Sri Lanka Guardian

Fears of possible Pakistanisation of Maldives

noreply@blogger.com (Sri Lanka Guardian) — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 02:42:00 +0000

| by B.Raman

( February 12, Chennai, Sri Lanka Guardian) There has been disquiet among the large number of supporters of former Maldivian President Mohammed Nasheed over indications that appeared on February 11,2012, that India, the US and the European Union countries have got themselves reconciled to the continuance of Dr.Mohammad Waheed Hasan as the President of the Maldives.

2.While India seems to support Nasheed’s demand for advanced elections within two months, it does not seem to support his demand that Waheed should not continue as the President during this period and that an interim President acceptable to all political parties should take over and supervise the holding of the elections.

3. The US and the EU do not seem to be prepared to support the demand for advanced elections. However, they do support Nasheed’s demand for an independent enquiry into the events that led to the resignation of Nasheed, who has been alleging that he was forced to resign at gun point by sections of the Police and the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF ).Waheed has expressed himself as amenable to the idea of an independent enquiry under him as the President.

MALE'- Following the resignation by Mohamed Nasheed as President, he answers questions from the media on February 9, 2012 from his residence Kenereege. PHOTO/ NASRULLAH SOLIH

4. The three major international players ---India, the US and the EU --- who have been trying to bring about an understanding among all parties on the future course of action without questioning the legitimacy of Dr.Waheed, seem to feel comfortable with 59-year-old Waheed despite his total lack of a political and popular base in the Maldives.

5. The US knows Dr.Waheed quite well. He graduated in English from the American University of Beirut and subsequently did his doctorate in Education from the Stanford University of the US. He had served in the UN from 1991 to 2005---- as the UNICEF representative in Tanzania, Bangladesh, Nepal and Afghanistan . He had headed the UN office in Kathmandu and Kabul. During his posting of three years in Kabul, he had developed a good personal equation with US civilian bureaucrats and military officers stationed there.

6.Nobody questions Dr.Waheed’s credentials as a highly educated and progressive-minded former international bureaucrat, who had seen first hand the damage done to Afghan society by the Taliban. Left to himself, he is unlikely to allow the radicalisation and Talibanisation of Islam in the Maldives.

7. But will he be left to himself? Will he be able to assert his independence without a base of political support and without any public support in the Maldives? His first appointments to the so-called National Unity Government, which is still in the process of formation, do not inspire confidence.

8.Many suspect that radical Islamists and their sympathisers in the Police and the MNDF manipulated the public protests against Nasheed’s arbitrary style of functioning in such a manner as to bring about the exit of Nasheed, whose advocacy of a progressive Islam and close relations with Israel, were not liked by them.

9.They feel that what we are seeing in the Maldives is the beginning of an under-the-surface confrontation between progressive Islamists and radical, pro-Taliban Islamists behind the façade of the presidency of progressive Waheed.

10.Waheed’s appointment of Dr Mohamed Jameel Ahmed as the Minister for Home Affairs and Col (retd) Mohammed Nazim as the Defence Minister should be a matter of concern to India. Dr. Jameel is the Vice-President of the Dhivehi Quamee Party (DQP) . A direct descendant of Sultan Giyasuddin, he was born in Fuvamulah, in southern Maldives. He studied in Pakistan, Malaysia and the UK. He obtained a PhD in Criminal Law from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) - University of London on a merit scholarship awarded by the Commonwealth.

11.Dr Jameel previously served as the Minister of Justice under former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, and briefly as the Minister of Civil Aviation and Communication under Nasheed from November 12,2008, to May 30,2009. He was previously known as a progressive Muslim. In July 2007, he defied radical Islamists and nominated three women judges, the first time the Maldives had admitted women to the judiciary. He resigned as the Minister of Justice the same year after accusing Gayoom of failing to take action against rising Islamic militancy and blocking political reforms.

12. Since he parted company with Nasheed, he has been holding and expressing views which would bring comfort to the radical Islamists. His authorship was suspected behind a pamphlet which accused Nasheed of having entered into a conspiracy with the Jews and the Christians in order to contaminate the Maldivian Islamic society. He has been a critic of the preference allegedly given by Nasheed to the Indian private sector for the execution of development projects in the Maldives, particularly one for the modernisation of Male’s international airport.

13. Waheed was asked about it during one of his interactions with the media after taking over. His reply was evasive. He said his approach to the US $ 400 million investment project for the modernisation of the airport by the Indian infrastructure company GMR would not be political, but economic . He added: “Our objective will be to resolve concerns of the public regarding the company.”

14.This was implicit support for Jameel’s past allegations that Nasheed’s attitude to the Indian project was influenced not by considerations of economic benefit, but by pro-India political considerations.

15. One has the impression that while the US does not want to question the legitimacy of Waheed as the President, it has concerns over his appointment of Jameel as the Home Minister. While interacting with the media at Male on February 11, Robert Blake, US Assistant Secretary of State, reportedly expressed concern over the “anti-semetic commentary” and strongly condemned it. He also praised Nasheed’s Government “for working to improve [the country’s] relationship with Israel and show themselves as a modern and progressive government.”

16. Another controversial induction into the new Cabinet by Waheed has been that of Col.(retd) Mohammed Nazim, who was removed from the MNDF by Nasheed in May last because of his alleged insubordination. Since his removal, he has allegedly been trying to create disaffection in the MNDF and the Police against Nasheed. Many accounts on the events that preceded the exit of Nasheed agree that Nazim played an active role in instigating a group of about 70 MNDF personnel not to act against the revolting police officers as demanded by Nasheed.

17. Whether one calls it an indirect coup or not to force a democratically elected President to leave office, it is clear that a group of MNDF officers played a dubious political role in assisting the anti-Nasheed opposition at a critical moment. The Maldives thus faces two evils---the beginnings of a radical Islam and a politicised Army. Are we seeing a process similar to the politicisation of the Pakistan Army in the 1950s and the Bangladesh Army in the 1970s? That should be a question of concern to India.

18. Writing in the “Minivan News”, a pro-Nasheed daily, on February 12, Yameen Rashid, a local commentator, said:

“Other countries in the region, such as Pakistan, have experimented with letting the armed forces dictate the rulers of the country. And in the bargain, Pakistan has become a failed democracy mired in chaos and conflict.

“It is therefore tragic that the Maldives is all set to follow in Pakistan’s footsteps, without even having experienced two election cycles.

“Could future political parties in the Maldives come to power simply by winning influence in the police and armed forces? Will the demands of a few hundred uniformed personnel strip 300,000 people of their democratic verdict?

“If the currently installed government is granted legitimacy, what would stop the country’s defense forces from pointing a gun at future elected governments?

“The Maldivian constitution says that the ultimate power rests with the people, and the people alone. This is the central tenet of the constitution – the one line that decides that we the people are in charge of our democracy.

“However, if this coup – this travesty – is allowed to take place unopposed, then we would have set the unwelcome precedent that a few men with guns can override the mandate of the people.”

( The writer is Additional Secretary (retd), Cabinet Secretariat, Govt. of India, New Delhi, and, presently, Director, Institute For Topical Studies, Chennai, and Associate of the Chennai Centre For China Studies. E-mail: seventyone2@gmail.com Twitter : @SORBONNE75 )

Maldives: A mutiny against democracy

noreply@blogger.com (Sri Lanka Guardian) — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 02:28:00 +0000

| by Yameen Rasheed

( February 12, Male, Sri Lanka Guardian) When retired Colonel Mohamed Nazim addressed the press for the first time following his appointment as the country’s new Defence Minister, he strongly asserted that there was no pressure from the armed forces on President Nasheed to resign.

He further claimed in front of journalists that the armed personnel gave no indication either way even when the President had asked them for advice.

However, in a video broadcast afterwards on RaajjeTV, the retired colonel is seen addressing the mutinous security forces at the Republican square on the morning of seventh February. In the video, he is seen coming out of the MNDF barracks, and telling the assembled forces over a loud speaker that he has conveyed their demands, which included the President’s ‘unconditional resignation’.

Clearly, the new Defense Minister needs to rethink this statement, and be more forthcoming about the day’s events.

Furthermore, why the new Commissioner Abdulla Riyaz – who had been sacked earlier – was seen carrying the President’s resignation letter is another question worth asking.

How Nazim and the Abdulla Riyaz, both civilians at the time, were allowed to freely walk into the MNDF barracks and closely accompany the President remains a mystery.

What is clear is that when the President is forced by the armed forces to resign under the threat of violence, held in military detention, brutally beaten up on the streets along with his supporters by the police, has an arrest warrant against him within a day of his resignation, and all the appointments made by his successor are known allies and associates of the former dictatorship that have been hostile to his presidency, then it is time to acknowledge the incident for what it is – a coup d’etat.

A puppet government

To be absolutely clear, Dr Waheed is a admirable man. He is an articulate and accomplished person, with a ton of experience and is eminently worthy of handling the responsibilities of the Presidency – arguably much more so than any candidate the main opposition parties has to offer.

However, the circumstances leading to his acquisition of power are vague, and the little that is known is corrosive to the country’s democratic ambitions.

Noteworthy among them is that the main opposition parties had publicly called upon the armed forces and the police to plead allegiance to the Vice President a week before the police mutiny even happened.

In a democracy, the transfer of power has to absolutely remain the sole prerogative of the people, exercised through the ballot box. This is a sacred writ of democracy that cannot – and should not – ever change.

A few hundred policemen should not be able to forcibly execute a regime change.

There is an ongoing effort by the opposition parties to portray the coup d’etat as a ‘popular’ uprising. But thankfully, it is trivial to discredit this assertion.

While there were 20 days of sustained protests by several opposition parties in the days leading up to the coup d’etat, the sparse attendance at these rallies – considering the sheer number of political parties behind it – proves that it wasn’t representative of the general public will.

Furthermore, Dr Waheed’s appointment brings with it greater portents.

Dr Waheed has little political influence or grassroots support to implement any independent decision. His fledgling political party hasn’t a single elected member in either the Parliament or a local council.

He is, thus, in a poor position to enforce or carry out the mandate of the people. Without the backing of the MDP, it is likely that the only policies he can realistically achieve are opposition demands that, again, have no electoral mandate.

“Rule of law”

Dr Waheed has also failed to strongly condemn the excessive police brutality against civilians on February 8, the day President Nasheed was released.

Despite having repeatedly vowed to uphold the ‘rule of law’, people were beaten unconscious, the ousted President was roughed up, and at least one senior member of Parliament was beaten mercilessly by the police under his watch.

His failure to reassure the people might have very well contributed to the arson and violence in the southern atolls, as supporters of President Nasheed torched police buildings and courts in response to the heavy-handed police crackdown.

The silence of the new President was only matched by the apalling insensitivity of the newly appointed Commissioner of Police who, when asked to respond to the excessive use of force by the police, insisted that the police always used ‘minimum force’ – and that he would leave it to the Police Integrity Commission (PIC) and the Human Rights Commission HRCM) to judge if they had stepped out of line.

On the other hand, the armed forces forcibly took control the Maldives National Broadcasting Corporation State media, renamed the station to ‘TVM’, as it was known during the Gayoom dictatorship.

The station is now a police propaganda outlet, and refuses to cover massive MDP rallies around the country, or the police brutality that has attracted condemnation from Amnesty International and other bodies:

A photo circulating on Facebook apparently showing defected police and MNDF celebrating in the courtyard of the state broadcaster, after taking it over on Tuesday.

Unity government

Dr Waheed has also said that he’s looking forward to forming a “unity government” and find common ground.

However, his appointment of Dr Mohamed Jameel as his new Home Minister puts a dark cloud over the sincerity of this effort.

By all measures, Jameel is a hawk. He led a strong, high rhetoric Islamist charge against the government when he was in opposition. His responses during his initial press conference were politically charged and combative, instead of the conciliatory tone Dr Waheed promised his government would have.

Jameel has vowed to raise terrorism charges against “those involved” – including President Nasheed. To his credit, Dr Waheed has called the comments “unwelcome”. However, if he is sincere about building peace, perhaps he needs to rethink his cabinet appointments.

The string of appointments of Gayoom regime loyalists and apologists to the cabinet and as heads of armed forces does nothing to quell the charges of political conspiracy.

When the legitimacy of the government is in doubt, and its willingness and capacity to deliver on the people’s electoral verdict is in doubt, and when these factors have created an atmosphere of extreme volatility, then the solution seems to be rather obvious.

An immediate election would restore the mandate of the people, and grant legitimacy and authority to an elected party, which would bring back some much needed order.

However, key foreign governments like India and the United States have failed to advocate this position, choosing instead to recognise the legitimacy of the newly installed government, backed by Gayoom regime forces, tainted business interests, and Islamists.

This decision has the potential to permanently reverse the democratic gains made by the country since the democratic uprising.

Dr Waheed himself argues that the political climate of the country is not conducive to elections – whatever that means.

Perhaps more likely is the contrary view that the conditions in the country are not suitable for the present government to continue, nor is it advisable for another – much larger – reason.

Setting a precedent

Other countries in the region, such as Pakistan, have experimented with letting the armed forces dictate the rulers of the country. And in the bargain, Pakistan has become a failed democracy mired in chaos and conflict.

It is therefore tragic that the Maldives is all set to follow in Pakistan’s footsteps, without even having experienced two election cycles.

Could future political parties in the Maldives come to power simply by winning influence in the police and armed forces? Will the demands of a few hundred uniformed personnel strip 300,000 people of their democratic verdict?

If the currently installed government is granted legitimacy, what would stop the country’s defense forces from pointing a gun at future elected governments?

The Maldivian constitution says that the ultimate power rests with the people, and the people alone. This is the central tenet of the constitution – the one line that decides that we the people are in charge of our democracy.

However, if this coup – this travesty – is allowed to take place unopposed, then we would have set the unwelcome precedent that a few men with guns can override the mandate of the people.

The core of power has to change

noreply@blogger.com (Sri Lanka Guardian) — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 02:17:00 +0000

| by Kishali Pinto Jayawardene

( February 12, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) In the morass of confusion worse compounded that Sri Lanka currently finds itself in regarding the implementation of the recommendations of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC), it is important to reiterate and underscore certain valid truths.

The nature of Sri Lanka's accountability problem

As said previously in these column spaces, carrying out the LLRC's recommendations must be the first basic step that the government should take in order to indicate its bona fides. The government may find its fundamentally undemocratic power structures in total disarray if these recommendations are implemented. But this is not a relevant factor. If the government is not seen to be abiding by its duty even in regard to the LLRC, then surely it must take the consequences for its non-action. It cannot blame Western conspiracies for its own failures.

That said, the LLRC recommendations are certainly not the end of the story. Rather, as the past and certainly the present has shown us, the nature of Sri Lanka's accountability problem is directly traceable to the omnipotence accorded to the Executive Presidency by the 1978 Constitution.

This is the core constitutional issue, the understanding of which is crucial in contextualizing the accountability of the Sri Lankan State towards its citizens. This core issue has a direct bearing on the violations said to have occurred during the final stages of the war between government forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in the North and East.

When the head of the executive or the elected President is effectively placed above the law by Article 35(1) of the Constitution and therefore cannot be called to account even in respect of grievous rights violations, it is academic to talk of accountability or devolution, 13th Amendment plus or minus as the case may be. Whether for Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims and others, this constitutional bar has been primary to the denial of accountability in decades of serious human rights violations.

This is so in times of emergency as well as in normal times. It is undoubtedly ironic but not surprising that an Executive Presidency, conceived to be a safety bar for the minorities in the framing of the Constitution, would have proved to be the most dangerous threat to the democratic nature of the Sri Lankan State.

Failed efforts to limit a constitutional monstrosity

To be quite clear, this is a critique not limited to a particular political period though it has been aggravated beyond the point of no return in recent times. The growth of a monstrous Executive Presidency has been very much in the making. All efforts to restrain it, including by the judiciary, have failed. When it was so bold as to directly challenge the executive, the Supreme Court did attempt to limit this constitutional barrier. In several cases for example, the Court directed that this bar does not apply after a President has left office and further, that subordinate officers, as for example, an Inspector General of Police or a Commissioner of Elections, cannot use the immunity principle to shield himself/herself from responsibility for unconstitutional actions. However, these efforts, limited as they were to the courage of individual judges acting on principle rather than in subservience to petty politics, were unsuccessful in its long term impact.

This impotence was strikingly seen in respect of the executive bypassing of the 17th Amendment to the Constitution (2001). Judicial reluctance to intervene was evidenced when former President Chandrika Kumaratunga brushed aside her constitutionally duty of appointment of the Chairman of the Elections Commission as nominated by the Constitutional Council (CC) under the 17th Amendment.

As we know, in the year 2006, her successor President Mahinda Rajapaksa openly declined to make appointments to the CC despite nominations being sent to him by the relevant bodies and political parties and the courts were powerless to intervene. The passing of the 18th Amendment which combined the demolition of the 17th Amendment with the abolition of Presidential time limits merely sealed this process despite the surprise of some who professed to be outraged by this development. The question arises therefore, were those who were surprised and outraged at the 18th Amendment, sleeping when consistently successful attacks were made on the Rule of Law in the previous years?

Alarming even the routinely cynical

Though the LLRC studiously avoided mention of the 18th Amendment or indeed of the nature of the Executive Presidency, this is the proverbial elephant in the room. No honest critique of this country's Rule of Law crisis can afford to ignore this fact. Post 2005 and in particular post 2010, each and every democratic regression is linked to this core constitutional problem. Moving out the office of the Attorney General from the Ministry of Justice where it traditionally belonged, to the Presidential Secretariat post 2010 was another manifestation of this same problem. Each of these actions, taken in isolation, may not have evoked much agitation on the part of the non-discerning but the sums of its parts taken together with the evident deterioration of law and order have alarmed even the routinely cynical in this country.

Some in the legal profession have taken exception to the shifting of certain courts now located in Hulfsdorp to Colombo's suburbs and have demonstrated against this. Yet, when justice is denied, does it quite matter where exactly courts buildings are located? Soon after retirement, the late Mr K.C. Kamalasabeyson pointed to the building housing a particular court and said very aptly that 'this is just another building for me.' If this thought was voiced by someone who gave his professional life to the law, what would be the reactions of ordinary men and women?

Unacceptable subordination of the police role

The negation of the Rule of Law and justice processes, including that of the criminal justice system is an obvious result. Locating the Department of the Police under the Ministry of Defence has been a specific point of discussion by the LLRC which recommended that it should be delinked.

This recommendation is nothing new. In 2008, the Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions, Philip Alston observed that requiring the Inspector General of Police to report to the Minister of Defence is an unacceptable 'subordination' of the role of the police (Follow-up Recommendations) (2008), A/HRC/8/3/Add.3, 14 May 2008, Eighth session of the Human Rights Council).

Sri Lankan analysts and activists had been also calling for this reform for decades. But to implement the LLRC's recommndation in this regard would require an abandonment by this government of an essential layer of its power base. The odds are that it cannot afford to do so. In that case and again, it should be held accountable for its failure.

A ludicrous and unpalatable reality

Venturing beyond the LLRC's recommendations as we must, it needs to be said that the office of the Executive Presidency has become far too heavy for Sri Lanka's democratic systems to shoulder. It is no wonder that these systems have crumbled bit by bit till all that we would have are the shadow of democratic rule. The virtual paralysis of administration, in many cases of the judiciary and indeed of the very process of governance has been due to this.

From chaos over the use of vegetable crates to the strikes of academics, no problem can be solved without the intervention of the office of the President. This is a ludicrous situation in every sense of the word. Perhaps one day, we will decide to address this unpalatable reality head on.

Leadership in a dilemma

noreply@blogger.com (Sri Lanka Guardian) — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 02:11:00 +0000

| by Dr Vickramabahu Karunaratne

Face the enemy in unity or back the chauvinists and perish

( February 12, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) Pro government trade union leaders claim that a certain group of people backed by International Non Government Organizations is conspiring against the country, when it is on the right track for development after 30 years of protracted war. They say that these elements are acting with ulterior motives to reverse the achievements made by the country in the aftermath of the conflict. On the other hand, they say that those who talk about human rights today did not raise their voice, when hundreds were brutally killed by terrorists. When terrorists targeted civilians, thousands of people died in bomb blasts. Apparently these elements who talk about human rights violations are trying to tarnish the country’s image internationally by hatching various conspiracies. Hence, pro government TU leaders are of the view that stern action should be taken against those who conspire against the country. Pro government TU leaders are led by W.H.Piyadasa, the president of Public Service Trade Union Federation. Comrade Piyadasa has said “Some trade unions and media organizations are attempting to create political instability by causing turmoil. This move is driven by both anti-government political groups and extremist groups backed by some western countries” What a hilarious statement to be made by a politburo bureau member of the communist party. As a partner of the regime he should know better. This government is supported by the western powers, in particular by the IMF. Not only the western powers but all others in the G20, including Japan and BRIC countries, support this oppressive reactionary government.

Comrade Piyadasa says “The accusation that there is a tangible oppression against trade unions and media is totally baseless. Nobody can prove that the government is suppressing the media and trade unions. This is a conspiracy with a sinister agenda.” What a shame; he does not realize that the very campaign organised by him against media and trade unions, accusing them of conspiracy backed by western powers, is a gigantic oppressive act. Today comrade Piyadasa is a powerful member of the dictatorial government, with many privileges. He is now many light years away from the Piyadasa who participated in the general strike of 1980. He has also forgotten that MR, with the 18th amendment, has concentrated more powers than JR ever could. Piyadasa while harping on a Yankee conspiracy drives the repressive power of this monstrous dictatorial regime against all of us. However the railway strike has shaken the foundation of this monstrosity. Stationmasters, guards and signalmen took strike action that was called off following a discussion they had with transport minister Kumar Welgama. Pressing for several demands, including the elimination of their salary anomalies, the railway workers struck work, and train passengers were severely inconvenienced as a result. The strike which came without prior notice of the date and time hit the government like a thunder on a dry day.

Prison riot a conspiracy

Only last week, the government claimed that the prison riot to be a conspiracy. I am sure our comrade Piyadasa will claim that also to be a part of the conspiracy hatched by western powers! Few weeks back ministry of power exposed another conspiracy. A senior engineering assistant has alleged a Chinese conspiracy was behind the recurring technical issues at the Norochcholai coal power plant. The Chinese firm that has obtained the contract for maintenance and operating activities was plotting to keep the contract to themselves. U.R.A. Senaratne of the CEB technical engineering trade union has said. Who gave this contract? Does that mean that minister Champika is also involved in the western backed conspiracy? But the real western conspiracy will be launched in the coming period. We are told that the United States is set to table a resolution against Lanka at the next sitting of the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) in Geneva. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has mentioned the option of a resolution in a letter to Lanka’s External Affairs Minister G.L. Peiris. Western powers are concerned about the non implementation of the LLRC recommendation. That investigation, carried out by the government’s own Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Committee (LLRC), was published in November.

Though it is really an eye wash to save the government the recommendations given are important. However, the government has so far, failed to implement the recommendation given. Therefore, many are positive about America’s move to support a resolution against Lanka at the HRC. So the options for the regime are very clear. It can start a bogus anti imperialist campaign based on chauvinist elements or else take the demands of the TNA seriously and close the door to foreign intervention. Mahinda has to decide whether he is going to unite the country and face the global powers or to be a prisoner of Sinhala chauvinism and push the country to civil war and slavery.

Double Aces

noreply@blogger.com (Sri Lanka Guardian) — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 01:55:00 +0000

| by Arujuna Sivananthan

( February 12, London, Sri Lanka Guardian) Sri Lanka is defined as a small open economy; it does not have the ability to alter world prices, interest rates or incomes. It is a price taker. Any attempt to change this reality by policy makers will manifest itself in economic imbalances which shall prove costly. However, whether they have reconciled themselves to this is a moot point.

The Black Ace

The imminent concern for Sri Lanka’s policy makers is; how to deal with the threat to its economy posed by the proposed bill for sanctions on the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication -SWIFT- and its owners by the United States Treasury on their failure to exclude Iran's central bank, and other financial institutions from the system used to make payments between banks globally. SWIFT responded by saying that it complies with all sanctions and will continue to do so.

Sri Lanka's only refinery - the Sapugaskanda is almost entirely reliant on imports of Iran's crude. (REUTERS)

The implications for Sri Lanka are clear. The absolute reliance of the Sapugaskanda oil refinery on Iranian oil; and, the inability to reconfigure it to process oils from other sources before this bill becomes law will have grim consequences for Sri Lanka’s energy security. Suffice to say that unless Sri Lanka secures an exemption from this law, it will be compelled to import expensive distillates from foreign suppliers. Whether it can secure sufficient quantities to sate its demand is uncertain.

Iran is also the second biggest market for Sri Lanka’s tea exports. Sanctions will shut this market down.

The resultant effect on Sri Lanka’s already deteriorating balance of payments situation will be dire.

It is the US which holds the Ace on this and it will be played not by its Treasury, but by the State Department to further its policy objectives in Sri Lanka. All stakeholders know this; including other western countries, the opposition, Tamil National Alliance, civil society groups, the Diaspora and human rights organisations. And, there should be no doubt that every party who has a vested will have made representations on how it ought to be played through the US Embassy in Colombo and various other channels to the State Department.

On this issue alone Sri Lanka’s policy makers confront manifold challenges not just on the economy but also in other spectra.

The Red Ace

The GSP+ trade concession granted by the European Union benefitted 1.24 billion Euros worth of exports, mainly apparel, in 2008. The withdrawal of it inflated the cost of these exports by an average of 6.3 percent. Fourteen other countries which compete with Sri Lanka in the same markets enjoy this concession.

Apparel exports to the EU have increased by approximately 25 percent in 2011 to the end of November; although, fourth quarter volumes will be flat to 2010. Despite assertions to the contrary, it is difficult to argue that; if the GSP+ concession had been retained, export volumes would not have been higher, and, thus alleviate some pressure on Sri Lanka’s balance of payments.

Sri Lankan policy makers emphasise higher exports to the EU as evidence of the loss of GSP+ having no impact. Economists maintain that the tenure of outstanding contracts and; the necessary condition, that the cost of shifting production out of Sri Lanka must exceed the benefit derived from such a move, with the loss of GSP+ being one consideration, as reasons on why it will take time to effect. And, of course, new orders accruing at a slower rate.

Sri Lanka still remains the beneficiary of the GSP trade concession along with 176 countries and territories. But, withdrawing this concession is not without precedent as in the cases of Myanmar and Belarus for violations of International Labour Organisation (ILO) conventions. Such an action will shut out Sri Lanka from its largest export market. Allegations of violating ILO conventions have been levelled at Sri Lanka and they need to be credibly addressed if it wishes to avoid scrutiny by the EU. Scrutiny, leave alone suspension, can have severe adverse consequences on Foreign Direct Investment and new orders.

High Stakes Poker

Sri Lanka’s policy makers are engaged in a high stakes game of “heads-up” poker with their largest trading partners; who wish to see what the international community deems to be a credible inquiry into alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity perpetrated during its civil war. And, they will seek to pressure Sri Lanka’s weak points including its deteriorating balance of payments and vulnerability to external economic shocks; but without alienating its general populace, with the Aces they have been dealt. Sri Lanka’s policy makers can only hope for an improbable lucky draw to “bust” these Aces, or, play a game brinkmanship, which they have done very well for the past three years. However, by now, it is likely that their adversaries have very good “reads” on their play.

The writer was formerly a Director at Barclays Capital, the UKs largest investment bank and French bank Societe Generale. He has extensive experience trading corporate and sovereign bonds and credit derivatives. He also holds a PhD and Masters in economics from the University of Glasgow.

Sri Lanka sunk in irredeemable coma

noreply@blogger.com (Sri Lanka Guardian) — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 01:43:00 +0000

| by Rajasingham Jayadevan

( February 12, London, Sri Lanka Guardian) Propagating the war victory is an easy task for the victor in a historically conflict ridden country that has deep rooted hatred and animosity between the communities. In the fast progressing world order, defending a heartless war is not an easy task. Almost three years since the defeat of the LTTE, the government of Sri Lanka is engaged in a pathetic and negative campaign to muddy the truth of the war, whilst the very truth is slowly and steadily seeping through the repressive mechanisms of the government.

File Photo

The effort of the government is such that it is now undermining the core issues dealt by the international community and is coming out with absurd and irrational arguments in a heavy-handed manner to procrastinate, prevaricate and frustrate the efforts of the international community on the war crimes issue.

The former BBC foreign correspondent based in Sri Lanka, Frances Harrison in an article titled ‘War crimes in Sri Lanka’ analysed the scorched -earth policy of the government to vanquish the LTTE that resulted in the deaths of thousands of Tamil civilians. War crimes in Sri Lanka.

Unfortunately, some of the rebuttals provided by the officials of the government to undermine the claim has been countered by compelling evidence and this has damaged the credibility and the reputation of the government.

In the catalogue of efforts to undermine the war crimes claims, the Ministry of Defence and Urban Development headed by the President’s brother Gothabaya Rajapakse came out with its latest documentary ‘Ruthless-LTTE-Terrorist-Final-Crimes-Against-Humanity’.

It is not a hidden fact that it is a Defence Lanka News Bulletin and the presenter is Minoli Ratnayake. The aim of the documentary was to assert only the war crimes committed by the LTTE, whilst crimes of the state forces are flatly denied elsewhere by the government. It must be said the Defence Ministry went out of the way to present the case without responsibly responding to the accusations of war crimes committed by both the warring parties.

The report of the Lesson Learnt and Reconciliation Commission was officially released on the 16 December 2011, after nearly one and half years of investigations with sittings in the north and east of Sri Lanka. The evidence presented in the ‘Ruthless’ documentary should have been presented to the LLRC in the first place and even freehand given to the commission to reach the army victims with the extended mandate to carry-out a thorough war crimes inquiry.

The government approach has been very rogue. The smokescreen of the government to cover up its misdeeds in its war effort against the LTTE in 2009, will not stand up, as it is clearly a desperate act of the government that cannot and will not understand honesty, transparency and good conduct in its dealings.

Fr Emanual , Suren Surendran and V Rudrakumaran

In the ‘Ruthless’ documentary, the government attempted to achieve some credibility by interviewing Fr James Pathinathar of St James Church in the final war front. The harrowing experience of the Father and those came in the documentary cannot be discounted and for the perpetrator of war crimes (Defence Ministry) to sit in judgement to produce this documentary clearly speaks of the desperation of the government.

The concluding part comes heavily on the Tamil Diaspora and accuse several Tamil organisations as LTTE international network that are collecting funds and campaigning against Sri Lanka. Individuals are named and the organisations they represent are identified and ridiculed. It gives an illustration as follows:

V Rudrakumaran, USA – TGTE

Suren Surendran , UK – BTF

Fr (sic) Emanual , UK – TGTE

Nediyavan, Norway –TEPA

Vinayagam, France - Intelligence.

Of the five mentioned, three are functioning openly acceding to the democratic freedom accorded to them in their host countries. Whereas, Nediyavan has gone underground and he is not to be seen anywhere. Whether Nediyavan and Vinayagam will have any wider influence on the post war Tamil Diaspora is questionable.

It must be admitted, the trio Rudrakumaran, Suren Surendran and Fr Emanual are in a position to influence the post war Tamil Diaspora community. The tasks they have undertaken is unparallel to the campaign work of the financially resourceful Tigers in the past and these efforts are being increasingly supported by the Tamil Diaspora. Even the Tamil groups opposed to the LTTE are realising the valuable work done by these trio and many others in the climate of arrogance and unrelenting campaign of the government against the Tamils.

What most surprising is, these forerunners in the Diaspora are coming under undue criticism of the government, when they have publicly called for war crimes inquiry that covers both the government forces and the LTTE. The GTF has publicly supported President appointed LLRC report subject to wider war crimes inquiry and ridiculing these organisations as causing trouble for the government proves that the government is frustrated and its thinking going into irredeemable coma - struggling to cover up its own misdeeds.

With regard to fund raising by the LTTE fronts, the post war Tamil Diaspora has not experienced any fund raising campaign. If the organisations raise their funds within their parameters what problems does it cause to anyone. They are not publicly raising funds like the Api Venuvan Api of the Sri Lanka government.

The history of Sri Lanka has been always finding faults with the Tamils. If the government allowed the peaceful demonstrations of the Tamils in the 1950’s in the Gall Face Green, the LTTE would not have come to being. If the government did not pass it’s no confidence motion against Tamil opposition leader Appapillai Amirthalingam in the late 1970’s things would not have reached this far.

Now, it has turned on the democratic Tamil Diaspora and its agenda takes its full force to suppress the free thinking of the Tamils, passionately thinking of their roots in Sri Lanka.

But unfortunately, the anti-Tamil paranoia of the government will not change, unless sustainable pressures are put on it to change. The anti-Tamil coma of the government is a decease that needs special treatment. A treatment that transforms the body functions and the thinking and the attitude of the state is the only difficult option. This must happen sooner or later.

TNA does an MIA at 13A

noreply@blogger.com (Sri Lanka Guardian) — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 01:29:00 +0000

| by Dr. Dayan Jayatilleka

( February 12, Paris, Sri Lanka Guardian) As world class singers of Sri Lankan Tamil parentage go, MIA isn’t half as good as a new voice, Bhi Bhiman, an American singer of blues–tinged folk music with a voice as clear and mournful as the whistle of a lonesome train coming ’round the bend. MIA’s flair for the theatrical far outstrips her singing talent. Giving the finger at the Super Bowl this month seems however to be politically symptomatic, because Mr. MA Sumanthiran, a sophisticated lawyer-politician, has just done that to the 13th amendment and prospects of a moderate yet substantive degree of power sharing. In an interview given to Namini Wijedasa, ‘MAS’ (as the newspaper bills him) says:

“...The 13th is not a proper scheme. We have rejected it…The 13th Amendment was passed in 1987. If it was sufficient, we would not have had all this bloodletting...We have engaged with Global Tamil Forum… You have to ask the Tamil people whether they want to stay in the country or be separate. Everywhere it’s like that…A distinct people in international law have certain rights called self-determination. The right to self determination international law now says must be exercised internally in the first instance. But if that is consistently denied, then according to the Canadian Supreme Court judgment on Quebec, they might even become entitled to a unilateral secession. So, if Sri Lanka should remain as one country, and we think it should remain as one country, then to preserve it as one country you must grant that right to self-determination and have it exercised in an arrangement within one country. That must be given, that must be recognized. It’s not at the wish of the majority that it’s given. That is as a matter of right in international law...” (‘SundayLakbimanews’ , Feb 5th 2012)

If I didn’t know that this was Mr. Sumanthiran of the TNA speaking last week, I swear I would have identified it as Anton Balasingham speaking at Prabhakaran’s press conference in the Wanni in 2002 or during the rounds of negotiations in Oslo and Sattahip, during the wretched CFA years of appeasement. I am not exaggerating for effect, and any internet search would confirm that this was indeed Mr. Balasingham’s argument. So we are currently in a strange place, a time-warp, in which the TNA’s most sophisticated spokesperson is echoing the argumentation of the LTTE’s most sophisticated spokesperson. What makes the TNA or anyone else think that the Sri Lankan state and citizenry, which resisted and rejected this nonsense and went on to fight and decisively win a war, will treat it with anything other than a combination of suspicion and scant disregard?

Mr. Sumanthiran must enlighten us as to how a judgment of the Canadian Supreme Court becomes ‘international law’. He must then tell us how ‘soft’ international law – even if one were to concede for the sake of argument that this postulate has entered the realm of ‘ soft international law -- takes precedence over national Constitutions and state sovereignty. He should also be so kind as to tell us how Canada – or Scotland, for that matter-- becomes ‘everywhere’. Can he tell us where precisely it is -- outside of a militarily defeated, failed, fractured state (Mengistu’s Ethiopia, ex-Yugoslavia, Southern Sudan) -- that ethnic groups preponderating in identifiable geographic areas are entitled to referenda as to whether they shall or shall not remain within existing state boundaries, and where it is recognized that if ‘internal self determination’ is not exercised, ‘external self determination’ i.e. secession is recognized as an option?

Mr. Sumanthiran does so much travelling that he is clearly unaware of which continent of the planet Sri Lanka is located. No state in Asia, including quasi-federal, democratic, secular India and liberal democratic Philippines, regards the judgment of the Canadian Supreme Court as having the slightest bearing on its domestic affairs or even gives it a second thought as constituting some norm in international law. One wonders if the Hon Member of Parliament has heard of Kashmir or Mindanao.

The TNA MP has flipped the bird in the direction of the 13th amendment, which was the best that India was able to obtain for the Tamil people at a time when the Tamil insurgency had not been crushed by the Sri Lankan state. Mr. Sumanthiran does not explain by which logic he expects it to be qualitatively superseded in the aftermath of a stunning military victory by the State. When the provincial devolution enshrined by the 13th amendment is being called into question as excessive, Mr. Sumanthiran’s rejection of it – as distinct from urging its upgrading and/or speedy implementation—is hardly helpful.

Mr. Sumanthiran’s argumentative assertion that “if it [the 13th amendment] was sufficient, we would not have had all this bloodletting...” is demonstrably nonsensical. If it was the insufficiency of the 13th amendment was responsible for continued bloodletting, how did that bloodletting stop in May 2009 without an improvement upon the 13th amendment in place or even the 13th amendment being implemented? It was not the insufficiency of the 13th amendment that led to the continuation of the bloodletting in 1987, it was the bloodthirstiness of the LTTE, which rejected that reform and spurned the space it opened up.

The TNA has yet to express regret or proffer an explanation over its rejection at the time, of those very proposals it is now bringing back to the table, namely the Mangala Moonesinghe formula, the CBK proposals of 1995, 1997 and 2000, and the APRC (which it boycotted). If its behavior was attributable to the LTTE’s threats it should come clean and say so now. Then again, the TNA has yet to criticize the LTTE for murdering Rajiv Gandhi-- and its own leaders such as Appapillai Amirthalingam and Neelan Tiruchelvam. The failure to do so can no longer be attributed to understandable physical fear but to moral and ethical failure.

There seems to be an inability to grasp what it means to give the finger to all reform proposals, wage a war for three decades including against a peacekeeping force, and lose that war utterly. When you wager all and lose that kind of bloody wager, there is a political price to be paid for a considerable period. Your capacity to make demands is impaired. You cannot simply dust off proposals you rejected when you thought the going was good, brandish them and expect to be taken seriously.

Least logical and reasonable is the call for a referendum among only the Tamil people as to whether or not they wish to live within Sri Lanka. Contrary to Mr. Sumanthiran’s assertion, ‘internal self determination’ is not ascertained by a referendum which raises the issue of whether or not a people wish to live within a given state. If that question is on the agenda there is nothing internal about such self-determination. What if the answer at the referendum is ‘no, we do not wish to be part of the existing state’? What, pray, is ‘internal’ about that?

Let’s think this issue through to its conclusion. Why should any administration take the risk of sharing power at a sensitive periphery of a state, a mere two and half years after a 30 year war, with a party that rejects the constitutional basis of that power sharing, i.e. the 13th amendment, and stands for a referendum on self-determination? Is it unreasonable to assume that such a party would use the territorially based council as a platform to call immediately for more powers and move on to hold or agitate for the holding of a referendum on whether to remain within or exit the state and its boundaries? Is this the TNA’s game-plan, or rather, is it the game-plan of the TNA-GTF? Isn’t this strangely similar to the playbook of Prof Steven Ratner (of the infamous Darusman panel), whose scholarly specialization is the study of the break-up of existing states along lines of pre-existing internal administrative boundaries? Is this not an alternative pathway to achieving that which the Tigers attempted through terrorism? Does the project of exit remain the same, except that it is now going to be in a two step sequence?

Every progressive or liberal minded party, political personality and commentator in the South welcomed the LLRC report and urged its expeditious implementation, while the TNA rejected it at quite considerable length. The gap between the reform-minded moderate centrists and progressives in the South, on the one hand, and the demands of the TNA on the other, do not seem to faze the latter, any more than this same chasm was of concern to its precursor, the Federal party, in previous decades.

Mr. Sumanthiran must now ask himself which Sri Lankan political party of any note, in or outside of government, be it the SLFP, UNP (‘Ranilist Royalists’ or Reformists), JVP or the radical breakaway Movement for Peoples Struggle, would consent to devolution that went qualitatively beyond the 13th amendment to the next level, countenance ‘self determination’ ascertained by a plebiscite purely of the Tamil people, and accept dismemberment of the country by ballot where bomb and bullet have failed. Where is the proposal that can act as a bridge? Is the TNA not interested in a bridge to the Southern majority? Is it uninterested in Southern partnership within the mainstream and unwilling to do what it takes to secure such partnerships? Where will you find takers outside of the Tamil polity, Mr. Sumanthiran, and if you do not have takers among the Sinhala majority, where do you expect to find them? Certainly not in the region or on our continent—so where might they be? Surely this is the wrong era and continent to await a Balfour Declaration? Mr. Sumanthiran must not make the standard error of ‘cosmopolitan’ Tamil nationalists, of taking the Sinhalese for fools.

Sherlock Holmes used to say that once the impossible has been ruled out, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the answer. If elements within the TNA are making it strategically imprudent to risk the transfer a provincial council and its powers to them, then the answer must surely lie in hoping for an evolutionary re-composition of Tamil politics, through which may emerge responsible, pragmatic partners in power-sharing at the periphery. The speedy implementation of the LLRC Report’s recommendations may create the conditions for such evolution.

My brothers’ keepers

noreply@blogger.com (Sri Lanka Guardian) — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 17:12:00 +0000

In Sri Lanka the grip of the Rajapaksas only tightens

Courtesy:- The Economist

( February 11, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) THE president of Sri Lanka, Mahinda Rajapaksa, may well feel pleased with himself. On the face of it, more than six years after his first election, his prospects are still remarkably rosy. The economy clips along at about 7% a year. Mr Rajapaksa’s coalition controls over two-thirds of parliament, and opposition parties are so weak that a senior minister chuckles about not being held to account. The chief political threat, Sarath Fonseka, a former general turned popular presidential candidate, is in a Colombo jail. There, says an MP who has visited him, he wears short trousers and passes his days in a cell known as the “Scouting Room”, complete with a portrait of Baden-Powell.

Confidence lay behind the heavy hint dropped on February 8th by Basil Rajapaksa, the economy minister, that Mr Fonseka, a classmate chum, might soon leave prison and even return to politics. Basil is one of several Rajapaksa brothers, the one reckoned to be the brains of the ruling family. Possibly he thinks that Mr Fonseka may make a fool of himself at large, while enjoying martyr status behind bars.

On independence day, February 4th, the president chided his countrymen, urging them to be more grateful. It is true that since a bitter end in 2009 to a long, wretched ethnic civil war, the lot of many Sri Lankans has steadily improved. The state of emergency is gone, even if other draconian laws remain. Many of the tens of thousands of Tamils detained in the north at the war’s end have been released. New roads, ports, railways and power stations are spreading. In Colombo, the capital, various swanky structures are rising and the ground has been cleared for a lotus-shaped tower intended to be South Asia’s tallest.

How, then, to explain a persistent grouchiness among Sri Lankans? The past months have brought strikes, riots and protests by students, railwaymen, prisoners and public workers. The opposition Tamil National Alliance swept local elections in the north, leaving the president’s party in the dust. Ranil Wickremasinghe, the main Sinhalese opposition leader, no ball of energy himself, claims to see wide “protests and agitation against unfulfilled promises”.

Hushed café talk about a “Colombo spring” overstates things, but Mr Rajapaksa may remember how such grumbles and protests helped his own rise to power. Most outsiders focus on his headaches abroad. In March the United Nations will consider a resolution on Sri Lanka over suspected killings of thousands of Tamil civilians and rebel prisoners in the last days of the war. Last month Hillary Clinton, the secretary of state, said America would vote against Sri Lanka. A retired senior official frets about an “adversarial lock” closing on his country.

Yet matters at home may be more troubling. Furious recriminations followed the murder in October of a senior politician, an old friend of the president, in a shoot-out with a fellow MP. Rumours of graft in infrastructure deals persist. A big investor calls the government “extremely corrupt and arrogant”. In the past this businessman went along with kickbacks of a “few million dollars: this is a developing country, after all”; but he balked once demands rose to tens of millions of dollars to win tenders for projects funded with Chinese loans. The bribes, he suggests, are split between Chinese state-owned partners and members of the ruling clique. Morals aside, he says this makes it impossible to turn a profit. He has been threatened, including with violence, for speaking out.

In the capital, commentators, activists and business types—who all demand anonymity on the topic of the Rajapaksas—warn of a family rule that has become more centralised, heavy-handed and authoritarian. Here, the defence secretary, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, is most often mentioned. Whereas the president has an earthy charm that appeals to rural Sinhalese, Gotabaya Rajapaksa wields power more bluntly. He presides over both army and police, 300,000 armed men in all—just what a good democracy needs, he says. This year the defence budget will top $2 billion, a fifth of all public spending—an alarming share for a country now at peace. The army’s role in business is also growing. An economist and opposition figure, Harsha de Silva, says the army is getting into hotels, farming, construction, golf courses, sports stadiums and even running roadside tea stalls.

The vegetarian strongman

The defence secretary, curiously, also oversees urban development, giving Gotabaya wide powers of patronage. His brother, Basil, calls him “fully vegetarian…the nicest, kindest person in the family”, yet he is widely feared. A Tamil leader says the army oversees “oppressive, insulting, humiliating” rule in the north, with tales of land grabs, murders and rape. In Colombo political observers worry about the militarisation of politics. And though Gotabaya rejects the natural comparison with Pakistan, he enthuses about his recent expansion of what he calls his “huge” intelligence agencies. A suggestion that spooks can undermine democracy is dismissed as merely “hypothetical”. Yet some local journalists are warned by editors never to write about him. Asked if he frightens people, he says: “If they don’t criticise me, it is because there is nothing to criticise.”

Some think that growing army clout could be the defence secretary’s personal route to power. It presumes potential discord among the brothers, of which there is no sign yet. Gotabaya disavows any interest in politics: he is an army man, he says. A human-rights lawyer, whose home was once attacked by assailants with grenades, raises a greater fear. If the ruling family feels it can rely on the army, it may worry less about appealing to voters; one day, it may even refuse to “go home”. Unsurprisingly, the Rajapaksas see it otherwise. “We brothers are a very successful family, maybe because we grew up close,” says Gotabaya. The brothers’ rule looks assured for a while yet.

LTTE Tamil Diaspora involved in human smuggling

noreply@blogger.com (Sri Lanka Guardian) — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 16:15:00 +0000

| by Shenali Waduge

( February 11, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) Europe knows, Canada knows, the US & UK Government knows, India knows and so does Australia….but the biggest question is apart from making a few arrests what have these Governments realistically done about the LTTE Tamil Diaspora’s involvement in international human smuggling or any of the LTTE’s other illicit & illegal activities which all these nations & their authorities are aware about?

So with LTTE fighting force now eliminated why does the LTTE need so much of funds. More than ever before it is now that the LTTE needs money. They need to pay rent for their offices, they need to travel more to lobby people and to bribe them, they need to hire lawyers, lobbyists, politicians, diplomats, they need to influence media personnel & media houses, they need to lobby the human rights organizations & pay them to keep mum and they need to maintain the same lifestyle they led all these years. For all this Money is needed. The best solution is to turn towards human smuggling, human trafficking, illegal immigration, human slavery – call it what you like it all implies the same. It is a business more lucrative than the drug trade.

It is believed that the LTTE has been smuggling thousands across the world. In groups these people pay to be assembled in Thailand and then to be put aboard vessels that head for Canada, Europe or Australia. How these people get the money is another good question.

LTTE is quick to pick up where authorities have weak policies & they know how policies & systems can be manipulated. The Tamil Diaspora is exploiting & manipulating all social service systems in all the countries it has presence in. In other words they are eating up the tax payers money & these Governments are just watching. Irony is that millions of dollars get spent to investigate into the human smuggling networks as well as processing the immigrations of those proclaiming to be asylum seekers. Canada has been burdened with such.

The facts about human trafficking is simple. 80% of human trafficking is for sex while others are trafficked for their organs or labor. 30,000 victims of sex trafficking die each year as a result of sexual abuse, disease, torture. It is estimated that there are 27m adult & 13m children who are victims of global human trafficking. A 2003 study in the Netherlands found that a single sex slave could earn her pimp at least $250,000 a year! Human traffickers are trafficking pregnant women for their newborns where these babies are sold in the black market & profits are divided between traffickers, doctors, lawyers, border officials & others. Liberated Kosovo is filled with sex slaves. NATO soldiers, UN police, Western aid workers are all exploiting these sex traffickers. UNICEF estimates that over 3 decades 30m children have been sexually exploited through human trafficking. Reports aside what has the world done to stop this? Countries that provide humans to be trafficked are Belarus, Moldova, Russian Federation, Ukraine, Albania, Bulgaria, Lithuania, Romania, China, Thailand & Nigeria. Favored destinations for sex traffickers are Belgium, Germany, Greece, Israel, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Thailand, Turkey & the US. In the US these sex workers will be in strip clubs, peep & touch shows, massage parlours, sweatshops etc. What type of families would sell their children into slavery, knowing they would be sexually abused & then sold for sexual favors? What type of humans would pay to have forced sex with handicapped children even young girls suffering from Downs Syndrom? Human trafficking today surpasses the drug trade & generates profits between $9billion to $31.6billion. FBI estimates that over 100,000 children & young women are trafficked in America. Brazil & Thailand are considered to have the worst child sex trafficking records. Nearly 7000 Nepali girls are sold annually to brothels in India. It is estimated that over 200,000 of Nepali girls are sexually exploited in India. Even in Sri Lanka brothels cater to customers by offering children as young as six years old.

That the LTTE Tamil Diaspora are involved in human smuggling is nothing that the Governments of Canada, US, UK, Europe & Australia do not know about. These Governments are all aware of the connections. Our biggest issue is why are these Governments not attacking the root of the entire nexus?

All these Governments know the leaders of the LTTE & Tamil Diaspora – they know where the live, what they do, how they earn and if these Governments & authorities also know that they are involved in human smuggling alongside other illegal & illicit activities why are these people not being rounded up like Raj Rajaratnam. Do thousands of humans need to be smuggled & turned into slaves or made into sex workers & prostitutes for the West to take action against the LTTE Tamil Diaspora?

In a wikileaks expose of a US embassy cable sent by then US Ambassador Jeffrey Lunstead in 2002 reveals that the US was very much aware of the following. That the LTTE was “engaging in numerous fundraising activities worldwide”, that $200m had been raised from their “organized crime” to finance “illicit weapons procurement”, Lunstead even goes on to state that the LTTE & related organizations may be “raising significant amounts of money in the US”. So the question is what happened to “turning up the heat on the LTTE?” Lunstead also states that the TRO – Tamil Rehabilitation Organization raises as much as $40m annually. The 2002 cable also suggests that the US Government should “examine the activities of the Tamil National Alliance” since the TNA was planning to open an office in the US. The US cable is also aware that 10m UK pounds is raised by the LTTE through extortion, credit card frauds, borrowing money from UK banks & absconding, human smuggling & illegal immigration. The cable also reveals that in Canada the LTTE raises between $10 to 20m through organized crime. The US is also aware that the LTTE levies “taxes” in areas that the LTTE controlled & these taxes bring the LTTE $2m annually. Taxes imposed on business account for $15m to 18m annually. The US is also aware of the LTTE banks (Bank of Tamil Eelaam with 10 branches).

So when Lunstead has practically all information available with him, when he has informed his bosses about the LTTE, the Tamil Diaspora, the LTTE front organizations – we would like to know why the US government allows fund raising to continue, allows TNA to visit the US, had dialogue with the TNA when the US specifically states it does not “talk with terrorists”….something is just not right.

So if the US knows, Canada knows, UK knows and the EUROPOL report confirms that the LTTE is actively involved in activities that range from extortion, money laundering, running illegal lotteries, credit card frauds through LTTE owned petrol sheds, retail outlets can we please know why the Tamil Diaspora is not held accountable, why the Tamil Diaspora is able to exert influence, why the Tamil Diaspora leaders are treated like VVIPs, why the TNA has credibility among Governments/NGOs & even the UN, why the TNA is forced to hold discussions with Sri Lanka’s democratically elected Government?

There have been some attempts to curb the LTTE Tamil Diaspora’s illicit activities. In 2010, 27 Tamils were arrested for terrorist offences linked to financing LTTE in France, Germany & Netherlands…over 100 officers from Finland, France & Belgium were involved in a joint operation to investigate criminal networks in Europe. The investigations discovered the business human smuggling using counterfeit passports produced in Thailand.but can these nations be happy that with these arrests that LTTE financing has stopped?

The Canadian authorities have identified 32 smuggling syndicates with ties to the LTTE. The price of a passage to the West varies from $20,000 to $30,000. The agents collect 10% of this fee with the rest to be paid in Canada. Most of these people do not even know where they are destined to be living in. Without a doubt, human smuggling is one of the most lucrative businesses. LTTE’s human smuggling operations is headed by a sea tiger – S. Kanthaskaran who holds a UK passport. LTTE uses ships to smuggle humans. Some of these ships used were MV Princess Easwary disguised as MV Ocean Lady, MV Sun Sea, MV Alicia, In 2009, MV Princess Easwary posing as MV Ocean Lady was to dock in Victoria, Canada. Princess Easwary turned out to be a ship belonging to the LTTE. Similarly, the MV Sun Sea had collected 225 charging them $22,000 to $45,000. The amounts being quoted as fees to be smuggled is really atronomical considering the earning capacity in Sri Lanka. If people had this much of money they could have easily gone as tourists or better still they would have been able to lead good lives in Sri Lanka itself. More over the oft used excuse is that these people are fleeing Sri Lanka Government forces. Why did they not flee to India or to closer countries. Why do they only wish to go to Western countries?

France has not banned the LTTE but its authorities have arrested 18 Tamils involved in illegal immigration. But are these arrests sufficient to actually solve the reality that the LTTE Tamil Diaspora is making millions out of transporting humans, selling them & extorting money from their families?

When Governments send emissaries to question Sri Lanka, we need to in turn demand answers from these Governments starting with what they are doing about LTTE Tamil Diaspora living on their soil and attempting to create disharmony in Sri Lanka. Just as Sri Lanka are made to give explanations we need answers from the Governments of the US, UK, Canada, Europe & Australia – we demand to know what your Governments are doing about LTTE Tamil Diaspora’s illicit & illegal activities and we are not satisfied with simple arrests.

Joint Statement: Lanka- Pakistan relation

noreply@blogger.com (Sri Lanka Guardian) — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 13:14:00 +0000

Joint Statement issued on the occasion of the visit of Mahinda Rajapaksa, President of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka to Pakistan

Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani (top R) and Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse (top L) look at their delegation members during a signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) at The Prime Minister House in Islamabad on February 11, 2012. Rajapakse arrived in Islamabad on February 10 on a three-day state visit to Pakistan. - Getty Images

( February 11, Islamabad, Sri Lanka Guardian) On the invitation of President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Mr.Asif Ali Zardari, the President of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, Mr.Mahinda Rajapaksa, paid a state visit to Pakistan from 10 to 12 February 2012.

2. President Mahinda Rajapaksa was accorded a warm welcome. He held talks with President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani. Both the President and the Prime Minister of Pakistan hosted banquets in honour of the visiting Sri Lankan President. The Sri Lankan President also visited Taxila, which was the first centre of Buddhist learning and a testimony to Pakistan’s rich Gandhara heritage.

3. The talks between the leaders of Sri Lanka and Pakistan were held in a friendly and cordial atmosphere and were marked by full trust and complete understanding. Both sides reached broad consensus on ways and means to further strengthen their bilateral cooperation in a comprehensive manner and on their common endeavours for promoting peace and security in the region and the world.

4. Both sides underscored the importance that they attached to the special bonds of affinity that existed between the two countries, which were based on their rich historical and cultural interactions as well as the shared aspirations of their people for peace, progress and prosperity.

5. Both sides agreed to hold frequent summit level meetings, promote parliamentary exchanges and enhance the process of consultations, cooperation and coordination between their respective institutions.

6. Both sides attached importance to the Free Trade Agreement between Pakistan and Sri Lanka and considered this to be a valuable instrument to optimally utilize their considerable economic potential. They expressed satisfaction on the work of their Joint Economic Commission in taking all requisite steps to enhance two-way trade. It was agreed to make special efforts to increase the bilateral trade to over $ 2 billion by 2015.

7. Both sides also agreed to promote financial and banking sector cooperation. It was agreed that the Governors of their Central Banks will take all requisite steps to promoting such cooperation, including the opening of bank branches and trading in local currencies.

8. Both sides also agreed to create an enabling environment to facilitate and to provide incentives to their private sectors to develop mutually-beneficial project cooperation and joint ventures.

9. Both sides also agreed to give further impetus to their cooperation in the fields of education, science and technology, healthcare, agriculture, tourism, sporting contacts, cultural exchanges and people to people contacts. Both sides also agreed to prioritize cooperation in the field of gems and jewellery.

10. Pakistani side offered training facilities in the field of banking, information technology, engineering and medical sciences to Sri Lanka.

11. Both sides would also develop institutional links between their universities and research institutions.

12. Both sides expressed satisfaction on the defence and security cooperation.

13. Both sides also agreed to take steps to enhance air and sea connectivity including joint ventures between their respective shipping corporations.

14. The Prime Minister of Pakistan and the President of Sri Lanka witnessed the signing of the following agreements/MoUs:

a) MoU for Cooperation in the Field of Media between the Ministry of Mass Media and Information of Sri Lanka and the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting of Pakistan.

b) MoU between Tertiary and Vocational Education Commission of Sri Lanka and National Vocational and Technical Education Commission of Pakistan.

c) MoU between the Governments of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the Government of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka on a credit line up to a sum of US$ 200 million.

15. Pakistan expressed its gratitude and thanks to the Sri Lankan Government for its valuable assistance in coping and containing the outbreak of the Dengue fever in Pakistan last year.

16. Both sides agreed to continue their cooperation in regional and international foras and to work together to promoting regional cooperation under the SAARC auspices.

17. Both sides expressed their complete satisfaction on the outcome of the state visit by the Sri Lankan President to Pakistan, which constituted another milestone in the joint endeavours of the two countries to take Pakistan-Sri Lanka relations to new heights.

Arrogance and Reconciliation never go together

noreply@blogger.com (Sri Lanka Guardian) — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 02:35:00 +0000

| by Shanie

It is this columnist’s view that if the LLRC’s recommendations are implemented in the same spirit that they have been made, the solution to the National Question will ultimately fall into place. There is no need for any rhetoric about a Parliamentary Select Committee. Any Parliamentary Select Committee with some of its members holding divergent and extremist views is unlikely to reach consensus. That is why, instead of a PSC, if there is a political will to implement the government appointed LLRC’s recommendation within a defined time-frame, then the country would have made a significant move towards achieving reconciliation. Finding common ground on political issues on the national question then becomes so much easier. It is the political will that is required on the part of both the government and the opposition.

"But most shall he sing of Lanka

In the bright new days that come.

When the races all have blended

And the voice of strife is dumb

When we leap to a single bugle,

March to a single drum.

March to a mighty purpose,

One man from shore to shore;

The stranger, becomes a brother....

Hark! Bard of the fateful future,

Hark! Bard of the bright to be;

A voice on the verdant mountains,

A voice by the golden sea.

Rise, child of Lanka, and answer

Thy mother hath called to thee." - Walter Stanley Senior (1876-1938)

( February 11, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) Last week, we celebrated the anniversary of our independence from colonial rule. For all the nationalist rhetoric that came from political platforms, it is humbling to recall what a British Anglican priest/poet wrote about the country he had came to love. The Revd Walter Stanley Senior came over to Sri Lanka in 1906 and served in turn as Vice Principal of Trinity College, a parish priest, the first Registrar and Lecturer in Classics at the University College in Colombo. But he is best remembered for his poems and writings where he showed his emotional attachment to the country that he had adopted as his second home. In fact, ten years after he returned to England owing to ill heath and when he knew he was dying, he requested that his mortal remains be cremated and the ashes interred in the churchyard at Haputale. The interment was duly done in 1938 by his friend Canon R S de Saram, Warden of S Thomas’ College, Mount Lavinia and the headstone on the well-preserved grave at St Andrew’s Church, Haputale bears an inscription from Senior’s own poem:

Here I stand in spirit,

as in body once I stood long years ago,

in love with all the land.

This peerless land of beauty’s plenitude.

and followed by the words:

‘He Loved Ceylon ‘

Senior was not a colonial romanticist. Those who knew him refer to the genuine love he had for our country and our people. His poems speak not only about the beauty of the country but also of the need for all people of the country to live together in harmony. That is why it is humbling to read this foreigner’s poems, rather than the double-speak of some of our political leaders.

India and Pakistan

Neighbouring India split into two at the time of her independence. During independence negotiations, Jinnah’s Moslem League insisted on partition and the vast sub-continent saw the emergence of the new state of a geographically separated Pakistan, one wing on the west and the other on the east of India. Thus was born Pakistan on sectarian grounds. Unfortunately, Jinnah’s vision for Pakistan was an ambiguous one. He spoke against Pakistan becoming an Islamic theocratic state and was for all minorities in Pakistan, ethnic and religious, being treated with equality and justice: but he also spoke about Pakistan being founded on Islamic principles. In the end, Jinnah lived to be Pakistan’s first Governor-General and virtual head of government for just an year. He died of tuberculosis thirteen months after Pakistan was born. When the constitution of Pakistan was finally adopted in 1956 by the Constituent Assembly it was to be the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.

But in India, despite the religious controversy over the creation of Pakistan, Gandhi and Nehru were firm that India would be secular democracy. In a recent essay, Professor Navaratna Bandara quotes Stephen Cohen who wrote in 2000: ‘Since its birth as a nation more than fifty years ago, India has seemed poised on the edge of two different futures. On one side lay greatness, on the other collapse. That drama has now ended and a new era has begun. The spectre of collapse has passed and India is emerging as a major Asian power.’ Professor Navaratna Bandara adds that such recognition received from outside observers justify the commitment made by the forefathers of modern India to the concept of a secular state that takes the responsibility of modernising its society by overcoming the parochialism ingrained in the society. The vision of Nehru for a modernist, pluralist and secular India was reflected in the united stand taken by the leaders of all political persuasions in the making of India’s new constitution. They rejected communalism, provincialism, casteism and factionalism and produced a unique system of government that blended the features of unitary, federal and cabinet systems of government.

The contrasting stories of Pakistan and India after independence are a reflection of the vision of their respective political leaders. Had Jinnah lived longer, Pakistan may have perhaps emerged as a more secular and more democratic nation. Only perhaps. We do not know. But the post-Jinnah political leadership of Pakistan certainly did not share the vision of India’s post-independence Indian leaders. That is why Pakistan has had a succession of coup d’etats, assassinations and political instability. India, on the other hand, despite the assassinations of Mahatma Gandhi, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi (all by sectarian militants) has emerged as a strong and vibrant democracy. It is the maturity of Indian democracy that was expressed at the General Election following the brief period of Emergency rule in the nineteen seventies. We were reminded of this at the recent Galle Literary Festival where Jayantha Dhanapala moderated a session involving writers Nayantara Saghal and Katherine Frank, who had both written political biographies of Indira Gandhi. Columnist Nan has quoted significant extracts from this session in Sunday Island last week. It affirms Indira Gandhi’s and India’s commitment to democracy.

Home Grown Solutions?

Sri Lanka can learn valuable lessons from the history of both India and Pakistan; and on post-conflict reconciliation from South Africa and Northern Ireland. But for both we need a political will, a willingness to learn lessons from others. Our political leaders keep repeating the phrase ‘a home grown solution’ like a mantra. They do it as a cover for doing nothing. One really does not know what is meant when this phrase is used. They cannot be ignorant that nearly all solutions proposed over the years in our country have been fashioned by political leaders within our country. The Bandaranaike-Chelvanayakam and Dudley Senanayake-Chelvanayakam Pacts in the early years were worked out between our own political leaders. In 2000, Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga constitutional proposals were born out of several rounds of discussions between our own political parties without any intervention by parties outside ‘home’. Soon after Mahinda Rajapakse became Executive President, he appointed an All Party Conference chaired by Tissa Vitarana and an Experts Committee headed by Raja Goonesekere. The Experts Committee duly presented its report (with three members submitting a dissent). The APC which was later transformed into the All Parties Representative Committee submitted an interim report and later a final report in 2008, four years ago. That home grown report has not been officially released and is presumably gathering dust in the President’s Office. We do not know if the President has read it. We know that he has read the LLRC report because all the newspapers carried a picture of the President reading the LLRC report from an armchair, but there has been no photo exhibit of him reading the APRC report. The APRC laboured for over two years, met at some seventy sessions, all out of public funds. That report therefore belongs to the people and the President is wrong in withholding its official release for public discussion.

The same goes for numerous other reports which rightly belong to the people. The LLRC itself has commented on Udalagama Commission report which dealt, among other matters, on the killing of the five students in Trincomalee. It seems that what we are looking for is not any new home grown solution but the ignoring of home grown problems and the home grown recommendations for their solution in the hope they will disappear. Is it a case of arrogance of power? Apart from the Udalagama Commission recommendations, the LLRC also made interim recommendations in September 2010, over one year ago. In their final report, the learned Commissioners have commented on the non-implementation of their interim recommendations and have made further recommendations for reaching national reconciliation.

Implementing Recommendations

Fortunately, for whatever reason, the LLRC report has been released and there has been wide public discussion on it. In his address at the National Day celebrations at Anuradhapura, President Rajapaksa said that he had already started implementing the LLRC recommendations. He did not tell us which of the recommendations have been implemented but at least his statement implies that he accepts them, even though the widow of slain Cabinet Minister Jeyaraj Fernandopulle and a current government parliamentarian, is quoted in The Island this week as stating that the LLRC was ‘biased’ (presumably against the government). The good lady has obviously not read the report when she states that the LLRC has ignored LTTE terrorism.

Dr. Fernandopulle’s criticism of the LLRC report follows similar criticisms made earlier by some of the constituent parties of the governing coalition. One hopes that the agitation by parties who do not have a track record of wanting reconciliation between the various communities in our country on the basis of equality and justice will not again be used to dump the LLRC report as being controversial. The LLRC has proved its sceptics wrong by making recommendations that would go a long way not only towards promoting reconciliation but also towards finding a solution to the National Question. One hopes the LLRC’s recommendations fall within the President’s definition of ‘home-grown’; the President’s National Day statement that he has already begun implementing the LLRC recommendations is encouraging. One also hopes that he will take the next step by publishing his road map for implementing the LLRC recommendations – all of them. If the government rejects any of them, those too should be made known with the reasons why they are being rejected. It is only such transparency that can convince the people that the government is genuine in its quest for reconciliation.

Ragging and the assurance of learning

noreply@blogger.com (Sri Lanka Guardian) — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 02:24:00 +0000

| by Dr. Ruwantissa Abeyratne

( February 11, Montreal, Sri Lanka Guardian) I wish to refer to excellent article entitled “Deplorable Conditions in Sri Lankan Universities” written recently for the Sri Lankan Guardian by Darshani Wimalasuriya. Ms. Wimalasuriya, in her well structured and analytical essay provides extremely disturbing reports of recent incidents of ragging in Sri Lankan universities, and at a point says: “According to the 2011World University Ranking Sri Lankan universities have a lower position and some African countries with low literacy rate than Sri Lanka have far more better educational ranking than the Sri Lankan Universities”. I do not doubt the veracity of this statement. She also says that the universities deteriorated within the span of the past 40 years.

As a student in the University of Colombo some 30 plus years ago, I could agree with this statement because just 10 years before I entered the Faculty of Law, my brother was a student in the same faculty and his milieu was entirely different from mine. The difference between our two eras was clearly the Sinhala medium, whether it was in the Law Faculty or the Arts Faculty. When I entered the Faculty of Law, we had such excellent teachers as Professors T. Nadaraja, G.L. Pieris, Savitri Gunasekere and Anton Cooray, and perhaps the only persons who were sent overseas to study were the children of the Prime Minister and a handful of cabinet ministers. But still, standards in terms of ragging were despicable, particularly in the context of the Sinhala medium seniors in the Arts and Law Faculties (I was not much exposed to the Science Faculty) and therefore I do not believe that there is a correlation between the quality of university teachers and the quantum of ragging.

I must say the seniors in the English medium in the Law Faculty were a pretty decent bunch who gave us “freshers” some mild chores which we performed with some ease and the minimum loss of dignity. However the Sinhala medium students shouted obscenities at us and there was no discrimination between the genders. I soon figured out the reason for this anomaly by piecing together the questions that were posed to me, while one day I was in the process of removing my pants in public at the insistent request, nay command of a particularly raw vernacular senior. I was asked in Sinhala such questions as “how many cars does your father own”? Did your father drop you off by car today”? In which part of Colombo do you live? 7, 5 or 3?” My first visit to the washroom (if it could have been be called that) was even more revealing. The first slogan I saw on the wall (etched in charcoal) was “Unta Biththara, Apita Karawala” (They have eggs while we have dried fish). It was a revelation to me that there was a stratum in society that considered an egg a luxury food!!

All this might give the reader the impression that I came from a rich home. On the contrary. My parents did not own a car and I came from Colombo 9 (Dematagoda) which by no means was the “posh” area of Colombo. However, I was fair in complexion, fairly globular (which certainly meant that I was well fed), reasonably well dressed and entered the University from a private school in Colombo. Most of my contemporaries in the Sinhala medium were dark in complexion and this, for some inexplicable reason, was another reason for an inferiority complex which earned me the nick name “Law Facultiyé Sudu Bada” (The fair fatty from the Law Faculty) from the the Arts Faculty. Of course it was pronounced “Low Pacultiyé Sudu Bada”.

Later, once the rag period of two weeks was over, they all became my close friends (with whom I dabbled in Student Council Politics) and who received me well. Therefore, and in retrospect, I began to feel that the rag was just a “psychological catharsis” where students from downtrodden areas were exposed to the upper class bringing to bear a serious rift between the self proclaimed “Haramanis” element with the “Kulturs” who wielded the “Kaduwa (English Language). The result was a surge of pent up resentment against the privileged class who spoke a different language and ate different food. My experience in the university was that when most found that my Sinhala was as good or better than my English they warmed up to me so endearingly.

Bruce Mathews, in his excellent article University Education in Sri Lanka in Context: Consequences of Deteriorating Standards (Pacific Affairs. Volume: 68. Issue: 1. Publication Year: 1995. Page Number: 77) states that arguably, ragging in Sri Lankan universities, which is cruel and indecent, is a result of an admissions policy that suddenly throws students from widely different social backgrounds together. He observes that, in a country like Sri Lanka, where the hierarchical nature of society, either as caste or class, is very pronounced, giving those from underprivileged backgrounds power to "initiate" new students (especially young women and those from the great schools) can be problematic. He also says that the issue is deeper than this, for ragging is also a form of protest against authority of any kind - university, the law, even traditional social norms and customs.

There is no such bizarre complexes and torture in the university which my child attends in Montreal (and in most, if not all other universities in North America) arguably because all speak the same language, are equally well dressed and well fed and, if they come from disadvantaged families they are given student loans by the government. At the Montreal universities, the “freshmen” are treated on consecutive days by the seniors to hot dogs, beer and blaring hip hop music in the quadrangles of the Colleges where they dance till the wee hours into the morning. I must hasten to qualify this by saying that by no means am I saying that there is absolutely no instance of criminality but this happens mostly when acts are perpetrated by the criminal elements. In other words, there is no culture of ragging here in Montreal or in most of North America.

I believe another reason for the malaise in Sri Lankan universities is what I call the lack of “assurance of learning” (AOL) at the high school and pre university phase. AOL is what schools emphasize in North America to students from elementary school through high school to universities in preparing them to go out into the outside world. As a university teacher (part time) , I have to practice AOL even with my post graduate students. AOL is a shift from the traditional mode of measuring the success of teaching techniques per se to the level of assurance a university or lower educational institute has that the student has learnt what was expected before that student graduates and seeks employment. Major determinants in AOL are communication, ethics, analytical skills, and the ability to use information technology, multiculturalism and reflective thinking.

Largely because of AOL, one does not find in North American cities (particularly in the capitals, and I am not talking “boondocks” here) teenage boys seated on parapet walls casting lewd comments at innocent girls and women waiting for a bus on the street. There are no school boy “louts” in buses ridiculing and denigrating school girls. There are no separate “ladies only” compartments in buses or trains. Above all, there is strict enforcement of the law, irrespective of whether the offender is the son of a cabinet minister or not.

The imposition of legislation against the harassment of the innocent is an effective deterrent. Legislation introduces legal certainty to a society as an integral element of the rule of law. It makes people aware to a great degree of precision the manner in which the law will impinge on their conduct. Therefore laws have to be coherent, specific and set out in advance with clarity so that the citizen has a full understanding of the law. Criminal laws are enacted on the basis of values that are considered acceptable to a society which are institutionalized through the legislative process. As a follow up to this process the rule of law requires that judges make specific decisions that enforce the laws concerned.

Although ragging can be cruel and indecent, the legislation must be drafted with the consideration in mind that there has to be a harmonious balance between recognizing the innocent as against the guilty as the offence would involve young persons of a certain age who may not necessarily be hardened criminals. Particularly in instances of arrest, the legislation must insist that the arrest be legal and can be supported by cogent evidence. This would provide a safety net to protect the innocent “seniors” who may otherwise be perceived to be guilty in an instance of ragging where a whole group of students are involved and it is difficult to decipher a specific offence and determine the culprits.

Ragging is a culture in Sri Lanka which students bring with them as a corollary to their own depravity, poverty and deep seated resentment against the haves. It is a complex that can be eradicated if decency, respect and dignity for the human being are inculcated at school level.

Baluchistan: who will tell the truth?

noreply@blogger.com (Sri Lanka Guardian) — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 02:11:00 +0000

( February 11, Baluchistan, Sri Lanka Guardian) In Pakistani province Baluchistan where there are threats to journalists in their field work, while to fill the gap of information in the province the trend of blogging is seemed to be increasing, bloggers hope they will succeed to carry an Arab spring like revolution in Baluchistan. Malik siraj Akbar a journalist and a blogger, due to alleged threats from secret agencies for the past years exiled in America and had to take refugees there for his safety, he says he misses his home very much.

“At the age of twenty two years I became the bureau chief of a national newspaper, I believed that I would have a bright future in Baluchistan, Baluch and Baluchistan was my original story which I had lost”

Though he was compelled to leave his home town but he didn’t give up his story.

The online newspaper which he used to run in Quetta owed to which he had to receive terrorization from Pakistani army and intelligence agencies is running it in the peaceful surrounding of Washington.

“Our newspaper The Baloch Haal; is not seem to be running so much which we expected and wanted, we wanted to publish news from Baluchistan but we couldn’t on Time, because our reporters have security problems in interior Baluchistan” Siraj Akbar said.

On the commands of Supreme Court of Pakistan, Pakistan telecommunication authority (PTA) had blocked more than 4000 websites and blogs, some of them are regarding Baluchistan emerging issues among them Malik Siraj’s The Baloch Haal is also integrated.

One of PTA official while talking to BBC cleared that PTA has no control over the content of websites.

He further stated, by following the instructions of foreign affairs committee they only impose restriction on foreign obscene and abusive websites answering to a question whether in foreign elements are some of Balochi sites are included? He added” foreign websites are chosen and counted; PTA doesn’t interfere with such elements”

Adoption on decision official said, committee for foreign affairs look after these all affairs which is headed by ministry of information technology where intelligence agencies representatives also sit and observe.

“Social media websites and blogs are considered the best procedure of expression in the world; here in Pakistan we find no fundamental rights of expression young siraj stated.

Bytes for all an Organization working for rights related to internet recently published a report about illegal detention of journalists, lawyers, students, extra judicial killings and violence in Baluchistan has increased, such events regularly happens in Baluchistan and media turns a deep ear. Recently some Baloch nationalist organizations boycotted the Urdu news channel in protest, claiming that Pakistani media is silent over the rotten situation in Baluchistan.

Aurangzeb khan an official of inter media a nongovernmental organization working for freedom of press said; whatever happening in Baluchistan Pakistani mainstream media doesn’t accurately reflect, news comes but neither the voices of local people appear nor studied deeply.

“Aurangzeb khan further illustrated, the journalism in Baluchistan is suffering from an anarchy period, and journalists have to cover such events which actually are not news, but they are forced to cover them under pressure”

In the previous year Aurangzeb khan prepared a report for inter media on” Media under threat in Baluchistan” identified three threats, the Army, militants and insurgents, due to these three pressure the real picture of Baluchistan has not come in media but the people of Baluchistan responsible ISI,MI,FC and army for rotten situation in Baluchistan.

In this setting the roles of bloggers become more important to bring Baluchistan’s news in media. Siraj believes the eye of world is on different blogs regarding the unfavorable conditions in Baluchistan.” The kidnapping of UN official for refugees’ john saluki was break by bloggers, messages to us were coming from USA and we kept on telling them about the latest situation.

Question is that whether can bloggers reflect the true pictures? Like Akbar all bloggers are not journalists, Malik Siraj Akbar declared “oversight and investigation” in America a great success and revolutionary step for bloggers. According to him the issue of which perhaps Punjabi are not award is being discussed in American ideological instutions. One way it’s an Arab spring for Baluchistan which whole credit goes to bloggers and websites holders who take risk and bring the truth into light.

Source BBC Urdu

Translated By Somalan Baloch

Giving Land and Police powers to the Provinces is dangerous – it should not happen

noreply@blogger.com (Sri Lanka Guardian) — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 01:44:00 +0000

| by Sri Lanka Support Group, Canberra

( February 11, Canberra, Sri Lanka Guardian) News emanating from Sri Lanka shows that there is the tendency to give land and Police powers to the Provincial Governments including the Northern and Eastern provincial governments. The Sri Lankan Government is under tremendous pressure both from India and some powerful western nations, it is quite probable that the ultimate political package can contain giving these powers to the Provinces.

Note that the forthcoming CHOGM to be held in Sri Lanka in 2013 will give enemies of Sri Lanka to put enormous pressure on Sri Lanka to give wider powers to Northern and Eastern provincial governments, including threats to boycott the summit. For example, the Canadian Prime Minister has already stated he will not attend CHOGM in Sri Lanka unless Sri Lanka gives more benefits to the minority Tamils. Such stance can be anticipated from the British, Australian, New Zealand and even South African leaders.

We note that most of the positive social cultural activities conducted by the Sri Lankan Army in the Northern province, including running of cafes etc, are under threat to be stopped or have already been stopped. The Army does not now hold most of the land in the Jaffna HSZ zone. The Government is under enormous pressure to reduce the troop numbers in the north, if this is carried out, it will be a major threat to the country’s sovereignty.

Why is giving Land and Police powers to the Provinces too dangerous?

This means they will have the sole power to legislate in relation to land and Police. Then, basically the provincial governments can sell, transfer, lease, mortgage, donate, and acquire land anyway they like within the province. This is exactly what the LTTE fought for. Now the TNA has taken over the cause that the LTTE left (when the LTTE was alive, they were their political proxy); they demand they will not talk to the Government unless land and Police powers are part of the political package.

Note Sri Lanka is very small and currently jam-packed with its ever-growing population. There is hardly any space left in the South for human expansion. The only areas available for future human habitation/expansion is in the Northern and Eastern provinces. Once the central government loses entire control of these areas, there is absolutely no way that people from other provinces can live in these areas. This will be a grossly unfair situation for the rest of the people.

Once they have land power, these provincial governments can effectively (legally) block the southerners from not only buying land but also visiting those areas.

Once these two powers are given, if the two provincial governments want (they will be hostile to Sri Lanka anyway), they can give land to their counterparts in India, bypassing the central Government. It will be easy for such enemies of Sri Lanka like Vaiko, Nedumaran, and Seeman et al to set up even para military style camps in Sri Lanka on the invitation of the Chief Ministers of the two provinces. Given the vesting of Police powers on the Northern and Eastern provincial governments, boatloads of illegal immigrants can freely sail from India to Sri Lanka. Some can come in the guise of fishermen. The illegal migration of Tamils into Sri Lanka is not an old phenomenon, it has happened since time immemorial. This activity can flourish under the new powers given to the future Northern and Eastern provincial governments.

The Police positions - IGP downwards in the provinces will be appointed by the Chief Ministers of the provincial governments. With time, these two Police forces will exclusively have Tamil speaking people only serving them, with a Tamil speaking Muslim component in the Eastern Police force (note the Muslims are also demanding the two powers, with the TNA). The two Chief Ministers will have the power to disallow the Sinhalese from joining their Police forces. We see how Piliyan et al are even now trying to remove Sinhalese people who live in the marginal villages of the Eastern province. Once the full Police powers are given to him (it will be like his own para-military force), he can do what he now does illegally legally.

Once these two powers are granted, it is possible for them to re-merge and then make a claim to secede from Sri Lanka. They may then have the key ingredients for claiming a separate nation of their own. The international law is so developed now, we live in an era where new nations are constantly created. Kosovo is a creation entirely by the international world – it was created despite the severe opposition by its former ‘owner’ Serbia. They had the support of Russia and China, but still failed. Other examples of the creation of new countries are –South Sudan, East Timor, Eritrea, South Ossetia, Abkhazia and Ingushetia, Then, all the new nations that emerged from the old Soviet Union.

Under enormous pressure from India, in 1987, JR Jayawardane, introduced the provisional government system in Sri Lanka. This has caused untold problems in Sri Lanka, and the problems continue. The system has made Sri Lanka poorer. Previously the people had to put up with corruption by the centralised government only. After 1987, it spread like a cancer to the provincial level. The country’s bureaucracy increased tremendously, it cannot sustain such an array of legislatures and bureaucrats, most of who are unsuitable for the jobs and cause so much problems to the country.

Prior to 1978, Sri Lanka was served under the ‘Saulbury Constitution’ which was slightly amended by the Sirima Bandaranaike Government in 1972. Under the old Constitution, Sri Lanka had a strong centralised government, which served the country remarkably well. Parliamentary democracy flourished where Independent MPs were elected to the parliament defeating candidates from the two dominant parties (this can never happen under the current electoral system).

Sri Lanka is simply too small and too poor to be governed by provincial governments (9) with a central government in the Centre, then an Executive President.

We must not forget that the country’s armed forces made supreme sacrifices to preserve the sovereignty and territorial integrity. If land and Police powers are given to the two provinces, the supreme sacrifices that they made may become in vain.

We must understand there is no ethnic problem in Sri Lanka. Only there was a terrorism problem which was resolved in 2009. Now the country’s two main communities are living in harmony like brothers. This should be encouraged. Land, Police powers, creating a Senate will not build the unity between the two peoples, but division. Like what they are doing now, the Government must try to uplift the standard of living of all the peoples including those in the Northern and Eastern provinces. But, the development must not happen at the expense of the environment and wildlife.

True, the Government is under enormous pressure from India and some western states to create a federal system (giving these two powers will solidify the federal system), let us hope that the country’s leaders will have the courage not to succumb to this enormous pressure. All peoples of the country must support the Government in its endeavour to keep its unitary nature, including the opposition. Currently this is not happening. Even the JVP now seems to favour giving of the land and Police powers. This is for their sheer political advantage. There is hardly any opposition in the country against the proposal of giving land and Police powers, albeit a handful of Government ministers, who may change their stand in time to come. Once they too approve the proposal, it will be very difficult for the masses to oppose.

Creating a Senate is not going to serve any purpose for Sri Lanka. It will be another layer of government (Sri Lanka is one of the most highly governed countries of the world). This will be an opportunity to create more and more politicians and bureaucrats, who will thrive on the limited resources available to the whole country, where large amount of the people still live in utmost poverty.

The most important thing is to show to the entire world including India that Sri Lanka is looking after its Tamil minority well (which is a fact), Tamils are happy and they are economically progressing; it is impractical to create such a federal system in Sri Lanka as demanded by India and some western nations. In relation to the 13th Amendment, it is functioning, the country has not dismantled the provisional government system, although it is an unworkable system for the country. There is nothing in the 1987 India – Sri Lanka pact that states that land and Police powers must be given to the two provinces. It is up to the Sri Lankan Government, in accordance with the Constitution, to determine what powers should be given to the two provinces, and what powers should be suppressed. This is an internal issue for Sri Lanka. If the Government now states that the land powers were always given but were suppressed, there is no need to lift the supersession now. In this Media Release we have shown the dangers of giving such powers to the two (2) Provincial Councils.

What India is asking is that Sri Lanka should enforce the 13th amendment. The country has not dismantled the provisional government system, despite the fact that it is a costly, unworkable system for the country. India and Sri Lanka are two different countries. Federal system may work in India, which is huge and had been comprised of separate states in the past, whereas Sri Lanka has always been one nation.

The most important thing is for Sri Lanka to show the entire world, including India, that Sri Lanka is looking after its Tamil minority well (which is a fact), Tamils are happy and they are economically progressing; it is impractical to create such a federal system in Sri Lanka as demanded by India and some western nations.

In relation to the war crimes allegations made against Sri Lanka, Sri Lankan now correctly states that it will investigate each and every credible allegation of war crimes as put to them and will prosecute those who have allegedly offended. It is up to the those who make the allegations to provide particulars of them. Sri Lanka cannot conduct an investigation based on a TV documentary, parts of which are fabricated anyway.

Overall, Sri Lanka is an independent sovereign nation; other nations have no right to poke into her affairs, unless very serious human rights violations have taken place, when there have been none. Again, the allegations waged by Channel 4 are fabrications. It is not to be forgotten that very serious human rights violations have taken place, and takes place in the so called do-gooder countries of the west. They do not want others poking their finger into their affairs, but continue to pick on small Sri Lanka. Such conduct amounts to bullying. There is an obligation on Sri Lankan Patriotic organisations operating in western countries to explain the western Governments and agencies about the hidden agenda of the Tamil Diaspora organisations – ie, to create a separate state, ‘Tamil Ealam’ in Sri Lanka.

Maldives in 1973

noreply@blogger.com (Sri Lanka Guardian) — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 01:39:00 +0000

| by Pearl Thevanayagam

(February 11, London, Sri Lanka Guardian) I went to Maldives in April 1973 to recuperate from failing to qualify for GCE A/L science stream twice due to sheer exhaustion from competing with fellow students. No amount of tuition classes could obtain for me the necessary two credit passes in science subjects to proceed to Advanced Level. My father had been teaching Geography and Art at Aminiya School for girls since 1966 administered by the British. Aminiya and Majeediya (boys' school) were the only private schools for the privileged and the rest were attending local schools run by Maldivians. Even more wealthier children attended schools in Colombo such as HFC Bambalapitiya and St Peter's including the President's and ministers' children.

My father truly believed I needed a break from studies and I showed enough symptoms of nervous exhaustion and panic to go on holiday with him, thus I was able to spend a blissful six months in Male. Male is just one square mile and the only person who owned a car was the President of Maldives. The ministers wore sarong and shirts not unlike President Mahinda Perceival Rajapaksa who wears national attire and kurakkan shawl when he is not jogging down Galle Face Green or Independence Square in Nike trainers to keep himself fit and fighting. I took regular walks with my father along the coast abutting sapphire blue waters starting from our house and ending there. If you reach out to the waters you could easily catch fish with your bare hands.

One did not need any fancy radio to listen to Radio Maldives then. There was just one announcer by the name of Lilani Perera and my father used to joke that all you need is a matchbox and some wires since the radio station was within hearing distance from our house.

One sad irony is that Maldivians believed Murunga sticks were poisonous and that it was safe to eat murunga leaves. They subsisted on rice and tuna fish which was aplenty. To the 100 or so Sri Lankan expatriates the air force would fly in vegetables and beef weekly and in the hey days of nationalism where Mrs Sirimavo Bandaranaike banned imports the few of the Sri Lankans domiciled in Maldives had the luxury of foreign imports of cheese, Nescafe, Cadbury's chocolates, imported liquor and Lady Hamilton sarees from Singapore among other goodies. From the foreign exchange of salaries provided for school teachers they could also order from Andrew's catalogue imported stuff from Hong Kong.

Presidents came and went or rather shot dead during the 21 gun salute on Independence Day celebrations until Abdul Gayoom. There was not much opulent living for the Maldivians although they were not short of the bare necessities of life. Their existence was one of simple unadulterated living in the '70s. There was plenty of fish and coconuts. A three foot tuna could be bought for just 50 cents. Maldivian coconut trees are so short that you did not need a coconut climber. You simply picked it off your hands.

An absolute delicacy from the coconuts is the syrup which you can spread onto roti or bread. Then there was rihakuru, the remaining water from parboiling tuna to make Maldive fish boiled down until it resembled Bovril which you can substitute for Marmite. The only handicap is vegetables. There were plenty of honey-sweet mangoes,guavas and pomegranates but somehow vegetables were in short supply or the Maldivians had not bothered to grow them..

My father brought plantain shoots and vegetable seeds from Sri Lanka and we grew our own vegetables. As a result we had bumper harvests of plantains, chillies, brinjals and pumpkins in the virgin soil. Otherwise we relied on Air Force supplies weekly for carrots, leeks and other exotic vegetables. But there were plenty of imported canned vegetables, cheese, butter, luncheon meat etc.

Maldives was but a remote group of 3,000 islands out of which only 300 were inhabited and it was undiscovered and unspoilt and the people lived in absolute harmony. There was just one cinema hall where you could watch Hindi films and the radio blasted out Hindi film songs by Asha Bhosle and other pop singers from Bollywood.

The airport is an island itself and once you land there you need to take a boat to get to Male. I used to go on trips to the islands during weekends for a swim and barbecue which are virtually uninhabited with friends of my father who were his colleagues at the two schools and those who worked for WHO. Villingly was the island where prisoners were exiled.

What has become of Maldives is a tragedy and in the name of progress it has descended into anarchy. It is also under threat of global warming and predicted to be submerged in the not too distant future not unlike Bangladesh. My only wish is that it is restored to its past peaceful existence and towards this Sri Lanka and India can help a great deal and not let Western powers use this turbulent moment in Maldives' history to confiscate it for their strategical interests in the Indian Ocean like they did with Diego Garcia.

The writer is Asia Pacific Journalism Fellow at UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism, California and a print journalist for 21 years. She can be reached at pearltheva@hotmail.com)

Devolution Of Police Powers Is Desirable

noreply@blogger.com (Sri Lanka Guardian) — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 01:30:00 +0000

| by M. A. Sumanthiran

( February 11, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) The government has responded in multiple and contradictory ways to the position of the Tamil National Alliance that powers over law and order, including powers over police, should be devolved to the provinces. The President himself has stated openly that police powers cannot be devolved, only to contradict that position when he assured Indian Minister of External Affairs S.M. Krishna that he intends to move towards “a political settlement based on the full implementation of the 13th Amendment to the Sri Lankan Constitution, and building on it, so as to achieve meaningful devolution of powers.” However, despite Minister Krishna’s statement going uncontested by the government at the time it was made, the President has now attempted to distance himself from that commitment. The government is aware that the 13th Amendment includes provisions for the devolution of police power. What then is the government’s position? The TNA has, in contrast, consistently asserted the need for powers over police to be devolved.

Constitutional Requirement

The Sri Lankan constitution requires that a measure of police power be devolved. The constitution specifically requires that a Provincial Police Force be established for every Province. The provisions of the 9th Schedule – which sets out the allocation of devolution under the present Constitution – are unambiguous, with “Police and Public Order” featuring prominently as Item 1 on the Provincial List. Implementing the provisions of the existing Constitution – which the President, Ministers and MPs swear a solemn oath to uphold and defend – is not a matter for political posturing. The failure to act as the Constitution demands ought to be a matter of concern for those of any political stripe, regardless of their views on the merits of devolving police power. Plainly, it evinces a complete disregard for the supreme law of the land that is illegal, unacceptable and downright dangerous. It should be a matter of embarrassment therefore that we must rely on the words of a high ranking official from a friendly neighbouring country to be assured that our own Constitution will be implemented in full. However, now that these assurances have been made, the President and government must demonstrate good faith by delivering on them. The history of the ethnic conflict is one of broken promise after broken promise, and the government must not invite a repetition of history.

LTTE's police station - File Photo

Moreover, a whole host of past proposals for constitutional reform – the 1995, 1997 and 2000 proposals, as well as the majority report of APRC’s Expert Committee – have recommended that police powers must be devolved to the provinces. The APRC’s Expert Committee was in fact directly appointed by the President himself. The unanimity with which these proposals have recommended devolution of police powers only points to the fact that moderate Sinhala opinion is united in the view that police powers must be devolved. The congruence between the positions of moderate Sinhalese and moderate Tamils presents an opportunity that cannot be squandered on account of the posturing of extremists.

Reason for TNA’s call

It is with this in mind that I venture to briefly present the reasons for the TNA’s call for the devolution of police powers. The desire of the Tamil people that police powers be devolved is not a recent one. In fact, it predates the rise of militant groups and must be answered.

First, devolution of police powers is a necessary corollary to meaningful devolution. Provincial Councils must have the power to enact laws and approve regulations that are suited to the specific needs of the Province. For example, the social problems caused by the large numbers of orphans, single mothers and widows in the North and East will require the recruitment of a large number of Tamil speaking women officers. This is a problem that is specific to the region, and requires local solutions. Just as we would never approve of a politician from Mannar controlling the functioning of the police in Matara, there is no reason why politicians from Colombo must have exclusive powers over police in Muttur. The provincial executive also must have the necessary independence from central control to give effect to and implement regional laws and regulations. It is essential therefore that a substantial measure of powers over police be vested in the province, so as to enable the implementation of regional laws. A police force that is tasked with implementing provincial laws, but is not accountable to it, will defeat the purpose of devolution. A lame duck Provincial Council that is unable to implement its own laws is perhaps even worse than the absence of any devolution.

Second and importantly, devolution of police power is essential to rebuilding police – community relations in the North and East. The Tamil people’s alienation from state power has been most acutely felt when the ruptured relationship between the police and local communities in the North and East led to spirals of violence. Multiple pogroms against the Tamil people where the police either participated or colluded through inaction; the application of the draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act and similar Emergency Regulations; the use of the police force in cracking down on dissent ; the wide scale torture and abuse of detainees and prisoners; the denial of language rights to Tamil speaking peoples in police stations; and the overwhelmingly Sinhala composition of the police force have collectively contributed to this feeling of mistrust. When Tamil lodgers were forcibly evicted from Colombo and bussed to the North and East suddenly one morning in May 2008, it was the police that implemented the decision to cleanse Colombo of Tamil lodgers.

Tension between police and people

These issues are multi-layered and complex and have been perpetuated over many decades. Tensions between the police force and local communities result in an atmosphere of fear and resentment. This tense atmosphere sometimes leads to outbreaks of violence and sometimes severe acts of brutality. Most recently, the Grease Devil phenomenon where local communities took the military and police to task for harbouring and assisting assailants resulted in severe violence. These incidents function as an early warning of the consequences of failing to resolve police – community tensions. If a repeat of history is to be avoided, the culture of resentment that characterises police – community relationships must be fundamentally transformed. This ruptured relationship between the police force and local communities also impedes the efficient functioning of the police force. Effective policing requires public cooperation. The objectives of battling crime and creating a peaceful society can never be possible without strong, effective bonds of trust between the police force and local communities. The experience of the last six decades, whether in peacetime or war, is that these relationships cannot easily be restored. The police are almost always the first point of contact with the State for those who find themselves in a crisis. The very nature of their work requires the police to be in constant contact with those in desperate states of vulnerability. Thus, decision makers within the police must be those with an intimate understanding of a given community’s specific needs and problems. For instance, decision makers within the police must be knowledgeable about and respectful of informal dispute resolution arrangements that prevail in certain rural areas in the North and East. The devolution of police powers to the Province will enable a transformation of police – community relations and will lead to greater police sensitivity to local concerns and thus lead to a restoration of normalcy and amity in those relations. Ultimately, the handing of powers over police to a tier of government closer to the people is necessary to ensure that Tamil speaking communities are given a measure of power over decisions involving security and law and order, which is essential to insuring against further conflict and violence.

Moving beyond colonial paradigm

Third, the idea that hyper-centralized control of the police is necessary to protect security in the country is in fact an outdated feature of colonial rule. The paradigmatic example of strong, central control over law and order was and remains the Public Security Ordinance –a colonial piece of legislation designed to ensure control over ‘natives’ by the Governor General. The decimation of communities in the South during the insurrection by the state security apparatus was another manifestation of the colonial conception of the police force. Thus, if we need to move beyond a colonial paradigm in law and order governance, we must dispense with the idea that a strongly centralized police force is synonymous with the effective protection of law and order. It is time to recognize that this model has failed us, resulted in bloody armed conflict, and is incongruous with any notion of a dignified peace. Strong central control over police has contributed to the denial of Tamils’ right to enjoy the fruits of independence from Western colonial powers and must be checked.

Fourth, the arguments made against devolution of police power are overstated and often wrongheaded. One type of concern expressed often is that the devolution of police powers will result in disorder and chaos. This is misleading. The devolution of police power does not mean the exercise of unfettered police power. Nor does it mean the oppression of regional minorities. The courts and an independent body to regulate the provincial police force must be vested with sufficient power to curb abuse by the police. Moreover, the Bill of Rights must be strengthened to protect individuals against the police. The TNA opposed the passage of the 18th Amendment in the strongest terms because we are opposed to the weakening of independent public institutions. Ultimately, given the nature of Sri Lankan politics, a provincial police force is more likely to be brought under the oversight of the judiciary and independent public institutions than is the case with a highly centralized police force with a politically powerful hierarchy.

The myth that the devolution of police powers will lead to secession is as fanciful as it is ludicrous. There is no Tamil political party in Sri Lanka that is even remotely interested in dividing the country. For our part, we are clear that a durable solution to the ethnic problem must be found within the contours of a united Sri Lanka. That aside, that line of argument ignores that it was disillusioned youth – often unemployed and angry – who have resorted to violence against the State, whether in the North East or in the South. To suggest that lower level and middle level officers entrenched in the local bureaucracy would attempt to resist a trained military is absurd.

Thus, devolution of police powers is desirable for a number of reasons. Fundamentally, it is a necessary corollary to meaningful devolution in other areas; essential to restoring community – police relations; necessary to undoing the harmful colonial legacy in the governance of the police and finally, is perhaps the most effective way of curbing police excesses. Since a measure of devolution in relation to police powers is part of the existing Constitution, and since many past proposals for constitutional reform have highlighted the necessity to further devolve police powers, there is no excuse for the failure to do so.

Army fired at Nadesan’s wife shouting ‘..... ...... Sinhala Balli’

noreply@blogger.com (Sri Lanka Guardian) — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 01:23:00 +0000

| by Our Colombo Correspondent

File Photo

( February 11, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) LTTE’s political Head Balasingham Nadesan’s wife was said to be shouted at by the firing solder ‘You .... ....... Sinhala Balli, Sinhaleng kathakaranda enewade ’ (You ....... ......... Sinhala bitch, are you trying to talk to us in Sinhalese) before he released the bullets from his machine gun on her.

According to reports, at the time the wife (a Sinhalese) of Nadesan's, a surrendering Tamil, called out to the troops in their native Sinhalese: "He is trying to surrender and you are shooting him." But the soldier was not in the mood to accept her plea or listen to a Sinhalese married to an LTTE man.

The language used by the soldier was so appalling and beyond comprehension and not the standard expected from a regular fighter instructed to receive the surrendering enemy.

This information was confirmed to the Sri Lanka Guardian source by a euphoric soldier involved in the white flag killings.

The source of information can be released to any NGO of repute, if officially requested subject to maintaining confidentiality.

Maldives Mishandling

noreply@blogger.com (Sri Lanka Guardian) — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 01:15:00 +0000

| by B.Raman

( February 11, Chennai, Sri Lanka Guardian) The Government of India appears to have been caught napping in the Maldives on two counts.

Supporters of former Maldivian President Mohamed

Nasheed demonstrate outside the Maldivian High

Commission in Sri Lankan capital Colombo on

February 10, 2011

2.First, it failed to foresee the implications of some arbitrary actions of former President Mohammed Nasheed such as the arrest of the Chief Judge of the Criminal Court and disciplinary action against a Sandhurst-trained Colonel of the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF), who were perceived to be anti-Nasheed and advise him to desist from such actions. These actions antagonised the judiciary and created fissures in the MNDF and the Police. These elements joined hands with anti-Nasheed protesters in forcing him to quit as the President.

3. Secondly, it failed to realise that despite his antagonising the judiciary and sections of the Police and the MNDF, Nasheed retained considerable popular support particularly among the younger generation and was in a position to take the battle against his opponents to the streets. Instead of keeping quiet till the street equations became clear and instead of desisting from any action that might be misinterpreted as granting legitimacy to the MNDF-engineered replacement of Nasheed by his Vice-President Mohammed Wahid Hasan, the Govt of India prematurely made statements that were interpreted in Maldives as amounting to the Government of India’s abandoning its support to the democratically-elected President. When Nasheed’s supporters, with a defiant Nasheed at their head, took the battle against their opponents to the streets, the Government of India found itself with its credibility badly weakened.

4.The result: the Government of India’s traditional position as the sole arbiter of political fortunes in the Maldives has been badly damaged and a number of international actors from the UK, the US, the European Union and the United Nations have rushed to the Maldives to try their hand in internal peace-making, thereby marginalising the traditional role of India. Only China and Pakistan have not yet entered the political fray in the Maldives. If they do, that will be ultimate humiliation for Indian diplomacy at its southern door-step.

5.We had earlier lost our clout in Sri Lanka as a result of soft and reactive reflexes and we stand in danger of similarly losing our clout---even if we have not already lost it--- in the Maldives due to similar apologetic reflexes lacking in robustness of anticipation and action.

6.In the Net world, one could notice articulation of condemnation of the Government for failing to intervene militarily in the Maldives in support of the

democratically-elected Government. Unfavourable comparisons have been made with the robust response of Rajiv Gandhi, the then Prime Minister, to support the then President Abdul Gayoom against threats from foreign mercenaries suspected to be from the LTTE by sending Indian rapid action forces to the Maldives to neutralise the threat.

7. The hesitation of the Government of India to send rapid action forces in response to a reported SOS from Nasheed is understandable because the present situation is qualitatively different from what prevailed in 1988. The threat to Nasheed was not from external forces, but from sections of his own MNDF and the Police due to his perceived arbitrary style of governance. If the Government of India had sent the security forces to the Maldives this time, they would have been called upon to act not against foreign mercenaries and their local supporters, but against sections of the political opposition in the Maldives and their supporters in the MNDF and the Police.

8. Our security forces would have been able to overcome opposition from the MNDF and the Police, but then what about managing the messy sequel--- with the Maldivian security forces many of whose senior officers were trained by us turning hostile against India?

9. The criticism of the Government of India for not intervening immediately through our Armed Forces is not quite justified. But there is a lot of actions short of direct military intervention which we could have taken--- such as visibly and noisily strengthening our direct action capability in the vicinity of the Maldives to convey a message to the contending forces in the Maldives and to external forces that might be tempted to take advantage of the situation to undermine Indian influence that India was prepared to use its Armed Forces if needed to protect its nationals and interests and rushing a high level and stick-wielding emissary to Male to cajole, if possible, and to force, if necessary, the contending forces not to undermine democracy and not to allow any other external elements to come in and partake of the broth.

10. The Government of India failed to take any of these actions and now finds itself with diminishing options in the face of an unpredictably evolving situation domestically and internationally. In 1988, the international community recognised implicitly that the Maldives was India’s concern and that India had every right to act according to its wisdom.

11. Even though the situation seems to be slipping out of our hands, we can still retrieve it provided we show leadership befitting a big power and act resolutely on the lines indicated above. Evidence of such leadership and resolute action is missing in Delhi. ( 10-2-12)

Accountability & Punishing LTTE for killings its own cadres

noreply@blogger.com (Sri Lanka Guardian) — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 01:05:00 +0000

| by Shenali Waduge

( February 11, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) The world needs to be reminded again. Sri Lanka was a victim of terrorism. The LTTE was an agent of terror & it was against LTTE terrorism that the Sri Lanka armed forces were fighting. If the West, the UN & all other “humanitarian” organizations wish to ignore the LTTE’s spate of killings over 3 decades so be it. Yet, when pressure is being exerted on a sovereign country completely ignoring punishing the LTTE for its acts of terror, the people of Sri Lanka will not remain silent.

Starting with the killing of the Jaffna May in 1975, followed by killings of numerous Tamil policemen by the LTTE. To date the LTTE has killed 24 Tamil academics & intellectuals, 54 Tamil Government officials & over 80 Tamils involved in some aspect of politics. This excludes the thousands of Tamil civilians that have been killed and maimed by the LTTE as punishments for defying LTTE orders. Is this the Tamil Eelaam that was supposedly meant for Tamil people? Can Tamils who have witnessed these LTTE killings upon their own people not fear to live in a Tamil Eelaam if it means death if they go against Tamil Eelaam policy? So please answer – why did the LTTE kill Tamils?

Thereafter the LTTE went after civilians. The first attack took place in 1984 at the Dollar & Kent Farms in Weli Oya. It was here that the LTTE slaughtered 62 unarmed men, women & children.

The LTTE was running a defacto governance of its own – LTTE police, post office, banks, schools & even media stations. LTTE’s administrative head quarters was in Kilinochchi. The Channel 4 video attempting to discredit Sri Lanka’s Government portrayed one Issipriya as an innocent journalist.. It turned out she was a member of the LTTE & her rank “Lt Col” & was working in the Voice of Tigers. Her husband Sri Ram was also a member of the Sea Tigers & died in May 2009. Channel 4 has been fooled by LTTE lobby and its channel stands guilty of discrediting its image for money. ABC news Australia to fell prey and had to face the embarrassing truth that the “innocent civilian” that they depicted was in fact a trained LTTE cadre.

We would like to ask one simple question. Is the world telling Sri Lanka to allow a Tamil Eelaam where LTTE does nothing but KILL? Has the world forgotten years of LTTE terror killings? 146 pilgrims were slaughtered in the holy city of Anuradhapura in 1985 (May 14th) The LTTE carried out these killings posing as Sri Lanka military personnel wearing the uniforms of Sri Lanka armed forces. One by one these innocent people were hounded down & shot dead. Is this what people are to expect in an Eelaam that the West is attempting to carve out in Sri Lanka? Maybe the West has forgotten the Aranthalawa massacre in 1987. 33 young monks & their mentor were not just killed they were mutilated depicting the heinous nature of the LTTE. We have enough footage of all these gruesome murders & they should be publicly displayed for all to see & never to forget who the LTTE is.

LTTE’s attack on civilians is as heinous as one could imagine. What “freedom” movement butchers people, cuts men, women & children to pieces? The more the dead the LTTE was able to exert pressure on the Government. So they killed & killed & killed – Tamils, Sinhalese, Muslims – Race, Ethnicity, Nationality did not matter to the LTTE. This is the type of murderous logic the LTTE used. Yet, the infamous Darusman Report says “LTTE is a disciplined organization”. Can the 3 panelists that prepared this report explain to us what they mean by the word “discipline” & connect that with the scores of butchering by the LTTE through 3 decades? We want answers. May be it was their “discipline” that made them kill over 10,000 innocent civilians & injure an equal number. May be it was their “discipline that the world did nothing about LTTE’s recruitment of over 5000 children turning them into child soldiers. Maybe it was due to their “discipline” that the LTTE violated the famous 2002 ceasefire over 3830 times? It is getting a bit tiring to have the West & even the UN & NGOs lobbies whitewashing the LTTE completely ignoring its brutal record.

The West, the UN & all other humanitarian organizations need to remember that if they are working towards the betterment of humanity – they must not be taking the side of the murderers. This is exactly what is happening. LTTE has the monetary ability to buy over people. We do not doubt that at all. They raise funds nefariously so they can decide to use this money to buy over, win over & influence people. Hillary Clinton was bribed but she had the presence of mind to return the money. Now Obama is also been bribed & we are yet to hear of his returning the contributions from Tamils for Obama. Similarly, every person who has an official say in Sri Lanka has been approached by the LTTE – from their statements, their actions we the citizens of Sri Lanka know how big the “influence” has been. We are not a nation of fools.

We have seen the LTTE carry out all types of killings – on buses, trains, on economic targets, on villages & places of worship, on VIPs & VVIPs & even on foreign leaders. But we would never have thought that despite the LTTE killing Tamils, it would resort to killing its own men & women who pledged their life towards a movement that they were brainwashed into accepting as being the Eelaam promised by a megalomaniac leader called Prabakaran.

Eyewitness accounts now emerge of how 49 disabled LTTE female cadres were asked to board a bus, they were served tea & without their knowledge the doors were shut & the bus was blasted. This was despite several of their relations appealing to the LTTE to allow them to take the wounded LTTE cadres to their homes. What the LTTE did in killing their own wounded cadres is a gross violation of international humanitarian laws & goes against Geneva Conventions. There are eye witnesses & we are waiting to see what the West will say about this latest act of treachery by the LTTE.

Thiruchelvan Waratharasa of Wattarappalam a witness of LTTE atrocities during the final phase of the war & eye witness to the killing of 29 civilians by the LTTE which included his son & his sisters son. Waratharasa was rescued by the army on 16th May 2009. Waratharasa was witnessed the gruesome mercy killing of 49 disabled female LTTE cadres who were put into a Rosa bus given a cup of tea & then unknown to these LTTE cadres the bus was set on fire by an LTTE member Nadumaran – killing all inside the bus. The incident took place on 8th May 2009 at Demuniwagala.

Another witness – Kumanan from Pudukirrippu was also one of the displaced & when trying to flee from the LTTE, his wife got injured while fleeing & his aunt died after being shot by the LTTE.

Soon the Tamils, not those living comfortably in foreign shores, or those living happily in the South of Sri Lanka amongst the Sinhalese, but the Tamils that suffered because of the LTTE will begin to feel free to tell their story. These witnesses will be able to nullify all the false documentaries that the LTTE is developing using technical expertise. Truth will always prevail and sooner than later the people will begin to come out & tell the world about who the real LTTE is.

That the West & other humanitarian authorities are biased goes without saying. They did pittance for all of the heinous crimes committed by the LTTE. Now when a sovereign government has eliminated terrorism they are questioning the Government when they have never questioned the LTTE. We want to know why?

Why is the world not punishing the LTTE for its crimes? We demand the world take action against the LTTE for all its crimes. The LTTE leader may be no more but there are enough of second phase leaders – the TNA espouses to take over the Eelam struggle, there are the GTF, the BTA, ITRO, TGTE – all these people can be held accountable for the killing of innocent people by the LTTE over the years.

If accountability is the word the West loves to use – we demand accountability by the LTTE for its heinous killings. Accountability must start with the LTTE terrorists for it is they who kick started the rampage of killings in Sri Lanka.

Egyptian Blood On “The Silent Hand” of Omar Suleiman

noreply@blogger.com (Sri Lanka Guardian) — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 10:05:00 +0000

| by Thomas C. Mountain

( February 10, Asmara- Eritrea , Sri Lanka Guardian) The head of the western backed military junta that has ruled Egypt for the past year, Gen. Tantawi, is not know for either his intelligence or independence, in fact just the opposite.

Gen. Tantawi - AP File Photo

Having been put in his post by “The Silent Hand” of Omar Suleiman, the “Secret Minister”,the real power in the Mubarak regime, Tantawi knows full well who is the trusted insider with his masters at the CIA. Who can call the Israeli PM 24/7. Tantawi knows that Omar Suleiman is “The Silent Hand” and is disobeyed at ones own peril.

When Egyptian blood flows in the streets, whether from “Ultra” football cadre or Coptic Christian, or both together, there is a silent hand behind it all, pulling the strings needed to create just enough murder and mayhem so as to legitimize continued military rule.

Muslim Brotherhood chairing the Egyptian parliament or not, political power grows from the barrel of a gun and the Army in Egypt still has all the guns.

With “The Silent Hand” of Omar Suleiman still free in the country he once ruled with a very silent iron fist anything can happen, with the one thing you can count on is the military junta, as all such rarely hesitate to do, spilling as much blood as it takes.

The Suez Canal along with the Bab al-Mandeb have grown to be the most strategically critical potential choke points in the world and the day the USA loses control of either is the day marking the beginning of the end of Pax Americana.

The USA has chosen to go with what they know so lets not forget that it is still “The Silent Hand” of Omar Suleiman that guides the increasingly brutal steps of the military junta that today rules post-Mubarak Egypt.

Thomas C. Mountain is the only independent western journalist in the Horn of Africa, living and reporting from Eritrea since 2006. He can be reached at thomascmountain at yahoo dot com.

Espionage: Agencies cry for covert ops

noreply@blogger.com (Sri Lanka Guardian) — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 08:11:00 +0000

The Task Force appointed to review existing security systems needs to consider not only the world security scenario and social media threats, but also the role and ambit of our intelligence agencies

| by AK Verma

Task Force, comprising retired senior officials and heads of all government departments having national security responsibilities, with the convener of the National Security Advisory Board as its Chairman, has been holding sessions to review the existing systems and suggest improvements, changes and modifications of the processes, procedures and practices to bring about a qualitative change in the internal and external national security posture. The Task Force is also expected to examine what remains to be done with respect to the recommendations of the committee set up after the Kargil war. It is likely to submit its report by March-end.

The Task Force faces a daunting task. Ensuring comprehensive security is getting more and more complex every day. The external environment has become vitiated by new perspectives of political permissiveness, which have brought in their wake questionable doctrines of unilateralism, pre-emptive strike and regime change. Globalisation has made economic penetration a much simpler activity. Technological advances render territorial frontiers insignificant. Emergence of a single superpower after the Soviet Union’s disintegration has not resolved the equation of balance of power. Three emergent powers in Asia, China, Japan and India, are engaged in aggressive competition for status, markets and resources. China, in addition, is involved in a hectic pursuit of military power to equal that of the US in the coming decades. The world security architecture, therefore, remains in a constant flux, with new alignments, realignments and conflicts surfacing in dramatic ways.

This growing complexity is compounded by issues of water and land, resulting in migration, refugees and demands for more dam constructions, potentially creating new areas of conflict.

Threats are also arising from the appearance of newer forces, operating worldwide. The concept of absolute sovereignty is no longer sacrosanct. Nations are willingly surrendering a part of their sovereignty to a larger grouping, as in the European Union, in search of greater national security. Some nations are now claiming a right to interfere in a country’s affairs on the ground that events there are affecting their interests. Libya is an example of how its internal human rights scenario paved the way for external intervention, forcing a regime change.

Free movement of ideas are another area of deep concern, though democracies need not fear such intrusions. Closed societies are, however, at risk. The demise of the Soviet Union owed much to the dissemination of concepts relating to democracy, human rights and freedom of conscience by the West through Radio Liberty and Radio Free Europe. The advent of the Arab Spring is also attributable to this phenomenon.

In this context, the influence of social media like Internet, Facebook and Twitter has to be recognised. The Arab spring owes a lot to facilities provided by their instantaneous communication abilities. The same methodologies come in handy for cybercrimes and cyber wars, and even the most technologically advanced nations cannot ensure total immunity for themselves.

Intelligence and investigative agencies in the West have been armed with

legislative backing. This blocks unwarranted executive control and interference

from outside sources and ensures administrative and operational autonomy

to the agencies to undertake covert operations.

The competition for resources and markets, already mentioned, if it becomes cut-throat, can be another source of destabilisation. The Soviet Union had finally lost out because its economy could not keep pace with the demands of its military, which wanted to match the West.

The rise of political Islam is perhaps the most troublesome phenomenon of today’s world. In Europe as well as in Australia, multiculturalism has all but been declared a failed exercise. The line dividing political Islam from Islamism is a very thin one. In all countries, experiencing an Arab spring, Islamists and non-secularists are coming to the fore. Even in Turkey, the almost century-old Ataturkian model of secular governance, is doddering. Nobody can say with certainty what will be its future shape. Some, of course, are keeping their fingers crossed, wondering if Huntington’s predictions about civilisational clashes will come about.

Keeping a watch over all these developments has now become a national security imperative. Will the Task Force be taking an objective view on steps that must be taken or be constrained by the narrow compulsions of the executive to retain powers in its hands over intelligence and investigative agencies?

The present national security support systems have proved quite inadequate as several episodes repeatedly have demonstrated. There have been instances of zero intelligence, inadequate intelligence, inaccurate intelligence, miserable coordination and poor analysis. To set the systems right and to upgrade the quality of products and performance, reforms are necessary. In this context, the following need to be considered.

Two other major issues confronting the Task Force are the reluctance of States

to carry out police reforms as mandated by the Supreme Court and the conflicting

postures on the creation of the post of a Chief of Defence Staff

The intelligence and investigative agencies in the West have been armed with legislative backing. This blocks unwarranted executive control and interference from outside sources and ensures administrative and operational autonomy to the agencies to pursue their own line of thought in investigation and intelligence work.

Covert operations are important operational but optional tools for intelligence work, which are available to agencies in many democracies but not in ours. Covert action covers a range of activities such as destabilisation or a coup in another country, training of rebels and guerillas, financing of foreign political groups, subversion of foreign media, black propaganda and even kidnapping or assassination. It is self evident that all such activities cannot be legally carried out merely on the strength of an executive directive from the highest in the land. In the US, the National Security Act of 1947 vests the President with discretion to order any such measure for the security of the nation, including assassination, and the CIA, as the executing agency, is duty-bound to carry out the orders. No legal action can be taken against CIA’s operatives for such activity.

The option for covert action should be available to Indian agencies also. But such an option has to come with a legal immunity. This reinforces the argument for giving the Indian agencies a legal basis for their existence.

The laws should provide the freedom to the agencies to devise their own systems and methodology for recruitment of their personnel, Collection of Humint (intelligence through human sources) is not a child’s play. It tests the resourcefulness, skills and dedication of an intelligence officer. Humint penetration is a difficult task anytime. It becomes all the more difficult when the target is a non-State adversary, like resistance or terrorist groups, such as the Indian Mujahedeen operating in India. Recruitment to intelligence services requires that the scales of enrolment be set very high, much above the standards of ordinary recruitment. It will be evident that to recruit a higher calibre of individuals, the compensation packages to be offered will have to be matching.

Unfortunately, in our country there is a basic reluctance to accept this reality. The result is that no recruitment has taken place for the junior-most direct entry into the Research and Analysis Service of the R&AW for the last several years. No wonder there are complaints that R&AW is not pulling its weight. In the Intelligence Bureau, an earmarking scheme had been in operation for several years from 1955. Under this scheme, the top four or five selected for IPS each year by the UPSC used to get earmarked for the IB for their entire careers. The scheme had enabled the IB to develop a very strong cadre of deeply motivated young officers but it was given up when others protested that they did not have a corresponding benefit. The IB has lost out to service jealousies.

Such jealousies among agencies also lead to turf battles, poor coordination and even non-cooperation. It would be advisable for the Task Force to look closely into this phenomenon, and to delineate jurisdictions.

The role of the National Technical Resources Organisation (NTRO), created on the recommendations of the Kargil Task Force, also needs to be clearly set out. Many turf disagreements have prevented this organisation from reaching its potential. Whether the NTRO should remain totally independent or be brought under another overarching entity is a question worthy of deep scrutiny. The need to avoid duplication must be kept in mind.

Two other major issues confronting the Task Force are the reluctance of States to carry out police reforms as mandated by the Supreme Court and the conflicting postures on the creation of the post of a Chief of Defence Staff (CDS).

Police reforms are not seeing the light of the day simply because States are unwilling to let police administration go out of their clutches. A pliant and subordinate government machinery becomes an effective tool for management of diverse political and party interests, whereas an independent police will be inclined to place duty above favour. The roots of the problem go back to the Police Act of 1861, which made the police subservient to the Raj and its officers. Unless this subordination is removed by another law, the situation is hardly likely to improve.

The issue of CDS is shrouded in mutual reservations of the civil and the military, and fears about loss of turf within the military itself. The issue has defied resolution over the past several years. This question in all probability may, therefore, be left to linger for some more time.

On all other major matters, the Task Force has an admirable opportunity to create history by recommending the establishment of an autonomous independent national security architecture. It owes it to the nation to do so.

A story of tears

noreply@blogger.com (Sri Lanka Guardian) — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 07:57:00 +0000

| by Qurat Mirza

"We are the prisoners of war... Our dreams have been doctored. We belong nowhere. We sail unanchored on trouble seas. We may never be allowed ashore. Our sorrows will never be sad enough. Our joys never be happy enough. Our dreams are never big enough. Our lives are never important enough, to matter." (God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy)

( February 10, Hong Kong, Sri Lanka Guardian) Pakistani fishermen in Indian JailFishermen are treated and exchanged like prisoner of the war as many countries are facing the trans-boundary cases all around the world like Indonesian Fishermen in Australia, Papuans in Australia, Eritrean and Yemen fishermen, Senegal and Mauritania, Kenyan in Somalia, Thai fishermen in Malaysia, Vietnam and Cambodia, Pakistan and Iran, Indian and Sri Lankan fishermen, Indian and Bangladeshi fishermen and Indian and Pakistani fishermen.

The Issue in the Pak-Indo context: The practice of apprehending each other's fishermen, along with their boats, has been followed by Pakistani and Indian forces since the time of the patrician and for the last more than half century poor fishermen on both sides have suffered immensely due to this cruel practice. The Maritime Security Agency (MSA) of Pakistan is responsible for the arrest of Indian fishermen when they reportedly enter Pakistani waters while for India, the Coast Guard, Border Security Force (BSF), Customs or the Indian navy does the same to Pakistani fishermen. Pakistani and Indian civil societies have been continuously raising the issue with their respective authorities and due to these efforts many fishermen have been released from time to time. However, the problem has not yet been solved for good. What is seemingly a simple issue has been made complicated because the two states have been maintaining a policy of enmity and rivalry all along after their independence and thus arresting each other's fishermen. This is a tit for tat game between the militaries of the two countries. Similarly, the punishment for crossing into the other country's water by fishing boats may be imprisonment for a few months but due to the hostility between the establishments/ruling classes of these countries, the fishermen languish for years in detention centres even after completing their imprisonment.

Laws and the dispute: The fundamental freedom of the indigenous fishermen is not only protected by the Universal Declaration on Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), But the United Nations Convention on the Law of Sea (UNCLOS) also allows the coastal states to protect their territorial waters and economic zones and hence Pakistan and India have framed their corresponding laws. The Sir Creek dispute between the two countries received more importance after the UNCLOS because the claims of the two countries may have implications for the main maritime boundary between them in the Arabian Sea.

Traditionally, Indian fishermen might have been fishing in the creek in the past; so now Indian boats may deliberately enter the creek to stake a claim for sharing the creek. The Indians have all the sophisticated equipment to monitor their positions and therefore they cannot make a human error. In a nutshell, we can conclude that both the states are arresting each other's fishing boats to maintain and compound the Sir Creek dispute.

The role of civil society: Though the families and relatives of the detained fishermen have been raising the issue with the authorities of both the countries and the media had been highlighting the travails of these prisoners there has been no real breakthrough. In the mid nineties, alarmed by the serious human rights violation against the detained fishermen CSOs/NGOs of Pakistan and India went into action. The notable organizations in Pakistan had been the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), the Pakistan Institute of Labour, Education and Research (PILER) and the Anjuman Samaji Behbood of Ibrahim Hydri in Karachi which later grew into the Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum (PFF). Their continuous struggles bore fruit when in the Malè SAARC Summit in July, 1997 the prime ministers of Pakistan and India announced the release of 195 such prisoners from both countries. Though apprehending the fishermen's boats did not stop, human rights activists and fisherfolk communities themselves became more vocal about their conditions including this problem of arrests at sea. As the South Asia Labour Forum (SALF) also brought this issue into the limelight, various international organizations started paying attention to this human rights issue and it became an international level concern. At present, the fisherfolk's movement has become strong enough to give a vociferous knock at the doors of the authorities. So much so that the issue of detained fishermen has become a permanent mention in India-Pakistan foreign relations and dialogues.

A mother - waiting for the return of her two fishermen sonMiseries the detained fishermen' families face: When the boats do not return in accordance with their expected time the grief and gloom of a death scene is cast over the whole village to which the apprehended fishermen belong. Families and close relatives rush for more information and through various means it is confirmed that their loved ones actually were arrested, these days it is possible to confirm quickly because of the communication links between the fishermen organizations on both the sides of the border; previously it used to take months just to do that. In some cases, when other boats have seen the capture while escaping in time, the families are at least saved from the anxiety and fear of the unknown.

Fishermen who are captured at sea are generally poor people; they work for the boat owners on a catch-sharing basis. Once these bread earners are arrested, most of their families face serious economic crises. In worst scenarios fishermen belonging to the same family fall in the hands of the enemy's security forces. In any case women, old and children of the affected household quickly run out of food and savings if any. For a few days some neighbour or the boat-owner or a well-off relative may take care of them but after a month or two they are on their own.

Can we imagine what happens to the family when the only bread-earner of a family is arrested by the coast guard or border force? Their laughter and happy moments turn to grief and sobs; children are forced to leave their schools and start begging; their health deteriorates; everybody in the community looks downs upon them; veil-observing women are compelled to come out and resort to domestic labour. All they earn is one time food in 24 hours; their dignity is gone and they have to face an insensitive world all around.

Legal aspects and obstacles: Once the arrested fishermen are sent to jails they are at the mercy of the legal systems and practices in the respective countries. Legal institutions in both the countries are not much different when it comes to the prisoners. The situation is worse in case of foreigners, in particular Pakistanis detained in India or Indians in Pakistan. The procedures are so cumbersome and slow that the fishermen languish in jails for two to three years irrespective of their due punishment based on the charges framed against them.

Whatever the charges, poor fishermen are not told anything about these charges and their implications. They do not have their counsels and cannot prepare any legal defence against these cases. So the judges of these courts take full liberty in dealing with such cases. Once they have served their sentences they are out of jail but cannot go to their homes and hence are detained in different places and sometimes these are worse than a jail.

AHRC-ART-005-2012-03.jpgPerformance of government institutions and lack of information: Logically speaking, ministries of the interior (provincial and federal) or home ministry must have all the records and pursue the cases as they are supposed to protect their citizens. The officials of these ministries do not proactively work on the issue but rather wait for the information from the FCS or an NGO or fishermen’s families. For confirmation they just refer the case to police stations so as to confirm the identity of the detained fishermen, which takes months. They seldom approach the apprehending party across the border directly and quickly; in fact they do not have any direct contact, nor would they like to pursue the cases, as it is not included in their duty. In the meantime there comes a meeting of the secretaries or the ministers of internal/external affairs of the two countries and these official scramble for information so as to use it as a bargaining chip on the negotiating table. That is how the need of consular access to their citizens is felt and the move to issue a notification from the foreign offices is made.

One must keep in mind that the number of staff in the Pakistani and Indian High Commissions are determined by mutual agreements and they usually are not enough. Telephone communication across the border is either tapped by the intelligence agencies or there is simply fear that it is not safe to call somebody across the border. In any case it is culturally and socially prohibited to make a phone call across the border.

There is no consolidated information about detained fishermen because it is not updated regularly. As regards Indian fishermen MSA keeps the record, which seems authentic and updated, because of the simple reason that it is the only force, which apprehends the Indian fishing boats. FCS maintains the file of Pakistani fishermen arrested or released but its source is nothing but fisherfolk families. Government departments and ministries depend on the communications from MSA or FCS or CSOs. In any case there should be a record somewhere, which consists of all the names of all the detained fishermen with their particulars including date of arrest & release and the address of the jail.

Reasons behind the arrests: There are various reasons behind this whole phenomenon. Some of the incidents are just circumstantial or accidental or due to ignorance; sometimes these may be interest-driven or due to desperation while there are also deep-rooted systemic problems behind these arrests. There is no physical boundary in the sea. In most cases fishing boats can unwillingly and unintentionally cross in the other's territories because of tidal currents, engine failure, wind force and cyclones.

Fishing is like hunting; once the fishermen have spotted the fish, they are engrossed in the pursuit of their expected catch and in managing their nets. Meanwhile they might have crossed the so-called border and are not even aware that the apprehending force is keenly watching and following them. The fish resources have also been depleted significantly, boat owners now are mostly investors and have a pressure on the captain and the crew not to return empty handed. In any case fishing boats may take a little risk in getting close to the boundary. And if by bad luck the armed contingent of the other country is hell-bent on performing a patriotic duty to catch the 'enemy', they are readily arrested. But these are not the only causes; in fact there are deep-rooted systemic defects, which are reflected in the states' policies and practices in relation to the whole fishing sector and the fisherfolks. Moreover, the rivalry between the two states is the main cause for the travails of fishermen.

Fishermen: Pawns in the states' game of rivalry: Prisoners in general and jailed fishermen in particular have become a permanent agenda item in Pakistan-India negotiations, relations or dialogues. The two states have not come out of the inherent rivalry/animosity since their inceptions. The political leaders and governments have tried to normalise their relations but other powerful state institutions like the defence establishments or civilian bureaucracies have a way of foiling such initiatives.

Indo-Pakistani relations are marked by a primitive kind of exchange that defines the relationship between individuals and communities in many societies: handshakes are exchanged for handshakes, stranded fishermen are exchanged for stranded fishermen, prisoners are swapped for prisoners, visa restrictions are slapped to avenge visa restrictions and diplomats are insulted and retaliate. Such a mindset of the two establishments can complicate the fishermen

Recommendations: The India-Pakistan Judicial Committee on Prisoners has come up with a set of recommendations, but these are conceived by assuming that Pakistan and India maintain a status quo in their existing relations which is not enough as regards the fishermen’s rights and livelihood is concerned.

Nevertheless one of such suggestions is that the camps, parking for the apprehended boats and jails for fishermen should be close to the maritime border, somewhere near the mouth of Sir Creek. This whole area may be declared as no man’s land so that Pakistanis and Indians could visit it without passports and visas. In addition, it is recommended that fishermen should be trained by the agencies on both sides so that they can protect themselves and don’t get arrested.

Fisherfolk communities, families of the detained fishermen and the civil society of South Asia would demand that arresting the fishermen in mid sea should be stopped and those already imprisoned or detained should be released immediately and unconditionally. Maritime boundaries between India and Pakistan should be quickly defined and agreed. These boundaries should be visible and identifiable to the fishing boats. The Maritime Zones Acts of both the countries should be amended so that entering of foreign fishing boats into these zones is just a misdemeanour and after warning these boats and their crews should be released.

This includes long-term developmental strategies for the fishing communities, Marine resources of South Asia should be protected from industrial trawlers and marine pollution, the marine resources should be declared as the ownership of traditional fisherfolk and they should have exclusive rights to carry out their centuries old profession. Government should develop the fisheries sector and other development programs should be carried out in the areas of the fisherfolk communities and fishermen of all coastal countries in South Asia should have rights to fish anywhere in the Economic zones of South Asian Countries.

War crimes in Sri Lanka

noreply@blogger.com (Sri Lanka Guardian) — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 07:53:00 +0000

| by Frances Harrison

( February 10, London, Sri Lanka Guardian) There are signs that the international community is gearing up for action to hold Sri Lanka accountable for alleged war crimes committed by its forces at the end of the brutal civil war against the Tamil Tiger rebels in 2009.

A resolution is being prepared for next month’s session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva and Pakistan, where the Sri Lankan president begins a three-day visit today, should not stand in the way of justice for tens of thousands of minority Tamils who perished.

A preliminary investigation by the United Nations said Sri Lanka’s “conduct of the war represented a grave assault on the entire regime of international law” concluding that up to 40,000 Tamil civilians may have been killed in just five months.

There are indications that the death toll could be even higher.

Colombo has promoted its victory over the Tigers as a new way to defeat terrorism, dubbed “the Sri Lankan option”.

This is in fact a terrible euphemism for a scorched-earth policy, failure to distinguish between combatants and civilians and removing independent witnesses.

Between the months of January and May 2009, the Sri Lankan military indiscriminately shelled and bombed hundreds of thousands of civilians trapped in a small rebel enclave in the north of the island, ordering all journalists and international aid workers out first so there would be no one to say what really happened.

The traumatised survivors describe a living hell. Starving women and children cowered in earthen trenches as the army pummelled them with volleys of shells fired from multi-barrelled rocket launchers and dropped bombs from supersonic jets.

In a lull in the fighting, people would emerge to find human body parts strewn around, a leg or baby’s head lodged in a nearby tree. They quickly buried their neighbours’ remains with shovels to prevent the dogs eating them.

Everyone has a tale of a near escape, chatting with someone one minute, the next watching the life literally go out of them.

Families survived on watered-down rice soup they cooked over tiny outdoor fires. A nine-year-old lost half her body weight in months. A mother who’d just given birth in a bunker sold her last gold bangle for a tenth of its value — 16g of gold bought just two kilos of rice.

Farmers and shopkeepers, teachers and civil servants were displaced up to 40 times, finally camping on a tiny stretch of white-sand, palm-fringed beach. Unable to dig bunkers because the dry sand just collapsed, women chopped up their best silk wedding saris to stitch sandbags.

Desperate parents contemplated running into the sea with their children to commit suicide because they couldn’t bear the idea of dying one by one. They hugged their hungry children and covered their eyes with their hands to shield them from the horror of seeing their friends blown to pieces.

Makeshift hospitals staffed by a handful of brave doctors were systemically attacked as life-saving drugs for surgery and bandages ran out. A baby was delivered with a bullet lodged in his leg, having been shot while still in the womb. Surgeons resorted to using butcher’s knives and donating their own blood to keep patients alive. A priest had his leg amputated without anaesthesia after being shelled in his church compound.

To escape tens of thousands of terrified civilians dodged bullets, waded through water full of corpses, and ran barefoot through puddles of human blood, some forced to make agonising choices about abandoning injured relatives in order to live themselves.

It’s not surprising many survivors are now suicidal. A doctor who served there can no longer stand the sight of blood, a photographer can’t look through a camera lens without seeing dead children and a Catholic nun had to struggle to keep her faith in a loving God after what she witnessed.

The war crimes and crimes against humanity were not perpetrated by only one side. The Tamil Tiger rebels compounded the catastrophe by refusing to allow civilians out of the war zone, using them as human shields, callously exposing their own people to the fury of the advancing Sri Lankan military.

The Tigers forcibly recruited more and more teenagers to die a pointless death in a jungle trench even in the last months when defeat was certain.

It was a terrible abuse of their own people many of whom hated them for it. The Tigers even sent suicide bombers to blow up refugees trying to flee the war zone, determined that everyone must stay together, in the mistaken hope the international community would intervene.

All along both sides claimed to be saving Tamil civilians, while showing little mercy.

When the Tigers were finally obliterated on May 18, 2009, the killing didn’t stop. In the final hours eyewitness saw the mopping-up operation as soldiers threw grenades in bunkers where injured rebels lay, unable to flee.

Some of the last civilians who walked out say thousands of dead bodies lay sprawled on the ground, rotting in the tropical heat.

All 280,000 exhausted crushed survivors were then detained against their will in a giant refugee camp, guarded by armed soldiers and surrounded by barbed wire.

Thousands escaped, bribing their way out. Eleven thousand suspected rebels were locked up in the world’s largest mass detention without trial. Tamils describe summary executions, gang rape and torture even a year after the end of the war.

The Sri Lankans recently completed their own flawed inquiry into the war but Alice in Wonderland-like they seemed to blame everything on the Tigers and completely exonerate their own security forces.

Human rights groups now want an independent investigation, arguing that accountability is a requirement under international law, not an optional extra.

Tamil survivors also want the truth acknowledged before they can move on with their shattered lives. Without the truth, reconciliation and forgiveness are simply not possible and the grievances that led to conflict in the first place remain dangerously unresolved.

The writer is a former BBC foreign correspondent based in Sri Lanka and Iran. Her book of accounts of survivors from Sri Lanka’s civil war Still Counting the Dead will be published by Portobello Books in London this summer.

INSIDE STORY: Rajiv Gandhi Assassination Case and the Special Investigation Team – Part Three

noreply@blogger.com (Sri Lanka Guardian) — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 06:44:00 +0000

Previous Parts:- Part One | Part Two

| by L.Annadoure

( February 10, Chennai, Sri Lanka Guardian) The death convicts will be heaving a sigh of relief temporarily as their case has been adjourned owing to the pendency of a connected matter before Honourable Supreme Court of India.

Earlier it came to be mentioned that the death convicts have been languishing in jail for about13 years which is incorrect, for they are being incarcerated for about 21 years on end; a mistake has crept into it by oversight and therefore the number 13 may be correctly read as 21.

In view of the discussion already made in respect of the 4 photographs , one may safely arrive at a conclusion that there are no similarities or identical features of the persons who figure in the photographs. Those 4 photographs were not the only ones pertaining to Sivarasan who was said to be the master mind in executing the plan which had been alleged to have been hatched by LTTE.

The Chief Investigation officer had brought in yet another photograph which was found affixed on a driving license said to have been issued to one Sivaraj s/o S.Ramalingan and according to the version of the story propounded by the investigating officer, the said Sivarasan @ Raguvaran @ Packiyachandran had applied for driving license and obtained one. In this regard the attention of the readers are solicited to page No.70 of the Book Rajiv Kolai Vazhakku ( Rajiv Gandhi Assassination Case) where a copy of driving license had come be inserted and an enlargement of that photograph is given below.

Although the facial features of the person figuring in this photograph is a bit blurred owing to enlargement yet this person is entirely a different person from the persons found in other 4 photographs. There is no knowing as to how the prosecution had introduced these photographs purporting to the photographs of Sivarasan @ Raguvaran @ Packiyanathan and it should have been thus that the prosecution had made the court to believe that the persons found in all the 4 photographs were one and same person and on the basis of fabricated evidence had facilitated in awarding the capital punishment. Anyone who on seeing the aforesaid photographs would certainly conclude that the persons appearing in them were different individual persons and there needs to possess no esoteric knowledge to come to such a conclusion. Sivarasan@ Raguvaran@ Packiyanathan need necessarily be not Sivaraj son of S.Ramalingam and as for the names themselves , Sivarasan and Sivaraj should be two different entities. These apparent dubitative evidence should have gone in favour of the accused persons in their acquittal. But that these apparent and obvious stark differences had escaped the notice and knowledge of the court is what grieves greatly the right thinking people and for the said reason the judgment of trial court needs to be revised in the interest of justice.

What have been stated in the earlier parts of this piece would settle at rest the proposition of fact that those 10 photographs were the only evidence with which the SIT had made a humble beginning of their investigation and we have also seen as to why those photographs were not credible piece of evidence and in reality those photographs were unreliable for any purpose inclusive of an attempt at proving the involvement of LTTE. The 6 other photographs have to be excluded in totality because the active and practical investigator Mr.K.Ragothaman himself would state that there were only 10 photographs which were the basis for initiation of the investigation and it was these 10 photographs from which prints were taken and then supplied to all other members attached to the investigation team.

The Special Investigation Team has to admit fairly that in the absence of negatives of those 10 photographs fresh negatives could have been created out of the positive prints.

A few more words need to be spoken of the photographer Haribabu. It may be remembered that it was once again the Hindu Newspaper which was alleged to have quoted the story that the father of the alleged photographer had staunchly and in categorical terms denied any involvement of his son in any of the affairs of the LTTE.

According to the decision arrived at by the Chief of the Special Investigation Team Mr.D.R.Karthikeyan , there were no obvious indication in the hut of Haribabu which would show any involvement with any terrorist group and further it was his categorical conclusion that Haribabu’s house had already been cleaned of any evidence that might point to his involvement with LTTE.

The above statement stands in proof of the proposition that there being absolutely no evidence to show that the alleged photographer was one among the conspirators. But imputing and accusing him of conspiracy in assassinating Rajiv Gandhi will not be proper and such an allegation is, as we have seen thus far, should have been unfounded and baseless.

The Chief of the Investigating Team Mr.K.Ragothaman would claim that he had sent his team members to search for and salvage any evidence that might be found in the hut of Haribabu and in compliance of his direction some officers who were assisting him had been to the hut of Haribabu at Saidapet, Chennai, who after a laborious search had informed the chief Investigating officer in the following manner and what had transpired there according to him had been embodied by Mr.K.Ragothaman in his book Rajiv Gandhi Kolai Vazhakku at page No.43 fifth paragraph ,

“ I have called and spoken to the officers who were sent to make a search the house of Haribabu. All of them spoke in unison and in categorical terms. Definitely there was nothing available in that house’.

His subordinates seemed to say the following, ‘Sir. we have ransacked the entire house . If all the things that were available there were to be removed and sold would not fetch even Rs.1,000/-‘

The point that has to noted attentively is that the Chief Investigating officer Mr.K.Ragothamman himself would reveal and admit in categorical terms that he himself had been to the hut of Haribabu at earlier point of time and that nothing had appeared unusual to his eyes in the hut and the following lines is what he had said in page No.43 at the sixth paragraph,“I too had been to the house earlier. To my eyes nothing appeared unusual. Even after searching the nook and cranny of the house there was no material that could point to the involvement. It seemed there was no chance of there being any evidence.”

The unanimous version of both the Chief of Special the Investigation Team and the Chief of the Investigating officer was that there was absolutely no evidence whatsoever in incriminating Haribabu so as to indict him for the offence of conspiracy and collaboration in the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi and this was the position that existed till to the first week of June 1991.

The Special Investigation Team had not made any break thorough in the investigation of the case from 24.5.1991 till the first week of June 1991 as has been pointed out. There was not a whit of material evidence available except those 10 photographs which had been given by the Hindu News Paper and the said 10 photographs in themselves did not reveal any clue leading to the fixation of identity of the offenders.

It appears from the narration of the story that the Special Investigating Team which since having failed to get material evidence to implicate the LLTE had contrived to project a new twist in the trend of his story. The following passage is the crux of the narration.

‘The Chief Investigation officer was said to have gone to the hut of Haribabu where there were apparent impecunious situation and the mother of Haribabu had come forward to get tea for them from a tea shop and that she had bundle of 100 rupees notes which had made him to suspect the complicity of Haribabu in the assassination but they had declined the offer and that before they did come away from Haribabu’s hut Mr.K.Ragothaman had informed Haribabu’s father saying that if he revealed the names of the persons with whom his son had kept contact then the Government would pay sumptuous award’.

The story flits as a sequential scenes in a novel. Subsequent to the aforesaid alleged incident, Mr.K.Ragothaman had continued to narrate in his book that the father of Haribabu had brought to him a camera stand and handed it over to him by apologizing that he had forgotten to hand it over to Mr.K.Ragothaman at the time of his earlier visit and therefore suspicious stance on the part of father of Haribau had promoted the Chief Investigating officer to direct other officers to make a thorough search in the hut of Haribabu and only then they say they had found letters, receipt and bills and one among the letters was a letter said to have been written by one Sundari who was a resident of Villupuram, to Haribabu and it was said that Sundari was the fiancé of Haribabu.

The allegations like possession of bundle of 100 rupees notes, return of camera stand and recovery of letters and bills seem to be farfetched and imaginary and there was no cohesiveness and consistency in the matters alleged in the book and Such unfounded allegation would not appeal to the mind of any one.

The weighing and considering the truth and veracity of the matters enumerated in the forgoing paragraphs are left to the decision of the readers.

to be continued….

The state propaganda machinery's role in creating a brain dead nation

noreply@blogger.com (Sri Lanka Guardian) — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 06:32:00 +0000

| by Basil Fernando

( February 10, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) Not only the content but also the style of the propaganda issued by the state media is aimed at dulling the minds and discouraging independent thought within the nation.

The result is that when immensely dangerous things happen to the community the people have learned to avoid any public discussion on these matters. Take for example, the instance the murder of the British tourist and the grievous bodily injury and sexual assault to this Russian partner. When the identification parade took place last Friday at the Tangalle Magistrate's Court, according to a newspaper report, the witnesses could not identify any of the suspects. These included the chairman of a Pradesheeya Sabha, Sampath Vidanapathirana, a well know personality who could easily be identified. The silence of the witnesses comes as no surprise to anyone who knows how things happen in Sri Lanka now.

Take also the murder of a young girl and her mother at Kahawatte in the most brutal manner.

In any society where there is still dynamic thought, both events would have shocked everyone and there would have been a media frenzy. Such a frenzy adds vigour to the nation's thinking process and the events of this type, if they happen at all generates a movement within a living society which tries to defeat the evil of silence.

However, in Sri Lanka there was no fuss raised either about the manner in which the investigation was conducted into the first case which became an international scandal. Similarly, there were no expressions of shame and disgust in any of the editorials of the journals in Sri Lanka. Nor were there any debates in the electronic media about what is happening to the witnesses that come before the courts.

This is important, not because the persons who suffered in this case are foreigners but also because similar things are happening in numerous cases in many of the courts. The two witnesses who were killed while pursuing complaints in torture cases; Gerard Perera and Sugath Nishanta Fernando are examples of the way in which witnesses are treated in Sri Lanka. The lesson is loud and clear! Coming to court to testify is a dangerous affair and the people simply do not want to take the risk of reporting what they have seen or heard.

It does not take a great deal of knowledge in criminal justice to understand that if witnesses do not want to testify then the courts cannot function. Criminal justice is an essential component in any civilised society. However, no criminal justice can exist if the witnesses are unwilling to come forward and give evidence.

However, the media are made to keep silent on matters that are vital to the nation. Many journalists who have tried to practice their profession as it should be practiced have paid for it with their lives. Many others have had to pay a heavy cost for doing so. Due to the cumulative effects of such violence, today many are not bold enough to report and talk about such matters in public. However, even if they were willing to do so, there would be hardly any place in the media to publish what they write or say.

Imposing silence on matters of public importance creates a brain dead nation. The death of the collective brain is quite visible even in the parliament itself where the most vital debates of the nation are supposed to take place. Today, no one expects that such debates would take place at all. A systematic attempt has been made to silence the spirit of debate in the parliament itself. Unfortunately, the very constitution has been manipulated in order to facilitate the quick passing of bills, even those relating to amendments to the constitution and the habit of debating constitutional affairs has become lost in Sri Lanka.

Why would any political regime want to create a brain dead nation? This should have been the issue that was discussed when the 64th anniversary of the independence of the country was celebrated. However, such celebrations have begun to lose their public significance and ceased to be dates on which the vital affairs of the nation are discussed by all.

Under these circumstances, the attempts by the opposition to launch a campaign to end lawlessness and for reinstituting democracy are to be welcomed. If this campaign is carried out with the seriousness that it deserves it would undoubtedly gather support from those, who in the past, have been ardently supporting the government because the depth of frustration over the absence of public debate is a feeling that is commonly shared. In the past, the opposition itself contributed to the creation of the brain dead nation. It is hoped that at least, at this late stage the moves by the opposition will be carried out with genuine effort and that the nation will begin to discuss its public affairs with the vigor that is required if the nation is to regain its ability to think again.