Mullivaikal: A Burgeoning Movement in Sri Lanka

The Sinhalese communalist Juggernaut moved, driving fear into anyone who tended to believe that report.  Douglas Devananda and the army forced people going about the streets in Jaffna town to sign a statement that nothing happened in Mullivaykal.

by S. Ratnajeevan H. Hoole-May 20, 2018

Legitimacy of Commemoration

( May 20, 2018, Jaffna, Sri Lanka Guardian) Mullivaikal Commemoration on 18 May 2018 is touted as a memorial for all those civilians massacred there. Few can quarrel with that. The army thinks it is to honour the Tiger fighting forces that were massacred. That again is legitimate since however brutal the Tigers were, those who loved them have a right to mourn and certainly find out what happened to them.

Game of Threats and Lies

When reports initially emerged of the extent carnage and the use of cluster bombs and chemical weapons from people I know who experienced it first hand, the government tried brute force to suppress these accounts. Doctors present at the time on the ground and had testified to the atrocities were arrested by July 2009 and paraded on TV where they contradicted their earlier statements, now saying deaths were fewer than 700. We were shaken.

Following the February 2011 Census, the government “put the death toll in the north of the country during the final phase of the war at 9,000.” The Tamil doctors who deserved medals for their dedicated service under intense shelling stood vindicated. No one believed our government any more.

Then came the UN report to Ban Ki-moon by eminent authors Marzuki Darusman, Steven Ratner and Yasmin Sooka. They reported that up to 40,000 of the 330,000 Tamils trapped in a narrow strip of land in and about Mullivaikal were killed. They described the bombings of hospitals and designated refugee shelters. Even before their report reached us there was hysteria in Colombo based on leaks. The BASL Executive Committee had a resolution by Jayantha Gunasekera, PC, dated 23 May 2011 condemning a report we had not seen. At the time, Gunasekera had argued (Sunday Observer, 24 April 2011) that he condemns Navaneetham Pillai on the grounds she is a Tamil who has to side with Tamils because “[a]fter all, blood is thicker than water.” After the report’s release, the BASL dutifully condemned it unanimously at meetings on 30 April and 7 May – since blood is thicker than water, as Sinhalese, they had to condemn the report.

Instead of addressing the issues raised in the report, the state pushed back. President Mahinda Rajapaksa made the extraordinary claim that his “troops went to the battlefront carrying a gun in one hand, the Human Rights Charter in the other, food for the innocent displaced on their shoulders, and love of their children in their hearts.”

The Sinhalese communalist Juggernaut moved, driving fear into anyone who tended to believe that report.  Douglas Devananda and the army forced people going about the streets in Jaffna town to sign a statement that nothing happened in Mullivaykal.

To ward off the seemingly inevitable accountability over its murders, promises of reconciliation were liberally made in Geneva. But nothing was done. Indeed, locally these promises were denied.

Then Charles Petrie, a former UN Official, was mandated by Ban Ki-moon to review the conduct of the UN during the last days of the LTTE in May 2009. He confirmed that “Events in Sri Lanka mark a grave failure of the UN.” It accused the government and the LTTE of war crimes and according to the BBC “very much reflects the findings of the [earlier] panel.” A large majority of deaths were caused by government shelling, whereas the government has repeatedly denied shelling civilian areas.

Dead Silence: Lord Naseby Seeds Doubt

With government inaction on war crimes, prevarication on casualties, and reports of continued torture, few within Sri Lanka dared say that such crimes had occurred.

Then came along Lord Naseby.  He has compromised his own integrity by asserting “the truth that no one in the Sri Lankan Government ever wanted to kill Tamil civilians.” His tentative figures are up to April 2009 and say little of the killings in May when Channel 4 had clips of executions by Sri Lankan forces after the LTTE collapsed. His information really means little. For example, “It is not possible to distinguish civilians from LTTE cadres as few are in uniform” says nothing of the death toll; likewise “IDPs being cared for in Trincomalee. Welfare appears to be overriding security considerations.” Similarly, “Then on 20 January they say, ‘no cluster munitions were used’, does not mean they were not used on other days. What he writes is for the converted.

In contrast I have met people who lived through the shellings and say all they saw was an unending series of flashes from explosions. My secretary testified how they were directed to go to a place to collect milk for her grandchild and the government then rained shells on them. I met one man whose entrails came out because of the shelling but survived. The arbitrary shelling made Rev. Anuhoolan lose his pickup although he escaped.

Despite all that, the climate of fear with continuing reports of torture has silenced most of us. Even today I received reports of three attempted hits over the past week on a former LTTE armour and weapons maker in Mannar settled in civilian life. As the press mounted its attacks on war crimes claims, even the TNA was largely silent here but went to Geneva. Two friends who were active in recording the terrible events of 2009 told me not to push the 40,000 figure. I began to wonder if Sinhalese communalist propaganda was right after all. But surely, the government would never have agreed to UNHCR Resolution 30/1 unless the atrocities really happened.

Benefit of Mullivaikal Remembrance

My friend NPC Member Thambyrajah Gurukularajah organized the 2015 anniversary. He had constructed a metallic memorial. About 200 turned up. By afternoon the police had removed his memorial. Likewise, 2016 and 2017 saw may be 300. As this Remembrance Day approached there were worries of military suppression as in the past. Already the police had told people in places such as Ilavalai that their planned celebrations will not be allowed.

Then suddenly the light shone on the truth again. Army Chief Lieutenant General Mahesh Senanayake completely undercut Lord Naseby’s credibility (The Hindu, 12 May, 2018) by acknowledging “there may have been individual excesses.” Government spokesman Rajitha Senaratne said after the last cabinet meeting “There is nothing wrong in having events to commemorate those who died during the final phase of war in the Northern Province.  [,,,] They are also our children. Sometimes, our own children were killed by the heroes. […] No war in the world had been waged with zero damage to civilians.”

It was a telling admission of murder by the so called heroes of Mullivaikal. 

Claiming Communalist Leadership

That green-flagged the commemorations where the different political forces, with identity politics in mind, tried to claim the mantle of communalist supremacy.

Joint Opposition MP Dilum Amunugama found fault with Senaratne who he claimed, untruthfully, described the last phase of the war as genocidal and had declared the freedom of people “to celebrate the fallen LTTE cadres.”

In Jaffna University students had planned their celebrations and were denied permission to use the Kailasapthy Hall. For this, Tamil Congress’ K. Guruparan (Head/Law) had scathingly criticized the Senior Student Counsellor Dr. Ainkaran.

In the meantime, the NPC had asserted its authority to have all celebrations under its wing – “others may give their cooperation” insisted the Chief Minister. Today, Friday 18 2018, there will be a massive commemoration at 11:00 am. University students fell in line and promised to parade to Mullivaikal on motorbikes

All the School Principals of the Northern Province had been requested to observe a moment of silence and hoist the Northern Provincial flag at half mast at 11.00 a.m. in commemoration of Tamil civilians who died during the war.

Leaders of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) including its leader R. Sampanthan, Gurukularajah Mavai Senathirajah, and Sritharan took part in the event in the prearrangement inspection a little earlier. As reported by Global Tamil News, Mr. Sampanthan has stated

“Mullivaikal is the soil where enormous numbers of Tamils were brutally killed by the Sri Lankan armed forces and where many of our Tamils were disappeared. This is the soil where Tamils burnt themselves for the liberation. Thousands of freedom fighters and people have sacrificed their lives with the dream of liberation. … Tamils should gather unitedly in Mullivaikal on May 18. To light the lamp of remembrance and to pay tribute to our deceased relatives.”

He had spoken up at long last asserting that murders did occur. However that part about thousands of freedom fighters and people sacrificing their lives with the dream of liberation was misleading insofar as no one volunteered to be massacred – the LTTE had corralled civilians as a shield.  As the UN and Channel 4 reports now make clear, the LTTE shot those who tried to leave and the government shelled into oblivions those who stayed. Sampanthan speaks carefully. I doubt he said this.

The Mulivaikal Event

I decided to go with Gurukularajah today. He also gave lifts to Nimal who lost both legs when a shell landed in his bunker. He has rebuilt his life as a musician and will perform in Oslo next month. Also with us were a war-widow and Sivathasan who was Pass Officer for Kilinochchi!

The fever of excitement had caught on. We arrived by 10 am. A crowd of 2000 was there but by the scheduled 11 am it had built up to 10,000 at least. Forty buses had brought crowds. University students’ parade had perhaps 25 motorbikes. Everyone participated. Even former EPDP strongman Chandrakumar came with a large crowd.

For such a large gathering with potential crowd control issues, there were only 2 policemen who came with the Chief Minister. But the police, however irresponsible, were there. Men in civvies taking photos had their pot-bellies giving them away as policemen.

Next to the grounds are two caste-based schools, officially called Vellaam Mullivaikal and Karaiyaam Mullivaikal. The principal of the former told me that the CID had called first to ask if he was flying the flag at half-mast and then to ask if he had not gone for the event. The police seem to have painted themselves in a corner and become a joke.

The event was well organized. We were to be in sheds with chairs while at the centre of the field the lamp lighting would take place. While waiting we could see clothing, plates, and cups popping out of the ground from the massacred people. But the crowd today walked into the field and all ended up round the flame. Gurukularajah had given some light music to be played while we waited. But LTTE supporters had taken it over, and played Eelamist songs. People we could not see for the crowds gave hysterical speeches about the day that their dreams of Eelam were snuffed out.

Promptly at 11 AM the main torch was lit by Vijitha Kesavan who lost both her parents and an uncle on 15.05.2015. Then the Chief Minister C.V. Wigneswaran spoke.

It was politically correct. He stressed that the massacres occurred after those of Bosnia and Rwanda but unlike them after the UNHRC was established. He challenged the international community to do something and resolved that

1. Every May 18 be Genocide Day
2. The International Community set up a strategy mechanism to ensure justice.
3. It ensure a sustainable political solution for us.
4. Designate our experience as a Mass Disaster and offer recompense.
5. Recognize the need to withdraw the army from Tamil areas and not ask for compensation from resettlement funds meant for us.

He asked that note be taken that 18.05.2019 is the tenth anniversary.

It was all over by 12:15. Efficient!

The government has to establish inquiries so we may know the truth rather than argue about it, and offer us accountability. Or next year the problem will be bigger.

Remembering, Nine Years On

GROUNDVIEWS-05/19/2018

May 18, 2009 is a day that showcases division. To some, it is a day of mourning. To others, cause for celebration.

Families in the North and East who commemorate their family members killed during the final stages of the war on May 18 call this day “Remembrance Day”. Conversely, May 19 is known as “Ranaviru Day” and is meant to remember soldiers whose lives were lost during the war.

This year’s Ranaviru Day will be held at Parliament Grounds, and attended by Government representatives.

In contrast, the Remembrance Day events have been repeatedly blocked in the past – including as recently as last year, with the police citing national security concerns.

One year after the end of the war, Groundviews ran a critically acclaimed acclaimed special edition reflecting on whether the absence of war alone meant the advent of peace. It was revealing that in a subsequent edition five years after, in 2009, we were having the more or less the same conversations, asking the same questions.

In 2018, many of the areas where families gather in remembrance have changed.

Mullivaikkal, where the last stages of the war were fought, is symbolically, the site of the main Remembrance Day ceremony this year (Families in Batticaloa also staged organised their own ceremonies).

The following is a comparison of Mullivaikkal in 2009, and again in 2016 (the most recent historical imagery available on Google Earth).

In 2009, the photo shows homes, both inland and makeshift settlements on the beach. The land is dry and barren. Historical imagery captured by Google Earth in 2012, featured on Groundviews found evidence of shelling. In 2016, trees have grown. New homes have been built. The settlements on the beach have disappeared.

Today, whatever may lie buried beneath the sand, the beach is quiet and still from space.

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A Führer Calls 

By Nicholas Salmanovitch Rubashov –MAY 20, 2018

In the crucible of chaos, there is a simulated search for a strong man a ‘Führer’ to take us to greatness, to preserve our culture , our values.      

Hoopla is a European carnival game where competitors throw hoops around pegs. On Sunday 13th May 2018 Gotabaya Rajapaksa played ‘Hoopla’ at the Shangri la. He put the hoop round the peg – the ‘Presidential Candidacy of the Pohottu party. 

The hoopla at the Shangri-La last Sunday suggested that there is a strong and substantial body of thought in our polity,  firm in its conviction that we are in need of a strong man, a man of action a man who delivers.  

Last Sunday Gotabaya Rajapaksa delivered two messages. The first was to us – ‘we the people’. He defined our problem for us. He told us that we are too infantile to understand our problem. So, he explained what our problem was. 

Our problem was structural. Structural problems called for structural solutions. He was kind enough to present the first person plural point of view. We must make structural changes to the manner we think, to the manner we address basic economic issues etc. 

Now, you must remember that he defined the structure of the problem and offered us the structure of the solution. Now what is the solution? 

Aha! Not so fast my friends. Solutions will come after 2020 when I am on the saddle on the white stallion – the presidency.

Right now, this is the ‘Viyathmaga’ – the erudite way to place the bridle on the beast.   

The second message was for his Brother – the former president who restricted by the 19th amendment must propose a candidate for the presidency to his undoubtedly sizable constituency that awaits his counsel, caution, direction and instruction.

Look around you!  In to this place that bears the brand and the name of the mythical kingdom of abundance and plenty- the Shangri-La I have summoned the barons of industry, commerce and finance, the brave soldiers of the realm, the thought leaders of the mother land. Behold the sight. Digest how docile and attentive they are!    

Make no mistake. Here is a man who has a clear and a tight grip of conceptual power. He knows the difference between the government and the state. The government changed hands. The state moves on. He knows how it works. He knows, because he once ran it single handedly under the dispensation of his brother who presided over a fractious government listening to the smooth ticking of  his watch never quite realizing the full genius of his brother – the watchmaker.    

At the Shangri la on Sunday, he discovered how the watch maker assembled the intricate parts of the watch. And more! Mahinda heard the wake-up alarm. 

The Shangri la gathering was a prelude to the possibility of our society being subject to an oligarchic collectivism. The term was coined by George Orwell in his novel 1984.

It describes a society that was already in the making before it was rudely intercepted by the change on 8th January 2015. 

Then the new rulers decided to open the vaults of the central bank and all hell broke out. Greed to carveout political territory, mismanagement and sheer imbecility in governance prevented the dismantling of the edifice that was in place. 

In the preceding five years – the post war years of development leaps and construction booms, government institutions, media and corporate interests moved under the control of a handful of individuals, linked together, collaborating to direct, regulate and benefit from each other and derive its share of profit, from the toil of the silent many- ‘we the people’.  

It is all about control. It is control, that this government lacks. Although the government changed, the state mechanics remained intact. 

Mahinda Rajapaksa presidency ended but Gotabaya’s shadow state persisted. It was cemented too deep. It held on to its group mind.  

What we saw at the Shangri la is a phenomenon – a modern day Bonapartism. A determined man wants to replace the post-independence comprador class with post 2005 rent seekers wealth extractors and wealth creators of exceptional talent. 

They are distinguished by their willingness to serve the state. Mind you, they will serve the state not the government. And you know who ‘State’ is.  

The mainstream political parties have disintegrated in to power seeking, vote gathering machines operated by political freebooters.  

As Hannah Arendt has painstakingly explained in her elegantly insightful prose, totalitarian movements are possible “wherever there are masses who for one reason or another have acquired the appetite for political organization.” 

That was the spectacle we watched at the Shangri-La on last Sunday. What we saw gathered in the hugely opulent, hugely accommodative epitome of luxury was a “great flaccid body destitute of political education, almost inaccessible to ideas capable of ennobling action” ready to listen to a new ‘Pied Piper.’  

In our current context, we should pay heed to Hannah Arendt one of 20th centuries great intellects who survived fascist tyranny and authored the classic political tract – Origins of Totalitarianism’.

As Hannah Arendt explains, masses are not held together by a consciousness of common interest. They do not have the capacity to either define their goals or to articulate them. 

The ambitious manipulator and strong man not only notices this reality but takes in to account their sheer numbers, stupidity and indifference as factors that make up the equation of total control.   

This indifferent segment of our society has begun to wake up after the hoopla in the Shangri-La.  

Those “Kapuwatth Kola” UNPers and “Kapuwath Nil” SLFPers on both sides of the barricade waiting for the crumbs off the patronage table do not  make or unmake regimes.

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Lanka’s Road back to Tyranny

Tisaranee Gunasekara-May 19, 2018

"Everywhere under the vast Heaven

There is no land that is not the king’s.

To the borders of those lands,

There are none who are not the king’s servants."

Shijing (The Book of Odes – believed to have been compiled by Confucius)

Lankan democracy is facing a terminal crisis, caught between the Scylla of the IMF and the Charybdis of China. The IMF and China are very different animals. But the sum total of their lending practices could existentially undermine Lankan democracy by enabling the return of the Rajapaksa rule in its most virulent form, a Gotabhaya presidency.

The devastating societal consequences of the recent sharp hike in fuel prices need no belabouring. The knock-on-effects will pile up over the coming months, hurting the already fragile living conditions of ordinary Lankans. The Sirisena-Wickremesinghe administration’s inability to learn any meaningful lessons from its crushing defeat at the February LG polls is evident in the in-your-face-manner in which the oil price increase was implemented. A price increase was inevitable given the sudden hike in global crude oil prices. But this could have been done in stages to minimise the direct and indirect effects on the more vulnerable segments of the populace.

If the government had wanted to see the deleterious effects of a massive oil price hike, it could have studied the Rajapaksa experience of 2012. The Rajapaksa regime implemented a massive oil price hike in February 2012, causing an across-the-board increase in the prices of consumer essentials. Fishermen carried out protests against the steep increase in kerosene oil prices. On February 14, 2012, the police opened fire on a peaceful demonstration in Negambo, killing Anthony Fernando, a young fisherman.

The Sirisena-Wickremesinghe administration has announced its intention of ‘adjusting’ oil prices every two months, in accordance with global crude prices. Thanks to the policies of President Donald Trump, global oil prices are likely to go up in the coming months. Taking the US out of the Iran nuclear deal, shifting American embassy to Jerusalem and giving Israel and Saudi Arabia carte blanche do deal with their politico-religious enemies cannot but further destabilise an already volatile region. The electoral outcomes in Iran and Lebanon, the undeclared war in Yemen and the massacre of unarmed Palestinian demonstrators by Israel forces in Gaza will be fodder to the political and sectarian fires consuming the Middle East (some commentators are even talking about the possibility of a shooting war between Iran and Israel). Given this context, global crude prices are likely to increase rather than decrease in the foreseeable future.

If that is the case, what will the government do? Increase oil prices every two months, with three elections in the offing? Even without further price hikes, the government’s fate at the first round of provincial council elections, scheduled for November 2018, is almost sealed. The UNP and the SLFP will get another drubbing in November. Add once-in-two-months oil price hikes to the equation and the extent of the government’s defeat will turn phenomenal. That defeat will reignite a national political crisis as well as crises within the SLFP and the UNP, and transform a Gotabhaya presidency into a near inevitability.

The twin pincers of

the IMF and China

The Sirisena-Wickremesinghe government entered into an Extended Debt Facility agreement with the IMF in 2016. About half of the money is yet to be released and gaining access to the next tranche would have depended on fulfilling at least some of IMF conditions. That they included aligning national oil prices with global prices is no secret. The hike in oil prices is thus – at least in part – an outcome of the IMF’s insistence on its pound of flesh before releasing the next tranche of its loan.

The IMF facility is scheduled to end in 2019. The releasing of the final tranche too is likely to be subject to further price hikes - just in time for presidential elections. If Maithripala Sirisena or Ranil Wickremesinghe expects to win the presidency under such conditions, they are as out of touch with reality as the technocratic bureaucrats of the IMF.

The IMF – unlike China – cannot be accused of having a preference for Rajapaksa rule. But wittingly or unwittingly, its inability to understand that an economy does not exist in a vacuum and its resultant insistence on politico-electorally devastating economic policies will open the door even wider for a Rajapaksa return. When the obituary of Lankan democracy is being written, the IMF and its decision to push a democratic administration to the wall should deserve special mention.

True, the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe administration must shoulder the lion’s share of the blame for the worsening of Lanka’s debt crisis. It came into office criticizing the Rajapaksas for pushing the country into a debt trap through corruption, waste and extravagance. Instead of making a clean break with Rajapaksa economics – as if pledged to do – it opted to follow the same disastrous path. The decision to go ahead with the Central Expressway Project (hardly a necessity given the country’s economic and financial woes, not to mention environmental factors) and the manner in which it is being implemented demonstrate that this government knows no other way than to follow Rajapaksa footsteps towards financial ruin and political disaster.

A recent report by the Centre for Global Development, a leading think-tank based in Washington, placed Sri Lanka among 25 countries highly vulnerable to Chinese debt distress. As The Economist pointed out, "The Hambantota schemes were vanity projects for the then-president, Mahinda Rajapaksa. His closeness to China was one reason for his surprise defeat in elections in 2015. A rising interest bill forced the government of his successor, Maithripala Sirisena, to agree on a debt-for-equity swap that gives China a 99-year lease on the port."i

The Chinese, like the IMF, do not hesitate to demand its pound of flesh and more from countries caught in its debt trap. In Sri Lanka, they were not satisfied with getting the Hambantota port on a 99 year lease. They also wanted 15,000 acres to set up an exclusive economic zone. The government gave in.

The effects of this disastrous deal are already evident. The government is being forced to shift a wind farm in Hambantota because the port’s new overlords are demanding rent payments – naturally. Once the clearing of the jungle begins, the direct effects on the neighbouring communities will become apparent, from the drying up of scarce water sources to the exacerbation of elephant-human conflicts. And these deleterious effects will start being felt just in time for presidential and parliamentary elections.

In Buddhist literature there is a story about a man faced with three life-threatening dangers. He is hanging on to a branch. Below him is a pit with a cobra; around him is the thick jungle with a none-too-friendly elephant; coiled around the branch is another snake. The man ignores the three deaths and eats honey off a bee hive.

That is the Wickremesinghe-Rajapaksa administration. Its fate is written in the political firmament. If living costs are not tamed – a seeming impossibility – the UNP and the SLFP will lose, and lose badly, at the provincial council election. The victorious SLPP will launch a political campaign, demanding an immediate general election. The anti-Maithripala forces in the SLFP and the anti-Ranil forces in the UNP will gain a new lease of life. A powerful section of the SLFP will demand that the president ditches the alliance with the UNP and forms a pact with the Rajapaksas. A powerful section of the UNP will clamour for Ranil Wickremesinghe’s immediate ouster from the party leadership. As the crisis escalates, the SLFP will experience one or more schisms – and so might the UNP. The political crisis will worsen economic conditions. The crisis in the government will become transformed into a governance crisis. Even if the government survives, it will be mortally wounded and dependent on artificial respiration to defer death until the presidential election.

Both Mr. Wickremesinghe and Mr. Sirisena have expressed their desire to contest the presidency. Clearly neither has learnt any of the lessons from the electoral drubbing of February. The government might have a chance – albeit a very slim one – of overcoming its existential crisis, but only if it acts as a unity. Neither the UNP nor the SLFP can win if it contests separately. For the government unity is not a choice; it is a necessity. Unity in itself cannot ensure survival for the SLFP and the UNP; but sans unity, both will die.

Beijing Man, in Colombo?

Empires set trends, not just sartorial or socio-cultural but also political. A recent article analysed how China uses the Belt and Road project to extend its technical standards beyond its shoresii. Given China’s status as nascent global power, it will make a conscious effort to transmit, regionally and globally. its own set of political and economic standards as well.

To a world that is becoming disillusioned with democracy’s inability to live up to its promises China’s way of doing things might hold a perverse attraction. For many especially in the third world, the idea of a paternalistic state willing to walk the talk might seem a better alternative, even if it involves losing those basic freedoms which marks the difference between citizen and servant. That bargain has been made before in history. Democratic people often have this secret yearning for a bit of useful/functional tyranny. Tyranny cannot be compartmentalised and enjoyed in digestible bits, but by the time a free people understands that reality, they are no longer free to unmake their choice.

Take for instance China’s new Social Credit System. It was proposed in 2014 and is supposed to come into effect nationally this year (versions are being implemented in parts of the country). According to this Orwellian system, if you are good the state will reward you (a visa to Singapore, for instance); it you are bad, the state will punish you (no airline or even train tickets). The System is supposed to rank the entire Chinese populace according to a number of criteria ranging from how they do their school work to their political activities. The underlying ethos is supposed to be to be, in the words of China’s Strongman-for-life President Xi Jinping, "Allow the trustworthy to roam everywhere under heaven while making it hard for the discredited to take a single step."iii

Chinese political activist Hu Jia calls China not a police state but a police empireiv. And the expansion of Chinese power and influence will encourage anti-democratic ideas and choices, especially in those third world countries caught in the Chinese debt trap. Though the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe administration has become quite amenable to Chinese demands, the dissemination of Chinese influence will be naturally advantageous not to the government but to the Rajapaksa project.

Currently, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa is busy reinventing himself as an intellectual-technocrat. He has even started dictating a weekly column to Lankadeepa, an irony given his well known opinion of the media. According to the pro-Rajapaksas website Lanka c news, Mr. Rajapaksa went to China on March 30th to undertake a month’s course on economic management and governance. (‘Gotabhaya summoned to China—-leaves today itself—-taught a secret course on governance and economic, proclaimed the caption).v This course was probably a fast-training for his political debutant ball, held fittingly at Shangri La. The hotel has been built in the land which housed the army headquarters. According to a media report, the land was sold by Mr. Rajapaksa because he wanted to build a Pentagon-style behemoth in Akuregoda to house all three forces!vi

The government is probably hoping that sibling-rivalry will torpedo the Gotabhaya project. That is engaging in wishful thinking of the suicidal variety. The Rajapaksas have internal differences but at crucial moments the family will work as a family to the greater glory of the family. If the JVP’s attempt to introduce the 20th Amendment fails, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa is likely to be the presidential candidate of the SLPP. And unless a miracle happens, he is likely to emerge, if not the outright winner, at least the highest vote getter.

Democracies with strong traditions, enduring institutions and an aware public can survive anti-democratic leaders. Donald Trump might admire tyrants; he might wish he can be one. But he cannot in the US. Countries like Sri Lanka are quite another matter. Here, democracy can be undermined and negated from within, as we discovered during the Rajapaksa years. It can happen again, and in a far more terminal way, if Gotabhaya Rajapaksa wins the presidency. All it would take would be a few deaths.

i https://media.economist.com/news/asia/21738408-indian-hawks-see-unserviceable-chinese-loans-ploy-win-control-strategic-assets-south

ii https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2018-05-06/china-is-quietly-setting-global-standards

iii http://www.newsweek.com/china-social-credit-system-906865

iv http://www.newsweek.com/china-social-credit-system-906865

v https://lankacnews.com/%E0%B6%9C%E0%B7%9D%E0%B6%A7%E0%B7%8F%E0%B6%B7%E0%B6%BA-%E0%B6%A0%E0%B7%93%E0%B6%B1%E0%B6%BA%E0%B6%A7-%E0%B6%9A%E0%B7%90%E0%B6%AF%E0%B7%80%E0%B6%BA%E0%B7%92-%E0%B6%85%E0%B6%AF%E0%B6%B8-%E0%B6%BA/

vi http://www.sundaytimes.lk/180513/business-times/akuregoda-defence-headquarters-building-becomes-a-white-elephant-293785.html

Expose`- Room No. 706 Holiday Inn rented exclusively for Gota , Neth FM Nihal , Gajanayake ‘extortion business’-Tamil businessmen were victims !

-A former intelligence officer discloses …

(Lanka-e-News - 20.May.2018, 6.15AM)  It were Donald Perera and Probation officers of Karannagoda who  committed abductions , murders and extortions hiding behind the shadow of Gota. It is a well and widely known fact that Donald Perera was the most incapable incompetent Air Force Commander ever to hold that post in the history of the Air Force. Thanks to  the death of Jayalath Weerakody who lost his life  in a vehicle accident owing to his lascivious involvements  , as a result of which Donald Perera could attain that position. Donald nevertheless  holds the ignominious record in the history of the Air force as being responsible for  a plane accident. He was incapable of  a safe  landing of a plane. 

Tigers built airports and  aircrafts during the period when Donald Perera was the Air Force Commander. After becoming  the Air Force Commander he chose Nishantha Gajanayake as his closest sidekick  - another scoundrel not second to him cast in the same evil and villainous mold of Donald Perera .

When Nishantha  Gajanayake was performing duties in the Mankulam  No. 1 operational range , this writer was the adjutant of the No. 2 operational range  .Group Captain Obeysekera was the group commander at that time. Gajanayake getting scolded in most filthy  language from Obeysekera was a common sight .

During the Mankulam operation, it was Nishantha  Gajanayake who fled to Vavuniya on a motorcycle after pushing a patient down to the ground  from it  who was being transported . Unbelievably it is such a scoundrel who became the closest  assistant of the Air Force Commander.

After Donald became the commander his official residence was next to S. B. Dissanayake’s when the latter was the minister of agriculture. It was then Gajanayake teamed up with Karuna  while Gajanayake the scoundrel became an asset to  Gotabaya when the latter  was just a piece of discarded dirt prior to elections. 

After Gotabaya became the defense minister, Donald was appointed as the chief of security council , and Roshan Gunatileke filled the vacancy that arose as Air Force commander . It was Karannagoda who was the Navy Commander from the time of Chandrika while Sarath Fonseka became the army commander during the period of  Gotabaya .

Karannagoda was the most senior among the commanders of the forces, and  Navy Sampath alias Sampath Munasinghe was his closest sidekick. Among the Navy extortionist group , D.K.J. Dissanayake , Sumith Munasinghe , Chandana Prasad Hettiarachi  and Nalin Prasanna Wickremesuriya played the key roles.

Karannagoda was most venomous towards  Fonseka  whose abilities he detested. Being a born rascal and villain he made sneaking to Gotabaya on others and arse- licking him part of his duties. 

Karannagoda was of the view , the arms of the LTTE were being unloaded at Colombo port and not at northern coast . He sneaked to Gota that these weapons so unloaded are being released with the assistance of  UNP M.P.s , and are being transported to  the North by land route. 

Instead of protecting the coastal strip he pointed an accusing finger at Fonseka , and stupid  Gota gave credence to this story. Throughout the war period , Karannagoda was backbiting and sneaking on Fonseka to Gota .  Even at security meetings both did not speak to each other while Gota took full advantage of that to fuel  the enmity.

During the era when late Somawansa the JVP leader advised Mahinda Rajapakse to patch up the differences between  Fonseka and Karannagoda as it would otherwise be harmful to the war efforts , Mahinda at once retorted , ‘how can that be?’ If that happens , who is going to sneak to us ? Rajapakses , in other words thrived in the embitterment and enmities between the commanders of the forces, and therefore stoked those hostilities.

How Gota collected extortion from Tamil businessmen …

With Gota’s advent , there proliferated a large number of bogus patriots (cardboard patriots) . Gajanayake and his  Navy  group teamed up  with Gota . Their first move was to trail behind the businessmen in the south  who were allegedly providing funds to the Tigers. Neither Hendavitharane  nor Gajanayake could  trap those businessmen. 

These so called patriots resorted to a different  methodology.  Gajanayake rented room 706 at Hotel Holiday Inn. Those businessmen abducted using the Karuna group were brought there.

 ‘We  have evidence that you are funding the Tigers. We  have received the list of the names of those who are providing funds to the LTTE . Karuna Amman is second in command of LTTE , and the information is very reliable. You know what will happen if you are handed over to the  TID… your bones will be broken and  crushed, ‘ the victims were told and blackmailed. 

The poor innocent victims pleaded , ‘aney Sir, we have never given any funds to the LTTE, but please do not hand us over to the TID. We will  to do anything you want.’ That was the plea of every  businessman who was  brought there  .That was how those poor innocent helpless businessmen yielded to the ruthless demands of Gajanayakes. In  the same way the children of affluent Tamil families too  were abducted and extortion demanded and collected through blackmailing.  

A portion of that extortion in ready cash was sent compulsorily to the spurious ‘us for ourselves’ account of Gotabaya . Those who faced death in many instances were businessmen and children of parents who sought legal recourse . Extortion money  of a  fairly popular Tamil businessman was collected in the Temple Trees itself . He has not uttered  a word about it  so far out of fear. 

Nihal Epa who extorted money along with Gota….

It is Nihal Epa Seneviratne a lackey and assistant of Gotabaya who paid the room 706  bills . The present owner of Neth FM broadcasting channel is Nihal Epa Seneviratne.  The owner of Neth FM  Nihal Epa, the marketing manager of Gajanayake’s ‘extortion business’ was the one who came forward to get Gajanayake out on personal bail after Gajanayake was arrested.

Nihal Epa who was engaged in mass scale extortion then is this time running an extortion mafia under the ‘Belumgala’ program. The extortion mafia of Gajanayake has been  ‘modernized’ under the present program . Even if the jungle changes , Tiger’s stripes do not change. The criminal chain of Epa , Gota and Gajan is still not broken. 

The task of this writer during the period between 2005 and 2007 was wiping out the NGOs. The task specially entrusted to the writer targeted Dr. Kumar Rupasinghe who was the peace broker on behalf of Norway , and his  Anti war Front.

The writer most skillfully and craftily crept in as the policy planning coordinator of Rupasinghe’s  elite intelligence division .However amidst the Kalutara anti war rally , the writer was arrested  . With that ,the role of the Double agent ended. 

The writer was taken into custody by the officers of the MSD detailed for security duty of Rajitha Senaratne ,on charges of being present at a rally armed with a weapon. Thereafter the writer was taken to Kalutara South Police station. In any case in about two  hours the bag with Butt model  T 56 weapon was released , and so was the writer . Exactly a week later this same bag was found thrown  down Martha Road, Borella.

Gota’s extortions were revealed to Lasantha, Bulitha and Lakshman… 

This is not the first time the writer is exposing this extortion saga. Bulitha Pradeep Kumara of Divaina is a friend of the writer. At the request of Bulitha , this was discussed with a senior officer of the CID. This took place at the police officers quarters Bambalapitiya . In March 2007 a number of articles were published against the writer in the Sunday Leader and Irudina newspapers. 

Leader editor tried to speak with me regarding the murder of Raviraj . He also inquired about the security  detail of Kumar Rupasinghe , and my  double agent role when I was the policy coordinator, as well as the arrest that was made while I was in Kalutara .

The story revolving around the extortion business of Gajanayake and Nihal came up for discussion a second time at  the Kandewatte Terrace  house. This information  was made available to UNP parliamentarian Lakshman Seneviratne by Lasantha . Seneviratne questioned this in parliament . With the exposure made by Lakshman , Gajanayake was taken into custody by the CID. After this incident Lasantha took the writer to the residence of Lakshman at Pitakotte. Lasantha died but Lakshman is still living.

No matter what , on the orders of Gota ,  Gajanayake was soon released. Gota did not stop at that , he instructed Airport and Aviation Authority chief Tiran Alles to appoint Gajanayake as the chief security officer at the Katunayake airport 

By Keerthi Ratnayake 

Translated by Jeff.

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by     (2018-05-20 01:06:18)

Tenaga Car Parks Claims Innocence, But Pockets 60% Of Parking Fines

MAY 19, 2018

Mayor of Colombo Rosy Senanayake has suspended all parking meter ticket fines imposed on the general public of Sri Lanka due to the exorbitant compound charges levied against those that did not pay for parking their vehicles in the Colombo city areas.

Rosy

Posting a tweet yesterday she said “with regard to the recent complaints on parking meter fines. Pending council approval I have given instructions to the commissioner to suspend all fines charged relating to parking meters.”

Tenaga Car Parks Pvt Limited and the Colombo Municipal Council came in for huge flak when the outraged public of Sri Lanka went berserk on social media complaining about unbelievable hefty fines that were levied as late payment charges for unpaid parking ticket fines.

Probably in a global first, the public were charged a whopping compounded interest charge of Rs 1080 per day, for a mere Rs 30 unpaid ticket fine.

In a global comparison, the public in the United Kingdom is accorded a discount of 50% on their unpaid fines if paid within 14 days.

However here in Sri Lanka it is the exact opposite.

For instance the compounded charges snowball resulting in a charge of Rs 1080 by the day.

Tenaga Car Parks PVT Ltd the partner of Colombo Municipal Council who drives this project pockets 60% of the fines for the services they provide.

Managing Director Duminda Jayatillake of Tenaga Car Parks Pvt Limited speaking to Colombo Telegraph said “This is a temporary measure taken by the Mayoress Rosy Senanayake and the Colombo Municipal Council to review the parking charges and fine structure. Tenaga Car Parks Pvt Limited was not involved in creating either charges or fine structure. We merely implemented what had been proposed by the Colombo Municipal Council. All we did was invest over Rs 250 million and put up 100 solar powered parking meters from Galadari round about to Dehiwela bridge, Liberty junction to Dharmarama Road in Bambalapitiya and along all intercepting lanes owned by the CMC. We also pay for all the back end work too”.

Duminda Jayatillake

“We have carried out numerous programmes to educate the general public. Distribution of leaflets in Colombo City, Newspaper advertisements, Facebook posts and also on television” Jayatillake said.

Tenaga Car Parks, a global brand with offices running in India and Malaysia besides Sri Lanka was formed in 2005. It claims to service a total of 20,000 parking bays globally.

Their website states “Parking is a Service, and our objective is to provide Customer Satisfaction by providing an efficient traffic management service in a professional and orderly manner to ensure a safe, secure and friendly environment.”

Meanwhile a person named Echo Asma who had to pay a fine of Rs 6960 several days later had filmed his experience at the Tenaga Car Park Pvt Ltd Office and posted it on Facebook.

Narrating his experience Echo Asma posted “The So called “PARKING VIOLATION FEE” is as BOGUS As it Gets! Yet Many Innocent people accept it and end up paying thumping amounts to this Private Money Making Firm.

This So called Parking Company pinned this to my Windshield last week, Upon inquiring a week after they ask me to pay a Fine of 6960/= as late Payment Fees Which is More than double the Maximum Fine for any Traffic Violations in this Country.

Check the Video on How the Staff Behave when inquiring about the Legitimacy of this Fee and Company.

A Small complain and Protest on this at the Muncipal Council Traffic Divison and they immediately reduce my Violation fee to just RS 50/= (Actual Parking Fee for an Hour) Who Does that? How Legit is this Company? How many Innocent people are being openly Robbed Everyday? This Has to STOP!

Note : Having inquired with both the C.M.C and The Parking Company. The C.M.C Assure me to take Action against the irresponsible behaviour in the video of the staff of the Company where as the Parking Firm state that They are doing only that of What is Authorized and instructed by the C.M.C.

It’s a no brainier that these two institutions are linked and just ripping people apart. I spent half a day at the Muncipal Council and met so many others with the same complaint. People are just paying heavy fines for late payments. It’s Bogus. Who charges 1000 RS for a Day of late payment? Even the Law gives us 14 days before any action could be taken.

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