Remembering the Meaning of Peace – Learning the Strength of Peace Building in War

Puthukudiyiruppu – civilian shelter in school – Sri Lanka

(Left) Puthukudiyiruppu – school shelter mural / (Right) Mullaitivu – final battle zone – Sri Lanka-

Puthukudiyiruppu – child’s slipper in bombed school – Sri Lanka

By Mariyahl Mahilmany Hoole, Grant Proposal Specialist, Generations For Peace-February 25, 2016

It is 2010, and we are travelling down a silent road. This road is as old as my parents, my grandparents, and their parents before them, and yet is has been built anew again and again over the scars and craters of Sri Lanka’s civil war. There is no one else around us. Not a single tree stands, no birds remain to sing. Soldiers flicker by at short intervals, standing watchfully against a deceased enemy. As the sun sets, the dying fields begin to glow red. Beneath them, soaked into this soil of my home, is the blood of a people, trapped and killed without reason in the final months of war. They died together by the thousand, and yet blanketed in the distracting silence of war, they died alone.

These are the fields where peace building failed.

As the miles pass, its broken pieces press into my memory. The 3-year old girl, learning to pray every night over the shoes of her abducted father. A circle of bereaved mothers in a detainment camp, tears forming in their eyes as they stroke my face, each one telling me in numbed pain that I look exactly like a lost daughter. Visiting my former schoolmates being held without cause in a high-security prison, to learn their father had been killed and their mother was being tortured.

I am sitting in a school afterhours with a young woman my age, as the light dances in to the room through the shrapnel holes in the wall. She is telling me her great love story – of the young man who picked up and followed her with each displacement, until her father finally gave his permission for their marriage. They had a few happy years together as husband and wife. When she returned to her mother’s home to give birth to their third child, she could not have known that the road – this very road – would be closed at the border to separate them, nor that she would never see him again.

A few months after the war ended, she received a call from a stranger who had been one of the trapped civilian crowd. He told her of an arm he had stumbled on in the bloodied dirt. A phone number was scrawled on it in ink. Above it was a message, asking, “If I die here, please tell my wife.”

I have wandered many roads since then, trying to remember the meaning of peace.

How do we, as peace builders, make sense of war? How do we confront the wearying weight of history, and choose every day to take on the responsibility of change? How do we maintain hope and purpose when we are, quite simply, exhausted? How do we encounter the human consequences of our failure and continue untarnished in mind and heart?

I have been working for a while now at Generations For Peace (GFP), where I found myself among a family of young peace builders for the first time. Many of them have experienced violence and conflict, and seen the devastation it leaves among those we care deeply about. Yet still this team of global volunteers – 8900 strong and counting – continues unyielding in its commitment to create change in our own communities. So before the road once again rises before me, I would like to share a few lessons I have learned among you, my fellow peace builders, as we try to make peace with our legacies of war.

From “Fixer” to “Changer”: When we see human suffering in our daily lives, we react with an overwhelming need to fix broken systems, to right the world’s wrongs. We soon realise that this is a work that has no end. And we find that not everything can be fixed. A mother cannot reclaim her daughter from the earth, a people’s history of injustice cannot be undone. But –  everything can be changed. Sorrow can find meaning in being heard, injustice in our past can lead to resilience in our tomorrow. And that is our role as peace builders. That shift in our thinking – from fixers to changers – is small, but it makes the difference between frustration and possibility, paralysis and growth.

Hope big but plan small: We as peace builders exist on the sustenance of hope. Over time, however, the relentless weight of violence can cause even our strongest hope to bend low. Those volunteers who have completed GFP’s conflict analyses know that changing our societies’ large intractable conflicts is more manageable when this is broken down into small pieces – communities, relationships, human needs. This is because peace becomes more real when you hope big but plan small. We soon find that the most important changes for peace come from small things – an open ear that reminds someone of their humanity, a conversation that creates an alternative vision of the future, or simply an encouraging word that helps another find the potential within themselves. Our small acts, so easily overlooked amidst the demanding pressures of conflict and violence, do indeed have the power to create concrete shifts and changes in our communities, which find life in this transforming hope.

Create Space for Possibility: Peace building, by nature, asks us to work amidst forces like violence, suspicion, and instability. The intensity of this conflict environment means that opportunities for peace building remain rare, while those we pursue may often be met with defeat. Seeing our hopes fail again and again can fill us with despair, especially if we witness our failures affect those in our communities. If we simply wait for the right opportunity, therefore, we will not succeed in our work. Instead, we need to actively cultivate an environment of possibility. At GFP, we do this by trying new methods, exploring new alliances, inviting feedback, learning broadly, reflecting collectively, and discussing our work with as many people we can reach, knowing that a tipping point will come and a moment of change will catch hold. As we do this, we gradually also evolve to meet our challenges, and build a community to support our effort. Creating space for possibility asks us to be open-minded and available; while the uncertainty that coexists with possibility demands both resilient faith and hard work. But through exploration, we expand our limits, discovering creativity, persistence, growth – and new opportunities for peace – in even the most difficult of times.

The Value of Time: This, for me, has been the hardest lesson to learn. I think it is difficult for many of us who witness intense suffering in our communities, especially when we understand the power that causes it and the potency of its effects. But as I look back, I have come to appreciate the value of time. I’ve seen how time can bring forth changes we cannot even anticipate, our vision bounded as it is by the here and now. With time, I’ve watched with relief as the work of years past has gradually yielded changes of consequence – policies rewritten, homes returned, the vulnerable protected, divisions overcome, and lives saved. I understand now that the immediacy I so desperately wanted was not made for lasting peace. Whether in systems, communities, or individuals, peace must develop its roots slowly and naturally, so its changes can grow strong through generations. Perhaps this is a lesson that each of us must learn on our own, in our own time. But with this perspective, painful experiences of the past have quietly found their purpose, by grafting it back on to this work we do.

Being Human is OK: As peace builders in war, we are often needed to be strong for others, or asked to confront situations of violence that we can barely comprehend. This is how we give of ourselves in our communities. Unless we are careful, however, our openness to sharing the pain of others can irreparably wound our own minds and hearts. There is no perfect boundary between caring for others and safeguarding ourselves. But if we are to remain resilient enough to responsibly bear witness to war, then we must also giveourselves the right to be human. We should allow ourselves to step back when we are overwhelmed, respecting our vulnerabilities and giving ourselves space to heal. We need to make time for the things that refresh us and make our hearts whole. Most importantly we need a community of people among whom we will not be alone. This, for me, is GFP. I cannot say how much it has meant to find this family of pragmatic young idealists who are equally determined in their commitment to making peace from war. Sharing our effort has relieved the weight I carried from Sri Lanka; sharing understanding, I can express the sorrow that I keep silent in the outside world. Here, among them, I have learned how to return to myself.

The athlete and artist Donald Brown visited us at GFP recently, leaving his words resounding amidst our stories of war. “If we search for peace without having peace within,” he told us, ‘we leave our quest for peace in pieces.” Our work as peace builders cannot be separated from our hearts. By striving to create peace in the world, we hurt, grow, and change in response; but gradually, we develop strength to give from the peace we keep alive within. This is how we become our own stories of change. Our privilege as peace builders, however, is that our stories do not have an end. They join the stories of all those who come together with the same hope, creating something bigger than ourselves which, we know, will truly last.

*Before arriving at GFP, Mariyahl worked in peacebuilding during active conflict in Sri Lanka; and in its immediate aftermath, she conducted ethnographic fieldwork among communities which had been trapped in the final battle zones.

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Building peace in Sri Lanka: find out how our volunteers are utilising the power of sport-based programmes and activities in efforts to strengthen relationships in the post-conflict era. Interviews and footage were filmed in Mullaitivu and Kilinochchi, some of the worst-affected districts during the war.

Sri Lanka’s Victims Demand And Deserve Credible Justice

by Nikhil Narayan-Sunday, February 28, 2016

Victims of the war

The regime has changed, but the system remains the same; how can we expect justice from them?,” asked a Tamil nun who survived the brutal conflict between the Sri Lankan Government and the Tamil Tigers in Vavuniya district in Sri Lanka’s Northern Province.

Her sentiments echo a growing sense of skepticism shared by many in the country’s north and east in the willingness and ability of the Sri Lankan State to deliver justice and accountability for victims of the conflict and their families.

Interviews with local lawyers, activists, victims and victims’ families during my recent visit to the north and east reinforced the importance of ensuring a credible transitional justice process that will provide a genuine remedy to victims and survivors, and in so doing restore public confidence in the State.

Achieving this credibility requires, among other things, the participation of a majority of foreign judges, prosecutors, lawyers and investigators in any proposed special tribunal created to address alleged war crimes, crimes against humanity and other serious human rights violations committed by all sides during the conflict.

Since the new government came to power a little over a year ago, Sri Lanka has taken some important and welcome steps towards national reconciliation. Particularly, victims’ hopes for justice were bolstered by the government’s apparent acceptance of the September 2015 report of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights documenting alleged serious human rights violations and abuses committed by all sides to the conflict. The Sri Lankan government even co-sponsored the subsequent Human Rights Council resolution, which affirmed the importance of the participation of foreign judges, prosecutors, lawyers and investigators to ensure the credibility of a “judicial mechanism” as part of the justice and accountability process.

But the government has yet to demonstrate any concrete initiatives towards fulfilling this promise of accountability. Recent statements emanating from various quarters of the government have fed mistrust among victims in the war-affected north and east. President Sirisena’s January 2016 BBC interview, in which he emphatically rejected the possibility of foreign participation in a proposed accountability mechanism, alarmed many. Equally troubling were his comments expressing full confidence in the existing justice system and questioning the UN report’s allegations of war crimes committed by the Sri Lankan Army.

Prime Minister Wickremesinghe’s statements only a few days later during his visit to Jaffna to mark Thai Pongal, that the majority of missing persons should be considered deceased, also did not go unnoticed. Families of the disappeared have the right to know, to the extent possible, the whereabouts of their family members. The PM’s message suggesting knowledge and admission of their fate, but without further details, left families wanting; I was told more than once that the PM’s statement on the missing was “hurtful” to the families of the disappeared.

Lawyers, activists and medical officers dealing with ongoing human rights cases complained that it is common for such cases to drag on for as much as 10 years due to delays in the police investigative stage, as well as further delays in prosecuting the case by the Attorney General’s department if and when the investigation is concluded. When asked whether these delays were due to lack of political will or capacity, I consistently received some form of non-verbal response amounting to: “Take your pick.”

Police also remain inadequately trained in investigative methodology, continuing to rely almost exclusively on confessions, often elicited by torture or other forms of coercion.

Under the current government, the climate of fear in the north and east has no doubt markedly improved; under the prior regime, for instance, I myself would not have been able to visit, move around and conduct interviews as freely as I did. At the same time, surveillance, threats and intimidation have not ended completely. Victims and lawyers in cases involving the armed forces as alleged perpetrators still face intimidation and obstruction of investigations.

Sri Lanka has had a long and well-documented history of creating domestic commissions of inquiry into serious human rights violations during the conflict, none of which has been successful in adequately addressing issues of impunity, justice or truth-seeking. The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) has for the past thirty years documented the gradual erosion of judicial independence under successive governments, and the resulting culture of impunity in the justice system. In its 2010 report, for example, the ICJ highlighted the failure of the criminal justice system, as well as the many commissions that have been established, to satisfy the State’s obligations to its citizens due to an absence of State accountability, limitations in the investigative and prosecutorial system and limitations in the law. While the new government has taken some steps to address this, most notably with the restoration of the Constitutional Council, much more work remains to be done.

In such a context, the existing justice system is poorly equipped to handle cases of gross human rights violations and violations of international humanitarian law, including alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity, that will require not only highly technical forensic evidentiary and investigative expertise, but will also involve specific prosecutorial and judicial capacity to deal with issues of modes of liability such as command responsibility for superior officers.

The nun in Vavuniya told me: “We want them to accept responsibility, tell us the truth, and then we can have reconciliation; it is not about revenge.”

The call by domestic and international human rights activists and observers for an accountability process that involves, as a minimum prerequisite, the meaningful participation of a majority of foreign judges and other personnel is very simply a matter of restoring public trust in the rule of law in the country, through a credible, impartial, independent, victim-centric transitional justice process that effectively addresses victims’ right to truth, justice, remedy and reparation, and on whose foundation the country can move forward with genuine reconciliation.

The GOSL can take a significant step towards bridging this trust gap in the immediate term by reaffirming in no uncertain terms its commitment to the promises to which it voluntarily agreed in Geneva last year, including its recognition: that “accountability is essential to uphold the rule of law and to build confidence in the people of all communities of Sri Lanka in the justice system[;]” that “a credible justice process should include independent judicial and prosecutorial institutions led by individuals known for their integrity and impartiality;” and, of “the importance of participation in a Sri Lankan judicial mechanism, including the special counsel’s office, of Commonwealth and other foreign judges, defence lawyers and authorized prosecutors and investigators”. (Groundviews)

(Nikhil Narayan is the International Commission of Jurists’ South Asia senior legal adviser)

Two UN Special Rapporteurs to Visit Sri Lanka in April

( Juan Méndez & Mónica Pinto)

28/02/2016

Two UN Special Rapporteurs are to visit Sri Lanka in April after the new Government agreed on the proposed dates.

The Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers Mónica Pinto and the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment Juan Méndez will visit Sri Lanka from 29 April 2016 to 7 May 2016.

The Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers acts on information submitted to her attention concerning alleged violations relating to the independence and impartiality of the judiciary and the independence of the legal profession by sending allegation letters and urgent appeals to concerned Governments to clarify and/or bring these cases to their attention.

The mandate of the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment covers all countries, irrespective of whether a State has ratified the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. (Colombo Gazette)

Country and visits of Special Procedures

Mandate-holders carry out country visits to assess the situation of human rights at the national level : at the request of a mandate-holder, the Government will send an invitation for a fact-finding mission. Some countries have issued standing invitations, which means that they are, in principle, prepared to receive a visit from any thematic mandate-holder.

During such missions, the experts assess the general human rights situation in a given country, as well as the specific institutional, legal, judicial, administrative and de facto situation under their respective mandates. They will meet with national and local authorities, including members of the judiciary and parliamentarians; members of the national human rights institution, if applicable; non-governmental organizations, civil society organizations and victims of human rights violations; the UN and other inter-governmental agencies; and the press when giving a press-conference at the end of the mission.

Country visits’ findings, conclusions and recommendations by special procedures are published  in mission reports to the Human Rights Council (All special procedures country-related information can also be found in the Universal Human Rights Index.
Terms of Reference for Fact-finding missions by Special Procedures

The terms of reference for country visits were adopted at the fourth Annual Meeting of Special Procedures ( E/CN.4/1998/45) and are intended to guide Governments in the conduct of the visit. During missions, Special Procedures mandate-holders and United Nations staff accompanying them, should be given the following guarantees and facilities by the Government that invited them to visit its country:

(a) Freedom of movement in the whole country, including facilitation of transport, in particular to restricted areas;
(b) Freedom of inquiry, in particular as regards:

(i) Access to all prisons, detention centres and places of interrogation;
(ii) Contacts with central and local authorities of all branches of government;
(iii) Contacts with representatives of non-governmental organizations, other private institutions and the media;
(iv) Confidential and unsupervised contact with witnesses and other private persons, including persons deprived of their liberty, considered necessary to fulfil the mandate of the special rapporteur; and
(v) Full access to all documentary material relevant to the mandate;

(c) Assurance by the Government that persons, whether officials or private individuals, who have been in contact with the special rapporteur/representative in relation to the mandate, will not, as a result, suffer threats, harassment or punishment or be subjected to judicial proceedings;
(d) Appropriate security arrangements without, however, restricting the freedom of movement and inquiry referred to above.

OHCHR

Bahu gets compensation for expulsion

- Feb 28, 2016

NSSP leader Vickramabahu Karunaratne has received a Rs. six million compensation. That is on account of his explusion from employment as a lecturer of Peradeniya University in 1982 for getting involved in politics.

Vickramabahu has informed president Maithripala Sirisena about the injustice done to him, and the president has mediated in getting the compensation paid to him. 

Accordingly, the Rs. six million has been paid, considering that he had served in the lecturer capacity until he reached the age of retirement.

Management of Economic Policy 3: Sri Lanka should tap global unbundling opportunities of services under ETCA

Monday, 29 February 2016

The need for wide public consultation when trade agreements are signed

The first article in this series warned against the secrecy surrounding the Economic and Technology Cooperation Agreement, now known as ETCA, which the Government says that it would enter into with India shortly (available at: http://www.ft.lk/article/525181/Sri-Lanka-faces-crucial-tests-ahead-with-growing-opposition-to-ETCA).

The article noted that all those who are concerned about ETCA – both supporters and opponents – have been kept in the dark as to what it constitutes and what benefits it would bring to the country. Darkness breeds fear and fear leads to suspicion. That suspicion has caused the country’s professionals, now loosely formed into a United Professionals’ Movement or UPM, to launch a massive protest campaign against ETCA.

The fear harboured by these protesting professionals has been, the article noted, that if ETCA is implemented, there would be a massive inflow of Indian professionals to Sri Lanka displacing the country’s professionals from their jobs. Such fears need be allayed through full disclosure of facts about ETCA.

Since no economic policy could be implemented with protesting professionals all around, the article concluded that the Government should break its information-silence in the name of good economic policy governance and generate wide consultation among all parties.

ETCA is not CEPA, but fears should be allayed

The second article in the series dealt with the long-drawn process involved in finalising bilateral trade agreements between countries (available at: http://www.ft.lk/article/526676/ETCA-is-not-CEPA-in-all-respects--but-it-should-be-made-public-to-allay-fears).

The article noted that ETCA was not CEPA since it has been proposed, as the latest draft reveals, to exclude the provisions relating to the ‘migration of natural persons’. Thus, there is no free entry of Indian professionals to Sri Lanka’s job market through ETCA, though they still could provide services to Sri Lanka without crossing the borders under normal conditions.

- See more

Former Sri Lankan cop wanted over assassination linked to Aussie eco-consultancy business

EXCLUSIVE

Malini Ventura, who is now known as Malini Saba, from a promotional pic used by the Ipswich Chamber of Commerce to promote her appointment to the role. Photo: Supplied

Sri Lankans protesting the 2006 shooting death of Tamil politician and human rights lawyer Nadarajah Raviraj in Sri Lanka. Photo: Supplied

Rory Callinan-December 27, 2015

A Sri Lankan policeman wanted in connection with the assassination of a prominent Sri Lankan politician and human rights lawyer is suspected of hiding out in Australia and running an eco-consultancy business.

The eco-consultancy is owned by a businesswoman who says she is a friend of former United States President Bill Clinton.

Sri Lankan police have confirmed asking Australian police for assistance in tracking down Fabian Royston Toussaint​ who is wanted in Sri Lanka in connection with the 2006 shooting death of Tamil politician and human rights lawyer Nadarajah Raviraj​.

​Australian Securities and Investment Commission records this month listed Mr Toussaint as being a director of Eco Support Consulting, a private company owned by a Malaysian-born businesswoman Malini Ventura which was established in May 2014, and registered in Victoria. 

Ms Ventura, who has since changed her last name to Saba, has been involved in promoting charity dinners with Mr Clinton in Sydney and Brisbane that were mysteriously cancelled in 2010 leaving ticket buyers out of pocket.

Fairfax does not suggest Ms Saba is in any way connected to the political assassination or any of the allegations involving Toussaint.

Ms Saba last week confirmed that she had employed Mr Toussaint in the eco-consulting business but had fired him in January after becoming aware of the allegations levelled against him.

She also confirmed that Mr Toussaint had come to Australia "as a tourist" but said she did not know his whereabouts.

"That guy has been fired since January and I don't keep in touch with that person. I wouldn't know where to look for him. I had my team fire him. "

Read more: 

Today is the first birth anniversary of FCID that unflinchingly arrested Basil , Johnny and Lalith Weeratunge !

-A nation salutes it -245 invetsigations , 35 concluded , six cases filed and Rs. 160 million black money detected..!!

(Lanka-e-News -27.Feb.2016, 11.30PM) The only request of the people’s movements and the people’s forces via the successful rainbow revolution of 8 th January 2015 was not to fill their  stomachs selfishly but to expose and duly punish the corrupt family rulers ,their henchmen and abettors who for nearly a decade committed daylight robbery of country’s funds and resources on a scale unprecedented in Sri Lanka ‘s history. It was the earnest plea of the masses whatever national wealth robbed with impunity by these crooked corupt rulers , their families and stooges shall be restored to the nation . Hence the nation’s slogan was ‘punish the culprits’ , and not ‘fill our stomachs’ 

Accordingly , no sooner the presidential election was won on 8 th January than an Institution was established to flush out the crooks and cronies of the ruling family from the nooks and crannies they were hiding, in order to bring them before the law. That Institution breaking new ground is the FCID (Financial Crimes Investigation Division) . Today , marks the first anniversary of its birth , that is the completion of 365 days since its coming into existence. 

Naturally , with the establishment of the FCID , the crooks and the corrupt became  jittery and panic stricken . So at the outset , they alleged the FCID is illegally constituted, and from the DIG down to the constable of the FCID shall be stoned to death , they also screamed. When the chieftain of the rogues’ den was summoned for questioning ,his cronies , crooks and the corrupt staged protests in parliament and slept within it. When the chieftain’s younger brother was summoned for questioning , these scoundrels slept on the roads.However after they were defeated again on the 17 th of August by the masses , their protests and hooliganism waned somewhat. The FCID of course carried out  its duties duly and unrelentingly ,come what may .

Within these  last 365 days , the FCID has commenced 245 investigations, which means  an investigation every one and half days ! Of them 35 investigations have been concluded , and  handed over to the Attorney General (AG) . In other words every month .3 investigations had been concluded, and already cases have been filed in the high court in respect of six of them . 

Among those arrested are a  number of crooked and corrupt bigwigs and heavyweights  of the Rajapakse regime , which included , ministers Basil Rajapakse and Johnston Fernando ; officers   Lalith Weeratunge and  Anusha Pelpita ;and Dr. Nalaka Godahewa .(Very soon another heavyweight and stalwart of the former regime is to be arrested ). The black monies recovered so far is Rs. 160 million !

Meanwhile action was filed by the crooked and corrupt groups that the FCID is illegal. There are 17 such cases in the Supreme court  and one case in the appeal court. The media coolies and the media pariah dogs that went hunting on behalf of the crooked and corrupt too conducted a vicious hate campaign via the face book against the FCID.

The FCID officers however could not be deterred or daunted by all these subterfuges .  The FCID that began with 40 officers has grown now with 90 officers now manning it. 50%  of them are investigating officers. No matter what the crooked and the corrupt say , the masses that brought about the victory on 8 th Jnauary had expressed their fullest confidence in the FCID . Consequently there is a daily uninterrupted flow of information and tip offs to the FCID. The public have become a source of strength and support to the FCID officers led by DIG Ravi Waidyalankara in charge of the FCID , so much so they are providing encouragement to  discharge their duties with greater enthusiasm , and arrest the crooks and the corrupt who drove the country to the brink of total economic devastation.

In addition , Sagala Ratnayake in charge of the police force has seen to it that  IGP Ilangakoon extends the fullest co operation without interruption to the FCID.

It is significant to note that the FCID has worked with commitment to refurbish  the image of the police force which is generally tainted as corrupt. So far no media of the crooked and corrupt enemies  or the face book has reported that any officer of the FCID took bribes or is corrupt , which alone bears testimony with what dedication the FCID is discharging its duties.

The writer of this report has a personal experience in this regard. It is based on an account revealed by a legal luminary. One day , DIG Waidyalankara while on duty has had a telephone discussion with this legal luminary . When discussing a certain document , the legal luminary had requsted Waidyalankara to send him a copy of that document via the mobile phone of Waidyalankara. The latter had replied , he is using an ordinary mobile phone , and he cannot therefore accede to his request.

A top dog  of the police who is probing into the financial crimes can easily get a sophisticated phone as a gift from a corrupt crook and supply him with the information the latter needs, but based on Waidyalankara’s reply it is very evident Waidyalankara is not one who would stoop to such lowliest  level ,the  lawyer who related this account pointed out to me. 

The appointment of this  DIG   Waidyalankara who is responsible for the success of the FCID cannot be challenged by any one even on his eligibility requisites even from the side of education. He has an LL.B. degree as the base . Besides he has a post graduate degree in management , and also another post graduate qualification , LL.M.  

If one reviews the year gone by of the FCID , it is a success. However when considering the number of cases filed , it is not that that successful. Yet , among all the special divisions that were commenced by the police force, FCID stands out as the divison that had scored a tremendous success in instilling a rare confidence in the minds of the people , and among society.

It is an incontrovertible fact that no Institution  inspires greater awe and alarm  among the crooks and the corrupt in SL than the FCID.If even a single officer of the FCID has stooped to the level of helping a crook or the corrupt , the FCID cannot be this awe inspiring among society or command this respect .

The people of good governance showing  deference to laws must salute Ravi Waidyalankara and his team of officers on this account .

By a special reporter 
Translated by Jeff

 ---------------------------
by     (2016-02-28 00:31:43)

President steps in to fix fertilizer subsidy crisis

Monday, 29 February 2016

President Maithripala Sirisena yesterday stepped in to avert a crisis in agriculture with an assurance that the fertiliser subsidy would be continued for the farming community without any hindrance.

“I will be personally dedicated to fulfill the highest responsibility in providing the fertiliser subsidy for the farming community,” the President said whilst addressing a special meeting held with relevant Ministers and the Members of Parliament as well as the representatives of the unions of the farmers, at the District Secretariat in Polonnaruwa.

The assurance from the President came amidst protests by farmers and an alleged fertiliser shortage triggered by stockpiling by traders ahead of a 2016 Budget decision coming in to force from 1 March.

Under the 2016 Budget, the Government decided to convert the subsidy to a cash allowance of Rs. 25,000 a year to encourage farmers to move away from using chemical fertilisers and to ensure that they are given good quality fertiliser, instead of the cheap kind that is often given on the subsidy.

The matter came under widespread debate at the last Cabinet’s Economic Management Committee at which a decision to temporarily revert to the old method for fertiliser was agreed upon until a proper formula is found. At yesterday’s meeting representatives of unions drew the President’s attention to the issues they face with buying the paddy seeds and obtaining the fertiliser subsidy. They also presented their proposals and ideas in this regard.

President Sirisena pointed out the need to work together with all parties and seek solutions for such issues.

“The officials should take proper decisions at the proper time. Nobody can get rid of the responsibility of the people’s issues by pushing it to one institution,” he said.

“A special meeting on the issues of buying of paddy seeds and getting the fertiliser subsidy will be held in the future. The ideas and proposals of the representatives of the unions of the farmers will be taken into consideration at this meeting” the President further stated.

Minister P. Harrison, Chief Minister of North-Central Province Peshala Jayarathna, Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture, Director of the National Fertiliser Secretariat, Director General of Agrarian Services and the Director General of the Paddy Marketing Board also participated in this discussion.

On Friday Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake denied reports of a shortage and said farmers protests were uncalled for and politically motivated. 

A farmer attends to his paddy harvest  - Reuters

Court directs CID to seek valuation on Sicille Kotelawala’s gold jewellery

February 27, 2016, 8:46 pm 

Seated on a wheelchair, Mrs. Sicille Kotelawala clasps a cross after she was re-remanded till April 27 by the Colombo High Court last week.(Pic by Saman Abesiriwardana)

by Suresh Perera

The CID was directed by Colombo Chief Magistrate Gihan Pilapitiya to seek a valuation certificate from the National Gem and Jewellery Authority (NGJA) on the gold jewellery belonging to Mrs. Sicille Priya Kamini Kotelawala, the wife of former Ceylinco Group Chairman, Lalith Kotelawala.

The judicial order was given by the Chief Magistrate to determine the exact financial value of the stock of gold items, when Mrs. Kotelawala was produced in Courts on Thursday on a charge of defrauding Rs. 4.3 billion in depositors’ funds in F&G Property Developers.

Amongst the jewellery recovered by the CID from a safety deposit locker of a government-owned bank at Union Place were 22 gold bangles, seven gold necklaces, 21 diamond studded gold rings, 51 gold earrings, 15 gold pendants, one gold biscuit, five gloves made in gold, two gold wristwatches, one gold lady’s heels, two gem studded gold earrings, one bangle with gold carvings, four gem studded gold saree clips and four gold hairpins.

The Chief Magistrate made the order after considering the submissions by the Counsel representing the aggrieved parties that the jewellery be auctioned and depositors repaid with the funds realized.

The CID had opened the safety deposit locker at the Union Place branch of the bank in Colombo 2 on September 27, 2010 and submitted a report to Court.

Sicille Kotelawala, who was produced in Court by prisons officials, was re-remanded till March 9.

The CID told Court that it was not possible to record a statement due to her poor health condition and sought more time to do so.

Meanwhile, Colombo High Court Judge Manilal Waidyatilleke on Tuesday rejected an application for bail and re-remanded Mrs. Kotelawala till April 27 in connection with the Golden Key Credit Card case, after taking into consideration the fact that the accused had evaded Courts for four years.

The accused was brought to Court in an ambulance from the Colombo National Hospital, where she is undergoing treatment. Thereafter, she was transferred to a wheelchair and escorted to Court by prison officers.

Appearing on behalf of Mrs. Kotelawala, Senior Counsel Saliya Peiris told Court that his client had acted as the non-executive director of Golden Key Credit Card Company and tendered her resignation on October 2008.

He said that his client traveled to Singapore on December 22, 2008 for medical treatment and subsequently traveled to the United Kingdom for further treatment. She was suffering from critical cardiac problems and a psychiatric issue.

However, Senior State Counsel Dilan Ratnayake appearing on behalf of the Attorney General objected to the accused being released on bail. The accused was absconding for more than four years.

Jaliya Samarasinghe, Counsel for Golden Key Depositors’ Association said that it was not the accused, but Golden Key depositors who are suffering from ‘psychiatric issues’. He also raised objections to the accused being granted bail.

Taking into consideration the submissions made, the High Court Judge denied bail to the accused, the wife of the chief shareholder of the Golden Key Credit Card Company.

Lalith Kotelawala and Golden Key Credit Card Company (GKCCC) Board of Directors have been indicted in the Colombo High Court on charges of criminal misappropriation and criminal breach of trust.

The Attorney General had framed charges against Kotelawala and others under the Penal Code and Finance Companies Act for the offences they had allegedly committed from March 1999 to December 2008.

Kotelawala and the GKCCC Board of Directors were charged with conspiring to misappropriate in connivance with Nallanthuwan, one of the suspects in the magisterial inquiry into the alleged misappropriation of depositors funds worth Rs. 26 billion belonging to the GKCC. Nallanthuwan died when the magisterial inquiry was ongoing.

Ranil’s Tough Line Deserves Watchful Support

By Kumar David –February 28, 2016

Prof. Kumar David

The public has been haranguing the government for not prosecuting corrupt and criminal politicos (of whatever regime), not acting firmly against racist provocateurs and not pulling up slack government servants to enhance the quality of state services. If this is the grouse then strong action is justified and nobody should complain if the Prime Minister breaks a few eggs to make an omelette – there are good reasons to be cautious in supporting tough governments because Lee Kwan Yue like experiences have been mixed blessings, but more on that some other time.

Demonstrations of public outrage at malfeasance is abundant in print, electronic media, TV and is a prime topic of every social conversation. The antidote was well stated in a letter to the Island (19 February) by reader DEMOS: “If the law of the land is enforced equitably, and where breaches of the law occur, justice is meted out strictly without fear or favour, the majority of people will be happy in the knowledge that they can live with dignity and with an assured sense of security ”. Very good, but enforcing the law with equity, putting an end to racial incitement and that ensuring public servants work in proportion to their remuneration, provokes vengeance from law breakers, racists and slackers. These eggs need to be broken if Mr Demos is to enjoy his nourishing omelette.

Allow me to muse on these themes from the perspective of a leftist and dwell on what the left should be doing but falling short. I expended time seeking leftist reactions to the question “What should our relationship to the Ranil Wickremesinghe government be?” The reply fell not into a wide spectrum, but into two sharply dichotomous positions. The Better-Left, for want of a name, consisting of the LSSP Majority Faction (Lal Wijenayake, Jayampathi, Vijaya Kumar), left-liberal intellectuals and Tamils said: ‘Responsible Cooperation’. ‘Responsible’ is an issue based approach – there will at times be disagreements. ‘Cooperation’ means now is a not-to-be-wasted opportunity to collaborate with the government for both positive purposes, and no less important, to defeat racism that has not been entirely eradicated, 8 January and 17 August notwithstanding. Others, such as Siritunga’s United Socialists, ex-Maoists and some civil society organisations e.g. those led by Jehan, Nimalka and Pakiasorthy, also belong to the responsible but not unconditional collaborator block. The JVP is tied up in knots of its own making and has managed to get both feet into its mouth.

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‘What has befallen me today is an example for all policemen’ – Anura Senanayake

- Feb 28, 2016

“Retired policemen are like an skinned banana. Everyone has a poke at it. No one is now with me, after pestering me with good morning sir, good afternoon sir, good evening sir, good night sir and even standing guard at the door when I went to the toilet. They are now afraid even to talk to me,” said retired senior DIG Anura Senanayake.

He made the remark when he met a leading lawyer to discuss what action he could take to prevent his arrest.

 

“Everyone waited until I became the IG. If the Yahapaalana government did not come, I would definitely have become the IG. I did a lot for the former bigwigs with that position in mind. What has befallen me today is an example for all policemen. When we are ruined, we have us only to defend ourselves. Had the correct thing being done, there is no cause for fear,” he said further. The lawyer advised him to make a special statement before the magistrate, as per clause 127 of the criminal procedure code, and turn state witness.