International Court Of Justice & The ‘Ceylon Tamils’

By K. Anaga –MARCH 9, 2019

It is said that The International Court of Justice, the highest court of the United Nations came to the conclusion that Britain should return the Chagos Islands archchipelago to Mauritius without delay. At the ICJ Mauritius claimed they were coerced into handing over the Chagos Island to Britain at the time of their independence in 1968. That is 20 years after the independence of Ceylon. 

Prior to the capture of Ceylon by the British, North and East were not merged with rest of Ceylon. It was the British who were responsible for the merger which resulted in the unfortunate plight of the Tamils in Srilanka today.

The Tamils, who were concentrating in drafting of the Constitution of Ceylon, without asking for petty favours from Sir Ivor Jennings, should have demanded independence for the North and East as Tamil Eelam or at least a Federal State. But the Tamils, who were in prominent position in the Ceylon Government and those politicians who were trying to lead the Tamils were rather complacent. In that, it appears that they never even in their wildest dreams expected to be treated as second class citizens. The British government too contributed its share to the plight of the Tamils by their actions and inaction when and where necessary.

 As if to add insult injury the British Government supported the Srilankan government in their war with the Tamils, thus committing Human Rights violation along with India, China and Pakistan. No wonder human right violation by India and other countries that supported the war are trying to eclipse the rights violation. 

The Tamils realized their folly only when DS.Senanayake, subtly commenced his colonization of the East and disenfranchisement of the of the hill country Tamils.

Here too, GG. Ponnambalam of the Tamil Congress party did not take any interest as he was ‘fascinated’ by the offer of a ministry it appears. However, SJV Chelvanayakam broke away from the Tamil Congress and started the Tamil Arasuk Kadchi and opposed the Disenfranchisement and the state aided colonization of the North and East with the Sinhalese, to change the texture of the population.

After reading the ICJ judgment against Britain, I am inclined to believe that the   Tamil political parties should have filed a case in the UN against Britain to restore the status quo of the Tamil population prior to the British and Dutch rule.

The Tamil community was blessed with many leading lawyers KC’s, QC’s, PC’s and other VIP’s who were bestow with Knighthoods, from the British Monarchy. But they failed in their duty to take appropriate action to explore the possibilities of redeeming the position of the Tamils in Ceylon.

It may not have been possible to convince the British government to look back and then look forward to the possible discrimination that may be heaped on the Tamils by Sinhalese in various manners. Sir Ivor Jennings has confessed somewhere, that he had committed a grave mistake in not providing enough safe guard for the Tamils in the constitution drafted by him. Crying over split milk doesn’t take you anywhere. But, fresh milk could have been made available to Tamils with his powerful influence, though waning, with the passage of time.

It appears the Colonial government was in a hurry to get out of Ceylon soon after they were deprived of their larger prey –India, where they caused criminal chaos between India and Pakistan when they moved out, with no concern for humanity.

 It may be that Britain expected the Tamils to be faithful servants to the Sinhalese as much as they were to the Colonial Masters. To a certain extent it was true.  The Tamils in higher echelon were satisfied with personal glory than the future of the Tamils in general. The stalwarts like C. Suntharlingam, (Great Mathematician) a CCS, who threw off his position as he was fed of signing Gun Licenses. GG.Ponnambalm QC, A famous criminal lawyer and a Minister in the UNP Government, Sir Vaithilingam Duraisamy,(Speakerof the State Council) Sir Kanthia Vathianathan (Secretary to the Prime minister DS.Senanayake) Raju Coomaraswamy popularly known as rowing Raju, Mr. Kanagasundaram (CCS) who was the Chairman of the Galoya Devlopment Board.  He was removed at the instance of Philip Gunawardena, as he did not like a  an efficient Tamil at the helm of affairs, where colonization of Sinhalese was in full swing, during the Bandaranaike regime – a continuation of the late Father of the Nation’s Scheme. 

It is not known whether the VIP’S mentioned above did not ‘feel’ the undercurrent in operation against the Tamils or did not care.  Probably, their mission was selfish and vision was self centred. Perhaps they realized the situation rather too late.

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TNA wants Mannar mass grave findings tested in another lab

By Dinasena Ratugamage-March 11, 2019, 

Another set of samples from the Mannar mass grave should be sent for carbon dating in another country, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) said.

"This is not to say that we do not accept the reports sent by a lab in Florida, US, but given the importance of the Mannar grave site we need to get a second opinion," Mullaitivu District MP, Nirmalanathan Sivamohan said.

Nothing had been done when 96 skeletons were found, previously, in a mass grave in Thirukeethiswaran, Mannar, the MP said. Sivamohan said: "The Archeological Department stated that Thirukeethiswaran grave site was an ancient one.

Just like that now the US is saying that the mannar site is also ancient."

The MP insisted that the lab in Florida had not attempted to identify the victims and further tests to determine the identity of those in the graves should be done.

"A lot of people went missing in Mannar during the war. We need to expand the excavations at the mass grave site. We must do further tests to identify the victims. The TNA insists that the excavations and testing should go on."

SENDING PRESIDENTIAL TRIO TO HRC40 & RISE OF THE SIRISENA NAADAGAMA – LUCIEN RAJAKARUNANAYAKE

09/03/2019

Are we beginning to see a new trend in Presidential Governance?

What exactly will the special Presidential Trio sent to the United Nations Human Rights Council – UNHCR – in Geneva do?

Will Dr. Sarath Amunugama, Mr. Mahinda Samarasinghe and Northern Governor Dr. Suren Raghavan, be a rival team to the official Sri Lankan diplomatic team led by our Ambassador in Geneva?

There are contradictory and rival attitudes here about the UNHCR’s Resolution on Sri Lanka, adopted in 2015. Many, who are from the Sinhala majority and are supportive of pro-Sinhala Buddhist policies in governance strongly oppose it. It is their democratic right. There are also many, especially those from the Tamil minority, and also from the Sinhala majority who are supportive of it, again a democratic right.

What is the third line that President Sirisena and his Chosen Trio will present to the UNHCR, this country and to the world community? It certainly is more than a mere diplomatic puzzle, and will fall in line with the baffled political thinking of President Sirisena, who has been showing for some time that he does not agree with the Resolution.

Why not get the history of this cleared. He was the Head of Government, leading a UNP – UPFA Coalition, which co-sponsored this Resolution, with the United States, the UK and several other countries. Since then, has he at any stage been openly critical or rejected the contents of this Resolution. The answer is an emphatic NO.

He did make a speech at the UN General Assembly when he said Sri Lanka must be allowed to resolve its own problems. How correct! But what has his government done to actually resolve the pre and post-terrorism problems this country has been and is faced with this?

With his emerging attitude to the UNHCR, President Sirisena maybe wanting to be the South Asian “Trump”, with his own thurumpuva against this UN body. Will the Presidential Trio or Janadhipathi Thunkattiya he has sent to Geneva tell anything as effective as what the US Ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, said about it? She called it a “cesspool of political bias”, and that it was a “hypocritical” body that “makes a mockery of human rights”.

Very harsh words in the field of international diplomacy, no doubt. But we must not forget that this had much to do with the UNHCR’s positions regarding Israel, the strong ally of the US and Trump, and little to do with human rights and related issues in other countries. These words were not supportive of Palestine and the Palestinian people, whose cause is supported by Sri Lanka and its people.

Will President Sirisena and his emerging Thunkattiya have anything to say about the rights of the people of Kashmir, vis-à-vis their regrettable by the powers in India? What new or alternative proposals will Sirisena and his Trio have about peace-building and reconciliation in Sri Lanka, in the situation of a rising majority-minority confrontation?

Will they promote the thinking that is rapidly gaining ground that War Heroes must not be brought to justice for any offences they may have committed, in sheer violation of the law, and nothing to do with military action or performance?

Will they follow those who consider Hilterite thinking and attitudes are the solution to Sri Lanka’s problems, and would support a call for ‘Heil Hitler” in the leadership in this country?

President Sirisena speaking at the recent launch of a book has said there is no one in this government who accepts what he says. He was emphasizing on ignoring his pro-environment and nature on the building of the new Colombo-Kandy Expressway. He does have a cause for complaint. But what action did he take, as President, Head of Government and Minister for Environment, to prevent the wrong actions he speaks of?

Was it alright as long as his SLFP members were part of the Cabinet and Government? Did he begin to see the need to expose such faults only after he did that huge violation of the Constitution on October 26 last year?

MEP leader and Joint Opposition member Dinesh Gunawardena has said President Sirisena has sent his delegation to Geneva because he had no faith in the government. He has seen the trend of things, very much in line with the Sirisena thinking of today. What a level to fall down to from the Philip Gunawardena thinking if the past!

Will we soon have a Janadhipathi Thunkattiya to act in place of the Cabinet of Ministers he presides over, to implement government or presidential policy?

Will a Presidential Trio even replace the important Houses of the Judiciary that are treated with increasing disrespect by the current presidency?

What we are moving to is more of a Sirisena Naadagama in the politics and governance of Sri Lanka.
( First published in The Island 09.03.19)

Asset declarations a myth?

Monday, March 11, 2019

That there are very few role models in our public life is self-evident. The material poverty of the country is reflected in the poverty of its leadership, in as much as our twisted concepts of governance echo in the shoddiness of its delivery. So disillusioned are the people with the national leadership that whatever is said or done by a politician is examined only for its hidden motives; the man’s subjective political interests, the benefits to his family and associates, and the money made under the table. The public is justified in their scepticism, they have observed the rapid enrichment of these “servants of the people”, and of course, the gentrifying of the family of the “leader”.

In Sri Lanka, politics is the easiest path to elite status. Turning the meaning of public life upside down, those who clamour to serve the people, are served best; all it takes is just one term in public office to become wealthy and “respectable”. Typically, the ‘servant of the people’ ends up owning a couple of houses in Colombo, a business, maybe a tourist hotel, and perhaps educate his children in a Western country.

Even those who started off their public careers with a certain amount of wealth, thus having no impulse to go about it as vulgarly, do not do too badly. For sure, they adopt more sophisticated methods, but eventually end up making pots of money, much more than any other career would have brought them.

In the “leaders” who had such a head-start, there will be no noticeable change in their life style in the mother country. They will eat the same way, dress the same way and continue doing the same things. Their plunder will be carefully hidden; mainly overseas, in tax heavens, reliably managed by others.

There is comfort in knowing that when the need arises, they could access anything that the wealthy in the rich countries may command; health care, travel and other luxuries.

Wealth accumulation

To a disenchanted nation, the announcement that at least a handful of their elected representatives have gone public with their assets/liabilities would be beguiling news. On a surface level, such a declaration suggests transparency. It titillates the much denied, to pore over the private assets of the well-endowed. At the end of the day, that thrilling peep into the closely guarded lives of their leaders, otherwise protected by high walls, tinted vehicles and hefty bodyguards, may be the only good to come out of this.

There are many aspects to the declaration of assets and liabilities by a public figure.

Let us start with a newly elected member of parliament. If his first asset declaration is true, and it shows only meagre assets, there is a cultural tendency here to assume that the declarant is a suitable leader; he is honest and simple, they will say. Another culture may assess him very differently. Is a man who had earned little, saved nothing, had no idea of investing, fit to be elected to office and then make decisions concerning public assets running into billions? The same argument holds in respect of those whose wealth is wholly inherited. All the work was done by their parents.

We are not suggesting that only those who are good at wealth accumulation should count. Invariably, huge amounts of unexplained money, suggests dishonesty and corruption of the soul. But that does not mean that the opposite, a person with no wealth at all, is necessarily a good leader. A persons’ pre-leadership years should carry some promise; attitude, creativity or skill.

Leadership is a complex phenomenon; every culture has distinct concepts of leadership. A Gandhi would not have succeeded in China, while a Mao would be a misfit in India. We too have a concept of leadership. The past seventy years have shown the flaws of that leadership model.

Coming back to the assets/liabilities, obviously, the main purpose behind the declaration is to keep the declarant on the straight and narrow. It is assumed that the first asset declaration would act as a base to monitor the subsequent asset betterment of the declarant. For good measure, he is also expected to provide details of the assets/bank accounts of his spouse and dependent children under the age of eighteen. After taking up public office, if the declarants’ asset position improves far beyond what could be explained with his income, something is wrong clearly.

This easy scenario is based on there being an accurate first declaration, and that he continues faithfully to submit honest annual returns thereafter. But we know that a dishonest public figure is not going to cooperate in his own destruction. It is not imperative to transfer “black” assets to his nuclear family, when there is an extended family who could be largely relied on to collaborate, the space to manoeuvre is much larger. As recent events have shown, there are plenty of willing non-dependent children, siblings, cousins, aunts, uncles and in-laws out there.

Public figures

The scandal over the so called Panama Papers and the law firm Mossack Fonseca illustrated the global nature of the black money industry. With complex company structures spreading through several countries and the collusion of sophisticated accountants, bankers and lawyers, hiding ill-gotten money has become a global industry. Even little Sri Lanka had a few names among the Panama Papers rogues’ gallery; small economies like ours are exposed to easy milking by the unscrupulous.

For failing to submit the asset declaration, there is a small fine/custodial sentence prescribed. In the larger scheme of things, it is difficult to envisage a jail terms for the non-submission of a statement. The asset declaration is only the starting point. To have any meaning, it needs to be audited vigorously. A person could well submit a declaration having transferred his assets to another, for ‘safekeeping’. Investigating hidden assets is a painstaking, as well as a time consuming task.

If the declarant is a taxpayer, his tax file and other records should be compared with the asset declaration. Then, there are major expenses that call for explanation; overseas travel, educating the children, medical visits. These overseas indulgences are way beyond what the salary of a member of parliament could meet. It is more than likely that some of our public figures maintain bank accounts plus assets in foreign countries. It is rumoured that large liabilities like loans/mortgages of certain public officials have vanished overnight. Here again, explanation is required. Who paid the debts off?

It is widely accepted that we, haven either the laws, nor the dedicated organisation to take on corruption; a plague, which besides being deeply entrenched, is near systemic now. While the taker (of bribes) must be stopped, for the giver, the consequences must be prohibitive. The scope and complexity of the challenge calls for sweeping laws, special courts and high calibre investigators.

Countries which have taken serious steps to curb corruption have established independent well-funded organisations, with wide investigative powers. They are staffed with experienced professionals; accountants, lawyers and other specialists, wholly committed to the task; their tenure, protected by law. To be effective, the investigators must have the power to summon any witness or document. Non-cooperation with a corruption investigation or the failure to comply with such a summons should attract summary custodial punishment by a court of law. False information or failure to disclose material information in the declaration should result in dismissal from office, with mandatory confiscation of assets. For an effective anti-corruption system, these are but, basic expectations.

In a country habitually falling short, such expectations are bordering on the fantasy. As a people, we gain satisfaction in announcing the journey, not taking the journey.

There will be endless talk about corruption, but we will not walk the talk; the path is too hard, there are too many obstacles and there is comfort in doing nothing.

If we were to go by the asset declarations, our public affairs are in the hands of self-denying ascetics, their asset base painfully modest. But their lives, particularly of their children; pleasure seekers, daredevils, gourmets and sometimes students at foreign universities; give the lie to what the father solemnly professes. In a material sense, the entire family “is made”, they have arrived.

Clearly, the asset declaration is no reflection of reality, only another myth in a land of mythology. A parody relies on the telling, not the substance; however barefaced the lie, the asset declaration does give a thrill.

International Women’s Day: A Plea For Helping Tamil Women In Sri Lanka In Their Search For Justice

By Usha S Sri-Skanda Rajah –MARCH 9, 2019

Usha S Sri-Skanda-Rajah

As the world marks International Women’s Day, my thoughts are with Tamil women back in the homeland.   

Tamil women and girls in the island of Sri Lanka once known as Ceylon have been fighting against oppression, against marginalization, against violence, against the relentless persecution of their race for more than 70 years.

Their struggle for freedom and justice hasn’t ended yet.  

At the beginning Tamil women agitated for parity in language rights. This was when the Sinhala only bill was introduced, relegating Tamils and their language to second class status. All peaceful protests based on the Gandhian principles of Satyagraha and civil disobedience were violently crushed. 

Upon independence from Britain, and as Sinhala Buddhist supremacist philosophy spread, bigotry started to rear its ugly head and take root. Ceylon became the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka and the little protection {section 29 (2)} written into Ceylon’s Soulbury constitution, that Britain left, to protect Tamils against the ‘tyranny of the majority,’ was illegally removed outside parliament. With the adoption of more oppressive and discriminative policies, Tamils began to agitate for separation to chart their own destiny. 

The Vaddukodai Resolution of 1976 receiving an overwhelming mandate from the Tamil people in the general election of 1977, declared in no uncertain terms, “that the restoration and reconstitution of the Free, Sovereign, Secular, Socialist State of TAMIL EELAM based on the right to self determination inherent to every nation, has become inevitable in order to safeguard the very existence of the Tamil Nation in this country.”   

Thus began the struggle for a separate state. 

When all peaceful means for liberation was exhausted, Tamil women took up arms and stood shoulder to shoulder with Tamil men, second to no one, showing unbelievable and unparalleled courage and chivalry this world has ever witnessed. They fought hard to liberate the Tamil homeland, alongside Tamil men,  against Sri Lankan army occupation, amidst government sponsored pogroms, the passage of the 6th amendment which criminalized all advocacy for a separate Tamil state, amid government imposed embargo on fuel and other necessities, and the arrival of an Indian peacekeeping force that turned against Tamils. 

Tamil women freedom fighters fully involved themselves in a war that lasted nearly 30 years. 

The war ended when the Government of Sri Lanka decimated the armed rebellion and the Tamil liberation movement in May 2009, committing mass atrocities and genocide. Tens of thousands of innocent civilians were killed from government shelling and bombing and through extra-judicial executions.

Today on International Women’s Day, I want to salute the war affected yet still brave women of Tamil Eelam for their courage, convictions and fortitude. I salute, the freedom fighters who defended the soil of our beloved homeland and all those who’ve sacrificed their lives for freedom. I salute the mothers who desperately want to know the fate of their children disappeared by the Sri Lankan state, who have kept vigil, demanding answers and protesting relentlessly for more than two years out on the street; all the women who are defiant, who won’t give up fighting to get their land back from an occupying Sri Lankan army; all the war widows; all the girls orphaned by war; all the single mothers; all women breadwinners; all the hard working housewives and mothers who never rest; those women enduring poverty, caught in a debt trap laid by loan sharks charging exorbitant interest; those women slighted by the caste system; women who can’t marry because there are fewer men after the war or have to suffer persecution and harassment from husbands or in-laws because their parents cannot furnish the dowry demanded of them and or victimized by the Tamil society’s preoccupation with astrological considerations and planetary positions; women who have and are undergoing sterlisation because of purported financial incentives they have been or were promised, women oppressed and battered by their husbands or by men in the family; women who are psychologically abused; women and girls who are victims of incest; women who have to resort to prostitution for a living; women and girls who have been raped and who are the victims of sexual violence, abuse and torture.

I salute those women who are fighting peacefully and relentlessly for justice – who want an international judicial accountability mechanism to try senior Sri Lankan military and political leaders for enforced disappearances and mass atrocity crimes including genocide. In fact the mothers of the ‘enforced disappeared’ have written to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights not to give additional time for war crimes investigations:

“Most of us personally and voluntarily handed-over many of our family members, including children, to the Sri Lankan security forces at the end of the war in May 2009 in reliance on assurances that they would be safe. But almost ten years have passed, but there is no answer from the government about those we surrendered and they all remain disappeared,” they wrote. 

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‘Khema’s Boy’ does it: Comes up with a non-election budget in an election year

Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera presenting Budget 2019


Speculation that Budget 2019 will be an election budget

Monday, 11 March 2019

Prior to the presentation of the Budget 2019, there was wide speculation that it would be an election budget. There were at least two elections in the pipeline and the expectation was that Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera who is now called ‘Khema’s Boy’ would naturally succumb to the pressure of his party colleagues to fill the Budget with sweeteners to appease the voters. This has been the hidebound tradition in Sri Lanka ever since it became independent from the British.

A ruling party would just sit on the economy and other issues for the best part of its rule after an election and suddenly wakes up from a deep slumber when an election comes around the corner. There is a belief in the political circles that by filling the purses of voters with cash or other handouts, the ruling party can hide its inactivity and coax voters to re-elect them. As I had argued in my previous article in this series (available at: http://www.ft.lk/columns/Budget-2019-should-not-fall-into-the-pitfall-of-being-an-election-budget/4-673869), this is a failed strategy from both the political and the economy’s point.

Politically, it is a failure because the opposition parties would foil the government’s move by promising to double what the government has promised. From the economy’s point, it becomes a failure because the economy would not be able to sustain them within the limited resources it has. Yet, people have been brainwashed that it is the duty of the budget to give them relief and the budget time is marked by a heavy build-up of such expectations in them.

Thus, immediately after the presentation of Budget 2019, an island-wide survey conducted by PepperCube Consultants for Daily FT had revealed that about 97% of the people surveyed had expected the Government to provide relief to them through the Budget. As such, the Budget presented by Khema’s Boy would have disappointed them since it did not contain consumption-oriented direct sweeteners.
Election budgets have bags of reliefs

A budget becomes an election budget if it presents a ‘bag of reliefs’ to ordinary consumers. That bag usually contains common consumer items like sprats, onions, dhal, kerosene and canned fish, to mention but a few. The prices of these items are artificially reduced through a reduction in import duties meaning that they have been previously increased by the imposition of higher duties. Accordingly, the duty structure is manipulated by the government to gain an advantage at elections. Thus, they become a relief only temporarily because after some time, the government which is unable to continue with the relief package will have to reverse the price reductions.


In this manner, the bag of relief has only an announcement effect for the time being. Over the passage of time, the relief disappears and only the bag remains, but now it is empty and waiting to be filled by a rival political party. This has been the cycle which Sri Lankans had gone through at every election in the past.
Khema’s Boy had inherited a sick economy

The Budget 2019 is not an election budget in this sense. Instead of reducing prices artificially, it has sought to divert resources from consumption to investment, a strategy which Sri Lanka should necessarily follow at this stage of its economic development.

Khema’s Boy had inherited a sick economy whose sicknesses had been manifest from around 2013. This had eloquently been highlighted by the World Bank in its Sri Lanka Development Update 2019 released about three weeks ago. 

Budget 2019 has taken a forward look at the economy and made proposals for the future growth of the country. In that way, Khema’s Boy has broken tradition and it should be a new tradition which all future finance ministers should follow

Behind its diplomatic language, it had delivered two strong messages to Sri Lanka’s policy authorities. One was that the deteriorating economic performance which the country had started as from 2013 will continue without an appreciable recovery till 2021. The other was that the country’s declining labour force and labour productivity would have a negative effect on its growth potential in the next two to three decades. The gist of these two messages was that Sri Lanka should take immediate measures to arrest and reverse this trend if it was to realise its goal of becoming a rich country within the next few decades.
Failure to maintain economic buoyancy after the end of the war 

Immediately after the end of the war, there had been ‘significant buoyancy’ in economic activities in the country raising its average annual growth rate to a level above 8%. However, the economic strategy adopted by the country during that period as well as in the few years following had basically concentrated on establishing an economic system based on the domestic market for growth and prosperity.

This was manifested by the low emphasis given to exports that declined as a ratio of the Gross Domestic Product or GDP as well as the global exports. Since the domestic market placed an effective limitation on the expansion of industry, the country could not sustain this high growth beyond 2012. The period thereafter saw a drastic fall in the growth rate recording nearly a half of what had been attained previously.

The new Good Governance Government that came to power in 2015 could not arrest the declining trend and it further slipped from 5% in 2015 to 3.1% in 2017. The best estimate for 2018 has been that it would hover around 3% and continue to falter in the next three year period. Meanwhile, the low performing exports and rising imports caused a massive trade deficit of about 90% of export earnings. Since it could not be financed out of traditional sources like the income on sale of services to foreigners and remittances received from migrant workers, the country’s foreign exchange earnings were lower than the foreign exchange outlays. This caused the Government to borrow more to repay loans which in turn augmented the foreign debt stock. The ultimate result was the rupee coming under pressure for depreciation.
The sorry state of Sri Lanka’s public finances

The public finances were also not in good shape. Though there was a marginal improvement in government’s revenue, the recurrent expenditure was stubbornly high. It was mainly manifest in interest payments on domestic and foreign loans that had been raised by successive governments in the past. These interest payments had increased as a ratio of GDP from 4.8% in 2015 to 5.9% in 2018.

The corollary of all these adverse developments was that the Government’s contribution to capital formation, a necessity for Sri Lanka to accelerate its economic growth, could not be increased beyond 5% of GDP. Hence, the burden of delivering prosperity to people had squarely fallen on the private sector. This was the challenge which Khema’s Boy had faced when he presented his first Budget for 2018 and the truncated Budget for 2019 covering only an eight-month period. As such, he did not have the luxury to appease the voters with an election budget for this year. He had therefore designed the Budget 2019 to further consolidate the budgetary discipline which he had introduced earlier. It is a disappointment to many relief-loving voters but a necessity in the context of the current state of Sri Lanka’s economy.
The need for an innovation-inspiring budget

I had warned Khema’s Boy in an article published two weeks ago that Budget 2019 should be an -inspiring one (available at: http://www.ft.lk/columns/Budget-2019-should-be-an-innovation-inspiring-budget/4-673402). All previous budgets in Sri Lanka had been consumption-oriented budgets. The low priority that had been given to inventions and innovations had resulted in Sri Lanka getting trapped in a low growth spiral. Accordingly, the country’s annual average economic growth during the whole of the post-independence period had been at around 4.4%. Though there had been some instances of better performance in selected years, they all had been temporary gains that could not be repeated continuously.

This low growth spiral had made Sri Lanka a laggard among its peers in the region. The main reason for this low growth had been the use of low technology for production which in turn had led to low productivity. Hence, the Budget 2019 had sought to create a pool of entrepreneurs who are innovative and who could do contribute to economic prosperity through private sector growth. The purpose of promoting Enterprise Sri Lanka had been the creation of a critical pool of innovative entrepreneurs.
Development of a knowledge-driven, skilled society

To produce the future entrepreneurs and the workers for a technology-based economy, it is necessary to develop a knowledge-driven, skilled society. This has to be started from the school level and for that purpose, education should undergo a complete overhaul and quality enhancement program. Noting this requirement, Budget 2019 has allocated funds for the improvement of school laboratories, class rooms, libraries and teacher training facilities. In addition, students are to be trained not in isolated pigeon-hall type streams but in combined ones.

The traditional approach to student improvement has been to improve the skills of students in selected science streams covering science, technology, engineering and mathematics, known as STEM. However, the weakness in STEM has been that it denies students to become creative individuals without exposure to Arts. Therefore, the current trend has been to develop both the science and arts skills among students known as STEAM or as the Budget 2019 had pronounced it, STEM+A.

A budget becomes an election budget if it presents a ‘bag of reliefs’ to ordinary consumers. That bag usually contains common consumer items like sprats, onions, dhal, kerosene and canned fish, to mention but a few. The prices of these items are artificially reduced through a reduction in import duties meaning that they have been previously increased by the imposition of higher duties. Accordingly, the duty structure is manipulated by the government to gain an advantage at elections. Thus, they become a relief only temporarily because after some time, the government which is unable to continue with the relief package will have to reverse the price reductions. In this manner, the bag of relief has only an announcement effect for the time being. Over the passage of time, the relief disappears and only the bag remains, but now it is empty and waiting to be filled by a rival political party. This has been the cycle which Sri Lankans had gone through at every election in the past

In this, students are helped to develop both sides of their brain, namely, the subtle and the intuitive sides, by allowing science student to learn arts and art students to learn science. Once this program is implemented at the school level, universities will have to offer combined degree programs with multiple disciplines. Universities in Thailand have already ventured into this business.
Best students to get scholarships to study in world’s best universities 

Budget 2019 has proposed to provide scholarships to the best performing students at the GCE (AL) Examination to study in the best universities in the world. This is a good move because this strategy had been adopted in Malaysia in 1980s and 1990s by Mahathir Mohammed to create a pool of skilled youngsters to take Malaysia to the next level of science and technology. The present Budget has started it in a very small way with only 14 scholarships in the first year. But it will soon catch up with the participation of both the private sector in Sri Lanka and foreign donors in the program.

In addition, the Budget has proposed a loan scheme for those who are to study in any private sector higher learning institution in Sri Lanka. This will help all those who are denied a place in a State university, though qualified to enter a university, because of the limitation in university places.
Unemployed arts graduates to receive apprenticeship in private firms

The most remarkable proposal in the Budget has been the action taken to bring arts graduates to the mainstream in the economy. Since their skills are inadequate for private sector jobs, they remain unemployed for long periods. Eventually, when the issue becomes acute, all successive governments have absorbed them to the public service even though there are no job vacancies in the public sector. The result has been the swelling of the public sector, on the one hand, and reduction of the productivity in the sector, on the other. Furthermore, it has unnecessarily augmented the Government salary bill as well.

Hence, in the Budget 2019, it has been suggested to provide apprenticeship opportunities for 1,000 unemployed graduates in private firms where their monthly allowances would be paid by the Government for one year until they are absorbed into the relevant private firms. This will certainly provide a viable and sustainable solution to a chronic issue faced by Sri Lanka.

An important requirement in the proposed program is that private firms should be attuned to accept these graduates as a resource to be developed and the graduates should have a mindset to work hard for their future career development. Thus, the promoting agency of this scheme, which has so far not been named, should have a pre as well as a post dialogue with both the employers and the apprentices. If this fails, the country will not have a permanent solution to the unemployed graduates’ problem in the country.
A budgetary tradition to be emulated in the future

All in all, the Budget 2019 has taken a forward look at the economy and made proposals for the future growth of the country. In that way, Khema’s Boy has broken tradition and it should be a new tradition which all future finance ministers should follow.

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

'Virtually no progress' in Sri Lanka on war crimes investigations says UN human rights chief's office

UNHRC Michelle Bachelet.jpg

09 March 2019

 Lanka has made "virtually no progress" on the investigation of war crimes, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, said in its report on Sri Lanka's efforts towards implementing resolution 30/1, which called for accountability and transitional justice through a hybrid mechanism. 

The report also raised concerns over the on-going reports of abduction, torture and sexual violence, institutional failures within the criminal justice system, ongoing harassment of human rights defenders since 2015 and the military’s continued occupation of civilian land.

Read the full report here. 

Criminal justice

Families of the disappeared protesting in Vavuniya on January 31, 2019 

Highlighting the failure of Sri Lanka to investigate war crimes and the growing calls by Tamil families and civil society groups across the North-East for Sri Lanka to be referred to the International Criminal Court, the report said: 

"The High Commissioner stresses that the risk of new violations increases when impunity for serious crimes continues unchecked. To date, Sri Lanka has failed to seize the opportunity provided by the Human Rights Council to establish a trustworthy domestic mechanism to address impunity or to show, by consistent progress in emblematic cases, that such a mechanism is not necessary.

Some segments of civil society have continued to call for international investigations and for the Security Council to refer the situation in Sri Lanka to the International Criminal Court for international prosecutions and adjudication of those most responsible for these crimes."

The OHCHR reported a seeming inability or unwillingness to hold perpetrators of human rights violation to account, stating that instead what is seen is “lengthy delays in investigations and in judicial processes in general” as well as “a bail system that is applied inconsistently and in a discriminatory way”. The few marks of progression are the result of “persistence and commitment of individual investigators despite political interference, patronage networks and a generally dysfunctional criminal justice system”, the OHCHR noted. 

Highlighting the Sri Lankan government's assertion that independent foreign judges are not needed, the report details an abundance of “evidence that the ordinary criminal justice system is unable to deal with the nature of allegations and the complexity of crimes”. 

The lack of political will to implement reform is further emphasised by the fact that both the President and Prime Minister have rejected the need for foreign assistance in reforming their institutions, the reported noted. 

"The Government has not announced any plan to create a special judicial mechanism, despite the commitment it implicitly undertook when it co-sponsored Human Rights Council resolution 30/1 and the recommendations contained therein. It has indeed denied the need for such a mechanism, particularly with respect to the involvement of foreign judges, despite abundant evidence that the ordinary criminal justice system is unable to deal with the nature of allegations and the complexity of crimes. Both the President and the Prime Minister have made statements denying the need of foreign assistance in this matter.

In 2015, the High Commissioner stated that, for accountability to be achieved in Sri Lanka, more than a domestic mechanism would be required (A/HRC/30/61, para. 88). The lack of substantial progress in establishing criminal accountability for serious crimes in the past three years underscores the relevance of that assessment.

Moreover, claims that a domestic specialized process could suffice have not been accompanied by any serious attempt to establish one. No effort has been made to build the capacity required to conduct investigations, including forensic ones, or prosecutorial strategies, despite the repeated recommendations of the Special Rapporteur on truth, justice, reparations and guarantees of non-recurrence.

The gravity of the cases that a specialized accountability mechanism must address cannot be underestimated. On that point, the High Commissioner reiterates the principal findings of the investigation conducted by OHCHR in 2015, which demonstrated that there were reasonable grounds to believe that gross violations of international human rights law, serious violations of international humanitarian law and international crimes had been committed by all parties during the period under review; and that indeed, if established before a court of law, many of the allegations may, depending on the circumstances, amount to war crimes if a nexus were to be established with the armed conflict and/or crimes against humanity if committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack against a civilian population (A/HRC/30/61, para. 24).

Since 2015, virtually no progress has been made in investigating or prosecuting domestically the large number of allegations of war crimes or crimes against humanity collected by OHCHR in its investigation, and particularly those relating to military operations at the end of the war."

Intimidation and sexual violence

File photograph

Expressing concern over the ongoing harassment and surveillance of human rights defenders and victims of human rights violation, the report detailed at least two incidents in 2018 where human rights defenders were assaulted by “unidentified aggressors, presumably in connection to their advocacy on cases of disappearance”.

"Some serious concerns nonetheless persist. Reports of harassment or surveillance of human rights defenders and of victims of human rights violations have continued. In 2018, at least two incidents were reported involving the assault of human rights defenders by unidentified aggressors, presumably in connection to their advocacy on cases of disappearance. Other human rights defenders have reported being questioned by the authorities after having travelled to Geneva to attend sessions of the Human Rights Council. 

One Sri Lankan United Nations staff member was visited by armed men who questioned him about his activities in support of visits by diplomats and United Nations officials, including the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in 2013. Such cases suggest that informal and often extralegal intelligence gathering activities have not ceased, despite the recommendations made thereon. The surveillance or intimidation of victims and activists is incompatible with the reconciliation agenda, and perpetuates a mistrust in State institutions that could undermine the effectiveness of transitional justice mechanisms. If such acts do not represent government policy, as the High Commissioner was repeatedly assured, the Government must denounce them publicly and ban them, and take disciplinary, and when relevant, judicial action against the officers concerned."

The report detailed the ongoing cases of abduction and torture by Sri Lankan security forces which allegedly took place between 2016 and 2018, pointing out that contrary to government assurances there were no investigations currently being undertaken. 

"OHCHR has continued to receive credible information about cases of abduction, unlawful detention, torture and sexual violence by Sri Lanka security forces, which allegedly took place in 2016 to 2018. A preliminary assessment of the information received indicates that there are reasonable grounds to believe that accounts of unlawful abductions and detention and of torture, including incidents of sexual violence against men and women, are credible, and that such practices might be continuing in northern Sri Lanka. Such allegations should be the subject of prompt, effective, transparent, independent and impartial investigations. In the past, the Government has condemned any act of torture, and indicated that any allegation of torture would be properly investigated and prosecuted. OHCHR is not aware of any investigations undertaken to date into the above-mentioned allegations."

Prevention Against Terrorism Act (PTA)

Batticaloa residents condemn PTA and draft CTA. February 22, 2019

The report also highlighted the government’s failure to fully repeal the draconian PTA which it had committed to review and repeal in 2015. Draft legislation has been considered for the Counter-Terrorism Act (CTA) but as the report notes there are “serious shortcomings”. Despite this, the Cabinet had approved the bill in April 2017 where it was later withdrawn for revision. A later version with improvements was presented to parliament on 9th October 2018. 

The PTA remains a cause for concern within the Tamil community who have been subject to arbitrary detention under this legislation. Research gathered by the report maintains that “at 25 January 2019, 58 individuals detained under the Act were facing trial and three suspects were awaiting indictment”. 

"A key commitment of the Government in 2015 was to review and repeal the Prevention of Terrorism Act. Draft legislation in the form of a counter-terrorism law, with serious shortcomings, was approved by the Cabinet on 25 April 2017 and later withdrawn for revisions. An improved revised version was presented to the parliament on 9 October 2018. In a determination issued in November 2018 on the constitutionality of the revised bill, the Supreme Court ruled that the death penalty had to be included as punishment to prevent inconsistencies with the Penal Code. It also found that a reference in the bill relating to its compliance with the law, including international human rights instruments to which Sri Lanka is a party, was incompatible with the Constitution, which does not regard “international instruments” as law. The relevant oversight committee of the parliament will be required to take up the amendments proposed by the Supreme Court; meanwhile, there are concerns that other new amendments, reportedly suggested in Cabinet for incorporation at the parliamentary committee stage, might further weaken the bill’s compliance with international best practices.

The High Commissioner is concerned that, despite its lengthy preparation and the consultation of expert advice, the final bill might not comply fully with international human rights norms and standards. Even in its present form, the bill contains problematic features, such as an overly broad definition of terrorism."

Land grabs

Keppapulavu families commence third year of protests calling for military to leave their lands. March 3, 2019

With respects to the military’s occupation of land the Commissioner applauds the efforts made by the government and President Sirisena suggestion that “all civilian land in the North and the East would be released by the end of 2018”. The commissioner, however, also notes that often the land returned had only been partial or incomplete with “access to dwellings but not to livelihood resources” or vice versa. Public services such as schools are also unavailable and there have a number of reports of “property being destroyed shortly before it was returned”.

Tamil communities allege that this projects such as those on irrigation, forestry and archaeological are attempts to colonise the land and perpetuate military control over economic activity.

"While the High Commissioner acknowledges the significant amount of land returned to date, she still has concerns about the process; for example, some restitutions have been only partial or incomplete, allowing for access to dwellings but not to livelihood resources (such as agricultural land or fishing resources) or vice versa. On other occasions, public services, such as schools, remain unavailable. There have also been cases of property being destroyed shortly before it was to be returned. Furthermore, communities have complained about new land grabs and other contentious land issues, such as alleged “colonization” through the establishment of irrigation, forestry and archaeological projects, and of continued military involvement in economic activities. Such situations prevent the resumption of livelihoods, unlike what was encouraged by the Human Rights Council in its resolution 30/1."

While the High Commissioner acknowledges the significant amount of land returned to date, she still has concerns about the process; for example, some restitutions have been only partial or incomplete, allowing for access to dwellings but not to livelihood resources (such as agricultural land or fishing resources) or vice versa. On other occasions, public services, such as schools, remain unavailable. There have also been cases of property being destroyed shortly before it was to be returned. Furthermore, communities have complained about new land grabs and other contentious land issues, such as alleged “colonization” through the establishment of irrigation, forestry and archaeological projects, and of continued military involvement in economic activities. Such situations prevent the resumption of livelihoods, unlike what was encouraged by the Human Rights Council in its resolution 30/1.

The military should only retain land when strictly necessary for security purposes, with proper compensation paid to those dispossessed. As recommended by the High Commissioner in previous reports, independent mechanisms should determine such matters. Moreover, the emotionally and politically charged issue of land, with regard to both individual ownership and communities’ sense of belonging to a given area, should be addressed in a sensitive manner, not least because it is considered by many stakeholders one of the root causes of conflict. Any State-promoted settlement of people or land acquisition on cultural, archaeological, development or environmental grounds should be carefully considered, given the adverse impact on reconciliation. Decision-making with regard to relocation and resettlement should be made through transparent processes and following meaningful consultation with the people and the communities affected."

The Office of Missing Persons

Families of the disappeared protest outside OMP hearing in Jaffna. July 15, 2018 

Welcoming the establishment of the Office of Missing Persons (OMP), the OHCHR raised concerns over its approach and lack of results. 

The Sri Lankan government has provided short-term relief for families of victims and placed this as a priority but, as the report states, there is a “lack of a comprehensive strategy and of outreach on the process to address the past”.  The inability to provide tangible results and extensions of deadlines has diminished victims' faith in the office. This is most evident with the recent protests in Mannar. 

The report maintains that OMP “must find a balance between the need to establish itself as a lasting institution with solid foundations and the expectation of immediate results, which would give victims the incentive to cooperate with the body”. This requires both short-term and long-term priorities.

Part of this process, the UN Commissioner maintains, is reconciling with and being accountable for past atrocities. The Commissioner notes that a mass grave with more than 300 skeletons was recovered in Mannar on 29th May 2018, this was the second mass grave with the first discovered in 2014. The remnants of these bodies need to examined and identified to provide closure for the victims. The report notes that “other mass graves might be expected to be found in the future” and that systematic access to the graves by the Office is essential.

Recommendations

Recommendations to Sri Lanka

Highlighting the failure of adequate progress on war crimes investigations, the OHCHR stated: 

"With regard to legislation and justice, the High Commissioner recommends that the Government:

(a) Accede to the additional protocols to the Geneva Conventions and to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court;

(b) Enact legislation to criminalize war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and enforced disappearances without statutes of limitation, and enact internationally recognized modes of criminal liability, in particular with regard to command or superior responsibility;

(c) Adopt legislation establishing a hybrid court to investigate allegations of violations and abuses of international human rights law and violations of international humanitarian law"

Pointing to the reports of ongoing torture and sexual violence, the OHCHR urged Sri Lanka to send a statement be sent to branches of the security force maintaining the country's opposition to such violations and hold perpetrators accountable. It called for a vetting process which would remove from office and prevent from serving in UN peacekeeping operations, those military personnel involved in human rights violations. These reforms must be supplemented with institutional reform of the security sector “to strengthen accountability and civilian oversight”.

The OHRHC said it was necessary for the government to order an end to “all forms of surveillance and harassment of and reprisals against human rights defenders, social actors, and victims of human rights violations”. The demand to end the arbitrary detention of civilians was further addressed by the report’s call to replace the PTA with “legislation that adheres to the best international practices”.

With respects to the military’s seizure of land the report called for the establishment of an independent mechanism “to determine specific cases in which land must be allocated for military use owing to security reasons and identify appropriate compensation or substitution for landowners or occupants. 

It urged the government to ensure the Office of Missing Persons and the Office for Reparations was properly funded and supported, encouraging it to develop “a national reparations policy that takes into account the specific needs of women and children and psychosocial support for victims”. 

Recommendations to UN and Member States

The OHCHR urged UN member states are advised to "investigate and prosecute, wherever possible, in particular in accordance with universal jurisdiction principles, those allegedly responsible for such violations as torture, enforced disappearance, war crimes or crimes against humanity; and explore other options to advance accountability in the absence of credible domestic processes” and continue to.aid Sri Lanka in this process and to encourage the Human Rights Council to continue its engagement and monitoring of the country. 

It recommended the UN continues to provide technical and financial support to Sri Lanka to aid effort transitional justice, “provided that they meet international standards”, as well as advising a strict vetting process for Sri Lankan military and police personnel under consideration for peacekeeping operations, military exchanges and training programmes.

The High Commissioner recommends that Member States:

(a) Urge the Human Rights Council to continue its close engagement with the Government of Sri Lanka and to monitor developments in the country;

(b) Investigate and prosecute, wherever possible, in particular in accordance with universal jurisdiction principles, those allegedly responsible for such violations as torture, enforced disappearance, war crimes or crimes against humanity; and explore other options to advance accountability in the absence of credible domestic processes.

(c) Continue to accompany the people of Sri Lanka in their efforts to address past human rights violations by supporting the establishment of adequate systems of accountability, justice and reconciliation.

Read the full report here.