Home Archives for February 2010

Sarath Fonseka’s case – Sri Lankan society is the loser

By Basil Fernando

(February 28, Hong Kong, Sri Lanka Guardian) In talking about Sarath Fonseka’s case and Prof. G.L. Peiris’ media conference some argue that justice should not only be done but must also be seen to be done. However, a course of action which is basically unjust cannot be made to seen as just purely by procedural means. To attempt to do so is hypocrisy and not justice.

Beginning with J.R. Jeyewardene’s initiative to deprive Mrs. Sirimao Bandaranaike’s civil rights with the view that he could win the election more easily without the most competent rival, to the course of action taken against Sarath Fonseka is just one course of action to deny a fair contest. This denial of a fair contest cannot be made just by mere procedural appearances.

What is unjust cannot be made to appear as just. The principle involved is not about perceptions for political implications; perceptions at least in the short run may be what are important for the coming election. However, justice is not basically about politics. It is not about the way the case may influence the next elections. It is about the way the more fundamental relationships between people take place within a society.

For example, the case of the deprivation of civil rights of Mrs. Bandaranaike is no longer important from the point of view of any particular election. J.R. Jeyewardene is now gone as is Mrs. Bandaranaike. They no longer ask for the peoples’ vote. However, the whole affair is very much alive from the point of view of the social relationships in Sri Lanka. The loss of faith in a fair contest for elections and a cynicism generated against the liberal democratic political system is quite a vital factor today. The implications of J.R. Jeyewardene’s act of injustice on that occasion are felt more today than at the time it occurred. Sri Lanka was made into a weaker society from the point of view of justice by that act. And the implication lives on. Ironically, those who are benefiting today from Jeyewardene’s action are his one-time opponents.

By trying to make things which are basically unjust to be seen as just, what is being attacked is the very fundamental beliefs of justice within a society. Once such beliefs are weakened it is easier to make them deteriorate even further by more of the same actions. What was once a serious affair like a free and fair election can be made into a joke.

The implication of Sarath Fonseka’s case is just that. It is turning the very idea of a free and fair election into a joke. In that process it is also undermining the authority of our courts. When the case of President Bush and Al Gore came up before the Supreme Court about the election count in Florida Justice Stevens in giving a dissenting judgment, said that the real losers of this election will be the Supreme Court of the United States. He said,

“……….One thing, however, is certain. Although we may never know with complete certainty the identity of the winner of this year's Presidential election, the identity of the loser is perfectly clear. It is the Nation's confidence in the judge as an impartial guardian of the rule of law."

All societies have the fundamental elements of their moral order. These fundamental elements are not often visible. These moral principles can remain authentic or they can degenerate. The quality of society and its relationships will depend on the quality of its moral order.

It is the moral order in which the elections, courts and justice are grounded upon that is being challenged by actions against Mrs. Bandaranaike to the one against Sarath Fonseka.

Similar attacks are also being made on the very issue of fair trial. Attempts are made to accuse some persons of the assassination of Lasantha Wickrematunge and other journalists, thus trying to create the impression that justice is being done when in fact the actual perpetrators are being substituted by others. In fact, what is being done is to create a mockery of justice. It may give an appearance to the outside world that at last some serious crimes are being dealt with. The creation of that false perception may help some politically in the short run. However, it impairs and damages the society as a whole for a long time to come.

It is better that injustice be seen as injustice rather than making it appear as justice. Injustice when seen as injustice may give rise to indignation and outrage that at one time or another will generate the necessary energy in a society to take corrective action. However, when injustice is accompanied by hypocrisy it creates the cynicism that drowns the energy that is needed to take corrective actions.

Conducting a Census and Electoral Redistribution in the areas that were illegally occupied by the LTTE

By Ranjith Soysa

(February 28, Melbourne, Sri Lanka Guardian) The announcement by the Sri Lankan Elections Commissioner that a population census needs to be carried out in the Northern Province is welcome news.We agree with the commissioner’s assessment that the actual population in this province is far less than what was recorded during the 1981 census. Similarly a census needs to be done in the eastern province focusing on the areas that were illegally occupied by the LTTE.

The number of members of parliament allocated to the districts in the Northern and eastern provinces is based on the 1981 census. This has resulted in the number of parliamentary seats allocated to these areas been disproportionately large relative to the actual population there. This situation has resulted in the Tamil separatist parties such as the TNA who have been winning the majority of these seats wielding a disproportionate amount of power in the parliament. This has allowed them to use this power whenever the opportunity presents itself to influence and force the mainstream parties to accommodate their separatist aspirations. This poses a serious threat to the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The extra seats for the North and East have been allocated at the expense of the 7 other Provinces of Sri Lanka. The number of votes required to elect an MP from the North or East is often less that 10% of what it takes in the other Provinces, thus creating an electoral 'gerrymander' which violates the principle of 'equality' among the voters of Sri Lanka.

Furthermore, the grossly inflated 'Total Number of Registered Voters' in these electorates gives the false impression of 'low Tamil voter turnout' which is also used as a powerful propaganda tool by the Tiger Diaspora and their local and foreign backers.

We request the government to conduct an island wide census done at the earliest opportunity and facilitate and electoral redistribution as per the Sri Lankan Constitution in order to protect Sri Lanka from the threats posed by the Tamil separatist political parties.

Cricket Luverly Cricket…

By Gamini Weerakoon

(February 28, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) In the tranquil times of the ’50s and even the ’60s most towns and their politicians were content if their main town was provided with a central bus stand, a public library and public lavatory. Not so now. They want multi million, if not billion rupee stadia, among other things.

History of stadium building

Sports loving minister V.A. Sugathadasa started it all in the ’60s by constructing the Sugathadasa Stadium. But the funds were mostly from the public such as from showman Donovan Andree. This irked Sugathadasa’s up and coming rival, Ranasinghe Premadasa but he did not have enough political clout to put up a stadium at that time and had to bide his time.

After 1977 the desire of politicians to have stadia named after them abounded. Tyronne Fernando had the Moratuwa Stadium named after him and then Gamini Dissanayake built up his old school grounds at Trinity College Asgiriya into a beautiful stadium. Premadasa Stadium followed — the first grounds for day-night cricket in Sri Lanka and then came Dambulla. Now with Sri Lanka to host the 2011 World Cup with India and Bangladesh two additional new stadia are coming up. One in faraway Hambantota at an estimated cost of a whopping Rs. 900 million and another at Pallekelle for Rs. 450 million.

Playing pandu

The horrendous outcome of all this building of sports arenas is that, except for the Premadasa Stadium, none of the former stadia are to be used as a venue for the 2011 tournament! What a colossal amount of money to be spent to ‘play pandu’ when the great majority of the people find it hard to have even one square meal a day?

Cricketing pundits have explained this financial profligacy on the basis that older grounds do not have sufficient capacity. This point of view, we hope will not be taken as an ex-cathedra pronouncement. What are the estimated crowd attendances? What has been the maximum attendance recorded in Colombo at Premadasa that hosts one day internationals? Most of our cricket fans watch such matches on TV in the comfort of their sitting rooms.

According to Wikipedia the work at Hambantota and Pallekele has proceeded beyond the halfway mark. Would their capacities be sufficient to hold another international event 10 years hence? If not build more stadia? The gravy train in cricket seems to be immense.

Sonna boy and the over sixties

All this is sour grapes, a committed Rajapaksa fan, tells us. He goes into euphoric ecstasy imagining Sonna Boy Jayasuriya blasting away at the Hambantota Stadium. Just imagine Sonna blasting six after six off those foreigners while our own Ruhunu kellas, as cheer squads do kalagedi dances? Isn’t there an ounce of patriotism left in you? No wonder you fall into the category of traitors, he says.

But how does he know Sonna will be chosen to play with this Tharunyata Hetak (Tomorrow is for the Youth) policy of Mahinda? Should a 40-year-old play for Sri Lanka? Squads have to be selected and the team chosen from the pool.
Veteran cricket commentators of the state press, have said Sonna will be there, he argues.

Even one year before the tournament they know it

Besides, Jayasuriya will be an MP and even a minister, he claims.

But how does he know that Sonna will be elected even before the election is held? Have the MPs been already chosen and declared elected?

‘Machang, don’t talk like Fonseka. You know what happened no?’

Enjoy ‘cricket, luverly cricket……’

Forget your politics and enjoy the glorious future ahead, he advises. ‘Look at our team: Malini, Geetha, Ravi, all top stars no? Imagine them cheering Sonna Boy at the World Cup as he clouts six after six.

Will Malini, Geetha and others be performing as cheer leaders, in their Gini Jungi (hot pants)?
Cheekay no! That’s against our culture no. Against Mahinda Chinthanaya. They will be doing Ruhunu dances in redda-hette while Sonna Boy clouts over the ropes. There will be massive crowds, cheering with patriotic fervour.

But aren’t these Malinis, Geethas and Ravis all sexagenarians?
Don’t be a cad, sex has nothing to do with cricket.

No, no who spoke of sex? Sexagenarian is a Latin word for those in the sixties.

Don’t talk Greek or Latin. You are jealous of Malini, Geetha and Ravi and others.
Of course not, we said but did admit they were in their ‘well kept sixties’. Our objection is to millions being wasted in playing pandu and cricket being used as ‘a political football’.

My friend the cricketing pundit quoted some cricket writer who had said: ‘If Stalin had learnt to play cricket, the world would have been a different place’. He even quoted Robert Mugabe: ‘Cricket civilises people, creates good gentlemen and I want everyone in Zimbabwe to play cricket. I want ours to be a nation of gentlemen.’

While we do hope that our cricket makes us all gentlemen, we hope that it will not make us gentlemen like Mugabe and his cronies who have made Zimbabwe a living hell.

The bar's message to the president

By Kishali Pinto Jayawardene

(February 28, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) At certain points of time, the Sri Lankan Bar surprises itself. One such instance is this week's concluded elections to the Presidencyof the country's Bar Association which former Attorney General Shibley Aziz, PC won with an unequivocally clear majority of 482 votes over his rival, Palitha Kumarasinghe, PC.

Presidential intervention into the electoral process

The elections took place in an atmosphere that was even more rudely politicized than on most previous occasions. Un-contradicted news reports before the elections were to the effect that President Mahinda Rajapaksa had summoned a coterie of Sri Lanka Freedom Party lawyers and directed them to throw the full weight of the party behind the now defeated candidate. Kumarasinghe was, in fact, one of those lawyers who had accepted appointment from President Rajapaksa to the now discredited constitutional commissions some years back when the President disregarded the mandatory precondition that approval must first be sought and obtained from the Constitutional Council.

The President's pre-election directive went so far as to request another contesting candidate from the Avissawella Bar to withdraw so as to prevent the split of votes. Indeed, one of the more humorous tales of this election was the overwhelming majority that the Avissawella Bar (presumably and rightly angered by this directive) returned for former Attorney General Aziz. Taking lawyers themselves as well as observers by surprise, the outstation Bars in fact, all returned majorities for the former Attorney General even though the contest was harder fought in the Colombo Bar due, in part, to vigorous lobbying of private sector legal professionals by those, including senior lawyers, backing the defeated candidate. These tactics have now become a source of much ribaldry among the legal profession.

Why the elections are important to the public

So, in response to the many who predicted that these elections will follow the trend of January's Presidential elections, the outcome came as a pleasant surprise. At yet another level, the President's unsuccessful intervention tells us why the perception entertained by some that elections of this nature are of interest to the legal community alone, must be immediately discarded.

On the contrary, having a partisan Bar Association is crucial to a political leader striving to impose a particular manner of inevitably undemocratic ruling on the people. In other countries, including India, the Bar Association has been a potent force in reining back abuse of power. We saw the power of such interventions in Pakistan where the collective strength of lawyers virtually unseated a dictatorial President when he attempted to interfere beyond a point, (intolerable even in the context of that country's turbulent history), with the judiciary. Recently, this columnist met a senior Pakistani lawyer and, in passing, questioned purely for mischief as to whether, given the trouble and turmoil currently prevalent in the country, it may not have been better to have had a firm albeit undemocratic hand on the reins of governance. This query was met with a blank look of amazement and a firm rejection of this proposition as follows; 'No, nothing could have been worse than what we suffered under Musharraf'.

Some historical markers as to past travails

Compared to our South Asian neighbours, Sri Lanka's Bar Association has been tame even during the few rare periods in which its leadership struggled with all good intentions to meet challenges to the Bench, the Bar, the legal community and the public.

During the decade of the Sarath Silva Court for example, the Bar surprised itself (equally as much as it did this week) by returning Mr Desmond Fernando PC to the leadership. The challenge then was posed not by an unscrupulously all-powerful President but by an unscrupulously all-powerful Chief Justice who had bent the Bar to his will to the extent that, not only was there noticeable silence regarding the internal politicization of the judiciary but at times, the Bar Association was virtually reduced to dancing to the strings that were pulled. One of those instances was when a former President of the Bar was audacious enough to demand, when the former Chief Justice was being publicly criticized, that contempt powers should be summarily used against such critics.

On that occasion, the Editors Guild of Sri Lanka and professional media groups reacted angrily to this demand. The Bar Association was reminded that it should call for a judiciously balanced exercise of contempt power which takes into account modern standards regarding freedom of expression. Later, during Mr Fernando's Presidency, a draft contempt law was prepared by a team of lawyers, approved by the Bar Council and forwarded to the government. This was not, however, taken further by the government.
Other challenges during this time included the splintering of the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) due to Justices TB Weerasuriya and Shiranee Bandaranayake stepping down from the JSC due to 'matters of conscience' with the former Chief Justice. The publisher of the Bar Association newsletter, in fact, refused to publish the particular issue expressing the disconcertment of the Bar at the internal clash within the JSC. The publisher's refusal was due to his stating that he may be subjected to contempt if he publishes. The newsletter was published elsewhere on that occasion.

With the change in the Presidency of the Bar Association, such esoteric matters such as contempt of court and the discipline of lawyers and judges were forgotten. The Bar then concerned itself with hosting largely useful extravaganzas such as a Law Week and organising social outings for its members. Worse, it turned the proverbially Nelsonian eye when former heads of the Bar and other lawyers accepted unconstitutional Presidential appointments to the 'constitutional' commissions. This was essentially as bad as lawyers who had not read the Constitution, appearing on national television during the voting process in last month's Presidential elections and misadvising the public that a citizen who is not registered to vote cannot run for election. When the office of one lawyer was attacked and a grenade thrown at the house of another, the Bar was content merely to issue statements of dismay.

Positive and apolitical interventions needed

So the challenge before former Attorney General Shibley Aziz is not merely to have won the election against seemingly insuperable political odds. Instead it is to use his Presidency to restore some lustre to a profession that is currently scorned by large sections of the Sri Lankan citizenry. It was very recently that the previous leadership of the Bar Association despicably compromised itself by appearing on national television openly supporting President Rajapaksa in the run-up to this year's Presidential elections.

The need for the Bar to be removed from this kind of political partisanship, (as distinguished from appearing in court for a particular political party or having personal preferences for one party or the other), is never greater than now. In returning former Attorney General Aziz to the leadership of the Bar, political rulers in this country have been cautioned not to interfere with the electoral processes of the legal profession. This is a message that they should take very much to heart.

Budget deficits and holiday perks

By FS

(February 28, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) Among the plethora of political, social and economic developments this week, some public announcements grabbed our attention. As politicians grappled for the ‘manape’, the UNP introduced aJRJ-styled ‘resignation-in-the-pockets’ plan to bar crossovers and Colombo continued its stormy relationship with the West; to the business community what would be more important was a delay in the IMF’s third tranche of a $2.6 billion loan and special holiday packages to motivate public servants.

An IMF mission visiting Colombo to discuss the third tranche – which should have been due in December – told reporters that it was delaying this disbursement until the 2010 budget is presented and the ‘new’ government’s economic policies are known. This is a reasonable move given that economic policies are likely to change (even if cosmetic) when a new cabinet is sworn in. Furthermore the 2010 budget is only likely to be presented around May or June (as our report two weeks ago indicated).

This could mean that at least three tranches could be postponed (until around May/June) after getting the first two tranches following the approval of the IMF facility in July 2009. The loan is available in a total of eight installments over a 20-month period which means that Sri Lanka will get $322 million equally till March 2011. So far, two tranches have been received with a third, due in December, now delayed till around May. Two other tranches due in the first half of 2010 will be similarly delayed or the IMF may choose to give it in first go (in May) together with the delayed December disbursement.

The IMF has complimented Sri Lankan on some economic fronts but said spending particularly on infrastructure and a revenue shortage has exceeded budget deficit targets, resulting in a suspension of the third tranche.

Spending has hit dizzy limits with various offers and handouts by the government just before the Presidential election. Some of it included wage hikes and tax breaks (which means lower revenue to the state). The parliamentary poll on April 8 will bring its own share of ‘give-aways’ to the people as the governing party attempts to capture a difficult 2/3rds majority of parliament, as they have stated.

These handouts and sops give a false sense of relief to the people since most economists and planners believe that once the election is over, the government will strictly revert back to the budget deficit targets leading to increased taxes, a hike in pries, and pressure on especially middle-class incomes. “All those taxes that were reduced or removed will be brought back. There is no other way tax revenue could be maintained,” one analyst said.

This week, SriLankan Holidays, an arm of SriLankan Airlines, said it was offering public servants and their families a special overseas holiday package rate for the good work done and in recognition of services to the state. This is to motivate public servants (do they really serve the people or their political masters?) to do better. But do they need to be motivated?

Aren’t they expected to serve the Sri Lankan public as ‘servants of the public’ for which the public pays for their upkeep through taxes? Does the public get the required service or do people have to spend hours on end at government departments pleading, begging and bribing bureaucrats to get a job done for which they have been adequately paid for by the customer (public)? Everyone knows how the public sector works with the exception of the Immigration and Emmigration Department which is an excellent model of efficiency and public courtesy.

Public servants don’t pay taxes – an issue that has gathered momentum in recent years as public calls increase to remove this privilege --; some or many of them are not in their seats when the public comes calling; many are rude and brusque when dealing with people as if the public is under obligation to them (as some or all of them arrogantly assume) and finally resorting to bribes and corruption to get some work done.

For public servants at a professional level there are other perks like doctors being allowed private practice like some other state professionals in addition to duty-free cars. So is there any need to motivate them? However berating about the public service is like pouring water on a duck’s back (it never gets wet!). Maybe motivation, encouragement or special holiday perks should be based on a merit basis and a report card system.

Yet if one is to draw a connection to the parliamentary elections and what turns on the voter, particularly those out of Colombo, these issues (budget deficits and a better public service) don’t matter to the common man. These were also issues at the presidential election but didn’t turn against the government. We are looking at a similar trend in April.

Only Fonseka can give evidence on war crimes!

By Dr Vickramabahu Karunaratne

(February 28, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) Former TNA MPs who have formed a new political front called the ‘Tamil National Liberation Alliance (TNLA), after being pushed out by the nomination board of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), slammed the TNA leadership saying they werepuppets of India’s Congress government. These MPs, who formed the new party, were members of the Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization (TELO) - a one time militant group. They participated in the Tamil liberation struggle but refused to go by the dictates of global powers.

I have indicated in this column many a time, that under the influence of the global capital, Delhi leaders behave as a gang of new Arya Brahmins, out to demolish the resurgence of Dravidian identity. Even those southern Dravidian states of India are given step motherly treatment by these neo Brahmins.

Ceasefire

It was revealed that the TNA leadership did not make use of the opportunity they had, to force a ceasefire during the latter stages of the war. They failed to make an effort to get India to pressurize the Sri Lankan government to go for a ceasefire during the war when thousands of Tamil civilians in the North were suffering. Apparently the TNA leadership had turned down offers, which were made by the Tamil Nadu government and other members of the Indian opposition, to get an appointment for a meeting with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and other senior Ministers. This mistake will be classified as treachery of the worst kind by future generations of Tamil liberation fighters.

It is interesting to note that Sivaji, Sri Kantha and others have challenged the TNA leadership for a public debate on the Indian issue and vowed to prove their point. At the same time they explained that the TNLA would strive towards fulfilling the aspirations of the Tamil speaking people in the North and East; and their ideology will be self-rule based on the ‘one country, two nations’ concept. The TNLA gave nominations from the Left Liberation Front ticket under the “umbrella” symbol. It was claimed that the Left Liberation Front would be positioned as an alternative opposition force.

Furthermore, it was said that such an alternative was necessary as the main opposition UNP and the JVP also promoted communalism just as the government did.

Corruption necessary evil

By indulging in chauvinist politics both the UNP and the JVP lost their main thrust against the government. In fact the government is not concerned much about opposition criticisms on waste and corruption.

Because they know that such criticisms are common to political heads of all countries dependent on global capitalist development projects.

Even the global masters believe that such corruptions are a necessary evil, connected to the development of a nouvae bourgeoisie! But on the other hand, the statement made by General Fonseka about war crimes has become a nail on the head of the government.

The government is dead scared of Fonseka as he only can give evidence on war crimes. Global masters may not care for corruption; but war crimes can create many problems among workers in western countries.

Mahinda does not want to be in the bad books of the global masters.

Clearly every effort is made by the government, to get the general to retract on this issue. Torture, torture everywhere, not a friend to help!

Be UNP and have a piece of the pie

By Rajpal Abeynayake

(February 28, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) Some may fault me for bringing up this Sunday, a problem of a personal nature.

I assure you, these days many personal issues fall under the public or even political rubric, and this one is definitely of that sort.

Many who would go through this article, particularly if they live in Colombo city limits or immediate environs, would definitely identify with this “personal issue’’ of mine.

You see, in Colombo however fastidious you may be (not that I am) it is hard sometimes not to be considered a pariah if you are not openly UNP. Now, UNP I’m not - - and SLFP I have never been. I have not gravitated towards the JVP or any of the smaller political formations and their ideologies either - - and that makes me a political neutral which would have been a case for celebration in some other country, but this condition is certainly a hazard in Colombo.

In the social whirl here, if you expect to be non-UNP and get by, then woe be unto you. No matter how long the United National Party has been out of power, Colombo’s wine glass carrying chattering class expects you to be UNP, or else be considered hick beyond the pale, and deservedly excluded.

It is simple. In other words, in Colombo being UNP is considered a status symbol at least among a certain substantially large class, and certain class of professionals for instance.

This in itself is curios because this must be the first tendency anywhere in the globe perhaps where it is considered jolly good to be a perennial loser.

However, this would not be amusing if you are at the receiving end of all those black looks when you say plainly that you are not UNP, and do not approve of anything and everything that the opposition jointly or severally wants to do.

Those black looks do not go away simply because you may seek to ameliorate the embarrassing social situation by insisting that you are not pro government either and that you have also been one of the critics — even harshest sometimes - - of the current dispensation.

That does not cut in Colombia. They subscribe to the Bush doctrine in these matters —- you have to be with them entirely or you will be considered against them (all the way.)
You cannot imagine the number of times I have been blackguarded like a pickpocket, by friends, no less, for simply being critical of the UNP on some issue or another, while making it obvious that I am not a fellow traveller with the SLFP or the government.
It just shows that in Colombo if you are not UNP you are not kosher among the wine-glass-class.

Weaknesses and drawbacks

I can remember a time I got these black looks for simply pointing out that a certain UNP backed candidate for the Bar Association presidency (not this year) had his own considerable weaknesses and drawbacks.

For simply making this observation, I was threatened with ostracism at the social occasion that was to follow.

However, say on a matter of principle you show that you are one with some of the politics of the UNP —- say on media issues or certain issues of democracy and good governance - - and they would exult, their arms instantly around you, and say immediately “so what do you think we should do so that we can come back to power?’’
We?
I am nonplussed at such occasions but I must say that there are times that even the most independent minded and free wheeling among us are tempted to be part of the dizzy social whirl and do succumb at least momentarily. So there have been times I have caught myself saying “we must do something (to get into power)’’ if only to get an entry ticket for the celebrations of that night.

UNP is a status symbol in certain professions and certainly it is a status symbol in the legal profession that I happen to be a part of.

Allow me to let you in on a secret. When I was appointed editor of the Sunday Observer some years back under a SLFP administration — - a job which I took up considering career advancement and on the expectation of being granted some form of editorial independence — the legal profession particularly, instantly accorded me pariah status.

One of the two Ronnies, let’s call him Ronnie of the Paul lineage, used a great deal of unprintable language and said that I have with this move allowed fish to enter through certain parts of my anatomy — which shows that this man has an imagination perhaps as large as the size of his rectum, since he is often prone to dwell on that part of the human anatomy....

But when I was kicked out of the Observer for asserting editorial independence — an old story now —- they cheered me as they would cheer a conquering hero, but more importantly, they had instantly decided “good old chap’’, as after all I was — all important — part of the dyed in wool Hoo En Pee crowd.

This much can be said, if you are UNP they would in that Colombo set — read most everybody in Colombo - - consider giving you their daughters, and even foisting their mothers on you against all your protestations.

But if you are neutral - even just a wee bit neutral - - and do not appear on the UNP side of the spectrum, you are a dog — just a dog; they wouldn’t want to be caught dead with you.

Class connotations

What’s this I mean? — they say Michael Roberts and others such as Kumari Jayewardene have written about issues of caste and class, but it’s a great lacuna in the area of sociology research that nobody has written so far about the class connotations of UNP and anti UNP politics.

Now that the UNP is on the losing side perennially, if you are neutral they call you snide things such as “high flyer’’ etc etc., meaning that by being neutral you have avoided the loser label and thereby unfairly coveted yuppie status by retaining your credibility.

Ergo — you are a high flyer.

If you supported the war without supporting the SLFP or the president in a partisan way, the way I did, you are a high flyer, because you have betrayed the UNP —- even though you were never UNP to begin with —- and slept with the enemy. Recently, Mario Gomez of NGO fame called me a high-flyer at a party.

I put it to him then —- or at least I’m putting it to him now - - he is the high flyer and he knows it. He covets the Colombo social whirl, its blandishments, its backslapping - - its ticket to social inclusiveness, which is why he jealousy speaks on behalf of THE PARTY. He is still a darling.

I have on the other hand been neutral — a pesky gadfly and a gnat, trying to settle on the sugary side of the wine glass just to enjoy a night of song and company sometimes. Do I dare? Huh, they’d rather swat me with a swizzle stick, and send me into public and political purgatory.

National Lists: the last refuge for the politically displaced?

By Malinda Seneviratne

(February 28, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) In October or November of the year 2001 I wrote a piece in the daily ‘Island’ titled ‘A refugee camp called "The National List’.It was a light and cynical look at the national lists submitted to the Elections Commissioner by the People’s Alliance, the United National Party and other parties. I called them refugee camps because both major political coalitions had unashamedly given the finger to the spirit in which the notion of ‘national lists’ came about, namely to allow for decent, skilled, honourable people (who neither had the wealth necessary nor the inclination to dive into the wasuru-keliya (shit-game, literally) that is electoral politics - a chance to be sent to parliament. .

The ‘National List’ was to be for professionals and not for political has-beens who were no longer sure of being elected. It was not meant to be used as ‘payment’ for support extended by smaller parties. In 2001, the only party that seemed to have taken the expressed purpose of the National List idea seriously was the Sihala Urumaya. After the elections, the UNP and PA basically used the national list to reward coalition partners and cronies thick with the party leadership. The Sihala Urumaya didn’t get any seats and that’s not because they didn’t fill their National List with retirees, kudu kaarayas and thugs who had pumped money into the election campaign.

In 2004, we had the same story. The UNP got 11 slots, and 8 of them were given to minorities. Ranil Wickremesinghe ditched people like Dr. Ranjith Atapattu and Ravindra Randeniya. The UPFA had 14 slots and seemed to have tried to take the matter more seriously. That’s how the late Lakshman Kadirgamar, Tissa Vitarana, D.E.W. Gunasekera and Viswa Warnapala came to parliament.

What do we have in the year 2010? Let us consider the UPFA and UNP lists. I am deliberately leaving out the Democratic National Alliance of Sarath Fonseka and Tilvin Silva because I would be extremely surprised if they would poll enough votes to make any impact on the overall result. .

First, let me insert a parenthetical note. The district lists of both parties show that people who have wealth, have thugs, have criminal records, have a history of underhand dealings, have little by way of integrity, are incompetent, are greedy and self-seeking are preferred over decent people. To the voter, I say, vote them out!

Ok. Back to the NLs. Let us start with the UPFA. Most of them are politicians and not the upright, professional citizens one dreams NLs would accommodate. Many of them are unlikely to secure a seat in the next Parliament had they contested. There are four of five people in the list who are ‘deserving’ at least in the sense that they are ‘stand-out’ personalities compared with the riffraff that party leaders have listed into Parliament in the past.

J.R.P. Sooriyapperuma needs no introduction. He is a presence and that’s usually the case with giants. Prof. Rajiva Wijesinha will not get elected were he to contest but he has certain skills that would be of great use to the President and the Government should the UPFA win, as expected. Janaka Bandara, former Public Trustee, is one of the best minds of my generation and it is hard to think of anyone with a greater sense of responsibility, integrity and honesty. Dullas Alahapperuma is an asset, D.M. Jayaratne is not. Dullas should have contested.

Ratnasiri Wickramanayaka, like Sanath Jayasuriya is hard to drop, not for being ‘in form’ but for sentimental reasons (at least on the part of the President and the party, not mine). Visva Warnapala and G.L. Peiris have not reached ‘use by date’, and ‘DEW’ can be more effectively used, especially in getting the Language Act implemented. Anuruddha Ratwatte is an embarrassment. So is Vinayagamurthi Muralidharan (‘Karuna Amman’).

Then there is W.J.M. Lokubandara, who has finally discovered his true political home, the Sri Lanka Freedom Party. He deserves reward certainly, but perhaps not in this way. I am not sure what M.H. Mohammad should be rewarded for. Geethanjana Gunawardena has not demonstrated that he is packed with his father’s genes. Ven. Omalpe Sobitha and Ven. Ellawala Medhananada are certainly heads and shoulders above most of the names in the list for many reasons, but I believe they have outlived their parliamentary role. Both theros are endowed with remarkable qualities of intellect, drive and sense of social responsibility and it can be argued that they (along with the rest of the Jathika Hela Urumaya complement in Parliament) played a key role in the last six years, but that’s all done now. They have a role in society, but not in Parliament.

Sarath Kongahage would be best as an advisor to the President; not one of the hundreds but one of the ‘inner circle’ that has Mahinda Rajapaksa’s ear. I will not comment on the unknowns thrust into the NL because their parties insisted.

The UPFA list, then, has pluses and minuses, and does have a bit of ‘national’ colour in terms of the nationalistic and honourable credentials of some of the persons in it. Taken as a whole, though, it is not ‘national’. It is essentially a refugee camp for politically displaced persons.

The UNP’s NL is a howler. It has 16 slots for minorities and that’s going way over the ‘ethnic breakdown’. No, there’s nothing wrong in that if one was guided by priciples related to meritocracy. These are not professionals, though. These are petty politicians belonging to minority parties. If Ranil Wickremesinghe really wanted to restore some kind of ‘balance’ due to perceptions of ethnic-imbalance, that is quite ok and even worthy of applause. He could do that and at the same time be loyal to the NL-spirit, so to speak, for there are enough men and women with skill, integrity and professionalism among Tamils and Moors. Instead, he has reinforced the general perception that he doesn’t give a damn about the majority community and is once again pandering to the demands of racist and chauvinistic identity-based political parties.

Seriously, what kind of party would be too shy to field its General Secretary in an election? Is Tissa Attanayaka scared he would not win? K.N. Choksy almost crossed over. He is like M.H. Mohamed. They had a role to play. No longer, though. Joseph Michael Perera and Rukman Senanayake are both politicians and should contest if they have any shame.

There are two names that stand out. Eran Wickramaratne and Harsha de Silva have both made names for themselves as professionals. Harsha, a childhood friend, and I don’t see eye to eye on many things, but I will say this much for him: he is honourable, has the courage of his convictions and a man who will be an adornment in a parliament that also has people like Mervin Silva, Range Bandara and possibly Duminda Silva and Harsha’s batchmate at Royal, Mahindananda Aluthgamage, not to mention dozens of others who can’t put two thoughts together on pain of death. I don’t know Eran personally and I am wary of the religious politics of close family members, but I think he too would adorn the UNP and the next Parliament because he is skilled, decent and by all accounts not easily purchased.

There are people I would have through Ranil Wickremesinghe would have penciled in. I was looking for two names. First, Imtiaz Bakeer Markar. The fact that he is not contesting shows that either Ranil doesn’t see his worth or lacks the leadership qualities necessary to convince the man to contest. Imtiaz would have won easily. I thought that he would be in the national list. I mean, if a mumbler-grumbler like Tissa Attanayake is in it, then why not Imtiaz, unless of course the latter feels cheap in such company.

Krishantha Cooray is another name. He is ‘national’ in ways that few in the UNP are. As the CEO of Rivira Media Corporation, Krishantha, whose political loyalties were with people like Lalith Athulathmudali and Karu Jayasuriya, was steadfast in supporting the effort to eliminate the LTTE. He bore no personal grudges and encouraged his staff to call a spade a spade. He had a good thing going until he resigned. He chose to side with the UNP at the last Presidential Election and there’s nothing illegitimate in that choice. I have disagreed with him on numerous issues, but am willing to stake the truth value of everything that I write on the man’s integrity, love for this country and considerable (and hardly used) skills as a lawyer, communicator and manager. If national lists are about ‘nationalists’, then what’s most visible in the UNP’s NL is the absence of Krishantha Cooray’s name.

Perhaps he didn’t want to be included, perhaps he was not remembered. On the other hand he may have been remembered, only to be un-remembered because others had to be ‘remembered’. That would explain, I think, not just why the UNP’s NL is more of an IDP facility than that of the UPFA’s, but why the UNP has become a veritable home to politically displaced persons.

It is more than eight years since I likened National Lists to refugee camps. Today I am less cynical than sad. We’ve come a long way in the past eight years. The leaders of the main political parties ought to have learnt something or at least tried to be different this time around. Both Mahinda Rajapaksa and Ranil Wickremesinghe get F’s from me for the National List exam paper.

Demonized Iranian Women’s Crucial Role in Nation Building

Classic Example of How Western Media Deceived the World.

By Latheef Farook

(February 28, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) The general image built up by the relentless pro Jewish Western media since the 1979 Islamic Revolution has been that women in Iran were an oppressed lot without any freedom that the women in the West were supposed to have been blessed with.

I too was partly a victim of this powerful Western propaganda that is part of the western war machine. However, I was shocked to realize during my recent visit to Tehran that women were working, shoulder to shoulder with men, in the task of building this country in every possible conceivable field.

This oil rich country, proud of its long history traced back to 3000 BC, was devastated by the eight year war triggered off when assassinated Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, put forward by the United States, Europe, Israel and some Arab countries, despatched his troops to invade Iran in 1980 in the hope he could snatch Iran’s oil rich Arabistan within weeks.

This war was regarded as the richest in history as the western weapons industry flourished while almost a million Iraqis and Iranian soldiers perished, caused billions of dollars worth of destruction and devastation besides unbearable misery to the people of the two countries.

Once the war ended in 1988 Iran, isolated by most countries in the world, started concentrating on rebuilding the nation, while keeping a close watch on forces all out to destroy the Islamic Revolution .These efforts turned this country today into an almost developed one and Tehran, a city of 17 million people, with a daily floating population of three million, into one of the most developed and cleanest cities in the world.

Contrary to the Western propaganda, that women were an oppressed lot under the Islamic Revolution great importance was attached, since the early days of the revolution, to provide a balanced education to men and women alike aimed at equipping them with various skills needed to ensure that women also contribute as equal partners in nation building task. Simultaneously, they also concentrated in providing a sound religious knowledge that ensures smooth day-to-day life linking family ties.

As a result of this policy almost thirty years later today women play a crucial role in the day-to-day running of the country. In fact, around 67 percent of the graduates passed from numerous universities all over the country last year were women. They work as receptionists, clerks, salespersons, businesswomen, doctors, nurses, architects, engineers, researchers, professors, lecturers, scientists and parliamentarians to almost every other field. They freely walk and drive around, neither without any let or hindrance nor without any harassment as the people turned Tehran into a crime free city. In fact, their lifestyle has been such that they were equally responsible for maintaining law and order together with the authorities. Girls from colleges and universities are now being engaged in painting producing colorful artworks on special clothes on walls along several streets in Tehran. Women were seen selling flowers around traffic lights almost during mid night in this brightly lit city of more than 2000 well maintained parks where families spend their leisure.

In short, there is nothing that the Iranian women were deprived of that the women in the west enjoy except immoral sex scenes seen in the west.

As moral principles is a priority in paving the way for stable family and building up an energetic society without any exception, women adhere to a modest dress code in keeping with Islamic principle s which they are proud of, though some even in our country regard this as unfit for schools. They are treated with respect and dignity everywhere. Of course, they were not provided with unlimited freedom that would cross the accepted moral barriers.

As bartering of sex in red light areas, as it has been done in many Western capitals in the name of freedom, is unimaginable.

In the aftermath of the war when they started the gigantic task of rebuilding their country, numerous obstacles were placed in their drive to engineer the collapse of the revolution. Forefront in this campaign were the United States, United Kingdom, Europe and the Jewish lobbies all over backed by some countries in the Middle East .They used the United Nations to impose crippling economic sanctions throttling Iran’s rebuilding efforts.

It was very difficult time for the people who suffered under the war. There was no one to turn to. Yet they didn’t sit back and cry. Instead, they exploited this difficult time to produce all what they needed within their country. Hundreds of thousands of factories started springing up all over the country. The government gave every possible incentive, assistance and guidance. These new factories started producing almost every possible conceivable item. The result was once starved local markets were flooded with locally produced items paving the way for an economic boom throwing out employment opportunities for millions.

Encouraged by the success of small scale industries, medium and large-scale industries came into being paving the way for major industrial complexes producing items which they had never imagined before the United Nations’ economic sanctions were imposed. Some of the key industries in the country include petroleum, gas, petrochemical ,steel, weaving, food processing, car manufacturing, electrical and electronics to handicrafts, household and traditional industries such as carpet weaving, coarse carpets and ceramic industries.

Over the years, Iran has emerged as the largest car manufacturer in the entire Middle East and established joint ventures with foreign partners in four continents. So much so today about 75 percent of the around two million cars used in Tehran were locally made.

Today there are around 17 thousand industrial workshops and, of this, around 97 percent belong to private sector while the remaining account for public sector ownership.

Equal importance was attached to develop the agricultural and livestock sectors catering to local demands.

Hand in hand health and education sectors too were developed. In the health sector alone, there are hundreds of thousands of doctors, both general physicians and specialists, working under the supervision of the health ministry in around 6500 well-equipped health care centers in the cities and nearly 3000 in rural areas.

Owing to the systematic drive to educate and equip the people for nation building task, 65 million of the little more than 70 million populations, are literate. This includes male more than 92 percent and female nearly 81 percent.

Today the country is provided with some of the best road networks that also included subways and overhead bridges built entirely under the supervision of local engineers.

Iranians are proud of their achievements and keen to continue their progress march despite threats from United State, European, Israel and their collaborators in the Middle East.

“We have lost enough lives, shed enough of blood and sweated for years to reach where we are today. We know the taste of the fruits of our sacrifice and hard work and we will go to any length to protect and preserve these achievements. Our society is a liquor free, crime free, immoral activities free one with healthy and peaceful family environment. This is the envy of the West that is all out to destroy us. The country is blessed with dedicated and committed religious and political leaderships guiding the nation with dignity while following a fiercely independent policy in the regional and international scenes,” said many people from different walks of life in Tehran.

Disgrace and death brings more happiness than supporting a cruel autocracy.

Letter form journalist Prageeth Eknaligoda, who was abducted on 24th January 2010 in Colombo Sri Lanka

(February 27, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) This personal letter written by Prageeth Eknaligoda to a non relative daughter living in abroad provides window to his

perceptions on political - military terror that has engulfed Sri Lankan Society. Written two months after he was abducted for the first time and later being dropped in a quarry in August 2009,. this is a personal narrative of his life after the abduction. The context of this narrative is the popular pro war sentiments in Sinhala society in the aftermath of war victory against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) which made people like Prageeth a traitor. He was abducted for the second time and so far all efforts to trace him has failed .This is an English translation of his original Sinhala letter.

03 November 2009

My daughter Ruwandi,

I read your email you sent me. Please excuse this late reply. Today you are not the small cute baby whom I cajoled in my lap. Now you are a grown-up person who understands things. My heart is full of joy for that. I didn’t have time to write you back in peace because I became isolated among thousands of human beings. I had again to adopt to tedious safe life patterns whether I liked it or not. I had to leave my job which made me loose my income. Even my closest ones didn’t have any other option than leaving me alone. This is not a personal fault of anyone. It is a logical reality. In these times no one can support anyone else. Furthermore, no one dares to help someone like me who has become a target of the sacred military regime. But if there were not two, three persons who were courageous enough to help me, my situation would have become unthinkable. The terror can even change the way a person thinks and acts.

What we have in this country today is a terror aimed at individuals. This is not like the generalized terror on society which we faced in 1988/89. It is a terror that is not visible because everyone tries to take care of oneself but does not pay attention to others. Like in those days no one helps the ones who became targets. The dependents become helpless. Although there is no open discussion among people fear is lurking in everyone’s mind. Instead of facing the fear in an organized way in this country people are living making fear a virtue. In this way, cowardness is masqueraded as tactical intellect or cleverness. They say that one is facing danger because of his foolishness. If not this, they look for some errors which he has made or they look for justifications for the suppression he is facing. Accordingly I am now confirmed as a fool or wrongdoer or sinner even among my closest ones. I am not going to make efforts to change this belief or argue to justify my stand.

I look at them with compassion. I am not going to use the terror as a reason to change or degrade the politics I believed as just and right and in which I was engaged in accordingly. I cannot act against my conscience. The government has a power stretched towards New Delhi, Beijing, Islamabad and Tel Aviv. I know they have a torture-army trained in methods of placing the body on nailed beds, picking up body parts and liquidating them in acid basins to destroy the opponents. And I know that puritan, common society is ready to provide billions of rupees to carry out those crimes. I know that killing me, being a patient and physically week to the lowest level, is easier than killing an ant. But just because of that I cannot support building a cruel autocratic state. I cannot support killing thousands including infants and old, humiliating them, imprisoning them, and grabbing their property and land. I cannot be a wise man who pretends not to see these actions. I cannot support dividing a country which should be united. That is against the morals I adhere to. Disgrace and death brings more happiness than supporting such a policy.

I have become a wrongdoer although I have not done any wrong against anyone. I do not blame anyone for this. I do not have anger against the soldiers who tortured me while abducting and taking me away to assassinate me. Why? Because they just did a job assigned to them. If they are not in that job they, too, would have been innocent persons like me and could have fallen victim to this cruel reality. And I know that the power of this cruel reality does not rest on those armed men or on President Mahinda Rajapakse.

Actually, as it came out from the President’s mouth he is only the trustee of the following: The power rests on the popular society which holds this sinful ideology. Mr. Rajapakse cannot do anything other than to say ‘black’ to things this society calls ‘black’ and ‘white’ to things this society calls ‘white’. I have understood that this is a historical reality like the social illness described by Albert Camus in his novel The Plague. So I am not shocked. Daughter, I don’t have a party and I am not part of any organization, therefore, there is no organization to work on behalf of me. Even the people whom I represent don’t know that I am suffering because I work on behalf of them. I do not expect them to know about me. As I detached myself from kit and kin early in my life, there are no social connections, too. Under these circumstances, the only path open for someone like me, who does not have any value or respect in this society and therefore, who receives no help from anyone, is to walk alone the destined path. I select that option by my own will.

Daughter, isolation and humiliation of a person in danger is the same physical assassination but in a different form. In other words, it is part and parcel of the assassination. The characteristics of this other type of physical assassination is that the one being assassinated can watch how it is being carried out. This brutal pressure is exerted from the unknown gunman alias physical assassin who is in front and the known gunman alias soul assassin who is behind. This is completely different from the 1988/89 terror. I am experiencing this new kind of terror now. I am not the first person who is facing this situation but I would like to be the last one. I believe that this situation will not last long. Sometimes I may not see the future peaceful time following this fearful situation. But I am confident that the future will be better. The most important thing is to sacrifice the present for that future.

What I am writing here now is part of my conclusions I have reached after studying what happened to comrade Sunanda Deshapriya. Daughter, the society we are living in is indebted to him. But my belief is that no one took this into consideration to help him. I don’t know where he is living today and there is no way to find this out. At least, I was not able to render any help to him. But I think that for him, as well as for the whole society and for children like you to whom the future belongs, someone should make a detailed description of the cruel reality that everyone has become a victim of. I do not have the education to do that. I am not the right person. Because of that, even in these difficult and uncertain circumstances, what I am trying to do is to write down the present reality for the future in the hope that someone else will complete this in the time to come. My wish is that I will have enough time to do just that.

Daughter, please do not keep this note after reading it and say hello to Bertie Uncle.

Thank you,

Prageeth Uncle”

Gotabhaya Rajapakse not Sarath Fonseka responsible for killing of journalists and politicians says UTHR reports

(February 27, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) According reports from University Teachers for Human Rights – Jaffna, it is Defence Secretary not Army Commander that was responsible for waves of killings that took place in Colombo.

UTHR report on February 2008 states, “The Defence Ministry, which functions as the property of an American citizen and the President’s brother, moved virtually to extort public funds from Parliament, to serve also as a source of fat commissions. And we are celebrating 60 years of independence from colonial rule. The apparatus of state-terror now in place has a political agenda going well beyond taming the Tigers. The killing of MP Raviraj discussed below shows poignantly the Government going down to the lowest depths in a bid to control MPs by terror. “

UTHR report goes furthermore exposing the real face of terror. “The killer apparatus, it was widely spoken and as the circumstances below strongly indicate, functioned under Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapakse. While the principal details below are from one trusted source, important ties have been confirmed by information from other
independent sources, such as Pillayan’s relationship to the intelligence operative Wasantha and their PNM connections. Two important intelligence operatives who deal closely with Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapakse (GR) are Kamaldeen from the Navy based in Trincomalee and Commanding Officer Tennekoon, of the Army from the
Gemunu Watch, based in Welikanda. The latter has rank probably of major or above. Dealing with and directing killer operatives from the Karuna (Pillayan) group and EPDP are Sampath, ex-naval intelligence, who is under Kamaldeen and Wasantha who is under Tennekoon. Sources in Batticaloa have linked Pillayan with Wasantha and the PNM has also been mentioned to us in this connection,” according to UTHR report on February 2008.

“We may describe the terror apparatus as having three levels. At the lowest are cadres from the Karuna group, operatives from the EPDP, Muslim paramilitary elements and deserters from the LTTE. The second comprises cadres from the JHU, PNM and the intelligence services, all dealing with persons from the third layer. The topmost layer comprises the State, represented by the Defence Ministry and especially the Defence Secretary, dealing with the second, and occasionally with the third, usually through the second. They try to negotiate boundaries, relations and tensions between the second.”

It also added that “The circumstances above point to Gotabhaya Rajapakse as ultimately the man who initiated the killing of Raviraj.The immediate purpose appears to have been the silencing of the Civil Monitoring Committee, whose reports on abductions, killings and extortion by Gotabhaya’s covert outfits, created a huge stink. It is hard to accept that the President who delegated the running of the Defence Ministry to his younger brother and was personally a patron of Ven. M was not party to what was going on. He has a good deal of explaining to do.

Even worse, no one could accuse Gotabhaya of being secretive. The country as a whole had a good sense of what was going on. People were being targeted and killed and were disappearing after abduction, the total now running into thousands, by killers closely linked to the Defence Ministry. Also killed have been a number of media workers.
When the President persists in maintaining as defence secretary the very man who threatened the woman editor of a leading newspaper with the Karuna group and one of her staff with elimination, he has no real defence against the worst sort of allegations.”

The full report can be found at :- FULL REPORT ( AN EXTERNAL LINK)

Beyond Presidential Election 2010

By Daya Wijesinghe

(February 27, Colombo, Sri Lnaka Guardian) Just as a large number of patriotic organizations, we too endeavoured, within the limits of our resources, for the victory of Mr. Mahinda Rajapaksa. Just as they, we too are happy to congratulate him on his victory.

If somebody or some organization promotes a candidate at an election and if that person wins, there is a responsibility to the voters, on the part of those who recommended that person, to ensure that he or she meets the expectations of the people. We have been motivated to write this letter to the media, as we too have a share, however small, of that responsibility to the public.

One could get a clear understanding of what the electorate expected of Mr. Rajapaksa by delving into the manner in which the election campaign progressed and by examining the election results. Subsequent to defeating the LTTE, Mr. Rajapaksa had a very high poularity rating in the country. Even traditional UNPrs voted for him at the provincial council elections. The opposition political parties, which were desperate, made a shrewd move in the political chess game by getting Gen. Sarath Fonseka to contest for the presidency. As a result it was possible to direct a part of the hosannas of the people for crushing terrorism, away from Mr. Rajapaksa. Besides, at the beginning, the focus of Mr. Fonseka's campaign was the promise of good governance and rule of law, sans corruption and thuggery. Further, Mr. Fonseka was connecting the high cost of living as a result of which people were suffering, to corruption in the government. This made room for the resentment of the people over corruption and thuggery that was submerged under a wave of patriotism, to rise again.

At the initial stage of the campaign it was apparent that Mr. Fonseka's popularity could even surpass that of Mr. Rajapaksa. It is no secret that even the governing parties were rather disturbed by this trend. Yet this trend later began to change. The causes were; the arising of doubts about the patriotism of Mr. Fonseka (the main reasons being the white flag story and not rejecting outright the demands of the TNA, like Mr. Rajapaksa), doubts concerning his honesty and sincerity (Hi Corp deal and making promises that are impossible to keep, such as increasing the salary of government servants by Rs.10,000/-) and his showing of characteristics of a dictator rather than the affable qualities that should be the hallmarks of a democratic leader.

The other matter that is evident from this presidential election is that if the public belief in Mr. Fonseka as an honest person and a patriot grew without wavering, his popularity would have continued to rise and he would have most probably been elected as the president. We could therefore surmise that while the people despise corruption and thuggery, they considered the protection of the unitary state to be more important. They were wise enough to consider the high cost of living, under which they are suffering so much, to be of lesser priority than the future of the nation.

When analysing the election results, it is clear that the people who thus decided to vote for Mr. Rajapaksa are those close to the national ethos, found in greater numbers among the rural masses. It is they who have the potential to create a righteous society based on the values of our ancient and unique civilization. Their political ideas are considered as primitive and tribal by most of those in Sri Lanka who value western concepts. One such learned professor wrote to an English daily newspaper, attributing views against separatism of a bright young national minded journalist, who had studied in a prestigious American university also, to "village idiocy". He further stated that the political thoughts of this journalist are "so tribal in spirit and so insular", that he felt that this journalist is not fit to visit the particular university even as a tourist, leave alone studying there. What we have to understand is that this is not an instance of a person swollen with pride insulting another as one of inferior intellect. Rather, this is generally the manner in which those who have been influenced by Western thinking, look down upon those nurtured in the national ethos. Still, it is now clear that even the likes of him could live without fear today, only because the masses who grew in the national ethos were not only brave enough to sacrifice their lives for the country, but also have the ability to see through the local and foreign conspiracies against our nation.

It is therefore vital that the national ethos is protected and nourished for the well being of our nation. For this purpose it is essential to protect the mother tongue and Buddhism. The mother tongue is under serious threat not only from the FM services that are popularizing singlish but also from the Education and Higher Education Ministries. We feel that the respective ministers are responsible for this more than the higher officers of the two ministries. Instead of having the medium of instruction as the mother tongue, and teaching English well as the second language to raise its standard among the students, they are following the disastrous policy of making English the medium of instruction. As a result, new words will not be created to meet the demands of commerce, science, technology, law, etc. Then it would be difficult to discuss matters relating to those fields without mixing English words. Corruption of the language and the decline of it's use would be inevitable. In international schools too steps should be taken to improve the standards and use of Sinhala and Tamil, as well as making students appreciate the nation's history and cultural heritage. Furthermore, effective legislation should be brought to stop conversion of Buddhists to other religions through unethical means, not only for the purpose of protecting Buddhism but also to safeguard the national ethos that protects the country.

Another important aspect of the Presidential election results that deserves our attention is that the vast majority of the Tamils who voted, cast their votes for Mr. Fonseka at the behest of the TNA. It's leaders were hoping to have Mr. Fonseka elected and through him to have further powers devolved to a combined Northern and Eastern Province, thereby creating the necessary political space for making further demands towards achieving the goals of the Vaddukoddai resolution. In the event of Mr. Fonseka not acceding to their demands after being elected, they could work towards the rejuvenation of a militarist separatist campaign here and abroad, claiming that it is not possible to win their political rights through peaceful negotiations with the Sinhalese as in the instances of Bandaranaike/Chelvanayagam and Dudley/Chelvanayagam pacts. What they do not admit is, just as in this instance those previous agreements too are private agreements between the signatories, achieved through political manipulation and arm twisting. Hence the people cannot be expected to honour those.

We should clearly understand the reality of the Tamil separatist problem. The root cause of this problem is the fact that the Tamils in the world, amounting to around 80 million, do not have a sovereign and independent country of their own. Hence, they hope to establish Eelam in the Northern and Eastern provinces, and thereafter with the help of the Tamils all over the world, to bring the whole country under their control, just as Jews were able to drive away the Palestinians and establish Israel.

Separatist politicians try to show that their struggle is an attempt to overcome the injustices they are being subjected to by the Sinhalese. But their true intentions are quite apparent from the false history of the country given in the Tamil separatist websites. According to those, the original residents of Sri Lanka are Tamils. With the arrival of Prince Wijaya in the 6th century BC, the invading Sinhalese have chased the Tamils away to the Northern and Eastern parts of the country and the former have established kingdoms in the rest of the country. Though this story is utterly inconsistent with archeological findings, rock inscriptions and the writings in chronicles, it was taught to Tamil youth even prior to the rise of the terrorist movement. We have reason to believe that this false history is still being spread among Tamil students by those teachers who were collaborating with the LTTE during it's heydays.

It is not surprising for the Tamils who are mentally affected by the fact that they do not have a sovereign country of their own, to support separatism, or their youth to sacrifice their lives for same, as long as they believe that they have a right as well as the ability and opportunity to create that country in the Northern and Eastern Provinces. It is also not surprising that however much the government develop and devolve power to those areas, with a view to winning them over, the moment they find an opportunity to trek the path towards the creation of a separate state, for them to turn their backs on the government. This is amply evident from the way they voted this time.

Our Tamil brethren could be weaned away from this separatist mentality only through a committed long term effort having clear cut objectives. The first should be, clearly impressing upon their minds that there is absolutely no possibility for the creation of an Eelam or a self governing unit which could be strengthened through ever more devolution until it metamorphoses to the state of Eelam in the future. It is important to understand the many strategies adopted by the Tamil separatist politicians. From the beginning they resorted to the practice of bargaining for political powers to the Tamil majority areas with the two main political parties by showing the strength of the decisive block vote of the Tamils in the context of the Sinhala votes being equally divided among the two main parties. The other strategy was to promote separatist terrorism while depicting the ensuing bloodshed as resulting from an ethnic war and to prevail on the governmentd through Western states to initially grant self governance to the Northern and Eastern provinces. With the ending of Tiger terrorism at the Nanthikadal lagoon, and since it is no longer possible to create conflicts among the ordinary Sinhala and Tamil people, they are fast loosing the ability to prevail on the government through Western states to forward solutions based on devolution of power, claiming Tamils are being killed. Therefore the option available for the Tamil separatist politicians, is to bargain with the two main political parties as before, for devolution of power by offering the Tamil block vote.

It is this old strategy that the Tamil National Alliance followed in supporting the candidature of Mr. Fonseka. However, it did not succeed this time. That is because Mr. Rajapaksa received the great majority of the Sinhala votes. If Sinhala votes are to remain undivided in future elections as well, for separatist demands to be unsuccessful, it is imperative that the main drawbacks of the Rajapaksa administration, viz. corruption and lawlessness, end. Until such time the UNP extricates itself from the Western clutches and mindset, people of all races and religions who value the protection of the unitary state, durable peace and prosperity, have no other option but to strive to uplift the country by enabling the SLFP and other parties associated with it to govern. It is indeed a pity, that the JVP, because of the short sighted and opportunistic policies of it's leaders, have denied themselves the invaluable role it could have played as an effective opposition party. We believe that the loss to the nation resulting therefrom is much greater for the nation than for it's cadres.

The second item in the weaning away of Tamils from separatism is teaching them the true history of the country, which should be done through school curriculum as well as the media.

Thirdly, rather than strengthening divisive ethnic identities by bestowing special rights to a particular race in a province, where that race is in the majority, the common Sri Lankan identity should be strengthened by ensuring equal rights and opportunities to all citizens throughout the country, irrespective of race and creed. The fact that about 20% of those Tamils who voted, favoured Mr. Rajapaksa is an indication that already a considerable number of Tamils have rejected separatism and that they would be happy to join hands with the majority in the journey towards a prosperous future. Mr. Rajapaksa was able to get a majority of the Christian vote, because over a period of time many of them gradually migrated towards the national ethos, in spite of the efforts of some leading Christian clerics, especially those who favour the separatist cause, to keep their faithful within a closed Anglo-Christian culture. Hence it should not be a difficult task for Mr. Rajapaksa to win over a majority of the Tamils and the Moslems in the future.

Still, he would not be able to do it through Tamil and Moslem politicians who are so used to corruption and thuggery. Again, the all pervading issue of good governance enters the picture. When injustices that happen to all the people in general, by an administration under the whims and fancies of politicians and their henchmen, happen to members of a minority community, it would be interpreted as one caused in view of their minority status. This is the mentality of minorities even in the so called Western five star democracies.

The proportionate representation system has made it difficult up to now for a single party to get a clear majority in the parliament. Further, powerful Western countries have been conspiring to topple the government. Hence, Mr. Rajapaksa had no option but to give ministerial appointments even to corrupt MPs and turn a blind eye to their dishonourable conduct. But the fact that Mr. Rajapaksa gave a ministerial post to a person who was appointed as an MP by President Chandrika Bandaranaike when that person lost the election, and the fact that the police remained inactive against his acts of thuggery, is a clear indication that Mr. Rajapaksa cannot be expected to ensure good governance out of his own free will.

However, the people should be careful not to join hands with power hungry politicians and foreign funded NGOs in the hope of achieving good governance. It is with the Lankan patriotic movements here and abroad that are not associated with political parties, the maha sangha and such clerics of other religions, that the people should work with for that end. Patriotic movements should also no longer restrict themselves to defeating separatism, but should give leadership to the people in prevailing on the country's political leadership to rid the society of corruption, thuggery and to ensure the rule of law, as well. President Mahinda Rajapaksa is quite sensitive to the wishes of patriots, unlike to those of political parties with ulterior motives. That is not only because his popularity is bound with the patriotism of the people, but also because he is a person who truly enjoys acceptance by the people.

Nevertheless, if Mr. Mahinda Rajapaksa ensures that the coming parliamentary election is conducted free of thuggery as well as abuse of political power and privileges, it would be an indication that he is really going to keep his word on good governance during his second term.

Benefactors of Terror

Donations Rise in Funding Asian Militants

(February 27, Singapore City, Sri Lanka Guardian) Islamic militants across Southeast Asia have become increasingly dependent on donations, including zakat or alms (charity), to finance bombings because governments have tightened bank controls, according to security experts.More than 50 percent of terrorist financing in the region now comes from individual donations, said Arabinda Acharya of the International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research in Singapore.

“It’s now the largest source of money for militants because it’s difficult to detect,” he said at a July 2009 workshop in Manila, Philippines, on countering the financing of terrorism, adding that Islamic jihadists have been avoiding formal channels. But he believed the money passing through informal methods, such as couriers, was not as substantial as that funneled by al-Qaida support groups before the deadly 2001 attacks in the United States. After the 9/11 attacks, Acharya said militants elsewhere in the world had moved their funds out of banks and invested them in stocks, gems, real estate, insurance and other financial instruments.

“We learned that Islamic militants in India were speculating in stocks and those in Africa were buying diamonds and other gemstones,” he said, adding those in Southeast Asia rely more on donations from charity organizations and from zakat, which is usually but not exclusively collected at mosques.

In the Philippines, Acharya said the deadliest militant group, the Abu Sayyaf, was forced to go into kidnapping and extortion because the money it was getting from foreign and local donors was not enough to finance bombings. Citing a classified Philippine police report, he said the Abu Sayyaf abandoned a 2006 plot to blow up targets in Manila and plans to build a chemical plant in the south because its funds from abroad were drying up.

Since the 1990s, the Abu Sayyaf has collected more than 20 million pesos ($439,500) from zakat in the southern Philippines alone. Although the amount it raises from kidnapping and extortion dwarfs this sum, zakat contributions are increasing, said Rodolfo Mendoza, deputy head of the national police’s investigation division.

“Zakat has contributed a lot in the continuity of the struggle of the Abu Sayyaf,” Mendoza said, adding the rebels had been using the Internet to gain more donations from people and groups abroad by showing Muslims’ struggle in the south.

Rohan Gunaratna, a Singapore-based counterterrorism expert and author of the book Inside al Qaeda, believes the Abu Sayyaf continues to receive foreign funding from the Middle East, but it passes through Indonesia. “The Abu Sayyaf is able to survive because of the flow of funds from Jemaah Islamiyah and an Indonesia-based charity group, Kompak,” Gunaratna said. He also said Saudi Arabia has now replaced Pakistan and Afghanistan as the main source of funds for Muslim rebels in the south of the mainly Christian Philippines.

“Money received from overseas is channeled through front, cover and sympathetic organizations based in the south,” Gunaratna said, adding these groups take the face of religious, educational, humanitarian and human rights organizations. In the past, officials identified the Saudi-based International Islamic Relief Organization and Kompak as sources of funds for Muslim militants in the Philippines.

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Misplaced Charity

Not all donations to terrorist organizations are intentional. Legitimate-seeming but terror-supporting charities can attract donors “who are unaware that the money they donate for humanitarian purposes actually funds terror,” according to the recent study by The Washington Institute for Near East Policy entitled “The Money Trail:

Finding, Following and Freezing Terrorist Finances.” And while some charities are founded specifically to support terrorist fundraising, others are infiltrated and co-opted by terrorists. Some nonprofit organizations carry out both humanitarian projects and fund terrorism. It can be difficult to sort the good from the bad.

An article published in the electronic journal Strategic Insights states that a charity may be more likely to be illegitimate if it has:

• A mission concerned with very specific issues rather than general charity. An organization collecting funds for “the plight of the Tamil people” is more likely to be funneling money to a group like the Liberation Tigers of Tamil than a group with a global focus, for example.

• Anomalies in donation patterns. If an issue-specific charity donates a large amount to an unrelated cause, a general charity shows a great deal of interest in a specific issue, or a local charity ignores local issues for international ones, this should raise suspicion.

The United Nations uses this method of monitoring, and the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering recommends it; it has resulted in arrests.

• Affiliation with Islam. There are many legitimate Islamic charities, but “an unusually high proportion of Islamic nongovernmental organizations include military aid as part of a humanitarian package,” says the Strategic Insights article, and the CIA estimates that one-third of Islamic NGOs support terrorist groups or employ people suspected of terrorist connections.

It is important to remember charities showing warning signs are not necessarily funding terrorism; the above are just indicators that authorities may want to monitor closely.

Ultimately, neither authorities nor donors can control where contributions go, especially if they move overseas.

Illegitimate Groups

Charities with ties to terrorism include the Philippine and Indonesian branch offices of the International Islamic Relief Organization, which the U.S. Treasury Department has linked to fundraising for al-Qaida and related terrorist groups. A U.S.-based charity called Care International, Inc., was also found to be involved in fundraising to support radical jihad, despite claiming in its articles of incorporation that it was exclusively involved in “charitable, religious, educational and scientific purposes.” (Care International, Inc., is not affiliated with the legitimate global relief group CARE International.) And the president of the Sri Lankan Sangha Council of America and Canada wrote in a letter to the Indian prime minister that donations from ethnic Tamils intended for use by Tamil charities had “been used instead for the cause of an elusive Tamil ‘motherland,’ spearheaded by a megalomaniac terrorist fighting for an illegitimate independent state” that “many of the good Tamil people
overseas were duped into supporting.”

In the post-9/11 world, according to the Washington Institute for Near East Policy study, it is more difficult for terrorists to use the legitimate banking system to move their funds, but this also makes it more difficult for authorities to track funds moved through informal systems. NGOs, like charities, are weak spots in monitoring the movement of terrorist funds. More thorough monitoring could help thwart the abuse of charitable donations to fund terrorism.

(Sources: Reuters and Forum magazine)

A new lie – police training without constitutional reforms

By Basil Fernando

(February 27 Hong Kong, Sri Lanka Guardian) Peter Mountford who returned from a visit to Sri Lanka writes in an article ‘Sri Lanka’s hr and free speech problems need international attention’ (Seattle Times Editorial 27th February):

At the core of Sri Lanka’s problems is a rotten constitution, which gives the president near dictatorial power. Opposition members in parliament are easily bought through cushy ministerial appointments, and the chief justice of the Supreme Court is appointed by the president.

This core problem about the constitution is no secret or mystery to anybody except for some people in the so-called Ministry of Disaster Management and Human Rights who claim that they are writing a human rights plan for Sri Lanka. In that plan there is nothing that deals with the ‘rotten constitution’ that creates the all the human rights problems in the country. In fact, the rotten constitution is the real disaster that the country is faced with. Trying to make a plan to deal with the disastrous situation of human rights in the country without dealing with the rotten constitution is of course, a big lie. But for people who have become accustomed living with that big lie the inconsistency between a plan for human rights and a rotten constitution is not a big problem.

Of course in practical terms such a human rights plan is merely eye wash and meant to deceive only some foreign experts who may be willing to throw some money to create the pretext that they are doing something about human rights in Sri Lanka. One lie begets another and a chain of lies is created to the point where the creators can no longer tell the difference between truth and fabrication. That too is part of the human rights disaster in Sri Lanka.

One of the big lies in that plan is that Sri Lanka’s policing problems, such as the failure to investigate human rights abuses and the widespread torture that constantly manifests itself in incidents such as the drowning of Ballawarnum Sivarkumar at Bambilipitya Sea, the killing of Thilakasari at Inginiagala at the Senanayake Water Reserve and a host of custodial killings that are heard of frequently, is due to the defects of police training. That the rotten constitution has destroyed the command responsibility within the policing institution and thereby deprived if of the capacity to function rationally, does not enter into the analysis of the authors of this great human rights plan.

The impression that is created is that the failure to investigate into the assassination of Lasantha Wickrematunge or the abduction and disappearance of Prageeth Ekaniliagoda and the brutal attack on Poddala Jayantha are all due to defects of police training. However, for the average citizen these failures appear to be caused by the very planners and executors of these brutal acts. The very nature of these acts is such that nobody is allowed to investigate into these incidents. When there are politically designed acts of repression against opponents of the government, whether they be journalists, independent lawyers or opposition politicians, or other political activists, part of that design is also to prevent any real investigations by law enforcement agencies. Thus, the paralysis in investigations is part of the pattern of repression.

The crisis of policing in Sri Lanka is part of the crisis of the rotten constitution. When the constitutional safeguards on the rights of citizens are removed by political design there is nothing that the police can do. The will to investigate will return only when such investigations are made possible politically. Until that happens the human rights disaster in Sri Lanka will continue and of course, all kinds of plans like the human rights plan for Sri Lanka will be created by those who are paid for creating such big lies.

Annex: Today’s Seattle Times editorial

Sri Lanka's human-rights and free-speech problems need international attention

Sri Lanka's civil war might be over, but the European Union recently dropped the island's preferential trade status because of human-rights violations. Guest columnist Peter Mountford says Sri Lankan media are not free to discuss the challenges, so the best hope is international attention.

By Peter Mountford

In post-civil war Sri Lanka, where democratic institutions are more imperiled than ever, the international press has a vital role to play — even more important than the diplomatic efforts of our governments — in forcing greater transparency and accountability.

I just spent two weeks in Sri Lanka and whenever I sat down with someone in Colombo to ask their opinion of the country's political situation, they'd scan the room, lean in close, and ask if we could talk off the record. When I called opposition journalists they demurred, and suggested that we meet in person. They wouldn't say it out loud, but my driver did: "The phones are all tapped," he explained with refreshing bluntness.

I asked if he thought my phone at the Hilton might be bugged. He bobbled his head vaguely, hesitating, and said, "Well ... "

This was an example of what Kesara Abeywardena, a journalist from The Daily Mirror — the closest thing there is to an independent newspaper on the island — referred to as Sri Lanka's "culture of self-censorship." Abeywardena used to write a political column, but decided it would be better to broaden his focus.

"For your safety?" I asked.

"Well ... " he replied, smiling slightly.

Over the last year, numerous journalists have, in the grim local parlance, been "white vanned." The latest, Prageeth Eknaligoda, a vocal critic of the government, has been missing since Jan. 24. Chandana Sirimalwatte, the editor of an opposition paper, Lanka, was recently detained by the police and his newspaper was ordered to stop printing.

Since President Mahinda Rajapaksa came to power, arrest warrants increasingly have been used to muzzle opponents. Earlier this month, to the shock of the West, police picked up the main opposition candidate, Sarath Fonseka (literally, apparently, as he was unwilling to get out of his chair). Last week they arrested Fonseka's son-in-law's mother. At the end of January a dozen or so ranking members of the military — all allies of Fonseka — were fired or arrested.

The charges, in all of these cases, are trumped up. The point is the message, and the message is, "We will get you. If you're not around, we'll get your next of kin."

Malinda Seneviratne, a sharp but unabashedly pro-government journalist, is the only person I spoke to who was happy to go on the record about anything. He said that these things have been going on for years, but no one complained because the country was mired in civil war.

"The problem," he said, "is that we continue to live under 'emergency rule,' even though the war is over. These kinds of policies made a kind of sense when we were dealing with all the terrorism, and the war. But the war's over. It's not necessary anymore."

Over the past 30 years, Sri Lanka has undergone extraordinary changes in order to cope with the day-to-day reality of the war. The changes are systemic and will be almost impossible to undo. Now that the war has ended, people in the West have begun to take notice. Major news outlets have been decrying the failure of Sri Lankan democracy, as if it's something new. It's not. A few wartime presidents were somewhat friendlier, but the underlying political structure was the same.

At the core of Sri Lanka's problem is a rotten constitution, which gives the president near dictatorial power. Opposition members in parliament are easily bought through cushy ministerial appointments, and the chief justice of the Supreme Court is appointed by the president.

A populist and a nationalist in the mold of Hugo Chávez, President Rajapaksa is able to win political points by defying diplomatic pressure from the West, a fact that often makes the application of that pressure self-defeating. On Feb. 16, the European Union dropped Sri Lanka's preferential trade status because of human-rights violations, but the lead article on the issue in Sri Lanka's state-run newspaper began with a prideful quote from Rajapaksa's central bank governor, "Sri Lanka is not prepared to barter its sovereignty for the sake of regaining the tariff concession and will continue with its stated policy instead of giving in to any unfair demands."

As long as the government can control the conversation like that — deftly transforming international concern about human rights into the politically attractive issue of sovereignty — there will be little impetus for reform. Accountability and openness go hand in hand. So the first step forward falls to the press. Since the Sri Lankan press can't speak up for itself, it's the duty of the international press to speak on its behalf.

So the best thing we can do right now is continue flooding the newswires with stories about the disastrous state of Sri Lankan democracy. Kesara Abeywardena may have to choose his words carefully, lest he get white vanned, but I just flew home to Seattle, so I'll go ahead and call it like I see it.

Peter Mountford is in his second year as a writer in residence at Seattle Arts & Lectures. His first novel will be published in 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

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