PM RESOLUTE ON REFORMS, TRANSITIONAL JUSTICE - MANGALA

Thursday, April 5, 2018 - 01:03-Disna Mudalige-Camelia Nathaniel and Amali Mallawaarachchi

Finance and Mass Media Minister Mangala Samaraweera yesterday in Parliament pledged to show clear progress on Constitutional reforms and the transitional justice process within this year. Taking part in the debate of the No-Confidence Motion (NCM) against Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe in Parliament yesterday, Samaraweera said Wickremesinghe personally gave leadership to Constitutional reforms and transitional justice process with vigour and dedication.

“The initial drafts of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) are now with the Prime Minister. We will present them to the Cabinet and Parliament this year. The legislation pertaining to the Reparation Unit is also being finalized now. The Office of Missing Persons (OMP) has been established and our Ministry allocated Rs 1.3 billion to operationalise it,” the minister said.

The minister, observing that PM Wickremesinghe gave leadership to Constitutional reforms following the setting up of Constitutional Assembly on January 8, 2016, made an appeal to him to “expedite the process and table the draft Constitutional Bill as early as possible this year”.

Commenting on the content of the NCM of the Joint Opposition, the minister said new laws would be brought in soon to take over the frozen Perpetual Treasuries assets to the State. “We will not let the bond issue cause any loss to the Government. Unlike in this case, nobody has been held accountable for the Trillions of Rupees that had gone missing when Ajith Nivard Cabraal was the Central Bank Governor and when former President Mahinda Rajapaksa was the Finance Minister,” he stressed.

“Soon after the August 2015 election, Wickremesinghe told Malik Samarawickrama and me that the JVP MPs must be appointed as Chairmen of Parliamentary Watchdog Committees. Had we come to power with the intent of cheating public money, this would not have been done,” the minister commented stating that the NCM was an attempt to drive the country backwards.

The minister at the onset of his speech reminded how posters were pasted all over the country ahead of the Presidential Elections in 1999 carrying the slogan “Ranilta be” (Ranil can’t). “We did this poster campaign knowing that the biggest challenge to our candidate Chandrika Kumaratunga was Ranil Wickremesinghe. If we actually believed that ‘he can’t’ we would not have had to spend millions of Rupees for such a poster campaign. Now about 20 years down the line, an NCM has been presented against him because he is the biggest political challenge for the Opposition,” he added.

The minister said the NCM was the first step of a sinister political conspiracy, adding that it has been a flop even from the start. The minister also reminded the House how PM Wickremesinghe was selfless in agreeing to make Maithripala Sirisena the common candidate at the January 8, 2015 elections. “Becoming a Presidential Candidate from either of the two main parties is a significant gain. This was said to me by none other than former President Mahinda Rajapaksa prior to the 2005 Presidential polls. He was referring to the money one receives from various donors when contesting the Presidential elections. ‘Win or lose the elections, you will still be a winner’, he told me,” Samaraweera recollected quoting former President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

Social Media is only a Tool

  

2018-04-05

In an interview with the Daily Mirror Ambika Satkunanathan, one of the Commissioners at the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka said that social media is only a tool that is used to incite hatred or violence and that it isn’t the cause of hatred or violence. She said that when impunity isn’t addressed perpetrators are emboldened as a result of which they continue to commit such offences. Therefore, she stressed that in order to prevent the recurrence of such acts perpetrators should be held accountable.

Social Media is only a Tool.docx by Thavam on Scribd

Sri Lanka Continues to Deceive UN Human Rights Council : TGTE’s Response to the Statement by Sri Lankan Foreign Minister

The Elephant in the Room in Foreign Minister’s speech was the Complete Omission of Accountability.

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND, April 4, 2018 /EINPresswire.com/ --
Executive Summary

The Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam (TGTE) issued a response to the Sri Lanka Foreign Minister’s address to the 37th Session of the UN Human Rights Council, as it has been doing since 2015.

In the response, the TGTE first addressed the Sri Lankan Foreign Minister’s stated “achievements” and pointed out the corresponding facts on the ground in relation to each of those. The response demonstrates that the Foreign Minister’s speech was marked by duplicity and a number of promises yet again, in addition to the promises made in the Universal Periodic Review. It is the opinion of the TGTE that if words of commitment are diplomacy’s currency, then the international community must finally come to terms with the fact that the Sri Lanka’s diplomatic currency has been grossly devalued to the point of approaching bankruptcy. The Response points out that the elephant in the room in Foreign Minister’s speech was the complete omission of accountability.

Sri Lanka Continues to Deceive UN Human Rights Council TGTE’s Response to the Statement by Sri Lankan Fore... by Thavam on Scribd

Pen still not mightier than the sword of cheap political talk

Thursday, 5 April 2018

Today, 5 April, as I write, my heart is strangely still at peace since the same time last year. Not because justice has been done… or even looks remotely like it will ever be done in a singular landmark killing on our once war-torn landscape. But because the heart has its own reasons (of which reasons knows nothing).

In the case which might stand forever unsolved on Sri Lanka’s postwar mediascape, no prosecutions have ensued although egregious progress has been made. (By egregious, one can mean ‘excellently good’ or interpret it as ‘excruciatingly bad’.) However, until the allegedly widely-known killers – the court proceedings refer to “orders from above” which if not carried out could lead to the death of a policeman – are identified conclusively, the case remains tantalising open like a Pandora’s Box. Not concluded beyond the mere court of public opinion, but brought to trial and justice executed.

Same time, last year, just noting a comment made on a social media platform by a perennial faithful of Lasantha Wickrematunge’s brought a lump to the throat. Because, behind the forensic scene and clinical arena of sullied politics, hearts still bleed. I couldn’t have said it with more poignancy to capture the panache of the man or the pathetic fallacy that Good Governance would lay his ghost to rest in their incumbency.

Our bureaucratic approach to law and order when big names are allegedly complicit is only bested by the foot-dragging of the IGP and AG’s Dept. when it is clear they fear a few masked men or favour some as yet unmasked ones. Be that as it may, I come not to unbury the dead or chastise Caesar’s men, whichever Caesar you may take that to mean – for there are past dictators and present dicks queuing up to inherit the purple – but to praise the loyalty of the living breathing souls left behind in the morass that Govt. has descended into.

Here is what that loyal scribe (who’s now gone on to reach editorial rank herself) had to say in remembrance of her first – for her, unforgettable – boss… “Happy birthday, Lasantha [and a heart icon underlines a point about pathos] – remembering you with much love, as always. Hope you’re dancing the baila and making some prank calls [heart icon, birthday cake icon, smiley face brave ethos to supply logos]”. Ditto from us, o deputy editor cum chief sub: our likeminded tribe of loyalists far and wide hasn’t forgotten him, either; even if everyone else who rode to power on his dead back has chosen not to remember or let it pass…

However, the time for maudlin reminiscences is far gone, like the long spent day of Good Governance. The sun of hope that justice will be done in the lifespan of this administration is rapidly westering. Bother those who feel it has already set! Bless those in whom the earnest yearning for justice still lingers in the face of mounting evidence that it will come to nothing in the end – like the Norse gods who valiantly prevailed in the face of certain doom…

No! This column – and the cause it champions, inter alia – must be made of sterner stuff. No more lachrymose reflections. The man whose birth his friends, families, and fans remember today would have wanted it no other way. There is more injustice in the prevalent milieu than the unsolved murder mystery of an iconic editor who stung successive governments in the flank like an incorrigible gadfly. That for every Lasantha – and Keith Noyahr and Prageeth Ekneligoda and Taraki alias Sivaram (or even Richard de Zoya; anyone remember him?) as well as countless, nameless, faceless, not-so-famous others – there are myriad cases of abductions and assassinations goes without saying. The pity of the matter is that it also goes without doing, sans passionate but clinically professional investigations that are transparent to the public. There seems no impending closure for the curious, the conflicted, the afflicted. Thus killing the bird of realpolitik with the stone of media advocacy, and voicing the hurt of a lost generation until the wounds heal… these remain the task of a conscientized civil society.

With that said, there are diverse (strikingly variant) complex strands of thought on the ramifications of the case. That this is the norm in a hybrid political culture where the good, the bad, and the ugly intertwine like a trinity of serpents – some harmless like rat-snakes, others less so – will be cold comfort to those who grieve for loved ones gone… and groan for justice yet to come. Here is a triad of the dominant discourses as regards the not-so accidental death of a sociopolitical anarchist.


It was SINISTER 

(but necessary/useful)

There is a disconcertingly growing number of otherwise sensible citizens who would argue that the needs of the many in a Sri Lanka poised on the cusp of war victory outweighed the needs of the one. Their rationale is that while a free media is necessary in a time of peace, it was a luxury during the long-drawn-out war. That a gadfly who was inimical to the national interest as it was perceived then had to be taken out at the juncture that he was is par for the course in the safeguarding of the republic’s security and sovereignty. The role he played and service he rendered had been weighed in the balance and found wanting. Those who would excuse the then powers that be for acting with alacrity in assassinating a personal nuisance and a public menace – as those with vested interests would perceive it or him – would encourage the present thrones and dominions not to take too lofty a view of a resuscitated democracy’s duty to right past wrongs. It’s live and let die all over again. The war’s over. No harm done with damaging revelations. Let’s all move on.

(This is a PRAGMATIC view… Its proponents are to be found among nationalists, national-minded defenders of concepts such as sovereignty of the state and government’s prerogatives in expediting national security ruthlessly, and those with vested interests in keeping the wheels of commerce and corruption rolling smoothly even under a new dispensation. Their numbers are growing as the caravan moves on, and a new generation of Sri Lankans declares for a Lethe-like forgetfulness.)


It was STUPID 

(a waste then, or now)

There is still albeit a diminishing number of law-abiding and legal-recourse expecting citizens who wait in trust, expecting that the knee-jerk reflex of a regime in the throes of war victory then will be surgically righted by a righteous state now. These include the likes of war widows and wounded offspring, mourners and grievers, media with an axe to grind, tender-minded philosophers in the naïver demographics of the polity. Their aspiration that those surmised to be the commissioners and the killers be brought to book is doomed to be blown to smithereens, while the ambition of those with their sights on protecting some of the culpable remains seated in high places.

Think of a 2017 cartoon in which a former defence secretary and a former army commander play ‘battledore and shuttlecock’ – a deadly game of badminton in which the cock being clinically passed back and forth is savvy bull… Because there is no smoke without fire… And my former friend is my future enemy when frenemies at best fall out for the worst possible reasons.

Though the truth stares the simpleminded appellants in the face, something in human nature pre-empts them for surrendering all hope… Therefore, the stakeholders in the ‘peace with justice’ platform press their case… And naïve, benumbed, dumbstruck, deceived, civil society occasionally conducts a candlelit vigil so that the dear departed won’t be in the dark… in heaven or nirvana.

(This is an IDEALIST view… It fails to take into consideration the demands that realpolitik makes on our emerging ethos of democratic-republicanism. And there are enough and more cynical manipulators to keep the managed spectacle of judicial investigations, exhumations, the law’s delays, the public’s outraged demands, media expectations, fresh developments, unexpected setbacks, ticking over… buying time…)


It was STRATEGIC 

(so let’s be sensible, please!)

While the twin scenarios above can be figments of fancy and may not exist as objective correlatives, the one I’m about to present comes from the lips of a well-placed political interlocutor of the powers that be. He’s sufficiently democratic-republican to be a trusted confidant of the President as much as the Prime Minister. But he’s enough of a subversive to be an outsider with strategic access to the inside. His initial contention is that what is apprehended as a lack of visible progress in arrests being made is merely procedural: the law’s usual and much cited delays, the wheels of justice grinding slowly (but, he says, surely). Upon being pressed, this little-known legislator but much loved champion of good if not great ideas in corporate circles will admit that justice delayed is justice denied; adding for good measure that there is a fair chance that the culprits will not be brought to book in his political shelf life or the lifetime of loved ones left behind.

In the interim, all that conscientized citizens and their spiritually compatible elected representatives can do is reach out to comfort the victims’ families, coax and cajole the law enforcement authorities to expedite the process, and critically engage those functionaries of the State who don’t do their stern duty with sterner admonitions. Of course, this cunctatorial approach of the Attorney-General’s Department, inter alia, betrays wheels within wheels, the deep state as much as the deep fear that to act without fear or favour now is a sure way to secure a political or career-wise Siberia for self in the near future!

(This is a STRATEGIC or even cynical view… It serves those in power. And a subaltern perspective suffers in silence as a result. Where the honest, decent, sincere, genuine, politicos defend the indefensible and adopt a via media wait-and-see approach, there is a perpetuation of the Old Political Culture in which nobody in power or previously in power is ever dealt justice.)


It is SUBVERSIVE 

(so there’s still hope, right?)

If all this is maudlin, forgive me. One is not so blatant as not to know that (despite nil nisi bonum) the late great editor had feet of clay. That he harboured no small political ambitions is well known, even if only among the literati who realise that his posthumous editorial had no little help on this side of the veil. Be it as it may that his reputation among the naïve international community is larger in death as his personality was larger than life before he was invited to shuffle off the mortal coil at brutal gunpoint, let us not to the fond remembrances of true hearts add undue impediments.

While no-confidence motions and their ramifications unfold in the foreground, there will always be a backdrop against which the shenanigans of this tribe of realpolitik-eating politicos – the good, the bad, and the ugly – is mere cannon-fodder for Sri Lanka’s true civil society. Until the truth and the whole truth is out, and justice done, no political party, power or personage – present company of precarious coalition included – can rest on its laurels. Human nature can or will never change; the sooner our governors accept and admit it, the better for Good Governance to regain (if it can) its lost moral high ground.
(The writer is a Journalist | Editor-at-large of LMD | Writer #SpeakingTruthToPower)

(The article above was first published in its essential form a year ago. That it still holds true attributes a less than salutary ethos to the powers that be who play realpolitik games to whom truth is a poison pill.)

Ceylon Teachers Union condemn postponement of May Day events due to Buddhist pressure

04Apr 2018

The Ceylon Teachers Union this week condemned the government's decision to postpone celebrations of May Day due to pressure from Buddhist lobby groups, who argued that May 1st events should be held after the conclusion of Vesak. 

"Ceylon Teachers Union wish to draw your attention to the decision taken by the Sri Lankan government to obstruct the celebrations of International Workers Day on 01st of May 2018, due to the pressure exerted by majority Buddhist lobby groups. Accordingly, the cabinet of ministers have decided to change the date designated for May Day demonstrations and rallies to May 07, 2018," the trade union said in a letter to the International Labour Organization (ILO)'s country director.  

"Announcing this decision the governments affirmed that this decision to interfere in the age old tradition of the workers was taken due to the demand put forward by the leaders of three Buddhist sects in the country. This disturbing decision comes in the wake of anti- Muslim violence in Central Sri Lanka where the government has not taken any effective steps against the extreme Buddhist monks who were seeing inciting violence against ethnic minorities."

"The vast majority of workers in the plantation sector of the island are mainly Tamil Hindus who do not observe Buddhist traditions. Their May Day demonstrations, marches and rallies are mainly held in the hill country where the Sinhala Buddhists have little influence. We strongly believe that workers have an inalienable right to display their organizational strength on the only day reserved for them internationally,
which does not clash in any manner with the right of the Buddhists to observe religious rites."

"The Sirisena – Wickramasinghe unity government resolving to postpone the May Day by only consulting the Buddhist authorities demonstrate a total disregard for the rights of the workers and their trade unions, whose opinions deserve due regard."

When The Person With Sin Casts The First Stone

By Ruvan Weerasinghe –APRIL 4, 2018

Dr. Ruvan Weerasinghe

Today, 4th April 2018, is the date set for the ‘stoning’ of the Prime Minister of this country. Sri Lankans by now have become famous for seeking and finding a scapegoat on whom our troubles can be cast, that somehow magically solves all our problems! That is until we set our sights on another scapegoat.

To be sure, the Prime Minister of this country has indeed succumbed to the error of blindly trusting his friends and then covering up for them. This was clearly evident in the case of the former Governor of the Central Bank and the former Minister of Finance. As such he has indeed lost his credibility to lead the nation, or the party he represents.

The irony is that, this has been the practice in politics of most recent leaders of this nation: the former President and the incumbent included! The problem in the scapegoat-finding trait we have, is that often, once an appropriate scapegoat is found, all the others implicated are forgotten, even forgiven. In the present case, the culpability of the incumbent President in betraying the trust of those behind the Yahapalana movement, is arguably even greater than that of the Prime Minister. And yet it is he, who in more ways than one, who is the architect of the present crisis in government and the No Confidence Motion (NCM).

At a higher level, the main culprit of the present crisis appears to be the complete lack of experience of our political parties in consensual government. Of course it is easier to rule a country if one doesn’t need to consult anyone else. However, that is only appropriate for the mythical ‘benevolent dictator’ that Sri Lanka has never had – nor will have in the current political culture seeped in expediency and corruption. The President is again the main culprit on this front for ‘running to his mother (party)’ when the ‘marriage’ with the ‘other’ started hitting ‘rough ground’. Instead of taking seriously the mandate given by the majority for consensual government, he has utterly disregarded their voice and gone running back to the very faction of his party that the people rejected in 2015. Surely, a single term in consensual government was not too much for the people to ask for?

If the Prime Minister is unfit to lead the country, as he indeed has demonstrated, then neither is the President, who after all is the head of state. He has not only failed the people who elected him, he has also betrayed the party that brought him to power. He has also been the single most responsible person for the ‘break up’ of the Yahapalana government. While the other party has been mostly silent on his misdeeds, he has been very liberal in ‘exposing the faults’ of this coalition partner in public, even before the recently held LG Polls. Though with as much ‘sin’ as his Prime Minister on several fronts, he has chosen to cast the first stone at him, as though it would somehow ‘cleanse’ himself of any blame. Political expediency of the very worst kind!

Ideal Scenario

This then would be the ideal outcome of today’s NCM: the Prime Minister scrapes through to survive the NCM, but is shaken and humbled enough to recognize that he’s lost all credibility of leading the party and the government; the then resigns of his own accord, to make way for a new leadership within the party and the country; the President as a result of this ‘set back’ to his push for the NCM is thereafter no longer held in any esteem in decision making by the new PM.

After this fiasco is out of the way, the country would need to be lifted out of the present mire that the government has brought it to. A new coalition would have just over a year and a half to ‘get their act together’.

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Ranil scuttles no-faith bid

* UNP musters 122 and majority of 46
* JO, 15 SLFP MPs loyal to Prez back motion
* JVP votes against Ranil, flays Rajapaksas
* TNA, SLMC support PM en bloc
* Wijeyadasa, Ranga, Wasantha fall in line
* 25 of Maithri loyalists, Rathana Thera abstain
* SLFP ministers who backed motion won’t resign

April 5, 2018, 1:15 am 

By Saman Indrajith, Rathindra Kuruwita and Revata S Silva

The no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, for his alleged involvement in treasury bond scams and failure to act promptly to contain ethnic violence in Ampara and Kandy, was defeated in Parliament yesterday with a majority of 46 votes.

At the end of a full day debate from 10 am to 9.30 pm Speaker Karu Jayasuriya moved the House for a vote.

The motion against Prime Minister Wickremesinghe received 76 votes in favour and 122 votes against while 26 MPs were absent at the division taken by name. Secretary General of Parliament Dhammika Dassanayake read out the names of 224 MPs (Speaker Jayasuriya not included), and each of them present was asked to state ‘Yes’ or ‘No’. Voting started at 9.30 pm and ended around 10 pm.

The UNF en bloc voted against the motion. But, UNF MP Ven. Rathana Thera was absent. Dissident UNF MP Wijayadasa Rajapaksa voted against the no-faith motion. The minority parties led by Ministers Rauf Hakeem (SLMC), Rishad Bathiudeen (ACMC), Mano Ganesan and P Digambaram (TPA), and the TNA voted against the motion.

The six members of the JVP voted in favour of the motion along with the Joint Opposition MPs.

Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa and his son Namal voted for the motion. The former President did not enter the main chamber of Parliament during the entire debate.

CWC leader Arumugam Thondaman was also a notable absentee.

Government rank SLFP members absent were Mahinda Amaraweera, Sarath Amunugama, Nimal Siripala De Silva, Duminda Dissanayake, Faizer Mustapha, Ranjith Siyambalapitiya, Wijith Wijyamuni Zoysa, Piyasasena Gamage, Mohan Lal Grero, Sriyani Wijewickrama, MALM Hisbullah, AHM Fowzie, Lasantha Alagiyawanna, Manusha Nanayakkara, Nishantha Mutuhettigama, Indika Bandaranayake and Weerakumara Dissanayake.

The UPFA MPs, representing the SLFP, who voted in favour of the motion, were Susil Premajayantha, Dayasiri Jayasekara, Dilan Perera, John Seneviratne, Lakshman Wasantha Perera, Dr Sudarshani Fernandopulle, Tharanath Basnayake, Susantha Punchinilame, Anura Yapa, S B Dissanayake, Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena, Chandima Weerakkody, Anuradha Jayaratne, T. B. Ekanayake and Sumedha Jayasena.

SLFP Ministers who voted against Prime Minister Wickremesinghe told a press conference yesterday evening that the head of the government was President Sirisena and, therefor they would remain in the government. "It is the President who would decide whether we should hold ministerial posts or not. Not the UNP," Minister SB Dissanayake told the media at the Parliament complex, while the debate on the motion was in progress.

Ministers SB Dissanayake, Dayasiri Jayasekera, John Seneviratne, Lakshman Wasantha Perera, Sudarshini Fernandopulle, Tharanath Basnayake, Dilan Perera, Susantha Punchinilame, Anura Priyadarshana Yapa, Susil Premajayantha, Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena, Chanmdima Weerakkody, Sumedha G Jayasena and Anuradha Jayaratne were present at the media briefing.

Opposition Leader R Sampanthan, participating in the debate, on the motion said: "With regard to the Central Bank bond scam, consequent to investigations two persons are in custody and a warrant has been issued against a third person and investigations are in progress. The investigations should be completed as soon as possible and the rule of law should be implemented irrespective of who they are.

"The motion of no confidence seeks to implicate the prime minister with the bond scam. Statements of actions of a general nature are thought to be used in an attempt to implicate the prime minister with the bond scam. The wording of the motion and the timing of the motion are indicative of a pursuit of a political agenda through the motion rather than fixing responsibility with regard to the bond scam. The question must be raised as to why the wording is so weak and lacking in any specific charge against the prime minister pertaining to the bond scam per se. Why should this motion be brought now?

"The wording of the motion is too loose and too general in nature. It could be that the Prime Minister is facing this situation because of the confidence he placed in someone who betrayed him. Where is the evidence or charge against the Prime Minister of involvement in the bond scam per say?  Is the wording of the NCM so loose and so general because of the lack of specific material against the Prime Minister in regard to the bond scam? If that is so, in my submission the motion lacks credibility.

"With regard to the timing of the motion, this bond scam occurred three years ago and it has been the subject of public focus for a long time and why has this motion brought against the PM only now?

This is a plan to bring down, totally and completely, the present government."

Chief Opposition Whip JVP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake: "This is a politically motivated no-confidence motion. Our position on this motion’s vote is being questioned by many. Some even made phone calls and asked whether our vote for the motion against Prime Minister would not make us complicit in the crime of strengthening the Rajapaksa camp. Some others demanded to know from us if we voted against the motion whether that wouldn’t amount to approving and take Prime Minister’s camp wouldn’t it amount to approve the bond scams he and his government worthies committed. We took a decision to vote for the motion against the prime minister. We took that decision after considering the current political situation and its dynamics. On the other hand, this motion is against corruption and racism. The JVP is always against corruption and abhors racism. Viewed from that perspective, too, we have made the right decision.

"The whole world knows that those who accuse the Prime Minister of bond scam, committed similar frauds. Those who say that they have no-confidence in him because of his failure to prevent the spread of racial riots in Kandy district are champions of racism. A simple glance at the list of the names of those who signed the no-faith motion would show you the worst racists. They are more racist than the Prime Minister.

"We hold not only the Prime Minister but also the President responsible for the accusations listed in the no confidence motion.

"The motion would have been complete if it had contained a line stating that there was no confidence in the Premier for his deliberate delaying of the investigations against the Rajapaksas.

"Many of those against whom complaints have been lodged with the Commission to Investigate Bribery and Corruption are ministers of the current government. Some of them are ministers of the previous government and were defeated at the last general elections.

Leader of the House Minister Lakshman Kiriella, participating in the debate, said that the no-confidence motion against the PM had, as its basis, baseless allegations.

He said that the premier was not responsible for any of the allegations mentioned in the motion.

"Every time Wickremesinghe became the PM, he always appointed an opposition MP as the chairperson of the Committee on Public Enterprises. In 2002, he appointed late minister Jeyaraj Fernandopulle as the COPE Chairman. This time, he gave that post to the JVP. He also created parliamentary Oversight Committees and gave chairperson posts to both the government and opposition MPs. It was because he thought that there was nothing to hide. Former Presidents Mahinda Rajapaksa and Chandrika Kumaratunga never did that."

Minister Kiriella said that both the COPE Report and Bond Commission Report had not mentioned the PM was responsible for the Treasury bond scam. Therefore, the motion was invalid, he said.

MEP leader Dinesh Gunawardena, moving the motion said: "There is no confidence in the Prime Minister. Whether the house has confidence in the Prime Minister or not is a very serious issue. Having come into power on January 08, 2015, the government commenced the process of taking over the Central Bank under the purview of the Prime Minister and a Singaporean national was appointed as the Central Bank Governor. There is only one Central Bank in the country and it is a known fact that its Governor has the power to influence the country’s economy. The Central Bank which is traditionally under the Finance Ministry was taken away from the Finance Ministry and placed under the Prime Minister and Mahendran was appointed as the Governor knowing that he would not comply with the country’s financial norms. The Prime Minister recommended the appointment of Mahendran and took the responsibility for it in Parliament."

Gunawardena said that due to the appointment of appointing Arjun Mahendran as the Central Bank Governor, public faith in the country’s foremost financial institution had been eroded. He said it was a conflict of interest to appoint Mahendran who had close ties with Perpetual Treasuries. "Those responsible cannot absolve themselves of their responsibility. Because of this incident, the Finance Minister had to resign from his post. Those responsible cannot be considered innocent."

Gunawardena said that though Mahendran was wanted by the Sri Lankan courts government ministers met him in Singapore.

The motion was submitted to the Speaker by the Joint Opposition on March 21 carrying the signatures of 55 MPs including four SLFP members in the government ranks. The defeat of the motion ended a 14-day-long numbers game.

Yesterday’s motion was the 47th no confidence motion in the Sri Lankan Parliament history and the third against a Prime Minister. Previously, two no-confidence motions had been submitted and taken for vote against PMs SWRD Bandaranaike in 1957 and Sirimavo Bandaranaike in 1975. The government sides defeated both of them.

Sri Lanka: Who will have egg on face?

Vote today on NCM against PM over treasury bond scams

by Shamindra Ferdinando-Apr 4, 2018

( April 4, 2018, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) The elite Special Task Force (STF) had to be deployed last Wednesday (March 28) morning at Maskeliya in support of the local police, struggling to quell clashes following the appointment of Ceylon Workers Congress (CWC) local heavyweight, G. Sembalawalli, as the chairperson of the Maskeliya Pradeshiya Sabha.

Sri Lanka Who will have egg on face.docx by Thavam on Scribd

Ranil Wins The Day, JO Consolidates, Maithri Slips Even Further, Govt Loses 2/3rds Majority

APRIL 4, 2018

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe comfortably survived the vote of no-confidence brought against him by the Joint Opposition (JO) a short while ago. A total of 78 MPs supported the motion while 122 voted against it. Twenty six MPs were not present at the time the vote was taken.

Although both the JO and the UNP had claimed that victory was assured for the respective positions they took, uncertainty prevailed throughout the day after the debate on the motion commenced at 10 this morning.

Senior SLFPer and State Minister A.H.M. Fowzie dropped a bombshell claiming that the party had decided to vote against the motion. However, State Minister Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena refuted Fowzie, insisting that the party had decided to support the motion consequent to a meeting held at the residence of Minister Mahinda Amaraweera.

The Tamil National Alliance, whose position was unclear since it was reported that the constituent parties would decide separately how to vote, finally opted to vote against the motion.

At various points during the afternoon, SLFP MPs who were not with the Joint Opposition pledged to vote for the motion, notably S.B. Dissanayake, Dayasiri Jayasekera and Susantha Punchinilame. Meanwhile one of the first to moot a no confidence motion against Wickremesinghe, Palitha Range Bandara of the UNP, declared that he would vote against it. Wijedasa Rajapaksha (another UNPer who has made negative comments on the party leadership) voted against the motion while UNP National List MP Rev Athureliye Rathana Thero absented himself at the time the vote was taken. The JVP, one of the most vocal supporters of the Yahapalana project, finally broke ranks by voting with the JO.

The result considerably enhances the parliamentary strength of the Joint Opposition while weakening further President Sirisena’s hold on the SLFP.

The overall implications of the result on the political arrangement in the country is yet unclear. However, Rajitha Senaratne who has backed Wickremesinghe has stated that the UNP will form a ‘a new unity government on Monday with support from the SLFP and other parties’.

Whether the SLFP will back a UNP-led Government is unclear at the moment. The TNA, which has 16 MPs has not indicated that it would be part of such a government. As such it is likely that Wickremesinghe would have to form a minority government whose stability will depend on the TNA continuing to use parliamentary numbers to protect the UNP from moves such as this no confidence motion.

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Prime Minister and President must fulfil promises & not let down people: Dr. Ranasinghe

 Monday, 2 April 2018 

Dr. Kapila Ranasinghe, one of the silent architects of the 8 January political change, in a candid interview, said it was very unfortunate that the President and the Prime Minister have not been able to resolve their political issues after the February Local Government elections in the same way they did prior to setting up the Government on 9 January 2015. Dr. Ranasinghe said they owed it to the people who put them in power to work together and fulfill their mandate. He added that the economy was suffering as a result of this. The following are excerpts.


Q:You were a silent mover together with Chatura Senaratne of bringing the Prime Minister and President together with the Health Minister prior to 8 January to discuss political strategies.

A: Yes, we met to finalise many issues. There were others - Ravi, Rathana Thero, Chatura and Dinesh were also there at those meetings. Unfortunately over time the people who put this Government in power were sidelined and people like Mahendran, Ratwatte and Paskaralingam were imported and given the power to run the Government. See what happened with the Central Bank, SriLankan and now with the economy? All this could have been avoided.

Q: What is happening now in the coalition?

A: It is now a challenge because the SLFP is full of people who worked tirelessly to defeat the coalition. Now they have become ministers and their heart is somewhere else. Their total commitment is suspect. How can the Government work? Because the government isolated the hardcore politicians in the government and gave power to others. As a result both groups forgot why they were elected in the first place.



Q:Were there agreed terms for the coalition to run after 8 January?

A: So many things were decided and agreed. Most of them were implemented. A political committee was to be set up. The committee was supposed to take all the key decisions. Once they won they forgot the committee. Where is Chandrika Kumaratunga, one of the key architects of this movement? She is hardly involved in any decision-making now.

Q:What are some of the successes of this Government?

A: The 19th Amendment; the freedom to voice your opinion; the restoration of GSP+; a huge reduction in medicine price. Now even stents are given free at government hospitals. International confidence went up overnight. There is much more. Unfortunately, the people given the task of marketing these achievements have failed miserably. Even after they failed for three years they are still allowed to continue in office.

Q:What are some of the negatives?

A: The unavoidable truth is the bond fiasco. That broke the backbone of this Government. As a result the Government got side-tracked. When SriLankan Airlines became an issue, the Prime Minister should have taken action. You can’t blame the President only. He gave so much of room for the UNP to operate. There is a limit that he can watch and wait. The Government is under his watch. He is the executive president.

Q:What is the way forward for both the Prime Minister and President?

A: It is still not late to unite to defeat the no-confidence motion and work on an agreed plan for 18 months. Unfortunately, the Government since the election debacle has lacked balance and objectivity. This has to change.

The Prime Minister is a visionary, however he needs to be a team player not a loner. As a democracy with strong demographics, the next 20 years presents Sri Lanka with a window of opportunity to get its economic and foreign policy in synchrony. The Prime Minister is the best man to do this. This UNP-SLFP combination is our best opportunity.

Q:Should the President help the UNP defeat the no-confidence motion?

A: Yes, they must. He is the head of the Government. The Prime Minister sacrificed his place and worked very hard to make him President. This Government must complete its full term and fulfil their promises. The President owes it to us. They both owe it to us without playing politics with the lives of future generations.

The Prime Minister must learn to work with the coalition in a transparent and objective manner. He must appoint people on merit not because they went to school with him. If this happens there is so much hope for all of us.

The President on the other hand needs to agree on a common program and ensure the Government performs according to that program. He cannot take ill-advised decisions. This is a country with an $ 80 billion GDP and 21 million people. So much is at stake. Both leaders need to have good people to help them, not people with vested interests. I sincerely hope they will sort out their differences and work together after 4 April for the sake of the country. Like the Bible says, “A house divided against itself will not stand.”

RSF and its partners unveil the Journalism Trust Initiative to combat disinformation

(Lanka-e-News - 04.April.2018, 5.45AM) An innovative media self-regulatory initiative designed to combat disinformation online – called the Journalism Trust Initiative (JTI) – was launched yesterday by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), and its partners Agence France Presse (AFP), the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and the Global Editors Network (GEN).

The Journalism Trust Initiative was unveiled today at a joint press conference by RSF’s Secretary General Christophe Deloire, AFP Global News Director Michèle Léridon, EBU Director General Noel Curran and GEN president Peter Bale (who participated by video).

JTI is designed to promote journalism by adherence to an agreed set of trust and transparency standards to be developed and implemented. This will happen by means of the so-called Workshop Agreement of the European Centre of Standardization (CEN), which was open on 3 April 2018 for participation of interested stakeholders, for example media outlets, professional associations and unions, self-regulatory entities like press councils and regulatory bodies, as well as digital platforms, advertisers and consumer interest representatives.

“In the new public arena system, in which false information circulate faster than real news, the defence of journalism requires reversing this trend by giving a real advantage to all those who reliably produce news and information, whatever their status,” RSF’s Christophe Deloire said.

The resulting standards are expected to reflect transparency of media ownership and sources of revenues, as well as journalistic methods and the compliance with ethical norms and independence.

They are intended to become a voluntary, leading benchmark of media self-regulation and good practices for all those who produce journalistic content, ranging from individual bloggers to international media groups. Adopting the standards will pave the way towards a certification process.

“We have devised a self-regulatory mechanism based on a global analysis of the news and information domain, one that makes it possible to combine ethical with economic concerns. We are convinced that our initiative will help to foster integrity in the public debate while guaranteeing the broadest pluralism and independence”, Deloire added.

Benefits can be attached to the quality and independence of journalism through preferential distribution and treatment by algorithms of search engines and social media platforms, leading to better visibility, reach and advertising sales. Media outlets “white-listing” may also be of interest to representatives of advisers to help them decide where to channel their spending. In addition, this mechanism could also serve as a transparent instrument for the allocation of public funding for the media, as a tool for self-regulatory bodies, such as press councils, and regulatory authorities, as well as the basis of a trusted media label.

“For AFP, a global news agency whose mission is to provide news that is “accurate, impartial and trustworthy”, the battle against the proliferation of misinformation and false news goes to the very heart of our mission, says Global News Director Michèle Léridon. As a leading partner in the CrossCheck project which brought together over a dozen media to fight against disinformation during the French presidential election, a key partner in a range of projects tackling the problem of so-called “Fake News” and a member of the European Union’s group of experts on the issue of disinformation, AFP is delighted to participate in the Journalism Trust Initiative in support of the combat for quality and accurate news.”

“As the upcoming GDPR [European General Data Protection Regulation] is set to show the world how Europeans are united in dealing with privacy, this new initiative from RSF is more than welcome”, expanded Bertrand Pecquerie, Chief Executive Officer of the Global Editors Network. “We definitely need more transparency about content providers, and we agree that a self-regulatory and voluntary benchmark for all sources of journalistic content is part of the solution. The Global Editors Network is ready to participate – with other press organisations - in the discussion opened by the Journalism Trust Initiative.”

EBU director general Noel Curran added: "The EBU believes that the online presence of public service media organizations is vital to support informed citizenship and represents an essential tool to fight the propagation of fake news. Reliable, quality journalism is the hallmark of public service media and the EBU fully supports this initiative which will aid our Members' audiences to identify reliable sources and help sustain quality journalism."

The CEN Workshop Agreement (CWA) will be chaired by Claudio Cappon, the former Director General of the Italian public broadcaster RAI, while Olaf Steenfadt, a former journalist with German media outlets ARD and ZDF, will represent RSF.

The project plan published today on the CEN website is now up for comments and approval by all groups concerned. Those in favour of the document will then collaborate over a time-span of 12 to 18 months to develop the actual indicators. Hosted by the French Standardization Association (AFNOR) and co-hosted by its German equivalent the German Institute for Standardization (DIN).

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), associated with reflections, made proposals that were taken into account. As of September 2017, RSF organized a preparatory consultation in Brussels with, beyond JTI partners, the Ethical Journalism Network (EJN), the European Federation of Journalists, (EFJ), Netherlands Public Brodcasters (NPO/KRO-NCRV), the German channel ARD, the European Magazine Media Association, RTL Group, the Association of Commercial Television in Europe (ACTE), the European Newspaper Publishers’ Association (EMMA/ENPA), News Media Europe (NME), the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA), the European Association of Communication Agencies, the Center for Media, Data and Society (CMDS) at the Central European University (CEU) of Budapest, the Observatoire de la Déontologie de l'Information (ODI), the World Economic Forum, the Office of the Representative for Freedom of Media of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). In February 2017, a consultation meeting was also organized in Oxford on the initiative of the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism.

The leading web search engine, the American company Google, told RSF that it decided to participate in the JTI process.

“We fully support and encourage initiatives which provide brands with safe and trustworthy online environments. We welcome initiatives like this one which strive to deliver more transparency, and we look forward to following its progress”, said Stephan Loerke, the CEO of the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) in a statement to RSF.

Reporters Without Borders, also known under its French name Reporters sans frontières (RSF), is an international non-governmental organization defending journalism. Recognized as a public utility in France, RSF enjoys consultative status with the UN, UNESCO, the Council of Europe and the International Organization of La Francophonie. Headquarters in Paris work with offices in London, Washington, Rio, Tunis and Taipei, branches in Germany, Austria, Spain, Finland, Sweden, Switzerland and correspondents in 130 countries.

The Agence France-Presse (AFP) is a global news agency delivering fast, accurate, in-depth coverage of the events shaping our world from conflicts to politics, economics, sports, entertainment and the latest breakthroughs in health, science and technology.

The Global Editors Network (GEN) is the leading organisation fostering media innovation for editors across all platforms – print, digital, mobile or broadcast -. GEN is a community of more than 4,000 Editors-in-Chief and media innovators committed to sustainable journalism through a variety of programmes designed to inspire, connect and share. It is a non-profit, non-governmental association.

The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) is the world’s leading alliance of public service media (PSM). We have 73 Members in 56 countries in Europe, and an additional 33 Associates in Asia, Africa, Australasia and the Americas. Our Members operate almost 2,000 television, radio and online channels and services, and offer a wealth of content across other platforms. Together they reach an audience of more than one billion people around the world, broadcasting in more than 120 languages. The EBU operates Eurovision and Euroradio services.

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by     (2018-04-04 00:47:27)