Why will Hasina come to power next time?

It is clear now, Sheikh Hasina is quite unparalleled in politics, and on the other hand she is the artist of the development of Bangladesh. So, next election is only her election.

by Swadesh Roy-Apr 7, 2018

( April 7, 2018, Dhaka, Sri Lanka Guardian) It is more or less confirmed now that Sheikh Hasina will come to power in Bangladesh next time again. Instead of being the most popular leader, she is the bravest leader too in the country. According to International Republican Institute survey, 62% of the people of Bangladesh thinks that the country is heading towards right direction in her leadership, and 72 % people seems that she is the right person who can run the country properly.

Sheikh Hasina, the only democratic leader, is leading the country for two consecutive terms in Bangladesh. Before her, no democratic leaders in Bangladesh could lead the country for two consecutive terms, and it is now crystal clear about her coming to power next time. So, then it is going to be a history for this country.

For creating this history, Sheikh Hasina has to cross a very wide and rough sea. She is never a politician by chance. She started her political carrier when she was only sixteen, and when she was an undergraduate student, she became the vice president in a college congress. Besides that, in the time of her college and university life, Bangladesh was fighting for her autonomy under her father’s leadership where she was one of the workers. Moreover, she was one of the political players working behind the scene at that age. Her father was the main leader of that democratic movement of sixties; although his father’s way of movement was an open democratic movement, the Pakistani Military ruler could understand that he was preparing his people for independence. So, they went for a camera trial for convicting her father, Sheikh Mujib, by awarding capital punishment. At that time the government, some people of civil society, and even some people of the Party of Mujib played many inside political games for destroying the political carrier of Mujib and abolishing the movement of independence of Bangladesh. In those days, her mother, Mrs. Mujib played a vital role; along with her mother despite being young, she played some crucial historical role too.

This political personality Sheikh Hasina started leading her party, Awami League, in 1981, just after seven years’ of her exile life and after the brutal assassination of her father, basically the whole family, except her and one of her sister. However, when she took the leadership of her party, the media in the country and the abroad have never mentioned that she was engaged in politics from her early age, and being a young political lady, she has taken headship of the biggest political party of Bangladesh; rather she was marked as an inherent of her father in the politics. Within two years of her taking the responsibility of the party, Khaleda Zia, the widow of military ruler Ziaur Rahaman, appeared in the politics and took charge of the party of military ruler Ziaur Rahaman too. That was one of the biggest conspiracies of the anti-liberation forces of Bangladesh. Because, after the assassination of Zia, another military ruler took the power, but that military ruler and their establishment managed to put on another of their stake on the road, Khaleda was that puppet of the military establishment.

However, before coming in the politics, Khaleda was just a housewife, even not a literate housewife as she did not complete her school final. But it is a matter of misfortune for Sheikh Hasina that both inside and outside of her country that means the world media portrayed her and Khaleda as same and both are only the successors in politics for the death of Mujib and Zia. Nobody, even no political analysts thought of comparing Sheikh Hasina with Indira Gandhi, for she was all through in the politics like Indira Gandhi; in this sense, Khaleda did not match with her. However, Sheikh Hasina had to face the mockery under the caption of `two begums’ by the western media and ‘ Dui netri ( two leaders)’ in her own country. Basically, for a long time she was being compared with Khaleda even in the prominent western media too. It turns into an irony for the western media when they had to write Sheikh Hasina as a `mother of humanity’ after thirty-six years, and no doubt, Sheikh Hasina achieved it; even the weekly Economist has recently written that the politics of Bangladesh is for the one leader, and she is Sheikh Hasina.

In this context, it is clear that as a politician, in the politics of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina has reached in her own height which no one can touch. According to media, her archrival, Khaleda, is now convicted in the criminal case and passing her prison time. She has to remain in jail at least five years, besides she has to face more trials for genocide and mass killing she did in 2012, 2013, and 2015. However, here one thing is needed to clarify that Khaleda is never the archenemy of Sheikh Hasina, she is basically the conceptual enemy of Bangladesh. She represented the anti-liberation forces in Bangladesh. But covering with a camouflage, the pro-Pakistani establishment made her a democratic leader. However, last nine and a half years it has been proved that Khaleda never represents the democracy but Islamic fundamentalism. In the name of democratic politics, she gives the entire Islamic militant in Bangladesh shelter, and her son is the close ally of international God Father Daude Ibrahim and very close to the second in command of Laden. So, the people used to write or tell that Khaleda is the archenemy of Sheikh Hasina were telling a half-truth. She is an enemy of the country, not Sheikh Hasina’s. Therefore, the politics of Bangladesh will be fair when the works and political characteristics of Khaleda will be unveiled to the people of Bangladesh. As an illustration, the majority of the new generations are now very much cautious about the real face of Khaleda. Therefore, the politics of Bangladesh will get the hundred percent right direction very soon and in result, it will help Sheikh Hasina for going to power next time.

Now we can analyze the reality of the feature development in Bangladesh, and this development issue is the main factor in the next election of Bangladesh. How much development has been accomplished by Sheikh Hasina last nine years? It is more than the development of the rest 38 years of Bangladesh. Each and every sensible man and woman of Bangladesh will admit that last nine years were the golden era of development. If anyone of the economists goes to analyze the development of Bangladesh by Sheikh Hasina, he or she will find out first that Sheikh Hasina is an artist of the development. She knows like an artist how to use the color for starting to sketch a painting. When she came to power in 2009 with an overwhelming majority, she initiated first to make the country self-sufficient in rice, the main food of her people; simultaneously she was the first who started to make the country self- sufficient in electricity. For producing electricity, she made a new law in the country which made it easier to get the permission for setting up electricity plant in the private sector. Within two years she made her country self- sufficient in main food rice, and though there is no limit of production and necessity of the electricity, the country had reached such a position within three years that the scenario of producing electricity was changed totally. Besides she gave the subsidy in electricity sector like agriculture sector, for example, she gave nine thousand hundred core BDT subsidy in first three years; but in those period, the country produced more fifteen million hundred BDT in the industrial and agricultural sector. Despite, none of the factories was closed for the shortage of electricity, rather thousand hundred jobs were created. Now the capacity of producing electricity is above two thousand megawatts.

In this way, after producing main food and electricity, she has started to build up the heavy infrastructures in the country, like Padma Bridge, Metro rail, six-lane road. Besides that, she has been establishing two new seaports in the country, and one will be started its operation within six months. To sum up this development of the country, World Bank has now graduated Bangladesh as a developing country from less developed country.

In conclusion, it is clear now, Sheikh Hasina is quite unparalleled in politics, and on the other hand she is the artist of the development of Bangladesh. So, next election is only her election. Moreover, people of every country know their own well and worse, and the people of Bangladesh are not out of it.

Swadesh Roy, Executive Editor. The Daily Janakantha, Dhaka, Bangladesh. He is a highest state award winning journalist and can be reached at swadeshroy@gmail.com

What would Martin Luther King's dream be in 2018? We asked leading activists

It was the speech that inspired generations to fight for a better future. Has his vision been realized? Civil rights leaders consider what it would be today

 ‘I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.’ Photograph: Popperfoto/Getty Images

Patrisse Cullors , Naomi Wadler, Reverend William Barber, Dr Liz Theoharis, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, George Yancy, Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, Charles E Blake, Lee Saunders and Tricia Rose-Wed 4 Apr 2018 09.00 BST

Patrisse Cullors, co-founder of the Black Lives Matter movement

Friends and family. Kinfolks and loved ones. I appreciate the dedication to this movement and the love that is being shared for all black people inside of the Americas and across the globe. We are from hoods in South Central and the South Side of Chicago, the Grenfell towers, the shanty towns in South Africa and the favelas in Brazil.

We are all a part of the diaspora of people who recognize the rise of fascism not just domestically but also in countries across the west. We are watching the country that has claimed liberty and freedom for all be torn apart by a buffoon of a president – a president that has continued to decimate the constitution.

It is a hard time to feel hope right now, when each executive order that is penned into law wipes away the human rights of people who look like me and sound like me and love like me.

And even with all this despair, we are in a moment where women, queer and trans folk, black people, immigrant people, folks with disabilities, Muslims and Arabs have come together to fight back against the underbelly of American society.

We are living in a moment where our movement has sustained itself to push for real and true political power. We know that the continued killing of black people at the hands of the state exposes the expansiveness of black grief, and yet we keep fighting back.

We keep calling for accountability and reinvestment and a push for all of us to imagine a world where black people are not policed but instead supported, and loved and cared for. Where our families can feel safe and inspired and protected. Our movement will not go away.

We will not die out. We will not go silent. We will not stop fighting until every single black life is provided the type of love and support we so desperately deserve.

Patrisse Cullors is an artist, organizer and freedom fighter. She is a co-founder of Black Lives Matter and the founder and executive director of Dignity and Power Now

Naomi Wadler, March for Our Lives speaker

If Martin Luther King Jr was alive today, his dream would be to promote equal representation of all people.

The misrepresentation of people of color in the media and society leads to dangerous stereotypes. Black people are often bombarded with double standards. Black men may be viewed as dangerous criminals, black women as angry and aggressive.

These stereotypes cause inaccurate portrayals and inequality. Low expectations become the norm. With the common belief that young black children are less than their counterparts, these kids often have low self-esteem and the belief they cannot achieve. With these stereotypes projected onto us, false notions become fact and fear of young black children spreads. Children of color are punished and incarcerated at disproportionate rates.

These inaccurate portrayals lead to fear. The fear of black people increases the amount of race-related casualties. Society identifies suspects who are black by their race, but does not do the same when white people are suspects. Black people are assumed to be armed and guilty, while white people are given the benefit of the doubt, therefore black people are victims of violence without cause.

Today the Rev Martin Luther King Jr, as he did during the 1960s, would promote a movement to educate people and to inspire black youth.

As King said: “Now is the time to make justice reality for all of God’s children. It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the movement.”

Naomi Wadler is 11. She recently spoke at the March for Our Lives rally in Washington DC

‘Imagine a world where black people are not policed but instead supported, and loved and cared for.’ Photograph: Elaine Thompson/AP

The Rev William Barber and the Rev Liz Theoharis, co-chairs of the Poor People’s Campaign: a National Call for a Moral Revival

Dr King’s legacy has been sanitized and locked into one moment marked by four words: I have a dream. The speech many regard as an expression of unwavering optimism was in fact a prophetic, subversive call to action delivered to a quarter-million people at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.

Originally entitled “Normalcy, Never Again”, Dr King’s speech outlined nightmares of oppression that gripped the nation. Dr King reminded his audience that freedom had not been fully realized for black Americans and many others shackled by racist laws and trapped in poverty.

 'I Have A Dream': students from Martin Luther King Jr's former school recite speech

King was clear that change would not come from one messiah or politician, but a movement from the bottom up.

'I Have A Dream': students from Martin Luther King Jr's former school recite speech

“Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed,” King declared.

Like Dr King, we must refuse to believe that the great vaults of the nation are bankrupt. Reigniting the movement of poor people that Dr King and others called for in 1968 is the best way to honor his legacy. We are doing what he said –grassroots leaders in states across the country are building a moral movement to reclaim our nation’s lost soul.

Until we address the same systemic racism, poverty, militarism, ecological devastation and theological malpractice of Christian nationalism Dr King fought against, our nation’s dream will continue to collide with the nightmare.

The Rev Barber and the Rev Theoharis are both co-chair of the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for a Moral Revival

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, NBA hall of famer and bestselling author

America, we all have shared the hope of the American dream – but some of us have had that dream deferred.

We all have been inspired by the idyllic vision of a colorblind America, an America in which justice is a reality for everyone.

But, America, some have conspired to stifle that dream.

Some of us see life as a crowded footrace in which the only way they can win is to hobble the other runners – particularly runners who don’t look, think, worship, dress or talk like them. Some are under the impression that not everyone deserves to have an equal shot at their dreams.

America, we are in a shameful condition. In 1963, Martin Luther King Jr helped us to acknowledge that, 100 years after the Emancipation Proclamation, “the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself in exile in his own land.”

It’s now 155 years since emancipation, and our national shame continues. We have an administration that targets the very people for whom King envisioned justice, whom the constitution is meant to protect and to help thrive.

People of color, women, the LGBTQ community, immigrants and others feel as though they are in an abusive relationship with this frightened faction of America. Those who perpetuate the abuse keep saying how much they’ve improved, how many fewer broken bones and bruises there are. That we should be grateful.

Fewer bruises is not our dream.

Our dream is to run as hard and fast and far as we can with only the wind and gravity and our own inertia to overcome. And not to have that dream deferred for another 155 years.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar played for the NBA for 20 years

George Yancy, professor of philosophy at Emory University

We are living an American nightmare. The current state of white America, as it marches toward an unabashed authoritarianism and an antidemocratic neofascism, is reprehensible. America has forfeited the little moral authority that it had. At its helm is someone, Donald Trump, far more dangerous than George Wallace, Eugene “Bull” Connor and George Lincoln Rockwell combined.

How can, how dare, my evangelical Christian brothers and sisters love God and refuse to reject militarism, xenophobia and Trump’s words of violence – of “fire and fury”?

I have a dream where the people refuse his lies, hoaxes, hypocrisy, “alternative facts”, and political idolatry.

I have a dream that one day a Trayvon Martin will no longer be hunted down because he is judged by the color of his skin

I have a dream where the people, the demos, tire of his moral equivocation, where the KKK is not as “good as” those who protest them.

I have a dream where America refuses to unleash a bloody war on its own children, slaughtered in their schools, and in their neighborhoods, their bodies bloodied and torn to bits by guns because politicians care more about money and power than their young lives.

I have a dream where politicians are not moral cowards and spineless sycophants.

I have a dream that one day America will give a damn about its stated proclamations written on parchment.

I have a dream where black lives will finally matter, where I can breathe again, where my soul isn’t haunted by the painful and mournful cries of an Eric Garner: “I can’t breathe.”

I have a dream that one day a Trayvon Martin will no longer be hunted down and murdered like a dog in the street because he is judged by the color of his skin or a Stephon Clark killed because his cell phone is said to have been a gun.

I have a dream that one day white America will no longer have the need to call some of us “niggers”.


A woman attends the funeral of Stephon Clark in Sacramento, California. Photograph: Josh Edelson/AFP/Getty Images

I have a dream that one day white Americans will no longer be consciously or unconsciously racist, and where they lament the loss of their white privilege and white “innocence”.

I have a dream that one day white America will truly love itself and have no need for massive incarceration rates for people of color.

I have a dream that one day women will be truly safe from male violence, where disability isn’t a mark of shame, and where being queer isn’t “deviant”.

Until these dreams become a reality in America, my dream is to remain maladjusted and discontented with America’s lies about justice and equality. And I will never falter to dream dangerous dreams of love, mutual respect, and a shared humanity. I have a dream today!

George Yancy is the author and editor of 18 books, and a New York Times columnist

Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, author and assistant professor in the department of African American studies at Princeton

We must face these tragic facts.

A century and a half since the Emancipation Proclamation, and more than 50 years since the March on Washington, “we must face the tragic fact that the Negro is still not free.”

We are only one year removed from the end of the second term of the nation’s first black president – a development that even in King’s wildest dreams he may not have imagined.

And the negro is still not free.

In the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity, millions of black men, women and children continue to languish in poverty. There is prosperity and power for some. But this should never be confused with freedom for all. The successes of a few cannot obscure the deprivations experienced by millions more.

More than 50 years since the march on Washington, African Americans continue to suffer from the indiscriminate murder and wanton brutality of American police. In the 21st century, the US remains racked by the triplets of racism, militarism and materialism.

We must face these tragic facts. We must face them – and yet, today I am not sad.

There is a movement afoot. Today, in the streets of the United States of America, young black people are revealing the systemic flaws in our society.

Today, above all, we are learning from our black feminist sisters about the oppressive and exploitative vice of capitalism. We are learning that when black women are freed from this vice, our society will be fully transformed. Their liberation will require – their liberation demands – a complete unraveling of society as we know it.

There is a movement afoot for justice. I believe its revelations will compel all ordinary Americans that what is necessary is a radical reconstruction of this country on the basis of solidarity, justice, and genuine freedom.

These are my freedom dreams. Let us never again have to say: “the negro is still not free.”
Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor is the author of From #BlackLivesMatter to Black Liberation

Bishop Charles E Blake Sr and Lee Saunders, president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME)

Through the suffering of innocent freedom riders, faith leaders and working people we shook the conscience of a nation. Through the cries of “I am a man”, we rose up to realize the promise of democracy. Through the creative suffering of the civil rights movement we hewed from the mountain of despair a stone of hope, the ultimate non-violent means of compelling lasting social and political change – the vote.


But our country is still composed of two unequal societies. Special interests have rigged our economy, putting unions and working people – especially working women of color – under attack. Daily tragedies of gun violence threaten the lives of our inner-city youth. The chains linking poverty, education and race have not been broken. In 1968, the Kerner Report unveiled the extent of racial inequality in our country. Today we remain decades behind.

Fifty years after our “drum major for justice” preached his final sermon at the Mason Temple in Memphis, the Church of God in Christ and the AFSCME will train a new generation of activists to work toward freedom and justice for all. Young people, faith, community and labor leaders are rallying to “I AM 2018”, picking up the mantle from Dr King and the fearless Memphis sanitation workers, mobilizing together toward the 2018 elections and beyond. Together we will recommit ourselves to the work of bringing Dr King’s dreams to life. Together, we shall overcome those who seek to silence our voice.

Bishop Charles E Blake Sr is the presiding bishop of the Church of God in Christ, one of the oldest and largest pentecostal denominations in the world. Lee Saunders is the president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), a union of 1.6 million members that represented the Memphis sanitation workers who went on an historic strike in 1968

Tricia Rose, director of the Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity in America at Brown University

I’m writing this to “dramatize a shameful condition”. Racial injustice and systemic discrimination remain defining features of black life in the wealthiest and most powerful democracy in the world.
Since King’s “I have a dream” speech, Jim Crow signposts have been physically removed but the underlying aims – the systemic accrual and protection of white racial advantages over black people – remain largely in place.

Today we face a less visible but still formidable condition. The explicit defense of racial hierarchy has mainly been replaced by the outright denial of the conditions of injustice – a denial manufactured by deft co-optation and reinterpretation rather than the rejection of the values of civil rights.

Efforts to level a grossly uneven playing field are met with agreement that it should be level. In fact, many “good white people” say it is level and if anything they are at a racial disadvantage.

To fight for justice today is to do battle with the twisted myth of colorblindness, a race-neutral sounding ideal that fuels self-righteous post-race white protectionism. The term freedom itself has been pried from the hands of social justice movements and re-attached to the protection of the powerful. The durability of white fear and its impacts on the life chances of black and brown people tugs at me. I worry about the consolidation of corporate power and its influence over government, journalism, culture and media. If this continues, where will tomorrow’s radical truth tellers come from?

I am reminded of King’s caution not to “wallow in the valley of despair”. The power of justice, love and the will of everyday people is tested but is not extinguished.

This is not the darkest moment. And truth tellers are all around us, embattled but still here.

Tricia Rose is director of the Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity in America at Brown University

Burmese Buddhists pen open letter calling for Rohingya peace

Young Buddhist monks at Inle Lake, Burma. Source: Danny Postma/ Unsplash

By Max Walden | 6th April 2018 | @maxwalden

A GROUP of 72 people raised Buddhist in Burma (Myanmar) have released an open letter denouncing violence against the country’s Rohingya Muslims, a rare expression of dissent amidst what has been deemed by the UN as ethnic cleansing.

Organised by Burmese non-profit Saddha: Buddhists for Peace, the open letter was signed by many raised Buddhist who are now living abroad including some in self-imposed exile. It argues that Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) has become “complicit” in discrimination, hatred and violence perpetrated by Burma’s Buddhist majority against minorities, including Muslims.

“Ultranationalist monks routinely harass interfaith activists and journalists, and rally against the Rohingya and other Burmese Muslims in the country,” read the open letter, prominent signatories to which included Zar Chi Oo, an adviser to Free Expression Myanmar; Geoffrey Aung, a PhD candidate in anthropology at Columbia University; filmmaker and Fulbright scholar Eaint Thiri Thu; and Dr Naing Aung, a former leader of the All Burma Students’ Democratic Front.

SEE ALSO: Burma: Ethnic group defends Rohingya women on International Women’s Day

“There was a time when the military killed Burmese monks without remorse, demonstrating that they truly had no regard for the actual tenets of a religion they patron as an institution. There was a time when Burmese people rejected propaganda disseminated by the military,” it continued.

“Now, just because they are using Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, who minimises the gravity of these atrocities, as their shield, we are expected to follow her without question or be branded a traitor to Burma’s democratic transition.”

Myanmar’s State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and Vice President Win Myint attend a parliament session to elect the country’s new president, in Naypyitaw, Myanmar March 28, 2018. Source: Reuters

Suu Kyi, the Nobel laureate once heralded as the hero of Burma’s democratic transition, has faced widespread criticism for failure to comprehensively condemn violence against the Rohingya. In a national address last week, she largely avoided addressing persecution of the Rohingya directly, stating that “the world’s focus in on Rakhine right now, but we also need to peacefully develop the country.”

The UN has said more than 671,000 Rohingya refugees have fled Rakhine State into Cox’s Bazar in neighbouring Bangladesh since Aug 25 in response to so-called “clearing operations” by Burma’s Tatmadaw army.

The military and Buddhist vigilantes stand accused of mass killings, rape and arson in Muslim villages.

A report from the Burma Human Rights Network released last September documented extensive “state-led persecution” against Burmese Muslims, including an increase in attacks against and closures of mosques, designated ‘Muslim-free’ villages, and rising hate speech from ultranationalist and extremist Buddhist groups targeted at Muslims.

Buddhist monk Wirathu (L), who is known as Burma’s Bin Laden and was banned by the government from giving sermons for one year, arrives at a monastery to give a speech after the ban expired on March 9, in Yangon, Myanmar March 10, 2018. Source: Reuters

“We have struggled to reconcile these events as adults, when as children we were taught to pay respects to monks at Buddhist monasteries, memorise Pali Suttas, and made to feel that Theravada Buddhism was intrinsic to Burmese culture,” continued the open letter released this week.

“Yet, now it seems like the Burmese public’s widespread attitudes towards the Rohingya directly contradict the teachings of Lord Gautama Buddha.”

SEE ALSO: Canada should take the lead against ‘crimes against humanity’ in Burma

Many Burmese – even among the nation’s non-Bamar Buddhist minorities – have continued to enthusiastically back the NLD government of Suu Kyi despite widespread international condemnation of her administration and the military.

Facebook has been a potent tool for disseminating anti-Rohingya propaganda, painting the minority group as illegal migrants from Bangladesh who espouse terrorism.

“We know that there are many Buddhists among us, and in Burma still, who share our beliefs but do not speak out because they fear persecution by the Burmese government and those around them,” concluded the letter.

“Our identities as Burmese will not be defined by the hateful voices of nationalists, racists, and Islamophobes.”

Britain's sugar tax on soft drinks comes into effect

APRIL 6, 2018

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s sugar tax on soft drinks came into effect on Friday, a move that will lead to some higher prices as the country seeks to battle childhood obesity.
The tax, announced in March 2016, has already cut sugar content in drinks by 45 million kg per year, Britain’s Treasury said, as over 50 percent of manufacturers have

“Our teenagers consume nearly a bathtub of sugary drinks each year on average, fuelling a worrying obesity trend in this country,” Public Health Minister Steve Brine said.

“The soft drinks industry levy is ground-breaking policy that will help to reduce sugar intake, whilst funding sports programmes and nutritious breakfast clubs for children.”

Because of the reformulations, the Treasury now expects the levy to raise only about 240 million pounds ($336 million) in its first year, less than half of its prior forecast of 520 million.

Soft drink makers including Coca-Cola, Britvic and Lucozade Ribena Suntory have reformulated drinks, though Coca-Cola Classic, the nation’s top-selling branded soft drink, is subject to the tax.

Retailers Tesco, Asda and Morrisons have also reformulated their own-label fizzy drinks to be below the levy’s threshold.

 

File Photo: Bottles of soft drinks made by drinks company Britvic sit on a conveyor belt at Britvic's bottling plant in London March 25, 2009. REUTERS/Luke MacGregor

($1 = 0.7136 pounds)

The UK's New Sugar Tax Explained

Keith Noyahr abduction: Rtd. Major General Karunasekara arrested

2018-04-05 

Former Military Intelligence Director and Chief of Staff of the Army, Major General (Retired) Amal Karunasekara has been arrested by the CID in connection with the abduction and assault of journalist Keith Noyahr in 2008.

Police Spokesman SP Ruwan Gunasekara said Major General Karunasekara who was also the Commandant at Defence Services Command and Staff College, was arrested on charges of aiding and abetting the Keith Noyahr abduction.

He was an in-house patient at the Military Hospital when the arrest was made.
SP Gunasekara said the retired Major General is currently undergoing treatment at the Hospital under CID custody.

The Spokesman said the CID will inform the Mt. Lavinia Magistrate over the arrest.

Keith Noyahr was abducted and assaulted on May 22, 2008 in Dehiwala.(Darshana Sanjeewa)

Clearing the minefields of Northern Sri Lanka: A task for survivors

GROUNDVIEWS- 04/04/2018

Nine years after the end of the war, Sri Lanka is still working to address residual traces of conflict that linger in varying forms across the island, and concentrated in the Northern and Eastern provinces.

These range from the intangible, in terms of persistent human rights issues that have gone unaddressed by successive governments, to the tangible effects of widespread land occupation and, as this piece will explore, landmines and unexploded ordinance (UXO) still embedded in the earth.

What takes a few minutes to bury, takes far longer to defuse.

The work to clear these areas for those returning home is a slow but steady process. Eight agencies – both local and international – and the Sri Lanka Army continue to engage in demining, mainly in the Northern province. While clearance does take place in the Eastern province as well, the concentration of mines is relatively low, and the entire Batticaloa district was declared mine-impact free in 2017. This does not necessarily mean that every single mine has been removed, but that most of them have been cleared, to a level known as residual risk, i.e the “risk remaining following the application of all reasonable efforts to remove and/or destroy all mine hazards from a specified area, and to a specified depth.”

The mines that do remain present a danger to families and communities that are among the most economically vulnerable in the island. They also delay the safe return of internally displaced people (IDPs). Their impatience to return has proved to be an impediment to demining work in some areas. Yet, their eagerness to return is understandable; the people living in conflict-affected areas are also heavily dependent on the land for agriculture and survival. Until clearance is complete, mines prevent access to paddy fields, fishing jetties and land for grazing, all primary sources of livelihood for the majority of people living in this area.

Many of the de-miners working with The HALO Trust and the Mines Advisory Group (MAG)have either witnessed, or otherwise been directly affected by the conflict, Groundviews found. Many of them struggled to provide for their families, even after the end of the conflict.

Access the story directly on Sway or embedded below.

TNA EMPHASIZES NEED FOR POWER SHARING AND EARLY END TO CONSTITUTION MAKING PROCESS

Image: TNA  meeting EU delegation. ( TNA photo)

05/04/2018

(Press release/05 April 2018) A European delegation comprising of six members including the Standing Rapporteur for South Asia, from the European Parliament Committee on International Trade, met with the Leader of the Opposition and the Tamil National Alliance Hon R. Sampanthan at the Office of the Leader of the Opposition in Parliament today.

Mr Sampanthan apprised the delegation on the current political situation. Mr Sampanthan told the Delegation that the former regime moved away from democratic principles and as a result of it, the present government came to be in power. the present Government’s attitude and approach are different from the former government, but their actions are very slow”.

Mr Sampanthan further stated that this government has made commitments to bring reconciliation and amity between different communities in this country.

Briefing the delegation on Power-sharing arrangements Mr Sampanthan said, “ we are wanting a solution within a united undivided and indivisible Sri Lanka on the basis of the dignity self-respect and sovereignty of different people who have historically inhabited certain regions for centuries”. He further said that the Constitution making processes must recommence and brought to an end early”.

CBK, Mangala say national reconciliation key to development and democracy

By Shannon Jayawardena - Friday, 6 April 2018 

Former president Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga and Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera yesterday emphasised that national reconciliation was a vital pillar in the development and democracy of Sri Lanka.

Speaking at marketing communication firm Bates Strategic Alliance’s Leadership session to mark its 25th anniversary, National Unity and Reconciliation Office Chairperson, former president Chandrika Bandaranaike, said: “We talk about national unity and reconciliation which was a dream and is a dream. I think for the first time in my political life, which extends to about 50 years, three years ago we actually got the chance of attempting to realise that dream because we had a government that was committed to the very purpose. We’ve had governments before that were also committed to it but at the time the political context was not quite conducive.”

She went on to say that for the first time in 2015 Sri Lanka got a real chance of achieving the dream of unity and reconciliation because the two political parties at the time came together to form a government which was totally committed to doing all that was required to achieve everlasting peace and heal the wounds of the war for durable peace.

“We started off well and I must say that we have not had many hiccups in terms of reconciliation and it is a very complicated and complex matter in the Sri Lankan context because not only have we divided societies and communities but also having to repair the war damages through resettlement, rebuilding homes and bringing people together. We are even using arts and culture for it,” added Bandaranaike.

She also stated that now the country had an even better chance of achieving this as it has a Finance Minister who was committed to this purpose and he was one of the first people who was involved in the Sudu Nelum Movement which was formed during her time in the government. The office for reparations is slated to be formed soon along with the truth and reconciliation commission.

Bandaranaike noted: “Slowly but surely we are moving towards achieving these goals and there are not many obstacles but the only thing that is not advancing or growing as it should is the Constitution-making process. Most of the work has been done and this time the Parliament was fully brought into the picture as they handled all of it. It is not moving fast enough. All the political parties in the Parliament have agreed except the Joint Opposition and the democracy is an operating democracy as you cannot get everyone to agree. Like we saw yesterday there is a majority and we could move forward.”

She also added that the final deciding factor for establishing lasting peace was ensuring the rights of minorities through the country’s supreme law which was the Constitution. That has to be done and we all need things to happen very fast. For the first time all the ingredients came together but things will not be easy, Bandaranaike emphasised, asserting that she believes the country has achieved a great deal of progress towards the final objective.

Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera said: “When the new government was formed in 2015 we actually started moving forward with laying the foundation for a new country on the three pillars which were democratisation, development and the pillar of reconciliation and transitional justice because we felt that that is what we have not been able to achieve for over 70 years since independence. Since we achieved independence we have divided into lines of ethnicity, religion, cast, politics and so forth.”

He added that we have now been given a new life to carry this vision forward. In terms of democracy I would say that we have done very well. Today whatever the shortcomings are, we have a very good country and in terms of governance we are indeed good and it is growing to be a mature democracy. As far as development is concerned, despite the challenges faced, the country is not doing so badly the Minister stated.

Samaraweera elaborated: “The unemployment rate is the lowest in 10 years so again I think that we are going on the right path but we must have commitment to further liberalisation of the economy if are to move forward. Working in two parties sometimes includes people who have rather dated views on how the economy should be run while we could have had the development that our country deserves as many of us refused to accept that Sri Lanka is a multi-religious and ethnical country. We refused to celebrate the diversity of our nation, instead we ended up going into a 30-year brutal war.”

He revealed that he believes this time the country has got its best chance because President Sirisena is committed to reconciliation and so is Prime Minister Wickremesinghe as it was he who initiated the transitional justice process. Former president Bandaranaike has also taken an active role in implementing these ideas at the grassroots level.

SRI LANKA’S RIGHT TO INFORMATION LEFT IN A SORRY PLIGHT!

05/04/2018

The country’s much-vaunted Right to Information Act has been hailed as a major breakthrough in the field of information dissemination. While the intentions may be good, in the operations aspect, there is much to be desired.

We,randomly,checked the websites of Ministries and tried contacting Information officers for feedback and here are some of our findings.

The Right to Information (RTI) Act became operational in Sri Lanka on 3 February 2017.

The gleaning of information used to be a major hassle and an absurd waste of time especially for the journalists in the past.

It therefore now gives the people the right to demand for information from the representatives of Government and the bounden duty of those reps to provide the sought-after information online or by whatever means possible.

The RTI thereby makes it imperative for Government officials to be responsible for their actions whether they be Cabinet Ministers or otherwise, and to readily provide whatever the information sought by the public.

The Foreign Ministry RTI  

 

On 12 December 2017, on the Foreign Ministry official website, we found two persons were mentioned to be contacted for RTI. It had also pegged in telephone numbers and the emails of the two
officers.

The writer sent an email to the information officer of the Foreign Ministry, requesting for an information of a high-profile person known to Sri Lankans and it was promptly responded to on 15 December 2017, stating  ‘we will inform you of our decision on your request within 14 days’.

When reminded after 14 days, on 2 January 2018 an official letter on email was sent stating that ‘Even though we decided to provide the information requested by you through application dated 12/12/2017, we regret that we cannot provide the information within the 14 days stipulated in our initial decision letter due to the reasons given below.

We are therefore extending the time period to provide the information until the 12 January 2018. It further stated, ‘This Ministry needs more time to collect accurate statistics as requested.

If you are dissatisfied with the extension you may appeal to the following Officer within 14 days. The letter indicated an Additional Secretary‘s name, but it is either wrong or not in use because the email bounced twice.

Having experienced that, the writer logged on to several of the Government Ministries’ websites to find out whether the basics of RTI are in fact operational or not. However, most of the websites did not have the RTI forms for the citizens to download to make things easier. There was no contact email address so that the complaints could be sent online too either.

Nevertheless, many of the Ministries claimed they had an information officer and offered their names and telephone numbers, had they only mentioned this on the website, it would have helped people, rather than making them just waste telephone calls looking for them.

The Website – https://www.rti.gov.lk/rti-forms- has all the forms and giving that link on all the Ministry websites would be an ideal suggestion too.

A proper website with details of the RTI and forms to be downloaded could be seen only on the Ministry of Law and Order and on the Ministry of Defence websites.

A tedious process

 

Here are some of our findings where it became a tedious job getting information through the Ministries’ official websites.

Ministry of Prisons Reforms, Resettlement Rehabilitation and Hindu Cultural Affairs: There is no mention of the RTI officer or email to be contacted but after dialling the Ministry the official (Resettlement Ministry) said there is no official appointed as yet.

He noted that they need to create using a new cadre for the job.  Nevertheless, when we dialled one of the numbers mentioned on the website, we were told that one of the Additional Secretaries for the Ministry of Prisons Reforms is functioning as the RTI officer.

Ministry of Sports: The information officer is mentioned there but we were told that the Assistant Secretary Administration is the RTI officer. His name is mentioned in the list of Minister’s Staff.
The Tourism Development and Christian Religious Affairs Ministry: No RTI officer mentioned on the Website. One of the contact numbers included a mobile number. When dialled it was the Minister himself who answered the phone. When asked ‘do you have an Information Officer,’ he said he would rectify the matter and upload it on the website.

Ministry of Sustainable Development and Wildlife: The email info.msdw.gov.lk is not operating. The link stating: ‘Refer for public grievances’ is not operating either.

There is neither RTI officer mentioned nor his email given. The RTI enquiry form was not available.
Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation: There is no mention of a RTI officer. Dial 1919 is available that links to Telecom information desk. The RTI enquiry form was not available.

Ministry of Development Strategies and International Trade Sri Lanka: There is an online Enquiry form there is no mention of the RTI officer or email to be contacted. Details of the Ministry staff is mentioned with contact numbers but no one knew who the RTI officer was. No forms to download for enquiry either.

Ministry of National Co Existence, Dialogue, and Official Language: There is an online enquiry form but no RTI officer mentioned or his email given to be contacted.  When telephoned the direct line of the Ministry, an official said there is a RTI officer and offered the number.

Ministry of Law and Order: A compete website with two RTI officers mentioned with telephone numbers etc. There are various forms of Pdf application forms for enquiries that could be downloaded.

Ministry of Plantation Industries: Has an online Enquiry form but not mentioned of a RTI officer or his contact details. No forms to download for enquiry.

Ministry of Finance and Mass Media: RTI has been mentioned but when clicked, what you see is the scanned RTI Act no 12 of the 2016.  There is no direct line for a RTI officer, names, or email mentioned.

Ministry of Land and Parliamentary Reforms: No RTI officer mentioned. A public Relation officer mentioned with no details. No forms to download for enquiry.

Ministry of Home Affairs: No RTI officer name mentioned. There is a public feedback combo but the link has no information.

Ministry of Internal Affairs, Wayamba Development and Cultural Affairs: There is an online contact form and phone numbers of Minister’s office staff.

Ministry of National Policies and Economic Affairs: Has a list of telephone numbers but cannot trace the information officer. There are also no contact details of the persons for queries.

Ministry of Industry and Commerce: An online enquiry form is available. No RTI officer’s name mentioned.  Ministry of Disaster Management: The RTI officer’s details are not mentioned but senior official’s contact numbers are available.

Ministry of Skills Development and Vocational Training: No details of the RTI officer. All senior officials’ contact numbers including their private secretaries’ numbers are available.

Ministry of Public Administration and Management: No RTI officer mentioned but old press release on the RTI and Commissioners’ being appointed are uploaded to the website. Dial 1919 directing to the Telecom information desk is available.

 

By Sulochana Ramiah Mohan/ Ceylon Today.

Motion does not reveal anything specific against PM - Opposition Leader

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

Corruption is the worst disease that has afflicted our country and it needs to be eradicated. The roots of corruption must be eradicated. Politicians probably constitute the roots of corruption and that needs to be addressed and eradicated. Any complaint of corruption should be investigated and those found guilty should be punished.

Motion does not reveal anything specific against PM - Opposition Leader.docx by Thavam on Scribd

As truth triumphs so does a man of probity in his trials ! 14 TNA members to support Ranil

(Lanka-e-News - 04.April.2018, 2.00PM)   Even before the debate on the no confidence motion that was propelled by the corrupt and the crooked to oust the prime minister (P.M.) could be taken for debate  , the motion was defeated . This was confirmed yesterday night (03) .

This is following the 14 members of the TNA which was with the rainbow revolution on 2015-01-08 deciding yesterday night to extend unconditional support to prime minister (P.M.) Ranil Wickremesinghe ( during the debate today , the conditions will be known). This decision was reached after a discussion between 13 members of the TNA including its leader R. Sampanthan, and a group of the UNP which comprised Ranil , Kabir, Mangala, Malik, and Ravi . The 14 th member of the TNA who could not be present physically, via phone intimated his support .

At the same time , the SLMC of Rauff Hakeem as well as Rishad Badiudeen group have stated they would  support Ranil.

The group of opportunists led by comedian president Pallewatte Gamarala who were anxiously waiting for Range Bandara to deliver his promise that he would  come with 20 UNP members to join Gamarala’s  herd of buffaloes were disappointed as never before, for until yesterday evening , neither the 20 members nor Range Bandara  the buffoon best known for tomfoolery appeared to cheer the buffaloes in the Gamarala race. Range Bandara  was untraceable yesterday .Apparently Gamarala had swallowed the rope Range Bandara  gave him to tie around his neck. 

Though yesterday morning it was said the SLFP team of Gamarala was  threatened to decide unanimously that the P.M. should resign , in the night when the same group  met they could not decide on what stance they should take pertaining to the no confidence motion, and therefore had to postpone the meeting  to  the following day (03). This was because the TNA deciding to support the P.M , and Range Bandara doing the vanishing trick.  Consequently ,the task of searching for Range Bandara  had to be entrusted to a light foretelling goddess. 

The UNP In response to the so called threat of the SLFP  , convening  an official  media discussion yesterday (03)  noon announced , ‘those within the government who are against it , shall resign and go home’. Accordingly , it is now confirmed, today (04)  is the D day for Gammanpila and  Weerawansa led by Gamarala , as well as S.B., Susil, Thilanga , Dilan , and Lakshman Yapa  the pinnadi  ministers ( who became ministers by begging)  who are taking refuge under them .
 
An SLFP stalwart and powerful parliamentarian  speaking to Lanka e news said , if  any rascal is trying to keep scoundrels like Thilanga and S.B in the ministerial posts still, it would become necessary for him to take  clubs and go to parliament .

In the circumstances ,undoubtedly , a majority of shameless villains enjoying ministerial portfolios with the patronage  of Gamarala is likely to flee without voting during  tonight’s no confidence motion .

It will be best if  the JVP before it bathes  itself with the ‘no confidence shit bucket’ of Rajapakse –Gamarala walks out of parliament , in which case  they have a chance at least this time to escape from the stench and mudslinging against them that they are traitors because they have already fastened that  label of traitors on themselves. 

Impeachment motion against Gamarala 

Doubtless , this no confidence motion will be permanently  changing the composition of this government. At the same time following the defeat Pallewatte Gamarala will have to face  , he  will have to hang the impeachment motion against him in his  own  backyard , and take treatment  for his loose motions . May be he will even  have to  hang himself. It is for Gamarala  to decide when that impeachment motion is going to crash on his head.  

Moreover , if he continues  to act counter to the mandate of 2015-01-08 , and takes one step in the wrong direction , the speaker will be accepting the impeachment motion against Gamarala bearing signatures more than the number of signatures (over 50 %) in respect of  today’s no confidence motion which is going to be victorious for the P.M. Lanka e news had already reported on this , citing the two grave charges against Gamarala in that event. Those charges relate to  appointing of two ministers on two occasions by Gamarala unconstitutionally.

Undoubtedly such unconstitutional actions of the president will be considered as serious violations by Supreme court (SC )during an impeachment motion .When that happens ,  the Rajapakses will have no grounds to hesitate to support  an impeachment motion  against Gamarala while  they are aware there is going to be a presidential election in 3 months. In those circumstances , following the SC decision , a two third majority in parliament in the second round in favor of the impeachment motion will be no issue  at all.

The company of a serpent that gobbles eggs is safer than the company of a serpent which gobbles hoppers !

Pallewatte  Gamarala who ate hoppers ( hopper gobbling  serpent) before turning enemy of the SLFP on the earlier occasion , later began  to display his treacherous and deadly  nature stemming from his innate traits of a snake under the grass , by ruthlessly turning hostile against the very group which installed him on the presidential throne . It therefore became very clear following his treacheries , hypocrisies and betrayals , that even a filthy fly that swarms over stinking excreta has better qualities than this two legged serpent . Sadly this realization dawned a trifle too late on those who trusted him implicitly. 

Another opportunity for Gamarala ….

Another opportunity will present itself to the people soon to gauge the amount of affinity of Gamarala for the revolution  because the SC has now decided that a two third majority is needed for the proposed bill for establishment of special high courts  to eliminate delays in the administration of justice , and to try the crooks and the corrupt  expeditiously. 

It is a well and widely known fact , Gamarala made loud and proud announcements that until the corrupt are jailed by him after the 10 th , and they are even driven to infernal hell beneath  the earth , he will not relent or relax.  Now it is the turn of the people to watch  to decide for themselves whether Gamarala is going to fulfill his grandiose promises  by mustering  the two third majority  necessary to establish the special courts against the corrupt scoundrels or going to resort to tricks and treacheries as usual. 

Believe  it or not famous political analyst Wimal Dheerasekera of Lanka e news made mention of Gamarala’s lonely , selfish and disastrous journey in his article as far back as August last year. He forewarned  that this uncivilized uncouth  Gamarala who is accustomed to biting the hand that feeds , may bring a no confidence motion against his own P.M. , joining  hands with  the corrupt and crooked Rajapakses who were thrown out lock, stock and barrel by the people .

Amidst all these odds arrayed against Gamarala , he still has an opportunity to prove he has not missed the last bus even though he has missed the bus . That is by abolishing the executive presidency  during the next few months  which he promised solemnly and an umpteen number of times during the run up to the presidential elections. At least  by that he can demonstrate , he is not any longer a zero but a hero , and he is not a masquerader but a ruler who  is still able to fulfill promises even at this belated stage. 

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by     (2018-04-05 09:02:48)