Mangala maps way forward

President Maithripala Sirisena being presented with the report by fDi Magazine Deputy Editor Jacopo Dettoni as Special Assignments Minister Dr. Sarath Amunugama and Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera look on

- Pic Upul Abayasekara

 

• As Finance Minister pledges to work harder than he was as Foreign Minister 
• Insists trade agreements would be negotiated with focus on SL interests 
• Singaporean FTA to be completed ahead of PM visit  
• Emphasises reconciliation and economic growth inseparable    

 By Uditha Jayasinghe--Wednesday, 31 May 2017

Newly appointed Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera yesterday sought a conciliatory and supportive relationship with the private sector pledging to work on their behalf and negotiate trade agreements with focus on Sri Lankan interests.

Attending his first official event as Finance Minister, Samaraweera delivered the keynote at the inauguration of the  “Sri Lanka Investment & Business Conclave 2017: Growth through Partnerships”, organized by the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce (CCC) yesterday. Keeping a foot in his previous portfolio as Foreign Minister Samaraweera insisted that reconciliation and economic growth could not be separated from each other.

“For Sri Lanka to break free from middle income country status towards a higher income category country it is essential that we not only build physical infrastructure but set up corresponding globally recognized regulatory mechanisms and investment practices that meets Sri Lanka’s aspirations to become a regional hub for financial services for international trade,” he said.

“I want to assure all of you that all these agreements will indeed be negotiated carefully with positive and negative lists, safeguard agreements and dispute settlement mechanisms, which peruse Sri Lanka’s interests.”

Samaraweera recalled the potential Sri Lanka had at Independence but expressed hope that the country still has the chance to turn things around and use its 70th Independence to chart a new beginning. The economic policy plan presented by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe last October was referred to as a blueprint the government would follow.

“To support these efforts, together with my Cabinet colleagues I have worked, during the last two years or so as the Foreign Affairs Minister, to create the best possible enabling environment for Sri Lanka to attract more business, trade and investment. Now in my new portfolio I will work closely with all of you as well as with the international community and all stakeholders to work even harder to realize the economic development democratization and the reconciliation agenda of the national unity government for the benefit of all our people.”

“In fact this is where reconciliation comes in. Without reconciliation and durable peace, without guarantees of non-reoccurrence Sri Lanka cannot exceed on its successes. That is the very reason that the Ministry of Reconciliation has been given the highest priority and it is a subject under the president.”

He went onto say that human rights, democracy, good governance, rule of law are all elements of stability and in turn foster development. Reconciliation and development are intertwined. “Without reconciliation and a stable foundation economic progress would once again evade our nation. In fact this is why a new Constitution in important, a Constitution that would celebrate the diversity of Sri Lanka as a multi-ethnic, multi-religious, multi-lingual country.”

“The national unity government focuses on a three-pillared agenda that is essential in this context. Democratization, which includes strengthening good governance and the rule of law. Reconciliation, which is truth seeking, reparation, accountability and guarantees of non-recurrence. The third pillar being sustainable and equitable development with employment generation that transmits the benefits of growth widely is critical. The private sector and partnerships are key. The growth model Sri Lanka evolves would need to be private sector driven with exports and FDI as key pillars.”

Reiterating the government’s plans to forge fresh trade agreements with China, Japan and Singapore as well as deepen existing ones with India, Samaraweera was optimistic that by the end of 2017 Sri Lanka would have preferential trade access to

 I believe the Singaporean agreement I was told would be able to be completed before the end of the year, before the expected visit of the Singaporean Prime Minister in December. The restoration of the GSP+ facility earlier this month was a remarkable expression on confidence in Sri Lanka by the European Union. If all works well by end 2017 Sri Lanka would have preferential access to a market of nearly 3 billion people,” he said. 

Sri Lanka tops island economies ranking 

• fDi Magazine makes top pick in first ever “Island Economies of the Future” 

​fDi Magazine, part of The Financial Times UK, has selected Sri Lanka as the top pick among twenty seven island economies around the world as having the most potential to attract investment.

The official award certificate was presented to President Maithripala Sirisena and Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera during the official launch of the Public Private Partnership (PPP) Unit yesterday.

 The launch was part of the inauguration of the “Sri Lanka Investment & Business Conclave 2017: Growth through Partnerships”, organized by the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce (CCC).

“If this result confirms the country’s potential for investment achieved in the past few years it does not necessarily mean that this potential has fully materialized yet. In fact levels of FDI remain relatively low. In 2016 foreign investment accounted for less than one percent of GDP, well below the rate for South Asian countries which the World Bank says is about 1.8% on average,” said fDi Magazine Deputy Editor Jacopo Dettoni making a short presentation.

“For a country to fulfill its FDI and perhaps one day become the “Switzerland of the East” our data suggests that further steps have to be taken in terms of improving infrastructure and governance, in terms of developing a rich and diverse business climate and upgrading the framework to enable local as well as foreign investment.”

“Initiatives such as the launch of this new PPP Unit is definitely a step in this direction and it is our hope that our rankings can provide policy makers a useful tool to benchmark Sri Lanka against other island economies all over the globe and come up with refined policy making that will increase the country’s attractiveness for foreign investment. Also these rankings reiterate a message to investors all over the globe that Sri Lanka has got great potential for foreign investment moving forward,” he added. 

We will die for our children – 100th day of protest tomorrow in Kilinochchi

Tomorrow, May 30th, marks 100 days since the families of the disappeared started protesting in Kilinochchi.

29 May  2017

For 100 days, protestors, mainly women, have continued to sit in heat and dust along the A9 in Kilinochchi Town – just steps away from the Sri Lankan Army’s 57 Division Headquarters. Protestors’ relatives were forcibly disappeared during or after the war including through abduction, when being handed over to government authorities or while in government custody for rehabilitation. In addition to the overarching demand for the truth about the whereabouts of their loved ones, the two specific demands families have been articulating which are for the government to:

1. Release the name list of those forcibly disappeared; and

2. Release the name list of those being held in secret detention centers and permit family members to visit such centers.

“Our intention is to have our loved ones back, to live again with our children and siblings, that is our intention. One of the elderly women here repeatedly says – before I die I want to live at least one day with my child. The government needs to understand this,” a protestor told Tamil Guardian. Several protestors conveyed the desperate need for closure – including full information on their child’s death if it is the case that they are deceased.

Name(s): Muralitharan Nadesu; Kirishnakmari Muralitharan; Sariyan Muralitharan & Apitha Muralitharan Date of Disappearance: May 18, 2009  “We gave our children to you [government authorities] with trust… children, father and mother… he [the father] was the only person who was a part of the LTTE…” “I will light myself on fire…how can I live thinking of these young children... I’m there grandma. When they were born would they have thought that they would be living as they are now? They may have been abused …would they have eaten any food that they liked?”

Over the past 99 days, there has been no government response to the protest – no senior level government official has even addressed the issue. The group has even made lobbying efforts such as requesting that the European Parliament not restore GSP+ status until a list of surrendees/detainees is released

Name(s): Thavakumar Thirugnansampanthamoorthy Date of Disappearance: April 22, 2009  “They [the army] took us like a herd of cows and kept us without food, I had fainted many times….Some people were selling king coconut and so my son went and bought one and then when he went to get it cut he stepped on a land mine. The army took him to the hospital and they forbid me from going with him. He is my only child.” “My son is a compassionate person. When people were gravely injured in the Mathalan hospital, the TRO was giving food but many of them left in fear. My son knows how to drive and so him and his uncle would go and deliver food to the hospital. When he returned back I would question him and ask him how he had the audacity to go, what if you got stuck in a cell attack, what would I do? I would ask. He held me and said, is my life the only life? Come see the other people in the hospital and what condition they are living in...”

Nonetheless, with the support of the neighboring Murugan temple and local community members, the protestors have persevered in their campaign. However, many of the participants are experiencing diminishing physical and mental health conditions. Several women are unable to sleep and eat; while fainting and being admitted to the hospital is a common occurrence.

Name(s): Abirami Premnath Date of Disappearance: 2009  “My daughter reached Zone 4 [Menik Farm IDP Camp]… people there told us that she was there but by the time we reached there she was gone. People said that she had been loaded onto a bus.” “She had gotten accepted into university [for music]…she could sing well and she was sharp… We want our child, we are living in the belief that they are alive.”

As mothers prepare for a major demonstration tomorrow marking 100 days of the protest, there are reports that police have applied to the Kilinochchi Magistrate for an order staying any big demonstrations. Many of the protestors emphasized to Tamil Guardian that this protest is the end of the rope for them. “We are all prepared to drink poison and die… we will die for our children.

SRI LANKA : CURRENT ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL POLICY—KEY CONCERNS

31/05/2017

08. There are serious concerns about the current Government’s moves to slash public expenditure, especially on health and education in 2017. Moreover, the push for privatization and the plans to initiate sweeping reforms in critical areas, such as social security, land and labour guided by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund’s austerity mind-set, raises many serious concerns. Whilst food producers—farmers and fishers—battle dispossession, massive tax concessions and holidays are being given to foreign investors for large and medium-scale projects; for example, to build the Colombo Port City or establish commercial farms for export. Even as a highly regressive tax system and spiraling cost of living squeezes the poor and near poor, the Government is prioritising ‘reforms’ of the Samurdhi programme that will almost certainly see reduced net transfers and more debtoriented schemes.

09. Sri Lanka’s much vaunted middle-income status and impressive aggregates of human development, in areas such as health and education, in fact hide much more than they reveal. About 40 percent of the population lives on less than 225 rupees per person per day, (3) multidimensional poverty measures classify an additional 1.9 million people as poor (4) and almost 70% of the labour force is in the informal sector, with low wages and no social security (5).

Add to this a crisis in nutrition in many parts of the country, very low levels of investment (relative to GDP) in public health and education, and a weakened social protection system—all of which are exacerbated by gendered, ethnicised, caste and class-based deprivation as well as exclusions.

10. Decades of inequitable political economic development have generated a landscape with many and expanding pockets of marginality and precariousness. This is evident in places as far apart and diverse as Monaragala, Batticaloa, Puttalam and Mullaitivu, which have entrenched pockets of poverty. Moreover, as discussed in this report, communities ranging from Colombo’s urban poor and the Up-Country plantation community to the Veddas and manpower (contract) workers in manufacturing, services and agriculture, as well as fishers and/or farmers fighting for their land in Panama, Kepapulau, Mullikulam, Vallikamam, Kalpitiya and Uma Oya, all suffer forms multiple and shared forms of deprivation and exclusion. All of the above underlines that Sri Lanka’s commitments under the ICESCR assume an urgency and significance today that they have perhaps never had before.

3 The World Bank (2016, February 16), Poverty has Fallen in Sri Lanka but Fiscal, Growth, and Inclusion Challenges Need to Be Tackled to Sustain Progress. Retrieved from The World Bank: http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/pressrelease/2016/02/16/poverty-has-fallen-sri-lanka-but-fiscal-growth-and-inclusion-challenges-need-to-be-tackled-to-sustainprogress

4 The Centre for Poverty Analysis (2017, January 08), Magic ‘line’ that makes us rich or poor. Retrieved from The Sunday Times: http://www.sundaytimes.lk/170108/business-times/magic-line-that-makes-us-rich-or-poor-222743.html.

5 Gunasekara, V. (2015), Unpacking the Middle: A Class-based Analysis of the Labour Market in Sri Lanka, Southern Voices Post-MDG International Development Goals, Occasional Paper Series, Vol. 22, Dhaka: Southern Voices.

– From a Joint Civil Society Shadow Report to the United Nations Committee on Economic Social and Cultural Rights. April 2017.

The State of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in Sri Lanka: A Joint Civil Society Shadow Report to the... by Thavam Ratna on Scribd

 

RTI Commission Of Sri Lanka Concludes Several Appeal Hearings, More On The Way

MAY 30, 2017

30 May 2017. Colombo, Media Statement: Marking little more than three months since Sri Lanka’s Right to Information Act, No 12 of 2016 was operationalised on 03rd February 2017, the RTI Commission notes its appreciation of the significant numbers of Public Authorities and citizens who have reached out to the Commission during the intervening period. This indicates the support and interest evidenced by the public who are, in growing numbers using their ‘Right to Information’ guaranteed to them under the Act. It is very encouraging to see that some Public Authorities are in fact, voluntarily complying with the pro-active disclosure requirements of the Act.

As the statutorily independent appellate body established under the Act, the Commission is pleased to announce that it has recently concluded the hearing of two Appeals, during which process, both Appellants received the information that had been requested under the Act from Public Authorities noticed to appear before the Commission, to the satisfaction of the parties concerned. Currently, several more Appeals are pending hearing.

The Commission has been receiving many requests for guidance from Public Authorities in respect of procedural and substantive aspects of the RTI Act along with letters from Citizens (including public officers themselves) on injustices caused to them by the denial of information. Close to three hundred such letters have been received during the past months.The Commission is heartened by the use of RTI as evinced thereto. Responses to the letters have beenon an individual basis, strictly in chronological order of the date of receipt. As the Commission is still operating with a skeletal staff from temporary premises, it is responding as speedily as possible to the same.

Particularly in regard to advice being requested by information officers of Public Authorities, the Commission notes that it will respond in terms of Section 5(5) of the Act where advice is being sought regarding a procedural matter ‘connected with the grant of access to any information.’ However it is regretfully unable to advice on a substantial matter relating to the application of the Act given that this may prejudice the hearing of that same matter, in the event that it comes up formally in appeal. In this regard, the Commission wishes to emphasize the primary aim of the RTI Act is the maximum disclosure of information subject to narrowly drawn exemptions that again must yield to the overriding principle of the public interest.

The Commission calls upon Public Authorities who have not yet complied, to abide by the mandatory statutory duty to name and publicise the appointment of Information Officers and Designated Officers as required by the Act.

It is also with great pleasure that the Commission announces the forthcoming launch of the Commission’s RTI logo as well as its website which will be in a basic form and further updated progressively. The website will have links to the Commission’s Strategic Implementation Plan (SIP) for the years 2017-2019, concluded appeals, and relevant documents relating to RTI.

Importantly it will also feature drafts of Rules on Inquiries and Report Formats (under Section 10) as per Section 42 of the Act, as well as Guidelines relating to the proactive disclosure of Public Authorities under Sections 8 and 9 of the Act. These draft Rules and Guidances are being put into the public domain for feedback prior to finalisation and gazetting.

Read More

People keen on new constitution

by Fr. Augustine Fernando-May 30, 2017, 9:01 pm 

Diocese of Badulla

A well attended and keenly followed, four hour session of study on the matter of the New Constitution was held at Mount View Hotel, Badulla, on Monday 22nd May. Lal Wijenayake was the keynote speaker. Very lucidly explaining the work that had been done in preparation for drawing up the draft of the New Constitution, Wijenayake said that over 2500 persons representing various important groups of people were interviewed and over 3000 written statements were examined. Further, the six subcommittees of parliamentarians have submitted their observations on matters pertaining to 1. Fundamental rights 2. The Judiciary 3. Law and Order 4. Public Finance 5. Public Service 6. Centre Periphery Relations.

RESPECT EXPECTATIONS OF THE PEOPLE

All views presented by the people, including those of some expatriate professionals have been carefully summed up in a 300 page volume. What has been done is unprecedented in our Country. The draft Constitution has to be prepared. Once prepared it needs to be presented to the Constitutional Assembly which consists of all the 225 MPs. They will have to see that the final draft measures are up to the expectations of the people.

It is incumbent on them to read through at least the 300 page volume and the six committees’ recommendatory proposals which may run to another 500 pages. By reading them carefully, the MPs will come to know what the peoples’ views are on democracy, reconciliation, power sharing, good governance and the need for checks and balances and accountability on the part of all power holders including the President, Prime Minister, Judiciary, the Cabinet of Ministers and Elected Representatives. If all of them submitted yearly reports to the public on line, then the public will be able to evaluate, from the kind of report they submit, whether a proper and honest job has been done by each of them .

BE ABSOLUTELY HONEST

Now, the problem is that over 100 MPs do not have the background to sit down and read through, understand, digest and select the best options in the many pages before them. They are handsomely paid to attend to this serious matter, yet they seem to be congenitally incapable of attending to functions they have been elected to perform. The educational, professional, ethico-moral and behavioural standards of more than half the number of MPs leave much to be desired. Nevertheless they cannot now shove off their crude capabilities in many and various ways.

Provided they had the capacity to do the basic work of reading through all the suggestions of the people contained in the exhaustive summaries, and take it all in, they should then seriously consider those best options that have made their way to the new draft Constitution. It would be impossible for each one of them to incorporate his or her options. If they are all far-seeing and clear sighted, they would have recourse to a ‘technique’ in their debates, discussions and dialogue, which need not be acrimonious at all, as they often become outside the august chamber. At least at those times in Constituent Assembly they could discuss the input to the Draft Constitution, they could become their best selves by transcending themselves to become ‘Founding Fathers’ of the new Sri Lanka coming to birth in the second decade of the twentyfirst century. Absolute honesty and integrity is called for from the MPs. If they wish to sincerely fulfill the obligations for which they have been put in Parliament, in whatever manner. The prospect before some of them is such that, aware that it would be impossible for every single one of them to get re-elected to the next new Parliament, many of them will need to make the ultimate sacrifice of the possibility of not returning to Parliament as an MP. Do many of the present MPs have at least this capacity ? Or would they rather sacrifice the future of this Country for them to ensconce themselves once again in Parliament? Nor should they be able to console themselves in the possibility of finding a place in the Second Chamber, should one come to be established. The second chamber should never be for party politicians but for experts, professionals and eminent persons in various fields.

NO HYPOCRITES & BLUFFERS

The past seventy years of Sri Lanka has been for her people, years of great tragedy brought on them by political parties and individual politicians who have caused havoc in the Country in such a manner that we have been left behind while other Countries in our Asian neighbourhood itself have made great strides, developed and forged ahead. Most MPs have been and still are feudal and shallow minded individuals who do not respect people but once elected wish to be only condescending towards them. We do not need hypocrites and bluffers of whose specimens we have seen very notable ones in the past few decades and far too many after the war.

The data gathered from all over the Country show that the greatest majority of the people wish to have a thoroughly democratized system of government and they want to see reconciliation, harmony, unity and peace in Sri Lanka. A radical change took place on January 8th 2015. Fear has been banished and there is freedom now. Yet, the ghosts that threatened the people are still among them: the unheard of corruption they indulged in, the social disorder they caused, the rights of the people they trampled underfoot so haughtily, arrogantly and despotically, the hatred they generated, the many they killed and the blood they shed cry to heaven for justice. Many prominent persons now acting as cowards are still out there. Justice that people expect is still to be meted out.

EQUALITY IS NO DEATH TRAP

We should do everything to have a Constitution based on the equality of all citizens. All citizens of Sri Lanka should have equal rights and civic responsibilities. No one should be immune from and above the law. The law should be supreme and all should be equally subject to the law from the highest citizen in the land to the ‘most humblest’ of all, as Shakespeare himself would say. Each and every citizen should be able to hold his/her head high and go forward with honour and self-respect. No member of the Constitutional Assembly should fail even by an iota in the constitutional task of presenting to the people for a referendum the best possible draft of a New Constitution for Sri Lanka.

Some time back an asinine minister tied a government servant to a tree as due punishment he thought of imposing on that official for not appearing for a departmental operation. Another idiotic fellow made a teacher kneel down before the students, for ‘humiliating’ his daughter at school by telling her that her skirt was too short! We did not hear that the party leaders called these swollen headed fools to order or remind them of standards of acceptable public behaviour. Now comes another who has imaginations of the wilderness. He says the non-existent constitution draft is a ‘mara ugulak’ – a death trap, for the people!

The people wonder how some of them act like clowns on occasion and proclaim very authoritatively that the Preparatory Committee has prepared a trap for the people, when it is from the people’s input that the draft of the New Constitution is prepared. It is up to the Constituent Assembly not to mangle and re-draft out of shape what has been prepared. What they have to do is to dot where dotting is needed, make the reading lucid and clear and approve the Draft New Constitution by a two thirds majority and present it to the people for a referendum and persuade them to accept it.

A CLEAR PEOPLES’ REFERENDUM

The Referendum should be more than a yes or no one. A few questions could be asked for the people to answer so that they could indicate their preferences. The promise was to abolish the executive presidency, as it existed and as it was exercised, which also meant the President could arbitrarily appoint an apparently unsuitable individual as a Chief Justice and a henchman as Police Chief. If the People wish to have an executive President with limited powers and answerable to Parliament, even that option could be manifested in the Referendum.

The campaign should be on those articles which are crucial and on which the New Constitution will be hinged on. The General election could come after the Referendum and under the new Constitution so that there will be no more constitutional confusion.

Awards, Recognitions and Sri Lankan Creative Writing in English

Featured image courtesy University of Kelaniya

SASANKA PERERA on 05/30/2017

Editor’s Note: The text reproduced below is the longer version of the introductory comments made at the BMICH, Colombo on 27^th May 2017 at the announcement of the winner of the Gratiaen Prize 2016. 

 About Concerns of Judges

When speaking of the concerns we have as judges with regard to our experiences in judging the entries for the 2016 Gratiaen Prize, I am speaking on behalf of my fellow judges, Chandana Dissanayake and Ruhanie Perera as well.  These are our collective thoughts. Over two decades, the Gratiaen Prize scheme has been an important system in providing recognition to writers in Sri Lanka who write in English. And this should continue. We already noted in April when the short list was announced that it would be best to institute separate award schemes for different kinds of creative writing in English on the same model as the H.A.I. Goonetilleke Award for Translations. Though difficult, this is not impossible if there is a willingness to work with other concerned entities and people who may share the same goals and ideals. 

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Sri Lanka: My Experiences as a Judge

There is no legal basis at all to delay the Fundamental Rights application simply because a criminal action is pending. In law, the two are very separate types of actions and the matters that the courts have to decide are based on different legal criteria.

by B.F.R.Somasighe-May 31, 2017

( May 31, 2017, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian ) I am writing this to the public as a judge who has presided over the affairs of the public for 16 years as a Magistrate and as a District Court Judge. For all those 16 years, my record has been impeccable.

I want to bring to the notice of the public that, due to a certain judgment I gave as a District Court Judge in a civil dispute, which I did to the best of my ability and purely on the basis of the principles of law and justice – all of which I was appointed to uphold -, I have come to a very serious difficulty.

The judgment in this case, which I gave in favour of the defendant, seems to have offended one of the witnesses, who happens to be a Senior Legal Counsel and, to my knowledge, a relative of the former Chief Justice Mohan Peiris. The day I delivered the judgment, it was reported to me by court staff that this gentleman had openly said that he will see to it ‘that I will lose my position as a Judge’.

A month or so later, I was called upon by the Chief Justice and he demanded that I resign from my position. I told him that no charge had been made against me and that there had been no inquiry, and that therefore the proper procedure would be to conduct such an inquiry into any claims before making an appropriate decision. In response, I was talked down to in humiliating language and threatened with losing my position.

Several months later, I was called upon by the Bribery Commission and was asked to submit details of all my income and assets. I did that immediately, by way of affidavits, and also provided the necessary references. To this date, the Bribery Commission has not informed me that any of the information I have so provided is incorrect or inadequate.

I understand that this inquiry was begun on the basis of an anonymous complaint. I do not know the name or any other details of the complainant, and therefore, I am unable to say what may have motivated such a person and what my relationship to that person could be.

With the beginning of the inquiry, the incremental salary increases given to me in my position as a judge were stopped. I wrote to the Judicial Services Commission giving them all the details, and also wrote to the Bribery Commission and asked them for an inquiry and an immediate exoneration. This was important to me for many reasons. My position, which could have been elevated to the High Court, was affected by this inquiry and, therefore, I had to retire without the usual promotions that were due to me as to any other Judge in the service.

I constantly requested the Bribery Commission and the Judicial Services Commission to bring this matter to an end, either by way of declaring me exonerated, which I know and believe is my due, or otherwise to indict me so that I will be able to prove my innocence in a court of law.

After five years of pleading without any positive result, I filed a Fundamental Rights Application before the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka, and asked for an inquiry on the basis of Article 126 of the Sri Lankan Constitution. This, after all, is the final resort that any citizen, be he a judge or any other person, has.

I was fully aware of the risks involved in filing a fundamental rights case. I knew that it could have dangerous results. I am aware of many people who have been exposed to serious threats and violence by the respondents in some of these cases. In one case, while a fundamental rights petition filed by a young man was being heard, he, his father and his mother were all made to disappear.

My case was called by the Supreme Court on a few occasions. The Respondents purposefully sought dates to obtain advice from the Attorney General.

No objections to my Petition have been filed and none of the facts that I have relied upon have been contradicted by my opponents.

Several months later, I heard that an indictment had been filed against me, although it has not yet been served on me. I don’t know what the charges could be. All that I know is that some charges are reported to have been filed.

My position is that this has been done for one purpose: as a counter action against the Fundamental Rights application that I have filed in the Supreme Court

I believe that the Respondents want to use this indictment in order either to get me to withdraw the Fundamental Rights application that I have made or to delay the hearing of the Fundamental Rights application on the basis that there is a criminal action against me and that the criminal action should be heard first before the Fundamental Rights application.

There is no legal basis at all to delay the Fundamental Rights application simply because a criminal action is pending. In law, the two are very separate types of actions and the matters that the courts have to decide are based on different legal criteria.

One issue is about whether a fundamental rights violation has taken place and the other is about whether a crime has been committed.

I am aware of several judgements that were delivered while criminal actions were pending. If need be, I could give the details of such judgments. However, I am aware that, particularly at the time when Chief Justice Sarath Silva was presiding, there were many cases that were postponed until a criminal trial was held and a few such cases have been pending in the Supreme Court for over ten years because criminal actions, once started, are subjected to the normal delays that are a part of our legal system, and that includes the delays in the appeals and the re-trials. Again, I am able to give details of such cases if it is required.

Therefore, my plea to all, to the judiciary as well as to the public, is to ensure that I will have the benefit of a speedy trial and a speedy hearing of the Fundamental Rights application.

The Fundamental Rights application should be heard irrespective of any issues that may arise in the criminal case, and the criminal case itself should be heard as speedily as possible.

I am aware that the greatest trap that an innocent man could be placed in is to have a fabricated criminal charge filed against him. It makes him a victim of a lengthy trial for may many years to come. It could be ten years or even more, judging by many cases, which I am able to cite.

Therefore, I am bringing to the notice of the public that I, having myself been a judge, have been exposed to one of the gravest problems that any citizen could be exposed to.

I am also letting the public know that when the criminal case is before the courts I will demand a trial by a jury, which is one way of ensuring a day-to-day trial, and that will speed up the trial process.

As a citizen and a judge with a long record of service, I must tell you that there are some things that I am unable to fight:

A. I am unable to fight prolonged delays in a criminal trial

This is a way to destroy a man, his family and everything he stands for, and to irreparably stain his reputation.

I will be helpless in this situation and the denial of justice in this manner is something that, even as a former judge, I know I am simply unable to fight.

B. I also want to inform the public that, from what the law says about equality of arms, I am not in a position to match the powerful people who are trying to victimise me.

Therefore, my plea to the judiciary, the judges who were my fellow colleagues in these long years, to the legal profession and the Bar association, and to the public in general, is this: please do not ignore this as one individual’s problem; this is a problem that affects the very nature of the justice system we have and the way injustice is perpetrated through our system.

I would therefore urge all of you to ensure that the criminal trial that has been initiated against me be held as speedily as possible in the coming few months and that the Fundamental Rights application that I have filed should be heard without any kind of obstruction based on the criminal trial or otherwise.

While I am making this plea for myself, I am also aware that the outcome could be of great use to the public in general.

It is time that we fight against the abuse of the justice system to perpetrate injustice.

The writer is a former District Court Judge and Magistrate. This article based on an open letter by the writer originally published by the Asian Human Rights Commission in Hong Kong.

PC Saliya Defends Celebrations While Country Was In Crisis

MAY 31, 2017

Defending the wining and dining at Colombo’s five-star hotels by newly appointed President’s Counsels (PCs) on the night of Friday 26th even as Sri Lanka struck by unprecedented death and destruction following massive floods that was the worst in a decade, lawyer and member of the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka Saliya Pieris said that the Colombo Telegraph story on the PC celebrations was ‘utter nonsense.’

Saliya Pieris/ Photo via Facebook Gamini Hettiarachchi

Engaging in a Facebook conversation when the Colombo Telegraph story was shared by Hafeel Farisz, Pieris said ‘Do you seriously expect these events to be cancelled and you think the hotels are going to refund the money?’ He said it was hypocritical to talk like this when he was sure that he had come across those ‘sharing’ the story also at five-star hotels. Pieris however ignored the whole point of the story which was not that five-star hotels should be boycotted at all times but that it was in the interests of basic decency not to celebrate at a time of national despair. Also Pieris conveniently bypassed the fact that many hotels do indeed refund moneys when a national calamity occurs or agree to re-schedule with only a small extra cost. In fact Colombo Telegraph would like to know if any of the PCs who celebrated in this indecent way even tried to see if this option was available. During the time when the tsunami struck many years ago, parties were in fact canceled.

Joining in the conversation, some said that raising these issues amounted to ‘moral policing’ but others pointed out that ‘they talk as if they work for the country. But here is the truth; Marlon Samaratunga asked ‘Were you at one of those parties Mr. Pieris? If so just say you were and then argue. Applying for a position and being awarded it according to the change of government doesn’t mean a lot, but it (would) be great if you could justify what nonsense this really is.’

By Friday night, at the same time that the PCs were celebrating in style, close to 100 persons had died, another hundred had been reported missing and thousands were left homeless. During the days that followed, the death toll climbed to 194 while another 99 persons were reported missing.

Saliya Pieris was also among the PCs appointed by President Maithripala Sirisena. He was also an office bearer in the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) when Geoffrey Alagaratnam PC was the President when BASL spent millions of money holding conferences on law and good government funded by the USAID in Colombo’s five star hotels.

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India sends 3 ship loads of supplies :Aid from Pakistan and UN too ! -Don’t get caught to rackets of money laundering and tax evading TV channel Mudalalis

(Lanka-e-News -30.May.2017, 9.00AM)   ‘Big brother’ India the neighbor of Sri Lanka who is always in the ready to  provide aid immediately when disaster strikes the country  , had sent the first consignment  of supplies  on the 27 th by the vessel ‘Kirch’ . The Indian High Commissioner in Sri Lanka said , when the vessel was headed elsewhere it was re directed to SL at once with the supplies within  a day. The vessel has 125 crew  members who have experience in relief operations ; a swimming team ; and  a mobile medical team .

Tharanjith Singh the Indian High commissioner in Colombo handed over the consignment  to foreign minister Ravi Karunanayake . Singh said , the second ship “Shardul “, the medium level vessel was arriving on the 28 th.

In that ship there are extra relief supplies  while the third ship is getting loaded at Vishakapattam , and that contains a huge quantity of items for relief operations   . The name of that vessel is “Jalashwa’and will be here on the 29 th.  Because of its  enormous size , a large consignment of goods  will be brought by that vessel , ‘Nithin Yeola’ , the media chief of the Indian High Commission revealed. 

It is following the meeting with the Indian High Commission soon after Ravi Karunanayake took up appointment as new foreign minister , it was decided that as a matter of policy India should provide instant and maximum aid in such disasters . India’s prompt action is an outcome  of that policy discussion.

Meanwhile Pakistan has also come forward to provide aid at this hour of national crisis .Discussions were held with the disaster management center of SL regarding the necessities. During the drought in SL on the last occasion , Pakistan supplied 10,000 metric tons of rice to SL. 

The UN Organization  office in Colombo  following a request made by the foreign minister , had also come forward to provide aid to disaster struck SL .As immediate relief measures , drinking water , water purifying  plants , tarpaulin sheets , medical equipments have been provided , and more is in the pipeline commensurate with  the needs. 

Mahajara Maharajas , kudu Mudalalis and share market swindlers under the pretext of providing aid fatten even on death and despair ….. 

While all this foreign  aid are  pouring in through  the intervention of the government , there is in SL a group that revels and rejoices on  death and despair whenever the country is stuck by disaster .  The unscrupulous media coolies of mahajara Maharaja , are collecting flood relief  funds and goods from kudu Mudalalis and stock market swindlers with fraudulent motives and for wrongful self centered purposes as usual. 

While the government has clearly notified that the  supplies shall be made available to government’s district secretariats and disaster management centers , these swindlers and rogues are not only collecting aid illicitly but  also trying to paint the picture and brag  that the foreign aid received are  because of them .

The villainous scoundrels of Mahajara maharaja via their TV channels  claimed that the foreign aid received is because of them and not owing to government’s efforts. They are of the view that if they have television channels , that would suffice, and they are the be all and end all of all what they survey.    Mahajara Maharajas entertain the notion that just because the  moronic media directors at presidential secretariat and the face book are under their pay , and are collecting monthly ‘santhosams’ ( ‘jara’ – kickbacks) from mahajara maharajas , and those scoundrels are kowtowing to ‘jara’ and Maharaja , the latter has captured the country . Otherwise they will never   have the audacity  to claim  because of their TV channel aid is flowing in. 

This cold calculated  fraud of alarming proportions  perpetrated – collecting aid  , by these rogues and rascals well ahead as soon as  there were  signals of the  impending disaster even when it was at a distance should be frowned upon by one and all. These traitorous swindlers  resort to these trickeries and treacheries in order to cook their accounts and produce bogus figures with a view to fraudulently avoid the tax payments due to the state. Or to exploit the opportunity for   their money laundering activities. 

They make ostentatious displays that they are providing aid to the poor through their various programs and competitions, but  in fact those are all racket oriented.  Their  programs and sponsorships of competitions to distribute awards too  are a huge farce. We have  copious and cogent evidence to prove this. We shall  reveal them after the country’s situation returns to normal . 

During a disaster , it is the duty of the public to render assistance , but that must be done with the approval of the government and should be delivered only to the authorized centers that receive them .  Though aid were  collected via the Television channel under its name , these sewage pipe Mudalalis  have never presented accounts in that regard. Therefore , it is being warned not to fall prey to the traps of these sewage pipe Mudalalis , Kudu Mudalalis and share market swindlers who are  engaging in so called charity activities to achieve their self centered  and  fraudulent motives , either to cheat the government on tax payments or to carry on their traitorous money laundering activities .

(The photograph depicts the ship “Kirch’ arriving in SL carrying supplies provided by  India) 

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by     (2017-05-30 05:46:09)

Death toll rises-

At least 193 persons killed: Missing 94 feared dead-

Nearly 600,000 affected

by Maheesha Mudugamuwa-May 30, 2017, 10:55 pm 

The death toll rose further yesterday after recovery crews began reaching remote corners cut off during the last several days when heavy rains followed by landslides and deadly floods overwhelmed many areas of the country’s southwest in the worst disaster in more than a decade.

At least 193 people had died in seven districts while 94 people were still missing, Health Minister Dr. Rajitha Senaratne told the media in Colombo.

The overall death toll was not clear as the rescue/recovery operations were still continuing in all affected areas, however the missing 94 were feared dead. Authorities expect the number of deaths to rise accordingly. Most deaths occurred in Ratnapura, Matara and Kalutara, according to Disaster Management Centre (DMC).

Flood waters receded in some places five days after heavy rains toppled concrete walls, flattened hills and tore roofs off homes, forcing thousands of people to evacuate.

Minister Senaratne placed the number of affected people at 575,816 from149,678 families; 1,326 houses had been destroyed while another 6,979 damaged, he added.

Evacuated people have been accommodated at 383 safe places and the government has ensured that all are given enough food. Law and Order Minister Sagala Ratnayake said there was no need for cooked meals for victims.

Dr. Senaratne said the roads had been cleared in most affected areas, but the southern expressway’s entrance at Godagama, Matara, still remained closed. The commuters could use the expressway from Kadawatha to Kokmaduwa, he noted.

The power supply in most areas had been restored but 120, 000 places were yet without power, Minister Senaratne said.

Urban Development, Water Supply and Drainage Minister Rauff Hakeem said 80 percent of water supply had been restored in affected areas and the rest would be completed soon.

He assured that pipe-borne water was safe to drink as the National Water Supply and Drainage Board (NWSDB) was continuously monitoring the water quality.

Highlighting the government compensation scheme for flood victims, Minister Senaratne said Rs. 100,000 would be given to the loss of a life and maximum up to Rs. 2.5 million would be given to a house damaged by the disaster.

The victims were covered by the national disaster insurance scheme, he said.

When a journalist asked whether there were any plans to mitigate future disasters Dr. Senaratne said disasters occurred not only in Sri Lanka but also in the developed countries like the US.

When asked about the criticisms over Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe leaving the country while the country was faced with disasters and the absence of Disaster Management Minister Anura Priyadarshana Yapa, Minister Senaratne said PM Wickremesinghe had left for the for medical treatment and Minister Yapa was on his way back home after attending a conference on disaster management abroad.

He said two billion rupees had been allocated for the rehabilitation of small scale businesses which were affected by the disaster.

Meanwhile, the Meteorology Department yesterday predicted a let-up in bad weather from today as the cyclonic storms had crossed the Bangladesh yesterday.

However, the Met Department predicted very strong winds about 60-70 kmph over the country (These windy conditions are especially expected over the western slope of the central hills and the surrounding sea areas.)

The Met Department has said that the showers or thundershowers will occur at times in the Western, Sabaragamuwa, Southern, North-western and Central provinces. Showers or thundershowers may occur at several places in the Uva and Eastern provinces particularly in the afternoon.

The National Building Research Organization (NBRO) has extended landslide warnings in Ratnapura, Kegalle, Galle, Kalutara, Matara, Hambantota and Nuwara Eliya.