Maria Ressa: editor of Rappler news website arrested on 'cyber-libel' charges

Philippines president Duterte government accused of shameless persecution
Maria Ressa, editor of Philippines news website Rappler: ‘These legal acrobatics show how far the government will go to silence journalists.’ Photograph: Francis R Malasig/EPA

Hannah Ellis-Petersen -Wed 13 Feb 2019 

The editor of an online newspaper in the Philippines has been arrested on charges of cyber-libel as part of what the country’s journalists’ union said was a campaign of intimidation against voices critical of President Rodrigo Duterte.

Speaking from the headquarters of news website Rappler on Wednesday before she was taken away by four plainclothes officers, Maria Ressa said she was not intimidated. “These legal acrobatics show how far the government will go to silence journalists, including the pettiness of forcing me to spend the night in jail,” she added.

The charge of cyber-libel, which Ressa denies, was filed by the justice department and the warrant for Ressa’s arrest issued by a Manila court judge on Tuesday. After she was arrested, Ressa was taken to the National Bureau of Investigations, which is under the Department of Justice, where she was to be held overnight.

“The filing of this case is preposterous and baseless,” said Rappler in a statement. “If this is another of several attempts to intimidate us, it will not succeed, as past attempts have shown.”

The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines described the arrest as a “shameless act of persecution by a bully government”.

“It is clear this is part of the administration’s obsession to shut Rappler down and intimidate the rest of the independent Philippine media into toeing the line,” the NUJ said in a statement.

The charges against Ressa relate to a story published on Rappler’s website in May 2012 that alleged ties between a Philippine businessman, Wilfredo D Keng, and a high court judge. The controversial cyber-libel law under which she is being prosecuted, was enacted four months after the story was written.

The libel case was first brought in 2017, but initially dismissed by the NBI. It was reopened in 2018.
Ressa’s arrest comes just two months after she turned herself in to authorities over charges of tax evasion at Rappler. Speaking on her release on bail in December, Ressa accused the Philippine government of trying to intimidate and harass journalists and “weaponising the rule of law” against its critics.

Rappler, which is one of the most influential news sites in the Philippines, has also been one of the news outlets most critical of Duterte’s administration since he took power in 2016. In particular, it has scrutinised his government over the brutal war on drugs, which officially has taken more than 5,000 lives, though human rights groups allege the true figure is more than double that.

In response, Duterte’s administration has instigated seven separate cases against Rappler. The government banned Rappler’s political reporter from the presidential palace.

It has ordered the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to investigate Rappler for being “foreign-owned”, even going as far as revoking its licence, in a case that went all the way to the court of appeal. In November, the Department of Justice confirmed it was charging Rappler with three counts of failure to file returns, and one count of tax evasion – all charges that Ressa denies. The charges carry heavy fines and jail sentences of up to 10 years.

Ressa’s refusal to back down has won her plaudits around the world. She was named a Time magazine person of the year in 2018, and won the 2018 Knight International Journalism award and this year’s prestigious Press Freedom award, given by the Committee to Protect Journalists.

Butch Olano, the director of Amnesty International Philippines, described Ressa’s arrest as “brazenly politically motivated, and consistent with the authorities’ threats and repeated targeting of Ressa and her team”.

“In a country where justice takes years to obtain, we see the charges against her being railroaded and the law being used to relentlessly intimidate and harass journalists for doing their jobs as truth-tellers,” Olano said.

The collision course of obesity, undernutrition, and climate change

The global cost of obesity is US$2 trillion a year. Source: Shutterstock

@Cherry_Zheng__Feb 12, 2019_

DESPITE almost three decades of policy recommendations, obesity rates are soaring.

Nearly two billion people are overweight or obese, costing US$2 trillion a year – comparable to the global impact of armed violence and war.

The extent of the pandemic demonstrates this is far from a problem of individual willpower. Rather, it is a product of our modern food systems – the very same systems that are driving undernutrition and climate change.

This perfect storm of malnutrition – both obesity and undernutrition – and climate change is the “paramount health challenge” of the 21st century. Together, they represent ‘The Global Syndemic’, where ‘syndemic’ refers to two or more diseases that co-occur, interact, and share societal drivers.

SEE ALSO: Asia Pacific children are facing an ‘obesity time bomb’

A newly released report by the Lancet Commission on Obesity examines their links, the roles of government, the private sector, and civil society, and what can be done to tackle the pandemics in concert.

Climate change can be considered a pandemic alongside obesity and undernutrition due to its predicted “catastrophic” and global impact on human health. Storms, floods, drought, warming oceans, and rising sea levels threaten the world’s food security; worsening nutrient deficiencies, undernutrition and – less obviously – obesity.

Failing to act means the tremendous health gains of the past 50 years could be reversed by 2050. The broader costs such as loss of human potential, societal disruption, and environmental destruction will be borne by current and future generations.

Just as climate impacts food systems, food systems also impact climate. From intensive agriculture to transportation, the globalised mass production of food depends on fossil fuels, leading to greenhouse gas emissions.

Just as climate impacts food systems, food systems also impact climate. Source: Shutterstock

If we include processes such as land conversion, the contribution of food to emissions is as high as 29 percent. Within this, food waste is responsible for over 3.3 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions annually, making it the third top emitter after the US and China.

Without drastic changes to how we produce and consume, it will be impossible to sustainably feed the world’s 10 billion people by 2050.

Beneath these interactions, malnutrition and climate change have shared roots in unsustainable consumption. The heart of the problem is weak political governance, where GDP growth instead of health is treated as the priority and the concentration of influence within large food corporations prevents meaningful change.

As stated by the former Director-General of the World Health Organisation, “market power readily translates into political power.”

So it is for ‘Big Food’, which holds sway over food systems and governments around the world due to its financial heft and purported structural importance in supplying jobs and tax revenue.

SEE ALSO: Obesity in China a growing problem among kids, young adults

A slew of tactics stymies reform, including voluntary self-regulation to avoid state regulation, public relations campaigns to portray industry as socially responsible, industry-funded research to undermine scientific evidence, and promoting the narrative that malnutrition is a personal failing. Big polluters have taken similar steps to undermine climate action.

Perhaps most egregiously, public money in the form of subsidies and tax breaks goes towards these corporations to the tune of US$5.3 trillion for fossil fuels and nearly half a trillion dollars for agriculture every year.

This leaves governments with the daunting task of mustering not only commitment but also the resources to act.

The first means contending with conflicts of interest, power asymmetries, and duplication of efforts in the face of powerful lobbies. The second means having the organisational and strategic capacities to work towards progress. Manygovernments lack such resources.

The result for the public is predictable.

Since visibility is low, the need for change is not well understood, let alone acted upon. People with obesity continue to face pervasive bias and stigmatisation, while transformative climate action has been delayed for a quarter of a century.

Thus, the Global Syndemic must be tackled at its roots.

Foremost among the report’s recommendations is the idea of double or triple-duty actions. Just as obesity, undernutrition, and climate change reinforce each other, they can also be tackled together.

The World Bank estimates that achieving global targets for undernutrition will take US$70 billion over the next 10 years. The Global Syndemic Commission calls for an additional US$1 billion to jumpstart civil society, including devoting greater attention to traditional and indigenous knowledge.

Studies have shown that fast food raises the risk of obesity, especially in children and adolescents. Source: Shutterstock

There is a strong role for independent institutions to hold governments and industry accountable.

The Commission proposes a binding treaty on food systems in a similar vein to those on climate change and tobacco, as well as a ‘Right to Wellbeing’ comprising a right to health, food, cultural rights, rights of the child, and a healthy environment.

Where, then, does the everyday person fit into the system? As consumers, there is an urgent need to overall eat less meat and slash food waste.

SEE ALSO: If I stop eating meat, will it really help climate change?

As agents in society, we must bring an awareness of how malnutrition and climate change interact in all of our decisions as citizens, parents, customers, workers and more. For all its high-level policy recommendations, the Global Syndemic Commission notes that the “collective influence” of the people is critical.

But these actions are not available to everyone. Harmful habits are hardly choices when people are immersed in unhealthy environments, or when lack of time, money or access prevent them from having a healthy diet, let alone from mobilising for reform.

Ultimately, as a problem deeply entrenched in our global food systems, we must be wary of suggesting that the worst-affected individuals are the ones to blame.

Thus, governments must lead the way.

The solution will not be a cure, but a transformation: one that confronts the underlying policies, incentives and norms that have enabled these vicious cycles of human and environmental decline.

Such a path is un-travelled and challenging. But even if it was easy, nothing will change unless policymakers – the people chosen to represent the best interests of our collective societies – take the reins.

This piece was first published at Policy Forum, Asia and the Pacific’s platform for public policy analysis and opinion.

Lyme disease can be diagnosed by 'bull's eye' rash alone

The rash is raised around the edges

Lyme disease can be diagnosed by the rash alone, new advice for the NHS says.

12 February 2019

People with the "bull's eye" circular rash do not need a blood test and should be treated immediately to avoid complications, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence says.

Waiting for lab results is unnecessary and can cause delays in patients being prescribed the antibiotics they need.

Lyme disease is spread by tick bites and can be debilitating.

A blood tests can check for it but may not give a positive result until eight weeks after the patient is bitten.

Image copyright

Prof Gillian Leng, deputy chief executive and director of health and social care at the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), said for most people with Lyme disease, a course of antibiotics would be an effective treatment, "so it is important we diagnose and treat people as soon as possible".

"A person with Lyme disease may present with a wide range of symptoms, so we have clear advice for professionals about the use of lab tests for diagnosis and the most appropriate antibiotic treatments," she said.

"If a characteristic bull's eye rash is present, healthcare professionals should feel confident in diagnosing Lyme disease."

Lyme disease can be difficult to diagnose. It has similar symptoms to other conditions and there is not always an obvious rash. The rash can also appear in a number of different ways, as these images from the NICE guidance show.

Symptoms can also include:

• a high temperature or feeling hot and shivery
• headaches
• muscle and joint pain
• tiredness
• loss of energy

But if there is a delay in treatment, more severe symptoms can develop months or years later, including:

• pain and swelling in joints
• nerve problems - such as pain or numbness
• heart problems
• loss of memory or concentration

Lyme Disease

• Ticks that may cause Lyme disease are found all over the UK
• High-risk areas include grassy and wooded areas in southern England and the Scottish Highlands
• To reduce the risk of being bitten, cover your skin, tuck your trousers into your socks, use insect repellent and stick to paths
• If you are bitten, remove the tick with fine-tipped tweezers or a tick-removal tool found in chemists
• Clean the bite with antiseptic or soap and water
• The risk of getting ill is low as only a small number of ticks are infected with the bacteria that cause Lyme disease
• You don't need to do anything else unless you become unwell
• You should go to your GP if you've been bitten by a tick or visited an area in the past month where infected ticks are found and you get flu-like symptoms or a circular red rash
• These symptoms can include feeling hot and shivery, headaches, aching muscles or feeling sick

Source: NHS Choices

Bella Hadid, her mother and brother all have Lyme disease, elder sister model Gigi Hadid does not have it

A growing number of high profile people have spoken out about their experiences of the problems of living with Lyme disease due to delayed diagnosis.

American model Bella Hadid has spoken of the challenges of continuing to work with the disease because she's often exhausted and needs to take regular medication. Her mother, who starred in The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, and Bella's brother also have the disease.

Singer Avril Lavigne said it had taken months for her to be diagnosed with the disease, which had left her bedridden for two years. She got the first symptoms on tour, when she was achy, fatigued and couldn't get out of bed. She said she had felt so bad at one point she had "accepted that I was dying".

Former England rugby player Matt Dawson got the disease after being bitten by a tick in a London park in 2015. It caused a bacterial infection to spread through his body and eventually left him needing heart surgery.

• Matt Dawson: I had to have heart surgery after a tick bite
• Mum 'paralysed' after tick bite in garden
• John Caudwell offers over £1m for Lyme Disease research

Avril Lavigne's experience of Lyme disease has inspired songs on her new album

Phones 4U founder John Caudwell funds a charity Caudwell LymeCo that funds research he hopes "will lead to a truly reliable test and cure via the NHS for every Lyme disease patient". He and 14 other members of his family have the disease.

Veronica Hughes, chief executive of Caudwell LymeCo, said she hoped the new NICE draft guidance would increase the number of doctors who felt confident diagnosing a Lyme disease rash on sight.

"Caudwell LymeCo Charity hears regularly from people whose doctors have diagnosed an erythema migrans but decide to check with a blood test, not realising that the rash is the more reliable of the two," she said.

"Waiting for blood test results always delays treatment. When a patient has the rash, this delay is unnecessary and reduces the likelihood of total cure."

Mullivaikkal memorial unveiled at Jaffna University

190212 ND Jaffna Uni memorial (2).jpeg

A monument paying tribute to the tens of thousands of Tamils massacred by the Sri Lankan state during final phase of the armed conflict has been unveiled at the University of Jaffna this week.

 12 February 2019

The monument was constructed ahead of the 10 year anniversary of the massacres at Mullivaikkal, which will be marked on May 18 this year. The date is remembered around the world as ‘Tamil Genocide Day’.

After providing an initial death toll of 40,000, the UN found evidence suggesting that 70,000 were killed in that final phase, as the Sri Lankan military launched its massive military offensive. Local census records indicate that at least 146,679 people are unaccounted for and presumed to have been killed.

Read more about the massacres in our day by day account of that final phase below.

Related Articles: 

17 May 2018 : 9 years today – A massacre in Mullivaikkal

Next Presidential Election: Who will win in a three-cornered fight?

 

“Privacy is dead, and social media hold the smoking gun.” ~Pete Cashmore, Mashable CEO

2019-02-13

The social media is quite busy. One of its main political thrusts has been towards promoting one single individual of the United National Party (UNP). And that is Sajith Premadasa, the incumbent Housing and Cultural Affairs Minister, the son of the late Ranasinghe Premadasa. Ranasinghe Premadasa was a totally different kettle of fish. His modus operandi consisted of real hard work and he was never ever considered a ‘softie’. His contribution towards the déclassé still remains unmatched and his masterful skills in oratory were never surpassed other than by another mob-orator, Rohana Wijeweera. However, R. Premadasa lived in a different time; an era that was devoid of the social media. The social media dawned on humanity much later.

According to Drew Hendricks, who has contributed to many major publications such as Forbes and Entrepreneur, as a tech, social media and environmental addict: “the first recognisable social media site, Six Degrees, was created in 1997. It enabled users to upload a profile and make friends with other users. In 1999, the first blogging sites became popular, creating a social media sensation that’s still popular today.

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• It is indispensable that, in order to claim a majority, one simply cannot focus only on the majority Sinhalese Buddhist voter base
• Three-cornered fight among MS, Pohottuwa candidate (possibly a Rajapaksa) and the UNP nominee
• Premadasa, Lalith Athulathmudali and Gamini Dissanayake irrelevant for today’s voter

---

After the invention of blogging, social media began to explode in popularity. Sites like MySpace and LinkedIn gained prominence in the early 2000s, and sites like Photobucket and Flickr facilitated online photo sharing. YouTube came out in 2005, creating an entirely new way for people to communicate and share with each other across great distances.

By 2006, Facebook and Twitter both became available to users throughout the world. These sites remain some of the most popular social networks on the Internet… today, there is a tremendous variety of social networking sites, and many of them can be linked to allow cross-posting. This creates an environment where users can reach the maximum number of people without sacrificing the intimacy of person-to-person communication. We can only speculate about what the future of social networking may look in the next decade or even 100 years from now, but it seems clear that it will exist in some form for as long as humans are alive.’

Political opponents of R. Premadasa, Lalith Athulathmudali and Gamini Dissanayake would have dreaded had all these three magicians of mass appeal lived today. But to engage in such idle speculation is unproductive, except as to learn lessons from the success of those who chose to play the game of politics to such a consummate end. Of these three gentlemen, Gamini Dissanayake had the most electric kind of personal appeal. That uniqueness owed its character to the great empathy that Gamini displayed when he mingled with his fellowmen and women. Both R. Premadasa and Lalith Athulathmudali were greatly skilled craftsmen of mass-politics, yet I dare say, both were not authentic in their presumed feelings for the masses. Gamini Dissanayake, on the other hand, had his authenticity glowing from his total being. Being ruthless in the pursuit of their ends, all three were exceptionally capable politicians.

Allow me to digress here to illustrate the far-thinking ability of these three men. When J. R. Jayewardene formed his Cabinet in 1977 – just 18 in all – every minister appointed as his or her private secretary from within his or her own family. Even J.R. Jayewardene’s private secretary was Nihal Weeratunga who happened to be his step-nephew. Yet, three ministers had their private secretaries appointed from outside their respective families. They were Premadasa, Lalith and Gamini. Their goal was far too high to be spoiled by an unemployed relative of theirs.
This practice has continued up to date; both Sajith Premadasa and Navin Dissanayake have appointed their private secretaries from outside the realm of their relatives. Not only the mere absence of nepotism, its appearance too needed to be taken care of. Brought up and nursed in such a challenging background, both Sajith Premadasa and Navin Dissanayake are being portrayed as two possible candidates for the prime job of presidency. In the social media, Sajith Premadasa is being promoted as a ‘natural and automatic’ successor to Ranil Wickremesinghe.

But Sajith’s completely egocentric campaign in the social media, especially during the difficult days of the 50-day government of Mahinda Rajapaksa, may have earned him temporary advantage, exclusively among the UNP supporters, by virtue of its constant and consistent repetition of images and prose, the authenticity that was totally absent from that campaign would ultimately in the long-run capture its prisoners.

Authenticity is not one would cultivate as a character that is developed in a finishing school. Authenticity is a character one needs to exhibit as an integral part of one’s very soul. Whether it’s totally positive or ‘irregularly’ negative, yet if it appears to be really authentic that authenticity goes a long way in politics. Authenticity as the main feature of their persona, any above-average candidate would fair quite greatly against such inauthentic opponent in the class of Maithripala Sirisena or any Rajapaksa.

But our central issue is whether Maithripala Sirisena who happens to be the current president – who became the ‘King’ of Sri Lanka thanks mainly to the unstinted support of Ranil Wickremesinghe and his UNP – would offer himself as a third candidate. Given the current discord between President Sirisena and the UNP, it is highly unimaginative on the part of any political analyst/pundit to assume that Maithripala would represent the same coalition that elected him president in the first place in 2015.

The three-cornered fight will be among Maithripala Sirisena, Pohottuwa candidate (possibly a Rajapaksa) and the UNP nominee. In the context of a presidential election, it is indispensable that, in order to claim a majority, one simply cannot focus only on the majority Sinhalese Buddhist voter base. Given the overwhelming majority of Sinhalese Buddhists, the Pohottuwa candidate or Maithripala Sirisena is purported to enjoy, if either of them does not receive at least 35% of the Tamil and Muslim votes, even if they receive 65% of the Sinhalese Buddhist base, he or she cannot win. It was statistically proven beyond any shadow of doubt at the last presidential election in 2015. So in the event Maithripala Sirisena contests, provided he gets the entire bloc of votes that were cast for him at the 2015 elections, and some sizeable portion from the SLFP base which would have ordinarily gone for the Pohottuwa candidate, the UNP candidate stands to win a hard-fought three-cornered fight.

But the sad part of this analysis is, the onetime Rajapaksa-hater and president of the country ends up as the third or last among the three. Lack of cleverness or statecraft has to suffer; its effects are not marginal; the deep abyss it led the whole country to is still staring at each and every politician of today. The disgust and disaffection today’s youth feels for the current rotten system is unmistakable. Conventional politicking will not work. Providing another Mahinda Rajapaksa is not the solution; merely trying to outdo Mahinda Rajapaksa is a sterile effort; had the choice been producing a more acceptable servant of conventions, Mahinda Rajapaksa or his surrogate would be far more attractive to the average voter.

For today’s voter, R. Premadasa, Lalith Athulathmudali or Gamini Dissanayake are irrelevant. The tools and modus operandi they operated on is dead and anachronistic now. A brand new generation whose access to the Smartphone-technology and YouTube proximity, is thinking anew; their dreams are being measured in terms of minutes and seconds, not months or years. The changing world is being presented to them in a matter of seconds; live debates are being watched on their Smartphones; the responses are being broadcast and telecast in minutes and that living-in-the-minute syndrome has taken a hold of their 24-hour behaviour. Couples that roam the Viharamahadevi Park are no more communicating with each other in real live terms. Each one is engaged in reading and writing on the screens of his or her Smartphones. Yet, their loving partnership seems to survive; the ups and downs of romance would outlast the very relationships and might eventually be more productive in shaping the respective characters of the partnerships.

Such is the brutality of modern-day life. Is our average politician equipped to tackle this bouncing ride? Is he or she prepared to adjust to the fast-changing character of modern society? In other words, is the UNP ready for such a bumpy journey that might ultimately claim the time and energy of our young politicians? Is Sajith capable of embracing this fresh face of politics? Is Navin ready to take on the changing phase of politics? Yet, one cannot ignore nor could be left unclear when selecting the next candidate from the UNP. He has to be a proven winner. If winning is the critical element of that selection process, then you, the reader, would know there is only one winner in the UNP today. Look at the results of the last few elections. And you surely know who it is!

The writer can be contacted at vishwamithra1984@gmail.com

UK Will Lead On Resolution For Sri Lanka, South Sudan And Syria At UNHRC Session

FEBRUARY 12, 2019

The United Kingdom Mission to the United Nations In Geneva confirmed that it will lead on resolutions for Sri Lanka, South Sudan and Syria at the next session of the UN Human Rights Council.

The statement issued by the UK mission to the UN in Geneva is as follows,

“The Core Group on Sri Lanka, comprising Canada, Germany, Macedonia, Montenegro and the UK will present a resolution on promoting reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka. The Core Group will again be working in partnership with Sri Lanka and look to continue the cooperation which began in 2015 and maintain engagement with the Council as Sri Lanka works towards the implementation of the commitments in HRC resolution 30/1.

The draft text will be procedural in nature and seek to extend further the process established by the HRC in 2015. We will hold open informal negotiations in line with standard Council practice and hope to have the full support of the Council for the resolution once again.

Secondly, a core group of countries intends to again table a resolution to renew the mandate of the Commission of Human Rights on South Sudan. We look forward to continuing to work with the Government of South Sudan and all interested partners.

Thirdly, the core group on Syria, comprising France, Germany, Italy, Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco, the Netherlands, Qatar, Turkey and the United Kingdom will present a further resolution on the human rights situation in Syria. The resolution will address the extremely serious human rights situation in Syria and renew the mandate of the Council’s Commission of Inquiry. We hope to have the support of many Council members.

Finally, on initiatives we would like to mention one joint statement. Following our successful side event last week on access to justice for children and young people, the rule of law core group comprising Ethiopia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Morocco and the UK, we will be running a joint statement under item 8 on the same topic. We will circulate a draft well in advance and hope to have the support of many delegations.

We would also like to announce one side event which we are co-organising with a number of NGOs. On 7 March at 1pm we will hold the Geneva launch of a new film entitled ‘The Long Haul’ – a film inspired by the late Professor Sir Nigel Rodley.

Read More

Pluralist ethos is more relevant to national identity

BY Jehan Perera-February 11, 2019, 10:02 pm

One of the fallouts of the political crisis that occurred towards the end of last year in October was the mobilization of civil society groups that engaged in discussion and debate about the constitutional propriety of the president’s decision to sack the prime minister and dissolve parliament. As the new prime minister and his government took swift action to take control and oust their rivals from all official positions, the president’s decision seemed irreversible in political terms, but was reversed by the judiciary through reference to the constitution. This created a new interest in the constitution and its importance in the governance of the country. This interest continues four months later.

The Civil Society and Trade Union Collective last week held a national symposium on the issue of constitutional reform that attracted its members from all parts of the country. The greatest driver of constitutional reform since the last constitution was formulated in 1978 has been the country’s ethnic conflict which resulted in three decades of internal war. Two of the most landmark constitutional amendments have been the 6th Amendment that banned the espousing of separatism and the 13th Amendment which established the devolution of powers through provincial councils. The constitutional reform initiatives of 1995, 2000 and the present time have had the ethnic conflict as one of their central features.

Invariably at the civil society and trade union discussion the key issue discussed was the question of the unitary state, devolution of powers and the threat of separatism. The issue of the unitary state has been the dividing line between the Sinhalese majority and Tamil minority. The conflict point is the fear of the ethnic Sinhalese majority who wish to prevent separatism by centralizing powers at the level of the central government and the aspirations of the ethnic Tamil minority who wish to have self-determination powers to decide for themselves regarding what the priorities in the areas in which they live as a majority. However, this has turned out be a Sisyphean task as the solutions that one side has presented has floundered on the rocks set by the other side.

MAJORITARIAN DEMOCRACY

Since receiving Independence in 1948 Sri Lanka has been struggling to achieve a unifying national identity on the basis of ethnic, religious and cultural identities that are divisive. This has led to contestation on the basis of hierarchy in which the weight of numbers predominates through the principle of majority rule. This reflects the popular belief is that majority rule is the primary element of democracy. The political crisis that erupted in October 2018 when the President sacked the Prime Minister and dissolved Parliament was again a contestation on the basis of hierarchy. Until the Supreme Court stepped in to solve the conflict on the basis of constitutional law, the popular discourse was that the problem should be resolved through a majority vote at elections.

With an understanding of democracy that is majoritarian, both the national Sinhalese majority and regional Tamil and Muslim minorities who are majorities in some parts of the country have a sense of special entitlement. This creates a lacuna with respect for minority rights in all parts of the country. Therefore what is needed is a unifying political value system that accommodates the country’s multi-ethnic and multi-religious reality. Those citizens of minority communities will feel a greater sense of protection on account of this value system. Sri Lankan society at large which continues to search for a unifying Sri Lanka identity will find that the Sri Lankan identity is one that needs to be underpinned by pluralistic values. The minimum conditions necessary for the development of a pluralist ethos in which diversity is respected, is that there should be no attempt made to force some to give up their religion, culture or identity and there is non-discrimination.

The task of instilling a pluralist ethos needs to be taken up by civil society groups such as the one that organized the national symposium. In the coming year Sri Lanka will witness multiple nationwide elections for different tiers of government. With competing ethnic nationalisms on the upsurge, the compulsion on the contesting political parties and leaderships will be to obtain bloc votes from the electorate which will reduce their willingness to champion unpopular causes. One of the lacunae at the present time is the paucity of political champions with regard to promoting the acceptance and practice of universal values which includes the protections of minority rights and cultures within an overarching framework of pluralism.

PLURALISTIC VALUES

Even though the space for the free discussion of ideas opened up with the election of the present government in 2015, the space has been dominated by nationalist voices. The mainstream polity and media has failed to play a positive role in regard to promoting and supporting pluralist values. This can be seen in the current debate of constitutional reform. One of the key and emotive issues that has arisen is the treatment of Buddhism as having the foremost place in the county’s constitution (Article 9). The inclusion of a non-discrimination clause to this article has become subject to polarized debate on the grounds that it seeks to undermine the foremost place given to Buddhism. Government leaders are taking great pains to assuage sentiment by promising not to change anything in the constitution that relates to Buddhism.

As this is an election year, the political contestants are more likely to fan ethnic and religious sentiments, as this is their surest way of getting the people’s vote by proclaiming that they are the national patriots and others are traitors. However, in multi ethnic, multi religious and plural societies, issues that pit one community against another cannot be resolved through the principle of majority vote. Sri Lanka’s long term challenges in maintaining relations between its communities were manifested in increasing inter-religious tension that boiled to the surface during the anti-Muslim riots that took place in the country in March 2018 and in the inter religious and inter-ethnic tensions that continue to simmer beneath the surface.

Last month a national inter religious symposium on the theme of Religions to Reconcile organized by the National Peace Council brought together over 200 religious clergy, local politician, journalists, women, youth and persons with disabilities who comprise the plurality of the population. They met at the BMICH and passed a resolution that contains a vision of a plural society. They stated that political leaders and state officials have a key role to play in building a pluralistic society in which there is equal voice irrespective of number and in which members of diverse ethnic, racial, religious, or social groups maintain and develop their traditional culture or special interest within the sphere of a common citizenship.

The symposium also called for the establishment of a Pluralism Commission on the lines of the Independent Commissions, whose members would be appointed by the Constitutional Council, and whose mandate would be aligned to the observations and recommendations sketched out above. The Minister of National Integration, Official Languages, Social Progress and Hindu Religious Affairs Mano Ganesan delivering the keynote speech said "When extremists from the North and South speak they score marks. They are trying to break the country; we are trying to mend it." He too stressed that the pluralistic nature of the country needs to be recognized.