Major bummer: Sri Lanka police crack down on social media mooners

The trio were accused of desecrating a Buddhist site after they pulled down their pants for a cheeky picture against the backdrop of the famous Sigiriya rock, a UNESCO site set in the middle of a jungle in central Sri Lanka

By AFP- 26 September 2018

Three men who exposed themselves near a Sri Lankan temple and posted the images online were arrested on Wednesday, as a social media "mooning" fad sweeps the island and angers its conservative Buddhist clergy.

The trio, aged between 18 and 19, were accused of desecrating a Buddhist site after they pulled down their pants for a cheeky picture against the backdrop of the famous Sigiriya rock, a UNESCO site set in the middle of a jungle in central Sri Lanka.

The images of the trio sparked a flurry of complaints from Buddhist monks after they were uploaded to Facebook, as they had taken the photos from a smaller rock temple overlooking the Sigiriya rock fortress. They were quickly tracked down by the police.

It is believed the trio were inspired by "Cheeky Exploits", an Instagram account with more than a quarter of a million followers that features bare-bottomed pictures from beauty spots around the world.

They will be prosecuted Thursday under the country's obscenity laws which prohibit lewd behaviour in the Buddhist-majority island, particularly near religious sites.

Similar images uploaded by other "mooners" from landmarks around the country were being hastily deleted Wednesday

One man, who bared his bottom to Sri Lanka's parliament, deleted a widely-shared picture from his profile amid the police crackdown.

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Major bummer: Sri Lanka police crack down on social...

Media in spotlight

• Media urged to use RTI, other tools
• Opposition and Government join in calling for more responsible reporting
• Journalists should be the compass of citizens, says Norwegian Ambassador

By Madushka Balasuriya- Friday, 28 September 2018

Media freedom is essential to a functioning democracy, but reckless use of such freedoms will be the death of it. This was the key takeaway at the 20th anniversary celebration of the Colombo Declaration on Media Freedom and Social Responsibility, where several speakers highlighted the dangers of irresponsible reporting and media coverage.

In terms of Sri Lanka, both Mangala Samaraweera and M. A. Sumanthiran – on separate sides of the country’s political divide – were on the same page in calling for stern self-reflection from the media in the country.

The hard-won rights of a free media are in danger of slipping back into the “the draconian controls of an authoritarian regime,” warned Samaraweera, as he urged the Sri Lankan press to use tools such as the RTI Act in aid of more responsible reporting.

“The media enjoys the freedom guaranteed by our democratic values, but it is essential that this freedom is not abused and that a sense of responsibility is always upheld,” noted the Finance and Media Minister. “As an industry, there is an urgent need to upgrade standards and quality of media reporting, to ensure rigour in analysis, and to give precedence to facts.”

“The media owes this not to the Government – the media owes this to the citizens of Sri Lanka and to democracy itself. It is an arduous journey to win the rights of a free media, but there is a risk of slipping back into the draconian controls of an authoritarian regime, which was sadly the experience of all Sri Lankans before 2015.”

Using the example of the touted Singapore-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement, Samaraweera cited the prevalence of poorly researched and misleading reports on the matter to highlight the grave state of media coverage in the country at present. One illustration of this is the widespread and incorrect reporting of plans by the Singapore Government to use Sri Lanka as a waste disposal ground, something that is protected by international treaties and regulations to control cross boundary movement of waste. Samaraweera believes this could have been easily avoided had reporters made use of facilities such as the Right to Information Act in verifying information.

“The RTI Act was passed in the expectation that fact-based journalism will be more prevalent. Unfortunately, this has not always transpired. We continue to see the media peddling sensationalist news items without proper fact-checking or rigour. A good example of this is the completely erroneous information about the Sri Lanka-Singapore FTA, which was spread by interested parties, being liberally shared by certain media outlets without any effort to ascertain the veracity of the information.”

Sumanthiran, member of the Tamil National Alliance, echoed Samaraweera’s sentiments going further in lambasting a press that he feels is missing their mandate with increasing frequency.

“The Colombo Declaration is about two things: media freedom and social responsibility. A lot will be said in these few days on media freedom. We, from the other side as it were, expect some deliberation on the social responsibility of the media as well. Media freedom is necessary so that the press reports the truth, not for anything else,” noted the Opposition MP.

Sumanthiran’s comments resonated even more keenly when compared with those of Commonwealth Trust Director Lindsay Ross, who brought clarity to the dangers of social media.

“Electronic media has become the preferred platform for the distribution of news, but the danger of social media is that it is opinion-led. It makes no attempt to be balanced or impartial. It is all too frequently a kneejerk reaction,” noted Ross.

“Responsibility and accuracy are thrown to the wind. Like Chinese whispers, facts and figures are exponentially exaggerated and the truth is eventually lost in the maelstrom of conjecture and hyperbole. Each party only intent to serve their own agenda.”

While Ross’s speech was geared towards a more modern problem, it is telling how similar those comments are to the situation in terms of Sri Lanka’s traditional media landscape, which appears to be at risk of losing itself while competing with its younger social sibling.

“Today, unfortunately, our struggle seems to be against the press. The press that is irresponsible, a press that has no inhibition in reporting untruths. I’m sorry if I’m sounding a negative note at this symposium, but it must be said. Coming as I do, even from the Opposition benches, we are exasperated time and again by the irresponsible conduct of the press today in Sri Lanka,” said Sumanthiran.

“Unfortunately, today in Sri Lanka, we see a lot of the other, a lot of reporting of falsehood with impunity. So, from 1998 when we were at one end, it seems to be that the pendulum has swung to the other end. That’s very unfortunate.”

That said, Samaraweera was still keen to point out the positives, namely that Sri Lanka, which was ranked 165 in 2014 in the World Press Freedom Index, has since moved to 131 in 2018.

“When the legitimacy of press is questioned and legitimate reporting is castigated as fake news, it puts great stress on the role of the media as a pillar of democracy. Under the Unity Government since 2015, much has been done in Sri Lanka to ensure that journalists can fulfil the role without interference or intimidation by the Government.

“I am happy to note that we have achieved much in the sphere of freedom of press. Sri Lanka was ranked 165 in 2014 in the World Press Freedom Index, and has since moved to 131 in 2018. There is clearly a long way to go, but I am pleased to note that we are moving in the right direction,” he added.

However, this is still a long way off the number 1 spot, which has been reserved for Norway. Addressing the gathering, Norwegian Ambassador Thorbjørn Gaustadsæther drew attention to how Norway had used press freedom for the betterment of their society which, as per the UN, is the second happiest in the world.

“Media can show the richness of life, it can celebrate love, and it can reveal pain. In many ways, the journalists should assist the people and be the compass of the citizens who could otherwise be easily lost. Like we always believe that democracy is good for economic growth, we need media freedom as well.”

“Freedom of speech is one of the fundamental human rights and a core principle of democracy. At the same time, freedom of speech is one of the most controversial human rights, for two reasons. It is not absolute and there are certain disagreements about whether it should be withdrawn. One of the functions of freedom of speech is that one should be able to defend one’s life and criticise those in power without fear. However, right to freedom can also be misused. Freedom of speech is a right, but as all rights it comes with responsibilities and duties.”

Sumanthiran calls for investigations on slain Jaffna journalists

Bemoaning the lack of progress in the cases of assassinated Sri Lankan journalists, TNA Parliamentarian M. A. Sumanthiran also called on the Government to commence investigations into journalists killed in Jaffna.

According to the Opposition MP of the Jaffna District, it is in Jaffna where the most number of journalists have been killed in the last 20 years – most notably when six working at Udayan newspaper were assassinated.

“There have been investigations and inquiries that have commenced into several assassinations, but they have not moved forward too much. However, coming from the Opposition, and my capacity as MP of the Jaffna District, I must make mention of the fact that the largest number of journalists killed in the last 20 years was in Jaffna – six in one news agency alone, which suffered 33 attacks,” he noted, speaking at the 20th anniversary celebration of the Colombo Declaration on Media Freedom and Social Responsibility in Colombo yesterday.

“If my memory is right, about 14 Tamil journalists were killed, and it is unfortunate that no investigation has commenced with regard to their deaths. And that’s a shame when one considers that we have in fact made progress with regard to intimidation of journalists.” (MB)

Mangala implores media to use RTI Act

By Madushka Balasuriya

The hard-won rights of a free media are in danger of slipping back into the “the draconian controls of an authoritarian regime,” warned Mangala Samaraweera, as he urged the Sri Lankan press to exercise more responsibility in their reporting and to use tools such as the RTI Act in aid of this cause.

The Minister of Finance and Media was addressing the 20th celebration of the Colombo Declaration on Media Freedom and Social Responsibility in Colombo yesterday.

“The media enjoys the freedom guaranteed by our democratic values, but it is essential that this freedom is not abused and that a sense of responsibility is always upheld,” he noted. “As an industry, there is an urgent need to upgrade standards and quality of media reporting, to ensure rigour in analysis, to give precedence to facts.”

“The media owes this not to the Government – the media owes this to the citizens of Sri Lanka and to democracy itself. It is an arduous journey to win the rights of a free media, but there is a risk of slipping back into the draconian controls of an authoritarian regime, which was sadly the experience of all Sri Lankans before 2015.”

Using the example of the touted Singapore-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement, Samaraweera cited the prevalence of poorly researched and misleading reports on the matter to highlight the grave state of media coverage in the country at present. One illustration of this is the widespread and incorrect reporting of plans by the Singapore Government to use Sri Lanka as a waste disposal ground, something that is protected by international treaties and regulations to control cross boundary movement of waste. Samaraweera believes this could have been easily avoided had reporters made use of facilities such as the Right to Information Act in verifying information.

“The RTI Act was passed in the expectation that fact-based journalism will be more prevalent. Unfortunately, this has not always transpired. We continue to see the media peddling sensationalist news items without proper fact-checking or rigour. A good example of this is the completely erroneous information about the Sri Lanka-Singapore FTA, which was spread by interested parties, being liberally shared by certain media outlets without any effort to ascertain the veracity of the information.”

That said, Samaraweera is nevertheless optimistic that the country is on the right trajectory despite some hiccups along the way.

“When the legitimacy of press is questioned and legitimate reporting is castigated as fake news, it puts great stress on the role of the media as a pillar of democracy. Under the Unity Government since 2015, much has been done in Sri Lanka to ensure that journalists can fulfil the role without interference or intimidation by the Government.”

“I am happy to note that we have achieved much in the sphere of freedom of press. Sri Lanka was ranked 165 in 2014 in the World Press Freedom Index, and has since moved to 131 in 2018. There is clearly a long way to go, but I am pleased to note that we are moving in the right direction,” he added.

Lanka Backs Trump message against Globalism

Politics have no relation to morals - Niccolo Machiavelli

Saturday, September 29, 2018

President Sirisena’s address to the United Nations General Assembly this week came on a day that saw Presidents Donald Trump of the US and Emmanuel Macron of France give stunning and hugely contrasting messages to the world, and raised new concerns about the trends in international relations.
With the UNGA’s traditional first day speaking opportunity for the Sri Lankan leader, President Sirisena did carry a message that sought opportunities for Sri Lanka to resolve national issues without interference or undue foreign influence. His call to look at Sri Lanka in the current post-war context from a fresh perspective certainly has a ring in the current political context in Sri Lanka. It shows the political impact of the UNHRC resolution that was adopted in 2015, co-sponsored by Sri Lanka, in the post-conflict situation. It had an emphasis on peace-building and reconciliation, as well as necessary action against any persons associated with war crimes and war-related human rights violations.

His statement that “as an independent country we do not want any foreign power to exert influence on us. Sri Lanka is taking action to consolidate peace and forge ahead to develop the economy, and deserves the support and understanding of the international community. We want to appeal to the international community that the right of the Sri Lankan people to find solutions to their problems should be respected,” has more than echoes of those who are strongly opposed to the UNHRC Resolution, and see it as foreign (mainly western) interference in Sri Lanka, after a long fought war against separatist terrorists. He did underscore aspects of reconciliation and peace-building that have been carried out by the present government. The other important aspects include, the Right to Information legislation and the overall freedom to the media, the wider freedom to the judiciary, and the definitive action on Missing Persons.

President Sirisena’s statement that “as an independent country we do not want any foreign power to exert influence on us. Sri Lanka is taking action to consolidate peace and forge ahead to develop the economy, and deserves the support and understanding of the international community. We want to appeal to the international community that the right of the Sri Lankan people to find solutions to their problems should be respected,” has a dual content. It is both an appeal to the international community, and a recognition that Sri Lanka’s declared commitment to Human Rights and against War Crimes has necessary acceptance of the international community’s interest in this regard.

The call by President Sirisena for the world to possibly look away from Sri Lanka in the current situation certainly had an echo of President Trump’s earlier statement at UNGA that “America is governed by Americans. We reject the ideology of globalism, and we embrace the doctrine of patriotism”. His call to be free of foreign interference may also ring with Trump’s strong opposition to and rejection of the UNHRC. But, the reality is that although Trump is critical of the UNHRC, the resolution on Sri Lanka has been adopted by other members too, as well as the co-sponsorship by Sri Lanka, with the US. It is certainly a situation where apart from appeals to the world, Sri Lanka certainly has to make clear presentations that on matters on alleged War Crimes and Human Rights violations, Sri Lanka does stand free and outside any possible serious allegations. The failure to take action on Lord Naseby’s statements on the actual number killed in the final stages of the war against the LTTE, as well as the records on the numbers still held in detention on the Prevention of Terrorism legislation, does raise issues that Sri Lanka cannot simply push aside by making calls to be allowed to resolve national issues, without foreign influence.

There certainly was an outright support and praise for the Armed Forces who carried out the defeat of the LTTE’s separatist terrorism, and safeguarded the unity and sovereignty of the country. President Sirisena was certainly speaking with a reverberation of the national gratitude to the Armed Forces. However, it does raise questions in the context of his recent and continued criticism, and even objection, to senior personnel of the armed forces being brought to court on matters relating to crimes and violations of the law, which raises questions about the country’s commitment to the genuine democratic process.

Paris Accord

While Trump politics will not be supportive of President Sirisena’s call on the Sri Lankan situation, he certainly did make an important contribution in the call on Climate Change and the Environment. His call for implementing the Paris Agreement on Climate Change for the benefit of humanity and all other living beings, and the call to give utmost priority to these endeavours, was wholly supportive of French President Emmanuel Macron’s own call at the UNGA for maximum support for the Paris Accord. In a speech that was sharply opposed to President Trump’s line on Climate Change, President Macron even said that no trade agreements should be signed with countries that rejected the Paris Accord. Sri Lanka was in effect more supportive of the European thinking on current democratic trends, and certainly away from the US thinking on matters such as Climate Change and wider international trade.

It will be in the coming weeks to see how much of President Sirisena’s UNGA statement is the policy of the coalition government, considering the divisions between the UNP and SLFP on most policy matters. This relates to the UNP’s support for the UNHRC Resolution in 2015, seen as the major cause for the change of international opinion on Sri Lanka, after the isolationist policies of the Rajapaksa regime.

Politics of conspiracy

The investigations by the CID into the allegations of a plot to assassinate President Sirisena and Gotabhaya Rajapaksa is certainly at the crux of politics today, but with curious twists and turns, that pose serious questions on the core of the allegation. The buzzy story of the alleged plot extending to others in the Rajapaksa family certainly brought a new feel to the story, with more political ramifications, but it has certainly been shot down, with the alleged informant, an Indian citizen, now known to have been mentally ill. The CID certainly has a tough task with the political flavour of the story, especially with the Joint Opposition seeing in it a new push through in the politics of distortion. Media Minister Mangala Samaraweera has requested the media to exercise caution when reporting on criminal investigations with serious implications for the security of the state. He says the publicity about the extension of the alleged assassination plot are false, baseless and inflammatory.

While the media has the call for greater search for accuracy in reportage of this and similar stories, there are major questions about the conduct of the IGP in this regard, and the necessity to compel him to send the alleged suspect DIG on compulsory leave. The politics of conspiracy is such that there are now divisions both within the Government and the Joint Opposition over the conduct of the IGP, which could well lead to a no-confidence motion in parliament against him.

The political situation in the country is certainly one of great uncertainty, with certain delays in the next Provincial Council elections, whatever the Minister of Provincial Councils says about it, and the continuing uncertainty of the candidates for the next presidential poll. Such uncertainty in politics is certainly a breeding ground for the politics of conspiracy, and gives little support for the progress of democracy and electoral politics.

Price-rise politics

The UNP and SLFP, even as disagreeing partners in government, certainly have a major issue to address in the continuing rise in prices of essential commodities. The increase of Rs. 195 in the standard 12.5 kg of LP Gas, would certainly lead to another rise in prices of food items from tea to rice, hoppers, string hoppers, thosai and vadey. It is not the stuff of good governance or consumer-related economics to keep blaming this rupee fall on the success of Donald Trump’s economic policies, and his sanctions on Iran, and related issues. The US is certainly a contributor to this situation. But, there must be policies within the affected countries, such as Sri Lanka, to address it in some form.

One must recall how Malaysia acted to offset the dangerous effects of the international economic crisis in 2008, when trouble began with Lehman Bros collapse in the USA. Is there a total lack of policy alternatives to meet this international crisis? Is the government not ready to bring down imports of non-essential goods, and luxuries? What is the thinking on luxury transport facilities – especially cars for all, including politicians?

Is this financial/economic crisis not a suitable time to think in terms of a much more managed economy in the future, moving away from an economy of luxury and waste?

The absence of suitable policies in this regard, both among Government and Opposition, certainly makes this an opportunity for new political/economic thinking, which can be the path to a huge political change in the coming months. It is a promise for the future, moving away from the politics of today and the past.

Mangala shoots down Rupee depreciation claims

CT WEB- SEP 26 2018

Minister of Finance and Mass Media Mangala Samaraweera, at a media briefing yesterday (25), refuted allegations, levelled by some politicians, that the country’s economy is at stake due to the depreciation of the Sri Lankan currency.

He said that due to the bank crisis reported in the USA in 2008, the investors were given very low interest rates for their investment. Hence, they invested in emerging markets such as Sri Lanka, India, Indonesia and Philippines for better return. Due to the steep progression of the US economy this year, the value of the US dollar recorded an extraordinary increase against many of the currencies in the world.

He added that, as a result of this boom in the US economy, the banks have started offering higher interest rates for the investors and those who have invested in the emerging markets, have withdrawn their investments in order to invest in the USA.

“The US dollar began to strengthen drastically and the other currencies depreciated against it in a similar manner,” the Minister said.

He went on to say that Sri Lankan currency depreciation was 9 per cent while India has recorded a depreciation of 11 per cent. “We have managed to bring down the depreciation of rupee to 160.60,” the Minister stated.  Apart from the developing countries that faced the crisis, developed countries such as Australia and Russia have also recorded depreciation of their currencies against the US dollar, Minister Samaraweera said.

“We could have spent our foreign exchange to address the currency depreciation issue. But, we did not do such an unwise thing. We were extremely careful in using our foreign exchange and we were successful in addressing the issue,” he asserted. The Minister stressed the importance of reserving foreign exchange to repay the debts. “If we do not repay the existing debts, that will be much more dangerous than this. And the country will have to face a plight similar to that of Greece,” he noted.

Counter Terrorism Act, Why Now? Evil Forces Coming Here?

By Latheef Farook –SEPTEMBER 28, 2018

Latheef Farook

On Tuesday 11 September 2018, the Cabinet endorsed the “Counter-Terrorism Bill” (CTL) to be enacted by the Sri Lankan Parliament repealing the Prevention of Terrorism Act, PTA, applied during the wartime in dealing with the LTTE.

The draft bill was presented to the Cabinet by Foreign Minister Tilak Marapana with Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe and Minister Champika Ranawaka, both known for their hostile mindset towards Muslims reportedly grumbling at the Cabinet meeting that the law was not tough enough!

President Maithripala Sirisena, known for his indifference towards Muslims had agreed to the amendments proposed by Mr. Rajapaksa.

I do not want to go into details of the draft Bill. However it is proper to ask why now this bill, as Ministers Champika Ranawaka and Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe possibly believe that this law if enacted can be used against the minorities and keep the communities divided to achieve their political objective, though it has already been pointed out that in Sri Lanka CTL must necessarily be enforced against Sinhala Buddhist extremists. It is well known that Muslims were subjected to frequent extremist attacks both under the previous and also under the present government. 

Ever since the LTTE was militarily defeated in May 2009, terrorism was crushed. Right now there is no terrorism in the country and there is no sign of LTTE raising its head. The only terrorism is the   organized Sinhala racist attacks on Muslims involving some elements from the police and Special Task Force-STF- while the government turned a blind eye.

The question is under such circumstance what is the need for CTA? This is because the country passing through a period of worst political and economic crisis while numerous burning issues which deserve urgent attention and solution remain ignored. 

Muslims were subjected to violent upheavals under former president Mahinda Rajapaksa. Muslims island wide trusted and voted for President Maithripala Sirisena after he assured the restoration of law and order, justice, security, peace and harmony to all. However within months, Muslims, to their shock, began to realize that the two governments were the same. 

For example dismissing the sentiments of Muslim here and abroad and peace loving people worldwide, President Sirisena visited the Jewish holocaust museum, during his official tour to Germany, at a time when the real holocaust world- wide were against the Muslims! The visit means rewarding Israel’s barbarity towards Palestinians who have the support of peace loving people everywhere. 

Srilankan Muslims were shocked and deeply disappointed. Adding insult to injury the government invited as guest of honor the  war criminal former British Prime Minister Tony Blair who, together with US President George Bush, invaded  under false pretext and destroyed the ancient country of Iraq, killed millions of innocent Iraqis and destroyed the entire infrastructure besides looting the country from its oil resources to museum.

Of course Muslims have not forgotten that pro-western Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was perhaps the only third world prime minister who refused to condemn the US-UK invasion of Iraq. He has even reported to have told Muslim parliamentarians who wanted to condemn the invasion to leave the government and do so.

During the visit, Blair also met President Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, the darling of US led UK, European and Israeli war mongers

Shameless state of affair was such that Blair was even given the honor of addressing the Lakshman Kadirgamar International Centre demonstrating that the country has no care for human values. It is no more the fearless respected country with a fiercely independent foreign policy of the 1960s and early 1970s.

 In the midst there began sporadic violent attacks on Muslims.  When these attacks intensified, a joint delegation from the Sinhala and Muslim civil society led by Prof Sarath Wijesuriya  met President Sirisena, during latter part of Ramadan in June 2017, and appealed to him to stop these attacks.  President Sirisena dismissed their plea saying these attacks were the works of Mahinda Rajapaksa to topple the government.

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Gamarala determined to break corruption records of Rajapakses before his exit- Rs.20 million per km of railway line..!

-Corruption tainted cabinet paper ….

(Lanka e News -28.Sep.2018, 11.30PM) Like how a devil when it knows it is going to be chased away inflicts the maximum damage before its exit , our venally inclined president Pallewatte Gamarala too who is now precariously clinging on to a 4 % popularity base , and is due to be packed and sent home in 15 months has made all the arrangements to selfishly gobble up many billions of rupees via the so called project to build a railway line under his ‘Pibidemu Polonnaruwa’ program based on reports reaching Lanka e news.

The president prior to his leaving for New York submitted a cabinet paper hurriedly to award the 88 kilometer long railway line construction from Kurunegala to Habarana via Dambulla to ‘China State construction engineering Corporation Ltd.’ at a cost of Rs. 161,160 million (US dollars 948 million) , without duly following the formal tender procedure .

Based on this staggering cost , to construct one kilometer of the railway line it will cost about Rs. 20 million. That is Rs. 20 million approximately is being spent for the construction of a length of railway between just two railway sleepers. It is therefore being widely and justifiably questioned whether this railway line is being made of gold going by the colossal amount that is being spent by Gamarala? Mind you this aforementioned expenditure does not include the amount to be paid as compensation to the lands acquired for this construction .

Before the cabinet could hold a discussion in this regard , the cabinet proposal has been passed stating that ‘ it is ratified’ .

The relevant cabinet paper is herein..

Cuddling the gold even before the object to be made is even thought of ..

The president has extolled this railway line as ‘a most paramount and primary necessity ’ for the transport of goods that are expected to be produced in the proposed export zone which is to be established in Kurunegala and Habarana. The most bizarre part of this much vaunted project of the president is , even before a single export zone is commenced , Gamarala is eager to build a railway line saying it is for the export zone (non existent) spending many billions of rupees ! This is like spending billions on the justification it is for a castle to be built in the air !!

There is already a railway line 113 kms. long between Kurunegala and Habarana via Maho . The length of the proposed railway line via Dambulla is 88 kms. long. In other words billions and billions of rupees are being spent (wasted) just to secure a 25 kms. distance gain while it is a well known fact , currently the trains ply from Kurunegala to Habarana travel in one direction twice per day, or in two directions four times a day.

One train travels during day , and another during night. A new railway line is necessary only if there is no possibility to include more train journeys to those already in existence. While there already exists a train service comprising four journeys during 24 hours of the day, it is a matter for rude shock how Gamarala can consider the new railway service costing a staggering Rs. 161,160 million as a ‘paramount and primary necessity’.

The population of Habarana and its environs is sparse – only about 10,000 people live there although Gamarala is spending such a colossal amount .Of course it is true there are heavy traffic snarls along the main route between Dambulla and Kurunegala but the cabinet paper does not relate to the traffic congestion on the roads. Therefore what is more important is to widen the Dambulla – Kurunegala road to have four lanes to ease the vehicular traffic congestion rather than the construction of a railway line. Even if the entire road cannot be broadened , at least the areas where there are paddy fields and shrubs on both sides shall be broadened to have four lanes , in which event the traffic congestion can be eased 100 %. To effect that improvement it would not cost even a minute fraction of Rs. 161160 million.

Therefore Gamarala leaving aside all this , and seeking to construct a railway by entrusting that to China via a loan obtained from them even without calling for tenders duly is most dubious and disastrous from the standpoint of genuine national interests. This diabolic dastardly move of venal Gamarala outstrips even the corruption indulged in by notorious crooked Rajapakses pertaining to the Mattala airport and Hambantota harbor projects during their most corrupt and crooked era.

The monumental corruption ….

The expenditure incurred in respect of the Hambantota harbor project without reaping any profit or gain was Rs. 174,000 million

The expenditure incurred in respect of the Mattala airport project without reaping any gain or profit was Rs. 274,500 million

And now venal Gamarala is getting ready to spend Rs. 161160 million for a railway line which serves no purpose and promises no gain or profit.

It is significant to note , the expenditure incurred by the SL Railways department possessed of experience to restore the 100 years old railway lines within 56 days following the Tsunami devastation was only Rs. 450 million. The sum spent by the SL railways department to construct 10 kilometers long railway line from Thandikulam to Omanthaya was only about Rs. 50 million or a little more per kilometer in 2010. Hence the expenditure of a sum of Rs. 18310 million per one kilometer mentioned in the cabinet paper of Gamarala is beyond belief and is most rudely shocking .

In the circumstances , the only inference that can be made is , the entire aim of Gamarala before his exit is centered on earning filthy lucre and lining his pockets for which of course he has acquired a tremendous notoriety after coming to power .

The corruption that beats all recorded corruption even putting Mahinda the world record breaker to shame !

It is crystal clear Gamarala who is aware his days are numbered as president wants to grab the maximum before his exit . He sees the railway project as the gold mine to achieve his crooked and corrupt aims and ambitions to fill his private coffers.

A copy of the controversial cabinet paper is below…Can be read by clicking on it after magnification.

---------------------------
by     (2018-09-28 20:45:49)

Lawyer asks Mangala if he intends to strip MPs of duty free vehicle permits

Govt. move to halt super luxury vehicle imports 

by Shamindra Ferdinando-September 28, 2018, 11:17 pm

Attorney-at-law and public litigation activist Nagananda Kodituwakku, yesterday, said that Finance and Media Minister Mangala Samaraweera should explain what he really meant when he said that the super luxury vehicle imports wouldn’t be allowed next year.

Kodituwakku was commenting on Samaraweera’s declaration at an event at the Royal College, Colombo on Thursday (Sept 27) that the importation of super luxury vehicles by members of parliament and others should be stopped forthwith. Underscoring the growing oil import bill, Samaraweera vowed to halt such imports against the backdrop of financial difficulties.

Samaraweera said that the only way to artificially control the rapid depreciation of the Rupee was to release USD held by the government. Samaraweeara said that however, as the Minister holding the finance portfolio he wasn’t prepared to release funds as such funds were required to settle foreign debt.

Samaraweera also warned that a barrel of crude would go up to USD in case of a conflict between the US and Iran.

Kodituwakku said that the Finance Minister should explain whether he intended to abolish the special duty free permit scheme implemented for the benefit of members of parliament. Responding to a query by The Island, Kodituwakku said that successive governments owed an explanation as to why duty free exemption was gradually increased at the expense of the national economy.

Kodituwakku said that finally minister had been compelled to admit the catastrophic financial crisis caused by uncontrolled import of luxury vehicles. Having failed to convince the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) to inquire into duty free vehicle scam involving members of parliament, Kodituwakku said that he moved the Supreme Court against the CIABOC. Minister Samaraweera’s statement couldn’t have been made at a better time, Kodituwakku recalling Samaraweera’s predecessor Ravi Karunanayake in his first budget presentation in 2015 promising to do away with duty free vehicle schemes for lawmakers as part of the overall measures to strengthen the national economy.

Kodituwakku said that instead of abolishing the scheme, Karunanayake paved the way for members of the current parliament to import duty free vehicles, with each tax exemption amounting to at least Rs 30mn. The majority of those vehicles had been sold and the identities of the buyers, too, were known to the Finance Ministry, Kodituwakku said, challenging the Finance Ministry to release the list of buyers and sellers which he (Kodituwakku) obtained from the Customs under the Right to Information (RTI) law.

Kodituwakku said that all political parties represented in parliament should explain their stand on special perks and privileges received by them at a heavy cost to the national economy. Kodituwakku said that his RTI query had revealed that except six JVP lawmakers in parliament, all other political parties and the Joint Opposition members had brazenly abused the permit scheme.

Kodituwakku urged the Finance Ministry to examine recent CIABOC declaration that transfer of vehicles imported on duty free permits wasn’t contrary to the law.

Sri Lanka FTA with Singapore within the norms of economic diplomacy

 Saturday, 29 September 2018 

Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and President Maithripala Sirisena witnessing the signing of the FTA between Singaporean Minister of Trade and Industry S. Iswaran and Minister for Development Strategies and International Trade Malik Samarawickrama. The FTA comes at a time when trade with Sri Lanka is growing, with bilateral trade reaching $ 2.7 billion last year. Singapore is also Sri Lanka’s seventh largest foreign investor.

Sri Lanka and Singapore signed the Sri Lanka-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (SLSFTA) on 23 January. This is a comprehensive Free Trade Agreement which covers goods, services, e-commerce, telecommunications, foreign direct investment, intellectual property and public procurement. Singapore and Sri Lanka signed a free trade agreement which will deepen economic ties and facilitates greater trade flows between the two countries.

Sri Lanka-Singapore Free Trade Agreement enters into force on 1 May 

The Sri Lanka-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (SLSFTA) has been ratified and came into effect on 1 May.  Negotiations on the SLSFTA were launched by Singaporean Minister of Trade and Industry S. Iswaran and his counterpart Minister for Development Strategies and International Trade Malik Samarawickrama, in the presence of Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on 18 July 2016. The agreement was subsequently signed on 23 January this year.

The SLSFTA is Sri Lanka’s first modern and comprehensive free trade agreement and will cover areas such as trade in services, e-commerce, telecommunications, investments, intellectual property and government procurement. 

Many investments are planned. In fact, established players like flour producer Prima Group, which entered Sri Lanka in 1977, as well as newer ones like infrastructure firms Hyflux and Sembcorp. Even smaller firms like food court chain Food Republic are coming to Sri Lanka. These are all positive results from the FTA.

Sri Lanka would also benefit from Singapore investments, said DBS economist Irvin Seah, because there would be “procurement locally, hiring locally... and a transfer of technology and best practices”.

Bilateral trade hit $2.7 billion last year, up 27% from 2016. Singapore is also Sri Lanka’s seventh largest foreign investor.

The FTA was signed after 18 months of negotiations. A 2004 attempt to reach an agreement failed. Asked what had changed since 2004, PM Lee said the current Sri Lankan Government is on a path of economic liberalisation and wants more trade and investments.

In the lead-up to the FTA signing, some Sri Lankan businesses and professional groups expressed opposition to the deal. To address the concerns, the Government said it would look at new laws to counter sudden surges in imports and perceived unfair trade practices.

Prime Minister Lee said that any deal signed is considered a binding international agreement, and there are channels to settle disputes over differences in interpretation. On the protectionist backlash, he said there will always be pressures to preserve the status quo in any country. There will be winners and those adversely affected when a market is opened up to competition, he added. “The people who are adversely affected are... more concentrated and more effective at making some noise.”

Misconception on tariff 

There was a misconception due to erroneous and prejudiced media reports that Singapore companies will not have to pay tariffs for exports to Sri Lanka on 80% of product categories for 15 years. In fact, tariffs will be eliminated progressively over 15 years after the FTA is in force. After 15 years, 80% of product categories will see zero tariffs.

What’s in the FTA

nTariffs will be eliminated progressively over 15 years, after the FTA is in force. After 15 years, 80 per cent of product categories will see zero tariffs. Thereafter tariff savings of $10 million yearly for Singapore firms.

nGreater market access for professional, environmental, construction, tourism and travel services.

nSingapore firms can bid for large Government procurement projects.

nLiberal rules of origin, so goods from other countries processed in Singapore will enjoy low tariffs.

nSafeguards against expropriation of and discrimination against Singapore investments.

The FTA is a boost in trade between the two economies and greater access for Singapore firms to the growing market.

Sri Lanka is a promising market and a fast-growing economy. It’s also a beautiful country with great tourism potential. On the whole, this FTA is likely to open up huge opportunities for Singapore and Sri Lankan companies.

The size of Sri Lanka’s economy – $ 81 billion (S$107 billion) in 2016 – is just over a quarter of Singapore’s, but its annual growth has averaged 6.2% since the end of the civil war in 2009. Its population is also close to four times that of Singapore.

Trade between the two countries last year was $2.7 billion, up from $2.05 billion in 2015.

With China pouring billions into the South Asian island country, investing in, among other things, a port and a financial centre, the FTA could also help Singapore benefit indirectly from the fruits of the Belt and Road Initiative there, he added.

The deal also covers services, with the two countries committing to allow greater access in each other’s markets for professional, environmental, construction, tourism and travel-related services.

On the FTA’s impact on Singapore, he said the Singapore market has always been more open.

Many investments are planned. Established players like flour producer Prima Group, which entered Sri Lanka in 1977, as well as newer ones like infrastructure firms Hyflux and Sembcorp. Even smaller firms like foodcourt chain Food Republic are coming to Sri Lanka. These are all positive results from the FTA.

It includes Sri Lanka’s first treaty commitment on government procurement. This will allow Singapore companies to bid for projects by several of Sri Lanka’s large central entities and State-Owned Enterprises.

Singapore and Sri Lanka are also committed to granting better access to each other’s services markets, said MTI, adding that the agreement includes sectors of interest to Singapore companies in the professional and trade-related services as well as environment, construction and tourism.

The SLSFTA also covers cross-border transfers of information by electronic means and data flows. MTI said this will benefit Singapore and Sri Lanka companies given the increase in demand for e-commerce and digital services.

There are also safeguards against discriminatory treatment based on nationality and protection against expropriation.

Under the agreement, the Singapore International Arbitration Centre is listed as an institution where Investor-State disputes can be heard. MTI said this is aligned with the objective of promoting Singapore as an arbitration hub.

Sri Lanka’s first modern and comprehensive Free Trade Agreement 

The deal is Sri Lanka’s first “modern and comprehensive” Free Trade Agreement and will, said MTI, “position Singapore as an early and supportive partner of Sri Lanka’s economic liberalisation plans and development”.

To date, Singapore companies have established a presence in Sri Lanka in sectors such as construction, infrastructure, manufacturing, food and services. There are currently about 90 Singapore companies in Sri Lanka.

MTI said Sri Lanka was Singapore’s 36th largest trading partner in 2017, and bilateral trade amounted to S $2.7 billion. Singapore’s exports to Sri Lanka totalled S $2.5 billion, while Singapore’s imports from Sri Lanka totalled S $178 million.

Singapore’s top exports to Sri Lanka include petroleum and diesel, non-monetary gold and jewellery, while top imports from Sri Lanka include motor spirit, fuel oils, perfumes, clothing accessories and wheat flour.

Despite the rapid increase in Sri Lanka’s service exports such as tourism, tourist arrivals from Singapore comprise only 0.93% of total tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka. The SLSFTA thus has the potential for broadening trade in services including tourism, telecommunications, transportation, education, hospitality, health and finance among other areas.

The removal of tariffs will further increase business opportunities for local enterprises, providing greater access to import and export markets, and entry into new markets. Increased competition and access to a wider variety of markets will also benefit consumers through greater choice and lower prices. Sri Lanka however, needs to be cautious of not becoming a dumping ground for imports coming from third party (non-SLSFTA) countries attempting to evade tariffs through Singapore.

Turning to investment, Singapore is Sri Lanka’s fourth largest investor, preceded by China, Hong Kong, and India. FDI into Sri Lanka from Singapore accounted for 5.3% of GDP over 2014-17. While FDI into Sri Lanka has exhibited a rising trend, Sri Lanka attracts disproportionately only a very small proportion of FDI ($ 0.09 billion in 2015) compared to its regional counterparts (Singapore $ 65 billion in 2015).

Despite the fact that a number of Singapore companies have set up affiliates in Sri Lanka in sectors including food and beverage processing (Prima Ceylon), tourism (Shangri-La Hotels), infrastructure development (Shing Kwan Group, Next Story Group), construction (WohHup, Ley Choon), security (Certis Cisco) among others, the greater predictability provided by the SLFTA presents possibilities for further integration through financial markets and capital flows.

FDI inflows will deliver significant gains for Sri Lanka in the form of technological know-how, innovation and investment in research and development. The entry of foreign affiliates into the downstream sector can also create an increased demand for local inputs.

While FDI inflows can lead to skill development and productivity increases for local firms, Sri Lanka should be mindful of not engaging in harmful bidding wars for FDI, which can lead to a ‘race to the bottom,’ eroding the country’s tax base and channelling public expenditures away from priority sectors.

The SLSFTA is Sri Lanka’s first treaty which covers Government procurement, permitting Singapore companies and state-owned enterprises to bid for projects. This agreement can help the government to cut down on spending by increasing supply sources of goods and services and create greater competition for Government procurement.

The agreement also provides a basis for strengthening bilateral cooperation mechanisms on electronic accreditation procedures and paperless trading and improving mutual commitments on intellectual property.

Trade agreements also have an important bearing on labour standards. Currently, of Sri Lanka’s total labour migrants, 0.5% are employed in Singapore. This agreement can generate greater employment opportunities for nationals of both countries, and lead to improvements in labour standards through the exchange of best practices.

While the SLSFTA provides an important platform for pursuing trade negotiations with other countries in the region, and mechanism for accession to the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, the expected effects of the SLSFTA will depend to a great degree on the adoption of complementary institutional structures and policies.

Studies suggest that FDI will have positive spill-over effects on an economy only in the presence of a minimum threshold of human capital, well developed infrastructure facilities, and strong economic fundamentals. Therefore, in order to attract larger FDI inflows and achieve the full potential of FDI, sizeable investments in infrastructure and skill development are required over the medium term.

The experience of Taiwan and Korea highlight the significance of local technology creation led by the government which resulted in technology diffusion to local firms and positive FDI spill-overs. Similarly, fiscal consolidation and monetary policy focusing on maintaining low and stable inflation are important pre-requisites for Sri Lanka’s success to not only realising the full benefits of the agreement, but also future tariff negotiations with other nations at a bilateral, and broader regional level.

Maximising the benefits of this agreement will thus require increased policy coordination not only between the two countries, but also within Sri Lanka, between policymakers, the private sector and the Government. 

(The writer can be reached via tellicrajaratnam@yahoo.com.)

Sri Lanka seeks investment, but China questions linger

Author Arthur Sullivan-Date 26.09.2018

A decade after the Sri Lankan Civil War, the country’s economy is growing fast. The government has big plans, but high debt levels — and high levels of Chinese influence — cast a cloud as the country seeks investors.

You don't need to be an expert on international trade routes to look at a map and understand that Sri Lanka's location is one of potentially serious economic advantage.

Sri Lanka seeks investment,... by on Scribd

Six Palestinians killed by Israeli fire in Gaza March of Return protest

Two of the slain Palestinians were teenagers and Naser Azmi Musbeh was only 12 years old

A Palestinian in a wheelchair uses a sling to hurl stones in the direction of Israeli troops during a protest at the Israel-Gaza fence east of Gaza City (Reuters)

Friday 28 September 2018

Six Palestinians were shot and killed by Israeli forces and at least 509 were injured on Friday during protests in the besieged Gaza Strip.

The Gaza health ministry identified four of the slain Palestinians as 14-year-old Mohammed Naif al-Houm, who was shot in the chest with a live bullet; Iyad Khalil al-Shaaer, 18, who was killed east of Gaza City; Mohammed Waleed Haniyeh, a 23-year old from the al-Shati refugee camp; Mohammed Bassam Shakhsah, a 24-year old from east of Gaza City, and Mohammed Ali Inchassy, a 18-year old from east of Khan Younis. 

The fifth Palestinian who was killed, a 12-year old, has been identified as Naser Azmi Musbeh.

At least 509 were injured, three of them in serious condition. According to Ashraf al-Qidra, the spokesperson of the health ministry, four paramedics, four journalists and 90 children were injured by live ammunition.

Palestinian paramedics rescuing an injured man shot by Israeli soldiers in Gaza Strip (MEE\Mohammed Asad)

Thousands of Palestinians protested on Friday to demand the lift of the 11-year Israeli-blockade over Gaza and the return of Palestinian refugees to their lands and towns in present-day Israel.

It has been six months since Palestinians in Gaza first began participating in the Great March of Return on 30 March - one of the biggest mass demonstrations since the Second Intifada, between 2000 and 2005.

Palestinians marched on Friday under the theme of "al-Aqsa Intifada Friday" and gathered in large numbers east of Khan Younis in southern Gaza. Video footage of the protest showed demonstrators removing large coils of barbed wire placed by Israeli forces on the Gaza side of the fence separating the blockaded Palestinian enclave from Israel.

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شاهد | الشبان يتمكنون من سحب السياج الشائك شرق خانيونس

9:55 AM - Sep 28, 2018

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Watch | Youth pulling barbed wire east of Khan Younis

In the occupied West Bank, local media reported that clashes with Israeli soldiers took place in the village of Nahalin near Bethlehem, in Ras Karkar in the Ramallah governorate, and in Kafr Qaddum in Qalqiliya.

Israel said that lit Palestinian kites caused seven fires to crops in Israeli settlements.

Israeli forces and officials have denounced the use of flying devices by Palestinian protesters - who counter that kites and balloons are the only weapons at their disposal to fight against the occupation.