The politics of Good Governance and Ethno (Sinhala/Tamil/Muslim) Nationalisms 

by Rajan Philips-August 29, 2015,

In the January presidential election, having been let down by astrology and political machinations, then President Rajapaksa invoked the spectre of nationalism and national insecurity to shore up his sliding support among the Sinhalese. His efforts fell short by 400,000 votes. He and his supporters blamed the shocking defeat on Western conspiracy and minority voters who voted virtually en masse for Maithripala Sirisena. In the August parliamentary election, the Rajapaksa forces upped the nationalist ante and campaigned to win a majority of parliamentary seats with the votes of the Sinhala Buddhists only.

The Politics of Good Governance and Ethno (Sinhala-Tamil-Muslim) Nationalisms by Thavam Ratna

UNHRC: US, Lanka Adopt ‘Collaborative Approach’

30/08/2015

Sri Lanka has agreed with the United States to adopt a “collaborative approach” with regard to a resolution at the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) sessions next month but there is still no text. Work on a draft document is likely to start in mid-September after the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) releases its investigative report on allegations of war crimes and other human rights abuses. The US has been the main co-sponsor of all resolutions since 2012 and it will float the first draft.

The OHCHR report will be presented to the Sri Lanka Government shortly and also presented to the UNHRC during its 30th sessions next month. On August 24, US Ambassador for Human Rights, Keith Harper, told the UNHRC that his Government plans to offer a new resolution on Sri Lanka. It would be a follow-up on the new Sri Lankan administration’s efforts “to promote reconciliation and accountability and on the release of the report of the OHCHR investigation request in HRC resolution 25/1″.

“We hope to work collaboratively with the new Government of Sri Lanka and key stakeholders on this text,” Mr. Harper said.
“The only factor we have agreed to is to adopt a collaborative approach at the 30th sessions of the Human Rights Council with regard to the resolution,” said Mahishini Colonne, the Foreign Ministry Spokesperson. “There is no draft text of a resolution at this point. The US delegation made a statement at the Organisational Session of the 30th HRC on August 24 in Geneva regarding the approach that will be followed, which is to work collaboratively with the new Government of Sri Lanka and key stakeholders on the text of the resolution.”

In an indication of where the US stands on the subject of a war crimes investigation, US Assistant Secretary of State for Human Rights and Labour, Tom Malinowski, who accompanied US Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs, Nisha Biswal, on an official visit to Colombo earlier this week, was reported as saying that a domestic investigation must have the trust of the minorities. He said that it must be acceptable to both the people of Sri Lanka and the international community but “that it need not be a completely international process.”
ST

US-SL resolution after release of HR chief’s report

The US – Sri Lanka collaborative resolution will be ‘crafted’ after the release of the UN Human Rights High Commissioner’s report on accountability issues in Sri Lanka in September.

A spokesperson at the Ministry of External Affairs said President Maithripala Sirisena will be given a copy of the High Commissioner’s report sometime next month, before it is tabled at the 30th Session of the UN Human Rights Council. The report will incorporate the Sri Lanka Government’s inputs, before it is tabled.

“The thrust of the resolution will be based on the (recommendations) report of the Human Rights High Commissioner,” US Assistant Secretary of State for Human Rights, Tom Malinowski, told media in Colombo, adding that the resolution will show Sri Lanka the way forward in dealing with accountability issues.

Once the report is made available to the President, Sri Lanka will respond outlining the recommendations that it would be taking on board and the progress it has made so far in the human rights front.

A resolution A/HRC/25/1, moved by the US and four others in March 2014, mandated the report ‘Promoting Reconciliation, Accountability and Human Rights in Sri Lanka’, by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).

Following the regime change post January 8, the Human Rights High Commissioner granted a onetime deferral of the report at the request of the Sri Lankan Government, much to the dismay of the Tamil Diaspora groups and Tamil political parties calling for an international inquiry into the alleged rights abuses during the final phase of the war.

Last week, Malinowski and US Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia, Nisha Biswal, conveyed the US would help Sri Lanka promote a credible domestic mechanism through another resolution in Geneva. The domestic process is expected to be assisted by a team of international technical experts.

Malinowski also said, apart from the justice and accountability process, the US believed confidence building among Tamils can be achieved by actions such as returning land, releasing prisoners, working on demilitarization and changing the fundamental role of the military.
SO

Families of enforced disappeared Tamils decry domestic investigations

[TamilNet, Sunday, 30 August 2015, 15:38 GMT]
Around 1,200 people from all the 8 districts of North-East came together at an emotional gathering on Sunday at the De La Salle Brothers School in Mannaar, remembering the enforced disappeared persons in the country of Eezham Tamils. On the occasion of the International Day of the Disappeared, the families of enforced disappeared demanded independent international investigations and categorically rejected the domestic and so-called hybrid mechanisms that are currently being advocated by the USA. In the meantime, leading lawyers from Mannaar told TamilNet on Sunday that international investigations were necessary on the mass graves at the killing fields of Mannaar. On Friday, an abandoned well allegedly used by the SL military to dump slain Tamils was located 40 meters close to Maanthai Junction near Thirukkeatheesvaram temple. 

Families of Enforced Disappeared Tamils Decry Domestic Investigations by Thavam Ratna

Accountability and the politics of selectivity

Accountability and the politics of selectivity

Fragments.

by Uditha Devapriya-Aug 30, 2015

When US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Nisha Biswal speaks, there’s usually someone listening and taking down notes. The lady knows subtlety and there’s plenty of THAT in what she says. Big time. So when she makes her second or third (I forget which) visit to Sri Lanka barely a WEEK after elections were done and dusted, questions are raised. Whether she answers them or pleads ignorance, then, is not important. What’s important is inference. And conclusion.

We know Biswal wasn't exactly comfy with Mahinda Rajapaksa’s presidency.

 Whenever her colleagues visited here they usually privileged the opposition and more importantly parties known for hardcore communalist stances. They demanded accountability and THEN inserted reconciliation. Biswal in particular spoke about the international community and how its patience (whatever that meant) was running out with regard to this government "delivering the goods".

That was then. Times have changed. The lady who seemed to privilege and hobnob more with the opposition, strangely, has opted to do the same with the government now. She went easy on the government, curiously enough, and went to the extent of meeting the president himself, something she could never do with his predecessor given that she was someone whom the then president neither had the time for nor the patience with. Rightly.

Her choice of words is different too. True, some words haven’t changed. She still wants investigation into war crimes (“alleged”, please note). She hasn’t inserted “accountability” but that’s a word that’s still being tossed about, never mind whether it’s achieved through a domestic or international mechanism. But for the most, her comments on the USA sponsoring a resolution of “collaboration with the government” and thereby widening scope for domestic investigation merit assessment.

Biswal has a way with words. So does everyone representing her country’s interests in the field she’s cut out for herself, diplomacy. That’s why, when she inserts a caveat (she added “along with other key stakeholders” to “collaboration with government”) we should worry.

Let’s not forget that the US knows and (s)elects these stakeholders. Let’s not forget that it tends to privilege some stakeholders and push out others. Let’s not kid ourselves that the reaction of the “international community” to alleged war crimes here amounts to anything other than a need to bully a democratically-elected government into condemning and censuring itself, even irrationally.

And then there’s the investigation itself. As Chris Dharmakirti comments in an article (“Sinister Campaign Afoot To Block Sri Lanka Using Paranagama Report At UNHRC”), the TNA and an organisation calling itself Sri Lanka Campaign for Justice and Peace effectively tried to cripple the Mahinda Rajapaksa-sanctioned report on missing persons (the Paranagama Commission) and more importantly one of its chief advisors, Sir Desmond de Silva.

Having inferred that this move was tilted towards the pro-LTTE Diaspora, Dharmakirti then concludes that by stifling the Commission, what will get preserved is the accusation (unsubstantiated) that Sri Lanka’s war against the LTTE was committed by a “genocidal army”, in particular because the Commission at once rubbishes the findings of the controversial Darusman Report ON THIS COUNT.

Biswal will not speak about this and nor for that matter will the government. There’s no need to, some will offer. Maybe, but that doesn’t really counter the issue. If at all, by pleading ignorance here, neither the government nor whatever Biswal represents will be doing itself any favour.

Point is, Sir Desmond de Silva erred. He coughed up something the TNA wasn’t comfy with. He commented that the “great mass of civilian deaths which occurred in the final stage of the conflict were regrettable but permissible collateral damage”.

Now the TNA, despite that moderate-garb it wears from time to time, has been known to pander to anything that absolves (in part at least) the LTTE. It’s known to have censured the government and some of its heads have been wont to openly invite the international community to bully and arm-twist this country. So it shouted “rescind Sir Desmond’s appointment!” and (without really explaining) alleged “lack of independence”.

Having thus got rid (technically, that is) of Sir Desmond and therefore the crux of the Paranagama Commission (which mind you created to counter the United Nation’s howls against Mahinda Rajapaksa’s government), these people should, we feel, be grilled. They should be questioned.

There’s that allegation they levelled against Sir Desmond, for one thing. Speaking about independence or the lack thereof, what would the TNA say about the fact that a key panellist advising the NGO which opposed that gentleman was (surprise, surprise!) none other than Yasmin Sooka, who was on the Darusman Panel! This isn’t just about bias after all. It’s about conflict of interest too, never mind that Sri Lanka Campaign has denied that WITHOUT denying Sooka is in it.

Then there’s the fact that the Paranagama Commission was (technically speaking) a domestic mechanism. Isn’t that what Biswal wanted? Isn’t that what we were forced to resort to and didn’t that in the end become a mechanism through which Darusman and his credibility-challenged report (it speaks about 40,000 civilian deaths even as the UN itself concluded a figure of 7,721 towards the end of the war) could be countered? If so, why are we howling? Why are we arguing?

These are questions that will not be asked and for reasons of (we hope not but fear) expediency. In the end reconciliation is and will be a two-way process, whether or not the likes of the TNA will be okay with someone as distinguished and relatively untainted as Sir Desmond. As such the implications of both the Paranagama Commission and Biswal’s official support for Sri Lanka the next time the country’s grilled will, no doubt, be taken up and assessed.

Whether this bodes well for us is for another article. For now, what matters is whether Biswal comes with clean hands. Given that we have no option but to trust that the American government will stick by us (in a world where governments stick by each other as long as there’s submission to whoever’s affirming “sticking-by loyalty”), we can only wait and watch.

So far Karunandhi, self-professed lover of Sri Lankan Tamils and no stranger to the anti-Sri Lanka lobby in his country (India), has condemned Biswal. Superficially at least that bodes well, notwithstanding the caveat that all that might be “show”. The important thing however is that the US sticks by us and that in a way which sustains the truism that reconciliation (and yes, accountability) was and will have two sides or more, never mind what NGOs and civil society groups that love to badmouth the country will say.

I noted “no option” for Sri Lanka. This means, logically enough, that the US’s promise will have to be accepted and trust between that country and ours will be based on whether we accept the promise or act with caution, extreme or otherwise. Sad, yes. Can’t help.

Uditha Devapriya is a freelance writer who can be reached at udakdev1@gmail.com.

Accountability is not limited to a majority-minority dynamic

Sunday, August 30, 2015

With the September 2015 report of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) referencing war-time accountability of Sri Lanka’s political and military command looming nearer, the question which we need to ask is quite simple.

Recognising the systemic problem
As much as decades of politicized and bloodied elections were confounded by the conducting of an impeccable parliamentary election this month by the Commissioner of Elections and state officers, can this country look deep into the trauma suffered by Tamil civilians during conflict, apportion accountability and redress grievous wrongs of the past in a similarly impeccable manner?

This is the primary responsibility of the State after all. Yet the deceptively appealing simplicity of this question is belied by a multi-layered complex of overlapping problems which lie at the heart of the country’s well entrenched impunity structures. A central problem is the identification of abuses as isolated incidents occurring at the hands of a few individuals, whether police, army or special forces. In actual fact, fear, surveillance, intimidation and finally extra-judicial execution or enforced disappearance have been strategies employed by all governments of Sri Lanka at various times.

Other misconceptions persist. For example, the argument that whatever atrocities committed were excusable because the nature of the enemy was equal or worse, is not justifiable. In the current context, the protagonist was the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). But at a different period in history not so long ago, this same argument was employed in respect of Southern insurrectionists, the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) as Sinhalese forces went into Sinhalese villages suspected of harbouring rebellious tendencies and shot at mothers carrying tiny babies, shooting also at the infants as they were dropping to the ground. This history as extensively documented by the Commissions on Enforced Disappearances of the 1990’s speaks to a savagery that has been part of the state structure for far too long.

Radical reforms will be necessary
This may also be a tad inconvenient for some who may prefer to focus only on the LTTE vis a vis the State of Sri Lanka. Let it be unequivocally said however that the equation cannot be simplified to such an unbearable extent. A more comprehensive view is needed in regard to redressing Sri Lanka’s accountability question. It is this kind of informed approach which will have traction domestically and enable actual changes on the ground, as difficult as they may appear to be.

Part of this task will involve radical changes to criminal law and procedure in line with accepted comparative standards elsewhere in the world. For example, an oft mentioned concern has been the non-inclusion of the concept of command responsibility in Sri Lanka’s penal law. This was precisely the reason why, for example, two high ranking police officers were ultimately absolved by the Supreme Court from any responsibility in the senseless killing of Tamil detainees in the Bindunuwewa rehabilitation camp several years ago.

While this week the government announced a policy change in prescribing the issuance of receipts when a person is arrested, this remains quite pitifully inadequate in addressing major failures of protection of civil liberties. Under prevalent statutes, a suspect has no right to his/her own lawyer and/or interpreter. Custodial officers are not obliged to inform family members of the arrest. The Code of Criminal Procedure Act is silent on these important safeguards. Constitutional protections are similarly wanting. Article 13(3) of the Constitution only secures the right of legal representation to an accused, not a suspect. In terms of the special law applying to particular categories of offences such as murder, suspects detained under its provisions are allowed to consult an attorney-at-law of his choice and to communicate with any relative or friend of his choice. But this is only in limited categories. Moreover the medical examination of a suspect is at the discretion of the officer-in-charge of a police station. Cumulatively therefore, the law is wholly deficient in providing basic safeguards against abuse. This must be corrected.

Amending the anti-terrorism laws
The other aspect of this problem is resort to emergency law including the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA). Reasons for arrest are not given. Detention is not subjected to effective judicial control. There is no right of independent access to legal counsel or medical examination. There is legal admissibility of confessions made to a senior police officer and in a most ridiculous casting aside of the presumption of innocence, the accused needs to prove that such confessions were not voluntarily made. Though there have been judicial disputes on this question, the Court has been inclined to accept a confession under emergency law if the accused is unable to prove that it was made involuntarily. However the nature of situations in which such confessions is extracted make this burden very difficult for the suspect to prove.

Against such a background of entrenched abuse, addressing the historical paralysis of Sri Lanka’s legal system in regard to State accountability is doubtless difficult if not well nigh impossible. Details emerging within recent weeks of the disappearance of journalist Prageeth Ekneligoda, the ‘lifting’ of countless Northern based activists and so on indicate that these were tactics employed by the security establishment where special mechanisms and places of detention were utilized. The issue at hand is not limited to dealing with the actions of a few rogue individuals. Instead it must be recognized as being systemic in nature.

Taking the sting out of the September UN report
Logically therefore, whatever domestic accountability process that is being contemplated in order to take the sting out of the September UNHRC report must be with full public participation and not shrouded in secrecy as it is now. Focusing only in a few selected criminal investigations and identifying perpetrators most often not in the actual line of command will also not suffice.

Above all, we need to acknowledge that Sri Lanka’s accountability problem is not merely limited to a majority-minority dynamic but is far more complex in nature.This understanding is crucial in contextualizing current dilemmas relating to state accountability for violations committed during the final stages of the Wanni war. Ensuring justice and healing the hearts of those who have suffered must take these factors into account.

The Domestic Inquiry Vs. Reconciliation

By Dinesh D. Dodamgoda –August 30, 2015

Dinesh Dodamgoda

It was reported a few days ago that the Sri Lankan government has presented the mechanism of the domestic inquiry into alleged war crimes during the final phase of war in Sri Lanka to visiting US Assistant State Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs Nisha Biswal.

On the other hand, UN Secretary-General Mr. Ban Ki-moon’s official website reported on the 21st of August that the Secretary-General called the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe and encouraged the Prime Minister and the national unity government to ‘seize the opportunity’ to advance long-term peace for all Sri Lankans. Furthermore, the General-Secretary wished Mr. Wickremesinghe success in the important task that lay before him.

In addition to other issues, the UNF government now has two major post-war issues ‘laid before’ it that need to be addressed. The first issue is a credible Domestic Inquiry into alleged war crimes (Accountability issue) and the second issue is implementing a sustainable Reconciliation process (Reconciliation issue).

It is important to note that the Accountability issue has gained priority over the Reconciliation issue, especially in the media space and in the post-war agenda. Sometimes two issues are referred as a single issue, namely the issue of the Truth and Reconciliation, as it was spelled in the final draft of National Policy on Reconciliation, which was prepared by Professor Rajiva Wijesinha, Mr. Eran Wickramaratne, Mr. M.A.Sumanthiran, Mr. Javid Yusuf and Mr. Jeevan Thiagarajah.

The question is which issue is the most important issue? The Accountability issue or the Reconciliation issue? Can and should we address both issues simultaneously? I attempt to answer.

Post-war framework                    Read More 

JVP too in the mudslinging against Prageeth ? media secretary of EPDP leader sends letter to JVP leader: Tilvin deny

(Lanka-e-News -30.Aug.2015, 9.30PM) While a wealth of information is surfacing in the investigations into the abduction and murder of Prageeth Eknelyagoda pertiaining to Gotabaya Rajapakse and his clan who were actually responsible for Prageeth’s  murder , unscrupulous media coolies who are close to Gotabaya for a long time are engaged most shamelessly and ruthlessly in slinging mud at murdered Prageeth via the media.

The two media so involved are those run by Ruwan Ferdinands and Uvindu Kurukulasooriya two low bred stooges of Gotabaya.

A similar mudslinging is being carried on by a website of the JVP that  posts news in Tamil. The media secretary Nelsen Edirisinghe of Douglas Devananda the leader of the EPDP has sent a letter in this regard to JVP leader Anura Dissanayake.

The first mudslinging was done by the mud website run by Uvindu Kurukulasooriya. It falsely revealed most derogatorily  that Prageeth lived with a woman from Matale , and when  he comes down to Colombo , he did not reside in his house. It vilified Prageeth most insolently and maliciously reported that Prageeth stayed at the residence of Douglas Devananda’s media secretary when he is in Colombo.

These stories defamatory of Pargeeth were published in the Tamil website run in the name of the JVP.

The reply sent by Nelsen Edirisinghe to JVP Leader Anura Dissanayake  is hereunder…. 

Mr. Anura Kumara Dissanayake
Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna
464/20, Pannipitiya road,
Pelawatte
Battaramulla

Dear Mr. Anura Kumara Dissanayake,

 ‘Douglas associated with Prageeth abduction’ 

I wish to draw your kind attention to  the news report on 2015-08 -17 under the above  caption in your party website www.jvpnewscom in Tamil language.

This report is absolutely false and is aimed at vilifying both the EPDP party and its leader Douglas Devananda. Specially when  Douglas Devananda is about to extend support to the proposed national government , and is being reported ,your website giving huge publicity by publishing a false news report is a matter for concern.

Ekneliyagoda the journalist never stayed with me in a house in Colombo any day , as portrayed by you falsely. Besides,  the CID , the police or any other Institution that is conducting investigation into the disappearance of Ekneliyagoda had never questioned me on this . 

The website www.jvpnews.com which is in the name of your party ,even previously slung mud at Douglas Devananda by publishing a number of bogus news reports. Moreover , a number of news reports were published continuously against  national reconciliation which are contradictory to your party policies. Against these  false and  misleading  news reports, we drew  your attention  on many occasions ,but we have to recall with  regret that your party failed to take any remedial action.

Our political opponents on purpose hurled accusations     against our party in regard to several  assassinations including  General Hector Kobbekaduwa, Athulathmudali, Raviraj and  Maheshwaran .In some of these murders , the culprits had been punished following court verdicts .

In the present political climate , it is evident this false publicity is  being carried on again with the objective of slinging mud at our party.

Prageeth Ekneliyagoda had cordial relations with me and Douglas Devananda. At the same time he had  wide and varied social connections, and a large number of friends. Among those who were most grieved over Prageeth’s disappearance were myself and Devananda. Although they are saying he stayed with me in Colombo at my house , I did not have a house in Colombo any day.

Since 1990 , for over 25 years , I am living with the Hon. Minister Douglas Devananda .These website  false news reports can only be construed as an effort exclusively aimed at fastening the blame on the wrong people. In  addition ,it can be said, these are maneuvers to mislead the on going investigations and divert it along  a different direction .

Myself and my party are ever ready to extend the fullest support to the investigation into Prageeth’s disappearance , and it is our fervent hope that the actual culprits will be exposed before long , so that society will know who they are.

The misleading   news was repeated  by other media , and measures are being taken to copy this letter to them to put the record right , might we add.

Nelsen  S. Edirisinghe
Media secretary to Mr. Douglas Devananda

Meanwhle Tilvin silva secretary of JVP speaking regarding the relevant news item said, “First it has to be told that so far the JVP has not received a letter from Mr. Dougles Devananda. Also, the website that has published the news item is not one connected with the JVP. Social media websites are maintained using various names. There are many instances of maintaining such websites and publishing various fabrications through them. We have told the media that the particular websites has no connection with the JVP. 

---------------------------
by     (2015-08-30 19:11:05)

Bogus LTTE revealed

 Aug 30, 2015

In the course of its investigations into the abduction and disappearance of lankaenews website journalist Prageeth Ekneligoda, the CID has found that the Sri Lanka Army’s intelligence unit had maintained a bogus LTTE group.

Members of this group, run with the directions of the defence ministry, were members of TOSI, the LTTE’s intelligence wing who had surrendered to the Army, and intelligence personnel proficient in the Tamil language.

It had maintained a camp at a jungle in Giritale, and Ekneligoda had visited the place several times, one of the arrested members of Army intelligence, ‘Thavendran’ (Sumathipala Suresh Kumar) has revealed.

This group had been run cleverly without allowing room for suspicion, and it had maintained links with several LTTE leaders. In order to maintain links with the LTTE in a trusted manner and on its orders, this group had carried out several terrorist operations in the south, information has come to light.

The group is still maintaining links with the Diaspora and with other associates of the LTTE, while fronting as the LTTE, say defence sources.

It had been used after the war to carry out political murders. This group comprised of a network of around 650 intelligence members.

Thavendran admits

Thavendran had served under LTTE intelligence wing TOSI’s leader Gnanavel, and after surrendering to the military around June 2009, he had engaged in several Army intelligence operations.

He has had revealed details, including a leading media organization and several other southern organizations and individuals of the south, with whom he has had connections.

Based on information given by him, former defence secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa and ex-Army chief Sarath Fonseka will be questioned. Also, statements will be recorded in the coming days from former Army commander Jagath Jayasuriya and Army intelligence personnel Maj. Gen. Kapila Hendavitarana, Maj. Gen. Amal Karunasekara, Maj. Gen. Janmika Liyanage and Brig. Wanniarachchi, say police headquarters sources.

Army shaken!
The defence secretary on August 27 sanctioned the detention of Army intelligence unit’s Lt. Col. Kumara Ratnayake, Lt. Col. Siriwardena, Staff Sergeant Rajapakse and Corporal Jayalath in connection with Ekneligoda’s disappearance.

Previously, a Sergeant Major of the Army, Thavendran and another Tamil were arrested on suspicion.

Top military officials have asked the government not to betray its intelligence officers, who had played a key role in the military defeat of the LTTE. If that does not happen, they warn that top secret information regarding military operations in the north could be exposed.

When contacted, a top official at the police headquarters said that if the government did not interfere with the CID investigation, several crimes committed during the war and the identities of those responsible, would be revealed.

Subhash Jayawardena

How many ministers?

Monday, 31 August 2015

The delay in the appointment of the Cabinet of Ministers seems to indicate that the Prime Minister and the President are finding it difficult to select the ministers from among the aspirants. According to our law the number of Ministers should be limited to 30; except that in the case of a National Government it could go up to 45.
The problem in having too many ministers (apart from the higher costs it imposes on the public) is that there can be a problem for the administration if there are too many ministers. So how many ministers should there be?

How Many Ministers by Thavam Ratna

Why the poor JVP showing?

A variegated analysis of electoral performance 

by Kumar Davd-August 29, 2015

Many, this correspondent included, expected the JVP to poll well and win 10 to 15 parliamentary seats – some people said 20+ even when they were sober! On votes, yes expectations have been borne out (544,000, its second highest since 815,000 in 2001). On seats we were wrong because of inattention to nitty-gritty details; intra JVP-UNP swings, peculiarities of the district-wise PR system, and UPFA abstentions. I will make amends for this lapse and present a more informed picture of the JVP’s setback. A fuller analysis would need to be three times as long.

Why the Poor JVP Showing by Thavam Ratna

Examining The Entrails!

By Emil van der Poorten –August 30, 2015

Emil van der Poorten

The political dust will have settled on the recent general election by the time you see this and that is, in one way, quite a relief. The fact that E-Day didn’t feature the murder and mayhem that has, for far too long, been taken as a concomitant of the primary democratic process in this country seemed a matter for surprise to many whom I engaged in conversation on the subject.

I am old enough to remember when it wasn’t so and I am sure that several of the younger generation who are quite easily (and understandably!) bored by my tales of yore, believe that these are but the recollection of a failing memory to which a certain element of glamour has accrued with the passage of time!

But, believe you me, Philip Gunawardena’s use of members of his dock workers’ union to combat the Island Reconvicted Criminals (IRCs) that came out of the Senanayakes’ and Kotelawalas’ plumbago (graphite) mines simply wasn’t in the same league as the unleashing of underworld killers-for-hire by those who depended on the drug barons (and I don’t use the term lightly) of what is constantly referred to as the last bastion of Theravada Buddhism by such as the Bodu Bala Sena (or has that entity disappeared since the political emasculation of Gotabaya Rajapaksa?)

The next obvious question is: what do we do to consolidate and make permanent what we experienced on the 17th of August and advance that newly-re-discovered culture, seeking a long-term solution if not a permanent one to the need for peace and harmony among the ethnic and religious groups in Sri Lanka and the removal of blatant corruption from day to–day governance?Read More

President Srisena Does Not Want to See Media In-front of His Residence

30/08/2015

The  Sunday Times reports that Dharmashri Bandara Ekanayaka, Senior Director of the Presidential Media Unit, has sent a missive to media institutions saying that the President has  requested him to inform media personnel to refrain from carrying out recordings in front of his residence.

The Sunday Times News strory fellows:

 The media crowding outside homes and offices of newsmakers is common in all parts of the world.

 So much so in developed countries, like for example the United States, a whole media corps is accommodated in the offices at the White House, the official residence of the US President.

Often, reporters and photojournalists throng outside the door of No 10 Downing Street, the official residence of the British Prime Minister whenever there are newsworthy engagements. After all, keeping the public including the world at large informed of such important developments is their job.

Dharmashri Bandara Ekanayaka, Senior Director of the Presidential Media Unit, has sent a different missive to media institutions. This is what he says:

“During the past few days it has been observed that the media have assembled outside the residence of President Maithripala Sirisena at Paget Road in Colombo 07 to obtain photographs or interviews from Members of Parliament who have been visiting the President.

“This has caused problems for the security personnel providing security to the President and the privacy of the President.

“Former Presidents had strengthened security opposite their official residences by closing the roads, but this President who follows a simple life style has not made any changes so that the public can continue to use the roads in the area.

“The President who highly respects media freedom requests me to inform media personnel to refrain from carrying out recordings in front of his residence.”

While in no way interfering with President Sirisena’s simple lifestyle, which the media would respect at all time, it would be incumbent on the security personnel to ensure Sri Lanka’s Head of State is not deprived of communicating his messages to the people of the country. That is by making the mistake of shutting out the media altogether.

The best way, like in other countries, is for the Presidential staff to formulate ground rules which will allow the media access without impinging on security or what is described as lifestyles or the privacy of the President and his neighbours. That is the answer.
ST