The far-right German proposal to ban all mosques

People in Erfurt, Germany, take part in an anti-immigration demonstration organized by the Alternative for Germany party on March 16. (Jens Meyer/AP)

By Ishaan Tharoor-March 30

A wing of a far-right party in Germany is readying a proposal to ban the "construction and operation" of mosques. The plan was articulated in a 45-page policy document put forward by members of a Bavarian branch of the Alternative for Germany, or AfD, a far-right, anti-immigration party that hadan impressive showing in regional elections earlier this month.

The draft policy, titled "Courage to take responsibility," states that "Islam does not belong to Germany" and argues that mosques lead to "the spread of Islamic teachings directed towards the removal of our legal order," according to the Deutsche Welle news agency.

The Koran, the holy book of Islam, is full of "lies and deception," the paper says, warning that Islam "has already arrived at its declared path to world domination in 57 out of 190 countries."

[Donald Trump and the shadow of Europe's far-right]

This is a familiar theme now, both in Europe and the United States. The upheavals of the Middle East, the fears sparked by the arrival of tens of thousands of Muslim migrants and refugees, and the Islamic State militant group's campaign of terror in cities around the world have inflamed populist, xenophobic passions in the West.

The AfD's leadership in Bavaria distanced itself from the proposal, which apparently came from a particularly right-wing branch of the party in Lower Bavaria, an administrative region of the southern German state. It's unlikely that the call to ban mosques would ever be heeded.

About 4 million Muslims live in Germany, a country with a population of about 80 million. There are 184 new mosque projects underway in the country, according to a leading German Muslim group.
The AfD was founded in 2013 in opposition to Germany's proposed bailout of debt-ridden Greece. Its Euroskepticisim, like those of other populist parties on the continent, morphed with fears of Muslim immigration.

"It’s a similar phenomenon as [GOP front-runner Donald] Trump," Heinrich Oberreuter, a political scientist at the University of Passau, told my colleague Anthony Faiola this month when explaining the AfD's success. "People are angry at the political establishment, and they feel they are not being taken seriously. Political elites are the targets. Alternative for Germany is an expression, an articulation of this imprecise feeling of dissent."

The party's rise has been particularly conspicuous in Germany, which is understandably wary of far-right, ultranationalist politics. In its campaign literature, the AfD urged Germans to abandon their guilt over the Nazi past.

“A one-sided focus on 12 unlucky years of our history obstructs our view of centuries, in which a unique culture and state order was created," an AfD election pamphlet read.

Read more
As the route to Europe closes, migrants journey through grief
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Most of the refugees stuck in Greece are now women and children

 

Ishaan Tharoor writes about foreign affairs for The Washington Post. He previously was a senior editor at TIME, based first in Hong Kong and later in New York.

Land Occupation in the Northern Province: A Commentary on Ground Realities and Recommendations for Reform

 March 30, 2016

Land is a key issue for reconciliation in Sri Lanka. Reparations including the restitution of land, if implemented in the correct manner, can contribute to long-term peace building efforts and prevent further marginalisation of people who were affected by the war. With promises by the government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) to initiate reforms including with transitional justice processes and mechanisms, the Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) examines a key issue that is crucial for reparations and reconciliation in Sri Lanka: occupation of land in the Northern Province. While recognising a comprehensive study of this issue in Sri Lanka is needed, the present study examines the situation of land occupation in the Northern Province and comments on steps required if the GOSL is genuine in its commitments. CPA hopes that this initial study limited to the North, can be expanded to other parts of Sri Lanka, data gathered from such an exercise potentially feeding into reform processes and informing policy options.

Download the full report here.

Land-Occupation-in-the-Northern-Province.pdf by Thavam Ratna

Ekneligoda murder :Court decides against granting bail to suspects

(Lanka-e-News -30.March.2016, 11.30PM)   When  the murder trial of Prageeth Ekneligoda  was taken up for hearing yesterday (29) at the Homagama court, the bail applications of the 9 soldiers who are suspects in the case were  rejected by judge Ranga Dissanayake who further remanded them.

Previously , the judge announced that a decision shall be taken yesterday on whether the suspects can be released on bail (or remanded) because the body of Prageeth had not been found. 

The Attorney General’s department raising objections to granting bail stated , irrespective of the absence of the victim’s body , there is evidence that the group had abducted the victim , and since the latter is not in the midst , statements have to be recorded of the suspects in regard to what they did  to Prageeth.

Upul Kumaraperuma the lawyer appearing on  behalf of Ekneliyagoda citing additional  grounds against granting bail said,  as the suspects were placed in remand custody by the judge who heard this case before , the present judge cannot grant bail , and there wasn’t a mode  to grant bail.

Accordingly , the judge Ranga Dissanayake accepting  the argument presented by Upul Kumaraperuma , refused to grant bail. 

Meanwhile the CID informed court that the suspects are in one group in the prison hospital which is an impediment to their investigations . Hence the CID requested court to issue an order to segregate four suspects .Accordingly , the judge ordered the prison hospital to forward a medical report on them to the court on the 1 st of April , while remanding the suspects until that date.

Army officers , Shammi Arjuna Kumararatne, Nankulage Toshinath Prabodha Sriwardena, Rajapakse Mudiyansalage Priyantha Kumara Rajapakse alias Nathan , Wadugedera Vinee Priyantha, Dilanjan Upasena , S.M. Raveendara Rupasena  alias Ranji, W.D. Dhaminda Kumara Abeyrathne , S.M. Kanishka Gunarathne , Aiyasamy Balasukramaniam and D.N. Tharanga Prasad Gamage are the suspects in remand custody. 

Prageeth ‘s wife Sandya Ekneliyagoda convening  a media briefing some time ago revealed that if these suspects are enlarged on bail , her life is at stake. 

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by     (2016-03-30 21:53:00)

Bore-Wells & Salinity In Jaffna

By Willie D. Joshua –March 30, 2016

Willie D. Joshua

Danger of soils becoming saline from bore-wells water in the Jaffna Peninsula

Fresh water supplies and arable land are at risk due to indiscriminate digging of bore wells resulting in saline water extraction. Simple methods for mapping the depth of usable water are proposed that can be used to guide well-depth and prevent significant environment degradation. This information can also be used to estimate the available groundwater for human use.

Recently, there has been a trend in drilling bore wells in the Jaffna Peninsula to extract groundwater for domestic use. This practice is to be implemented for houses being built with foreign aid to settle displaced people in the war torn area. These wells are constructed by drilling about 15cm (6 ins) circular holes right down to the groundwater. The water from these bore wells is used directly by hand pumps or is pumped to an overhead tank and distributed by pipes within the house for domestic use. The groundwater in the peninsula consists of a fresh water layer underlain by salt water. There is a danger that if the bore well goes down to the depth of the saline layer, the pumped out water will be brackish. Thus, there is a possibility of good land becoming saline if this water is used. There have been some instances in Jaffna, where the waters from the bore wells are brackish and not usable even for domestic purposes. Therefore, the depths of the bore wells have to be above the saline groundwater. The Northern Provincial Council has already been informed of this potential problem and remedial measures also have been suggested.

There are three types of wells in use in Sri Lanka namely agro-wells, tube wells and bore wells. Agro-wells, also referred to as dug-wells, are the ones commonly in use in the Jaffna Peninsula and elsewhere in Sri Lanka. Water from these wells are used both for domestic and irrigation purposes. These are large diameter (2-3m) wells whose depths do not go beyond 1m below the dry season water table.

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THE LATEST CONSTITUTION IN NEPAL CAN BE A VERY GOOD MODEL FOR SRI LANKA – VARADARAJA P.

(Prime Minister Sushil Koirala (third from right) and other MPs celebrated the vote late on Wednesday)

30/03/2016

Former Chief Minister of merged North and East A. Varadaraja Perumal said Right to Self Determination should not be only given to Tamils but to people in every region of this country. Autonomy in every region is a must for the government to deliver efficient development to the people.

“The latest Constitution in Nepal can be a very good model for Sri Lanka. Some 500-600 regions have been united in India for the past 60 years as a result of their quasi- federal Constitutions. More than 40 years’ conflict in Nepal had been settled with a federal Constitution. When federalism was not there in America a civil war occurred,” he said.

Following are excerpts:

As you arrived in Sri Lanka, one of your interviews stated that you are keen on contributing to the devolution agenda. What exactly would be your contribution? Would it be a contribution directly to the government or as an individual?

There cannot be any institution called ‘individually’. Former President J.R. Jayewardene made the Constitution of the country for his own interest, thus this country suffered for the last 40 years. Therefore, the next Constitution should not be for the interest of any individual, a specific group or even a specific race. It should be for the benefit of all communities and all regions of this country.

Varadaraja Perumal

You say the Constitution should be drafted in a thoughtful manner. If so what are the main elements that should be included in the new Constitution?

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe has given a clear picture on how the Constitution shall be framed. The executive presidency should be abolished and the cabinet system should be re-introduced. Therefore the Parliament will play the Legislative role and the President will be nominal.

Both the proportional representative system and first past the post system were failures in this country, therefore electoral reforms is a must in the current scenario. From 1994 onwards when former President Chandrika Kumaratunga came to power, this country repeatedly attempted to bring a new system, which will have a mixture of both electoral systems.

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No investigations for the journalists murdered in the north – Northern chief minister

Mar 30, 2016
Northern Province chief minister has showed his resentment that although there are investigations conducted for the four Singhalese journalists killed in the south, there are no investigations started for the 3 Tamil journalists killed in the north.

The chief minister urged the media minister to focus his attention to the Tamil journalists killed.

The chief minister has told this during a discussion held when the media minister Gayantha Karunathilaka, deputy minister Karunarathna Paranavithana and a group of journalists in the south made a visit to the north to monitor the media institutions and journalists which came under attack during the previous regime.

The chief minister emphasized, the Tamil journalist forum had forwarded a letter urging him to speak about the murdered journalists with the media minister.

The chief minister said the Tamil journalist’s forum has pointed out that it would be unfair, not taking any action against the alleged perpetrators who are residing in the country.

Meantime the monument built in the centre of the Jaffna town memory of the journalists killed in the north and south was opened by the media minister and the Northern Province chief minister.

Rāvaya Follows Mainstream Media In Submitting To Yahapālana Censorship

March 30, 2016

Ravaya newspaper joins other mainstream media organizations in submitting to presidential rules about what’s fit to publish and what should be left out. Colombo Telegraph learns that Ravaya, a newspaper which strongly opposed the previous regime, championed the cause of Maithripala Sirisena and agitated for media freedom, has tamely submitted to Presidential orders about killing stories considered detrimental to the President’s interests.

In this instance a news story about the high-handed behaviour of the President’s son Daham Sirisena has been killed. Daham used the Foreign Ministry to obtain visas for some of his friends to visit the UK. The Foreign Ministry issued TPLs (Third Party Letters) to the British High Commission in Colombo, but while Daham was issued a visa the applications of his friends were rejected.

Colombo Telegraph reported the reasons for rejection. One applicant recommended by Daham Sirisena had earlier overstayed his visa and had been blacklisted. Another applicant was blacklisted for submitting fraudulent documents. Thus, in effect, the son of the President of the Republic of Sri Lanka was trying to smuggle into the UK two persons who have broken UK laws.

There are serious issues that arise from this situation. Is this an attempt by Daham Sirisena to smuggle fugitives? How can the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (more to the point, M.R. Hassen, the Chief of Protocol) accept the responsibility to obtain visas for those who are not entitled to diplomatic privileges? If this is allowed, theoretically even Wele Suda, the drug mafia boss, could persuade some influential persons to ask the MFA to issue a Third Party Letter to support an application for a UK visa.

The Foreign Ministry confirmed that Sirisena had indeed sought to use the Foreign Ministry to help his friends, thereby acknowledging that it (the ministry) had operated outside its mandate in issuing TPLs.

U.S. ambassador speaks at constitutionalism seminar

Mar 30, 2016

Thank you so very much to all of you for attending. Honorable and respected Prime Minister, Honorable and respected Speaker of Parliament, Mr. Secretary-General, distinguished and Honorable Ministers and Members of Parliament, resource persons; distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen.

I wish you a very hearty good morning and I thank you very much for giving me the great honor of inviting me to speak at this meeting.

Sri Lankans are rightfully proud of their long democratic history, influenced by its own unique traditions, relationships, and working institutions. You have confronted challenges in terms of conflict and natural disaster, changed governments in a vibrant multi-party system, and embraced progress toward transparency.

Last year, the people of Sri Lanka exercised their democratic rights again and voted twice for good governance, accountability, and equal opportunities for all. Your Government has responded by passing laws and empowering independent commissions, journalists, and civil society for feedback and guidance.

The United States and Sri Lanka have a longstanding partnership dating back a hundred years before this country’s independence. This friendship is based on our peoples’ shared democratic values and strong economic and cultural ties. It is also the reason we have vowed – and I will quote Secretary of State John Kerry in this – to “stand with you by your side as you build a stronger democracy and a future that is marked by peace and prosperity after so many years of suffering and hardship.”

Like Sri Lankans, Americans believe certain human rights are universal, including the right for every child to an education; for the rule of law to prevent arbitrary detention, guarantee due process, and ensure justice; for every citizen to speak their mind or protest peacefully without fear; to practice their faith peacefully and publicly; and to freely choose their own elected leaders.

I wish to stress: we also recognize that every country must chart its own course and shape its own model as fitting its own history and culture. That is why all of you are gathered here today, representing the people who voted for you, to bolster accountability and transparency, strengthen the justice system, and determine your own path forward on constitutional reform.

The United States supports the people of Sri Lanka because we are linked by similar ideals about the basic rights of citizens. As President Barack Obama recently stated on his historic visit to Cuba, “those ideals find their truest expression in democracy. Not because American democracy is perfect, but precisely because we’re not. And we – like every country – need the space that democracy gives us in order to change. It gives individuals the capacity to be catalysts, to think in new ways, and to reimagine how our society should be, and to make it better.”

It is on these shared values that the United States Government – through its development arm, – the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) – supports professional and technical training for Members of Parliament and their staff. We will partner with your public servants to help them increase responsiveness to citizens, more effectively deliver policy solutions, and carry out oversight responsibilities.

Our assistance builds on continued and consistent partnership with the people of Sri Lanka over the past 60 years. USAID programs have supported a wide range of sections, including agriculture, business development, environment, health, education, infrastructure, civil society, strengthening good governance, and humanitarian assistance.

The Government of Sri Lanka has already taken many commendable steps to promote and protect the civil and political rights of all Sri Lankans – including the right to freedom of expression, respecting the independence of government institutions, and upholding rule of law. There remain difficult challenges to address related to reconciliation, accountability, and a government that reflects the will of the people. But these are decisions for the people of Sri Lanka and for you as their elected representatives.

Friends, as a fellow democracy, the United States will be ready to support you as you chart a future for Sri Lanka that is peaceful, inclusive, and prosperous. U.S. assistance and cooperation should help forge new partnerships, new dialogues, new exchanges, and be based on mutual respect and inclusive consultation.

I wish you all a very highly successful seminar and I congratulate the Parliament of Sri Lanka and the Prime Minister’s Office on this fantastic initiative.

Thank you all so very much.

Prime witness in Ekneligoda murder receives death threats from Girithale camp – Complains to police

(Lanka-e-News -30.March.2016, 11.30PM)  Sergeant major Ran Banda the prime witness   in the murder of Prageeth Ekneligoda has receieved death threats from the  Girithale army camp, according to reports.

It was this sergeant major who received death threats yesterday , who interrogated Prageeth for two days while the latter was detained in the Girithale army camp after he was abducted by a group of army officers including Shammi Kumararatne of the Girithale army camp.

Ran Banda had stated to the CID that he questioned Prageeth on the book the latter wrote criticising the Rajapakse family. Accordingly the main witness  in this case is the retired sergeant major. 

Ran Banda has made a complaint to Nikaweratiya police yesterday , that a group of army officers of the Girithale army camp has planned to kill him.

The handwritten copy of the book of Prageeth on which he was questioned at that time by Ran Banda was given to Gotabaya by Ruwan Ferdinands who had undertaken to publish it . Ruwan Ferdinands was a Gotabaya’s secret  informant who was functioning as  co ordinating secretary to Mangala Samaraweera for a long time.

After the cat was out of the bag , and the incident came to light , via the website that belonged to Ruwan Ferdinands and the newspapers he  began maligning  Ekneliyagoda as  a ‘Tiger’ and gave publicity to that.  

After it became known that Ruwan Ferdinands had been a long time informant of Rajapakses , Mangala Samaraweera chased him out from  the post of co ordinating secretary .

Unbelievably and intriguingly   Ruwan Ferdinands who was  the epicenter  of Prageeth’s murder has not been questioned by the CID so far.

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by     (2016-03-30 21:37:16)

Prime Minister to tame the ‘bugs’ in Education

(March 30, 2016, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) Useless unproductive officials should be removed and replaced with more efficient people drawn from the public service, private sector, Armed Forces, Police or any other service, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said.

“A major leap should be ensured in the country’s education sector by deploying efficient hands. Let us all dedicate ourselves to perform this task. A new system of education will be introduced before May this year after discussions with Provincial Councils and the Parliamentary Select Committee on Education,” he said.

The Prime Minister was speaking at the opening of Royal MAS Arena – Sri Lanka’s first sporting arena for schools on Monday. “Many people will naturally oppose this as there are people who are against an educational revolution.

We will go forward with the new education system regardless of such meaningless opposition,” he said.

Trade Unions Call For Educational Reforms Free From Political Agendas

March 30, 2016

In the backdrop of several instances of political meddling within the education sector, the Steering Committee for Inquiring about the Education Sector of Sri Lanka, has proposed for educational reforms free of political agendas.

Minister Kiriella

The Steering Committee which comprises of the Federation of University Teachers’ Associations (FUTA), the Ceylon Teachers’ Service Union (CTSU) and the Ceylon Teachers’ Union (CTU) has also emphasized upon large-scale public participation for future educational reforms, if the system is to rid itself of the current chaos surrounding the sector.

“We reiterate and emphasize the need for educational reform that is free from political agendas,” the joint statement signed by Dr. R U Halwatura of FUTA, Joseph Starlin of CTU and Mahinda Jayasinghe of CTSU said.

The committee was formed as an initiative to find suitable solutions to the burning issues faced by the Sri Lankan education system at present. At the inaugural meeting of committee held on the 22 March 2016 at the University of Kelaniya, the discussion centred around several key points, including;

• The public is ignorant of the Government’s policy or vision on education which leads to uncertainties about the same

• These uncertainties have led to the creation of weaknesses and ambiguities which have developed into a force that is slowing the development of the education system

• The importance of educating the public and other stakeholders about the National Education Policy in a context where all educational reforms of the past have failed

• The risk of the public adopting erroneous and baseless practices due to failed educational reforms

• Uncertainties about the role and responsibilities of prominent institutes engaged in the formation of educational policy such as the National Education Commission (NEC) and  the National Institute of Education (NIE) in a social context where there is an incomplete and unclear understanding about the Government’s educational policy

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Now Mahinda faction favours Geneva!

WEDNESDAY, 30 MARCH 2016

Parliamentarians Dullas Alahapperuma, Bandula Gunawardene and Udaya Gammanpila left to Geneva yesterday (29th) to apprise the Inter Parliamentary Union (IPU) regarding unjust treatment meted out to Members of the 'Joint Opposition' in Parliament.

Before leaving the island Parliamentarian Dullas Alahapperuma speaking at a media conference had said they would meet the Secretary General of IPU tomorrow (31st) and apprise him of the unjust treatment meted out to 53 Members of Parliament of the joint opposition including denying sufficient time for them to express their views in Parliament. He said the Speaker has been informed regarding their move to hand over a document with 6 important matters to the Secretary General of IPU.

However, when Parliamentarians representing the opposition engaged in a foreign visit during Mahinda Rajapaksa regime, the likes of Dullas Allahapperuma, Bandula Gunawardene and Wimal Weerawansa always said the Parliamentarians from the opposition make foreign visits to belittle the country in front of the international community. Whatever was said about Sri Lanka many ministers in Mahinda Rajapaksa regime said it would bring discredit to Sri Lanka and it was a part of the imperialist conspiracy.

They also talked about an attempt to take Mahinda Rajapaksa to the Hague and the electric chair. However, the IPU, which Parliamentarians of the joint opposition visit now, has played an important part in setting up the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague.

Will Gotabaya come to parliament through a national seat?

WORLD LEADERS

Brazil president closer to impeachment as coalition partner quits

Mar 30, 2016
Political reports substantiate senior members of the SLFP has proposed president to offer a national list post for the former defense secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

The senior SFLP members believes that this would be the best solution to foil the campaign taken by Mahinda Rajapaksa and Basil Rajapaksa to divide the Sri Lanka Freedom party. Therefore in order to present a parliament MP post a new MP elected to the parliament is planning to step down.

The senior SLFP’s believe that the president would also comply with this request. They point out although president Maithripala Sirisena showed his willingness to nominate Gotabaya Rajapaksa for the general election but due to the objection of Mahinda Rajapaksa, Gotabaya Rajapaksa was not given an opportunity. It is learnt that Prime Minister Ranil Wicramasinghe has no objection for taking Gotabaya in to the government. Meantime during the last phase of the Rajapaksa era, Gotabaya Rajapaksa has personally intervened and provided security to Maithripala Sirisena and Ranil Wicramasinghe. Due to this it appears they all have a special friendship.

However sources close to Gotabaya Rajapaksa substantiate that he is not reluctant to get a parliament MP post. He believes he can defeat all powers against him by entering the parliament as a representative for the former president and answer too allegations leveled by the field Marshall Sarath Fonseka who is hiding behind parliamentary privileges and castigating Gotabaya Rajapaksa. Field Marshall Sarath Fonseka leveled many allegations against the Rajapaksa’s recently.

Meanwhile during a discussion held at Mahinda Amaraweera’s house, John Senevirathna and Dilan Perera has given their opinion about taking Gotabaya Rajapaksa in to the government.

They emphasize when a position is given to Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the current baseless allegations charged towards the government would be inhibited. They said there is a high welcome to Gotabaya Rajapaksa in the middle class society.

However the opinion of the intelligence unit formed for the immigration of Gotabaya Rajapaksa to the politics, say that Gotabaya Rajapaksa should still remain quiet for some time. They has substantiated that Gotabaya Rajapaksa should not participate any of the rallies organized by Mahinda Rajapaksa or the joint opposition. Therefore he refrained participating for any of the joint opposition gatherings recently. When we inquired about this he said “I am not in to any of this”. Meantime he said he would never join to any of the May Day rally or any other rallies organized by the joint opposition.

The desire of the racist members of the joint opposition is to appoint Gotabaya Rajapaksa as the leader of their group. Mahinda Rajapaksa has become against for this and told that all affairs should be implemented with the knowledge of Basil Rajapaksa. The joint opposition substantiate that Mahinda Rajapaksa have a strong desire to bring Namal Rajapaksa forward. The intention to create a division in the SLFP is also to exert pressure to Maithripala Sirisena and obtain a top position to Namal in the SLFP. News substantiates a special group has spoken with the Maithri party about this. In addition to a top post in the SLFP, Mahinda Rajapaksa has urged Maithri to give the deputy foreign minister post to Namal Rajapaksa. Apart this, dissolving the Financial Crime Investigating Unit (FCID) and to stop all the current investigations conducted against his family members. During last few weeks there were discussions between Namal Rajapaksa and this special agents and Namal Rajapaksa has been given a responsibility to manage Mahinda Rajapaksa. The attacks Mahinda Rajapaksa unleash against the president has hindered this discussions.

Subash Jayawardana

Source : Sathhanda

Translated by Azgar

Sri Lanka: Gotabaya Rajapaksa Is Still Dangerous

Taylor Dibbert- 03/29/2016

Could Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Sri Lanka’s former defense secretary (and brother of previous president Mahinda Rajapaksa), bring the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) together? Evidently a member of the country’s joint opposition has suggested that Rajapaksa be appointed to parliament, the implication being that this move would help to unify a political party that has remained divided since Maithripala Sirisena assumed the presidency in January 2015.

This is a very bad idea. After all, Gotabaya Rajapaksa is an alleged war criminal who played a pivotal role in the island nation’s slide towards autocracy. Ranga Jayasuriya, a journalist, has written a piece about this issue. Here’s part of that article:

Gota’s balance sheet is a jumble. On the plus side are his pivotal role in the military victory against terrorism, and of course, beautifying Colombo. Those are obviously notable achievements. But, on the minus side, his record is exceedingly dark. There are extra judiciary killings, white van abductions and disappearance of journalists, civil society activists and dissidents — all that took place under his watch as the Secretary of Defence.

Jayasuriya finishes with a strong concluding paragraph:

How he [Gotabaya Rajapaksa] can be a unifier of the SLFP is open to question, but the bigger question is how a President who pledged to redress the victims of the past and hold their abusers accountable for their evil could accommodate Gota without losing face. Also, such an accommodation is tantamount to appeasement. It would embolden his detractors within the Joint Opposition who would seek further concessions to advance their selfish ends. The impact of such a gesture on the on-going investigations into the abuses of power of the former regime would also be disastrous. Perhaps, the President would not be duped.

To be blunt, Sirisena’s tenure thus far has disappointed many people; clearly, he is not the savviest of politicians and his sincerity vis-à-vis reform remains an open question. Furthermore, politically speaking, the Rajapaksas and their allies look far from finished.

Nevertheless, for Sirisena, a rapprochement with the Rajapaksas is not a viable option. Doing so would not only undermine what’s left of his credibility and deal a major blow to the wide-ranging reform agenda, it would also undoubtedly weaken a president who still has years left in office. In the weeks ahead, it would behoove the president to keep all of this in mind. The Rajapaksas are not unifiers, now or ever.

Follow Taylor Dibbert on Twitter: www.twitter.com/taylordibbert

Sri Lanka: Rajapaksa foreign policy from anti-West to anti-India

The issue of services sector needs to be carefully negotiated to ensure no loss to Sri Lankan professionals while opening up the giant Indian service sector to strong Sri Lankan businesses, especially for our larger listed companies, should have concessionary access to India.

by Harim Peiris 

( March 30, 2016, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) The Mahinda Rajapaksa administration especially in its post war, second term became fairly stridently anti West, especially in the run up to and during the presidential election of January 2015, which it comprehensively lost and thereby ending Rajapaksa rule in Sri Lanka. However despite being the first and only incumbent president to lose a re-election bid, Mahinda Rajapaksa has also become the only former president of the republic to choose not to retire from active politics and has desired to continue as a Member of Parliament, representing the Kurunegala District. He effectively functions as the political leader and the inspiration, of the minor party led joint opposition.

The foreign policy spokesman of the joint opposition is the former Foreign Minister, the learned professor from Panadura, (no kinsman I hasten to add), and whom despite not being in Parliament uses the opposition press conferences as his platform to articulate the views of the opposition and more particularly to be his master’s voice. (Pun intended).

Rajapaksa and allies have not learned from their twin defeats

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