Nationalism is the manifestation of a crisis, not a solution to it - Nirmal

2016-11-30

Q With the conclusion of the election in the United States, there is a perception that nationalism is triumphing over internationalism. What are your views?

First of all, internationalism has never triumphed. It is wrong to pit one concept against another in this instance. Nationalism has been a strong political and ideological force for the last two centuries, particularly after the French revolution. It has a very high attraction among the masses. It is a concept with strong political appeal. Non nationalist ideologies also prevailed. Internationalism was there. It emerged with a political connotation with the communist movement. It arose with the initiatives of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. In the aftermath of World War 1, internationalism could not confront nationalism.  

Nationalism is the manifestation of a crisis.docx by Siva Thavam on Scribd

Trouble once again in paradise

By P K Balachandran- 28th November 2016

The fluid political situation in Sri Lanka, and the erosion of popular support for the Sirisen a - W i c k r e m e s i n g h e combine, have together created in the minds of the minority Tamils, doubts about the regime’s ability to draft a Tamil-friendly constitution and face the political storm that will certainly follow. Sensing a drift towards abandonment of the constitution- making exercise and its substitution by a few amendments to the existing constitution along with electoral reforms, the MPs of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), the largest Tamil party in Parliament with 16 MPs, met President Maithripala Sirisena recently to air their concerns. Sirisena assured the MPs that he is keen on a new constitution as promised to the Tamils in the run-up to the 2015 presidential election, which he won thanks in part to the overwhelming support of the Tamils.

However, the President made it clear he will have to get the support of his political rival and former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, especially for greater devolution of power to the Tamilspeaking provinces. He said he has asked PM Ranil Wickremesinghe to discuss the issue with Rajapaksa. While Tamil MPs do realise that support of Rajapaksa’s 50- odd MPs in Parliament will be necessary for the draft constitution to get the required twothirds majority, they also know Rajapaksa is a Sinhala-Buddhist hardliner who has often said he will not give to the Tamils in peacetime what he had denied LTTE leader Prabhakaran. Rajapaksa had trashed the idea of federalism and agreed to hold elections to the Northern Provincial Council only because of intense Indian pressure and Japanese prodding. But he insisted on continuing with a military man as the Northern Province governor despite objections by elected Chief Minister Wigneswaran and the TNA.

Rajapaksa has very significant support among Sinhala- Buddhists who account for 70 percent of Sri Lanka’s population. And the dominant view among the Sinhalese is that devolution of power to a Tamil province will end up in secession, thanks to the Tamils’ ingrained separatist mentality and support from Tamil Nadu and the Western nations. If Rajapaksa was defeated in the January 2015 presidential poll, it was because the minorities voted en masse against him while the Sinhalese were divided. But despite that setback, Rajapaksa bounced back in the July 2015 parliamentary polls when his faction of the United Peoples’ Freedom Alliance (UPFA) came second behind Wickremesinghe’s United National Party (UNP).

The faction led by Sirisena came third. In the past year, Rajapaksa has been gaining ground, despite the many misappropriation cases filed against his family members and political cohorts. A lack of cohesion in the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe coalition, frequent changes in policy, an inability to deliver on economic promises, concessions to the rich and high indirect taxes on the common man have resulted in the Rajapaksa regime shining in contrast. The rising tide in favour of Rajapaksa was evident in the recent elections to rural cooperative societies where Rajapaksa acolytes are thought to have swept the polls. Sensing lack of support among the rural Sinhalese, Sirisena has kept postponing long overdue polls to local bodies like the Pradeshiya Sabhas, urban councils and municipalities. With the tide turning in his favour, it is unlikely Rajapaksa will agree to Sirisena’s proposal to give Tamils more than what has been given under the partly implemented 13th Amendment of the constitution. But even this tattered document is viewed by the Sinhalese as an 1987 Indian imposition which ought to be repealed. Tamil politicians have also noticed that Sinhalese MPs in the various constitution-drafting sub-committees do not take much interest in the proceedings and are irregular in attendance; they are interested only in electoral reforms.

Changes to Judiciary and Fundamental Law

Constituent Council: Reports of Judiciary & Fundamental Rights Subcommittees

By C. A. Chandraprema-November 29, 2016, 7:55 pm 

The report of the Subcommittee on the judiciary observes that there is no express provision in the Constitution stressing the importance of the principle of judicial independence and aims to remedy that perceived lacuna by recommending the adoption of a provision in the constitution of South Africa which says that the courts are ‘independent’ and subject only to the ‘Constitution and the law’, and that that ‘no person or organ of state may interfere with the functioning of the courts’. There is no harm in stressing that no one should interfere with the courts because that has been the assumption that we have had with from time immemorial. But, whether one needs to go so far as to say to say that the courts are ‘subject only to the constitution and the law’ is questionable.

The constitution and the law all exist for the people (not the other way about) and the courts should be subject to the people whose interests they are supposed to serve. Article 3 of our present constitution says that sovereignty is vested in the people and is inalienable, and article 4 states among other things that the judicial power of the people shall be exercised by parliament through the courts. The report of the subcommittee on the Judiciary does not explain why the present formulation is not good enough. If parliament makes all the laws that the courts have to interpret and implement, why is it wrong to say that the judicial power of the people will be exercised by parliament through the courts?

No institution above people

The legislature which is elected by the people has a handle over the executive because only members of the legislature can be appointed to the cabinet of ministers and the legislature has all powers over finance. Likewise the legislature should have a hold over the judiciary with parliament exercising the judicial powers of the people through the courts. You can’t have any arm of the state that is so exalted that it is not answerable to the people. Judges are not elected by the people unlike the president and the parliament, and have to be accountable to the people through some mechanism. There can be no constitution or law or judiciary that is above the people.

Bar Association’s power Changes to the present procedure for appointing judges of the superior courts have also been recommended according to which the President will appoint judges to the supreme court and court of appeal on the recommendations of the constitutional council and the latter in turn will receive nominations from a panel of former supreme court judges which will include a former chief justice. This panel will be appointed by the incumbent chief justice after consulting the Attorney General and the President of the Bar Association. There is nothing wrong in the constitutional council receiving nominations for high judicial office from a panel of former supreme court judges. But for the incumbent chief justice to be constitutionally required to ‘consult’ the President of the Bar Association in appointing this panel of retired supreme court judges is not acceptable.

The Bar Association is a body that is susceptible to politicisation. At one point a sitting UNP parliamentarian was the President of the Bar Association. Thereafter a President of the Bar Association participated openly in a campaign to bring a new government into power and even before ceasing to be the President of the Bar Association, he accepted a political appointment as the Chairman of the Board of Investment. Furthermore, the Bar Association accepts foreign funding and overseas trips from foreign embassies that have been openly and directly interfering in the politics of Sri Lanka. For a body like the Bar Association to accept funding from foreign powers may not be illegal in Sri Lanka because of a loophole in our law. But in India this is a violation of the law carrying a jail sentence.

That a body like the Bar Association can pretend to be oblivious to the ethical implications of accepting foreign funding and foreign trips from powers that seek to influence politics in Sri Lanka should be a cause for concern for all citizens. The Bar Association’s political leanings are also painfully obvious. After all, the Prime Minister said in Parliament that the Supreme Court decision in Nallaratnam Singarasa v. The Attorney General should be overturned, the Bar Association made preparations to file a motion in the Supreme Court seeking a review of that judgment. If a body like this has to be consulted by the sitting chief justice in appointing the panel to nominate judges for the superior courts, where will things end up?

BASL brought in

The UNP led government tried to give the Bar Association a role in the appointment of judges even in drafting the 19th Amendment last year by trying to stipulate that when the Constitutional Council appoints judges of the superior courts, they should obtain the views of chief justice as well as the Bar Association. Due to the storm or protest that arose over this, the requirement to consult the Bar Association was dropped. Now it has been brought in again through the backdoor by the Subcommittee on the Judiciary. If the Bar Association is given a say in the appointment of judges to the superior courts, that will corrupt the whole justice system because all judges will be compelled to keep influential members of the Bar Association happy.

A related recommendation is that when Judges of the superior courts go on leave without pay to take up temporary assignments in foreign jurisdictions (as judges often do), that ‘short-term ad-hoc appointments’ to the superior courts could be made from ‘leading practitioners’ to tide over these temporary vacancies. When this is seen in relation to the previous recommendation, it is easy to see which way things are heading. The Subcommittee on the Judiciary has also recommended a fast track removal process for judges of the superior courts instead of the present impeachment proceedings. They have suggested the setting up of a ‘Superior Courts Judges Disciplinary Commission’, the members of which will be recommended by the Constitutional Council and appointed by the President.

Removing judges

This disciplinary commission will inquire into any allegations of misconduct or incapacity in relation to judges of the superior courts and submit a report to the Constitutional Council which will examine the contents of the report and make a recommendation for the removal of the judge which will have to be approved by parliament with a simple majority. The President will then remove such judge. This recommendation of the Subcommittee will need further discussion. One cause for unease regarding this procedure is that there are three appointed members in the Constitutional Council who are not people’s representatives or members of the legislature. Only members of the supreme legislature should be in a position to recommend the removal of a judge of the Supreme Court or the court of appeal.

The present procedure is that if a judge of the superior courts is to be impeached, not less than one third of the total members of parliament will have to give notice to the Speaker of such a resolution and a parliamentary select committee will examine the charges. A report will be submitted to parliament after which parliament will pass a resolution to remove the judge with more than half the total number of members of parliament (including those not present) voting for it. The existing system has better safeguards than the fast track system suggested by the Subcommittee. At present only elected representatives of the people are involved in the process and they have to indicate their resolve twice – at the beginning of the proceedings by signing the notice to the speaker and at the end by voting for the removal of the judge.

SC without original jurisdiction

The Subcommittee on the Judiciary has also recommended that that the Supreme Court be made an exclusively appellate body without any original jurisdiction. Accordingly, fundamental rights jurisdiction is to be given to the Court of Appeal. The merits and demerits of this will have to be discussed further, but one recommendation of the Subcommittee on the Judiciary that is bound to encounter vehement opposition is the suggestion that a seven member constitutional court be set up outside the regular courts structure to have exclusive jurisdiction in interpreting the constitution, in reviewing Bills and even powers of post enactment of review of legislation and to adjudicate in disputes between the Centre and the provinces.

The new constitutional court is supposed to be made up of judges with a specialised knowledge of constitutional law and ‘specialists in the field’. If a constitutional matter comes up in any court anywhere in the country, that case will have to be referred to this constitutional court. All this while the interpretation of the constitution and pre-enactment review of Bills was the exclusive preserve of the Supreme Court. To give this power to a body that is outside the structure of the courts which will be made up by ‘specialists in the field’ - who as Sri Lankan experience has shown will invariably be NGO activists plugging various agendas – would not be a palatable proposition for many.

Subcommittee on Fundamental Rights The subcommittee on fundamental rights has recommended that all written and unwritten laws in force at the time of coming into force of the new Constitution including the Chapter on Fundamental Rights shall be read subject to the provisions of the new Constitution and in the event of a court declaring that any such law is inconsistent with a provision of the new constitution, such law ‘shall be deemed to be void’. This is a standard provision that would be a feature of any new constitution. However, the Subcommittee on Fundamental Rights has recommended that this standard provision should not apply to ‘personal laws’ in force at the time of coming into force of this Constitution – which means that certain personal laws will be above the constitution of Sri Lanka and even its chapter on fundamental rights.

The government will be playing with fire if the constitution allows any communal law or ‘personal law’ to stand above the fundamental law of the land. What Article 168 of our present constitution says in this regard is that ‘unless Parliament otherwise provides’, all written and unwritten laws, in force immediately before the commencement of the Constitution, shall, mutatis mutandis, and ‘except as otherwise expressly provided in the Constitution’, continue in force. There is nothing in our present constitution that says that any personal law will continue to be valid even if it is in conflict with the constitution and the chapter on fundamental rights. The basic principle should be that any pre-existing law that comes into conflict with the constitution is ipso facto void.

According to Sri Lanka’s legal system, foreign treaties that are entered into by the government are not automatically incorporated in domestic law. Parliament has to specifically pass a law incorporating the provisions of the new treaty into the domestic law or it remains unimplemented. The Subcommittee on Fundamental Rights has now recommended that the provisions of a human rights treaty should automatically become a part of the domestic law two years after ratification. If Parliament passes a law incorporating a part but not the entirety of the treaty, the unincorporated provisions would also become domestic law at the end of the period of two years. Furthermore, in relation to human rights treaties to which Sri Lanka is already a party, the two year period will begin to run from the time the new constitution is promulgated.

The automatic incorporation of foreign treaties without amending the extant domestic laws to ensure that there are no discrepancies, will create confusion in the legal system. It is quite obvious that this particular recommendation has been made in order to work around the Supreme Court judgment in Nallaratnam Singarasa v Attorney General. Even though the CBK government signed Optional Protocol I of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which allows appeals from Sri Lanka to be addressed to the Human Rights Committee in Geneva, this has remained unimplemented because parliament has not passed a law incorporating that treaty into domestic law. In the above mentioned case, the Supreme Court decided that international treaties that are not expressly incorporated in our law by parliament are not part of the domestic law.

UNHRC

The government which is wary about trying to introduce legislation in parliament which will subordinate our supreme court to the Human Rights Committee in Geneva, now appears to be trying to incorporate international treaties into domestic law without going through the hassle of a bruising battle within parliament which may spill over into the legal fraternity as well. The recommendation of the Sub Committee on Fundamental Rights which may be the most controversial recommendation of all is that both Sinhala and Tamil be recognised as the official languages of Sri Lanka. According to our present constitution, Sinhala is the official language while Sinhala and Tamil are national languages. Even in India, there is only one official language - Hindi.

The compromise arrived at as far back as the 1950s was for Sinhala to be the official language with reasonable provision for the use of Tamil as the language of administration and the courts in the North and East and in education throughout the country. S.J.V.Chelvanayagam himself endorsed this system by agreeing that in the Tamil speaking Northern and Eastern regional councils that he proposed setting up, reasonable provision would be made for the use of Sinhala for the Sinhala minority living in those areas. Now the Subcommittee on the Judiciary has unnecessarily disturbed things by putting forward a recommendation that is guaranteed to inflame communal tensions.

UN Maintains Status Quo On War Probe

By Easwaran Rutnam-Tuesday, November 29, 2016

The United Nations is maintaining its status quo on Sri Lanka with regard to the investigations on incidents related to the war.

The government had said recently there was no pressure on Sri Lanka with regard to the accountability process.

There is also a feeling that the policy on Sri Lanka may change with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon stepping down next year.

Farhan Haq, the Deputy Spokesman for UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon exclusively told The Sunday Leader that the priorities for Sri Lanka have not changed.

“I can’t really say what a new person may or may not do. But our priorities for Sri Lanka have not changed,” he said.

In light of the UN Committee Against Torture saying ‘white van’ abductions took place even last year after the new government took office, there are calls for the government to show more intent to investigate these incidents.

“The UN has made clear the need for such investigations,” Farhan Haq said.

Recently the United Nations Human Rights Committee ruled that a Toronto man, who was allegedly imprisoned and tortured while visiting Sri Lanka, must be compensated for the abuses he suffered.

The decision calls for Sri Lanka to prosecute those responsible and ‘provide adequate compensation’ to Roy Samathanam, a Canadian who had filed a complaint with the committee three years ago.

Samathanam travelled to Colombo during a 2007 lull in the country’s civil war to marry. But police raided his home and seized 600 mobile phones he had helped import from Singapore for a friend’s business.

He said after he refused to pay a bribe to police, he was taken to a Terrorism Investigation Division detention centre, where he was branded a ‘Canadian Tiger’ and subjected to abuses.

When a brave few saved hundreds during Lankan war

Nov 28, 2016,

CHENNAI: "How many children in this bunker?'' he asks. `Eight', they say. The young man hands over a cup of gruel to the children. He then warns them not to come out of the bunker, and start pedalling his bicycle to other bunkers.Apparently , the refugees in the bunkers never come across the same guy again although each one promises them that he will return with more gruel the next day .

 

It's a risky business to supply food to people in the bunkers across a warinfected zone, so many end up in landmine blasts. Even though their faces differ, the three English letters, TRO (Tamils Rehabilitation Oganisation) printed behind everyone's shirt remain the same. Pugazhendhi Than garaj's eight-minute-long documentary"Avargal" portrays how the volunteers of TRO saved the children in the bunkers risking their lives during the civil war in Sri Lanka.

Shot in Pichivila village near Tiruchendur, Pugazendhi handles a serious issue with a language of love and care. Without any revolutionary jargon, the documentary portrays the lives of a group of volunteers who have taken up a job despite knowing the danger involved in it."I first wrote a poem about the TRO volunteers who served gruel for the children in the bunkers during the war in Sri Lanka. It was published in a Tamil weekly . A year ago, when a senior politician highlighted the poem in his speech, it touched me," said Pugazhendhi, whose "Uchithanai Muharnthaal", a feature film portraying the plight of a 13-year-old Sri Lankan Tamil girl who was gang-raped by the Lankan soldiers, had evoked tremendous response from film-lovers when it was released in 2011.

Pugazhendhi says he wanted to make "Avargal" simple. "The reason for choosing Pichivila is simple. The geography of the village looked similar to the ones in Sri Lanka. The palm trees and the mixture of brown and white sands added colour to the site. I used the villagers for casting. All the children who acted in the movie are from the village itself," said Pugazhendhi who took only two days to shoot the documentary . Pugazendhi is planning to release "Avargal" at various centres of the Tamil diaspora in the world November end. "Avargal" was screened in Chennai recently .

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ARBITRARY ACTION ON DERANA TV BY SRI LANKAN GOVERNMENT

29/11/2016

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) joins the Free Media Movement (FMM), Sri Lanka in expressing serious concerns over actions by the Ministry of Parliamentary Reforms and Mass Media on the Ada Derana News TV channel. The IFJ demands that the Sri Lankan authorities refrain from any arbitrary action restricting freedom of the press.

The Secretary of the Ministry accused the channel of falsification of a speech by President Maithripala Sirisena in a news bulletin and demanded an explanation before further action on November 18. Earlier, on October 25, the official had written to the channel informing them that an inquiry was being conducted into this matter.

The FMM has questioned the absence of a mechanism that an aggrieved party can use to lodge a complaint or initiate an inquiry against an act of violation of ethics by electronic media. Although there is a Press Complaints Commission set up by the media community and the Press Council for print media, there is no complain mechanism for electronic media in Sri Lanka.

FMM convener Seetha Ranjanee and secretary C Dodawatta said: “The non-transparency of the action taken by the Secretary of the Ministry in accusing a media institution of prejudicing a party using state power and initiating an investigation is problematic. This incident emphasizes the need for an acceptable, independent or self-regulatory mechanism for electronic media.”

The FMM also raised concerns over the cancellation of license of CSN (Carlton Sports Network) TV and the government directives to media organizations requesting not to use the term ‘collective opposition’.

The IFJ said: “The IFJ is concerned that the Sri Lankan government is using arbitrary decisions to keep television channels restricted. The act on Derana TV, without any transparent and judicial procedure, will restrict the electronic media’s ability to report freely, thus restricting freedom of the press. The IFJ urges the Sri Lankan government to immediately withdraw the action and, if it thinks Derana TV has violated the Code of Conduct, initiate the appropriate procedure to question its contents.”

Reflections On Fidel, Cuba, Internationalism & Tamils

By Ron Ridenour –November 29, 2016

Ron Ridenour

“Fidel Castro, October 12, 1987”—that is what Fidel wrote on my book, “Yankee Sandinistas: Interviews with North Americans living and working in the new Nicaragua,” after reading it.

In 1980, I fell in love with a Danish woman, Grethe, and moved to her country. On my way to assist the rebellion in El Salvador, in 1987, we traveled to Cuba. This was my first visit to Cuba and my first book had just come out when I met Fidel.

I had given him a copy after he spoke about the legacy of Che Guevara 20 years after his murder in Bolivia. We were hundreds of Cubans, a few solidarity foreigners and journalists gathered before a newly built hospital in the Cuban province of Matanza.

My rebirth from being an American Dreamer to an internationalist occurred because of the Cuban revolution, because of what Fidel and Che taught me when I was an airman “defending” the United States against all the bad guys.

“Yankees Go Home”, “Out of Cuba”, “Cuba Si, Yankee No”. We internationalists sang and we wrote on placards we carried back and forth before the US Federal Building in downtown Los Angeles, California on April 19, 1961. It was here that I joined the Fair Play for Cuba Committee.

This was the first time I demonstrated, and here I was opposing “my” government. I had recently been discharged after four years in the United States Air Force, which I had joined at 17. What I learned in those years was the aggressor; the read bad guy was the United States. We constantly flew over and harassed Russian, Chinese and Cuban territory, yet we airmen and soldiers had orders that if “the enemy” did the same we were to shoot them down. They never did “trespass” however.

The United States murders, commits genocide and conducts thousands of military interventions and wars reign since the very beginning of its independence from Great Brittan. “Born in the USA: regimen of permanent wars” describes this sordid history.

At the top of my website are quotations, which also explain why I became an activist against US Manifest Destiny and the Monroe Doctrine and for a socialist alternative, something Fidel stood for.

“It is the function of the CIA to keep the world unstable, and to propagandize and teach the American people to hate, so we will let the Establishment spend any amount of money on arms,” John Stockwell, former CIA official wrote.

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Our government did to LEN even what MR did not do..!: I am ashamed: Govt. can incur the curse therefore..! - Minister Harin F

(Lanka-e-News -29.Nov.2016, 5.20PM) This government had done to Lanka e news what even Mahinda Rajapkse did not . Hence he is  feeling  ashamed at the  government’s action  and  the government can  incur the curse therefore , said Harin Fernando the minister of Telecommunication and  digital infrastructure , while asserting he would even carry out a struggle alone against these moves.

A part of the special live discussion with minister Harin Fernando in connection with the judicial and political actions taken against Lanka e news and its chief editor is hereunder..

 ‘First and foremost , let me express my absolute resentment against these actions. If there was a contempt of court , laws could have been introduced regarding websites, but there are no such laws in Sri Lanka (SL) . I am bitterly opposed to the actions taken by the government all of a sudden  against a valorous and unflinching website that performed a great task. Before acting in the way it did  , at least the government ought have discussed with the Institution or the editor Sandaruwan. 

Lanka e news is an Institution that made a huge contribution to change the former government . In the past when we were in the opposition , and took part in debates , we garnered information and data from Lanka e news against the government.  At that time we did not have a group to probe  into those. We gathered all that information from LeN. It is based on those information provided by LeN we attacked the government of that time. That was how we utilized LeN.  Owing to the actions of some individuals I am fearing the government will be struck  by a dark curse for its  ingratitude. 

I am utterly ashamed at  what this government did to Lanka e news , the website which  destroyed Mahinda Rajapakse  .It   is something  what even the Mahinda Rajapakse  did not do to LeN.  If Mahinda wanted , he could have also done that to Sandaruwan , yet Mahinda did not resort to that .There is another website with the same name as Lanka e news . Though E news did not any day arouse racism and religious extremism , it is a mudslinging website. In that case ,action should be taken against that too. 

I shall be speaking in this regard at the cabinet meeting too on Tuesday. Though some don’t have the backbone to talk about  this , even if I am to sacrifice my ministerial portfolio I shall be steadfast in my stance. I shall even carry on the struggle alone.’

Discussion was had with medical student M.L.H.Ambepitiya 

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by     (2016-11-29 11:51:40)

ISIS threat to Sri Lanka Rajapakshe’s comments based on unfounded claims of communalists

By Umesh Moramudali and Shaahidah Riza-2016-11-30

UNP Colombo District MP Mujibur Rahman, asserted, that there is no concrete evidence with regard to an ISIS presence in Sri Lanka. In response to certain comments made by Justice Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe regarding an ISIS threat to the country, he reiterated, that there is no substantial evidence according to his knowledge, as no one was even arrested. He added that these were claims put forward by an organization which attempts to create a conflict between the Sinhala and Muslim community, and that Rajapakshe merely highlighted these claims. In an interview with Ceylon Today Rahman emphasized the need to investigate the issue more and to engage in discourse with the Muslim MPs in order to ascertain whether there is such a threat, rather than making statements based on the claims of certain organizations which wants to instigate racism.
Excerpts of the interview:

?: Justice Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe, recently, said in Parliament that 32 Sri Lankans had left the country to join the ISIS and there was information on extremist Muslims entering the country as teachers and indoctrinating extremism in children. You were one of the MPs who opposed this statement; on what basis did you do so?

A: One part of the statement made by Justice Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe was a reference to an intelligence report released one and half years ago, which stated that four Sri Lankans had joined the ISIS. Another claim was that some of those who visit Sri Lanka on tourist visas attempt to spread Islam. There is no proper evidence regarding it as far as I know. Nobody was even arrested. These are the claims put forward by organizations which attempt to create a conflict between the Sinhalese and the Muslims. It was those charges or claims which Minister Rajapakshe repeated in Parliament. We wish the Minister had looked deeper into the issue and had a dialogue with the Muslim MPs to ascertain, whether actually there is such a threat, rather than make a statement based on the claims of certain organizations which wants to induce racism. If the government tries to do that the government too would face issues.

Further this is a time in which we are attempting to promote reconciliation, peace and unity; a statement of this nature can be a threat to all of that.

?: Certain organizations claim that there is radicalization among Muslims and there is a threat of extremism in certain areas. As a Muslim MP what do you have to say about that?

A: Well, among every community there can be extremists. We are not denying that. That is universal. In every community there can be a small percentage of extremists. There can also be Tamil extremists. There can be Sinhalese extremists. Similarly, there can be extremists amongst Muslims too. However, the number would be very small as in any other community, therefore, it is absolutely unfair to generalize and claim all Muslims are extremists. Majority of the Muslims are not extremists. We all have a responsibility to defeat those who promote extremism. Then only, can we all live together irrespective of our differences.

?: So you think that there is no ISIS threat to Sri Lanka ?

A: We know that a few months back the Army Commander made a statement that no one from a Sri Lankan Muslim Organization is a part of the ISIS. There is no evidence to prove that Sri Lanka Muslim Organizations are linked to ISIS. State intelligence agency or the Army does not accept that there is a connection between Sri Lankan Muslims and ISIS.

?: In the recent past, there have been a lot of discussions about the Muslim Personal Law reforms. As a Muslim MP how do you feel about this and what is the reaction of the Muslim community to this?

A: This law has been there for more than 50 years. Majority of the Muslim community believe that certain part of the personal law should change. There are discussions in progress to decide which elements of the Muslim Personal Law have to be changed. Religious leaders, civil society representatives and political leaders are involved in these discussions. I think very soon final proposals would be released as to which elements of the Personal Law should be changed.

?: Have you been on any committee on Muslim Personal Law Reforms ?

A: There is a Cabinet subcommittee regarding the matter. As an MP who is in touch with the Muslim community, I am hoping to submit certain proposals to the committee, soon.

?: Have you spoken about the matter of Muslim Personal Law at the party level?

A: Yes. I have been party to the discussions on the matter. We have sat together with religious leaders and political leaders. I have put forward my suggestions as well.

?: It has been almost two years since the government came to power, what is your opinion of this government's journey thus far? Are you satisfied with the budgetary decisions?

A: Well the Budget 2017 had taken initiatives to implement many development projects without putting much of a tax burden on the common man. We must also note that when we were elected, there was a huge accumulated debt burden, due to poor financial management of the previous regime. We have to carry out development activities while paying huge sums as debt repayments every year. This budget had balanced everything and we can expect a lot of development projects to be implemented next year.

Usually, most people in the country expect reliefs from the budget. In fact the political system had made it normal to expect reliefs from the budget. No matter how much we provide as relief as subsidies, the people are not satisfied. We cannot develop the country by providing relief and subsidies. We have not been blessed with resources such as oil and gold. So we have to be cautious about our spending as a government. Therefore, we must act with a long term vision. For social welfare to proceed, the public too should make certain sacrifices.

Given that we are in a post economic depression period and the excessive debt burden, the Budget 2017 is satisfactory.

?: Your political career stemmed from Colombo, so what are the plans of the government to enhance the living standards of the people in the Colombo City?

A: Under the Megapolis Project we will be taking steps to develop the infrastructure of the Colombo City. The major problem in the Colombo city is the housing problem. There aren't adequate houses for the people who live in the city. We have a plan to solve the problem and hoping to provide a house to every low income family in Colombo city. Steps will also be taken to increase the quality of the schools in the city and ensure that every child receives an education. We will construct a few new schools while developing the old ones.

Steps will also be taken to provide self employment to unemployed youth in Colombo. For 20 years the people of Colombo were forgotten, now we will take every possible action to enhance their living standards.

?: It is often claimed that certain parks and buildings, that were renovated during the previous regime are not maintained properly. What do you have to say about this?

A: I admit that there are concerns in this regard. I have also noticed that in some instances. There is a shortcoming in garbage collection. We are hoping to make things better with the assistance of the government. We will set up a stronger mechanism relating to administration to make things better.

?. As a new MP in Parliament, are you happy with the contribution you have made to politics and to the people?

A. I have made an immense contribution in Parliamentary debates. With that experience I hope to represent the concerns of the people to the best of my ability. I also have made a colossal contribution towards the Constitutional Amendment process which is presently underway. I am satisfied and happy about this contribution. We have an immense responsibility towards the people with regard to the development of the country. The public voted for us with much hope. We hope to deliver this development during the next five year span, for the benefit of the people in the Colombo district, and the country as a whole in general.

Police use tear gas, water cannon to disperse protestors




November 29, 2016

Police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse protesting university students who were blocking the main parliament road. 

A protest march was held as hundreds of university students attempted to march towards the Parliament, Ada Derana reporter said. The protest was commenced at the University of Kelaniya this afternoon. 

The Colombo Additional Magistrate earlier this morning rejected to issue an injunction to prevent protesters from holding demonstrations near the Parliament. The police requested the injunction order following the scheduled protest by the university students.

Karuna remanded

29 November 2016

Former Deputy Minister and LTTE Eastern Province Commander Vinayagamurthi Muralitharan alias 'Karuna Amman,'  who was arrested by the Police Financial Crimes Investigation Division (FCID), was remanded in custody till December 7 after being produced before the Colombo Chief Magistrate. 

The FCID arrested Karuna on charges of misusing a Government vehicle. 

Investigators Helpless Over Alles’ Deal

 ‘All are equal but some are more equal than others’

by Nirmala Kannangara-Tuesday, November 29, 2016

• The former parliamentarian’s influence extends beyond the three powerful Rajapaksa brothers who visited him in remand prison.
• Although the RADA funds had been disbursed for the Jaya Lanka housing project, not a single house had been constructed neither in Vavuniya nor in Mullaitivu districts.
• In the event the RADA officials were not able to unearth the scam, the remaining Rs. 676 million would have either gone to Emil Kanthan to strengthen the LTTE or certain individuals would have siphoned the money.

Tiran Alles and Mahinda Rajapaksa

Nine years after the then Consultant Editor of The Sunday Leadernewspaper Sonali Samarasinghe exclusively reported that former President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s scandalous deal with the LTTE under the headline,  ‘President’s Tiger Deal Exposed’ as to how millions of public money were given to LTTE through Reconstruction and Development Agency (RADA), the law enforcement authorities who are conducting the investigation have now faced huge challenges in prosecuting those who had a hand to the scam, as the main accused Tiran Alles is alleged to have favourable judicial powers at his finger tips.

Former Chairman of RADA – Tiran Prasanna Christopher Alles, former Chief Operating Officer (COO) RADA – Rohan Saliya Abeysinghe Weera Wickramasuriya and former Finance Manager RADA – Dr. Jayantha Dias Samarasinghe were remanded on November 3 by the Colombo High Court Judge Kusala Sarojini Wijewardena, under the Public Property Act of the penal code in connection with Rs. 200 million fraud taken place at RADA during 2005/2006.

Confirming the popular saying that ‘all are equal but some are more equal than others’, the Welikada prison authority has come under severe criticism for providing VVIP treatment to Alles during his short spell in the remand prison. According to inside sources at Welikada, Alles was provided with a butler who too was an inmate to look after Alles’ day-to-day needs. “The butler was provided to iron Alles’ clothes, to make his bed meticulously, to boil water and give him a hot water shower and to give a head massage. Can a sick inmate get a hot water shower in the prison, leave alone head massages and VVIP treatment. Our prison officers are so corrupt and whoever who has money to ’throw’ will get the right royal treatment whereas the others have to suffer immensely,” prison sources said.

Saliya Wickramasuriya’s statement , Tiran Alles’ statement to the Police Special
Investigation Unit and The indictment served on August 10 aganst the accused

The former parliamentarian’s influence extends beyond the three powerful Rajapaksa brothers who visited him in remand prison but even UNP ministers and their families including Minister Sajith Premadasa family visiting him in prison.

Be that as it may, the indictment served consists of seven charges under offences punishable under Section 113 B, 102 and 386 of the Penal Code and under Section 5(1) of the Public Property Act No. 12 of 1982.

However on November 8, the Court of Appeal issued an interim order suspending the High Court order served on Alles and ordered the Welikada Prison Superintendent to release him (Alles) immediately after considering the revision application. Following this, on November 10, the two other suspects Saliya Wickremasuriya and Dr. Jayantha Dias Samarasinghe too were granted bail by the Colombo High Court. “When there is solid evidence to prove how state funds to the tune of Rs. 124 million was given away to Emil Kanthan on the pretext of constructing 800 housing units in Vavuniya and Mullaitivu districts, under the Public Property Act, committing such a fraud is a non-bailable offence. However, it was interesting to find out how the Appeal Court took up Alles’ appeal in the absence of the Attorney General’s representatives and suspended the High Court order given against the main accused, Tiran Alles. Had the court wanted to reconsider the appeal, the AG’s Department should have been asked to appear in court and then take the decision,” a senior official at the Attorney General’s Department said on condition of anonymity.

After Alles’ Nawala residence came under a grenade attack in 2010, at a media briefing, he stated as to how in the run up to the 2005 Presidential election, Mahinda Rajapaksa wanted Alles to give a contact number to a person in the north. According to Alles, he had introduced Emil Kanthan to Basil Rajapaksa at his Colombo office where on a later date Basil Rajapaksa had given Rs.180 million – in Sri Lankan rupees and US Dollars to purchase boats for the Tigers in order to stop the Tamils from voting at the presidential election.

Despite of all these concrete evidence the investigators have proved with supportive documents, questions have been raised as to why the country’s law system is obstructing the investigators from taking legal action against the accused.

It is learnt that half of the ‘deal’ money was paid upfront while the balance was to be paid after the election if Mahinda Rajapaksa becomes the President. It was at this point RADA was formed under a presidential decree and was not legally established under the Company’s Act or under an Act of Parliament.

RADA was established as the successor to the Task Force for Rebuilding the Nation (TAFREN), Task Force for Relief (TAFOR) and Rehabilitation of Person, Properties and Industries Authority (REPPIA).

According to the Presidential directive under which RADA was established, Tiran Alles was appointed its Chairman and Chief Executive Officer although he did not have any experience in the construction field. The decree dated November 28, 2005 further states as thus, ‘I further appoint Tiran Alles as the Chief Executive Office of the Reconstruction and Development Agency who shall also be the Chairman of the Board of Management.

‘Now therefore, I, Mahinda Rajapaksa in pursuance of the provisions of Article 33 of the constitution of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, hereby create  the Reconstruction and Development Agency to facilitate and assist the government  to continue with such reconstructions and development work in a more coordinated, cost effective and expeditious manner and declare that from this date, TAFREN and TAFOR will cease to function and all work carried out by TAFREN and TAFOR will come under the purview and be carried out by the RADA. Further any work being carried out by REPPIA shall also be coordinated by the RADA’.

After the establishment of RADA, the COO – Saliya Wickramasuriya had been asked to prepare its second board papers to seek board approvals for the first housing projects under Mahinda Rajapaksa’s Jaya Lanka programme in the north and the east. The board approval was also sought to proceed with the implementation of this programme in Kilinochchi, Mullaitivu, Trincomalee, Batticaloa, Vavuniya and Mannar districts and requesting the treasury to release Rs. 800 million to RADA, to appoint a company from the region to act as project consultant and jointly with this consultant to invite offers from contractors from the locality.

After the second board meeting held on December 28, the same evening Alles had wanted Wickramasuriya to get prepared to make a visit to Kilinochchi on December 30 where they met Emil Kanthan and local LTTE officers.

According to the statement given by Wickramasuriya to the police investigators, he had met Alles at Anuradhapura at breakfast on their planned journey to Kilinochchi where Alles had introduced Kanthan to him but not giving his full name. When Wickramasuriys inquired who Kanthan was, Alles had stated that it was he who organizes all their meetings in Kilinochchi. All three had then proceeded towards Kilinochchi where a meeting was held with five District Secretaries and another Tamil youth called Punann. Wickremasuriya’s statement further states that he could not understand any of the discussions that were held in Kilinochchi as they were conducted in Tamil. However he had further stated how LTTE representatives did not want any outsiders to engage in the constructions work and that he was not happy the way the Building Consultant and contractors were selected.

Three to four days after the Kilinochchi meeting, Tiran had got proposals from two building consultants from Vavuniya. Out of the two consultants, one party had wanted 3% commission from the total project cost while the other party wanted 1% commission. It later came to light that both these parties were connected to each other. The lowest bidder – G. S. Builder and Consultants of 371, Mahaveli Lane, Veppakulam was offered the contract under Gajan Kumara’s name.  Gajan Kumara was a brother of Emil Kanthan’s girlfriend. Meanwhile three building companies from the locality came forward to handle the construction work. They were B&K Holding owned by Kishor Kumar, Naxim Builders and Consultants and Pyramid Civil Construction Works.

According to Company Registrar, G.S. Builders was not registered with the Company Registrar, was connected to Emil Kanthan. The contract had been offered without following government procurement tender guidelines although the cabinet approval has to be obtained for any tender worth more than Rs. 100 million.

It is learnt that all these contracts had been offered to brothers of Emil Kanthan’s girlfriend, Shanthikumar Kishokumar and Shanthikumar Gajankumar.

Meanwhile, COO, Saliya Wickramasuriya in a letter dated January 6, 2006 wrote to Dr. P. B. Jayasundera, the Treasury Secretary requesting Rs.800 million and that the project will stimulate the local economies as well as housing since RADA recommends to use local consultants and contractors where possible and to transfer 10% of the total project cost to RADA bank by January 16, 2006.

However, the Treasury Secretary informed Wickramasuriya to use the funds available with TAFREN, TAFOR and REPPIA to which the latter wanted a separate treasury allocation for the project. As a result Rs. 200 million was given to initiate the project.

At the tender board meeting to select the construction company out of the three that had come forward, G & K Holdings secured the contract. Although Finance Manager RADA who does not attend tender board meetings, was present on this occasion and was adamant to award the tender to the selected company then and there, the treasury representative Dils Abeysooriya said that the tender board can only make the recommendations but it is the cabinet of ministers that has to approve since it is worth more than Rs.100 million. However despite Abeysooriya’s valid argument, Alles had wanted Saliya Wickramasuriya to award the tender claiming that he will get the cabinet approval later.

Once the said ‘construction’ work was started, the local officers including the respective District and Divisional Secretaries informed RADA the progress of the construction work.  Although it was reported to RADA that the construction work was going on without any interruption and funds were regularly given to the construction companies, the COO Saliya Wickramasuriya later had found out that although the RADA funds had been disbursed for the Jaya Lanka housing project not a single house had been constructed neither in Vavuniya nor in Mullaitivu districts.

Wickramasuriya immediately instructed the construction company to halt the ‘work’ and refused to make any further payment to which Tiran Alles accused the RADA officials and signed two cheques amounting closer to Rs.30 million and made payment to Emil Kanthan. By the time the project was winded up by Wickramasuriya, with the knowledge of Tiran Alles and then President Mahinda Rajapaksa, a total amounting to Rs. 124 million had been paid to the LTTE for preventing the Tamils from casting their vote at the 2005 presidential election.

When Alles was questioned over the cheques he had signed amounting closer to Rs. 30 million just before the scandalous Jaya Lanka housing project was winded up by Wickramasuriya, Alles had stated that he had no authority to sign any cheques as he was not holding an executive position at RADA, although the Presidential directive dated November 28, 2005 had clearly stated that Tiran Alles had been appointed as the CEO/ Chairman of RADA.

In the event the RADA officials were not able to unearth the scam, which was proceeding in the guise of the Jaya Lanka housing project, the remaining Rs. 676 million would have either gone to Emil Kanthan to strengthen the LTTE funds or certain individuals would have siphoned the money.

In such a background, although all proven evidence have now emerged how public funds amounting to Rs. 124 million was given to strengthen the LTTE by the Rajapaksa’s with the involvement of Tiran Alles, the investigators are facing a yeoman task to take legal action against the wrongdoers.