Age limitations for teens on Social Media

2018-04-30

Social media sites have taken over our lives and it’s hard to imagine that 10 years ago there was no Facebook. Through social media, anyone online is empowered by an unrestricted flow of information to add to his/her knowledge. Social media has removed communication barriers vibrantly.  

As media have the power to change the opinions of people, it can bring a great positive changes in society. Media have access to people and it provides a lot of strength. This strength can either be used constructively by educating the people or it can be used destructively by misleading innocent people.  

Teens and Internet

There are six million plus active social media users in Sri Lanka right now. That is more than 30% of our population. Starting from mid 2017, users in Sri Lanka on Facebook increased from five million to six million in less than 6 months. As per TRCSL stats, there are 1.5 million plus users who are aged between 10-18.  

Minimum age to open Twitter Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat accounts is 13. According to a study, it is found more than 50% of children in the world already used a Social network by the time they are 10!

As per a National Survey done by Australian Psychology Society (APS) it is found that more than three in four young people (78.8%) are highly involved with their mobile phones. Young people are reportedly using social media for an average of 3.3 hours or more each day. The survey also found 15% of teenagers reported being approached by strangers on a daily basis through their online world.  

Age restrictions for Social Media usage

We have age restrictions on smoking, consuming alcohol, watching pornography etc. But we do not have age barriers on social media and smart phones usage.  
The minimum age to open an account on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat is 13. YouTube requires account holders to be 18. According to a study, it is found more than 50% of children in the world already used a Social network by the time they are 10!  

Despite these clearly stated and published age restrictions, large and growing numbers of children 12 and under are using social media networks, often with or without their parents’ knowledge and consent.  

A recent research has found that risk for depression jumps 27% when a teenager frequently uses social media. Also found that kids in America who uses social media for more than 3 hours a day more likely to homicidal? We can’t simply ignore this fact as we are one of the best in the world in Suicidal rate

The question is, in Sri Lanka do our parents have the knowledge to check these social media platforms, restrictions, etc. Educating parents regarding this matter is essential. 

 
Facebook depression

The time before these social media and smart devices, kids were doing physical activities, which is far better than using social media devices. There is another thing that these social media are happy to introduce younger children to an adult world without moral boundaries which leads to child depression.  

A recent research has found that risk for depression jumps 27% when a teenager frequently uses social media. Also found that kids in America who use social media for more than 3 hours a day, are more likely to homicidal? We can’t simply ignore this fact as we are one of the best in the world in Suicidal rate.  

A study found children who frequently use social media are more likely to lose soft skills, self-esteem, respect for others and creativity.   

How smartphone light affects your body

•  Staring at Smartphones too long reduces blinking rates  
•  Damages your memory  
•  Disrupting melatonin can also mess with hormones that control hunger  
•  Decrease learning capacity   
•  Reduce cognitive capacity and ability to focus  

Have you ever concerned about how our Internet service providers responsible to increase of night time data usage? Doesn’t it need to change? It’s high time to rethink.  

Teach your kids to use Social media wisely

From a Sri Lankan point of view, educating parents about this social media platform, is much more likely to be a hard topic. However it has to be done sooner than later, as our younger generation getting used to it rapidly. Knowing how to navigate the online social networking world is crucial for parents and teens.  

It’s Simple  

• Stick to site age requirements – Don’t let your kids use Facebook until they are 13  
• Set clear ground rules on social media usage – Set timing ex. only 1 hour a day  
• Educate your child on the dangers of the internet  
• Don’t let kids have a computer in their room  

There is nothing wrong with Smart phones and Social Media, but it is the imbalance that matters!    

Who messed up Gazette Notification summoning Parliament?

by Gagani Weerakoon -APR 29 2018

Proroguing Parliament sessions is certainly not a new thing in Sri Lanka’s history, but issuing three Gazette Notifications in a space of two weeks to summon the new session, due to previous two being incomplete or faulty indeed could be a record.

In the President’s proclamation issued on 12 April proroguing Parliament, 8 May was fixed as the date for the start of the new Parliamentary session but it failed to give a time for the sittings to commence.

Another Gazette Notification was issued on 23 April which stated that “KNOW YE that by virtue of the powers vested in me by Article 70(4) of the Chapter XI of the Constitution of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, I, Maithripala Sirisena, President, do by this Proclamation summon Parliament to meet at the Parliament Hall, Sri Jayewardenepura, on the Eighth day of May, Two Thousand and Eighteen at 02.15pm.”
There was a mistake in this Gazette notification as the powers are vested in the President to summon Parliament under Article 70 of the Constitution and not Article 70 (4).

The latest Extraordinary Gazette amended the venue of the next Parliamentary Session from ‘Parliament Hall’ to the ‘Chamber of Parliament’.

The third Gazette was changed to read “KNOW YE that by virtue of the powers vested in me by Article 70 of the Chapter XI of the Constitution of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, I Maithripala Sirisena, President do by this Proclamation summon Parliament to meet at the Chamber of the Parliament, Sri Jayewardenepura, on the Eighth day of May, Two Thousand and Eighteen at 02.15 p.m.”

Many criticized the officials at the Presidential Secretariat of failing to perform their responsibilities while many others noted that the whole mess is clear proof to the inability and inefficiency of the Government as a whole.

Amidst many other issues tipped to take place in the Second Session of the Eighth Parliament, selecting a Deputy Speaker will be amongst first few businesses.
In addition, the seating arrangements will be rearranged to accommodate the SLFP-group of 16 to allocate them seats in the Opposition. The request was made in writing by the group from the Parliament Secretary General.

The 16 will cross over the well of the Parliament on 8 May as planned. However, there are various discussions going on and several sources claimed that all 16 may not cross over. The talk is that at least three will remain on the Government side.

Meanwhile, it was reported that President Sirisena met the SLFP group of 16 at Grand Mountain Hotel, the first 5-star resort in Matale belonging to former Deputy Minister Lakshman Wasantha Perera. While, the details of the discussion were not officially available, the group, according to sources, have discussed at length as to what their role would be in the Opposition.

New Cabinet

Appointing a new Cabinet of Ministers will most probably take place after the May Day commemorations which have been planned in various places away from Colombo.

President Sirisena, in an interview with the BBC Sinhala Service in London during his visit to London for attending the CHOGM, said responsible and credible Cabinet of Ministers that would be recognized by the general public will be appointed.

He also noted that it will not be a reshuffle but will completely be a new one.

The President emphasized that it will be a new Cabinet of Ministers in every aspect. The subjects will be divided among the Ministers in a scientific manner.
The President said that the number of Ministers of the Cabinet cannot be predicted at present. He also stressed that measures will be taken to check the track record of the Ministers who would be nominated for the Cabinet positions. The President stated that the Cabinet should be credible and recognized by the people.

Any individual who could be appointed for a Ministerial position in the Cabinet should be recognized not only in the domestic context but also in the international arena.

The President said that, hence, attention is drawn on qualifications of the Ministers when the appointments are being made. He said that it is inevitable to work ignoring international politics. Even world powers need to strengthen international ties.
The President highlighted that developing countries like Sri Lanka compulsory have to think about foreign relations.

President Sirisena’s announcement on the criteria of appointing Cabinet Ministers comes at a time when speculations are rife in political circles that the Government is planning to accommodate former Ministers Ravi Karunanayake and Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe, in the Cabinet.

Karunanayake quit in August 2017, owing to the findings of a presidential probe into the bond scams and Rajapakshe was removed, in August 2017 for violating collective Cabinet responsibility when he criticized the Hambantota Port deal with China.

These speculations came in the wake of UNP Working Committee re-appointing Karunanayake as Party’s Assistant Leader. Meanwhile, many have raised concerns about several stalwarts like Ministers Daya Gamage and Mangala Samaraweera being ignored when reforming the UNP.

However, it is expected that neither Karunanayake nor Rajapakshe would receive the portfolios they had previously held.

Before the six SLFP Ministers quit the Cabinet early this month in the wake of abortive bid to oust PM Wickremesinghe through a No-Confidence Motion, the Cabinet comprised 45 ministers, including the PM. As the leading partner, the UNP had 31 ministers.

The 16 former SLFP Ministers, Deputy Ministers, State Ministers and former Deputy Speaker Thilanga Sumathipala have told the SLFP that they wouldn’t accept Cabinet portfolios.

Several weeks ago, President Sirisena brought the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) which was under PM Wickremesinghe, under the purview of the Finance Ministry through a Gazette Extraordinary.

The Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC), which was also under the PM, too, has been brought under the Finance Ministry by the President through a Gazette Extraordinary.

Controversies over 20 – A

Opposition Leader R. Sampanthan at an event held in Colombo last Tuesday (24) has said that the Indo-Lanka Accord of 1987 is still alive and it is India’s duty to ensure that it is implemented in its fullest spirit.
“Our journey continues, we need the accord, we need to ensure that the spirit of the accord is implemented and India must do its duty to ensure the same. It is India’s duty and India cannot get away from that duty,” he said, speaking at the launch of Or Inapprachanaiyum Or Oppandhamum, a Tamil book authored by T. Ramakrishnan, an associate editor with The Hindu.

The Hindu had quoted Sampanthan as saying: “We are not saying India alone can solve this, our demand is for a political solution evolved in this country, with the consensus and support of all the people of this country.”

Referring to the Government’s efforts to draft a new Constitution, currently stalled due to on-going political crisis between coalition partners, Sampanthan has said that the position of the Tamil National Alliance is that the effort must continue and be completed.
“We need maximum devolution to exercise power without interference of the Centre… powers pertaining to people’s everyday lives,” he has said.

Tamils have no intention of dividing the country but wanted to live with respect and dignity in an undivided country where their rights are acknowledged, he added. He said if Sri Lanka’s leaders failed to negotiate with all the people to evolve an acceptable political solution “we will not hesitate to do what we must to get a just solution“.

His remarks come at a time where there are criticisms against JVP’s move to bring the 20th Amendment to the Constitution to abolish the Executive Presidency citing such moves, without abolishing the 13th Amendment, will jeopardize the sovereignty and the territorial integrity of the country.

JVP Leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake who proposed to bring the 20th Amendment as a Private Member’s Motion said the President would be appointed by Parliament under the proposed 20th Amendment to the Constitution.

Dissanayake said as per the draft Bill, the President would continue to be the Head of State and the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, but he would no longer be the Head of the Government and the Head of Cabinet of Ministers.

He however stressed that the proposed 20th Amendment would be implemented after the current term of office of President Sirisena expires. As per the draft Bill, the Head of Government and the Head of Cabinet of Ministers would be the Prime Minister. The President’s powers are to be distributed among the Cabinet, Prime Minister, Constitutional Council and Independent Commissions.

However, the President would continue to have the powers of appointing Governors of Provinces in the same manner as in the 13th Amendment.
“We need a two thirds majority to pass the 20th Amendment.
We will initiate a broad discussion on the draft Bill with all stakeholders, including the President, the PM, former President Mahinda Rajapaksa and his group and also other minor parties representing Parliament. Their proposals would also be accommodated in the final draft.
A healthy public dialogue would be initiated among civil organizations and intellectuals,” he added.

Opposing the move, SLFP senior, MInister Nimal Siripala de Silva said on Friday that the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) cannot do whatever the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) wanted, especially with regard to abolishing the Executive Presidency.

“We haven’t seen the 20th Amendment to the Constitution to support it. We can’t just do whatever the JVP wants. The powers of the Executive Presidency are vested in many areas of the Constitution, and therefore you cannot simply abolish it. If they do abolish it, they’ll have to bring in at least another 2,000 provisions in its place.”

He added, the JVP has never won an election and do not have the development of the country at heart. “They just want to dismantle the order and create chaos in the country,” he added.

 President Sirisena earlier, speaking at the cremation of the late Maduluwawe Sobhitha Thera vowed that he would do everything in his capacity to abolish the Executive Presidency.

Interestingly it is not only main political parties or the so-called Sinhala nationalist parties or politicians that oppose the move.

Minister of National Co-existence, Dialogue and Official Languages and Tamil Progressive Front (TPF) Leader Mano Ganesan says that 19 Parliamentarians have already decided to oppose the proposed 20th Amendment to the Constitution, to be brought by the JVP, with the aim of abolishing the Executive Presidency.

He said that the TPF will do its utmost to defeat the proposed Amendment when it is tabled in the Parliament as a private member’s motion.

Ganesan added that several minority parties in the House had already reached a consensus to defeat the proposed Amendment by the JVP as it will spell doom to the country both politically and socially.

He added that the need of the hour was for the Executive Presidency to be retained with its harmful clauses being deleted instead of totally dispensing with it, whilst also claiming that the JVP was hoping to fulfil its vested interests via the said motion.

“That’s the only time Sri Lanka as one country would come forward to elect someone. The only time the country becomes a single electoral entity and it represents the mandate of the majority of people,” he noted.

THE ‘OTHER’ POLITICAL CRISIS

By Dharisha Bastians-29 April, 2018

The political headwinds affecting the ruling coalition since its drubbing in the February 10 local government polls, has subsumed the quieter crisis unfolding within the fledgling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna; and what is the real threat behind the Rajapak

Reams have been written about the existential crises facing the country’s two main parties, the United National Party and the Sri Lanka Freedom Party, coincidentally, currently led by the two leaders at the helm of a fractured coalition Government. But a lesser known crisis is also unfolding within the fledgling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna, a party backed by former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, his siblings and sons. The SLPP had unprecedented electoral success in the February 10 local government election. Entering as a ‘third force’ it captured a majority of local authorities contested at the polls, out-performing both main parties in most parts of the island.

Since that election, the coalition that captured power in 2015 has been in disarray. Nearly three months later, it is still trying to find its footing, with another major cabinet reshuffle on the cards and whispers of a fresh working arrangement to be reached between President Maithripala Sirisena and his Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.

In the political headwinds that followed the local government poll in February, the quiet crisis unfolding within the SLPP has gone largely unnoticed but this week, Hambantota District MP Namal Rajapaksa – still a member of the SLFP for all intents and purposes – took to the social media network Twitter to express his displeasure about the alliance between the SLPP and the SLFP to capture power in the Hambantota Municipal Council. The infamous pistol-toting former Mayor of Hambantota, Eraj Fernando, contesting on the UPFA ticket, is back in the mayoral seat. In 2014, Fernando exploded into the national political scene, when he charged at then opposition MPs Harsha De Silva, Eran Wickremaratne, Ajith Perera and Co who were on an inspection tour of the Hambantota Port and Mattala Airport, brandishing a pistol. The UNP won the Hambantota Municipal Council, but was helpless last week when the SLFP and SLPP closed ranks to defeat its candidate and instal Fernando as Mayor. Namal Rajapaksa’s criticism stemmed from the fact that he had previously made public pronouncements that the SLPP would never join forces with the SLFP in Hambantota to defeat the UNP, despite the slim majority the winning party held in the Council. Last Thursday, the @RajapaksaNamal twitter account announced that the former first son and young MP from Hambantota was “deeply concerned” about the decision made by what he called the “senior leadership” of the SLPP to ally with the SLFP in the Hambantota MC.

“I am against, & deeply concerned, regarding the decision taken by Senior Leadership of the SLPP in #Hambantota to support the @SLFreedomParty in appointing a mayor there. #SriLanka,” Namal Rajapaksa noted. It is not clear who the young MP implies when he refers to the “senior leadership” of the SLPP.

Family’s excesses

The SLPP, or Pohottuwa, as it is known, is a complex political entity. To begin with, the mascot and brand ambassador of the SLPP does not hold membership in the party. Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa who campaigned for the SLPP in the February election, like his son, remains a member of the SLFP led by President Sirisena. Namal Rajapaksa and several other backers of the SLPP are also mere ‘spirit’ members of the party. For all official purposes, they remain members of the UPFA rebel wing, styling themselves as the ‘Joint Opposition’ in Parliament.

Secondly, the SLPP is made up of political factions that in the face of defeat at the January 2015 Presidential election were certainly not getting along. Leaders of smaller parties in the UPFA laid blame squarely at the feet of former Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa for the former President’s defeat for his steering of the re-election campaign and the allegations of corruption that dogged the administration largely as a result of the ruling family’s excesses. The shadow of this corruption has followed Basil Rajapaksa to date – he is facing separate indictments for misappropriation of public funds in the High Court of Colombo. NFF Leader Wimal Weerawansa, was one of the former Minister’s staunchest critics. By all accounts, he remains so to this day.
G.L. Peiris is the Chairman of the SLPP, but it is Basil Rajapaksa, the SLPP front-liner who is considered the political mastermind behind the Pohottuwa campaigns and strategy. The SLPP’s success at the February election, is attributed mostly to Basil Rajapaksa’s political ground game and electorate-wise targeting strategies.

Weerawansa and other hardliners within the JO/SLPP combine, are more closely affiliated with ex-Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa. The former official who was widely considered the de facto leader of the Rajapaksa Government when it was in power, has been engaged in quiet political mobilization over the past year. Backed by Rajapaksa era officials including ex-SEC Chairman Nalaka Godahewa and former Media Secretary Dr Charitha Herath and ultra-nationalist ex-military officials Sarath Weerasekera and Kamal Guneratne, Gotabaya Rajapaksa embarked upon his Viyath Maga initiative last year. The raison d’etre of the movement, that seeks to “mobilize the nascent potential of the professionals, academics and entrepreneurs to effectively influence the moral and material development of Sri Lanka”, is by all appearances, a way to build a platform for a potential Gotabaya presidential candidacy in 2019. The certainty of his candidacy is some way off, but the former Defence Secretary already commands significant support within the JO, particularly, among its more strident nationalists.

This is the ‘Gotabaya Kalliya’ within the JO that JVP Lawmaker Bimal Ratnayake famously referred to in his speech during the No Confidence Motion in Parliament earlier this month. Ratnayake revealed what political circles were already buzzing about – that the No Confidence Motion against Prime Minister Wickremesinghe was masterminded by the ‘Gota faction’ of the SLPP/JO as a means to hasten the fall of the Unity Government in the wake of its fracturing after the local government polls. The sense of urgency for this faction is also motivated by signs that investigations into brutal crimes and financial misdeeds appear to be regaining steam and could result in a few indictments and arrests in the weeks and months ahead if inquiries continue at this pace.

Other factions of the Rajapaksa camp have different plans for capturing power.

The no-faith motion move lacked the support of Basil Rajapaksa, who believed it was a fool’s errand and unlikely to alter the balance of power in Parliament. In the end game, Basil Rajapaksa was proved half-right. The JO may reap the benefit of a bonus 16 seats in opposition, after SLFP Ministers who voted for its no faith motion decided to quit the Government and requested seats in the Opposition benches in Parliament. But it is not yet clear whether the JO will obtain the full-throated support of the SLFP 16, many of whom suffered grave indignities within the Government when the Rajapaksa administration was at the height of its power.

Authoritative sources within the Rajapaksa camp claim that even the former President had been lukewarm about the moves to defeat the Premier through the no faith motion. In fact, former President Rajapaksa recently acknowledged to a confidant, in a conversation since relayed extensively to the Sunday Observer, that he was not in favour of bringing the No Confidence Motion against Wickremesinghe, unless it contained the signatures of a significant number of SLFP Ministers. In that conversation, Rajapaksa acknowledged however that JO front-liners like Dulles Alahapperuma had forced his hand in spite of his warnings that the time was not right for the move.
In a way, the moves by the Gotabaya faction seem politically amateurish compared to the long-term goals for the Rajapaksa comeback project being carefully laid out by brother Basil.

On the face of it, the January 8 coalition – now fractured and badly betrayed by its political custodians – has a problem that looms large. As it looks towards the 2019 Presidential election, now less than 18 months away, it must search high and low for a candidate to stand for the issues the movement represents. A year is a long time in politics, but at the moment at least, this problem seems insurmountable.

Image-building exercises

The fact is however, that the Rajapaksa camp faces a similar existential question. Its candidate for the 2019 presidential poll is in no way decided. In fact, the political alliance between Basil Rajapaksa and former President Rajapaksa seems to be the stronger one at present. The nexus between the Gotabaya faction and Mahinda Rajapaksa appears weaker for the moment. The former Defence official’s recent image-building exercises have irked the former President. So far, Mahinda Rajapaksa does not see Gotabaya as heir to the Rajapaksa presidential brand.

The inner circle is careful however not to stand openly against Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s presidential ambitions, mindful that if his candidacy takes shape by the second half of 2019, the former ruling family would be forced to back his campaign.

But the hunt for the Rajapaksa backed candidate is still on. In this the SLPP has a major problem. Mahinda Rajapaksa cannot run for presidential office again. He is prohibited by the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, which re-imposed presidential term limits repealed by the 18th Amendment. With his brand power, it would seem that any candidate the former President chooses to back will have a good shot at the Presidency. But in the hands of a non-family member, how will the Rajapaksas ensure their will is done?

Once candidates wrest control of presidential office, they often abandon the movements that swept them into power. There is no guarantee that the Rajapaksa-picked candidate to stand for Presidential election will do the bidding of the former ruling family once in office. This is a risk the family may be loath to take. Gotabaya poses the same risk – that he will be uncontrollable by the more moderate political forces within the Rajapaksa camp, if he wins presidential power.

The Basil Rajapaksa strategy therefore is a somewhat sophisticated one.

Basil’s game-plan

From the moment that the SLPP won the LG elections in February, the leaders of the party have had one consistent demand. The Rajapaksa camp wants a snap Parliamentary election. Never mind that under the 19A early elections cannot be called at whim any longer. Never mind that under the provisions of the 19A, a resolution backed by a two thirds majority of the House would be necessary to advance the date of a General Election. The SLPP wants a Parliamentary poll. And it wants it now.
This is part of the reason why Basil Rajapaksa refused to back the JO no-faith motion move last month. Toppling the government and realigning the balance in Parliament - this is not how the Rajapaksas want to be restored to power. The Basil Rajapaksa master plan is to force a Parliamentary election – to that end, perpetuating Government instability is useful, but only if it results in a public clamour for an election to end the political uncertainty.

While victory at a Presidential Election is far from certain for the SLPP, Basil Rajapaksa may feel more confident that the party can pull off a narrow victory at a parliamentary poll. That clout would have to be used to obtain a super majority in Parliament, made up of minor parties and UNP defections. In this hypothetical scenario, the SLPP could then use a two thirds power in the House, to repeal the 19th Amendment, including the provision imposing a two term limit on persons holding the office of President. Only this would pave the way for Mahinda Rajapaksa to stand for election in the next presidential poll that will be declared in due course.

For Basil’s plan to work, therefore, the parliamentary election must precede the presidential poll. The campaign and agitation for snap General Elections stem from that political reality.

The success of the Rajapaksa machine (and correspondingly, the abject failure of the current administration) is that it manages to cobble things together and carry forward its common agenda, despite the fissures and the fractures within.

Mahinda Rajapaksa himself is a master at this game – he spent the better part of his decade long presidency engaged in a delicate balancing act, pacifying disgruntled SLFP seniors, intimidating frustrated UNP defectors and pitting warring officials against each other. But for the decision of then Health Minister Maithripala Sirisena and a few other Ministers to join the common opposition campaign in November 2014, he would have managed to hold things together until he won a third term in office, transformed Sri Lanka into a full-fledged autocracy and declared himself President for life.

In the unlikely event that Basil’s master-plan plays out, that may well be Sri Lanka’s dark and oppressive future. Unless the juggernaut is stopped in its tracks once more by an internal rebellion or the external mobilisation of anti-Rajapaksa forces.

New look coalition after President’s policy speech on May 8

President Maithripala Sirisena tries his hand at a game of Olinda Keliya, when he visited the centre temple at the Dambulla Raja Maha Vihare on Friday. Pic by Kanchana Kumara Ariyadasa

By Our Political Editor-Sunday, April 29, 2018

Cabinet reshuffle at 10 am on May 1; subjects to be shared among present ministers -- Ranil names new office bearers but Sajith, Ajith and other members speak out; Ravi’s appointment starts a row -- Sirisena deftly handles crisis meeting of SLFP Central Committee, ignores moves to pull out from coalition, but promises restructuring after May 8

Preparations ahead of President Maithripala Sirisena’s May 8 policy statement have all the trappings of a ‘new look’ coalition getting set to run the 17 months of its remaining tenure.

New look coalition after President’s policy speech on May 8.docx by Thavam on Scribd

The Political Broth in Sri Lanka — A Witch’s Brew

Having done much to both publicly, and privately, undermine the UNP and its leader for many months previously, Sirisena cannot expect any further support from the UNP, except in matters related to the coalition’s governance of the country, if the coalition can last the regular term.

by Anura Gunasekera-Apr 29, 2018

( April 29, 2018, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) That is our parliamentary crucible; toads, newts, adders and scorpions being stirred in a poisoned chalice and strained through a kurakkan satakaya. The Diyawanna script is written in Medamulana and offered to the nation, along with Atapirikara and jasmine flowers and couched in sonorous, mock-pious statements, delivered from diverse friendly Aramayas, with open approval from a compliant, complicit and adulatory Sangha.

Whilst the most prominent casualty of the unsuccessful no-confidence motion was President Sirisena, the outcome has enabled Ranil Wickremesinghe to reunite, perhaps momentarily, a gradually disintegrating UNP and, though he may not acknowledge it publicly, to realistically re-evaluate his own leadership strategy and a possible future direction for himself and the party. He is obtuse but not too dense to learn something, to take away a minor positive, from the near-catastrophe.

Sirisena has emasculated himself politically with his own hand. The conduct of the SLFP parliamentarians in the no-confidence motion affair, reinforced the painful lesson that the local elections should have taught him – but from which he did not obviously learn – that he has little support in the SLFP. The latter no longer exists as a political party but has a flickering, unstable, half-life as a pathetic adjunct to the SLPP which, itself, is not quite a political party but a genie conjured by the Mahinda Rajapaksa (MR) magic.

Having done much to both publicly, and privately, undermine the UNP and its leader for many months previously, Sirisena cannot expect any further support from the UNP, except in matters related to the coalition’s governance of the country, if the coalition can last the regular term. And having no dependable political power or support base personally, not even in Polonnaruwa, his home electorate which the SLFP lost, he stands totally isolated.

In the No Confidence Motion, more crucial than the unseating of the prime minister, were the other possible corollary outcomes; the destabilization of the coalition, a possible dissolution of the cabinet and or the parliament, a consequent general election and the resurgence of the Rajapaksa political fortunes under the ” Pohottuwa” symbol, with either Mahinda Rajapaksa, a sibling, or a lackey as the new prime minister. In such a situation, one of the first tasks of that administration would have been the de-construction of the many legal processes now underway against prominent figures in the former Rajapaksa regime.

The above scenario is still a genuine possibility. A general election, hot on the heels of the “Pohottuwa” success at the local elections, would most likely have seen the re-emergence of the Rajapakse cavalcade. A revival of the Mahinda Rajapakse political fortunes was contingent upon riding the wave he had set in motion, before it crashed. Voter momentum and sentiment are strange, unsustainable and transitory phenomena. A few more months down the line and the resurgence MR has engineered will lose its energy, urgency and impetus. That apart, a politician as street-smart as Mahinda Rajapaksa will understand that a general election result, will not necessarily replicate the results of provincial council or local body elections.

The next step would have been revitalizing “Project Gota”, already on the launching pad. All technical impediments to his legitimacyfor the presidential candidacy would have beenremoved. As things are, apart from Mahinda Rajapaksa – who is barred from a third term – the SLFP-SLPP union does not have a charismatic, nationally acceptable candidate. A Gotabaya candidacy will be endorsed by the strong , Sinhala-Buddhist bloc power base and embraced passionately by the totality of the extremist Sangha – a considerable proportion of the Buddhist theocracy, combining both the overt and the covert. This segment will also campaign actively on Gotabaya’s behalf and appeal successfully to the existing fissures in the Sinhala-Buddhist mindset, which perceives any minority aspiration, however legitimate and democratic, as an immediate threat to the majority. That will be the main plank of a Gotabaya bid for presidency; the establishment and preservation of an exclusively Sinhala-Buddhist nation state, theocratic and sanctimonious, in which all minorities will be relegated to secondary status.He is assured of both a resounding resonance and active assistance. Hitler had his ” Brown Shirts”; Gotabaya has the equivalent in the saffron cohorts, its lay fellow-travelers and the ” Rana Viru” myrmidons.

Such a bid is likely to be supported by part of the floating vote which may decide that the possible loss of individual freedoms, the loss of liberty to protest without running the risk of inviting a para-military reprisal, the institutionalized marginalization of the minorities, the selective exercise of the law, the imposition of government writ with military force when necessary, are all small prices to pay for more public parks, walking paths in the cities and the suburbs, the regular collection and disposal of domestic and commercial garbage and the timely delivery of other public services. Nor should we forget the summary delivery of terminal punishment, quite often outside the due processes of the law;willing servitude in exchange for a fascist but efficient regime. We have seen it all before and we know what to expect.

In the immediate, post- NCM scenario, despite RW’s tactical victory, the coalition regime has been rendered even more infirm than in the pre-NCM period. The battle lines have been clearly drawn and friend and foe identified, though some friends may have been purchased at exorbitant cost. Basically, the UNP, faced by a common enemy, closed ranks whilst the SLFP/JO, frantically pursuing an objective despite diminishing support, broke ranks. The UNP consolidated whilst its opponents unraveled.

The prorogation of the parliament, a strategic move by the president to buy time, and to perhaps purchase some support, lends itself to some interesting speculation. The Mahinda faction has declared that they will support the JVP initiative for an immediate move to abolish the Presidency, provided that is followed by a dissolution of parliament and consequent general election. A smart move, though, given the reality of numbers, a Mahinda led SLPP faction may not be able to form a stable government without assistance from the minority parties or from the SLFP/UPFA. If the latter segment decides to contest on its own, with current members of parliament campaigning for themselves as much as for the party that they represent, there will be a division of the anti-UNP vote. In the intense public speculation over the unity, or lack of it, within the UNP, the internecine battles within the opponents’ camp escape comment.

It is most likely that Sirisena will do his best to stall any disruption to the existing status-quo, until and unless he is able to reconnect the disjointed SLFP. An un-engineered disintegration without a planned outcome for himself will see Sirisena’s immediate political death.

The recent announcements regarding a 2020 Sirisena presidency candidacy seem to be a case of Sirisena testing the waters before leaping in. In the context of the current state of the relationship between Sirisena and the UNP, such a bid would be without UNP support. In that scenario, with the latter fielding their own candidate – possibly RW, in the absence of any viable alternative – and the JO/SLPP fielding Gotabaya, or a Rajapaksa sibling-clone-lackey, it would lead to a very interesting three-cornered tussle.

What of the JVP ? if their bid to catalyze the abolishment of the presidency is thwarted, do we presume that they would seek to prevent a Rajapaksa nominee in the presidential chair? The JVP has a stable power base which will remain static and unchanged, well in to the foreseeable future, as long as they insist on marketing their brand of now archaic Marxism. They seem unable to comprehend the enormity of the changes wrought on the global communist bloc, commencing with Perestroika, and that the world possibly lost its last, genuine, Communist when Fidel Castro died.

A future presidential contest would be made all the more interesting, if the JVP, discarding its stand on the abolition of the presidency, decides to throw a contender in to the ring.The beneficiary is likely to be the UNP candidate, through a bifurcation of a segment of the potential SLFP/SLPP vote. Given the equally reasonable assumption that the majority of the minority vote is most likely to go to an anti-Rajapaksa candidate, the possible margin between the two major contenders begin to narrow further.

In retrospect, it would seem that the opponents of the UNP did themselves, and their future political prospects, serious harm, by their abortive NCM. If the coalition had been permitted to stumble on ineptly, it would have soon self-immolated through its own inefficiency and the lack of administrative cohesion between the two partners. Add to that the continuing economic woes of the country and the rubbing off of the Mahinda Rajapaksa magnetism on a front of his own making, the result may have been a win for the opposition in a close-run contest, thereafter.

What the NCM has done is to add a new dynamic in to an existing problem. If Sirisena is to contest in 2020, he has to occupy the presidential seat till then. To do so he has to ensure that the coalition either survives till the due date of expiry or, till he decides to dissolve parliament as empowered.Discretion will be taken out of his hands if he insists on marginalizing RW/UNP with the dubious assistance of a tattered SLFP, or by conniving with the JO/SLPP. If he undermines his partner to the extent that the coalition, and the government with it, unravels prematurely, Sirisena will be at the mercy of the SLPP and the Rajapaksas will ensure that there will be none, unless in the unlikely event that he reaches a prior accommodation with the former first family regarding his political future. His best option now seems to be to work within the coalition and seek to achieve reasonable objectives within a limited time-frame, restricted though its scope is through the hardening and polarization of opposing forces.

As for RW, he is now compelled to pay serious attention to the simmering discontent within the UNP, and irrespective of personal political plans, officially announce the identity of the UNP second line, unless he is prepared to see his party die with him. As for his backers, having supported him through the NCM, they have no option but to stay with him right up to the next confrontation. The resurrection of the UNP and RW’s political future, justifiably, have become matters of national preoccupation. Despite their internal opposition to his allegedly undemocratic management of his own party, the UNP parliamentarians’ respective political futures and of democracy as we have come to know it – infirm though it may be-are inextricably linked to RW’s onward journey and the his final destination.

A Leader Like No Other, A Party Like No Other 

UNP Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe

By Narada Seananayake –APRIL 29, 2018 

“An obstinate man does not hold opinions. Opinions hold him” – Alexander Pope. 

The UNP is in crisis. 

The people know it. The party loyalists are tormented by it.  The party leader is not aware of it.  When Lenin wrote his famous tract- ‘what is to be done?’ he began by recognizing the problem. He wrote “Our party is in a state of formation. There is the danger of diversion from the correct path. Ranil is not Lenin. Ranil is a leader like no other leader, leading a party like no other party.  

For the UNP to decide on the way forward, it must first trace the path that brought it to this point, period and phase. This essay is intended to help that process. 

 Resolving the Riddle of Ranil  

Why does Ranil resist reforms in the party?  Because they are not needed stupid!   

Leaders lead. Followers follow. That is the effortless, painless world that Ranil Wickremesinghe the UNP leader inhabits.

 He accepts no other arrangement. As most psychologists would say, man is a creature of habit. His reactions are automatic reflexes from the stimuli of his environment. Which is why Warren Buffet remarked that “Chains of habit are too light to be felt until they are too heavy to be broken”.

All his life, Ranil has lived in an environment of privilege. He has never knocked on doors. Doors have always remained open to him. 

Ranil is convinced that he is the destined successor of J.R. Jayewardene. JRJ made him a cabinet minister in his first term. And that was before he turned thirty. That was destiny. A destiny that he will not share today, with others in his party. 

 Since then his task has been a  battle to match his destiny to the  vagaries of politics. Quite early in his political journey, he wisely concluded that he does not possess that annoying attribute – the common touch, the ability to be ordinary among ordinary people. That was essential to retain his rural base in Biyagama his first constituency, won in the 1977 landslide. Why bother changing habits or renouncing birthrights when more convenient options are available?   

He deftly switched his base to metropolitan Colombo. That is what JR did when he moved from Kelaniya to Colombo South. Adequate funds and machine politics are efficient substitutes for public approval.  

Ranil is not the archetypical grassroots leader. He is the quintessential string puller leader. There is no way he will oblige the UNP backbenchers in their demand to reform the party. Reform means change. The very anatomy of change is determined not by one’s surroundings but by one’s inherent mind set. When change and reform are mooted, his instinct commands him to dig deep and stay put. That is what he has done now.   

The modern information age has no place for leaders such as Ranil Wickremesinghe. In this age, followers don’t follow leaders. Followers have the resources to make or break leaders.

 So, if Ranil thinks that he has won the first round, he is in for not one surprise but plenty.  

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CID: A Navy chief helped wanted man flee in FAC

‘Commanders don’t get involved in human smuggling’* Wartime disappearances

By Shamindra Ferdinando-April 29, 2018, 11:52 pm 

A high-profile CID investigation into the alleged abduction and disappearance of 11 Tamil youth, by the Navy, during the previous administration, mostly in 2008, has taken a dramatic turn with former Navy Commander and the incumbent Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Ravi Wijegunaratne being accused of having helped an officer, wanted in connection with the probe, flee the country.

The majority of abductions were allegedly carried out in Colombo and its suburbs.

The on-gong CID probe has come under the scrutiny of the Geneva-based United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC).

The CID identified the wanted person, who had escaped allegedly with the help of the then Vice Admiral Wijegunaratne, as Lt. Commander Chandana Prasad Hettiarachchi. At the time of Hettiarachchi’s alleged disappearance in late March 2017, he had been attached to the Navy welfare section in Colombo.

The CID recently brought to the notice of the Fort Magistrate the circumstances which had led to Hettiarachchi’s disappearance, in spite of two specific requests, made in March 2017, to hand him over to the CID.

The CID has alleged that high ranking officers prevented the police from questioning the suspect. The Navy has been accused of facilitating the alleged disappearance of the former intelligence officer to mislead the investigators.

The Island raised the issue with Admiral Wijegunaratne, after CID Director SSP Shani Abeysekera had accused him of having facilitated Hettiarachchi’s escape. The serious allegation was made in Wijegunaratne’s presence, at a meeting, also attended by Ministers Ranjith Madduma Bandara, Rajitha Senaratne, D. M. Swaminathan, Ajith P. Perera, Navy Commander Sirimevan Ranasinghe, President’s Counsel J. C. Weliamuna and senior officials of the CID and the FCID.

SSP Abeysekera alleged that Wijegunaratne had provided Rs. 500,000 to Hettiarachchi and moved him out of Sri Lankan waters, in a Fast Attack Craft (FAC). Wijegunaratne said that he would quit if allegations against him could be proved.

Admiral Wijegunaratne declined to discuss the issue with us further. However, the highest ranking serving officer told The Island, "Navy Commanders don’t get involved in human smuggling."

Having failed to locate Hettiarachchi, the police recently sought public assistance to trace him. Hettiarachchi is among five suspects, including three Navy personnel, facing indictments over the assassination of TNA Jaffna District MP, Nadarajah Raviraj and his police bodyguard, Sergeant Lakshman Lokuwella, acquitted by the Colombo High Court, in Dec. 2016.

The police have identified Hettiarachchi as ‘Navy Sampath’, though he had not previously known by that alias.

The Island sought Navy headquarters’ response to the CID allegations, especially the alleged deployment of a fast attack craft to move Hettiarachchi out of the Sri Lankan waters. The Navy headquarters yesterday assured that a statement would be made shortly on the issue.

Of those, arrested, so far, in connection with the alleged 11 disappearances, six Navy personnel, including Commodore D. K. P. Dassanayake and Commander R. P. S. Ranasinghe received bail from the Colombo High Court, this year.

In addition to them, Lt. Commander Sampath Munasinghe, Security Chief of wartime Navy Commander Vice Admiral Wasantha Karannagoda, too, was arrested in connection with the disappearance case and given bail.

The alleged disappearances came to light, in early 2009, soon after the successful conclusion of the war. Karannagoda initiated an inquiry after receiving representations from a close relative of one of the missing persons, through the intervention of one-time navy spokesman J. J. Ranasinghe, incumbent Vice Chancellor of the Kotelawela Defence University (KDU).

Lt. Commander Munasinghe quit the Navy several weeks after Karannagoda had complained to police of the recovery of some national identity cards and other items belonging to the missing persons, from his chief security officer’s locker.

The CID initiated a fresh investigation after the change of government in January 2015.

The CID recorded statements, from over 50 officers, including former Navy Commanders, Admiral Karannagoda and Admiral Travis Sinniah.

Sinniah succeeded Wijegunaratne, in August 2017. Sirimewan Ranasinghe replaced Sinniah in Oct 2017.

Lt. Commander K. C. Welagedara, who was the second-in-command of Trincomalee-based Commander R. P. S. Ranasinghe, one of those arrested in connection with the disappearances was questioned by the CID in 2013.

Police spokesman SP Ruwan Gunasekera told the media that Dassanayake had supervised Ranasinghe and Hettiarachchi allegedly responsible for the abductions at issue.

Gunasekera said those Navy personnel, under investigation, had carried out the abductions to extort money.

Proposed amendments to Bribery Act before House

Powers to deal with bribery and corruption in private sector

Shums Fahim-Monday, April 30, 2018

Proposed amendments to the Bribery Act which will also include powers to deal with bribery and corruption in the private sector will be brought before Parliament shortly, Bribery Commission Director General Sarath Jayamanne PC said.

The new proposals also include powers to file legal action directly in High Court, Jayamanne said during a workshop held for Parliamentary Journalists Association members at Pegasus Reef Hotel in Wattala yesterday. The Workshop had been organised with the assistance of the ‘Internews’ organization.

Jayamanne went said that only four convictions have been recorded during the past 23 years in corruption cases due to snags in the system of prosecution.

“However, convictions were brought in 57 Bribery cases last year, the highest recorded in a single year,” Jayamanne said.

He said according to proposed amendments, the Commission will have the power to consult the Attorney General for advice in any legal matter when needed.

“Also a minimum of a Rs.100,000 fine has been proposed to the Declaration of Assets and Liabilities Act for Non declaration of Assets and Liabilities. The current penalty for such an offence is Rs.1,000,” he added..

The Commissioner further said that the amendments would be made to the Bribery Act, Bribery Commission Act and the Property Evaluation Act. “The Cabinet has approved the amendments and the Legal Draftsman’s Department is doing the paperwork which will be submitted to Parliament for approval.

“The amendments would be made to an extent that the cases could be directly filed in the High Courts. Cases could only be filed in the Magistrate’s court under the current Act,” Jayamanne said.

“The Bribery Act was implemented in 1957 and amendments were made in 1994. However, many practical issues have arisen due to some complications in the amendment which has been made in a hurry,” the Commissioner remarked.

“There are many errors in this system. The cases go on for a long time due to the process of appealing and the inexperience of the persons handling these cases. The Commission to Investigate Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) has only 200 inquiry officials to cater to the 210 lakh population of the country while Hong Kong has 1200 inquiry officials for its 60 lakh population,” the Bribery Commission Director General said. 

Build society where lives could be shaped & maintained according to Lord Buddha’s teaching

April 29, 2018

“Resolve to eliminate all obstructions that have been placed against building an environment that would genuinely help in maintaining lives of our people according to Lord Buddha’s teaching and to create a society that would cherish such transformation,” states the Wesak message issued by the JVP.

Full text of the message:

A society where lives could be shaped and maintained according to Lord Buddha’s teaching should be created

Wesak Poya Day, is a day that is important not only to Buddhists in Sri Lanka but Buddhists all over the world as they accept it as the day in which Lord Buddha’s Birth, Enlightenment, Nirvana took place, and is commemorated, venerated and honoured as it is linked to the three important occurrences of Lord Buddha’s life.

Lord Buddha’s teachings that help the society to progress include cooperation, working for reconciliation and righteousness. Undoubtedly, most of the virtuous qualities that exist in the Sri Lankan society have been nurtured by His teachings. Sri Lanka was known as ‘Dharmadweepa during the period these teachings and policies were followed and protected by the rulers and the masses.

However, at present in Sri Lanka, despite the day begins and ends with Buddha’s teachings, there is no reduction to the number of crimes. Lord Buddha’s teaching vividly shows that the number of criminal activities escalates and virtuousness and morality degenerate when the country and the people are economically ruined.

The rulers who fictitiously show they protect Lord Buddha’s teaching and follow counsel of the Buddhist clergy, deceive masses and instead of taking steps to develop the economy so that the standard of life of the masses could be raised, pave the way for crime, robbery and immorality. As long as these rulers, who lack foresight, rule the country Sri Lanka would never become a ‘Dharmadweepa’.

In such a situation the duty and the responsibility of all Sri Lankan Buddhists is to distance themselves from all dissoluteness so that the economic, cultural and moral degeneration could be ended. Also, we wish Sri Lankan Buddhists would, on this Wesak Day, resolve to eliminate all obstructions that have been placed against building an environment that would genuinely help in maintaining lives of our people according to Lord Buddha’s teaching and to create a society that would cherish such transformation.