Sunday, July 8, 2018

Check leaf proof etc. to prove payment of Chinese Co. to Pushpa; that amount plus interest thereof must be repaid to China !

(Lanka e News -07.July.2018, 11.30PM) The Chinese Co. CICT which undertook the contract in 2016 to build the Southern harbor paid a sum of Rs. 19.4 million ten thousand to Pushpa Rajapakse the wife of ex minister Basil Rajapakse . Though this payment to Pushpa is tainted with charges of financial misappropriation , the Ranil- Sirisena government has failed to take any measures in this connection. Lanka e News therefore is revealing the palpable evidence which substantiate the charges…...

The Chinese CICT Co. (belonging to the Chinese harbor Co. ) which has undertaken the contract to construct the Colombo South port had paid a sum of Rs. Rs. 19.4 million ten thousand as aid to the Foundation run by Pushpa through a HongKong and Shanghai Bank check No. 594691 on 2012-05-21

Though that payment has been shown as a donation , during the audit investigation of the establishment it had been discovered that sum paid to Pushpa has been indicated as money that constitutes part of the expenditure towards the Port development . The notorious corrupt Rajapakse rogues alias ‘Alibaba and his family thieves’ after stating that sum was a donation have included that in the asset expenditure side of the Southern Port development thereby fastening that burden on the masses. That is, it is the people who will have to shoulder the burden of paying back this amount as loan along with interest thereof to China.

When inquiries were made from the ports Authority financial Director and the CICT Co. chief executive director officer , the true picture had been confirmed. In the audit query it had been questioned, when there are so many voluntary organizations in the country , why was such a whopping sum paid to Pushpa’s organization ? On this earth the truth cannot be concealed forever. One such truth that was revealed and could not be concealed is, Pushpa Rajapakse Foundation despite collecting such a colossal amount has not even built a lavatory on behalf of the people.

Copies of the check leaf, payment voucher, the letters of the chiefs of CICT Co. , the letters of the Port Audit officers are herein .

Connected report ….

Not enough the Rajapakses’ pillaging – Basil ‘s wife too collects Rs. 20 million from another Chinese Co. !

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by (2018-07-07 21:37:39)

Why Rajapaksa smells an election in near future?

BY Gagani Weerakoon-JUL 01 2018

The 16 Government members of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party who walked away from the Government with the intention of working as a ‘separate group’ in the Opposition last week said they should no longer be addressed as the 'Group of 16’ because they have decided to work together with the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP). UPFA Parliamentarian W.D.J. Seneviratne said so, after meeting SLPP leaders including its Chairman G. L. Peiris and National Organizer Basil Rajapaksa at the SLPP Head Office in Battaramulla.

Why Rajapaksa smells an election in near future.docx by Thavam on Scribd

NEW YORK TIMES REPORT ON ALLEGED US$ 7.6 MN FUNDING-UNP moves adjournment motion against MR

Amali Mallawaarachchi-Monday, July 9, 2018

The United National Party has decided to move an adjournment motion over the New York Times report on former President Mahinda Rajapaksa for allegedly accepting USD 7.6 mn from China Harbour Merchant Company for his election campaign.

UNP MP Dr. Ashu Marasinghe said they will move the adjournment motion on Thursday (19).

Marasinghe also said that there was a discussion with regards to moving an adjournment motion over cases filed against former Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa as well.

“However, we are allowed only one Adjournment Motion per week, so we decided to go with the New York Times report,”he said.

Chinese Whispers: On Corruption and the Hambantota Port

Featured image by Raisa Wickrematunge

RAISA WICKREMATUNGE-07/08/2018

On July 2, 2018, Hiru TV aired footage from two press conferences hosted by the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) during its 6:55 pm broadcast.

During the press conference, the members of the Joint Opposition reacted to a story run by the New York Times, which focused on the deal around the Hambantota Port to illustrate the argument that China’s Belt and Road initiative was exploitative and left countries like Sri Lanka struggling with debt. (The Belt and Road initiative involves China underwriting infrastructure investment such as roads, ports and airports for countries lining the old Silk Road route.) It is an argument that has been gaining some traction, particularly after reports noting that Zambia, the Republic of Congo have had to turn to the IMF for assistance after taking on Chinese loans. T

The former Governor of the Central Bank, Nivard Cabraal was the first to respond to the story, releasing the full audio clip of the interview in which many of the question asked by the New York Times remained unanswered. The former President also released an official response.

On Twitter, a number of newly created accounts began trolling those who posted about the New York Times story. This account, for instance, had one post on strawberry tarts, and then tweeted almost exclusively about the New York Times.

This account’s tweets were ‘liked’ by many members from the Rajapaksa camp themselves, including by Namal Rajapaksa. While this is unsurprising, given the slant of the tweets, it does not bode well that running a reverse image search on the profile photo revealed that it had previously turned up on a (somewhat garish) website meant to showcase photos of people which had been hijacked by scammers.

On (political) mad dogs and quicksands ahead

Sunday, July 08, 2018

When mad dogs bark at the moon, the wise would probably advocate just a shrug and a sigh.

However in a country where those who have lost their senses to all intents and purposes capture the public space so belligerently, shrugging and sighing may not suffice. The tide of insanity is so high that we not only have a senior member of the Buddhist clergy calling for ‘even a Hitler’ to rule this country to bring it back ‘onto the right path’ (never mind the stupendously oxymoronic nature of that injunction) but also a northern state minister calling for a ‘revival of the LTTE’ if children and women of the North and East are to come home safely without being raped and hurt.

Derangement and despairing ironies

Perchance and by themselves, these voices are solitary signs of derangement. While the ‘even Hitler’ call marks the zenith of imbecility, the northern state minister and those who support her may be questioned as to how this new found emotion in regard to girls being raped in the North had been so lacking on her/their part in the past, as for example when schoolgirl Vithya Sivaloganathan was brutally abused and killed in a gang killing with links to the police and Northern political underworld.

Indeed in what can only be a despairing irony, the trial-at-bar at the Jaffna High Court at the time had found this same state minister responsible for taking steps to secure the release of the main accused in that case. So when the state minister laments about the breakdown of law and order in the North, is that (seemingly) distraught) outrage only to be evidenced when state officers are implicated in rapes and killings of girls and women?
But regardless of these hypocritically shrewd gambits to stay politically relevant, it is interesting that the national debate has been reduced to contortions and convulsions around these populist aberrations that would have been contemptuously dismissed at any other given time. Instead, these claims are elevated to a far graver symbolizing of the current political dynamic at play. This is what is truly worrying.

Was the 2015 vote, a mere democratic quirk?

Is calling for dictatorships what the modern Sri Lankan mentality (Sinhala, Tamil, Muslim) all about in the final reckoning? Was the push for democratic reform in 2015 just a temporary quirk of that electoral day, brought about by intolerable Rajapaksa-excesses? Those of us immensely fortified by the democratic feat in disposing a family autocracy by the determined use of the ballot box are surely justified in questioning how one extreme can swing to the other in a veritably horrendous yo-yo game in a short space of three years.

True, the antics of the National Unity Government together with its uncritical cheerleaders in media and civil society played a large part in bringing about this sense of desolation on the part of the citizenry. In one sense therefore, there is an uncanny resemblance in the national debate in the North and the South underlining the failure by the Government to secure the enforcement of the Rule of Law throughout the country. This is, in fact, the most striking commonality that helpless citizens from Devundara to Point Pedro face in their daily lives if only they could be brought to realize that simple fact and realize also that more commonalities in shared injustice bind them together rather than the (ethnic) differences that separate them. But instead of a sober and meticulous process of institutional reform that would have addressed the question of state impunity head on, what we had was bombastic rhetoric over transitional justice and constitutional reforms, both of which have dwindled to pale shadows of the grandeur of what was once promised.

In the first instance, these were not exercises undertaken with any genuineness in mind. Rather they were products of calculated political moves on a chess board where Sri Lankan citizens featured if at all, only as insignificant pawns to be sacrificed for the securing of political party up-manship. Let us be very clear on that point. If there was even a smidgen of honesty about that process, it would not have been manufactured in the way that it was, from the closeted corners of Colombo’s powerbrokers. While that by itself was unpardonable, the fact that no substantive course correction took place even in the second or indeed, when the Government faced a crushing reversal in its third year is unbelievable.

A dangerous turn in the political mood

But even conceding all these failures on the part of the political leadership, the dangerous turn that the political mood has taken is disquieting, to say the least. We are in a situation where Sinhala hawks now feel emboldened enough to call the Chairperson of the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL), a ‘spokesperson of terrorists’ and be published in that same vein in the purportedly mainstream media, as was evidenced recently to the incredulity of many.

This angst has apparently been occasioned over the role assigned to the HRCSL to vet members of the army being sent overseas as peacekeepers, in which arrangement, the Sri Lanka Army itself has expressed the highest confidence. But if allegations of this nature are made so blatantly and shamelessly, what does this portend? Who will commit to serving in independent oversight bodies with honour and dignity if to do so would result in calumnies leveled with such apparent impunity?

There was a time when to be labeled in this way meant immediate consequences, either in the form of physical harm including killings or by way of merciless character assassination. Is this the cheerless future towards which we are hurtling? If so, then there can be no return for Sri Lanka.

Halting a slide into the quicksands of bigotry

The time has come for voices of reason and moderation to speak out with force and conviction. Lest that call be misunderstood, I do not mean that an automatic alignment with the remnants of what is left of the rainbow ‘yahapalanaya’ coalition as it once was proudly referred to. Rather, what is needed is a powerful critical collective that will assert its will against the political establishment, untainted by association with one or the other political grouping holding forth on the national stage.

When human mad dogs appear to be steadily increasing, bringing back unpleasant recollections of a period where insanity was the order of the day, sharp and effective counter-rejoinders are called for. Otherwise our treacherous slide once again into the quicksand of bigotry and hatred will be unending.

Resolving the paradox of rice-poverty amidst plenty: Increase yield, eat less and divert surplus to

Eating too much of rice?

Monday, 9 July 2018

Sri Lankans are great rice eaters. On average, they eat 108 kg of rice per person per year as against the world average of just 54 kg per head. A plate of rice eaten by an average Sri Lankan is usually equated to Adam’s Peak or Samanala Kanda. The local saying is that if someone is to jump over it, it is so elevated in height that he has to make a lot of prior preparation and training. Otherwise, instead of jumping over it, he would just land in the middle of the plate.

Resolving the paradox of rice-poverty amidst plenty Increase yield, eat less and divert surplus to.docx by Thavam on Scribd

Political storm created by Vijayakala’s ill-timed, misjudged statement

By Gagani Weerakoon-JUL 08 2018

Barely two weeks into Oddusudan Police arresting two suspects with a pressure mine, two remote control devices and some other weapons, a uniform, a flag, bombs and several military types of equipment belonging to the LTTE while they were being transported in a three-wheeler at Peraru Junction, Oddusudan, Mullaitivu, an ill-timed, misjudged gallery talk by State Minister Vijayakala Maheswaran took Sri Lankan politics by storm.
Maheswaran, speaking to a gathering at a State event, the Janapathi Nila Mehewara, in Jaffna on 2 July, which was attended by Ministers Vajira Abeywardena and Tilak Marapana, had stated that the aim was to rebuild the LTTE and that they should remerge and be strengthened in the North and the East if the residents of those areas wished to remain alive, free of fear and suspicion and for their children to return home safely after attending school. She spoke in reference to the situation that had arisen in some areas as exemplified by the recent sexual abuse and murder of a six-year-old girl.

“All of you know how our people lived before 2009-05-19. When comparing with today’s situation, it seems the LTTE should be revived. If our children and women are to come home safely, an LTTE administration is again necessary. What this Government has done for the last three years is only returning the lands which were acquired. We thank the Government for that. But beyond that the Government has done nothing.

“The claim that the Government carried out development activities in the North is a lie. We respect the leadership. I am also a Minister of the Government. But when nothing is done for the people of the North, our patience has reached the limit.

“Of course the war was concluded. But what has the Government done to those who became widows due to the war? Nothing has been done to the youths who completed their University studies. There are 30,000 widows in the North and 12,000 LTTE cadres in the rehabilitation camps. What is the government doing for them?
“What has it given them? The Cabinet Paper to help them was cast aside. Was it because they aren’t human beings? They took up arms to fight for their rights. Is it because of that you say they are not human beings? Today the drug scourge is on the rise in Jaffna. After the war was over the political leaders are transporting drugs to Jaffna. That is why drug addiction has shot up in Jaffna.

“The President must work like a President .We worked for him. Yet Ministry portfolios have been given to those who worked against him. Is that right? Is it fair? That is the same thing which was done even to the North. I am ashamed to speak these out. In these areas the job vacancies have been filled by youths of the South,” was the gist of the speech she made in Jaffna as was published.

Questions arose in Parliament as to what steps should be taken over Maheswaran’s controversial statement. Several Parliamentarians raised their concern regarding the statement and some of them noted that her statement violated the provisions of the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution.

According to the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution, under Article 157A(1) regarding the prohibition of violating the country’s territorial integrity and Article 161(d)(iv), that a citizen taking the oath cannot, “directly or indirectly, in or outside Sri Lanka, support, espouse, promote, finance, encourage or advocate the establishment of a separate State within the (country’s) territory.”

Deputy Minister Ranjan Ramanayake, whilst saying that the United National Party (UNP) should take disciplinary action against Maheswaran, over her recent controversial statement regarding the LTTE, added that she should revoke that statement.
He added that Maheswaran`s solution, for the problem of increasing drug addiction and child rape in the Jaffna Peninsula, was stupid.

“At a recent function which was held in Jaffna, she pointed out that the reason for the increased instances of child abuse was the absence of the LTTE and suggested that the solution should be the regeneration of the LTTE. What a stupid assumption! Drugs and rape are a global issue. Even in the South, people are facing such issues. Combating drugs is an issue related to the Police Narcotics Bureau,” he explained.

The Deputy Minister also noted that challenging the sovereign nature of the country by boasting about a terrorist organization constituted a punishable offence.
The Sri Lanka Freedom Party Youth Front (SLFPYF) also condemned the statement made by Maheswaran.

Addressing a press conference at the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) Headquarters, SLFPYF Chairman Shantha Bandara said that according to the Constitution, all Parliamentarians have a duty to protect the unity and the sovereignty of the country, and that Maheswaran had violated the Constitution through the statement she made in support of the LTTE.

He insisted that the Speaker, along with other responsible institutions, should take action against Maheswaran over her statement.
Bandara also noted that this was a petty attempt by Maheswaran to gain the votes of those who wanted to resurrect the LTTE.

Expressing their agitation over the controversial statement, made by Maheswaran on 2 July, the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) urged both, the Speaker and the Government, to take necessary action against her, according to the law for violating the parliamentary oath.

The JVP, calling a media briefing after the brawl which erupted in the Parliament chamber over Maheswaran’s remarks, said that she has no right as a parliamentarian to make such claims, regarding racist and fascist organisations such as the LTTE.
Maheswaran should seek forgiveness from the entire nation for seeking the LTTE’s return, JVP Propaganda Secretary and Vijitha Herath, MP asserted.

“As MPs, we are bound by an oath that we would never support the dividing of this country directly or indirectly. Now, Maheswaran has violated that oath by calling on the LTTE to return. This is very disgusting and a violation of the Constitution, as well. Therefore, we urge both the Speaker and the Government to take necessary action against her according to the Law,” he said.

Speaking about the brawl that erupted concerning Maheswaran’s claim, Herath said that because that claim is too serious, it is normal for the MPs to react to it in various
manners.
If the Government had given a response to Maheswaran’s claim on the same day she made it, such a brawl would not have taken place, he added.

Meanwhile, Convener of the Truth Seekers organisation, Attorney-at-Law Premanath C. Dolawatta handed over a complaint against Maheswaran’s statement in support of the LTTE, to the Police Headquarters.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickeremesinghe in Parliament said that State Minister Maheswaran would be given a chance to explain herself over the controversial statement she made that the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) should return to ensure the freedom of the people in the Northern and Eastern Provinces, adding that action on the matter would be taken after her explanation.

Making a special statement, on behalf of both, the Government and the United National Party (UNP), the Premier added that the Government had looked into the controversial statement made by Maheswaran as soon as they were informed about it.
“The UNP Political Committee immediately met to discuss the matter. Maheswaran would be given an opportunity to explain herself. Necessary action would be taken after listening her,” he added.

Wickremesinghe further said that both the Tri-Forces and the general public protected the sovereignty of this country with their lives. “Many leaders of the UNP, the Sri Lanka Freedom Party and Tamil parties were killed during the war. The Parliament was attacked, as well. We remember all of that, and we will always secure the sovereignty of this country. The LTTE is already banned. There is no need of reviving it,” he said.

The Premier also mentioned the disturbance created by the Opposition over Maheswaran’s statement on 3 July. He alleged that the Joint Opposition made such a commotion in order to cover up the revelations made by the recent New York Times’ article on the Hambantota Port.

“They behaved like that when the Speaker had already taken necessary steps as the Head of this Parliament. There should be strict action taken against their behaviour,” he said.

Maheswaran on Thursday resigned from her portfolio in the wake of the controversy, surrounding a recent public statement made by her in connection to the revival of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

The Prime Minister’s Office, when contacted, confirmed that they had received the resignation letter, of which a copy has also been forwarded to the President as well by the MP.

Maheswaran also admitted that her recent remark was contradictory to her oath taken as a Parliamentarian.
“I admit that my comment was contradictory to the oath I took as an MP. The LTTE is a banned organization,” she told media.

Her resignation was following a meeting held with Prime Minister Wickremesinghe on Wednesday. PM Wickremesinghe and his staff were already tired by trying to track down MP Maheswaran throughout Tuesday (3) as her statement was being criticized from all corners.

PM Wickremesinghe reprimanded her over the ‘stupid’ statement made about revival of a terrorist organization which was already banned and thus demanded her resignation from the ministerial portfolio. Maheswaran who was in tears by the time asked whether the Party would drop inquiry against her if she resigned from the post but got a negative response from the PM.
The United National Party backbenchers made a call to the Party leadership to sack Maheswaran from the UNP.

Addressing a media briefing at the Parliamentary complex, after the uproar sparked in the Chamber concerning Maheswaran’s statement, UNP Parliamentarian Heshan Withanage said that the Party leadership must take swift action over the matter.
“Seeing a State Minister making such a statement left all of us shocked. We call on the UNP Leadership to take immediate action against her. It is unacceptable that an MP, let alone a Government State Minister, made such remarks. Such a person should not be a member of a party like the UNP,” he said.

Fuel price confusion

Fuel consumers were left confused as the Government appeared unsure whether the price hike announced on Thursday should be implemented at the pumps around the country.

The Finance Ministry had issued a letter ordering an increase in petrol, diesel and kerosene prices as of mid-night Thursday. However, the Petroleum Ministry and Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) seemed unaware of the directive on Thursday. Instead the CPC issued a circular to all CEYPETCO distributors, contradicting the Finance Ministry decision to increase fuel prices by Friday morning.

While, it was alleged the confusion had erupted as a result of President Maithripala Sirisena ordering CPC not to increase fuel prices, the President’s media division, refuting the charges, insisted that the President was not involved in the matter at all.
The CPC, in a circular (No. 995) dated 6 July 2018 issued directives to the CEYPETCO distributors not to increase fuel prices based on the rates published or aired through the media.

“According to the written fuel distribution agreement you have entered into, with the CPC/CEYPETCO your fuel distribution station could not revise fuel prices unless the Corporation permits to do so in writing. You are hereby advised not to increase fuel prices based on media reports. If not adhered, it will amount to a violation of the distribution agreement you have entered into,” the circular signed by acting Manager of the CPC W.D.L.C. Abeygunawardana said.

This circular follows a communiqué by Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera to Petroleum Minister Arjuna Ranatunga on 5 July 2018, with copies to the Secretary to the Ministry of Petroleum Resources and the Chairman of the CPC, informing them to take necessary action to increase fuel prices as per the rates given by the Fuel Pricing Committee.

The price of a litre of Octane 92 petrol has been increased to Rs 138 while Octane 95 has been increased to Rs 148. The price of a litre of diesel has been increased to Rs 109 while a litre of Super Diesel has been increased to Rs 119. The price of a litre of kerosene has been increased to Rs 101.
Based on the Finance Ministry rates, the Lanka Indian Oil Company (LIOC), too, increased their fuel prices.

Meanwhile, Chief Opposition Whip Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna Leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake, in Parliament, queried whether the Government was going to repay the consumers who purchased fuel after midnight Thursday (5) to Friday afternoon at the increased prices.

Dissanayake, making a statement on the matter, requested a clarification from the Government as to why President Sirisena, in a sudden move, ordered the revocation of the fuel price increase and instructed that fuel be sold at the previous rates.

“The country is in confusion over these decisions of the Government. Therefore, I like to ask whether there had been Cabinet approval to increase the fuel prices. Also, the fuel stations charged the new prices from midnight Thursday. Now, that decision has been changed suddenly, can the consumers get back the money they overpaid? We need a clarification on this. ”

Speaker Karu Jayasuriya then requested Chief Government Whip, Minister Gayantha Karunatileka, to refer Dissanayake’s question to Minister of Petroleum Resources Development Ranatunga.
Meanwhile, the Finance Ministry, in a statement last evening, said that a final decision on CPC fuel prices will be taken at the next Cabinet meeting.

Vijayakala’s outrageous call for Tiger Balm to soothe Jaffna woes

Ex STATE MINISTER UNP MP VIJAYAKALA MAHESWARAN: If our children and women are to come home safely, an LTTE administration is again necessary

Sunday, July 08, 2018

Tiger lover resigns after expressing longings for the LTTE to romance the north with the kiss of death enforced through the barrel of the gun
View(s): 444

Like some of their Sinhale brethren down south of the border who, within three short years, seem to have forgotten the recent past, display an irresistible craving to return to the era of white vans and reveal a masochistically addictive scratching itch to have a Hitlerite figure to trample upon and crush their fundamental freedoms under a Nazi brand jackboot, so does it seem that some northern Tamils also suffer the same bout of amnesia and yearn to see the return of the fascist LTTE regime with a born again Prabhakaran at its helm to wreak upon the land a new bloodbath.

Vijayakala’s outrageous call for Tiger Balm to soothe Jaffna woes.docx by Thavam on Scribd

Coal power plants are ecological disasters

Coal is the dirtiest source of fossil fuel. When burned it produces emissions that cause global warming, create acid rain and pollute water and farm land. Coal burning produces many pollutants. These are sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, particulate matter (PM), heavy metals and radioisotopes. Pollution from coal – fired power plants lead to numerous respiratory, cardiovascular, and cerebrovascular effects. Coal dust released during coal transport can cause severe and potentially deadly respiratory problems.

2018-07-09

Coal combustion waste in USA is the second largest waste stream after municipal solid waste. It is disposed of in landfills or surface impoundments. As rain filters through the toxic ash pits year after year, the toxic metals are leached out into the local environment.

Pollution from particulate matter

The particulate matter emitted from coal plant (PM) has a very grave effect on public health. The main contributor to the particulate matter is coal fly ash, and minor are sulphate and nitrate Coal fly ash is the incombustible materials that is 20% of the collected coal – ash. Particulate matter causes irritation and obstructions on fine airways of the lungs. This leads to asthma and chronic bronchitis. Every four tons of coal burned produce one ton of ash. It is further estimated that one ton of ash can spread over up to 150,000 square km (60,000 square miles). Fly ash can travel up to 40 - 50 km in the down wind direction. It settles down subsequently causing land degradation, severe air and water pollution and diseases in plants and animals, including humans.

Under this coverage area the harmful substances have been detected even in the milk of cows. According to WHO, exposure to PM increases the risk of death from heart disease, respiratory diseases and lung cancer. A study conducted in USA found that the underground dumped ash (produced by coal – fired power plants) has contaminated ground water. The toxic contaminants include Arsenic and lead. Arsenic causes skin, bladder and lung cancer and leads damage to the nervous system. Local aquatic life is also disrupted due to the coal ash life cycle because coal ash also transmits various types of toxic contaminants into the local atmosphere which travels to other sites with air. The carried over coal ash is dropped and dissolved in ponds, lakes and rivers. A research conducted by Stuttgart University estimates that the air pollution caused by coal – fired power plants was responsible for 22,300 premature deaths in the EU in 2010.

Pollution from nitrogen, sulphur oxides

Modern day coal power plants pollute less than older designs due to new technologies that filter the exhaust air in smoke stacks. However emission levels of various pollutants are greater than the emissions from natural gas power plants. Pollution from coal – fired power plants comes from the emission of gases such as nitrogen oxides and sulphur oxides into the atmosphere. These gases react with the atmospheric air to create acidic compounds, which precipitate as rain leading to acid rain.

Pollution from heavy metals

Coal contains many heavy metals. Many of the heavy metals released in the burning of coal are environmentally and biologically toxic elements, such as lead, mercury, cadmium and arsenic, as well as radio isotopes.
A research conducted by University of Stuttgart under commission from Greenpeace found that coal-burnt power plants were the largest source of mercury air emissions in the EU. It is stated that 200,000 babies are born each year in the EU with mercury levels harmful to their mental and neurological development. A 500 MW coal power plant produces 170 pounds of mercury per a year. A teaspoon of mercury added to a 25-acre lake will make the fish in that lake unsafe for consumption. Lead and Cadmium are toxic metals that accumulate in human and animal tissues leading to mental retardation, development disorders and damage to the nervous system.
A 500 MW coal powered plan produces 225 pounds of arsenic per year. In people who drink water which contain 50 parts per billion of arsenic, the chance of developing cancer is 1 in 100.

Radioactivity and coal

Coal contains minor amounts of the radioactive elements, uranium and thorium. When coal is burned, the fly ash contains uranium and thorium “at up to 10 times their original levels.”It has been estimated that concentration of radioactive material is increased from 0.03% to 0.12% annually in the upper 30 cm. layer of soil in a radius of 20 km of coal power plants.

Retirement of coal-power plants

USA has retired 175 coal fired power plants up to 2016. Britain has built 30 gas fired power plants to replace coal powered plants. France only produces 4% of its electricity needs from coal fired plants and even then has closed down 7 coal – fired units. Germany is moving towards renewable energy sources and has announced that the coal power plant opened in 2017 would be the last such plant in Germany.Canadian coal consumption has been reduced to 42% since 2005. The decrease is because Canada is gradually stopping power generation from coal – fired power plants. China is moving away from coal and at present has the highest wind power capacity in the world. China will soon overtake Germany for installed solar power capacity.

"A 500 MW coal power plant produces 170 pounds of mercury per year

Particulate matter emitted from coal plant has grave effects on public health

A ton of fly ash can spread over up to 150,000 sq. km (60,000 sq. miles)

Burning coal contains hazardous biological toxic elements such as lead, mercury, cadmium and arsenic"

Norochcholai power plant

No detailed study of pollution from Norochcholai power plant is available. The silence from Universities and environmental agencies is quite surprising. We know that pollution in Kandy and Colombo and various water bodies are frequently studied and communications are submitted. However a report from an activist about the Norochcholai power plant shows the importance given to environmental protection. He states that the cooling towers ocean intakes have a screen that is intended to stop large fish and shellfish going through the pipe. However, a large quantity of shellfish and large fish are also getting caught and killed. There is a mountain of dead marine life stacked in the ash dump. If we are unable to maintain a filtering screen, there is no point in talking about preventing pollution control.

The future of coal power in SL

There is no future for coal power in Sri Lanka. People who have seen the effects of Norochcolai power plant will not allow a power plant to be established in their areas. If the government tries to impose this project by force, it will lead to riots. The government will be forced to close the project after large financial losses and irreparable political damage.

Author is an Emeritus professor, University of Colombo and past President of SLAAS (2015)

Heroin worth Rs.1,248 mn seized

The bags in which the heroin was hidden.

PNB detects over 103 kilos

One of the largest drug busts ever

Two suspects arrested, jeep, equipment seized

Feron Jayawardene-Monday, July 9, 2018

The Police Narcotics Bureau (PNB) seized 103.9 kilogrammes of heroin worth Rs.1,248 million on Saturday night in one of the department’s biggest drug busts ever.

The Police were also able to arrest two suspects with the drugs.

Acting on a tip off, PNB officers found 33.3 kilogrammes of heroin concealed in a jeep at Prathibimbarama Lane in Kalubowila. The heroin was packed inside 30 parcels and the two suspects were arrested with the jeep.

Gas cylinders used to transport heroin.

Upon further questioning, the PNB was able to raid a three storey house at Subhoythipura, Battaramulla and was able to seize 70.5 kilogrammes of heroin concealed in 66 parcels.
PNB officials had also found two cut and opened gas cylinders used to transport heroin, three mobile phones and two electronic scales used to weigh the drugs.

The PNB was able to seize 96 parcels of heroin weighing 103.9 kilogrammes during the two raids conducted.
Speaking to the Daily News, a Police Media Division official said that this drug bust was the largest in the country for 2018.

Further investigations found out that the raided house was rented for a monthly sum of Rs.75,000 from January 2018 onwards and the Jeep was rented from a vehicle supplying company for a monthly sum of Rs.150,000.

The arrested suspects were identified as Mohomad Mahir, aged 29 and Mallikarachige Chathura Jayashantha, aged 40. Both suspects were residents of Dehiwala and were scheduled to be produced before the Mount Lavinia Magistrate’s Court yesterday.

Further investigations have revealed that this drug trafficking scam was led by the drug lord ‘Susei’ who is currently imprisoned in the Welikada prison. ‘Susei’ was arrested in 2013 with two kilogrammes of heroin and was sentence to death. The PNB had found text message conversations between ‘Susei’ and Mohamad Mahir from the suspect’s mobile phone and the suspect had revealed the information of the trafficking upon questioning.

The Police Narcotics Bureau is conducting further investigations.

In 2016, the PNB detected over 900 kgs of cocaine from an Indian bound ship docked at the Colombo port.

This haul is the largest cocaine seizure recorded in South Asia with an estimated street value of Sri Lankan Rupees 12 billion.

Over 314 kgs of heroin were seized by Drug Law Enforcement Agencies while the Police Narcotics Bureau detected over 23 kgs of Heroin. Cannabis sativa L commonly identified as “Ganja” is the only illegal drug cultivated in Sri Lanka.

In 2017, over 4987 kg was detected by all Law Enforcement Agencies while over 206 kg was seized by the Police Narcotics Bureau.

The prevalence of New Psychotropic Substances (NPS) is causing new challenges to all Drug law Enforcement Agencies and in 2017, the PNB detected a consignment of 542.060 Kg of “Kart” in Sri Lanka. From January to May 2018, law enforcement agencies have seized 31 Kgs of heroin, 2N214 Kgs of cannabis, 18 Kgs of Hashish and 1.2 Kgs of cocaine.

Ireland moves towards banning goods from Israel’s settlements

Frances Black (second from left) is an Irish singer and politician pushing for a ban on imports from Israel’s settlements. (Via Facebook)

Ciaran Tierney-4 July 2018

Irish lawmakers are likely to approve a ban on goods from Israel’s settlements in the occupied West Bank.

One of Ireland’s largest parties, Fianna Fáil, announced this week that it would support the ban in a vote scheduled for 11 July.

Fianna Fáil

✔@fiannafailparty

The Fianna Fáil Parliamentary Party has this evening agreed to support the Occupied Territories Bill. https://www.fiannafail.ie/fianna-fail-to-support-occupied-territories-bill/ …

2:11 PM - Jul 3, 2018

Fianna Fáil to support Occupied Territories Bill

Fianna Fáil Spokesperson on Foreign Affairs and Trade, Niall Collins TD has confirmed that his party will support Senator Frances Black’s Occupied Territorie

fiannafail.ie

The bill to prohibit settlement goods was introduced by Frances Black, a well-known singer.

Now a member of the Seanad, the upper house in Ireland’s parliament, Black has kept on campaigning for the ban despite initial signs that it might be rejected.

“Everywhere I go here in Ireland, politicians tell me that they support the bill personally but they have to follow the party line,” Black told The Electronic Intifada – speaking a few days before the Fianna Fáil announcement was made. “On the ground, I cannot believe how much support this issue is getting.”

Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, reportedly protested to the Irish authorities when Black’s bill went before the Seanad in January.

Ireland’s foreign minister Simon Coveney refused to support Black’s bill at the time.

Coveney sought to justify his stance by pointing out that no European Union country had banned goods from Israel’s settlements. Ireland has to accept the EU’s trade policies, Coveney suggested.

Coveney is deputy leader of Fine Gael, the party in government.

Fianna Fáil, the second largest party in the Oireachtas, similarly pointed to Ireland’s EU membership as an excuse for not fully endorsing Black’s bill earlier this year.

Since then the party has come under pressure from Palestine solidarity campaigners to back the bill.

Niall Collins, the party’s foreign affairs spokesperson, has just returned from a trip to Palestine.

Collins stated this week that a majority vote in favor of Black’s bill could “send a strong message that the issue of illegal settlements is being taken seriously.”

All of Israel’s settlements in the West Bank are illegal under international law.

There is a growing consensus among international law experts that trade with Israeli settlements is illegal, and Amnesty International has called on governments to impose a ban.

Nominally in opposition, Fianna Fáil is facilitating the government’s work through a “confidence and supply” arrangement.

A number of smaller opposition parties approve Black’s bill.

“Total solidarity”

Black has argued that individual EU governments may take actions outside the scope of EU trade policy to address international law violations.

Banning goods from Israel’s settlements is “something constructive that we can do in Ireland that would make a huge difference to the Palestinian people,” Black told The Electronic Intifada. “It would send out that message to the Palestinian people, that we are fully supporting them and are in total solidarity.”

Black’s resolve to push for a ban on settlement goods was strengthened when she visited Palestine recently.

“What I saw over there was a hundred times worse than what I expected,” she said. “I knew it was bad before I went out there, but what I saw was so much worse. They are living in horrendous conditions. One woman in Gaza asked me why the international community had abandoned them. That really struck a chord with me.”

On July 11th, my bill to ban illegal #SettlementGoods is in the Seanad. We're close to a historic move for justice in #Palestine, but I need your help! Plz take 2m to ask your TDs & Senators to support the bill: https://t.co/p4DXCOH5tU @trocaire @ChristianAidIrl @irishcongress pic.twitter.com/2x3PuOZDBW
— Frances Black (@frances_black) 27 June 2018

Frances Black@frances_black

On July 11th, my bill to ban illegal #SettlementGoods is in the Seanad. We're close to a historic move for justice in #Palestine, but I need your help! Plz take 2m to ask your TDs & Senators to support the bill: http://www.whoismytd.com  @trocaire @ChristianAidIrl @irishcongress

7:06 AM - Jun 27, 2018

Sadaka, a campaign group working on Palestinian rights, has been heavily involved in drafting the bill proposed by Black.

“This bill is fundamentally about the proceeds of criminal activity,” said Gerry Liston, a Sadaka representative. “These goods are produced on land which has been stolen from the Palestinian people. The settlers’ presence on the land is a war crime in itself, the colonization of land by force is a war crime.”

“Take a stronger line”

Raymond Deane, a founder of the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign, criticized the Dublin government for refusing to act independently of the European Union.

“When we set up the IPSC in 2001, we used to have regular meetings every six months with the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs,” Deane said. “Gradually, we came to realize that it was a waste of time. They were full of good intentions but they were never going to deviate in any way from European Union policy. EU policy is dictated by the big countries, particularly by Germany, which still thinks it is atoning for the Holocaust by punishing another people.”

Simon Coveney’s position is not shared by all his colleagues in the Dublin government, which brings together Fine Gael and a number of independent politicians.

One of those independents, Finian McGrath, is a junior minister in the ruling coalition. McGrath told The Electronic Intifada that he “will be pushing to support the legislation” to ban goods from Israel’s settlements.

The case for the ban was underscored by the recent Israeli massacres of unarmed demonstrators in Gaza, McGrath said, adding that he “felt very disappointed that Europe and Ireland didn’t take a stronger line” against those killings.