Lasantha’s Daughter Wants Bribery Commission To Probe CID For Conferring “Undue Advantage” On MiG-Deal Mastermind Udyanga Weeratunga

FEBRUARY 28, 2020

The daughter of slain journalist Lasantha Wickrematunge has accused Sri Lanka’s criminal investigation department (CID) of offences under the Bribery Act, for attempting to aid MiG-deal suspect Udyanga Weeratunga to evade justice, according to a complaint filed with the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery and Corruption last week. 

Ahimsa

Ahimsa Wickrematunge whose father was murdered in January 2009 after his newspaper – The Sunday Leader – published a series of explosive exposes about the same corruption scandal involving the procurement of MiG-27 aircraft in 2006 complained to the Bribery Commission that she believed the CID and its new Director SSP Thilakaratne could be charged with intent to confer a wrongful and unlawful benefit, favour or advantage on Weeratunga who was successfully extradited to Sri Lanka from the UAE this month. 

Lasantha Wickrematunge’s daughter has often linked her father’s killing to his reporting on the MiG deal which also implicated then Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa in the corruption scandal.

“I firmly believe that my father’s murder stemmed from his efforts to investigate the crimes with which Mr. Weeratunga is charged. The CID has revealed, since 2015, that at least three additional people were killed in an attempt to cover up my father’s murder,” Ahimsa Wickrematunge charged in her complaint. 

“The MiG corruption scandal has already claimed too many lives,” Wickrematunge’s complaint to the Bribery Commission said. “I believe that those responsible must be brought to justice and the matter must be laid to rest, once and for all.” 

The daughter of the slain journalist said that: “An immediate, thorough and impartial investigation by CIABOC may be the only way to prevent the present CID leadership from releasing Mr. Weeratunga and his coconspirators of responsibility for their crimes,” urging the Bribery Commission to launch an investigation into the conduct of top officials at the agency.”

Udayanga

FCID investigations over a period of five years have revealed that Weeratunga, who is first cousin to both President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, masterminded the corrupt aircraft deal, while serving as Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to Ukraine. However when Weeratunga was produced in court as a suspect, the CID failed to submit a document certifying that the President’s first cousin had committed offences under the Public Property Act, to the value of over Rs 25,000. The lackadaisical attitude of the CID was seen as a blatant attempt to assist Weeratunga to get bail. Key officials in charge of the investigation at the FCID and the CID were also transferred out of the departments as soon as the Government of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa was officially informed that Weeratunga’s extradition process was complete and he could finally be returned to Sri Lanka to face justice. 

The CID’s extremely strange behavior was remarked upon at length by Fort Magistrate Ranga Dissanayake who is supervising the MiG investigation and whose court issued the first warrant for Weeratunga’s arrest in 2016. 

Wickrematunge’s complaint called on the Bribery Commission to “peruse the case record of B 639/2015, call for records from the CID pertaining to the extradition of Weeratunga and the transfer of Francis, and interview individuals familiar with the facts such as Hon. Ranga Dissanayake, DSG Thusith Mudalige and CI Nihal Francis. 

According to Wickrematunge’s complaint, if the Bribery Commission conducted this investigation, “sufficient evidence would emerge to charge and convict CID officers including Mr. Thilakaratne, with intent to confer a wrongful and unlawful benefit, favour or advantage on Udayanga Weeratunga, of: 

1. Doing and forbearing several acts which they were empowered to do by virtue of their office as a public servant, to wit – (a) the irregular request to the AIGP that CI Nihal Francis be removed from the CID, and (b) the failure to properly produce Weeratunga before the Magistrates Court and seek his remand in terms of the Offences Against Public Property Act; 

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SRI LANKA REPORT OF THE SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON FREEDOM OF RELIGION OR BELIEF: CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

A. REPRESSION AGAINST JOURNALISTS AND MEDIA WORKERS

28/02/2020

1 January 2, 2020, Batticaloa: Sri Lankan police in plain clothing has entered the house of the Batticaloa based journalist: S. Nilanthan, purportedly to arrest him, and threatened his family when it was discovered he was not at home. (https://www.tamilguardian.com/content/sri-lankan-police-threaten-family-tamil-guardian-correspondent-arrest-warrant)

2 January 5, 2020, Kilinochchi: Foreign Journalist was denied access to Iranaitheevu island by the Navy. She had a valid journalist visa and media accreditation card issued by Department of Government Information, which had been endorsed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. (personal interview(

3 January 10, 2020, Colombo: Officer in Charge (OIC) of Mulleriyawa Police has refused to accept a complaint made by a female journalist. about threats she has received due to her work. The OIC had also behaved in a manner that had threatened her life and dignity, according to the Free Media Movement. (Free Media Movement http://www.fmmsrilanka.lk/the-free-media-movement-condemns-the-degrading-treatment-meted-out-for-professional-journalists/)

4 January 17, 2020, Chilaw: Prasad Purnimal Jayamanne: a journalist based in Wennappuwa in Chilaw was assaulted by group linked to few politicians after he exposed unauthorized filling of a paddy field in Wennappuwa. Mr. Jayamanne has told Free Media Movement that he was assaulted by a group including the son of a former Wayamba Provincial Council member who had taken over the land filling from another former Wayamba Provincial Council member who claims to own the paddy field. (http://www.aithiya.lk/n_view.php?id=3476&lan=1)

5 January 18, 2020, Batticaloa: The Grama Niladari (GN) had visited a house of a Batticaloa based journalist around 11 am on 18th January and told him that the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in Colombo had requested details about him. The GN has noted down the personal details of the journalist including his data of birth, place, origin, family details etc. (personal interview)

6 January 19, 2020, Jaffna: The house of a Tamil local news journalist had been attacked and vandalized by a group of unidentified men in Mannipay, Jaffna. (https://www.tamilguardian.com/content/tamil-journalists-home-wrecked-vandals-intimidation-attempt)

7 January 20, 2020, Online Journalist Azzam Ameen faced hate speech based on his ethnicity after a call recording between him and former minister Ranjan Ramanayake was released online. A statement provided by Ameen on the incident states that he had to speak to Politicians and others in his capacity as a journalist, and has always safeguarded professional integrity. He had stated that he had moved away from his employment (BBC) over the incident involving some distorted private telephone conversations which have been made public. In addition to the content of the call, he had been subjected to hate speech in an organized manner due to his ethnicity and religion as a Muslim / Islam.
(https://www.facebook.com/AzzamAmeenSL/photos/a.1549879965318657/2203342193305761/?type=3&theater)

8 January 23, 2020, Batticaloa: Seven Journalists of Batticaloa Press Club had received death threats, with leaflets of their photographs highlighted, warning that they will soon be executed. The leaflets were pushed through the door of the Batticaloa Press Club building.
(https://www.tamilguardian.com/content/tamil-journalists-sent-threats-death-punishment-batticaloa)

B. REPRESSION OF DISSENT IN THE NORTH AND EAST

9. early January 2020, Trincomalee: Members of an NGO in Trincomalee were asked to come to the Counter Terrorism Investigation Division (CTID) headquarters in Colombo for an inquiry. Two leaders went for the inquiry. They were questioned about their funding and activities and requested to submit detailed reports. personal interview

10. January 10, 2020, Jaffna: Sri Lankan intelligence has erased Jaffna street art painting which depicts an image of a tiger, after threatening Tamil artists. Tiger symbol was used by LTTE as their symbol. However the erased artwork does not resemble the symbol of LTTE. Meanwhile many street art paintings which promotes militarization were allowed in the South. Above is the painting erased and below is the LTTE symbol depicted in the LTTE flag, from a government newspaper in January 2020. [(1) https://www.tamilguardian.com/content/sri-lankan-intelligence-erases-jaffna-street-aart-after-threatening-tamil-artists , (2) https://twitter.com/TamilGuardian/status/1215572416027602944 (3) https://www.dailynews.lk/2020/01/14/local/208360/ltte-remains-terrorist-group]

11. January 15, 2020, Mullaitivu: As reported by Tamil Guardian, Sri Lankan security forces have intruded Neeraviyadi Hindu temple’s Pongal celebrations. As preparation for the festival celebrations were underway, Sri Lankan intelligence officers were reportedly photographing those present at the temple, whilst uniformed police officials parked vehicles and conducted patrols nearby in an apparent act of intimidation. During the last decade, Buddhist monks have forcefully built a new Buddhist temple at the Neeraviyadi Hindu temple premises after Buddhist archaeological remains were discovered by the archaeological department. However, reportedly there are no Buddhists in the area. There is an ongoing legal case between two temples regarding this.
(https://www.tamilguardian.com/content/sri-lankan-security-forces-intrude-neeraviyadi-temples-pongal-celebrations)

12. January 16, 2020, Mannar: Few leaders of an NGO based in Mannar were questioned by the CTID in Colombo. (personal interview)

13. January 18, 2020, Jaffna: As reported by Tamil Guardian the Sri Lankan military has interrogated a Tamil youth in Jaffna, after accusing him of leading a campaign for the removal of a military base from the local area. Soldiers have reportedly raided the house of the youth in Chulipuram, and informed his family that he was to be summoned for questioning the next day. During the interrogation, he had been asked to sign a letter stating that he did not want the military to leave the area. (https://www.tamilguardian.com/content/sri-lankan-army-interrogates-tamil-youth-after-calls-demilitarisation)

14. January 20, 2020, Jaffna: Families of the victims of the Mirusuvil massacre were threatened by unknown persons in a white van. (After about 13 years of the case, the first accused army Staff Sergeant Sunil Ratnayake was found guilty for the murder of eight civilians in Mirusuvil, Jaffna has been sentenced to death by the Colombo High Court on 25 June 2015. Current President Gotabaya during his presidential campaigns has told that he would release all the military officers who have charged with serious crimes). [(1) https://www.jvpnews.com/community/04/254898 , https://www.tamilguardian.com/content/men-white-van-intimidate-relatives-mirusuvil-massacre-victims (2) http://www.adaderana.lk/news/58267/gotabaya-pledges-to-release-imprisoned-war-heroes-by-nov-17]

15. January 21, 2020, Vavuniya: A woman activist predominantly working with the war affected children and families was asked to come to the CTID on the 21st Jan 2020 for an inquiry. After she informed the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka, they have spoken to the CTID and subsequently told the activist that it is not necessary for her to go. personal interview

C. LEGAL CHANGES, APPOINTMENTS AND OTHER DEVELOPMENTS THAT MAY IMPACT DISSENT

16. January 1, 2020:  Shavendra silva allegedly accused of crimes against humanity during the war was appointed as acting chief of defence staff. Army Commander Lieutenant General Shavendra Silva was appointed as the acting Chief of Defense staff by the President. effective from 1 January 2020, in addition to his present office of the Commander of the Army.
(https://www.army.lk/news/incumbent-army-chief-serve-acting-chief-defence-staff)

17. January 22, 2020: President issued a gazette notification extending the call for armed forces further, enabling the military to intervene in civilian affairs. (https://www.dailynews.lk/2020/01/22/local/209165/armed-forces-maintain-public-order)

18. January 15, 2020: A cabinet decision is reported to have been taken to draft National Intelligence Act which would legalize impunity for intelligence officials. Activists have also expressed concerns about this act stating that it could be also used as a tool for repression of dissent [(1)https://www.facebook.com/newslk/videos/467918424163343/ [9.00 -10.00 minutes], (2) http://www.jdslanka.org/index.php/news-features/politics-a-current-affairs/923-sri-lanka-to-legalise-impunity-for-intelligence-officials (2) Article in “Anidda” Sinhalese paper, 26th Jan. 2020, page 15.]

19. January 22, 2020: Legal Draftsman was reported to be finalizing the proposed Cyber Security Act (1). When a draft act was presented by the previous government, activists have expressed concerns whether this will be used to repress the dissent (2) and others asked time for wider public consultation on the protection of privacy and defending the freedom of expression online. (1) (http://www.defence.lk/Article/view_article/837 (2) https://mawbima.lk/news-more/17083 (3) https://www.vikalpa.org/?p=35087)

20. January 16, 2020: Commodore DKP Dassanayake who has been accused of abduction of 11 youth case was promoted to the rank of Rear Admiral and then appointed as the Commander of Northwestern Naval Area. (http://www.hirunews.lk/232391/commodore-dkp-dassanayake-promoted-to-the-rank-of-rear-admiral (2) https://ceylontoday.lk/news-more/12019)

21. January 18, 2020: CA Chandraprema, who has been named as a member of a death squad group in late eighties in an affidavit and been arrested, was reported to be appointed as Sri Lankan envoy to the UN in Geneva (https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/proposed-sri-lankan-envoy-to-geneva-c-a-chandraprema-was-a-member-of-prra-death-squad/)

22. January 27, 2020: The Presidential Commission inquiring into incidents of alleged political victimization has requested the Attorney General (AG) to suspend court proceedings, where the former Commander and Spokesperson of the Navy are implicated. AG has refused to follow the order saying Presidential Commission does not have an authority to do so.

(https://srilankabrief.org/2020/01/sri-lanka-presidential-commission-of-inquiry-ordered-ag-to-suspend-cases-against-two-military-leaders/ https://colombogazette.com/2020/01/28/ag-refuses-to-bow-down-to-pcoi-instructions/)

23. January 29, 2020: Colombo Former Director of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Director Shani Abeysekera had lodged a complaint with Police On Alleged Death Threats from an unidentified person. the Witness Protection Unit of the Department of Police has requested the CID and the intelligence agencies to launch an investigation into the complaint lodged by Abeysekera.

The former CID Director has also requested Police protection in the light of alleged death threats. https://mail.asianmirror.lk/news/item/30798-former-cid-director-shani-abeysekera-lodges-complaint-with-police-on-alleged-death-threats, ( http://www.ft.lk/front-page/4-8-b-debt-to-be-repaid-in-2020/44-692599)

• INFORM. Colombo. Sri Lanka

Presidential Commission Aids Criminal Cover-Up: Army Intelligence Secures Files On Key CID Investigations

FEBRUARY 29, 2020

The controversial Presidential Commission of Inquiry (PCOI) on political victimization has aided and abetted efforts by the Directorate of Military Intelligence to obtain copies of files on highly sensitive investigations conducted by the Criminal Investigation Department, authoritative sources told Colombo Telegraph.

The PCOI last week issued an order that files pertaining to cases before the Commission should be obtained from law enforcement agencies for perusal. The case files are being copied by CID officials in the building. Military intelligence officials who have no role to play in the work of the Presidential Commission are being dispatched to retrieve the copies, Colombo Telegraph learns. Sources told Colombo Telegraph that the files were handed over to army intelligence officers by an OIC in the Homicide Branch of the CID.

Case files pertaining to the murder of rugby player Wasim Thajudeen, the assassination of journalist Lasantha Wickrematunge, the abduction of Prageeth Ekneligoda and the case involving the abduction and murder of 11 boys by a navy intelligence gang among others have already been copied and removed from the CID, Colombo Telegraph reliably learns.

Dozens of military intelligence officials have been implicated in grave crimes including murder and abduction of journalists and political dissidents between 2005-2015, including the assassination of Sunday Leader Editor Lasantha Wickrematunge, the abduction and torture of journalist Keith Noyahr and the daytime attack on Rivira Editor Upali Tennakoon only days after Wickrematunge’s murder. Commanding Officer of a military intelligence corps operating out of the Giritale Army Camp Lt. Colonel Shammi Kumararatne and eight other army intelligence personnel under his command have been indicted by the Attorney General in the High Court over the abduction of Prageeth Eknaligoda, who was a vocal critic of the Rajapaksa regime.

The Directorate of Military Intelligence which won protection through President Maithripala Sirisena during the Yahapalanaya Government when these cases were under investigation by the CID, has regularly stonewalled efforts by CID detectives to obtain documents in the possession of the military about the criminal suspects on their payroll, Colombo Telegraph can reveal. For years, the DMI has been intent on retrieving information gathered by the CID over the course of their investigations into high profile cases that have implicated army intelligence officers.

Wasantha Karannagoda who serves as an advisor to Gotabaya Rajapaksa is evading summons as an accused in the navy abductions case

Now, the military intelligence officers implicated in these grave crimes have found a powerful new friend in the current occupant of President’s House, who has himself been named as the commander of the 2005-2014 era death squads and has been trying to evade accountability for the same atrocities for five years. In the Ekneligoda abduction case, at least two former intelligence officials have provided confessions before a magistrate that Gotabaya Rajapaksa who then served as Defence Secretary, gave the order for Prageeth Ekneligoda’s abduction but the current President was never even questioned about this connection by the AG before the case went to trial late last year.

DKP Dassanayake accused in navy abductions trial promoted as Rear Admiral by Gotabaya Rajapaksa

Colombo Telegraph learns that the information contained in these case files will be valuable to military intelligence officials who will need alibis and other cover from their senior officers to evade justice for their crimes. The information contained in the CID files will also reveal which document trails will need to be manipulated or destroyed in order to stall the investigations and prevent prosecutions of army intelligence officials.

The Presidential Commission that aided this leak of sensitive case files to army intelligence was appointed by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to scrutinize ongoing criminal cases in order to determine whether investigations into several Rajapaksa aligned military top brass and former Rajapaksa era officials had been politically motivated by the Yahapalanaya Government.

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Defence and health: Turning guns into ploughshares

US President Donald Trump holds up a document showing “countries best and worst prepared for an epidemic” during a news conference on the COVID-19 outbreak at the White House on Wednesday.  AFP

28 February 2020

A country spends billions of dollars on defence to avert an imminent enemy invasion or keep the enemy at bay. Then suddenly, the country is threatened with the novel coronavirus outbreak. Should it drastically slash its defence expenditure and spend more on healthcare to save the people or should it continue to fortify its defences?

Most nations face this security dilemma at varying degrees. Take for instance, Sri Lanka. During the 30-year civil war, the country spent billions of rupees on defence to preserve its territorial integrity, but the victory came at a huge socio-economic cost which includes lost decades in economic development and communal harmony.

Then take North Korea which is on a non-stop mission to produce and better nuclear weapons and cruise missiles to ward off a perceived US invasion. It does so while half of North Korea’s 24 million people live in abject poverty and one third of its children are 

stunted from malnutrition.

In our neighbourhood, nuclear-armed archrivals India and Pakistan spend billions of dollars, beefing up their defences. They do so, while millions of their people live under the World Bank defined poverty line. In India 68.8 percent of the people live on less than US$ 2 a day. More than 30 percent of the population – 390 million people -- are extremely poor as they earn less than $1.25 a day. Some 15.5 per cent of India’s government expenditure or 2 percent of the GDP goes to defence –  in monetary terms, Rs 4.31 trillion or more than US$ 60 billion.

In Pakistan, nearly 30 percent of the people live under the poverty line, while its defence budget averages at 3.1 percent of the GDP, a high percentage when compared with other Asian and European nations. In monetary terms, it is Pakistan rupees 1.1 trillion or more than US$ 7 billion. 

A 0.5 percentage cut in the defence expenditure is enough to make millions of people healthy, the end result being a healthy, educated and productive society. In poverty-stricken South Asia, this can be done through nuclear disarmament. In India, some US$ 5 billion a year – almost the same amount New Delhi spends on healthcare – goes to maintain the country’s nuclear weapons programme. Pakistan spends US$ 2.5 billion on its nuclear weapons programme a year while its healthcare budget is around US$ 1 billion.

But political leaders show little interest in turning their nuclear weapons into poverty-eradicating ploughshares.  Spending more money on defence, while denying the poor basic healthcare, amounts to stealing from the poor. Often, with over expenditure on defence comes corruption which is as harmful to society as nuclear weapons are.

At a time when country after country is affected by the fast-spreading Covid-19 coronavirus that has killed more than 2,800 people and made more than 82,000 people worldwide sick, most of them in China, what is expected of nations is urgent action to cut down on defence expenditure and divert the funds to aggressively combat the spread of the virus and find a cure for it. 

Early this month, the World Health Organisation appealed for an additional USD 675 million in urgent donations for a three-month plan to help poor nations buy face masks and upgrade their health systems to face any eventuality. “Our message to the international community is invest today or pay more later,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said, adding that the funding appeal was “much less than the bill we will have to pay if we do not invest in preparedness now”.

Every time a virus spreads uncontrollably, the WHO issues a clarion call to rich nations to contribute more towards global healthcare measures, as happened during Ebola and Zika outbreaks.

Often the money comes too little too late – after the worst happens.

But the response of some big powers is appalling, if not inhuman, as they continue to spend more on defence and wars, rather than spending that money to make access to quality healthcare universal. 

The US war expenditure since 2001 has been a mind-boggling more than five trillion dollars. 

But the US President Donald Trump wants more money for war. He keeps pressurising NATO members to increase their defence budgets to 2 percent. No government can increase its defence budget without making cuts on social welfare allocations.  A recent report by the London-based International Institute of Strategic Studies points out that the global arms expenditure last year reached the highest in ten years, with the US and China increasing their defence budget by 6 percent. On the one hand, such high spending is sheer insensitivity to social welfare needs; on the other, it is a preposterous case of mixing up priorities, as seen in China’s struggle to cope with the coronavirus emergency situation, with hospital beds, ventilators, face masks and disinfectants in short supply. 

In the case of the US, it was only on Wednesday that Trump said he would be asking Congress to make at least US$ 2.5billion to put the US in a state of preparedness to face the worst case scenario. But given Trump’s record on health issues, it is doubtful he fully understood the issue at hand or is fit to give leadership in times of emergency. This is because:

• In 2018, he shut down the National Security Council’s unit for coordinating responses to pandemics and cut funds to the Disease Control Centre that monitors and prepares for epidemics.  
• In budget proposals sent to Congress for review, Trump has upped the defence allocation by US$ 50 billion, and reduced the US contribution to global health funds by more than US$ 3 billion. The fund cuts will include half of Washington’s annual funding to the WHO.  
• Then, hours before Wednesday’s coronavirus speech, in a tweet he blamed the media for trying to stoke fear. His tweet said: “Low Ratings Fake News MSDNC (Comcast) & @CNN are doing everything possible to make the Caronavirus look as bad as possible, including panicking markets, if possible”. Note: Trump misspelled the name of the virus.
• When it comes to health, much of Trump’s attention was on criticising President Barack Obama’s health care scheme.

We cannot expect world leaders to ditch their ultranationalist ideas and subscribe to a one-humanity concept with one government based on justice, equality and fair distribution of the world’s resources. But people can force their leaders to cut down on defence and spend more towards the global fight against diseases. 

Some may say we need to find the perfect balance between a state’s security needs and social welfare.  But security does not mean the security of the state alone. It also means ensuring the citizens’ socio-economic security to free them from fear and hunger.  The middle path, however, starts with the ethical conduct of big powers. They should stop making wars and stoking tension between states to sell weapons and make money at the expense of other people’s misery. Where peace reigns, health blossoms. 

Seven Kartajaya mantras for Sri Lankan marketers

• 49% of companies impacted due to Covid-19 virus
• Only 18% say Govt. has addressed cost of living issue 
• SL heading for a recession in 2020?

Cause-related marketing: Chairperson Swadeshi Industrial Works partnering UNICEF to drive ‘Honda Purudu’ among children of Sri Lanka


Wednesday, 26 February 2020

 Kartajaya is the former President of the World Marketing Association and one of the top 50 marketing gurus who has shaped the world of marketing.

His insight has made many companies change their business strategies and achieve organisational objectives that has made his advocacy a sought-after mantra. I had the opportunity of getting trained by him last week and let me throw more light on his work.

Sri Lankan housewife sinking 

Hermawan Kartajaya credos may be relevant for Sri Lankan marketers given that the Sri Lankan housewife is sinking. Top global research agency for retail insights Nielsen revealed last week that post a household consumption FMCG collapse of six quarters (starting from Q1, 2016 to Q2, 2018), thereafter Sri Lanka saw a brief pick up in the first two quarters of 2018.

But, once again things have taken a southern turn where Sri Lanka’s household are facing another downturn with a -4.2% decline in Q3,2019 on retail off take whilst in the Q4,2019 another -7.4% has declined. This has forced FMCG manufacturers to cut consumer prices to maintain the customer base.

Incidentally, the declining household consumption in 2019 led to Sri Lanka registering a 2.6% GDP growth, making the country the lowest performing economy in the South Asian region. This has resulted in severe pressure to marketing companies operating in Sri Lanka.

Recession in 2020? 

Year 2020 being a ‘year of elections’ – starting from the General Elections planned for the end of April and thereafter in two months’ time the Provincial Council Elections – further puts pressure on brand marketing companies to maintain business operations.

I guess the research data published by Sunday Times Business where only 18% state that the current Government has addressed the key issue of cost of living means the household woes of last year are continuing in 2020.

What is worrying this year is that already 49% organisations are stating that the Covid-19 coronavirus has impacted business which means that Sri Lanka can be heading to a recession in 2020. The Sri Lankan apparel industry which is linked to the global supply chain of China being affected due to the closure of accessory factories in China means that the overall exports performance of Sri Lanka that registered a marginal 0.4% growth performance will be challenged.

This together with the coronavirus spreading to South Korea can impact the remittances business of Sri Lanka. The lockdown of North of Italy once again due to Covid-19 further can have ramifications to the tourism industry.

Given the above macroeconomic challenges, let me capture the seven key mantras new age marketers must practice.

Mantra 1: Love your customers but respect your competitors

Hermawan Kartajaya in his book ‘Marketing 3.0’ states that ‘we must learn to love our customers but respect the competitors’. A typical case study in Sri Lanka is the PickMe and Uber businesses. Whilst the business model is novel the fact remains that the focus on the customer is excellent. The logic being that the life of a typical consumer has become very convenient especially on the delivery of food but it has created havoc in the market. For instance a ride from the BIA airport will cost Rs. 1,600 as against the airport taxis charging Rs. 3,000. This has led to a tension between the two entities leading to even fistfights. I guess the Kartajaya mantra of ‘love your customers but respect your competitors’ holds ground.

Mantra 2: Be sensitive to change and ready to transform

Whilst accepting that the economy needs an injection to revive consumption, the decision to increase the wages to Rs. 1,000 based on an election promise rather than business logic has made the private sector tea industry go to the wire on financial sustainability.

Just for the record, the wage increase between the time period of 1991-2011 is a staggering 986% whilst there after moving to 830 and now the recommendation to make it 1,000. A point to note is that the Sri Lankan daily wage rate is 137% of the average auction price whilst the other producing nations like India is at 93% whilst Kenya is at a healthy 79%. As per the words of Hermawan Kartajaya, let’s be sensitive to the requested change as many households are finding it hard to survive due the spiralling inflation.

It’s time that the tea industry takes a cue from the apparel sector and focuses on the supply chain correction issues, given that the industry must be commended for the work done on the brand Ceylon Tea, starting from the focused decisions on conforming to global standards on MRL levels and that leading to Ceylon Tea being the first certified ozone friendly tea globally. The new Ceylon Tea campaign that will hit the global media is also feather in the cap for the strong working partnership between the private and public sectors.

One way out is for the tea industry to move to an ‘outgrower model’ or the government must stipulate a ‘productivity-based incentive’. The latter, though promised by the Government, does not turn to reality. In the year of elections, like 2020, the task will be near impossible.

Mantra 3: Guard your name and be clear on who you are

When Hermawan Kartajaya spoke about guarding your name and being clear in who you are, the one thought that struck me was that whilst category branding is giving leadership to Sri Lanka and the world, be it apparel, Ceylon Tea, Ceylon Sapphire and now Ceylon Cinnamon and Ceylon Pepper, we must be conscious of the overriding Nation Brand Value that has crashed in the last three years. Countries like Algeria and Ukraine have beaten us, taking Sri Lanka down to No. 61.

The Airbus scandal will further take us to the wire which means that we will have to be competing with countries like Nigeria next which is very sad for a country caught up in the cyclical political corruption pattern. As Hermawan Kartajaya advocates, it’s time that Sri Lanka guards its name and builds a clear identity globally.

Mantra 4: Customers are diverse, go first to who will bring the most

Whilst it may be good to do business in all segments of the market, a suggestion by Hermawan Kartajaya is that based on a deep dive on a ‘gains and loss’ analysis one must think though and decide which segments a particular brand must target.  The logic is that it’s better to focus on a clear need than be everything to everyone – the best example being Lanka Sathosa taking the position ‘Aduma Mila’ in the modern trade business of Sri Lanka.

Mantra 5: Always offer a good package at a fair price

When Hermawan Kartajaya mentioned this, the thought that crossed my mind was the 150 dollar minimum rate that many are requesting for the city hotels in the tourism business. The question one must ask is, why do we need to regulate a market like what was done in the 1960s?

In today’s world the best option is to allow the supply-demand equilibrium dictate the price. As per what Hermawan Kartajaya says, ‘always offer a good package for a fair price’.

Mantra 6:  Make yourself available and spread good news

It’s sad but in Sri Lanka negative new gets attraction and eyeballs to the media. But as Hermawan Kartajaya said, we must spread good news and be available for comment to the world if we are to progress in the world of business and marketing.

Given this insight I guess it’s time that Sri Lanka thinks of inducing a brand board and thereby generates positive news within the country and globally. We saw how the Chinese Government practiced this using doctors and patients and their families whilst battling the coronavirus outbreak.

Mantra 7: Whatever your business is, it is a service business

I really like this thought of Hermawan Kartajaya that whatever business one is in, it is a service business. Rather than crying out the issues that a typical company is up against when wanting public sector services (let’s say to renew a vehicle license at the RMV) a better option would be to do a touch point study so that we can understand the ‘as is’ situation and address the issue and then recommend a solution like what the passport office has implemented so well.

Let’s accept it, when an economy has been grown from $ 30 billion to $90 billion within a 10-year time period, we cannot expect the administration system to run at 100% efficiency when the salary and motivation factors are the same. This means reforms have to come in and it will be painful. The private must support this agenda. However, this will have to wait till end April the earliest I guess.

Next steps

Whilst the above seven ideas may sound very basic, it has worked around the world to shift organisations and countries to become competitive. Let’s start taking one idea at a time and developing our business.


(The writer can be contacted via rohantha.athukorala1@gmail.com. The thoughts expressed are his own and not the views of any organisation he serves in Sri Lanka or internationally.)

Allowing developed states to get away with emissions

by Armin Rosencranz and Kanika Jamwal-February 28, 2020, 9:19 pm

The principle of common but differentiated responsibilities (CBDR) is at the heart of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), obliging State parties to take into account their common, but differentiated responsibilities while meeting their obligations under the framework.

This meant that while there is a universal responsibility to mitigate and adapt to climate change, the primary responsibility is on the developed States to take the lead in this regard, monetarily, given their historical emissions’ record, which placed a primary responsibility on them to mitigate and adapt to climate change. The Kyoto Protocol, a relatively concrete document, followed the UNFCCC, solidified and operationalised CBDR, by dividing States into two groups.

First, developed or industrialised States (or Annex I States) and second, developing States (or non-Annex I States). Under Kyoto, the former have quantified GHG emission reduction targets, while any emission reductions in non-Annex I States were voluntary, and tied to the emission reduction target of the former category through Kyoto’s three flexible mechanisms. In this article, we argue that the principle of CBDR has since its inception been non-existent in practice.

To that end, we will explain how the operationalisation of the principle through the flexible mechanisms of the Kyoto has, in practice, defeated the principle. Specifically, we focus on the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), which has arguably been the most successful mechanism under Kyoto. We argue that the increased CDM investments in renewable energy is but a means for the developed States to maintain and even increase their own GHG emissions. The discussion takes place in the context of renewable energy because, first, CDM is the most efficient tool to reduce GHG emissions and second, as a consequence, it has attracted a major fraction of the CDM investments.

While setting mandatory emission reduction targets for Annex I States, the Kyoto Protocol allows them to partly meet their targets by buying Certified Emission Reductions (CERs) through CDM. CERs may be acquired by initiating a CDM project targeted at reducing or avoiding the emissions in a developing country. The emissions thus saved are credited to the investing government or corporation, as the case may be. One CER is equivalent to 1 tonne of CO2 emission. Effectively this means that developed States may achieve compliance of their obligations under Kyoto simply by reducing carbon emissions in States where making such reductions are more cost-effective, i.e., the developing States.

The 2018 UNFCCC report on CDM projects suggests that renewable energy has received a major push through CDM. Of all CDMs, nearly 72 per cent are in the renewables sector, with the global investment exceeding USD 200 billion in 2017. Additionally, CDM projects have generated over 100,000 million gigawatts of electricity by harnessing renewable energy every year since 2001. Similar suggestions have been made in the 2012 report, namely that one of the three prominent benefits of CDM projects has been the promotion of renewable energy.

In fact, the U.N. study goes on to claim that in the absence of CDM, the promotion of reliable and renewable energy would not have happened. Additionally, it suggests that the majority of renewable energy projects have in fact, been CDM projects in non-Annex I States, given the rising electricity demand of these States. Prima facie, CDM investment in renewables suggests that developed countries are moving towards fulfilling their obligations under Kyoto.

However, a critical understanding of the CDM process negates this conclusion. It is argued that the CDM process acts as a platform for Annex I States to secure a ‘right to pollute’. By initiating such projects in developing States, developed States ‘export’ CO2 emission reductions to developing States, while maintaining or even increasing their own CO2 emissions, subject to the number of CERs they are able to earn. On the pretext of cost-effectiveness (or even profitability) of reducing GHG emissions, Annex I States target non-Annex I States for renewable energy projects, in turn acquiring CERs to offset their own emission reduction targets. This effectively defeats the very essence of the CBDR which requires developed countries to take the lead in mitigating and adapting to climate change, furthering the quantified cuts they must make in their own emissions.

What then, is a possible solution? Undoubtedly, the most effective means to mitigate GHG emissions is to switch to renewable energy sources, especially now that solar and wind energy are more cost-effective than coal. To operationalise CBDR in its true spirit, Annex I States must reduce their own GHG emissions by making this switch within their jurisdictions, in addition to their ongoing CDM projects in non-Annex I States. Additionally, this should be accompanied by a review of the Annex I and non-Annex I categories, since the status of several States has transformed since the 1990s.

(The writers are, respectively, Professor of Law and Public Policy and a Research Associate at the Jindal Global Law School)

One Palestinian group is running to restore freedom of movement

Diala Isid, the head of the Right to Movement campaign.

February 28, 2020

Reading, research and short trips are simply not enough for visitors to Palestine to understand how difficult it is for those living under occupation with restrictions imposed on their movement as they go about their daily lives. Palestinians are caged in by a forbidding wall, and have to negotiate permanent and temporary Israeli military checkpoints almost everywhere that they need to go, whether it be to work, school, university, hospital or simply to visit relatives and friends.

“People take human rights for granted until they are no longer there,” Diala Isid told me. “In Palestine, we are deprived of basic human rights like freedom of movement. To highlight the restrictions imposed on us and our right to free movement, we decided to start a running campaign so people can join in and run with us here in Palestine.”

The Right to Movement campaign was born. Runners who participate in the campaign’s marathons, explains Diala, experience a taste of the daily reality of living in Gaza and the occupied the West Bank. Travel permits in occupied Jerusalem and the West Bank are issued by the Israeli occupation authorities, and are often refused arbitrarily.

Runners can explore the infrastructure that sustains the occupation and meet the people most badly affected in refugee camps along the way. Restricting their movement is a major tool employed by Israel which has a devastating effect on Palestinian lives.

READ: An app powered by virtual reality makes borders and checkpoints in Palestine disappear

Twenty-nine-year-old Diala is the head of the Right to Movement campaign. She described her trips to visit her parents in Bethlehem: Unable to travel directly from Ramallah through Jerusalem, she has to take a much longer route. “A 30-minute drive from Ramallah to Bethlehem turns into a one-and-a-half-hour journey because of the checkpoints that I have to pass through with my Palestinian ID.” Identity cards are also used as a weapon of the occupation to fragment the local population, she pointed out.

The idea for the campaign came in 2012 when Palestinians in Bethlehem wanted to organise a marathon but found it impossible to map the full route without hitting obstacles.

We don’t even control a 42.2 kilometre stretch of road in the West Bank. Runners have to use the same circuit four times in order to finish the traditional marathon distance.

“It’s the only road that we can close to traffic because of the Israeli occupation. We have no choice but to settle for a 10 kilometre route.”

That route begins in Bethlehem’s Nativity Square, runs along the Separation Wall and passes through two refugee camps before finishing at the Church of the Nativity. It is an effective way to draw attention to the constraints faced by Palestinians in their daily lives.

“The fact that we can’t even run a full marathon properly illustrates the limitations that we face. Hence, we all have a responsibility to do all we can to raise awareness.”

READ: Israel builds new Jew-only road and steals more Palestinian land

In December 2016, to demonstrate that the journey of Biblical Mary and Joseph would be even more difficult in present-day Israel, Diala organised 22 Palestinian relay runners, 11 men and 11 women dressed as “Mary and Joseph”, to create a contemporary nativity play called “Mary can’t move”. 

Starting from Nazareth, they headed for Bethlehem. The first major checkpoint appeared at the border of the West Bank through the eight-metre-high Separation Wall.

“It took us 12 and a half hours of running, passing through six Israeli checkpoints and multiple illegal settlements all over the West Bank. And we couldn’t access Jerusalem because some of the runners weren’t granted the required permit. This project showed the world that despite living under torment, we can get our message across in a peaceful way; that’s how we want to live, in peace.”

“Mary can’t move” reminded everyone that the conflict in the Holy Land has nothing to do with religion — there are Palestinian Christians as well as Muslims — and everything to do with freedom and self-determination.

With US President Donald Trump’s “peace plan” allowing Israel to annex a huge portion of the occupied West Bank, the situation looks set to get even more restrictive for the people of Palestine. The Israeli settlement blocs are home to more than 400,000 illegal settlers, serviced by a network of roads for use by Jews only and checkpoints that restrict the movement of the Palestinians. Trump’s vision for a Palestinian state is a series of non-contiguous enclaves.

“The plan gives Israel what it wants and doesn’t serve us Palestinians. They want to legalise the Israeli settlements, annex the Jordan Valley and steal more of our land,” said Diala. “The right to freedom of movement remains a dream and the so-called peace plan will make restrictions permanent. The West Bank cities will even be more cut-off than before.”

Runners from the Right to Movement campaign have taken their message to races as far away as the San Francisco marathon. Last year, the group joined UNWRA in a relay from New York City to Washington DC, aimed at changing US policy on funding cuts.

Flying high: Palestinians reach Everest base camp

Despite its obvious objectives, the campaign has not been entirely trouble-free. It has, for example, faced objections from socially-conservative Palestinians concerned that running is not a suitable activity for women and girls. This was a hurdle that Diala sought to break one step at a time — literally — by starting training sessions indoors to avoid complaints. “Women running in the streets wasn’t culturally acceptable. When we first began, we used to be judged and had a lot of adverse comments thrown at us, so we worked a lot on creating a good running atmosphere for females.”

This entailed running off-road, where people weren’t around, as well as the indoor workouts. “It encouraged many people to join us until we were comfortable as a group to go running in the streets. In time, it became acceptable.”

Along with its political objectives, the running group has helped to bring about social change, including improved fitness for the women taking part. Running has changed their lives, and nobody is thinking about stopping.

“It wasn’t easy, and isn’t easy, but I can say now that I have three female leaders in the group. And they are all inspiring leaders encouraging more females to join and it’s so nice.”

The initiative has come to the attention of prominent figures such as Democratic 

representative Rashida Tlaib, British politician Jeremy Corbyn and American model Anwar Hadid.

The son of Nazareth-born Mohammad Hadid met with the founders of the Right to Movement campaign during a visit to Ramallah in December. An Instagram post shows Anwar Hadid with a campaign t-shirt and the caption that he “supports Right to Movement and believes that young people are the change makers of Palestine”.

Connecting with prominent personalities such as Tlaib and Hadid is important, believes Diala. “They show great interest in the story of Palestine because it’s coming directly from us Palestinian runners who are facing these harsh realities, not the media. Running is a universal activity, and anyone can relate to it because it’s not difficult to understand. We runners are experiencing it together, carrying the Palestinian flag.”

Running to restore freedom of movement is an objective that many people in the West may not fully appreciate. For the Palestinians, however, it is a struggle to restore a basic human right, and that should be something that everyone should value and support.

Will Bard students face punishment over protest of racist speakers?

Bard College could punish two students for protesting anti-Palestinian speakers. (Daderot)

Nora Barrows-Friedman -27 February 2020

Bard College in New York has engaged in a months-long investigation into two of its students who protested an October panel discussion that featured anti-Palestinian speakers.

During the protest, members of Students for Justice in Palestine silently held signs emblazoned with quotes from one of the panelists, right-wing Harvard professor Ruth Wisse, such as “Palestinian Arabs are people who breed and bleed and advertise their misery.”

The two members of SJP under investigation, Ben Mulick and Akiva Hirsch, are the only ones who spoke to the media after the protest – according to civil rights group Palestine Legal – and are the only ones being investigated for alleged violations of Bard’s free speech policy and its harassment, discrimination and stalking policy.

The administration’s decision whether or not to punish the students could be made soon, according to Palestine Legal, which is representing Mulick and Hirsch.

As part of their protest, Mulick read short statements during the panel and Hirsch joined other students in a chant during the question and answer period, both actions fully within the accepted guidelines of the college’s free speech policy.

Bard began its investigation after one of Wisse’s co-panelists, Batya Ungar-Sargon, the opinion editor at the Jewish daily newspaper The Forward, claimed she was protested by members of Students for Justice in Palestine just “for being a Jew.”

However, several witnesses, including a prominent former official of the American Jewish Committee, a major Israel lobby group, repudiated Ungar-Sargon’s claim.

Last year, Ungar-Sargon played a key role in smearing Congresswoman Ilhan Omar as an anti-Semite and inciting racist and Islamophobic attacks on her, including from President Donald Trump.

Mulick and Hirsch spoke to media outlets in order to explain that their protest was against the anti-Palestinian views of the speakers, not due to the religion of the speakers themselves.

Nevertheless, Bard notified the students that they were being placed under investigation.

False accusations

Palestine Legal warned Bard College against any retaliation, arguing that the students cannot be punished under the college’s free speech policy, which explicitly protects “dissent and protest.”

“The evidence overwhelmingly shows that Ben and Akiva protested the event to express political disagreement with the viewpoint of the speakers. Indeed, there is no evidence – much less a preponderance of the evidence – to show otherwise,” Palestine Legal wrote in a letter to the college last month.

“They’re not just investigating these two students, they’re looking to revise their entire free speech policy,” attorney Radhika Sainath of Palestine Legal told The Electronic Intifada.

“It’s really clear that Bard’s [current] free speech policy explicitly protects this kind of activity, so there’s no reason why these two students should be pulled into a months-long investigation – and interrogated, during finals week, and now they’re just waiting to hear what their fate is for something so minor and so protected,” Sainath added.

The college has admitted that no formal complaint was ever filed against the students, nor any students with SJP or others who protested, Sainath explained.

“The school decided to investigate this on its own based on false accusations that are completely unsupported in the media, and actually rebutted by half a dozen very prominent people – including people on its own staff,” she said.

Punitive

Mulick told The Electronic Intifada that during the panel discussion, he read aloud a statement admonishing “the normalization of ethnic cleansing on our campus.”

He said a professor in the audience immediately ran over to him, grabbed his arm, and proceeded to take him outside.

“I was the only one taken outside – but I came back in and continued reading my statement, but two security guards kicked me out,” Mulick said. He said he attempted to re-enter a second time, but was prevented from doing so by security.

Hirsch, who is Jewish, has stated that he protested in order to make it clear that the right-wing panelists do not speak for him or represent his values.

Hirsch told The Electronic Intifada that he was “really disappointed” in the response by the Bard administration.

He noted that harsh treatment and investigations of students seem to be reserved only for those protesting racism, and not racism itself.

For example, Hirsch said, last semester, while the investigation into his protest was underway, a swastika was carved into an elevator door in the dormitory where he lives.

He says he felt the administration did not sufficiently condemn the hateful incident, nor launch a months-long investigation to find its perpetrator.

“I feel like Ben and I have been seen only through a punitive perspective – and I feel like this mystery swastika carver has been treated like someone who said a bad word, whereas we have been seen as horrific bigots,” he said.

Hirsch and Mulick say that despite the lengthy investigation and possible punishments, their activism has not been deterred.

“The goal of anti-Palestinian groups is to silence those who would speak up on behalf of Palestine and Palestinian people,” Hirsch said.

“As daunting a task as it may be to speak up and make some noise in the face of these large organizations with funding and lobbying power, that is the one thing that they really don’t want you to do. Therefore, you really should do it,” he added.

The more comfortable anti-Palestinian racists become “with the idea that we will stay silent out of fear, then the more power they will have over the discourse and the debates – and the harder it will be for the people on the right side to speak truth to power,” Hirsch said.

What Bard has been doing through these investigations “doesn’t intimidate me in the slightest,” Mulick said. “We’re only going to be stronger.”

He added that SJP membership has grown exponentially since last year.

However, having their academic lives almost put on hold, being made to worry about whether they would be coming back, “feels like a hell of a punishment” already, Hirsch said.

“I hope that they’ll make the right decision and that my trust and respect has not been displaced,” Hirsch added.