

It is to be hoped that more people will write in their stories, using anonymity if necessary ‒ as I must in this brief post.

I cannot speak to the public service sector here, having few friends who are so employed and with no such experience myself. Nor have I ever worked for a garment manufacturer. But this is not important: the experiences are so similar, whatever the sector.

It is understandable that names of the workplaces were not given, and this is in no way a complaint against that: a person who experiences such harassment is herself or himself able to deem what is most appropriate.

Still, after reading about the garment company, I looked at the websites of two of Sri Lanka’s largest such companies, just to see what they looked like visually, and in light of their market focus, pitched towards the foreign companies that they produce apparel for. Both websites’ homepages use the technique of a scrolling slideshow of photos. Here is a brief description of the photos themselves:
Company A

1. A fair woman (ethnicity unclear) in black lingerie, looking away
2. A young man of unclear origin in sports clothes and intently competing in high hurdles
3. A white woman in a yellow bikini, smiling and holding a surfboard by the beach
4. A fair, female dancer, dressed in a ribbon-like costume
5. A fair woman, perhaps of mixed ethnicity amid a swirl of butterflies, using her own hands to cover her breasts, with a dreamy faraway look
6. A serious Sri Lankan cricketer (man)

Company B

1. A white woman in a black bra lying on her back. The photo is of a close up view as she looks right into the camera
2. Two men (ethnicity unclear) viewed from mid-range with backs to camera, holding hands and jumping in the air in a grassy field as if having fun, and wearing long shorts and white t-shirts
3. Woman, light-skinned, of perhaps mixed ethnicity, in red, white and blue striped underwear and a red strappy top, close up, lying down on her side and looking directly into the camera
4. Two men and one woman, white, laughing, the guys bare bodied and the woman in a white top, playing with a water hose
5. Shot from behind of a topless white woman, pulling down one side of her jeans to show underwear (perhaps a G-string)
6. A white woman in a yoga pose, wearing long black pants and sleeveless white top
7. A fair woman, lying on her stomach, wearing red bra and red underwear, with her head turned slightly up and smiling

No doubt, the companies have determined that such images appeal to the clientele of this website ‒ images that that sort of people like to see, and images that by now can even be termed banal in their pervasiveness.

But with all the photos out there to choose from, and the fact that garments are now sold to a truly multiethnic public of manufacturers and buyers all over the world ‒ even if a country may be seen to be largely white ‒ the choice seems to truly reflect deep-seated biases of the usual sort. It is interesting to note that

‒ The men are doing serious sports or having innocent fun;

‒ The women are rarely serious (and the serious ones are fully clothed) with the others looking deliberately sensuous or provocative

‒ The predominance of white people portrayed in these ads, and the view of the women among them, in a country where few actually reside, points to blatant prejudice and sexism.

Why don’t these local companies use photos of very beautiful women from their own ethnic communities? Or aim to show how multiethnic Sri Lanka is?

In the end, the companies highlighted here are committing the ‘worst’ mistake of all (in the business world): they engage in bad business practice, in a quickly changing society, where old ways of portrayal are often seen as crude, self-centred and tacky, and by potential investors and buyers as potentially a reason to go somewhere else ‒ or, at the least, make one wonder what policies the companies actually have in place to combat the harassment of women and men.

As the two women authors to Groundviews have shown, and despite company declarations, there often is no policy on this, except to turn away and enable the harasser, which, in the wide world outside of business, looks like what it actually is: at the least, cowardice; at the worst, collusion.

Editor’s Note: Also read the articles referenced here, “Change is not Courage in a Boy’s Club” and “A Hellish Year: Misogyny in the Public Service Sector“. 

Bearing witness to Israel’s crimes

A Palestinian boy watches a bulldozer clearing land for Israel’s wall surrounding the West Bank village of al-Walaja, September 2011.Ryan Rodrick BeilerActiveStills

Richard Irvine-20 March 2018

Israel has expropriated a natural spring in the occupied West Bank village of al-Walaja, making off-limits a site long used by Palestinian residents for picnicking and swimming.

I have only been to al-Walaja twice. On the first occasion, in 2006, I was a volunteer with the YMCA of Palestine, helping to harvest olives from fields that al-Walaja’s Palestinian farmers could no longer access without threat of arrest or worse due to their proximity to Israeli settlements.

On that occasion two soldiers from the Israeli army turned up. They were pleasant; they seemed amused at our presence – eccentric foreigner “do-gooders” come to help the undeserving. They stayed but 20 minutes and left with a smile and a laugh.

A week later the fields we had harvested were declared a “closed military zone” by arbitrary edict of the occupation. No one, except those who could obtain an authorized military permit, could now access them.

Effectively, the farmer we had helped with the harvest had his lands seized because we had helped him. The unofficial policy of keeping him off his lands was formalized into an official policy of keeping him off his lands.

Peaceful protest met with violence

The second occasion I was in al-Walaja had a similar outcome. In 2009, I, with other volunteers, attended a lone farmer’s protest at the checkpoint on the nearby bypass road built for the use of Israeli settlers. We, as internationals, were only there to observe, not participate.

The protest consisted of a Palestinian farmer whose lands were on the other side of the bypass road and who thus could no longer access them; three other Palestinians from the village, and maybe 10 Israelis from Anarchists Against the Wall.

It was a Friday afternoon and for 10 minutes this group stood alongside Highway 60 holding baskets of olives and grapes, a Palestinian flag and a couple of protest signs.

The vast majority of motorists – Israelis heading home for Shabbat – ignored them, or gazed at them as one would an unpleasant looking insect: harmless but unsavory.

The Israeli army, young conscripts mostly, stood amidst the protest, almost doubling its size. They lacked orders and peace reigned. Then the Israeli Border Police turned up.

The Palestinian farmer was brutally and without warning beaten unconscious; the lead protesters from Anarchists Against the Wall arrested. And now lying prone on the ground the police sought to carry off the farmer.

As a group we internationals protested. Some shielding the farmer, others remonstrating with the officer. Cameras recording, the police hesitated; a Red Crescent ambulance arrived. Against police wishes, the farmer – still unconscious – was hastily got into the back of it. And me too.

I went unwillingly – no hero me – pressed into it by the urgency of a plea from an accompanying Palestinian that some “international” must go too or the army would simply pull the farmer from the vehicle at the next checkpoint.

We sped off. We did not go far. Perhaps half a mile up the road and round a bend a group of Palestinian men from the village waved us down. The doors were flung open and the prone farmer removed; lifted on the soldiers of his fellow villagers he was carried off across the fields. I can still view them now running and stumbling over the uneven ground. And then I was alone.

Shocking

I was shocked – violence, especially unprovoked, gratuitous and sadistic violence always does that to me. A passing Palestinian woman asked me in perfect English what had happened. I told her – she shrugged and continued on her way. What was shocking to me, was normal to her.

Later I heard the farmer had been taken to hospital by his friends – a little concussion and a broken collarbone the sole consequences of his daring to highlight the loss of his lands.

A Palestinian friend thanked me for what I did. Six months in prison, he suggested, was the likely outcome the farmer had faced – and yet I did nothing but be there. I was only a witness.

And yet to witness a crime; to feel the sorrow and shock of it; to feel the shame of culpable injustice – maybe that is something. Maybe it is not. Maybe it is just to be present in Palestine.

Richard Irvine teaches the Israel-Palestine Conflict at Queen’s University Belfast, has taught in UNRWA schools in Lebanon, and has participated in activism in Palestine. He was formerly Education Officer with the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign.

Ahed Tamimi agrees to plea deal, to serve eight months: Reports

Palestinian teenager has been sentenced to eight months for slapping an Israeli soldier

Seventeen-year-old Palestinian Ahed Tamimi has accepted a plea deal, according to Israeli media (AFP)

Wednesday 21 March 2018 

A Palestinian teenage girl on trial for slapping an Israeli soldier accepted a plea deal on Wednesday under which she will be sentenced to eight months in prison, Israel's Haaretz news website said.

Ahed Tamimi's lawyer was not immediately available to comment. The attorney told Reuters earlier that a plea bargain over the December incident, which turned Tamimi into a hero to Palestinians, had been offered by military prosecutors.

Her trial began last month, behind closed doors, and she faced 12 charges, including aggravated assault.

Tamimi has spent four months in administrative detention so far.

The Israeli military court where Ahed Tamimi is being tried had not yet decided on whether to accept the agreement reached with prosecutors, lawyer Gaby Lasky told AFP.

Tamimi was 16 at the time of the December incident. She has since turned 17. 

Her sentence would include time served and a fine of 5,000 shekels ($1,430, 1,166 euros), said Lasky, meaning she could be released in the summer.

She would plead guilty to only four of the 12 charges against her under the agreement, including assault, incitement and two counts of obstructing soldiers, Lasky said.

Lasky however said she only planned to present the plea bargain to the military court if it first accepts an agreement with Tamimi's mother, Nariman Tamimi.

A plea deal for Nariman Tamimi would also be for eight months in jail including time served, she said.

The court was expected to decide on the matter later Wednesday, according to Lasky.

Global attention 

Israeli journalist Asaf Ronel, the editor of the newspaper's foreign desk, tweeted that in comparison, Elor Azaria, the Israeli soldier convicted of manslaughter after shooting dead an incapacitated Palestinian at close range, will serve a total of nine months when he is released later this year. 

The case drew global attention. Amnesty International called Tamimi the "Rosa Parks of Palestine", and the small courtroom was often packed with journalists, diplomats and international observers during hearings, during which Tamimi was led into court in shackles.

A group of American cultural figures, including actors Danny Glover and Rosario Dawson and novelist Alice Walker, signed a petition calling for her release and comparing her case to those of “the children of immigrants and communities of color who face police brutality in the United States”. 

The Israeli military was keen for the trial to end, according to Haaretz, due to the negative coverage the army was getting in international media.