Living the strategy: Lessons for Sri Lanka

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The only route to improved performance is by placing human resource at the centre of your strategic decision-making

Monday, 11 March 2019 

Strategy is an often confusingly used term that may mean different things to different people. I have seen this happening in Sri Lanka, where crafting and executing strategy is cluttered by myriad jargons. We need clarity and commitment towards formulating and implementing strategy at corporate level as well as country level. It is people who design and deliver in driving results. Today’s column is an attempt to reflect on strategy formulation and execution in the Sri Lankan context. 

Overview

Being strategic is of utmost importance in the business context. It essentially shows how ‘smart’ you are in ‘playing the game’. The roots are from the Greek word ‘strategios’, which means the art of the General. Obviously, it has a military connotation. How a general orders the troops to attack, or to withdraw or to surround the enemy, with the aim of winning the war in mind. A battle front and a business front have a lot in common, particularly with the sky-rocketing competition, globally as well as locally.

A game plan cannot be conceived or commissioned without people. In any organisation, we have physical, financial and information resources. All those three resources are not of any use if you do not have the most precious resource, its people. That is exactly, why people, to be precise, the ‘right’ people, are the most precious asset to any forward-looking organisation. How to acquire, retain, develop, and engage them have become increasingly challenging with the growing complexity associated with doing business in a globalised world. Hence, managing human resources has become a critical factor for organisational success.

Living strategy with people 

“If ‘people are our greatest assets’, it’s time to make strategies that people can live in”, so says Prof. Lynda Gratton of London Business School, in her much-acclaimed book, ‘Living Strategy’.  “People are our most important asset.” “We are a knowledge-based company.” “All we have is our people.” These are statements that we hear ever more frequently from more and more companies. Yet too many of the people who populate our companies, the reality of organisational life is that people do not feel they are treated as the most important assets and they do not feel their knowledge is understood or used. As Prof. Gratton emphasises, it is time we kept human capital where it really deserves to be. 


“The only route to improved performance is by placing human resource at the centre of your strategic decision-making,” argues Linda. ‘Living Strategy’ shows you why and how to design strategies that have meaning and purpose for people, without whose commitment they remain drawings on the boardroom wall chart. She suggests that a new management agenda is crucial and shares the three tenets of human organisational behaviour.

For corporate strategy to live and work, people have to understand strategy, and strategy makers have to understand people. Prof. Lynda Gratton stresses the need to be aware of the ‘why’ and ‘how’ of putting people at the heart of corporate strategy. If companies want to increase their business performance, they need to recognise and develop the soul of the organisation.

How has Hewlett-Packard sustained 20% annual growth over a 10-year period, or GlaxoWellcome brought its products to the marketplace quicker by achieving significant reductions in its product development cycle, or Motorola kept its growth rate buoyant in China? Prof. Gratton raises a pertinent question. These are examples from across the globe but united by a common thread. If we had asked a similar question of companies in 1900, the answer would have been that these companies achieve success because they have the financial capital to expand into new and emerging markets.

In the ‘50s we could have spoken of their technological advantages, of the patents they hold and exploit. But in 2000, at a time when raising $ 1 million is a nanosecond away, when patents erode in months, the advantages of the past have little meaning. The new sources of sustainable competitive advantage available to organisations have people at the centre – their creativity and talent, their inspirations and hopes, their dreams and excitement. The companies that flourish in this decade will do so because they are able to provide meaning and purpose, a context and frame that encourages individual potential to flourish and grow.

“For some of us the idea that people are at the very centre of successful organisations is an overriding passion, for others it is something we feel deep down, at an intuitive level, or perhaps we believe that people are peripheral to success,” observes Prof. Gratton. “Over the years I have become increasingly aware that it is people who make great companies.” She further states that with this awareness has come a growing realisation that by putting people at the heart of corporate strategy we must acknowledge the very humanness of this resource.

Global stories

As the book ‘Living Strategy’ vividly describes, there are examples from across the globe of how companies have created a human asset which is so intangible it cannot be easily described or imitated, but which is capable of accelerating the success of that company to bring competitive advantage. At GlaxoWellcome the speed with which products are developed and brought to the market has been drastically increased by virtue of people working closely across functions and trusting each other.

“We see at Hewlett-Packard a company which has at its very core the notion of the ‘HPWay’,” observes Lynda. This has created and sustained a level of commitment and inspiration which others can only observe and envy. At Motorola, we see a company which continues to flourish in China through the development of a Chinese workforce who are loyal, highly skilled, and, surprisingly for the super-mobile Chinese labour market, committed to staying with Motorola.

As the book reveals, what is fascinating about the way in which human potential is created and developed at HP is the subtle combination of the ‘soft’ and the ‘hard’. The ‘hard’ which forms the process backbone of the company is a performance management process which creates a shared set of strategic objectives and constantly aligns and realigns the behaviour of every individual to the business goals. This cascading of business objectives, termed the ‘Hoshin’, creates a relentless focus on growth and profitability.

“This focused performance management process brings short-term competitive advantage,” states Lynda. In fact, many companies benchmark against HP and share information with them in the hope of imitation. However, what we saw clearly in our study was that HP is able to balance this tight, highly focused and driven performance management process with the ‘soft’ of a value set the ‘HPWay’ which places dignity and respect for the individual employee at its centre.

Paradox navigation 

In the broad context of strategy execution, what is termed as ‘paradox navigation’ by Prof. Dave Ulrich from Michigan University, makes much sense. As he explains, “Navigating paradox means accepting, exploring, and dealing with the inevitable tensions in a business. They have to help the business to be both short and long term, top/down and bottom/up, global and local, divergent and convergent, strategic and operational, etc. By navigating these paradoxes, organisations are more able to respond to the demands of change in today’s business context.”

In essence, ‘paradox navigation’ is the ability to steer amidst the many embedded tensions in complex organisational operations. We can raise a few vital questions relevant to people managers and HR professionals in particular. Does the HR professional effectively manage the tensions between high-level strategic issues and operational details? Does he/she effectively manage the tensions between internal focus on employees and external focus on customers and investors? Does he/she effectively manage the tension between taking time to gather information and making timely decisions? Does he/she effectively manage the tensions between global and local business demands? Does he/she effectively manage the tensions between the need for change (flexibility, adaptability) and stability (standardisation)? 

The reality is that the HR professionals are constantly wrestling with embedded tensions that must be resolved in some circumstances and cultivated in other circumstances in order to help the business move forward. Wisely navigating through these surrounded strains becomes one of the central challenges for modern HR professionals.

Whither Sri Lankan managers? 

As we saw, strategy formulation and execution should be confidently handled by competent people. The choice of connections over the competencies has been a perennial issue in the local arena, particularly in the public sector. There was a time when kith and kin of those who are at the helm appeared to be the favourites, with regard to filling the key positions. Has that custom really changed with the regime changes? Or has one set of loyalists been replaced by another set of loyalists with same basis as the selection criteria? Is it a case of consolidating power in offering powerful positions to favourites irrespective of their potential to perform? Such questions pose several points to ponder. 

It is pertinent to mention what David Oglivy, the advertising tycoon, had to say with respect to hiring: “If each of us hires people who are smaller than we are, we shall become a company of dwarfs, but if each of us hires people who are bigger than we are, we will become a company of giants.” In order to hire people with potential, the hiring process has to be professionally designed and executed. This is true for both private and public sectors.

Way forward 

Sri Lankan organisations require to pay more attention to employ and engage people so that people ‘live the strategy’. Emphasis on processes and profit is fine but the fundamental focus should not be drifted away from people. Engaging employees with enhanced expertise should be the expected way towards excellence.

(The writer can be reached through director@pim.sjp.ac.lk, ajantha@ou.edu or www.ajanthadharmasiri.info.)

CID sleuth remanded on bribery charge

Shavini Madhara-Saturday, March 9, 2019

A Police Sergeant attached to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) who was arrested by the Bribery Commission while accepting a bribe of Rs.80,000 from a businessman in the Kelaniya area, was remanded till March 22 by Colombo Chief Magistrate Lanka Jayarathne.

The Bribery Commission said that the CID officer allegedly solicited a bribe of Rs.100,000 from the businessman promising him not to file a court case related to a cheque fraud.

Bribery officials further stated that the suspect had recieved Rs.20,000 of the Rs.100,000 bribe on a previous occasion.

The Sergeant was arrested while accepting the bribe from the businessman. The Bribery Commission had received a complaint with regard to this incident a few days back and had initiated an investigation which led to the arrest. Bribery officers are also investigating whether several other police officers are also involved in the incident.

Bribery Commission sources further stated that the suspect had accepted Rs.513,500 as a bribe from the same businessman on several previous occasions. Attorney-at-Law Sanjaya appearing on behalf of the suspect pleaded his client be granted bail and further stated that his client was suffering from Asthma. The Magistrate instructed the prison authorities to direct him to the prison hospital and fixed the case for March 22.

Applauding the draft CTA is akin to a merry drunk dancing at the edge of a cliff

Sri Lanka’s draft Counter Terrorism Act (CTA) is not a curate’s egg of mostly good with a little bit of bad thrown in. Rather, it is the reverse. The draft Act is a whole lot of bad with some good thrown into the unappealing mixture.

Ingenious traps by ‘deep state’ security agents

Certainly it is not the same perverse creature inhabiting the initial CTA drafts. But to cheer that seeming advance is to fall into the precise trap that those who are well-schooled in the sly tricks played by Sri Lanka’s artful state agents will avoid with a jaundiced eye. These are ingenious traps set by ‘deep state’ security agents who have learnt to survive Governments and political regimes with consummate ease. Flippant assessments of the gazetted draft CTA are a deadly mistake. Unquestionably this is an aggravation of the existing counter-terror regime, not a reduction, as blissfully believed by some.

Those first drafts of a supposed Counter Terror framework staggered the nation as their contents were preposterous. In analysing the drafts ‘leaked’ to this newspaper at the time, it was pointed out in these spaces that, if this was the cure for the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA, 1979), then ‘the cure was worse than the disease.’ Granted, the gazetted Bill is absent the most outrageous clauses. Some may even suspect that the perversity of those drafts may have been on the calculated assumption that the outrage would subside once the clearly perverse clauses were taken out.

But to put it bluntly, the fact that ‘terrible’ is replaced by ‘bad’ is no recommendation. And that there is ‘some good’ does not justify the rest. These illustrations of ‘the good’ are tempting carrots dangled before the exceedingly naive. As emphasized last week, what is required is the crafting of a narrowly tailored anti-terror law with tightly drafted clauses limiting themselves to few acts that are not captured by the ordinary law enforcement regime. That, this Bill is not.

Over-breadth of offences and risks for media

Merely having an omnibus clause, (Clause 2(2)), that the Act ‘shall be enforced’ only in respect of defined ‘offences’ and not in regard to offences in the Criminal Procedure Code, falls far short of this objective. That clause is rendered largely meaningless for the reason that there is too much overlap between the offences in the Bill and ordinary criminal offences. Further, vague and general prohibitions remain. The use of terms such as ‘wrongfully’ compelling the Government to do or abstain from doing any act (Clause 3 (1) (b) as one ingredient of the primary offence is one illustration. There are plenty more.

Another example of obvious over-breadth is the juxtaposition of distinct categories of offences, variously titled ‘other offences associated with terrorism’, ‘specified terrorist acts’ and aggravated criminal acts associated with terrorism.’ These extended categories of various linked offences are defined as acts committed with ‘the intention of, or having the knowledge of, or having reasonable grounds to believe that such conduct has the effect of, adversely affecting the territorial integrity, national security and defence of Sri Lanka or, intimidating or terrorizing a civilian population.’

For the media in particular, there are palpable risks at hand. Clause 10 (g)) of the Bill summons chilling recollections of the harm caused by similar provisions in the past. That Clause defines aiding terrorism as  ‘intentionally and unlawfully distributing or otherwise making available any information to the public having intent to incite the commission of the offence of terrorism or other offence under this Act and to cause ‘the fear of such offence being committed.’ This is specifically ‘notwithstanding that such conduct does not expressly advocate such offence.’ Read together with the primary offence of terrorism with its vague wording of ‘wrongfully’ compelling the Government to do or abstain from doing any act,’ the threat is explicit.

Salient warnings that arise

Facing a practical situation, how is an editor or a journalist supposed to assess this ‘fear’ that is so airily referred to? Significantly, the conduct in issue need not ‘expressly’ advocate such an offence. This reduces the bar at which the offence of ‘aiding terrorism’ comes into existence. Moreover, use of the term ‘confidential information’ in additional offences specified in these sub clauses raises further concern in the light of the new ‘information regime’ trumpeted by this Government. The ‘good faith’ defence (Clause 10(L) is little protection in this respect. These are legal abstracts that can swing one way or another depending on who the judge is sitting on the Bench.

We have seen this peculiar phenomenon innumerable times. Where inflammatory terms such as as ‘terrorism’ or national security’ comes into issue, it requires a judge of tremendous mettle and prowess to stand up to the task. Unfortunately we do not have that stern calibre of judges in our courts as a general rule, apart from a few exceptions. What is dangerous is that the proposed CTA will be part of the permanent law of the land, not an emergency regulation subject to challenge for fundamental rights violation in the Supreme Court.

Consequently, to advocate for the Bill on the basis that only a little ‘fiddling’ is required to make it a preferable alternative to the PTA speaks to a remarkable lack of foresight. Its contents should surely have caused free expression advocates to take a well measured step back. Instead, we have a happy hunting pack of proponents of the draft CTA whose consternation at being strongly rebutted is rather amusing. But with the Bill on the perilous cusp of being enacted into law, these games are ill advised. The character and contents of this draft must be fundamentally revised, not just tweaked in parts. Timidly pussy footing around the definitions of terrorism or pruning the clauses relating to proscription orders, as objectionable as those clearly are, will not do.

Horrors of the PTA will pale in comparison

In the alternative, journalists, dissenters and trade unionists will pay the price, not the ‘privileged’ here and overseas. Our familiarity with the horrors of the PTA will be nothing compared with the nightmarish possibilities implicit in its proposed successor. For there is enough ambiguity left in the draft CTA to make a national security autocrat, whose species we saw in full form during the Rajapaksa years, dance in unholy glee. It is the height of asininity to cheer on a draft such as this in the radically uncertain times that we live in. In fact, it is akin to the merry drunk who dances to the edge of a cliff, little knowing what awaits him on the rocks below. The difference is that here, it will be a nation dancing to disaster.

If that can be shrugged away as of no account, then so be it.

Acting CA President Deepali Absent, Refuses To Hear Gota’s Writ Application 

MARCH 8, 2019

To the dismay of former Secretary to the Ministry of Defence, Gotabaya Rajapaksa‘s lawyers plans to support an unprecedented writ application against the Permanent High Court at Bar set up to hear complex financial crimes cases did not materialise after acting President of the Court of Appeal, Deepali Wijesundera decided not to hear cases listed before her today.

Gota

Lawyers for Gotabaya Rajapaksa Romesh De Silva PC and Ali Sabry PC faced a double whammy when the case was shunted to a different courtroom to be supported before Justice Samayawardane and Justice Wickremasinghe. Wijesundera was in her chambers but absented herself from sittings today where she was due to preside on a bench which included Justice Arjuna Obeysekere.

However Justice Wickremasinghe the female judge in the second courtroom decided to recuse herself from the case on the basis that she was known to one of the accused.

De Silva PC fresh from his victory in the Supreme Court on Thursday where he made shocking submissions to defend former Navy Commander Admiral Wasthana Karannagoda who was seeking an order to prevent his arrest by the CID, was hoping for a second wind today in CA but seemed disappointed when the case was put off.

Counsel for Gotabaya insisted on supporting their application as early as Monday, even though the AG was having trouble with the date.

Colombo Telegraph learns that Wijesundera has decided she will not hear the case filed by Gotabaya Rajapaksa with allegations swirling ahout her links to the Rajapaksa family and the Constitutional Council rejecting her nomination as Acting President of the Court of Appeal three times.

She will not be on the bench now expected to take up the case early next week.

Gotabaya Rajapaksa is seeking an order to prevent his trial from going ahead in the Permanent High Court where he has been indicted on charges of misappropriating tens of millions in state funds to build a memorial for his dead parents in Medamulana.

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International Women’s Day: Think equal, build smart, innovate for change give a proper school for g

 11 March 2019

International Women’s Day fell on March 8 with this year’s theme “Think equal, build smart, innovate for change” which focuses on innovative ways in which individuals can advance gender equality and the empowerment of women, particularly in the areas of access to public services, social protection systems and sustainable infrastructure. Transformations, integrated approaches and new solutions are necessary particularly for advancing gender equality and empowering women on the journey to achieve the ambitious Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In other words, “business as usual” will not be sufficient and should put forward innovative approaches that remove structural barriers and ensure no woman and no girl is left behind.   

Right to education

Education is a human right as reflected in Article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Articles 13 and 14 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.   
SDG Goal 4 targets, “To ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all”.   
We Sri Lankans as a nation can be proud of, the literacy rate of the population, which is 92.5 per cent, which is one of the highest literate populations amongst developing nations. Sri Lanka is one of the few countries in the world that provides universal free education from primary to tertiary stage established with the free education system launched in 1945 with the initiative of C. W. W. Kannangara.   
 Theoretically, this showcases the equal opportunities given to both girls and boys for education. The Government, in the process of improving the quality standards of education systems mostly pay their attention towards infrastructure development and improving curriculums. Still, as a woman, I have realized that there is one important but less attractive topic left behind - Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) in Schools.   
In Sri Lanka in 2016, out of the total number of 10,000 schools (Lanka, 2017) more than 1,200 complained that they did not have drinking water facilities which obviously reflects the lack of adequate sanitation and hygiene facilities in the schools.
A report was done by Water Aid and UNICEF in Sri Lanka highlights the toilet to schoolgirl ratio in Sri Lanka is 1:66 whereas the WHO standard is 1:25 (WaterAid, 2017).   

"Sri Lankan schools do not support sanitary hygiene infrastructure for females "

"More than 1,200 schools do not have drinking water facilities"

WASH in schools undermines the educational opportunities of girls   
“In our school, we have toilets with basic facilities but it does not have regular water supply which results in smelly and unclean toilets. Therefore, my friends and I avoid going to the toilet during school hours and we manage it by drinking less water. According to my Mother, drinking less water and accumulating urine for a longer period may lead to kidney-related diseases in the future. The most unpleasant things happen when I get periods at school, which is another headache. I tend to look at the back of my uniform always to avoid feeling embarrassed in front of my friends because; I keep the same napkin for the whole day without changing”. This was the voice of a girl, whom I met at an urban school 
WASH in schools impacts the education and health outcomes of girls and boys. Lack of privacy, suitable infrastructure for cleaning and washing and good hygiene in school toilets contributes to school absenteeism, particularly when girls menstruate.   
Suppressed by the issue of not having access to water in the toilets, girls and women try to wear the napkins for all day and use same old rags or cloths, which lead to increased risk of infections. Not having single-sex toilets and clean toilets make girls not change the napkins-embarrassed about periods and feelings of shame, in front of their male friends.   
Millions of girls and women who failed to face these challenges and could not come out of taboos and myths miss school and work, raising the risk of them dropping out completely. 
Moreover, according to the position paper on Water, Sanitation and Hygiene did by WaterAid Canada, inadequate WASH facilities in schools are a key contributor to childhood illnesses, namely diarrhoea. Children lose 443 million school days each year as a result of illnesses due to contaminated water.   
In 2011, only 45 per cent of schools in the least developed and low-income countries had adequate sanitation facilities (Canada). 

WASH as a pathway to gender equality 

The School Health and Nutrition Branch of the Ministry of Education clearly identified this gap and stepped in looking for possible solutions. They identified a panel of experts with the collaboration of UNICEF to develop a Handbook for WASH in Schools.   
According to the Handbook, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) in schools refers to a combination of technical (hardware) and human development (software) components that are necessary to produce a healthy school environment and to develop or support appropriate health and hygiene behaviours. The technical components include drinking water, hand washing, toilet facilities and waste management.
The human development components are the activities that promote conditions within the school and the practices of children that help to prevent water and sanitation related diseases and worm infestation. (Handbook for WASH in schools )   
In 2007, the Ministry of Education with the fullest cooperation of Ministry of Health and other stakeholders launched a School Health Promotion programme (SHPP) through a circular.   
The main objective of the programme is leading the school to work for the health promotion within the school community that includes students, teachers and support staff and parents, through organizational capacity building.   
The circular continues as water can be supplied either through water supply schemes in Urban Councils or wells and it is necessary to have overhead tanks with an electric water pump if required. Water should be distributed throughout the school including the toilets. 
Ministry of Education, aiming to provide universal sanitation coverage by 2020 and to mainstream menstrual hygiene management (MHM) through WASH in Schools (WinS) policies has decided and taken steps to facilitate schools with sufficient, accessible, private, secure, clean and culturally appropriate toilets with sufficient access to water.   
As a result, they have designed twelve toilet types for schools including one with the facility of disposing of sanitary napkins with the assistance of several stakeholders including UNICEF and started constructions with the government allocation and financial assistance of generous donors.   

Toilets with the facility of disposal of sanitary napkins for girls 

It is evident that poor sanitation infrastructure limited access to hygienic menstrual products, lack of education, persisting taboos and stigma leads to poor menstrual hygiene. This could undermine the educational opportunities, personal development, health and overall social status of girls in schools. In response, the Government of Sri Lanka started integrating good menstrual hygiene management (MHM) practices into national norms and standards related to WASH in schools (WinS).   
On the journey to MHM in schools, the Ministry of Education in collaboration with UNICEF developed a Handbook on WASH in Schools with dedicated chapters on MHM. The ministry is in the process of revising the national-level guidelines and developing an MHM training toolkit for planned national level Training of Trainers programme. It is expected to see the visible impact on the health and hygiene of children through improvement in their health and hygiene practices, and those of their families and the communities. It also aims to improve the curriculum and teaching methods while promoting hygiene practices and community ownership of water and sanitation facilities in the schools.   

Rainwater harvesting to give access to water 

“It is advisable to establish rainwater harvesting (RWH) systems in all the schools regardless of having any other water supply”, stressed Dr TanujaAriyananda, Chief Executive Officer, Lanka Rain Water Harvesting Forum (LRWHF). This corresponds to the issue raised by the Education Ministry, the demand for water in schools changes over time due to various reasons, therefore the figure changes from time to time. In a country like Sri Lanka getting rain from multiple origins with a mean annual rainfall varies from under 900 to over 5000mm, the simplest solution is to collect and store water through rainwater harvesting (RWH) systems.   
”The forum also recommended repairing and rehabilitating the existing RWH systems after reviewing 200 RWH systems in the five districts of Anuradhapura, Moneragala, Kandy Vavuniya and Mannar in an assessment on Review of Rain Water Harvesting In Schools and Rehabilitation of the Underutilized Systems.   

Our approach   

People feel empowered when they have been treated equally, and have control over their needs as rights-holders. For an example, when women participate in decision-making on WASH and when they experience better and safer access to WASH, they get more respect from other members of the community which increases confidence and which contributes to changes in women and men’s attitudes towards women’s leadership. It is also believed that youth are far more receptive to innovations and they are at an age which can be influenced to cultivate the habits of good personal hygiene. The combination of facilities, correct behavioural practices and education are meant to have a positive impact on the health and hygiene conditions of the community as a whole.   
Sri Lanka Water Partnership (an affiliate of Global Water Partnership South Asia) has long invested in school sanitation advocacy programme in Central Province – promoting hygienic practices, provision of sanitary facilities, maintenance and regular cleansing systems were put in place. “Our work in school sanitation is carried out with private sector partners such as National Development Bank (NDB) and Hatton National Bank (HNB) and the Provincial Department of Education. We have also pioneered MHM awareness programmes in girls’ schools with the support of the Provincial Department of Education, Central Province and Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) Sri Lanka. Our latest achievements are completing RWH systems for selected schools in Aranayake and in Hatton, preceded by sanitation advocacy to improve toilet maintenance in schools” said Kusum Athukorala, Senior Advisor to SLWP, who is willingly contributing her time and energy in this journey to achieve WASH goals at a school level.   
Echoing the International Women’s Day 2019 theme “Think equal, build smart, innovate for change”, let us look upon on industry leaders, social entrepreneurs, gender equality activists and women innovators and ask them to examine the ways in which innovation can remove barriers and accelerate progress for gender equality, encourage investment in gender-responsive social systems, and build services and infrastructure that meet the needs of women and girls.   
The writer is the Communications Coordinator for Global Water Partnership South Asia 
(GWP SAS).   

International Women’s Day 2019: What it means and its relevance

Monday, March 11, 2019

International Women’s Day is a worldwide event that celebrates women’s achievements – from the political to the social – while calling for gender equality.

It has been observed since the early 1900s and is now recognised each year on March 8. It is not affiliated with any one group, but brings together governments, women’s organisations, corporations and charities. The day is marked around the world with arts performances, talks, rallies, networking events, conferences and marches.

But how did the celebratory day begin – and what are women uniting against this year? Here is everything you need to know.

How did it start?

It’s difficult to say exactly when IWD (as it’s known) began. Its roots can be traced to 1908, when 15,000 women marched through New York City demanding voting rights, better pay and shorter working hours.

A year later, the first National Woman’s Day was observed in the US on February 28, in accordance with a declaration by the Socialist Party of America.

In 1910, a woman called Clara Zetkin – leader of the ‘women’s office’ for the Social Democratic Party in Germany – tabled the idea of an International Women’s Day. She suggested that every country should celebrate women on one day every year to push for their demands.

A conference of more than 100 women from 17 countries agreed to her suggestion and IWD was formed. In 1911, it was celebrated for the first time in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland on March 19.

In 1913, it was decided to transfer IWD to March 8, and it has been celebrated on that day ever since. The day was only recognised by the United Nations in 1975, but ever since it has created a theme each year for the celebration.

In 2011, former US President Barack Obama proclaimed March to be ‘Women’s History Month’.
Why do we still celebrate it?

Simply, because the original aim – to achieve full gender equality for women the world – has still not been realised. A gender pay gap persists across the globe and women are still not present in equal numbers in business or politics. Figures show that globally, women’s education, health and violence towards women is still worse than that of men.

According to the World Economic Forum, the gender gap won’t close until 2186. On IWD, women across the world come together to force the world to recognise these inequalities – while also celebrating the achievements of women who have overcome these barriers.

According to a 2017 report by the World Economic Forum, it could still take another 100 years before the global equality gap between men and women disappears entirely.

In 2018, women effectively worked “for free” from November 10 until the end of the year because of the gender pay gap. Women are also paid less than half than men at some of Britain’s major companies, according to recent gender pay gap figures.

For the past couple of years, women’s rights have dominated the news, following a global reckoning on sexual misconduct rippling through industries. Following the outpouring of allegations against Harvey Weinstein and other prominent men in power, the #MeToo movement gave a voice to women on the abuse and harassment they suffer in film, fashion, music, politics and art.

There was a vocal, headline-grabbing fight for women’s rights in 2018, with female actresses donating money and wearing black at awards ceremonies in support of #TimesUp and BBC journalist Carrie Gracie publicly resigning as China editor over unequal pay. This year, the pursuit has continued, with members of the Democratic Party in the US wearing white at Donald Trump’s State of the Nation address.

With gender parity still an apparent 168 years away, many are hoping the trajectory surrounding women’s rights climbs as the year continues.

2019 theme

The theme for IWD 2019 was #BalanceForBetter, a nod to the growing global push for professional and social equality.

Described as a “business issue”, the aim of the theme is to encourage gender balance in boardrooms, in the media and in wealth as a way for economies to thrive.

It echoes the aims of the Telegraph’s Women Mean Business campaign - which launched on IWD last year to help close the funding gap for female entrepreneurs in Britain.

As a result of our campaign, banks will now be compelled to publish regular updates on how much they invest in businesses run by women as part of a series of new measures to help female entrepreneurs.

Is there an International Men’s Day?

Yes! It takes place on November 19 each year and is celebrated in 60 countries around the world.
The objectives of the day include a focus on men’s and boy’s health, improving gender relations, promoting gender equality, and highlighting positive male role models.

It is an occasion for men to celebrate their achievements and contributions, in particular their contributions to community, family, marriage, and child care while highlighting the discrimination against them.

The month of November is also a chance for men to take part in the popular ‘Movember’ charity event, by growing facial hair for charity sponsorship.
How can you get involved?

There are many ways you can take part in IWD.

* Make a pledge for parity

This involves going to the IWD website and pledging to help women and girls achieve their ambitions; call for gender-balanced leadership and create flexible cultures.

* Join one of the many events happening around the world

The IWD website shows where events are happening in countries and towns - check out what’s happening near you to see how you can participate. Plus, there will be an organised march in London on Sunday, March 3.
* Host your own event

It’s still not too late. IWD encourages people to host a prominent speaker and create an event of their own.

How is IWD celebrated across the world?

Countries celebrate it in different ways. It is an official holiday in a number of places including: Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, China (for women only), Cuba, Georgia, Guinea-Bissau, Eritrea, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Madagascar (for women only), Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Nepal (for women only), Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Vietnam and Zambia.

Other countries celebrate it in a similar way to Mother’s Day with men presenting their wives,
girlfriends, mothers and female friends with flowers and gifts. - The Telegraph

A Swing Vote to Hang Convicted Drug Wholesalers

by Jolly Somasundram-March 10, 2019, 12:00 pm 

"To dance to lutes, to dance to flutes, is delicate and rare.
But, it is not so sweet with nimble feet, to dance,
Legs dangling in mid-air".
Oscar Wilde "Ballad of Reading Goal"

A spectre is haunting Sri Lanka, the spectre of a drug menace, growing in geometric progression, possibly leading her to becoming a narco-state. Government, as part of its raft of measures of increasing severity, wishes to re-introduce a judicially determined death penalty for drug traffickers but Catholic Bishops oppose it. Government’s intention is to permanently remove drug traffickers from the trafficking loop by introducing the hanging loop, the Catholic Bishops wish to re-introduce them into the trafficking loop, by preventing the operation of the hanging loop. Supporters of drug traffickers are found in the most curious of locations! The commuted life sentences of drug traffickers, will be served in the safest of havens- a highly bribable prison system. Commutation will be an incentive to becoming a drug trafficker, for prison will be an eyrie, safe from the attentions of rival death squads of drug traffickers, fed and clothed by the tax payer, other creature comforts facilitated on demand by underpaid prison officials.

The dimensions of the drug problem are seen in the inflation of the weight of the smuggled drug. Earlier, an average wrap of heroin discovered from mules, ranged from one milligram to a couple of grams. Recently, a mind boggling three tonnes were discovered in a car park, the street value being equivalent to the budget of Sri Lanka. A rule of police thumb is that only 10% of illicit drugs are caught. Yet, there is indifference to the burgeoning danger. At seminars convened to discuss the subject, civil society comes and goes, speaking of human rights and Michelangelo, like when a beard is on fire a smoker asking for a light for his cigarette.

Drugs, unlike other substances like alcohol and cigarettes, have life threatening health consequences. These drugs have no therapeutic value, only of giving hedonistic pleasure. They are addictive because they offer irresistible compulsions seeking further delirious, dopamine induced highs, feelings of euphoria and bliss, all working at the brains’ pleasure centre. Consumers, once hooked, are unable to resist the further lure of an incessant craving for these drugs. Because of their exorbitant cost, drug addicts- not capable of resisting a fix or the demand of a rush and unable to cope with wracking withdrawal pains- resort to robbery, contract killing and direct murder to finance their kick. In Sri Lanka, a drug addict murdered his entire family, including his mother and father. The highly lucrative illegal drug trade is engaged in by wholesalers through extensive corruption of cabinet ministers, politicians, and public servants. Drugs and corruption are life partners, Siamese twins joined at the hip.

Drugs, like any agricultural product- synthetic drugs like Ecstasy, Methamphetamines have recently invaded the market- have their own life product cycle- growth (by small time farmers), harvesting, drying and transformation into heroin and cocaine, transport overseas (consumer markets are not in producing centers). Wholesalers and retailers serve as intermediaries.

Drugs, are the third highest traded commodity in world markets, next to oil and arms. Market development is by wholesalers, kick-starting the consumption chain, primarily by enticing school children through drug daubed loss leaders -sweets, icy chocs and lozenges. These young children, with their full life ahead of them, get hooked by their reward centre in the brain. Unable to kick the addiction, they become lifetime consumers, financing their habit through crime. Even parents’ person, personal property or homes become vulnerable.

Drug traffickers deal with the demand side, the interdiction of supply is covered by the police.

Dealing with the supply of drugs is a secular responsibility, for which Government has a repertoire of judicially processed, law-based coercive punishments. A state is lubricated through the application of law-based violence which includes the death sentence. Violence is a legitimate part of Governance. The state need not be skittish in applying legitimate violence. Drug wholesalers cannot be contained by throwing flowers at them, preaching sermons or an invitation for them to savour love and fresh air as an alternative.

Religion has intruded into Sri Lanka’s secular drug decision-making sphere. The Catholic Bishop’s Conference in Sri Lanka issued a statement on 16th Feb 2018, published in the Island of that date, that "in the light of the Gospel, the death penalty is inadmissible, because it is an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person". Death sentence which can be imposed only by the State under the law, is not Gospel compliant, they complain. The Bishops’ statement does not indicate in which Gospel this admonishment was alleged to have been made.

The Bishops statement has opened a Pandora’s box. If Catholics with 7% of the population could have a Gospel rule of law applying to non-Christians, why should not Muslims- having 10% of the population- not have Sharia rule of law applying to a non-islamic population? The Gospels, like all religious texts, have prohibited the taking of life by an individual but not the taking of life by the state, following due process. The state exercises violence, as part of its governance responsibilities. The Gospels were written about three hundred years after Jesus’ crucifixion. States had existed millennia of years before the Gospels.

Implementing the death sentence in a secular state is not a religious responsibility: it has to be carried out only by a sovereign state or its constitutionally empowered institutions. Excommunication- being a spiritual matter- is issued only by the Catholic Church. As much as it is unacceptable for a lay authority to question excommunication on grounds of a breach of secular fundamental rights or freedom of thought, it is unacceptable for the Catholic Church to question the death sentence carried out by the state. Excommunication for a catholic makes him a zombie, living a life of make-believe with no discernible future spiritual purpose ahead for him, his deepest yearning of being buried on consecrated ground having got vapourised. Post-excommunication is a lingering of life, of social exclusion worse than death. The Bishops’ statement, offered no quote from the Gospel that prevents the state from carrying out its legitimate, secular responsibilities.

An unacceptable consequence, if the death sentence imposed by law were commuted to imprisonment, would be that drug lords would now be blessed with the safest possible haven- a secure, very bribable prison- to continue their trade. One drug lord planned and ordered from his remand cell, a successful hit-job on a senior judge hearing his case. He is awaiting the carrying out of the death sentence imposed on him. Commutation is an incentive in the life cycle for becoming a drug lord.

The immediate spur for the Bishops’ counter-death penalty statement was an expectation that implementing of the death sentence on convicted drug vendors is imminent in Sri Lanka. The death penalty is imposed under Sri Lankan law approved by the legislature, meticulously following judicial due process. It was a supreme act of secularism and rule of law. All judges are aware of the onerous responsibility placed on their shoulders. No judge has ever been accused of impunity, sadism, seeking revenge or partiality in taking this decision.

The reference to the Gospel in the Bishops’ statement is an ex cathedra imperial statement, lacking in substance, full only of unsupported assertion. It is fake information and an alternate fact, as Trump would complain, the only time Trump has ever been correct. The Gospel said, "if you shall know the truth, the Truth shall set you free" John 8. Bishops, being tied to heritage, the untruth keeps them captive.

The state is binary, there being two realms in it, the spiritual and the secular. The relationship between the two was raised with Jesus Christ 2000 years ago. His reply, a marvel of precision and clarity, was, "render unto God the things that are of God’s and to Caesar, the things that are of Caesar" (Mark 12.17 and Luke 20.15). The goal posts were set by Him. Priests deal with spiritual matters, the leaders of the laity with the seccular. Over time, a consensus has emerged that these boundaries will be honoured. The Bishops statement shifts the goal posts. "They need forgiveness for they do know what they are saying", Luke 23.24.

Jesus Christ’s daily life and His inspirational, gentle preaching are recorded in the Gospels. For concepts, the Gospels borrowed from the thinking of Aristotle, particularly the role of man and his position in the Universe. Aristotle said the Sun swirls round the Earth, the geocentric formulation. The Gospels raised geocentrism to Divine law. In the 16th century AD, geocentrism began to fray, supplanted by the heliocentric view. Copernicus set the theory in motion but the cap was provided by Galileo- the father of observational astronomy- who, through observation, using his invented telescope, proved the reverse, the earth moves round the sun. The Roman Inquisition decided that heliocentrism "is foolish and absurd in philosophy and it goes against the Gospel". The Inquisition under Cardinal Bellarmine ordered Galileo to recant. Galileo, to retain his head by not losing it, reluctantly agreed, muttering under his breath, E pur si muove, - yet it moves. The Gospels or its interpreters are not authority on any lay issue: a secular law, approved by a sovereign people and interpreted by the judiciary, is the final authority.

The burning at the stake, ordered by the Inquisition, of a Dominican Jesuist priest- Geodarmo Bruno- questions the Bishops’ claim that it is "committed to the inviolability and dignity of the person". Bruno was a priest living before Galileo, who, without the benefit of the telescope, recited the highlights of the heliocentric theory, all proven true in the light of 20th century discoveries and Einstein’s theories. He said there were many solar systems not one, they circled round millions of suns (Hubble Telescope), the universe is unimaginably large (Einstein) and the smallest element in it, is unimaginably small (Max Planck). There was alien life. He also dabbled with artificial memory. All this was too much for the Church which considered his theories to be opposed to the Holy Spirit. Bruno was hauled before the Roman Inquisition, ordered to recant- Bruno refused- unlike the later Galileo. Bruno was sentenced to be burnt at the stake of slow burning charcoal, kindling and faggots. The carbonisation was carried out on the 17th of February 1600, the merciful, less painful alternative of strangulation, was denied him. If Einstein were living at that time, he too would have the same warm reception. There were a number of efforts made to get Bruno to recant before his immolation but he was obstinate. His last words were, "You may be more afraid to bring that sentence against me than I to accept it" Prior to Bruno’s immolation, Bruno’s mouth and lips were ironed together and an iron stake driven through his tongue. The maitre d’ of these proceedings was Cardinal Bellamine.

While the obdurate Bruno was being converted to charcoal, he may have reflected that both Cardinal Bellarmine and he, were Christians divided by the same Gospel, both having eyes, both having hands, organs, dimensions, affections, passions, both being fed with the same food, hurt with the same weapons, subject to the same diseases, healed by the same means. If they were pricked both would bleed, if they were tickled both would laugh, if both were poisoned both would die.

The aftermath for both Bellarmine and Bruno was educative. Bruno is commemorated as the leading free thinker of the world. The Mayor of Rome places an anniversary wreath every year, at the foot of his statue on the day and spot of his execution (17 February 1600), at Campo de Fiori, Rome. The plaque at the bottom of the statue reads, "From those whom you liberated". Bruno has achieved immortality. Bellarmine, after 330 years, was canonised in 1932, as a saint. Presumably, he will be given the subject and function of saint of murderers and torturers. Since murderers and torturers will always be around, Bellarmine too has gained eternal life time employment.

Ex-Mossad agents harass US students, BDS activists

Congress is failing to protect US citizens from espionage and threats aimed at intimidating supporters of Palestinian rights. (Joe Catron)

Kristian Davis Bailey - 9 March 2019

In September 2017, Palestine Legal attorneys received nearly 30 emails from students, teachers and even librarians who were justifiably concerned about an anonymous message they had received.

The emails contained threats from outlawbds.com that recipients had been “marked” and “identified as a BDS promoter” and had a “limited window of opportunity to cease and desist or face the consequences of your actions in legal proceedings.”

The origin of the attack was a mystery.

Thanks to February exposés in The New Yorker, however, we now know the origin – Psy-Group, a defunct Israeli private intelligence firm.

Additionally, we have further confirmation that former Israeli intelligence agents were paid to spy on US students and activists engaged in BDS – boycott, divestment and sanctions – campaigns.

The organization responsible compiled dossiers on activists and published a Canary Mission-like blacklist site, as well as defamatory sites that attempted to discredit Muslim activists, among others.

The New Yorker first published an article by Adam Entous and Ronan Farrow on Psy-Group, which used former Israeli military, intelligence and governmental advisers to influence politics around the US.

Psy-Group, which reportedly ceased operations in 2018 following an FBI investigation into possible 2016 US election interference reported on previously by The Electronic Intifada, used shadowy and coercive methods to attempt to undermine the Palestine solidarity movement in the US.

Psy-Group raised at least $1.2 million to conduct dark web surveillance, in-person intimidation, online blacklists and smear campaigns against Palestinian rights activists.

According to The New Yorker, Psy-Group asked private donors for an additional $1.3 million in funding in 2017 for “Project Butterfly” and told potential donors that a successful campaign would “make it look as though Israel, and the Jewish-American community, had nothing to do with the effort.”

The overall goal, according to a company document (see below), was to “destabilize and disrupt anti-Israel movements from within.”

Some donors asked the group to target students who supported BDS campaigns on campuses where their children studied. Project Butterfly concentrated its efforts on up to 10 college campuses, including the University of California, Berkeley.

The second article, authored solely by Entous, focuses on Psy-Group’s work against Palestinian rights activists.

It profiles UC Berkeley lecturer, Zaytuna College professor and American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) founder Hatem Bazian, who in May 2017 found fliers of himself saying “He supports terror” outside his home.

Around the same time, Psy-Group advertised to a potential partner, the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, that it had compiled intelligence dossiers on nine Palestinian rights activists, including a lecturer at UC Berkeley, presumably Bazian (see second document below).

In Al Jazeera’s leaked undercover documentary The Lobby–USA, Sima Vaknin-Gil, the director-general of Israel’s strategic affairs ministry identifies the Foundation for Defense of Democracies as one of the organizations collaborating directly with her department’s efforts to thwart activists.

Psy-Group’s primary method for disruption was doxing students and professors by anonymously publishing derogatory or personal information about them online.

The New Yorker writes: “If a student claimed to be a pious Muslim, for example, Psy-Group operatives would look for photographs of him engaging in behavior unacceptable to many pious Muslims, such as drinking alcohol or having an affair. Psy-Group would then release the information online using avatars and websites that couldn’t be traced back to the company or its donors.”

Mirrors smears in Indiana

This exact pattern mirrors a case at Purdue University in 2016, when anonymous sites targeted a Muslim woman who was active with Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP).

Anonymous websites alleged she engaged in “partying, drinking” and “promiscuity.” This student experienced tension with her family, who encouraged her to leave SJP as a result of the smears.

At the same time, Purdue professor Bill Mullen and two other student activists in Indiana were also victims of online doxing attempts. In Mullen’s case, smear sites were created with fabricated accusations of sexual harassment and anti-Semitism.

Messages from the site’s creators targeted Mullen’s wife and young daughter.

Approximately two dozen websites were created against Mullen and the students from similar IP addresses. Other sites with the same IP addresses have domain names made to sound affiliated with the Palestinian rights movement, such as “Interfaith Coalition for Palestine.”

No evidence was ever offered towards any of the claims against Mullen or the Muslim student.

Mullen and the anonymous student spoke about this experience in the leaked Al Jazeera documentary on the Israel lobby.

During the same year, an SJP leader at Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) was also the target of anonymous blog posts claiming she and her chapter supported violence and terrorism.

While Psy-Group affiliated sources claimed the firm did not engage in illegal activity or disseminate false information, this could not be independently verified, according to The Times of Israel.

If the Purdue campaign was a Psy-Group project, this claim would be false.

It is unclear at this time which other universities were targeted.

Outlawbds.com emerges

It was around the time that the New York state legislature was discussing an anti-boycott measure that a Psy-Group operative registered the now-defunct site “outlawbds.com,” which contained a blacklist with the photos and contact information of supposed BDS supporters.

Among those listed on the site were Black, Jewish and Palestinian activists. Intimidation emails sent to activists by outlawbds.com cited the New York legislation.

In one potentially telling typo, the contact page for the site reads “Our goal is to spread accurate information regarding the BDS movement, if you would lie to assist don’t hesitate to reach out.”

While outlawbds.com never gained the reach or notoriety of Canary Mission, both sites sought to delegitimize and intimidate movement activists through fear and smears. It is uncertain what role the Israeli government has played in either site.

But in The Lobby–USA documentary, Jacob Baime, executive director of the Israel on Campus Coalition, claimed that the ICC had a budget of $2 million for “research” for smear campaigns against activists and that the ICC coordinated with Israel’s strategic affairs ministry. He admitted that these campaigns were “psychological warfare.”

Indeed, many of the actors behind Psy-Group served in high-ranking positions within Israeli government and spy agencies.

Royi Burstien, who founded Psy-Group in 2014, served as an intelligence officer for the Israeli military, including in an elite unit that focused on psychological operations (PsyOps).

Ram Ben-Barak, a former deputy director of Mossad and ex-director-general of Israel’s strategic affairs ministry, served as an adviser to Psy-Group. In The New Yorker article, he likened the fight against BDS to “a war,” commenting, “you don’t kill them but you do have to deal with them in other ways.”

Yaakov Amidror, a former national security adviser to Netanyahu, was another adviser to Psy-Group.

According to The New Yorker, “While active Israeli intelligence operatives aren’t supposed to spy on the United States, Amidror said, he saw nothing improper about former Israeli intelligence officers conducting operations against American college students. ‘If it’s legal, I don’t see any problem,’ Amidror said with a shrug. ‘If people are ready to finance it, it is OK with me.’”

Taken in this light, former agents with ties to the Israeli government have been engaging in psychological warfare against US citizens.

The information revealed about Psy-Group demonstrates yet another Palestine exception in US policy, where it is perfectly permissible for former Israeli agents to spy on and attempt to harm the work and livelihood of US citizens.

Coast to coast attacks

Rebecca Vilkomerson, executive director of Jewish Voice for Peace, was targeted on posters in New York City alongside Bazian in 2017.

She said this latest exposé is proof of why blacklists like Canary Mission “should close up shop.”

“It’s utterly unacceptable that ex-Mossad agents were hired to target myself and AMP Director Hatem Bazian,” Vilkomerson said.

“Although Psy-Group no longer exists, we are still concerned about similar initiatives like the anonymous online blacklist Canary Mission, which targets students,” Vilkomerson stated.

“Canary Mission is a form of online harassment, and like all cyberbullying, it has real-world consequences for the victims.”

Palestinian poet and activist Remi Kanazi was also targeted by Psy-Group and said that extralegal efforts like these are due to the inability to stop the growing movement for Palestine.

“When attacking our constitutional rights head-on proves fruitless, outfits like Psy-Group resort to covert operations and fraud to protect support for Israeli military occupation and apartheid,” Kanazi said.

“Despite their best attempts, blacklisting efforts and smear tactics like [those of] Psy-Group and Canary Mission have not thwarted the chorus of voices who continue to stand for Palestinian freedom,” Kanazi added.

“From college campuses to local communities to the halls of Congress, countless individuals are starting to embrace the call for Palestinian rights and equality.”

With Congress seeking to “protect” its largest ally from boycotts, and targeting Congresswoman Ilhan Omar for challenging calls that she show allegiance to Israel, it is doubtful that the institution will protect its own citizens from foreign spies and threats.

Kristian Davis Bailey is an organizer and writer based in Chicago. He is currently the communications manager at Palestine Legal and a co-founder of Black for Palestine.