Death of a hero in France

2018-04-07 

Personally I’m a coward. I’m unlikely ever to be a hero. (I have rescued on different occasions three young children from drowning, but I didn’t risk my life.) I certainly would never have done what Colonel Arnaud Beltrame, the French policeman, did. He asked the terrorist who had taken over a supermarket if he could substitute himself for the female hostage he held. The terrorist agreed and then murdered him. Last Wednesday Beltrame was given a state funeral. The Moroccan terrorist who appears to be a supporter of ISIS is in jail, awaiting trial.  

Islamic terrorism has hit France particularly hard. In the last few years it has claimed over 300 lives in France and neighbouring, French-speaking, Belgium. Compare this with the US where murders committed by Islamic-minded terrorists were only eight in 2017 yet white men murdering schoolchildren en masse has almost become a sport. In Britain where there was more (35) the number is much less than the French.  

In France most of the assassins have been locals although many of them have worked for ISIS abroad. They can be the most dangerous. However, most returnees seem to want to give up violence and settle down.  

One result of the failure has been the rise in politics of the xenophobic right, personified by Marin Le Pen’s National Front

A good proportion of the French electorate would like to see the doors totally closed to new immigrants, even if they are refugees from war. The government doesn’t go this far, recognizing that the terrorists are not new arrivals but second or third generation sons of migrants who have not been properly educated, brought up in third-rate housing far from amenities, and jobless.  

Like other countries in Europe the French have long believed in “multiculturalism”. This means as a foreigner you can live where you want, and group together with members of your own nationality. This has had the effect of cutting immigrants off from the mainstream. In France it has usurped laicite, the traditional French republican ideal of civic secularism. Apart from banning the full body covering of the burka, worn by a few female immigrants, often under pressure from their husbands, the French government has only modest results to show for its effort to stand up for its principles.  

But there is a need for fighting back and winning back lost ground, necessary now after the failure of multiculturalism. What is needed if the fight is to succeed is “integration”, (as the Supreme Court in America recognized 53 years ago with its banning of white-only schools. Regrettably it has only been partially enforced.)  

One result of the failure has been the rise in politics of the xenophobic right, personified by Marin Le Pen’s National Front. Apart from recruiting white racists the extreme right has fuelled the rise of Muslim identity politics.  

Now a few countries in Europe are changing course to integration. In Sweden there is a policy to disperse new arrivals around the country. Language and cultural tuition is compulsory, including emphasis on the rights of women. They have to fit in, not join the old de-facto ghettos. In Finland there are special programmes for women- to get them out of the house, where many men like to keep them, into normal working life outside. France has been, belatedly and too slowly, pushing integration.  

But there is a need for fighting back and winning back lost ground, necessary now after the failure of multiculturalism. 

Good, but what to do about immigrants already here? In France there has been the emergence of ultra-conservative Salafi enclaves which have bred violent Islamists and have encouraged confrontation with the French authorities. Lax government supervision of mosques has allowed non-Francophonic imams to preach on the evils of French society.  

The main push to counter Islamic extremism must be to reach those whose minds are closed to the tenets of French society because of the geography of where they live, combined with the fury that comes from young people with no prospects.  

Now a few countries in Europe are changing course to integration. In Sweden there is a policy to disperse new arrivals around the country

In France the right, as in the UK and the US, has stirred the pot of discrimination, highlighting the crime rate and the lack of effort of young men to find jobs. For its part the left has defended the right of immigrants to live where they want and how they want. French Muslims are seen as the victims of Islamophobia- which they too often are- but they are also victims of the laissez-faire (live and let be) policies of successive governments.  

The election of Emmanuel Macron as president was a victory for the centre, a necessary step for France, not just because of the immigrant question but because of economic and other social issues too.  

It will be a long haul to put society right again, to break up the ghettos, to build good housing and schools, to find imaginative ways to give the young unemployed jobs and to give the security services the resources to monitor would-be terrorists. There is no easy answer to the knife that killed Arnaud Beltrame.  

For 17 years, the writer was a foreign affairs columnist and commentator for the International Herald Tribune/New York Times.  

Challenges faced by Modi’s ‘Clean India’ campaign

Saturday, 7 April 2018

Since open defecation has been an eyesore and a major cause of diseases in India, the Narendra Modi Government launched a ‘Clean India’ campaign named Swachch Bharat Mission (SBM) on 2 October 2014, four months after he came to power.

The day, 2 October 2014, happened to be the 145th birth anniversary of the ‘Father of the Nation,’ Mahatma Gandhi, who was also the country’s first campaigner for a ‘Clean India’ with a special emphasis on building and maintaining hygienic latrines to end the degrading practice of open defecation.

In fact Gandhi deliberately lived in the Bhangi Colony or Sanitary Workers’ Colony in Imperial Delhi to turn it into a clean place where everybody, including himself, would keep the environment, including the toilets, clean.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had given the Swachch Bharat Mission the task of ending open defecation by 2 October 2019, to mark the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi and also the completion of his five-year term of office.

Inspired by Modi’s initiative, Bollywood actor and director Akshay Kumar made a film in 2017 entitled ‘Toilet: Ek Prem Katha,’ which earned INR 1.3 billion in the box office. The film featured a ‘Toilet Anthem’ sung by Khiladi Kumar.

“The intention to create this song was to make people realise the importance of having toilets in their homes. I want everyone to educate their kids so that they can grow up and bring this big change,” Akshay said.

The aim of the Swachch Bharat Mission was to build almost 65,082 lakh toilets by 2019. A $ 1.5 billion World Bank loan, to be repaid over 18 years with a five-year grace period, was taken for what was legitimately dubbed as the “largest cleaning campaign in the world”. The World Bank would disburse the funds in tranches upon the submission of a report by an independent evaluation agency. 

SBM was by no means a totally new project. The predecessor United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government led by Dr. Manmohan Singh had its own Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan (Clean India Expedition) running, and had some achievements to its credit. But Modi changed the name and gave the movement a new thrust and a new sense of urgency.     

The primary aim of both the NBA and the SBM was to eradicate open defecation, establish a system of door to door waste collection, and construct toilets in every household and in public places.

Considering the vast difference in the sanitation requirements between cities and villages, the SBM was divided into SBM (Urban) and SBM (Gramin or Rural). The former is under the aegis of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs while the latter is handled by the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation.

The SBM also envisages the creation of awareness about sanitation and health and improving the quality of life in rural areas by promoting hygiene and cleanliness.

The SBM could obtain loans from the Government for setting up rural sanitary marts and to receive funding for constructing community sanitary complexes and setting-up solid and liquid waste management projects.

Progress

As per Government figures, sanitation coverage in rural areas was 42.01% at the time of the launch of the SBM in October, 2014. This increased by over 15% in the next couple of years and stood at 58.75% at the end of 2016. Meanwhile, 130,000 villages had been declared ‘Open Defecation Free’ by 2016 end.

By October 2019, 65,082 lakh toilets are to be constructed. By the end of 2017, 3,851 lakh toilets had been constructed, achieving 58.5% of the target. However, the achievement was uneven in the country as a whole, with success varying from state to state.

Andhra Pradesh led by the progressive Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, showed an achievement rate of 172% and Prime Minister Modi’s State of Gujarat was next with 137%. The tribal State of Jharkhand registered 114%. But Delhi State, where the national capital is located, and Meghalaya, Tripura and Assam in Eastern India achieved less than 1%.

Progress in the construction of community or public toilets was less. Only 44% of the target of building 500,000 public toilets was achieved. However, 1,100 towns and cities across India were declared Open Defecation Free.

Garbage collection from house to house showed 50% success. Door-to-door collection was introduced in 41,000 of the 81,000 municipal wards targeted. Municipal waste processing improved from 16% in 2014 to 22% in 2017.

Waste segregated in individual households is collected by garbage trucks and taken to a secondary segregation centre, from where it is transported for processing and treatment. As per Government data, almost 1.65 lakh tons of compost was produced in 2016, with the current waste-to-energy production level being 88.4 megawatts.

But the country has a long way to go in waste disposal. Even big cities like Delhi still have mountains of unprocessed garbage.

The SBM is not just a Government program. Private and public companies have been roped into it. Toilet construction in schools, ‘Swachch Vidyalaya Program,’ is part of corporate social responsibility programs.

Flaws

However, the SBM has its critics too. There is no dispute over the need for such a mission, but its claims, approach and implementation have come under fire.

While the Modi Government claims stupendous success, the funding agency, World Bank, in its report dated 5 February 2017, said that the SBM’s achievements were “moderately unsatisfactory”.

The World Bank had delayed its tranches on the grounds that the Government had not submitted evaluation reports by an independent third party agency as per the undertaking.

According to the National Family Health Survey Series 4, only 48% of the households in India are using improved sanitation facilities. In the rural areas, only 36.7% of the toilets unconstructed are actually used as toilets. In other words, peopled defecate in the open outside, even if they have built a toilet in their homes. Only 29% of the households in the ‘Achievement List’ had actually constructed toilets.

There is corruption as in other Government-funded schemes. According to a survey, only 24% of households which had constructed toilets in their premises had received dues from the Government under SBM.

According to a review conducted after the first year of the SBM, public sector undertakings had only achieved 11% of their target. The private corporate sector, on the other hand, performed even more poorly meeting only 8% of its target, having built just 424 toilets.

A major hurdle in the way of the SBM is the scarcity of water. Public toilets in metropolitan cities have been reported to have no water supply at all. Non-availability of water in many parts of rural India makes people avoid a household or a public toilet and opt for open defecation instead. In the open, nature takes care of the disposal of bodily waste.

“This leads one to question whether building toilets serves any purpose in the absence of water supply,” as one observer put it. Therefore the Government has to ensure water supply first.

The other problem is created by the Government’s methods of enforcement. According to a report, in certain villages in Rajasthan, the local authorities had instructed ration shops not to issue dry rations to households which had not built toilets. But this could be mean starvation in the case of poor agricultural labourers belonging to the lowest Dalit caste.

Poor disbursement of funds by the Government is another inhibiting factor. A household needs INR 20,000 to 30,000 to build a sanitary pit for a toilet. But the poor, who are the majority, cannot afford to pay this from their own pocket. Therefore, toilets are either not built at all, or only built partly.

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

By Emma Richards | 6th April 2018 | @EmmaRichards85

Rohingya refugee cries next to her son, outside a temporary mosque at Kutupalong refugee camp, near Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh January 4, 2018. Source: Reuters/Tyrone Siu

“PRESENCE, perseverance, and patience” are what’s needed to solve the Rohingya refugee crisis says Canada’s special envoy Bob Rae in a new report released Tuesday. 

Canada should take a leadership role in responding to the crisis by ramping up humanitarian aid and development efforts, and showing a willingness to welcome refugees from the region, the report states.

The report, entitled Tell them we’re human, also claims there is evidence “to support the charge that crimes against humanity have been committed” in Burma (Myanmar).

Bangladeshi farmer Jorina Katun gestures among the Rohingya Muslims camped out on her land near the Kutapalong refugee camp in the Cox’s Bazar district of Bangladesh February 9, 2018. Picture taken February 9, 2018. Source: Reuters/Andrew RC Marshall

“These allegations include abuses by members of the Myanmar military, militia and other groups, and ARSA (Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army), among others. The crime of genocide has also been alleged, and the evidence for this crime has to be assessed carefully as well,” the report said.

SEE ALSO: Mediterranean rescue ship to scan for Rohingya refugees in Southeast Asia

Rae calls on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to more than triple the amount of money spent on aid to the region to US$120 million a year over the next four years; to accept thousands of the Rohingya Muslim minority refugees who have fled the country without specifying a particular number; and to maintain targeted economic sanctions against individuals responsible “for the abuses of human rights in Myanmar.”

Wider, more general sanctions against the country haven’t worked in the past, Rae said. Suggestions to further isolate the country by withdrawing trade would only make Canada “almost entirely irrelevant to any debate or discussion on how to move forward.”

Instead, he urged Canada to take a clear stand and press for justice and accountability for those responsible within the government. Thus avoiding using the “poor population as a pawn in our profound differences” Canada has with those in power.

Missing from the 39-page report is how to address Burma’s de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who is an honorary Canadian citizen. She has been widely criticised for remaining silent and refusing to speak out against the atrocities being committed at the hands of the military.

SEE ALSO: Burma grants United Nations visit, but no mention of access to Rakhine

“Those who are responsible for breaches of international law, including crimes against humanity, should be brought to justice. This applies to all those involved, including state actors and non-state actors, armies, and individuals,” the report said, without mentioning individual names.

He reiterated that Suu Kyi is not in charge of her country’s powerful military and said targeting her does not address the main crisis.

Rae made 17 recommendations in total. On top of championing Canada’s increased involvement and funding, the report says Burmese officials must help the Rohingya return home, but under only close scrutiny to ensure their safety from the military and mobs.

Suu Kyi delivers a speech to the nation over Rakhine and Rohingya situation, in Naypyitaw, Myanmar. To Rohingya refugees, this is just ‘drama’. Source: Reuters/Soe Zeya Tun

He said Canada should raise the crisis at the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in London later this month, as well next month at the G7 summit in Canada.

Trudeau issued a statement Tuesday thanking Rae for his insights, professionalism, and recommendations, and said the government will outline further measures it intends to take in coming weeks.

“This report brings much-needed awareness to the grave humanitarian crisis and gross violations of human rights faced by hundreds of thousands of people, including Rohingya communities, other religious and ethnic minorities, and women and girls,” he said.

AI Canada Media‏ @AICanadaMedia

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@AmnestyNow welcomes @BobRae48 report on #RohingyaCrisis in Myanmar & calls on Canada to implement recommendations without delay

9:51 am - 3 Apr 2018

Trudeau said Canada will continue to work closely with the international community and the United Nations on a path forward.

“We share a global responsibility to respond to this crisis and meet the needs of those displaced and most vulnerable,” he said.

The doctor who really feels his patients' pain

Image copyrightMASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL

By Claire BatesBBC Stories-4 April 2018

For Dr Joel Salinas, music creates colours, numbers have personalities and another person's pain feels almost like his own. He thought that was how everyone experienced the world - until he went to medical school.

Joel Salinas rushes in to the hospital bathroom and throws up until he's dry heaving. Washing his face, the third-year medical student stares at his pale reflection in the mirror and wills himself to live.

He doesn't know it yet, but Salinas has a condition called mirror-touch synaesthesia. Any time he sees someone experience pain, or even just the sense of touch, his brain recreates the sensations in his own body. And on this day in 2008 he has just watched someone die.

"Someone had a cardiac arrest and it completely caught me off guard," he says.

"I saw them getting chest compressions and I could feel my back on the linoleum floor and the compressions on my own chest. I felt the breathing tube scraping down the back of my throat."

When the patient was declared dead 30 minutes later Salinas experienced an "eerie silence".

"I had this complete absence of physical sensations. It was so haunting. It was like being in a room with an air conditioner and suddenly it was switched off," he says.

He escaped to the bathroom where he reassured himself he wasn't dead - and vowed he wouldn't let himself react so strongly again.

Image captionSalinas, pictured with his brother, during his medical training

Synaesthesia is a condition in which one or more of your senses is merged with another rather than experienced separately. Some people perceive taste when they hear music while others experience colours when they look at letters and numbers.

Salinas has early memories of the condition such as the bell ringing in blue and yellow at his primary school in Florida.

"When colouring in at school I was very specific that my B had to be just the right shade of orange and that my number one had to be yellow," he says.

"Sums also didn't make intuitive sense to me. My two was a red maternal person and my four was a blue friendly person. So how could a two plus a two equal a four?"

However, his colour associations also helped him remember information making him "a whizz at vocabulary and spelling".

Image captionJoel with his mother - synaesthesia affected his ability to make friends

Salinas struggled to fit in with his peers and remembers asking his mother why nobody liked him. One problem was that he was too forthcoming with hugs.

"Hugging was a wholly immersive experience," he wrote in his 2017 book, Mirror Touch.
It made him feel warm and secure and a "cool silvery blue, the same feeling the number four inspired in me".

But when he hugged other children, they often thought it was weird.

After frequent rejections Salinas withdrew further into his own world. He watched TV for hours as he enjoyed the way his whole body mirrored the sensations of every touch and movement on screen.

"When the cartoon Road Runner stuck out its tongue, I'd feel as if mine was sticking out. When the coyote got hit by a truck, I'd feel it," he says.

Image captionJoel watched a lot of TV growing up as he found it so immersive

Salinas realised as a teenager that making others feel better made him feel better, due to this shared sensory experience. He found he was drawn "to healing people" and decided to pursue a career in medicine.

He hadn't talked about his experiences up to this point as he had just assumed everybody experienced the world the same way. However, on a college trip to India in 2005 Salinas discovered this wasn't the case. When a fellow medical student described a group of people who perceived colours with letters, Salinas remarked that this was the case for most people.

"He looked at me and said: 'That's absolutely not the case for everyone,'" Salinas says.

But understanding this did nothing to prepare him for the difficult experiences that came in the next stage of his studies.

"The mirror-touch pain was most vivid at medical school when I began to see the extremes of physical trauma," Salinas says.

When he watched a teenage boy on an operating table he felt the incision as if it was slicing into his own abdomen, followed by the "hot and writhing experience" of seeing the boy's internal organs.

It all came to a head on the day a patient died, and he found himself vomiting in the hospital bathroom. He realised he had to find coping techniques if he was to make it as a doctor.

Salinas found mirror-touch sensations were more vivid when he was surprised or if the person he observed was physically similar to himself. So he started to prepare himself for such situations.

"I focused looking at a patient's sleeve or collar, or on grounding myself in my own body," he says.

But he also found his "hyper-empathy" helped him to treat his patients. He would notice almost immediately if they were thirsty or in pain, picking up on the slightest facial and body movements.

"I really have a stake in my patients' well-being, because in that moment it's also my well-being," he says.

"Being in hospital can be very lonely for the patient and being able to in some way inhabit the same space means a lot."

Image captionSalinas graduating from medical school in Miami

Synaesthesia research was still in its early days in 2007 when he visited the leading expert, neurologist Dr V S Ramachandran, to take part in some tests.

He was told that his experience of feeling touch when he saw someone else being touched was a newly discovered type of synaesthesia called mirror touch. It could affect as many as 1.6% of the population, according to a study led by Michael Banissy.

Salinas also discovered that his own sister perceived some coloured letters, while his mother and brother had some mirror-touch-like experiences.

Scientists now think we are all born with synaesthesia. A recent study found babies associate different shapes with different colours, however, this merging of senses diminishes in most people as our brains remove unnecessary connections in a process known as "pruning".

"One hypothesis is people with synaesthesia have a defect in pruning so end up with an excess of connections," Salinas says.

---

Find out more

• Joel Salinas spoke to Outlook on the BBC World Service
• You can listen again here

---

Now a neurologist at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, Salinas has found it easier to talk about his experiences as research into the subject has increased.

"Earlier there had been the risk of being perceived as weird or different or a liar. Now I can defend it as something that is real," he says.

He agreed to be interviewed by artist Daria Martin, who was creating a film installation for the Wellcome Collection in London about mirror touch.

"We think people have five senses: sound, sight, smell, taste and touch. Beyond this there are several scientifically recognised senses including pain and temperature," Martin says.

"Synaesthesia can move between any of these crossings."

Image copyrightDARIA MARTIN COURTESY OF MAUREEN PALEY

Image captionDaria Martin's film at the Wellcome Collection

Martin created two films that explore the mirror-touch synaesthete's way of seeing. She interviewed a number of people with the condition and introduced Salinas to one of them - Fiona Torrance from Liverpool.

"Our experiences were surprisingly similar, though she seemed to have been more overwhelmed by some of her physical experiences," Salinas says.

"For example, there was an incident where she was sitting in her car, someone nearby was suddenly punched, and it sounded like the mirrored experience was so physical and vivid that it triggered a fainting spell."

Salinas says that when synaesthetes meet and discover what symptoms they share they come away with a "greater sense of normal-ness".

However, he is keen that synaesthesia should not be thought of as a disorder.

"I don't see it as a blessing or a curse as it can be both," he says.

"I couldn't imagine my life without synaesthesia. I wouldn't be who I am now without it."

Pictures courtesy of Dr Joel Salinas, unless otherwise stated
@batesybates

HRCSL to investigate complaints related to Kandy incidents

• Friday, April 06, 2018

The Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka says it will investigate complaints made by the public with regard to the aforementioned issue by virtue of their powers vested under the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka Act No.21 of 1996.

As the initial step of the investigation, written information and evidence will be collected from persons affected by the violent incidents and any other interested party.

The written submissions should not exceed three (03) pages and must include the date, place and time of incidents and names of persons or institutions identified related to the issues addressed by the written submissions. Photographs or videos of the incidents can also be attached to the submission.

Written submissions must be forwarded on or before 21 April 2018 via registered post to the Regional Coordinator, Kandy Regional Office, Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka, No.8/1, Primrose Road, Peradeniya Road, Kandy

For further details the public can contact the Regional Coordinator of Kandy Regional Office on 081 2228009 or 070 365 49 01. (Colombo Gazette)

SL Human Rights Commission slams Army for violating agreement on peacekeeping

BY ATHULA VITHANAGE- 06 APRIL 2018

The Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) has complained that troops were deployed to Lebanon without their clearance, in violation of an agreement reached in 2016 that would see the Commission vet all Sri Lankan peacekeepers for their human rights record.

In a letter to the President as commander in chief, HRCSL chair says it’s shocking that soldiers were sent for UN peacekeeping before the conclusion of the vetting process.

“Deploying troops without the vetting process is a complete violation of the agreement with the Human Rights Commission,” says HRCSL Chairperson Deepika Udagama.

The letter to President Maithripala Sirisena details information of non-cooperation by the military in helping with the clearance.

DR DEEPIKA UDUGAMA

The commission had been sent forms with regard to 204 troops on 21 December 2017, but then asked for supportive documents which were due on 19 March 2018.

It had only received part of it late on 4 April 2018.

Lt. Colonel Hewage

In its letter the Commission says it was shocked to discover of 49 soldiers being sent to Lebanon through news sources on 19 February – this without vetting it says was a violation of the agreement.

However, the Ministry of Defence had announced online its intention to send the contingent ten days earlier on 8 February 2018.  It is not known that the Commission had raised an objection before the announced deployment. 

When human rights organisations and Tamil diaspora groups objected to deploying Lieutenant Colonel Wasantha Hewage to head the contingent the UN stepped in to stop him.

In a letter to the media dated 29 February 2018 Sri Lanka military spokesperson Brigadier Sumith Atapattu had confirmed that the government is in agreement with the UN to vet all soldiers before deploying for peacekeeping.

Dr Deepika Udagama has also criticised the military for not coming forward to correct several press reports that wrongly accused the Commission of delaying the deployment of Sri Lankan troops for peacekeeping in Lebanon.

© JDS

Annai Poopathy remembrance tournament to be held in Batticaloa

07Apr 2018

Tamil youth in Batticaloa will commemorate the memory of Annai Poopathy with a football tournament in her honour.

A Batticaloa native, Poopathy Kanapathipillai, fondly referred to as Annai Poopathy ("mother Poopathy"), commenced a fast unto death on 19th March 1988 to protest the injustices and atrocities committed by the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF).

She died on 19th April 1988, after thirty days of fasting.

In preparation for the tournament and the 30 year anniversary of Annai Poopathy’s death, organisers cleared her memorial in Navalady, Batticaloa last week.

Related Articles: 

19 April 2017 : Annai Poopathy remembered on 29th anniversary of death

Rajapaksa camp wanted to defend themselves from murder, fraud and corruption charges - JVP

Friday, April 6, 2018 

The No-Confidence motion brought against the Prime Minister split the joint opposition and also undermined its recent electoral gains at local elections, the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna leader Anura Dissanayake MP told journalists yesterday.

During a media briefing at JVP office in Battaramulla Dissanayake said only the Gotabhaya Rajapaksa camp in the JO was interested in the no faith motion while Basil Rajapaksa’s team had shown a lukewarm response although they had voted in favour of the motion.

“The behaviour of Mahinda Rajapaksa was also very strange.When he went with other JO members to handover the no confidence motion to the Speaker his facial expressions were similar to a dog being dragged to bath,” Dissanayake said.

Dissanayake went on to say that both former President Mahinda Rajapaksa MP and his son Namal Rajapaksa MP had not uttered a word during the no confidence debate or help those trying to win it.

The JVP leader charged that Gotabhaya’s camp was very keen to win the no confidence motion as most of those accused of major frauds and corruption was on that side.“Most of those responsible for the MIG deal and other major malpractices during the previous regime are on the Gotabhaya camp.They wanted to topple Ranil’s government and escape from the charges levelled” he added.

Dissanayake said that topics such as the current burning issues in the country, bond scam and the recent communal clashes never figured in the debate.

He said the Rajapaksa camp only wanted to defend themselves from the murder, fraud and corruption charges leveled against them.Dissanayake charged that the no confidence motion only showcased extent of the breakdown of the political system in the country.The JVP leader also observed that the no confidence motion was poorly planned.

The attempt Dissanayake said had helped the UNP to iron out its internal issues.

The JVP leader said that the no confidence motion had also created a major division among the SLFP and UPFA members supporting the President.

He said the JVP always had a very clear stance about the no confidence motion and acted in a manner which best suited the interest of the country and the people. Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna leader Anura Dissanayake.

What Next? Some Thoughts On The Post-NCM Vote

By Sumanasiri Liyanage –APRIL 6, 2018

Sumanasiri Liyanage

My good friend, Prof Jayadeva Uyangoda’s recent article in Colombo Telegraph has shown the total bankruptcy of the liberal bourgeois reading of the current political situation in Sri Lanka. His reading and reasoning are instrumental in the sense that it aims at proving that the January 8, 2015 agenda is the best available option for Sri Lanka. Following the old adage, “gilenna yana miniha piduru gaheth ellenawa” (a person who is going to drown will hang even into a straw), liberal bourgeois analysis tends to prescribe that the January 8, 2015 agenda be revitalized at the event of the Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s victory on April 4 over the no-confidence motion (NCM) moved by the Joint Opposition. Hence, Prof Uyangoda has once again raised their hopes and expectations that the January 8, 2015 agenda can be implemented in the next eighteen months if we cease this new opportunity. The no-confidence motion was defeated in the Parliament by 46 votes. All the MPs of the United National Front (UNF) voted against the NCM in spite of some signs of dissidents when the NVM was moved. The Tamil National Alliance, and the two Muslim Parties voted with the UNF ensuring the Prime Minister’s victory. One of the key partners of the January 8, 2015 movement, Janata Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) voted for the NCM. In spite of the JVP decision to distance itself from the other actors of the January 8, 2015 movement, one may with some justification wonder that the defeat of the NCM has created once again a space to rekindle the principal items of its agenda.

There is no doubt that the defeat of the NCM has somewhat changed political configuration in the Parliamentary sphere of politics. Of course, the April 4 vote is a tactical victory for the Prime Minister. He has shown time and again that he has been capable of dampening the opposition to his leadership by using the UNP constitution and deviating the attention of his dissidents. Some of his dissidents may be promoted to positions in the Cabinet but the control of the party would remain basically intact. PM’s position within the UNP may get strengthened as the victory over the NCM has raised the self esteem of the UNP and its members vis-s-vis the SLFP, its governmental partner. Nonetheless, it is incorrect to come to a conclusion that this victory at the parliamentary sphere reflects change of political configuration at the mass politics level. The Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) experienced in the course of the NCM its third split since 2014. While the PM and the UNP wing of the so-called national government is able to get an upper hand in the Cabinet and the unity government in the next 18 months, the President Maithripala Sirisena’s position would get more and more weakened as a consequence of the NCM vote. If the 16 SLFP dissidents are forced to leave the Cabinet and the government, his position in the Cabinet equation would get further weakened and he will be reduced to de facto nominal executive his remaining constitutional powers notwithstanding. In my opinion, reflecting on his action and performance in the past three years, President Maithripala Sirisena deserves this dismal situation he is in today.

It is interesting to note that the liberal analysis assumes that these changes in political configuration in the Parliamentary arena would be conducive to quick implementation of constitutional reforms, legal actions against corruption, full adoption of human right resolution and substantive economic reforms. It appears that this view is also shared by the so-called international community (i.e Western powers) and the Colombo civil society. Although the PM’s victory is substantial, it was achieved at a reasonably high cost.

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Gamarala gone mad ! ‘If I am to go I shall set fire to everything before that’ president screams in a fit of rage and insanity..!

(Lanka-e-News - 06.April.2018, 11.30PM)  President Pallewatte Gamarala  who is presently  in  a frenzy following his humiliating defeats behaved like a lunatic who had  just  escaped from the mental asylum during  a discussion with the participation of the prime minister and some senior ministers today . Flying into a rage  he said  ,’ if I am to go I shall set fire to everything before that’ and hit the table with his fists. 

When a number of senior ministers of the UNF including the P.M. , Mangala, Malik, Kabir and  Akila met with the president Pallewatte Gamarala this noon to tell him that the UNF cannot any  longer go on with the serpents (SLFP ministers),  specially  with the six ministers in the cabinet who voted against the P.M. and the government during the no confidence motion , and that they should be replaced , the president has flown into a mad  fit of rage like a lunatic in an insanity fit. 

The president who  bitterly resisted making changes to the cabinet had  said this cabinet should go on until 2020.  Gamarala had therefore strongly rejected the suggestions. Then in a state of sudden and grave provocation like a lunatic hit the table and screamed’ if I am to go I shall only do that after setting fire to everything’ . The P.M. and his team were shocked by the insane conduct of this foolish hanuman  unbecoming to  a president of the country. Gamarala who was truly in a  fit  of insanity had finally asked for time,  and promised to give an answer   after discussing with the SLFP working committee.

Thereafter the UNF MP’s handed over 7 no confidence motions to the speaker in Parliament  this evening against the six cabinet ministers and deputy speaker  Thilanga Sumatipala .We shall give details of the no confidence motions in another  report .

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by     (2018-04-06 18:27:40)