Maithri-Mahinda pact; a reality or a farce?

BY Gagani Weerakoon- SEP 02 2018

President  Maithripala Sirisena who attended the 4th Summit of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation  (BIMSTEC) held in Kathmandu, Nepal, commenced his two-day State visit to Nepal with the conclusion of the Summit, yesterday (01) by worshipping at several religious places including the magnificent Lumbini, the birthplace of Siddhartha Gauthama.
The Chief Minister of the province and the Minister of Culture warmly received the President when he arrived at the venue.

Later, the President engaged in religious observances and the authorities had made arrangements for the Sri Lankan President to worship at the sacred area where the Prince Siddhartha took his first step forward after the birth, by touching the place. This is an exceptional opportunity that no other State leader will receive when visiting the Lumbini, according to the President’s media division.

Ven. Galahapitiye Premaratana Thera, the Trustee of the Lumbini Sri Lanka Maha Viharaya, performed the religious observances and invoked blessings on the President and the delegation.

Later, the President informed the officers to apprise him regarding the development activities done by the Lumbini Development Foundation and further said that he is ready to provide assistance in this regard.

Thereafter, President Sirisena worshipped at the Maya Devi Temple located in the premises of sacred Lumbini.  A special memento was presented to the President at the temple. Subsequent to that, he visited the Sri Lanka Maha Viharaya located in the premises of sacred Lumbini. The President also paid homage to the sacred relics placed at the temple.

During this visit the President made an observational tour of the Dutugemunu Pilgrims Rest which is constructed for the benefit of visiting Sri Lankan devotees and inquired into the shortages at the Rest.
A Na sapling was planted at the premises to mark the visit of the President.

Meanwhile, the President also joined the religious observances at the famous Pashupatinath sacred Hindu kovil. This temple complex was included in UNESCO World Heritage Sites’ list in 1979.

Maithri-Mahinda Pact?

With President Sirisena visiting Medamulana last Saturday to attend the funeral of Chandra Rajapaksa where he met former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Chamal and Gotabaya Rajapaksa, speculations are rife, that there will be an early Presidential Election in 2019.

 According to political sources former Minister S.B. Dissanayake has played a role in Sirisena visiting Medamulana to meet Rajapaksas breathing speculations that the former is trying to get Rajapaksa’s support in contesting for Presidency once again.

As of now, only Rajapaksa could bring back SLFP stalwarts back to Darley Road’s Headquarters and it is unlikely that UNP would support Sirisena’s candidacy once again as there are quite a few hopeful presidential candidates in the party in addition to UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe.

Sources claimed the alleged Maithri-Mahinda Pact includes Rajapaksa being appointed as the Prime Minister to head the Government. However, it was also said that former President is extremely skeptical about this pact as he still finds it difficult to trust Sirisena following his ‘betrayal’ in 2015.

A recent statement by Gotabaya Rajapaksa who was earlier slated as a presidential candidate also provided oxygen into this alleged pact.
Former Defence Secretary Rajapaksa said that it is not a matter of whether Mahinda Rajapaksa can contest for the Presidency once again or not, as long as whoever becomes the President at the next election, forms a Government with him (Mahinda) as the Prime Minister.

He was responding to media queries after appearing before the Investigation Unit of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (PCoI) to give evidence regarding the formation and initial operations of Mihin Lanka during his tenure as a Director of its Board.

“The country wants Mahinda Rajapaksa as the leader. So, if he can’t become the President the people want him as the leader of the Government. This is what we have been saying all along. We will back whoever that has his (Mahinda’s) blessings to contest the next Presidential Election. That is if he cannot become a candidate,” he added.
Early Presidential polls are predicted in the backdrop of political developments that indicate further delay in holding Provincial Council elections.

Shedding light on the new review committee, appointed by the Speaker, to look into the now rejected Delimitation Committee Report on Provincial Councils (DCRPC), sources in-the-know say that this too will be a futile effort and would once again pave the way to a delay of the Provincial Council Polls. They attribute it to the Act - Provincial Council and Local Government Elections Act No. 17 of 2017 per se being flawed.

Meanwhile, Elections Commissioner Mahinda Deshapriya, also agreeing to this contention, says the implementation of the DCRPC would be impossible even if it was ratified in Parliament with a two-thirds majority, due to shortcomings in the Provincial Council and Local Government Elections Act No 17 of 2017.

He said before enacting the DCRPC during the next PC polls, it would be imperative to rectify the shortcomings in the Act.
He stated that despite the DCRPC not being ratified in the House through a majority vote, certain decisions could be taken by the five-member Delimitation Review Committee (DRC) headed by the Prime Minister and appointed by the Speaker.

Deshapriya charged that the Government had wasted six months having failed to table the DCRPC in the House since last March, and asserted that he was not prepared to shed light on those six months that had been wasted.

He noted that he was keeping his fingers crossed till a decision is taken by the DRC headed by the PM prior to staging the 2018 PC polls.
He made these comments when asked for his views on the DCRPC which was defeated in Parliament last Friday and also when quizzed as to why MPs do not criticize the Act which was the basis for the DCRPC.

The Secretary of the DCRPC, Saman Ratnayake, who explained matters to this paper last Sunday, stated that if there were any shortcomings in the report compiled by the DCRPC, the reason for that will be the shortcomings in the Provincial Council and Local Government Elections Act No 17 of 2017.

He added that they had compiled their Report based solely on the Act.
These sources affirmed that what is requisite for rectifying the shortcomings of the report compiled by the DCRPC will be to close the loopholes visible in the said Act.
“If there are limits visible in the report filed by the DCRPC those are only limits stipulated in the Act,” sources said.

Bharat Ratna

Dr. Subramanian Swamy, a Bharatiya Janata Party stalwart representing the Indian Rajya Sabha, was recently in Sri Lanka to invite former President Mahinda Rajapaksa to address a public meeting in New Delhi on September 12.

A recent tweet by Dr. Swami suggested former Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa should be given the Bharat Ratna award for freeing Sri Lanka and India from the LTTE terrorism.

“Just as we have awarded Bharat Ratna to Mandela for freeing his people, we should award MR for freeing his people and Bharatiyas from LTTE terror,” Swamy
tweeted.

Bharat Ratna is the highest civilian award of the Republic of India. Instituted in 1954, the award is conferred “in recognition of exceptional service/performance of the highest order”, without distinction of race, occupation, position, or sex.

Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan of Pakistan and the former South African President Nelson Mandela were the only non-Indians who have been honoured with the Bharat Ratna Award so far.

No show Field Marshal

The 8th ‘Colombo Defence Seminar - 2018’ (CDS) at the BMICH, the Sri Lanka Army’s flagship symposium on the theme, ‘Security in an Era of Global Disruptions’ drew to a close on Friday (31) evening after an assortment of more than 115 world-wide security experts and nearly 800 service personnel, distinguished scholars and intellectuals, articulating their desire to carry on with the endeavour of finding comprehensive and cohesive strategic and practical solutions to matters of security concern.

The presence of a diverse gathering of like-minded foreign and local professionals, experts and scholars whose deliberations were incisive, thought-provoking and intellectually valid in relation to contemporary issues laid the foundation for many inspiring perspectives and necessary advice to decision-making processes which would in turn help groom a global society, free from violence, disruptions to peace and extremism.

The inaugural ceremony on Thursday (30) was marked by the presence of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, State Minister of Defence Ruwan Wijewardene, Presidential Secretary Udaya Seneviratne, Defence Secretary Kapila Waidyaratne, Foreign Secretary Prasad Kariyawasam , Chief of Defence Staff Ravindra Wijegunaratne, Commanders of the Army and Air Force as well as IGP Pujith Jayasundara.

Notable absentee amongst the distinguished guests was Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka. While the organizers claimed the latter being invited for the coveted defence event, many speculated the bitterness he showed in recent times against much preferred post-war Army Commander Lt. General Senanayake as the reason for his alleged boycott of the event.

Giving a comprehensive interpretation to what political extremism means, Lieutenant General (Retd) Ms Orit Adato, Research Fellow and Lecturer in International Counter Terror (ICT) Research Institute - Interdisciplinary Centre (IDC) Herzliya, Chair of the Gesher Leadership Institute, Founder and Director of ‘Forum Dvora’ - Women in Security and Foreign Affairs, Founder and Managing Director of Adato Consulting Ltd, Israel, spoke at length on ‘Ideological Polarization’

She dwelt on Religious, National, Territorial, Socio Economic and Extreme Ideology, highlighting polarization’s diverse motivations. Focussing on radical Islamism in general, and Sunni /Shiah within radical Islamism in particular, related to Iran vs. Saudi Arabia, Syria, Yemen, she elaborated on how radicalization finds articulations among religiously, devoted people and how it infiltrates all borders.

In the same vein, national and territorial issues do contribute to this phenomenon. For example, the Europeans’ separation desires and separation process like in Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, Chechnya, Spain or Israeli - Palestinian dispute drew the attention of all stakeholders.

On the other hand, deep gaps at Socio Economic levels between parts of the society, revolutionist approach within countries, civil riots and demonstrations, such as the ‘Arab Spring’ in the Middle East and Europe in the past contribute to this polarization in a large scale.

Similarly, Extreme Ideology that gives birth to Fascism, Anarchism, Communism, Racism or even Liberalism vs. Conservatism as has been the case among different tribes in Africa, Rwanda, South Sudan, Afro-American population in the US, Mexicans in the US, etc. encourages extremists to take weapons into their hands. This polarization might turn into violence and terrorism through escalated phases, like Pragmatism, Dogmatism, Extremism, Terrorism, etc.

“Since the defeat of Tamil Tigers by the Sri Lanka Government, we haven’t seen many insurgents going toe-to-toe against States. They lose or at least they don’t win. Localized insurgencies must be recognized as potentially-existential threat to notion of State,” says Dr. David H. Ucko of Sweden, Director, Combating Terrorism Fellowship Programme, College of International Security Affairs, National Defence University, Washington, DC commenting on ‘Role played by Violent Non-State Actors’ under the Session 1 theme, ‘Political Extremism’.

Delivering his 20-minute presentation to the Session 1 in Day - 2 at the ‘Colombo Defence Seminar - 2018’on Friday (31), he covered a wide spectrum of violent manifestations, across the globe and asserted the importance of identifying their behaviour.

The notion of winning back populations and territory, of connecting these positively to the Government, by far exceeds State ambition and, often, capacity as insurgency is changing, or perhaps it hasn’t changed, but we need to change the way we think about insurgency. Traditionally, insurgency seeks to create counter-State and capturing the State through military means are obvious as many examples from the Cold War proved.
“Yet since the defeat of Tamil Tigers by the Sri Lanka Government, we haven’t seen many insurgents going toe-to-toe against States.
They lose, or at least they don’t win. ISIS and some factions fighting the Syrian war are exceptions but also illustrate the point: once they gave up on their asymmetric advantage - the shapelessness, the dispersion - once they claimed territory and tried to build, they became a far easier target for largely conventional clearing operations. States struggle to follow up on these operations and deal with political and social drivers of alienation.

Speaking on ‘insurgent’s dilemma’, difficulty of asserting yourself as a start-up of challenging State authority, and of establishing yourself sustainably as the new source of power, he said track record is abysmal: not many recent cases of insurgent group winning militarily over a State and establishing itself as the new authority has done. Yet, if this form of insurgency is dying, it will lead (as has already led) to adaptation. Herein that one finds the potential rebirth of insurgency as a strategic threat to democratic norms and stability, Dr. David H. Ucko said.

Meanwhile, insisting on the need of States sharing intelligence, training and knowledge, wherever relevant to ensure global security, Foreign Secretary Prasad Kariyawasam, in his closing address to the ‘Colombo Defence Seminar - 2018’, urged the participants to remain always vigilant against violent extremism and terrorist organizations
world-wide.

 “Present day disruptions are multidimensional, multifaceted and security is the right to live without fear. You have discussed all possible and conceivable aspects of security disruptions during these two days. To add value to your two-day-long deliberations is indeed a difficult task. In this era of unprecedented global disruptions, it became evident that all who were homo-sapiens several thousand years ago have now become top class technologists, scientists, et al. We need to understand the disruptions in correct perspective. At every level of this human evolution there are disruptions and it has become a norm. Disruptions are in fact a way of life everywhere. As scientists say, we have transformed ourselves to an unimaginable extent. Our transformation in this biological sphere has produced unprecedented challenges and some yet to follow,” Kariyawasam pointed out.

He noted that good rapport and working relationship among security stakeholders locally and internationally are keys to success in making future security challenges that are disruptions.

“In the midst of these disruptions, it is a test for us to adopt and adapt while securing the right to live without fear. Putting the disruptions to rest is not that possible, it is a continuous process and unpredictable. As the Prime Minister said on Thursday (30), ‘global security needs global response’. States need to respond by sharing intelligence, training and knowledge wherever relevant,” he said.

The 8th ‘Colombo Defence Seminar - 2018’ (CDS) at the BMICH, the Sri Lanka Army’s flagship symposium on the theme, ‘Security in an Era of Global Disruptions’ drew to a close on Friday (31) evening after an assortment of more than 115 worldwide security experts and nearly 800 service personnel, distinguished scholars and intellectuals, articulating their desire to carry on with the endeavour of finding comprehensive and cohesive strategic and practical solutions to matters of security concern.

Law takes on the Fight against Corruption

Saturday, September 1, 2018

Public interest in the handling of fraud and crime that prevailed under the Rajapaksa Regime shows a new interest with the action by the Permanent High Court Trial-at-Bar over two key figures in the past regime. Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, brother of Mahinda Rajapaksa and former Defence Secretary, and six others, were noticed to appear before the new court with regard to misappropriation of funds over construction of the D. A. Rajapaksa Museum and Memorial. This followed the High Court also issuing notice on Gamini Sedera Senarath, Chief of Staff of President Mahinda Rajapaksa, and three others, on misuse of public funds under the Public Property Act, Penal Code and Prevention of Money Laundering Act.

These cases mark a major change in what was seen as a long delay in the fight against corruption by of the former regime, which was a major pledge of the in the political campaign to defeat the re-election of President Mahinda Rajapaksa in January 2015. There was major public concern about investigation and legal action delays on matters of corruption by those in the Rajapaksa Regime. This led to criticism by President Maithripala Sirisena over attempts to cover up some of these probes, and led to ministerial changes in the UNP branch of the ruling coalition.

Through the past three years, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa was seen as one above the law, who could not be brought before the courts, with fundamental rights petitions to prevent his arrest, and several justices recusing themselves from cases involving him, on matters of major corruption. There has been a perception the government has understandings with the Rajapaksa family in not moving strongly against its members associated with crime and corruption, or delaying and straining in action against those identified as involved in corruption.

The related delays in legal action against Gamini Senarath led to resignation of former Minister of Justice Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe from the Cabinet. The close association of Gotabhaya Rajapaksa with former high-ranking services personnel and his moves to contest the next presidential election also led to considerable suspicions of delayed or ineffective legal action against him.

The notice on Gotabhaya Rajapaksa and six others is over the misuse of Rs. 90 million of state funds to build the D. A. Museum and Memorial in Medamulana, a memorial to his father, and of the other Rajapaksa siblings in politics, who held power in the last regime. The allegations involve the misuse of such funds with no oral or written contracts with the Land Reclamation and Development Corporation and the DA Rajapaksa Foundation for this construction, and use of resources of the Sri Lanka Navy for this work.

The notices against Gamini Sedara Senarath, and three others, are on high-profile financial fraud and corruption, relating to investing Rs. 500 million of public funds at Helanco Hotels and Spa, which funds had been originally given by Litro Gas Company to Canwill Holdings Ltd. This is an inquiry involving public funds of Litro Gas, EPF and other public institutions, over which Gamini Senarath the former Chief of Staff of President Mahinda Rajapaksa had much control.

The High Court Trial-at-Bar notices point to more activated moves to deal with fraud and corruption during the Rajapaksa Regime, grossly delayed, with suspicions of alleged dealings among corrupt forces across the past and present governments. These notices, with more to follow in this court, and two more such High Courts to be set up, point to the fight against the Rajapaksa corruption moving to stronger action as the Presidential and General Elections approach.

The Election Brouhaha

Sri Lanka’s record of an electoral democracy for more than 70 years, is taking more than a small punch with the delays in the Provincial Council polls. The decision of parliament to overwhelmingly reject the Delimitation Committee Report on the Provincial Councils, throws a major spanner in the works of the democratic process. The public expectation of timely elections to the Provincial Councils – three already awaiting polls, and more to follow soon – point to a major political disagreement on the electoral process, that seeks to combine Proportional Representation (PR) with that of First-Past-the-Post (FPP).

The rejection of the Delimitation Commission Report (DCR) by all parties, other than the JVP that was absent at voting, show a wide disagreement with the new trends in elections seen in the February 10, Local Government polls. The parties of the minorities fear the reduction of their membership in the Provincial Councils with FPP. There are major disagreements on how members are to be selected to the PCs, as seen in several local authorities. Questions are raised on formulating female representation in the PCs, seeing the problems after the LG polls.

There are strong moves to revert to the PR system, seen as politically advantageous, especially to the minorities, with little consideration to the failure of PR to have a direct link with the voter, and the overall corruption it entails. The lack of direct links with voters causes increasing youth to be uninterested in elections, with the increased influence of social media on patterns of polling.

A Committee headed by the Prime Minister will study the best amendments to the DCR, hopefully to hold the next PC polls by January 2019. With the delays already seen in tabling the debating the DCR, the promise of a January 2019 PC poll is most unlikely. The delay in these polls has the danger of moving to a clash with the coming Presidential Poll –after January 2019, and the next General Election in 2020. As the PC polls are delayed there is the rise of the politics, especially vi-a-vis the Presidential Election. With the President entitled to call for the next presidential poll any time after January 2019, it will be a major challenge to have the next PC polls before the presidential poll.

The major political parties in government may see this as an advantage, with the experience of the resounding defeat both faced in the February Local Government Poll. However, the Joint Opposition (JO) also opposing the DCR shows that they too are not eager for early PC polls, although their sloganeering is one calling for early polls. The JO is entrapped in the choice of its presidential candidate. The legal arguments by those seeking a third term for Mahinda Rajapaksa, with constitutional issues on the absence of reciprocity in the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, show a clear disagreement on the next presidential candidate. One fact that the JO will have to face in this situation is the candidature of Maithripala Sirisena, leading the SLFP- the Blue Party. The JO may soon be compelled to face this reality and seem political understandings among the Blues and Purples, if they are keen on keeping out the UNP.

The silence of the UNP on the constitutionality of a new Rajapaksa Third term is a sign of the new developments, emerging from delayed PC polls and the rivalries between the Blues and Purples.
Chairs and Allowances

While the delay in PC polls will have a negative impact on the democratic process, there is much cause about the realities of Provincial Council costs and payments for Municipal Councillors.

The Western Province Governor has apparently failed in the bid to prevent the Western Provincial Council from having chairs costing Rs. 640,000 each for the councillors. The public outcry against this gross waste of funds, in a province with considerable poverty, has been wholly ignored. The Provincial Councillors will have revolving comfort on their buttocks, with complete disregard to public opinion, and the actual needs of provincial expenditure, pointing to a democracy of distortion.

We now have another display of this search for ‘people’s representatives’ – elected at recent polls, to benefit themselves with the funds of the people. It is gross increase of allowances to members of the Colombo Municipal Council, in total disregard of the need for economy in the management of a local authority, which may have profited from the huge rates and taxes imposed. This near doubling of allowances for Colombo Councillors, (opposed by the JO members), comes soon after Members of Parliament were compelled to stop moves to raise their allowances. A contemptuous dealing with the need for good accountability and service to the community that elected the councillors.

From luxury chairs for Western Provincial Councillors to raised allowances, plus phone and other regular costs, to Colombo Municipal Councillors, this is scornful disregard of the service necessities of those elected to serve the community. This points to the need to re-think our electoral process, bringing better and closer contact with voters, the tradition under which the best Councils were built over the years. Mayors, Chairmen, and members of the old councils had commitments to service. Can we achieve electoral reforms to restore this tradition of service?

FBI speaks of probe on Rajapaksa assets

 2 September 2018

A team of Sri Lankan judicial officers visited the United States recently on a US government sponsored tour.

The last item on their itinerary was a visit to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) headquarters.
The FBI top brass gave them an ‘overview’ of ‘white collar’ crimes and said that the Government of Sri Lanka had requested the agency to find the assets of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa and his family.

One of them said FBI personnel had been visiting Sri Lanka frequently and one officer was in fact stationed in Colombo. They had made available details of cases and hoped there would be action.

One in the delegation said, “We are aware of that. We are also aware of other instances of such crime at present, like the Central Bank bond scam.”

Is Namal Rajapakse and clan demanding parliament too must have ‘Bud’ party members who distil kasippu and terrorize ?

(Lanka e News -02.Sep.2018, 5.30PM) It is a well and widely known fact that Namal Rajapakse and his clan are getting down the Rajapakse’s so called ‘force of the people’ to Colombo and staging protests with the hope to form their own government , countless plunders and robberies committed by them notwithstanding. ‘Mini governments’ (abounding with vagabonds and vagrants) have been established by them now . The ‘great feats’ of the vagrants and vagabonds were revealed by the newspapers recently.

The first news report related to the arrest of a member of the Bud party of the Mawanella pradeshiya sabha twice within one week by the police..

This ‘wonderful’ Bud party member was arrested on charges of robbery on the first occasion , and on the second occasion within the same week he was apprehended in connection with kasippu distilling.

The second news report related to an assault launched on officers at the Minneriya National Forest reserve.

Ten suspects including Flower Bud pradeshiya sabha member Jayantha Daladawatte were arrested on charges of attacking the officers of Minneriya national forest reserve. The suspects were remanded until 11 th September after they were produced before the Hingurakgoda magistrate court on the 29 th.

The All Island wild life guards association started a trade union action following this assault demanding that the environment shall be created for the wild life officers to discharge their duties unhindered . This action necessitated the closure of Minneriya and Kaudulla wild life sanctuaries . However after these Bud party culprits were remanded , the sanctuaries were re opened on the 29 th (noon) permitting the locals and foreigners to visit the park.

Unbelievably it is these members of the Bud party of MR and of the UPFA who won the recent local body elections when taking oaths before MR the leader of the Bud party and leaders of the UPFA swore with all their might they will not get involved in any fraudulent or corrupt activities , or render themselves liable to misconduct . Sadly, leeches cannot be confined to the pillow. Interestingly ,it was at Maharagama the board was displayed demanding these rascals to say ‘Sir’ 

Going by this portentous trend , it is a pertinent question whether Namal Rajapakse and his clan too will request that it is the same kasippu dealers and thugs who should be sent to parliament again after fetching their so called ‘people’s force’ to Colombo ?

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by     (2018-09-02 12:08:44)

RTI Commission Orders People’s Bank To Disclose Money Spent To Defend Digitization Scam!

SEPTEMBER 1, 2018

Sri Lanka’s Right to Information Commission has directed the People’s Bank to disclose the total amount of legal fees paid by the Bank to retain private lawyers to defend a legal action against members of the Ceylon Bank Employees Trade Union who had protested against a massive digitization scam by the Bank’s management.

People’s Bank Chairman -Hemasiri Fernando

The Union’s request has been upheld by the Commission on the basis that the Public Authority is effectively utilizing public funds in regard to which transparency and accountability of the highest standard must be reflected and that public interest is reflected in regard to the decision. 

Rejecting the argument of the Bank that professional privilege and fiduciary concerns will block the giving of that information, the Commission’s Order has based its decision on international and regional legal principles discussed in detail. It  has pointed out that, as the Bank’s Annual Report anyway discloses the total value of litigation engaged in by the PA, there need not be secrecy in respect of the information asked for.  

The RTI Commission has commented sharply on the fact that the Designate Officer of the Bank had not responded on the appeal by the Union filed under Section 31 of the Act and has said that this cannot be excused on the ground of mere advertence. The Commission has stated that this amounts to bypassing a statutory duty on the part of the DO as detailed in Sections 31 (2) and (3) of the Act. 

Its Order states that ‘it is unfortunate that a state banking institution such as the PA, as named in this appeal, has treated mandatory duties imposed by legislation in such an indifferent manner. This stands in sharp contrast to the manner in which other PAs, including key banking institutions, have carried out their obligations in terms of the Act.’ 

A public outcry was created in recent months by disclosures of major financial irregularities at the Peoples Bank. The Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) had ordered details to be given of massive expenditure incurred on a digitization project of the Bank including expenses payments totaling Rs 84 Million. COPE had also criticized the fact that the top management of the Bank had been operating on contract basis for close to fifteen years with perks and benefits.

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Revisiting Central Bank’s independence

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Part I: Central Bank anniversary oration 2018

‘Once a Central Banker is always a Central Banker’

 Monday, 3 September 2018

It is good to be back after 9 years, if I use a slightly amended phrase borrowed from Madonna, the pop singer. When she visited Argentina, 13 years after she had played the main role ‘Eva’ in Evita, to sing to an ecstatic live audience ‘Don’t cry for me Argentina; the truth is I never left you,’ it was an overwhelming reception she received from Argentineans (available at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdX33CqIRTI). In my case too, I never left the Central Bank. For that matter, no Central Banker could leave it behind to live a new life that has no part with the Bank. Though they are physically away from the grandiose atmosphere here, they live day and night in the Central Bank. They cannot forget that institution which had bred them, which had nurtured them, which had educated them, which had raised them to who and what they are today. As Madonna has sung in her song, they continue to live in the Central Bank ‘all through their wild days and all through their mad existence’ even after they leave it. To an ex-Central Banker, the Bank is inseparable from his life. Thus, once a Central Banker is always a Central Banker. This is true for me too. Hence, it is good to be back and it is good to return home.

A society of intellectuals

The Bank is viewed in high esteem in Sri Lanka’s contemporary society. When I ask my students at the university what they want to do in the future, the answer is always a single chorus. Without exception, all of them want to join the Central Bank. The reason? In their view, the Bank is the leader of the financial system, the leader of the economy, the leader of economic thought and the leader of many more. They want to jump on the bandwagon of that exclusive leadership and be the ‘master of Sri Lanka’s economy’ in the future.

This ambition of the young generation today is not unusual. Even in my generation which lived some half a century ago, joining the Central Bank was one of the two career ambitions which a passing out graduate could afford to have. One was joining academia. The other was joining the Central Bank. All other career ambitions were looked at if you could not make it to either one of them. I joined the Central Bank, leaving a high paying career at the university as a lecturer, for a lower salary in the Bank. In hindsight, I may say that it was a prudent decision. I got the opportunity of working under seven Governors, and many more worthy intellectuals of the days gone by. When I mentioned it to the late Governor A S Jayawardena, he immediately corrected me. ‘Don’t say that you have worked under them,’ he said. ‘Say that you have worked with them.’ His point was that the Governor and other senior officers are not kings, but co-workers, enjoying equal status in the exclusive intellectual society which the Central Bank has created. In that world of intellectuals, there are no hierarchies. There, a person is rated only by his wisdom and nothing else.

Unbiased, impartial and objective advice

Thus, Central Bankers should demonstrate this wisdom in all their dealings, both within and outside the Bank. The wisdom to be demonstrated should be unbiased, impartial and objective without being coloured by different political hues, as advised by one-time Minister of Finance, Dr N M Perera to senior Central Bankers when he met them in 1971. It is reported that Dr N.M Perera had said that the Bank ‘should make independent reports on economic subjects to the Government and not report merely to suit the political complexion of the Government in power’ and that ‘he would value reports (of the Bank) made dispassionately and objectively’ (See: Reproduced from Ceylon Daily News in the Central Bank of Sri Lanka 60th Anniversary Publication). Such dispassionateness and objectivity come only from independent minds. Independent minds are created by an independent culture and environment. Independent culture and environment are nurtured by recognition and appreciation of independence by all. Hence, the Central Bank’s independence is a product of both external recognition and internal cultivation. The former is an attribute which a Central Bank has to earn by being an exemplary institution. The latter is a quality which a Central Bank has to grow within itself through careful planning.

Playing the game according to prudent rules

Ever since Central Banks have been created to produce money through a centralised mechanism, their independence had been a subject of issue coming up again and again. This is because a Central Bank today produces money out of nothing, as if a magician produces a rabbit by waving a magic wand. This money has no intrinsic value of its own. The value comes from its ability to facilitate the owner to acquire a real basket of goods and services. They are called real, because they enable the owner to consume them directly, or use as an input for producing a further output. Because of this promise, people agree to exchange the real assets they own for the paper money which a central Bank produces on behalf of a Government. Though the Government is the institution behind the creation of a Central Bank, it is supposed to allow a Central Bank to produce money in accordance with the mandate which Parliament has given it.


That mandate requires a Central Bank to supply money in sufficient quantities at the correct time, to facilitate the exchange of the output produced by the economy without disruption. Hence, money printing by a Central Bank is not evil at all times, as popularly believed by many. The problem arises if a Central Bank produces more money than necessary. In that case, the excess money will lead to creating an excess demand for goods and services, with two interrelated outcomes. One is the tendency for prices to go up, causing a decline in the value of the real basket of goods and services, which people can command by using money. The other is the leakage of that excess money out of the country through increases in the demand for imported goods and services. If the country does not earn enough foreign exchange to meet that demand, it leads to creating balance of payments difficulties, exerting pressure for the exchange rate to depreciate. Hence, both inflation and exchange rate depreciation are the result of a Central Bank producing more money than necessary.

Accordingly, a Central Bank is required to play the game of money printing according to a set of prudent rules. If it does so, it can earn the trust of the people. If it does not, it loses their trust as well as its ability to get people to accept the money it produces. As such, a Central Bank should have freedom to decide how much money it should produce without the interference of outside parties. This freedom, in laymen’s language, is paraphrased as the right of a Central Bank to say no, when there is pressure from the Government or any other party to produce money in excessive amounts.

Central Bank independence has a long history

As documented in the 2018 book edited by R Edvinsson and others on Sveriges Riksbank and the History of Central Banking, Riksbank, the world’s oldest existing Central Bank, established in 1668, ran into problems when it refused to finance King Gustav III’s military expeditions against Russia in 1788. The King reacted to the independence demonstrated by the Riksbank by issuing his own currency through The Swedish National Debt Office. It pushed the Riksbank to the backwater till 1802. That was surely a too high a price which a Central Bank had to pay for refusing to accede to the demands of a recalcitrant political leader.

Keynes on central bank independence

Since then, the independence of Central Banks was valued by academia who wrote on central banking. For instance, as reported by the Reserve Bank of India in its publication titled ‘The Genesis of Central Banking in India’, John Maynard Keynes, who was a part of the Chamberlain Commission of 1913 on India’s financial system, had submitted a memorandum, on the invitation of other commission members, on the establishment of a shareholder-owned Central Bank. This new bank, proposed to be called the Imperial Bank of India, was to be established by amalgamating the three Presidency Banks that had existed in Calcutta, Bombay and Madras. Keynes advised that the Secretary of the State, though he was the official behind it, has only the final word about the work of the Bank. Thus, he was the adjudicator of last resort. Its day-to-day operations, as recommended by Keynes, should be free from the interference of both the Government and the shareholders, since it might run counter to the general interest. In today’s context where Central Banks are owned by governments, what this means is that they should be free from the interference of political authorities. However, with the onset of World War I, Keynes’ wisdom could not be carried forward. It was in 1935 that the Reserve Bank of India was set up as a shareholder-owning bank with independence, and once it was nationalised in 1949, it got relegated to an institution that “traditionally functioned as an arm of the Government” prompting Governor C Rangarajan to call for greater autonomy for the Bank in a public lecture in 1993.


Recently, it was the former Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, Dr Y V Reddy, who succinctly related the exact status of the independence of that Central Bank. Addressing a forum in Chennai in December 2017, Reddy is reported to have said that a Central Bank being the creation of the Government can never be independent of the creator. Addressing another forum earlier in Hyderabad, Reddy had recalled how he answered the question raised by a journalist in 2008, when he was holding the office, whether the Governor of the Reserve Bank of India was independent. He had told the journalist: “The RBI Governor is very independent; I took the permission of my Finance Minister to say this.”

Central Banks are more independent today than before

Central Banks today enjoy a degree of independence ranging from full autonomy to partial autonomy. The global trend has been to go for greater independence in Central Banks within the last two to three decades. This trend has been supported by the realisation that greater autonomy in Central Banks helps countries to fight inflation more successfully. But this has not been the consensus among mainstream economists. In this connection, Daron Acemoglu, in a NBER Working Paper published in 2018, has given pre-qualifications, such as the presence of strong institutions, for an independent Central Bank to operate successfully. In the opposite, Nobel Laureate Joseph E Stiglitz delivering the C D Deshmukh, the first Governor of RBI, in Mumbai in 2013 had raised the issue of independent Central Banks failing to avert the financial crisis of 2007-8. Thus, according to these groups, independence is irrelevant and unnecessary to tackle today’s problems. However, a  study conducted in 2007 by a team of economists attached to IMF and led by Marco Arnone has revealed that, while all Central Banks have improved their political and economic autonomy over the years, some Central Banks in the developed world, namely, Australia, Denmark, Iceland, Sweden, Norway, Switzerland and UK, enjoy full autonomy. According to this study, Sri Lanka’s Central Bank which has scored 0.5 out of 1.0 is categorised as a bank enjoying partial autonomy.

Finance Secretary sitting on the Monetary Board as a vote-carrying member

The issues relating to the independence of the Central Bank have been discussed by me elsewhere. The main contention has been the placement of the Secretary to the Ministry of Finance as a vote-carrying member on the Monetary Board in terms of the Monetary Law Act as proposed by John Exter, the architect of the Bank. The criticism has been that the Finance Secretary, acting in self-interest, would get the Bank to fund the budget through accommodative monetary policy, thereby causing fiscal policy to override monetary policy. The past experience of the Central Bank shows that this criticism has some validity. But Exter’s wisdom was to create an environment for both the Government and the Central Bank to have a peaceful and amicable cohabitation. Exter argued in his report that “….there are, however, many important problems of monetary policy, especially those relating to fiscal policy, on which a Central Bank should work in close harmony with the Government.” (Exter Report, p 15).

Accordingly, a degree of independence has been afforded to the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, unlike other Governmental bodies. This independence extends to the budget of the Bank, job security of key Central Bank officials, and power to make monetary policy without consulting the Government. The wisdom of Exter was that the Central Bank should as far as possible work in consultation with the Government, rather than in isolation. He believed that the true independence of the Central Bank could be preserved only through that consultative process. In the words of Exter, “the ideal is….one in which there will be continuous and constructive co-operation between the Monetary Board and the Government. The principal instrument for achieving this co-operation should be the Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Finance, whose membership on the board will ensure at all times that his Minister’s views will be known to the other members of the board” (Exter Report, p 16). However, Exter did not expect this arrangement to be effective at all times. Hence, he made the proviso that “it would depend on the men occupying the key positions” and not on any legal formula. He argued quite correctly that such complex and delicate relationships cannot be established full-blown by a piece of legislation. It must be the result of years of experience and the slow growth of political conventions.

(To be continued)

(W A Wijewardena, a former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, can be reached at waw1949@gmail.com)

Shattered limbs, broken dreams: Life for Gaza athletes after surviving Israeli bullets

'My life has completely stopped.' Three athletes whose dreams were interrupted by Israeli bullets tell their stories to MEE

Ahmed Abumarahil, 21, dreamt of becoming a professional boxer (MEE/Mohammed A Alhajjar)

Mohammed A Alhajjar

Maha Hussaini

Saturday 1 September 2018

GAZA STRIP – When Raed Jadallah rode the waves of the Mediterranean sea on his surfboard, he was able to transcend the limitations placed on his life - the ones forced upon him because he is a Palestinian living in the besieged Gaza Strip.

During some stolen moments of time, the 26-year-old surfer would leave strife behind on Gaza's shore.

Raed Jadallah started surfing when he was only nine years old. He found refuge at the beach near his home (MEE/Mohammed A Alhajjar)

"When I surfed, I forgot about everything," he said. "It is like you are in another city where there is no war or blockade. All you think about is how you will catch another wave," Jadallah said.

Raed Jadallah, 26, stands beside his beloved surfboard in his family home in the al-Shati refugee camp (MEE/Mohammed A Alhajjar)

Jadallah's passion came to an abrupt end when he was shot on 6 April as he participated – albeit as a spectator – in the second Friday of the Great Return March protests that kicked off on 30 March along the eastern border fence separating Israel from Gaza.

I do not care about my injury, I will recover sooner or later ... but will I be able to surf again?

 - Raed Jadallah, surfer

The demonstrations call for an end to the 11-year Israeli-led blockade on Gaza and for Palestinian refugees' right of return to the lands their families were forced to flee during the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948.

A bullet struck Jadallah in his left thigh as he stood about 150 metres away from the fence. He now depends on crutches to walk.

Raed Jadallah says the Israeli sniper that shot him 'could easily recognise that I was just peacefully standing there' (MEE/Mohammed A Alhajjar)

"I did not participate in the protests. I was just watching the protesters burn tyres and throw rocks when I was suddenly shot in my thigh," Jadallah, from the al-Shati refugee camp of western Gaza city, recalled.

"I am sure the sniper could easily recognise that I was just peacefully standing there. I did not even have a rock in my hand."

When I surfed, I forgot about everything ... All you think about is how you will catch another wave

 - Raed Jadallah, surfer

Tensions have soared in Gaza since 30 March, when Israel met largely peaceful mass protests with lethal force, killing at least 171 Palestinians, including medics and children. One Israeli soldier has been killed. 

According to Ashraf al-Qedra, a spokesperson for Gaza’s health ministry, of the nearly 18,000 Palestinians who have sustained injuries since the Great Return March protests began, over 5,000 were injured in their lower limbs - including athletes who suffered from permanent and long-term disabilities. 

Jadallah says the Israeli snipers targeted the protesters' lower limbs to prevent them from walking again.

Raed Jadallah sits with two of his friends in the living room of his family home in the al-Shati refugee camp. They were also injured in The Great Return March protests (MEE/Mohammed A Alhajjar)

Rights groups have said that Israel is carrying out a policy of deliberately targeting largely peaceful protesters with live fire and using "excessive and lethal force". In April, Amnesty International documented witness testimonies and evidence that it said proved Israeli forces were killing and maiming peaceful demonstrators who didn't pose any imminent threat to them.

'Something I lived for'

Jadallah started surfing when he was only nine years old. With his house located near the beach on the nothern coast of Gaza, he found refuge in the Mediterranean sea.  

Raed Jadallah lived for surfing as he would leave strife behind on Gaza's shore (MEE/Mohammed A Alhajjar)

"Surfing was not just a hobby that I practised during my free time. It was rather something I lived for, the only thing that gave me a reason to wake up in the morning," Jadallah told Middle East Eye.

[Surfing was] the only thing that gave me a reason to wake up in the morning

- Raed Jadallah, surfer

Soon after, he started participating in local competitions organised by local surfers where he would sometimes win the top prize. Although he still had "a long way to go," Jadallah said he had been training intensely in order to compete in the International Surf Festival next year. 

"If I were at work and knew the sea was high, I would take leave and ignore everything only to go surfing," Jadallah, who works in construction, said. 

According to Raed Jaddallah's doctor, he needs bone grafting but he is still waiting for Israel to grant him a permit to leave Gaza and get treatment (MEE/Mohammed A Alhajjar)

After he was shot, he immediately began dreading the possibility that he would never be able to surf again.

"I fell to the ground, and all I could see was the sky. People were screaming and talking to me but all I could think about was what I would do if I lost my leg," he said. "The first thing I did was move my toes to make sure I did not lose my foot, and I could feel them move. Only then did I feel relieved."

Raed Jadallah can no longer work in construction due to his injury, but he still takes care of some of his equipment that he keeps at home (MEE/Mohammed A Alhajjar)

The bullet caused severe damage to his bones and muscles. According to Jadallah, he is supposed to be treated abroad, but his case is pending referral by the Palestinian Ministry of Health. It has been postponed due to the large number of urgent cases awaiting medical treatment outside Gaza.

"My life has completely stopped. I have been waiting for the past five months to travel for treatment, but there is an overwhelming number of urgent cases that need exit permits," he said.

Abdulhamid Fayyad started playing volleyball at the age of 12 and fears he will never 'be able to play volleyball again' (MEE/Mohammed A Alhajjar)

Jadallah said his doctor told him he needs bone grafting in order to be able to walk again. The doctor estimates that surfing will have to be put on hold for at least the next few years until he fully recovers after the surgery.

What would you do if the only thing that gave you life was taken away from you?

- Raed Jadallah, surfer

"What would you do if the only thing that gave you life was taken away from you? I do not care about my injury, I will recover sooner or later ... but will I be able to surf again?" he said.

In 2001, Jadallah lost his younger brother, who was 15 at the time, when he was killed in protests during the second Palestinian Intifada with a bullet to his chest. His older brother, 31, was injured in 2006 by Israeli forces during an Israeli attack on the Gaza Strip when a bullet struck his back. He has been confined to a wheelchair ever since.

Raed Jadallah sitting with some family members. He is the main breadwinner and they all live under one roof in a 140-sqm home (MEE/Mohammed A Alhajjar)

Due to these tragedies, Jadallah is the main breadwinner in his family of 13, and they all live under one roof in a 140-sqm home. He has been unable to continue working in construction because of his injury, leaving his family with no source of income. Jadallah started working as a fisherman at the age of 10 to help provide for his family.

I fell to the ground, and all I could see was the sky. People were screaming and talking to me but all I could think about was what I would do if I lost my leg

- Raed Jadallah, surfer

"I used to be a fisherman for so many years, but I quit 10 years ago after the siege was imposed on Gaza, and started to work in construction," he said. "Israeli warships used to chase us, open fire on our boats, and damage our equipment regularly. Fishing has since then become an unworthy source of income."  

Raed Jadallah sits next to the motor of his fishing boat in his home in the al-Shati refugee camp (MEE/Mohammed A Alhajjar)

Under the Israeli naval blockade, which has been in place since 2007, Gaza fishermen can only venture out six to nine nautical miles (11-17km) from shore. Within this distance, the water is contaminated with raw sewage. Fishermen are often attacked and killed by the Israeli navy, as they struggle to make ends meet. 

A turning point

Ahmed Abumarahil dreamt of becoming a professional boxer. Before he was injured during the Great Return March protests, the 21-year-old used to train for hours non-stop each day, swinging at punching bags filled with cloth and sawdust due to the lack of resources. 

Ahmed Abumarahil was injured in three separate incidents during protests, causing him severe damage to both legs and putting a temporary halt to his boxing aspirations (MEE/Mohammed A Alhajjar)

Abumarahil, who started boxing at the age of 16, fell in love with the sport after walking by a boxing club in his neighbourhood where a local championship was being held.

"That night I kept thinking of the championship until I fell asleep and dreamed of it. So the next day, I ditched everything and went to the club," he said. "I asked how I could enrol myself in the boxing classes, but they told me they had halted them after the final championship."

Abumarahil would not take no for an answer. He gathered eight of his friends and neighbours to register in the new training course with him.

Ahmed Abumarahil felt 'powerful and energetic' when boxing, but now he says he feels 'helpless and dependent' (MEE/Mohammed A Alhajjar)

In the next five years, Abumarahil practised boxing diligently. He was supposed to compete in the Arab Youth Boxing Championship as a member of Palestine’s national boxing team in March 2017, but he could not travel due to the Rafah border being closed at the time.

I was trying to help an injured young man, but I ended up lying on the ground beside him 

- Ahmed Abumarahil, boxer

"I was willing to cover the travel expenses myself, but it was not easy, since the Rafah border was only partially open for humanitarian cases."

Abumarahil was injured in three separate incidents during the Great Return March protests. The first time was on 6 April, when he was hit in the abdomen with "a rubber-coated steel bullet".

"I was trying to help an injured young man, but I ended up lying on the ground beside him," Abumarahil said.

Ahmed Abumarahil fell in love with boxing when he was 16, after seeing a championship in his neighbourhood boxing club (MEE/Mohammed A Alhajjar)

One month later, on 4 May, Abumarahil suffered from severe burns on his hand after he held a tear gas canister and tried to toss it away from a group of girls near the fence, but the canister stuck to his hand and wouldn't budge, according to Abumarahil. But this didn't discourage him from joining the protests the week after. 

I only learned to be more resilient and put more effort in what I've always wanted 

- Ahmed Abumarahil, boxer

The third injury, which took place on 8 June, was the one that caused his temporary disability. He was hit with a bullet in the right thigh, and about four seconds later another bullet struck him in his left leg.

"My feet have not touched the floor for more than four months now. Boxing made me feel powerful and energetic, but now I am helpless and dependent."

Ahmed Abumarahil playing with his dog outside his home in Gaza city (MEE/Mohammed A Alhajjar)

Doctors say he will not be able to walk again unless he undergoes surgery abroad, and Abumarahil is still waiting for a Turkish hospital’s response to a referral for treatment. 

Abumarahil, who currently uses a wheelchair, says he would do anything to recover and practise the sport of boxing again.

One bullet was enough to turn the dream into a nightmare

- Abdulhamid Fayyad, volleyball player

"The experience did not teach me to avoid joining protests," he said. "I only learned to be more resilient and put more effort in what I've always wanted."

'One bullet was enough'

Abdulhamid Fayyad, 25, started playing volleyball at the age of 12. By using a rope hanging between two buildings in an alley as a net, Fayyad and his friends used to play for hours on end.

Abdulhamid Fayyad, 25, lives with his family in the al-Shati refugee camp, west of Gaza City (MEE/Mohammed A Alhajjar)

He then started playing at school and on the beach before enrolling in local sports clubs and participating in local competitions, where he led his team, al-Shati, to win several times.

When I saw the hole the bullet caused to my leg, I knew I would not be able to walk again

- Abdulhamid Fayyad, volleyball player

Before he was injured on 14 May, Fayyad dreamed of representing Palestine in the FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship and the Volleyball Nations League one day. He is one of the few lucky ones who still has a day job, as a hairdresser in his uncle's barber shop in the al-Shati refugee camp, even after his injury. 

Abdulhamid Fayyad combs a boy's hair in his uncle's barber shop in the al-Shati refugee camp (MEE/Mohammed A Alhajjar)

Fayyad says he was trying to carry an injured man to safety near the border fence when a bullet penetrated his leg, causing severe damage to his bones and muscles. Doctors estimate that his leg will need at least three years to fully recover, and Fayyad doubts whether he will be able to play volleyball again.

"When I saw the hole the bullet caused to my leg, I knew I would not be able to walk again."

Abdulhamid Fayyad sustained two injuries on 14 May 2018 during protests that commemorated the Palestinian Nakba (MEE/Mohammed A Alhajjar)

Fayyad immediately underwent surgery. Doctors inserted a platinum rod in his left leg to repair the severe damage that was caused by the bullet. 

"I do not think I will be able to play volleyball again. One bullet was enough to turn the dream into a nightmare," he said. "I used to play volleyball with my friends at least twice a week, now I cannot leave the house without my crutches."