Ceylon Today Editorial

DEFINING WATERSHED IN PRESIDENT’S LIFE

 01 September 2016

The Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP)'s 65th Convention has as never before drawn the attention of not only local politicians, think tanks and business leaders but of the global diplomatic corps as well if only because President Maithripala Sirisena is expected to spell out the SLFP's plan to seek the electorate's majority vote for a totally SLFP Government .

That could mean, 4 September in Kurunegala could also see the President making a statement on what the form and substance of the SLFP will be even in the two-party government that is obtaining right now.

The President has in a manner of speaking made a mark for himself with the electorate by consistently shooting down proposals in and out of the budget which have the slightest hint of burdening the masses with extra expenses on essentials. He has shown a rare ability to stamp out any vestige of overly eccentric and MR-centric rebellion against mainline SLFP decisions and its performances in government.

He has shown no aversion to calling a spade a spade even if it has meant squashing what his own Premier, the UNP Leader Ranil Wickremesignhe's attempts, through the United National Party (UNP) Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake, to slip in hikes in CoL that could inordinately affect the lives of the common man. He has thus forced the UNP arm of the government to bring in price controls on 18 most-used food items and thus made himself more popular with the voters. He has steered Sri Lanka away from being a hated pariah on the global stage to being a much sought after trading and investments partner, especially by big investors from the West whose exports are streamlined for Western big time markets. His handling of the touch subject of human rights abuses to the extent of possibly saving MR and others from being dragged before the ICJ is no small argument in his favour. That's an argument that can cause a huge flow of votes in his favour at the hustings when general and presidential elections come around.

He has seen to it that his even-handed policies have meshed into any negotiations the Prime Minister and his hand-picked ministers in development ministries with countries both east and west and north and south.

He has, as everyone now knows, steered Sri Lanka into a clearly Pro-US/West foreign policy realm to the extent of a clearly defined policy that has as its end focus the promotion of more big time export markets in the West as well as steering a safe and sound policy with China and other potential belligerents in the West whose investments and export markets, though not half as important, are still essential as hedges are in the stock market.

He has fast established the fact that SLFP renegades can't expect him to be anything less than a handful, as belligerent as himself, when the need arises and as a man who is capable of unleashing the full power of the law, legitimately at that, to counter any threat to his security in power.

So, as September approaches, the man who will take centre stage on the SLFP podium in Kurunegala will be doing so from a comparative position of strength, a strength he did not quite muster when he was elected President and opted to tie with to form an Unity Government with the hated UNP regime and the more hated UNP Leader, whose name has been anathema to the Rajapaksa-led breakaway faction of the SLFP that is now said be gearing to form a new party to mount a direct attack on Sirisena.

If Rajapaksa's following has been steadfast, though for the wrong reason from a moral and political standpoint, Sirisena's backing had gained immense strength from a growing support base from among those considered moral by comparison and more imbued with integrity.

September 4 will somehow, we feel, prove to be a defining juncture at the political crossroads of the President's career. And that will redefine the course that the country will take as unfolding political events over the next four years will unveil.

Daily News Editorial

Roads to development

 

01 September 2016

Rajagiriya, the main city of the Sri Jayawardhanapura administrative capital, is well known for its traffic congestion at virtually any time of the day. With arterial roads radiating from Rajagiriya to Nawala, Borella, Battaramulla, Pita Kotte and Gothatuwa, it is a traffic nightmare for motorists as well as Police. Apart from a newly constructed wider bridge over the Diyawanna Oya, Police have been experimenting on and off with various measures such as opening a lane on the other side depending on the time of day, one-way schemes and turning the traffic lights off and controlling traffic manually. None of these offered a way out of the gridlock, which costs time, energy and money for motorists, bus passengers and even pedestrians.

Although the previous Government vowed to build a flyover at Rajagiriya to ease traffic congestion under the infamous “200 bridges and flyovers programme”, only a few were actually built around seven years ago, including those at Nugegoda and Dehiwala. The proposed flyovers at Rajagiriya and Havelock Town fell by the wayside. In hindsight, the sheer amount of traffic at Rajagiriya would have been a massive strain on the type of steel flyover constructed at Dehiwala and Nugegoda. In fact, heavy vehicles are not allowed on the Dehiwala flyover which is more suited for lighter traffic.

Rajagiriya had to endure traffic woes for some more years, but now it is getting a much better deal – a multi-lane, concrete flyover costing Rs.4.3 billion designed to drastically reduce traffic congestion and cut travel times at least by half. Work on the massive project started yesterday. Granted, there will be traffic chaos for the next 16 months until construction of one flyover bridge is completed, but it is well worth the wait.

Built with Spanish aid and expertise and fully overseen by the Road Development Authority (RDA), the 533 metre long flyover will consist of two parallel bridges with two lanes on each bridge. It will be constructed in two phases from Battaramulla to Borella along the new Parliament Road. According to the RDA, the first phase of the flyover is to be completed by November 2017. Under the second phase another two lane flyover will be constructed in parallel to the first flyover. It will be completed by December 2018. Most motorists would have ideally wished for an extension all the way to the Airport Expressway entrance at Peliyagoda, but this is a good start that can point the way to bigger things.

In the meantime, the RDA has advised motorists to avoid the Welikada Junction in Rajagiriya if possible and use alternative routes as there will be heavy traffic congestion in this area due to the construction. For example, motorists travelling to Nawala can take the Borella-Narahenpita-Nawala road. While building and widening roads is essential to control traffic, it is even more prudent to build better public transport links that could take some cars off the road. Indeed, the Western Province Megapolis Plan calls for such Light Rail Transit (LRT) projects on highly congested traffic corridors such as Malabe-Colombo.

The Rajagiriya flyover is not the only such project currently underway. Two more flyovers are being constructed in Ganemulla and Polgahawela, also with Spanish assistance, to reduce congestion mainly caused by the railway crossings. The two projects, estimated to cost Rs 4 billion, are expected to be completed this year.

The Government is also going ahead with the Central Expressway from Colombo to Kandy, which is due to be extended to Dambulla. Work is already underway. A new 74 Km expressway called Ruwanpura Expressway is to be built from the Kahathuduwa Interchange of the Southern Expressway to Pelmadulla, to provide faster (just 45 minutes) access to Ratnapura. The Southern Expressway itself is being extended to Hambantota in line with the Government’s plans to make the region a shipping and aviation hub. The Outer Circular Highway too is being extended. Apart from expressways, the Government is going ahead with other major infrastructure projects such as the Colombo International Financial City.

All these projects negate the allegations spread by the Joint Opposition and certain other politicians that the National Unity Government had neglected infrastructure and other forms of development such as power projects. This is far from the truth – in the initial stages, the Government had to probe the expressway and other deals signed by the previous Government for any financial irregularities and also ensure that there is no room for corruption in any future project. It was found that many road projects initiated by the former Government had a “corruption element” sometimes reflected through cost overruns.

There should also be a bigger focus on rural development. There is nothing wrong with building a jogging track in an urban area, but almost every TV news bulletin has a story about a remote village which lacks even a basic road. These lacunae in development must be identified and corrective action taken so that the fruits of development can be shared equally among all Sri Lankans.

The Island Editorial

Cometh the UN chief

 

01 September 2016

 

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has arrived in Colombo. The last several months have seen the arrival of many foreign dignitaries for various purposes. It looks as if western diplomats and political leaders were falling over themselves to rush here. One must be wondering how on earth a speck of a country in the Indian Ocean receives so much of international attention.

Besides, three US Navy vessels have made port calls in Colombo so far this year. How many more American vessels are scheduled to do so is anybody’s guess. Speculation is rife in political circles that some western forces are scouting out the lie of Trincomalee, which the British reluctantly left more than half a century ago.

Minister of Fisheries Mahinda Amaraweera, a one-time Rajapaksa worshipper, has claimed to know what actually caused his erstwhile boss to call a snap presidential election and commit political hara-kiri in the process. Echoing the views of his current boss, President Maithripala Sirisena, Amaraweera has sought to debunk the widely held belief that President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s downfall was caused by the palace seer’s wrong predictions.

Amaraweera says Rajapaksa was left with no alternative but to seek a third term prematurely because the latter was perturbed by an economic crisis on the horizon and being cornered on diplomatic and human rights fronts, especially in Geneva. Addressing a media conference in Hambantota on Monday, Minister Amaraweera said the international community had softened its stand on Sri Lanka after the fall of the Rajapaksa administration last year.

One is intrigued. If what Amaraweera says is true, then the western governments used the accountability issues to create conditions here for the defeat of the Rajapaksa administration. What logically follows from his contention is that the West led Rajapaksa a merry dance on the question of alleged war crimes not out of any concern for human rights but for political reasons. Else, how can it be explained why turns of the screw stopped for all practical purposes in Geneva after the collapse of the Rajapaksa rule.

It is doubtful whether the outgoing UNSG’s visit will be of great help to this country. He ought to be more focused on flashpoints in the region, which require urgent UN attention. It is hoped that he won’t lose sight of the predicament of the Kashmiri people crying out for justice. Women in Kashmir, unable to bear untold suffering anymore and miffed about the UN inaction have gone so far as to offer their bangles to the UNSG by way of an affront. This, we believe, is a damning indictment on the UN on his watch.

It is hoped that the UNSG will keep an open mind, without standing pat during his brief stay here, and refrain from refusing to see the dividends of the defeat of terrorism. There have been no terrorist attacks on civilian centres since the end of the war in 2009; in the North and the East children go to school without fear of being abducted by the LTTE; civilians no longer have to pay protection money to terrorists; there are no child soldiers today and democracy has been rekindled in the former conflict zone so much so that the TNA, which stooped so low as to serve as the LTTE’s mouthpiece out of fear, now engages in democratic politics. Moreover, the UN workers can operate in the North and the East without being abducted and harassed by the LTTE. Envoys representing western nations are moving about in the North and the East freely without fearing terrorist attacks on the whirlybirds they travel in. We are sure the UNSG would have been reluctant to visit here let alone bring along his charming significant other if the LTTE had been around carrying out attacks.

The Island Editorial

Of those young hackers

31 August 2016

 

Hackers are like snakes. When one realises one has been attacked it is often too late; damage is irreversible in most cases. They haven’t even spared institutions which boast of having best cyber security in the world. The Pentagon, too, is fighting quite a battle to keep hackers at bay. How vulnerable others are goes without saying.

Friday’s cyber attack on President Maithripala Sirisena’s official website came as no surprise. Not even eternal vigilance pays in most cases vis-à-vis hackers who like terrorists have to be lucky only once. When the news of the hacking of the President’s website went viral, various conspiracy theories were concocted. Some of those theorists even claimed there was a foreign hand in it. But, a schoolboy of Kadugannawa was taken into custody, on suspicion, two days later.

Hacking is a menace and everything possible must be done to prevent it and bring the culprits to justice. It is heartening that the government has acted so fast to trace the suspect.

Among notorious hackers the world over are many young people, who are nimble-minded risk takers blind to the consequences of their actions. A 15-year-old boy hacked the NASA computers. Many teenagers have become expert code crackers. Stringent punishment for cyber crimes does not seem to have constituted an effective deterrent if the alarming increase in those offences, both here and abroad, is any indication.

No sooner had the CID been called in to investigate Friday’s hacking incident than it closed in on the suspect. Its efficiency is to be highly appreciated. It has silenced its critics who accuse it of lethargy. The question, however, is why the government did not detail the CID to investigate the two mega bond scams and the coal racket which ‘shocked the conscience of the Supreme Court’. Strangely, the CID sleuths lack this kind of high octane performance when they investigate offences committed by ruling party loyalists.

The schoolboy cum suspected young hacker in hot water has obviously raised the hackles of the powers that be. On no grounds can what he is alleged to have done be justified though he looks still wet behind the ears for a hacker. Is it that having seen notorious lawbreakers responsible for far worse offences than hacking handled with kid gloves and even taken off the hook in most cases all these years, the teenager thought he would be safe even if he got caught? He may have thought so because the incumbent janadipathi mama had come to power promising compassionate governance and even forgiven a terrorist who conspired to assassinate him!

On the other hand, this is a country where the Executive Presidents have pardoned convicted criminals such as a rapist thrown behind bars for harming a schoolgirl, murderers and drug dealers. They have also abused their powers to shield many more anti-social elements who deserve to be behind bars. Some leaders of the present government, it may be recalled, went so far as to give VVIP treatment to the terrorists at the very airport the latter had attacked, destroying several lives and causing a loss of billions of rupees to the state coffers. It will be interesting to see how the case of the schoolgoer suspected of hacking the President’s website will be handled.

Meanwhile, let Friday’s hacking incident and the predicament of the schoolboy concerned serve as a warning to all irresponsible netizens in this country, especially teenagers, who seem to think the sky is the limit. The onus is on parents, teachers and other responsible adults to impress on youngsters the gravity of committing cyber related offences which the latter tend to take very lightly.

Ceylon Today Editorial

JVP’s inconsistent policies

 

31 August 2016

Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) MP, Bimal Ratnayake was reported on these pages yesterday of having had said that he's against Government of Sri Lanka's (GoSL's) moves to allegedly privatize the Colombo South Port East Container Terminal (CSPECT).

CSPECT was one of three terminals spawned after the construction of the Colombo South Port with ADB aid a few years ago. One of those three terminals was already privatized in 2011 to the Chinese during the hypocritical Mahinda Rajapaksa regime.

This is because Rajapaksa, soon after he was elected to power in November 2005 disbanded the Public Enterprises Reform Commission (PERC) set-up by his predecessor and former leader President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga with World Bank aid to effectively privatize State enterprises and thereby have a control over the budget deficit, eliminate or minimize inefficiencies in the public sector, give a better service to the public and re-channel State/public/exchequer's resources to fruitful investments as opposed to wasteful expenditure/investments.

Rajapaksa was elected to power in 2005 on the back of the JVP. Rajapaksa scored a narrow victory by obtaining under a 200,000 majority over his arch rival, UNP Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe.

Meanwhile, prior to the election, United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA)'s Economic Adviser, the controversial former Central Bank of Sri Lanka Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal was quoted by the State-run 'Daily News' on its 21 October 2005 issue, of having claimed that Mahinda Chintanaya (Rajapaksa's policy document) is not for privatization and will always seek to develop 'our indigenous economy'.

Politics, here and abroad, are a mass of contradictions, probably, more so here, just like the above example vis-à-vis privatization only, also played by former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga herself, as well as by the JVP, as shown below:

In as much as the JVP played a major role in ensuring Rajapaksa's win at the 2005 poll, it was this same party that assured the then newly formed UPFA, led by Kumaratunga, to win the April 2004 Parliamentary Poll by foisting the 'Tiger' canard, to the 70% Sinhala-Buddhist majority in respect of Wickremesinghe's ceasefire agreement with the LTTE.

The contradictory stance vis-à-vis privatization, of the JVP is exemplified by the fact that the then JVP MP, Jayantha Wijesekara in an interview with the BBC in March 2005 said, the party has prepared a plan to build a new sugar factory instead of trying to save a corporation, which is up for sale.

This was in the context that PERC announced the sale of many State enterprises including Kantale Sugar Factory in February, the BBC report said. However, UPFA had pledged not to privatize State assets in its 2004 election manifesto.

Wijesekara who was elected from the Trincomalee District at the April 2004 Poll said that he has prepared a plan to build a new factory after President Kumaratunga requested him to come up with a strategy, if any, to safeguard the Corporation. The JVP was a constituent party of the UPFA then.

He denied the JVP is now turning its back to protest any attempt to privatize State enterprises. In this interview, he blamed the opposition UNP for creating PERC to privatize government institutions, perhaps, forgetting conveniently, that it was Kumaratunga who had instituted PERC.

The MP said, the JVP is planning to mobilize people to buy State assets on sale rather than call for a halt.

PERC that functions directly under Kumaratunga has called for investments from local and foreign parties to register 'expressions of interest' to 'purchase assets' belonging to the State, BBC said.
The Eppawala phosphate deposit in Anuradhapura is also among several other State assets for sale, the BBC added. Addressing a public gathering in Southern Sri Lanka after the tsunami disaster, the President warned that anyone who campaigns again to stop the sale of the phosphate deposit will be 'locked up in a hotel and be taken care of'.

PERC has advertised for the 'restructuring' of State-owned media institutions as well.Independent Television Network Ltd., Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation, Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd. and Government Information Department have been advertised by PERC for 'restructuring,' the BBC report said.

Ratnayake's vituperation against privatization as reported by this newspaper yesterday, then is a classic case of the JVP being pro-privatization when in government (after being elected on the anti-privatization card), but being anti-privatization when out of power.

Can the JVP, which practises inconsistent policies, be trusted this time round?

Daily News Editorial

Fighting cyber crime

31 August 2016

Two persons have been arrested so far in connection with the hacking of the President’s official website www.president.gov.lk. One is a 27-year-old man from Moratuwa while the second suspect is a teen (17-year-old) from Kadugannawa. The two hackers, apparently unhappy about the decision to hold the GCE A/L examination in April had posted the following message in Sinhala and English on the President’s official website: “Dear Mr. President, We are extremely displeased about the decision to hold GCE A/L in April since the Sinhala/Hindu New Year falls in between the exam dates. Therefore, reconsider that decision. Furthermore, take care of the security of Sri Lankan websites. Or else, we will have to face a cyber war.” They had also deleted some data from the websites.

Whatever their concerns, hacking the President’s website is a serious offence. In fact, hacking any duly registered website is a punishable offence. The Police must probe whether these two persons acted separately or in unison and if so, whether they had a support network of hackers. The Criminal Investigations Department (CID) and its Cyber Crimes Unit deserve plaudits for their quick detective work which resulted in two arrests within two days. Hackers arrested under the Computer Crimes laws passed in 2007 face three years in jail and/or a fine of up to Rs.300,000 though the Kadugannawa boy being a minor may end up in probation if found guilty.

This is not the first time that websites in Sri Lanka had been hacked, but this is the most high-profile website ever hacked here. A few months ago, the Commercial Bank of Ceylon released a statement admitting that a “hacking attack” on its website resulted in a successful intrusion - however, it maintained that no customer data has been compromised. The bank claimed to have successfully defended itself and said its systems have been fully restored. In another well-known hacking attack that involved Sri Lanka, hackers stole US$ 100 million from the Bangladesh Bank’s (BB) foreign currency account with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Almost the entire amount was transferred online to the Philippines banking system and a small portion of it to Sri Lanka by suspected Chinese hackers on February 5 this year. Fortunately, a spelling mistake (Fundation for Foundation) in one of their bank transfer instructions helped save nearly US$ 900 million, as an eagle-eyed younger teller in a Sri Lankan bank noticed the error and notified the authorities.

Hacking a worldwide problem that is not all that easy to tackle. Those who hack or otherwise illegally intrude into websites are called cyber criminals. It is highly damaging to the world economy - hackers are costing consumers and companies between US$ 375 and US$ 575 billion, annually, according to a new study. They have hacked into the major e-commerce sites as well as Government sites. Online crime is estimated at 0.8 per cent of worldwide GDP, with developed countries losing more than countries in Latin American or Africa, according to the study published by the Center for Strategic and International Studies and funded by cyber security firm McAfee. “We don’t catch most cyber criminals and we don’t catch the most successful ones,” says James Lewis, a CSIS senior fellow and co-author of the report. “That’s the heart of the problem. So far there is impunity for cyber criminals.”

That is one problem that the world has to solve. Catching cyber criminals is often difficult, but as our sleuths have shown, it can be done. Cyber crime being a relatively recent branch of crime, the laws vary from country to country and some countries are yet to respond to this threat. Moreover, hackers are also branching into new and different areas such as hacking into connected/smart cars and mobile phones. The authorities and regulators have to take these into account when responding to cyber crimes. Sri Lanka however has responded with a fairly robust set of laws against cyber crime and online financial crime (such as hacking attacks on ATMs which are on the rise). The country also has a few institutions that fight online crime including TechCERT, a division of the LK Domain Registry which has a hotline to report cyber crimes, phishing attacks, online identity theft and other online scams. Since its founding 10 years ago, it has solved several hacking and other forms of cyber crime.

As the world gets increasingly connected under the Internet of Things (IoT) initiative where more than 50 billion devices from light bulbs to cars will be connected to each other by 2020, hackers will try to exploit vulnerabilities in cyber defences to wreak havoc. With computers virtually controlling every aspect of our day-to-day life, this is a nightmare scenario. One glitch, one hacking attack can cripple entire nations. That is why eternal vigilance and impregnable cyber defences are needed to thwart the ulterior motives and designs of the worldwide hacking community. It is a battle that they should not be allowed to win.

Ceylon Today Editorial

It s About Time We Woke Up

 30 August 2016

What the rest of the world comes to know and fear as cyber terrorism or internet vigilantes such as the controversial hacker groups like Anonymous, to us Sri Lankans is a humdrum bunch of computer jilmart. We simply do not care about our cyber privacy or what lies, information and truths could be unveiled in the covered up annals of the Sri Lankan cyber waste bins. Our cyber security and internet privacy is nil; at stages of non-existence.

Recently, President Maithripala Sirisena's official website www.president.gov.lk was hacked by an unidentified group of hackers. The hackers had posted a 'welcome note' on the main face of the President's website and had made several demands that were directed at President Sirisena himself.

The hackers who dauntlessly identified themselves as 'Sri Lankan Youth' had demanded that the government reconsider the decision to hold the GCE Advanced Level Examination in April. Furthermore, the hackers had demanded to hold another presidential election and the removal of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe for his 'irresponsible conduct'. The demands fell on deaf ears considering the government did not even bother to make an official statement about it.

The attack was condemned right and left, of course but the government's lack of response is disturbing. The lack of interest from the public is even more so. The threats might be full of hot air, the demands resonating political influence, but it does not mean that proper precautionary methods should not be looked into.

Hacking is not necessarily a bad thing, let alone it being labelled as a criminal offence. There are ethical hackers as well as unethical hackers. Ethical hackers are driven by a sense of overwhelming sense of morality that drives them to do good, revealing hidden data on corrupt government officials, financial frauds hidden in terabytes of metadata are the manna for ethical hackers. They are the modern day cyber vigilantes. They are the watchdogs of the internet.

However, like the proverbial particle of cow dung in the milk pot, there is the bad side to hacking the spammers, the identity thieves, the online stalkers, etc and etc. The list is endless. Sri Lanka has had experience with almost all these hackers in the past. In 2013, the Sri Lankan Media Centre for National Security website was hacked and its main page was defaced by a hacker known as 'Game Over'. In 2014, a global hack – a conglomerate of several international hacker groups simultaneously targeted 129 vulnerable local websites which included the Ministry of Higher Education, Presidential Commission to Investigate into Complaints Regarding Missing Persons and the Prime Minister's Office websites.

However, the most recent attack was different from the norm. The attack feigned an attack of general misbehaviour and attempted to send out a message to the public. "We are out there and we are watching." Although, it did not work out as they planned. Their demands alone showed an obvious political alliance which straight away blew apart the hackers' Robin Hood-like appearance, in one go.

There are many things we can learn from this most recent attack. One is that we really should take cyber privacy and internet security more seriously. Our websites are more or less vulnerable for future attacks and are in immediate need of strengthening. Furthermore, our general knowledge in these matters is almost non-existent; which should also change so that we are ready to face future attacks.

The most important message however, is this: Nothing happens is what it seems these days. What might seem like an act of social justice can very well hide a clear political agenda supported by corrupt political ideologies. Even more so, they might be funded by politicians or individuals with political influence. We as the citizens of this country, rest easy, blind and oblivious to these matters. Our awareness is our greatest strength.
It's about time we woke up.

Daily Mirror Editorial

Sampanthan goes South with hand of friendship

While the national government is taking practical and concrete measures for reconciliation and the rebuilding of a sustainable peace, a significant move in this direction was also taken by the Opposition and Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Leader Rajavarothiam Sampanthan. 

Mr. Sampanthan, emerging as a moderate and middle path leader sincerely committed to a united Sri Lanka, last Saturday made his first official visit to the South as Leader of the Opposition. He attended a Pirith ceremony at a Matara temple, was blessed by the Buddhist monks and, speaking in fluent Sinhala, Mr. Sampanthan pledged his full support for reconciliation and sustainable development to rebuild a just society in Sri Lanka. Later, accompanied by the United National Party Matara District Parliamentarian Buddhika Pathirana, Mr. Sampanthan also visited a Devinuwara Kovil where he again called on people of all races and religions to work together for deep unity in diversity.

The opposition leader’s move came about three weeks after the national government acted with determination to pass the bill for the setting up of a wide powered Office of Missing Persons (OMP). The TNA and the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) supported the bill, but parliament was thrown into turmoil when the so called “joint opposition” senior members stormed into the area near the Speaker’s podium screaming that they wanted the bill put off for two weeks. When the Speaker disallowed this, the Mahinda Rajapaksa loyalists stormed out of Parliament alleging that the government was rushing through with a bill that could be dangerous to the armed forces and Sri Lanka’s security. President Maithripala Sirisena, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and other government leaders have refuted this charge accusing Rajapaksa loyalists of trying to create “Goni Billas” in a bid to cause turmoil in the country. The JVP protested that in the melee, some of its important amendments were not included and the government has indicated it was ready to accommodate the JVP’s wish and present an amending bill.

According to our sister paper the Sunday Times, the Prime Minister last week also received Cabinet approval for an allocation of about Rs. 166 million for the Secretariat Co-ordinating the Reconciliation Mechanism (SCRM), which will function under him. Senior civil servant Mano Tittawella will be the Secretary General and A. A. Dayananda the administrative head of the SCRM which will operate for two years. It will function as the co-ordinating body of all reconciliation mechanisms and facilitate the exchange of information among policy makers and officials. 

But amid the positive moves for reconciliation, deeper interracial and interreligious unity in diversity, we also saw a serious negative feature over the weekend. SLFP dissidents including nearly 50 MPs loyal to former President Rajapaksa are to form their own party with Mr. Rajapaksa as the leader. The party will have a new name though similar to the SLFP and a new symbol while reports say its members are likely to sit separately in parliament and claimed the post of the Leader of the Opposition. Most analysts believe the Speaker is unlikely to allow this as these MPs were elected from the SLFP-led United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA). Mr. Rajapaksa addressing a meeting of dissidents in Kalutara on Sunday claimed that the group of his loyalists comprised the ‘pure SLFP’ while those in the national government were virtually functioning under the UNP.

The mainstream SLFP, led by President Sirisena, has however responded in a positive spirit. SLFP general secretary Duminda Dissanayake says disciplinary action will not be taken against SLFP members who choose not to attend the party’s 65th Convention to be held in Kurunegala on Sunday. He says the attendance at the convention is purely voluntary and all party members will be invited to attend. 

Most analysts believe that for a vibrant democracy and sustainable, all inclusive development, Sri Lanka needs a strong UNP and a strong SLFP which could work together for at least the next five years and perhaps even further to rebuild a new Lanka where the politicians will sincerely serve the country and give their best for it instead of trying to indulge in plunder and pillage. Mr. Rajapaksa as President for more than nine years, gave effective leadership for the defeat of the LTTE terrorists and the country is grateful to him. Now he needs to face realities and bow out gracefully without giving leadership to those who want to split the SLFP and thereby damage the country’s two party foundation.

Daily News Editorial

Justice for the Disappeared

 30 August 2016

"Some men arrive. They force their way into a family’s home, rich or poor, house, hovel or hut, in a city or in a village, anywhere. They come at any time of the day or night, usually in plain clothes, sometimes in uniform, always carrying weapons. Giving no reasons, producing no arrest warrant, frequently without saying who they are or on whose authority they are acting, they drag off one or more members of the family towards a car, using violence in the process if necessary. This is often the first act in the drama of an enforced or involuntary disappearance, a particularly heinous violation of human rights and an international crime.”

This is how the United Nations describes enforced or involuntary disappearances which have frequently been used as a strategy to spread terror within the society. The feeling of insecurity generated by this practice is not limited to the close relatives of the disappeared, but also affects their communities and society as a whole. How is it like to wake up every day, not knowing the fate of your son/daughter or brother/sister? Since most of the disappeared are in the prime of their youth, the society as a whole is affected.

Today (August 30), the world will focus on this problem on the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances. This is especially significant for Sri Lanka in the context of its recently passed Office of Missing Persons (OMP) Bill and tomorrow’s visit to Sri Lanka by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon who has been a strong voice against this practice. Enforced disappearance has become a global problem and is not restricted to a specific region of the world.

Once largely the product of military dictatorships, enforced disappearances can nowadays be perpetrated in complex situations of internal conflict, especially as a means of political repression of opponents. Of particular concern are: the ongoing harassment of human rights defenders, relatives of victims, witnesses and legal counsel dealing with cases of enforced disappearance; the use by States of counter-terrorist activities as an excuse for breaching their obligations; and the still widespread impunity for enforced disappearances.

According to the UN, “persons are arrested, detained or abducted against their will or otherwise deprived of their liberty by officials of different branches or levels of Government, or by organised groups or private individuals acting on behalf of, or with the support, direct or indirect, consent or acquiescence of the Government, followed by a refusal to disclose the fate or whereabouts of the persons concerned or a refusal to acknowledge the deprivation of their liberty, which places such persons outside the protection of the law.” The victims are frequently tortured and in constant fear for their lives. They are well aware that their families do not know what has become of them and that the chances are slim that anyone will come to their aid. Having been removed from the protective powers of the law and “disappeared” from society, they are in fact deprived of all their rights and are at the mercy of their captors. Some of the human rights that enforced disappearances regularly violate are: The right to recognition as a person before the law; The right to liberty and security of the person; The right not to be subjected to torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; The right to life, when a disappeared person is killed; The right to an identity; The right to a fair trial and to judicial guarantees; The right to an effective remedy, including reparation and compensation; The right to know the truth regarding the circumstances of a disappearance.

Even if death is not the final outcome and the victim is eventually released from the nightmare, the physical and psychological scars of this form of dehumanization and the brutality and torture which often accompany it remain. There are thousands of examples for the damage caused by disappearances from Sri Lanka alone. Journalists are a particularly vulnerable group – the Prageeth Ekneligoda case is just one example in hundreds of such cases worldwide.

Thus the recently passed OMP Bill is a golden opportunity to address the issue of disappeared and missing persons in this country. We cannot think of a bright future without addressing and probing these bleak spots in our recent history. Far from being a witch-hunt against the valiant Security Forces members, it will actually be an opportunity to also inquire into the fate of more than 5,100 Security Forces personnel who had disappeared during the conflict. Their parents and relatives also need consolation and closure. It is only after this Government came to power that judicial proceedings into several high-profile disappearances have started. Several persons are already in custody on suspicion of being involved in these acts. All disappearances must be investigated – it is only then can we find the truth and take steps to avoid this abhorrent crime in the future.

The Island Editorial

When small is not beautiful

30 August 2016

Minister of Ports and Shipping Arjuna Ranatunga has embarked on an ambitious project as is his wont. He has undertaken to put up the world’s tallest Christmas tree on the Galle Face Green! There has been a mixed reaction thereto.

Schumacher’s aphorism, ‘Small is beautiful’ is not for Sri Lankans, who seem to think ‘the bigger, the better’. We think so big that we end up achieving too little paradoxical as it may sound.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe keeps telling us that we can be proud of having the world’s biggest swimming pool aka the Hambantota Port. Many a true word is said to be spoken in jest. Time was when we used to boast of the sheer size of a sugar factory, which is now ‘rusting in peace’. The last government, known for its penchant for gargantuan projects of Ozymandian proportions, began the construction of the Chinese-funded Lotus Tower. That administration, in all its wisdom, also dug up land to build an inland port and started reclaiming land from the sea to build a city! A couple of moons ago President Maithripala Sirisena unveiled a huge Buddha statue. So, former ICC World Cup winning skipper turned Minister, Ranatunga may have thought of launching a mega project in the belief that he may be remembered for that.

Minister Ranatunga’s Christmas tree initiative may have warmed the cockles of many a heart. We don’t intend to discuss the merits or the demerits of his project or contest his assertion that the project will boost the government’s reconciliation efforts which are, no doubt, laudable; lack of ethno-religious harmony has been the bane of this country. Instead, we wonder whether the government has got its priorities right.

It was only recently that outspoken Archbishop Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith, together with a group of other religious dignitaries, staged a walk against the ever worsening drug menace. He made a shocking revelation; many students of a church-run school were addicted to cannabis. The situation must be more or less similar in most other schools, we argued in a previous comment.

Successive governments have failed to tackle the narcotic problem; they have been only scratching the surface thereof. The best way to safeguard the interests of any community, religious, ethnic or otherwise, is to help save its young members from evil. Programmes to prevent narcotic addiction and rehabilitate addicts require a great deal of funds. The Ports Authority can contribute to this worthy cause championed by the prelates.

Yesterday, a senior Buddhist monk visited our newspaper office, complaining that the newly introduced rural electrification programme for low income groups had not benefited the places of religious worship in pecuniary difficulties. He said he had appealed to the powers that be to supply electricity to the poor religious institutions such as Buddhist temples, churches, mosques and kovils in rural areas.

This is an issue Minister Ranatunga can take up at the Cabinet level. The survival of places of worship is a prerequisite for bringing about religious amity. We wonder whether the Colombo Port can utilise a fraction of its profit to help the religious places on the brink of closure.

There are many orphanages run by the Church and other religious institutions and they are experiencing severe financial difficulties. Minister Ranatunga should give serious thought to directing the Colombo Port to cut down on waste and use funds so saved to help such places.

Minister Ranatunga cannot be unaware that in his home district, Gampaha, there are many poor Christian families, especially along the coastal belt. They need government assistance. Leaders of the present administration claimed before the last presidential polls that they were among the people to be affected by the Rajapaksas’ Port City Project, whose construction is to be resumed under a different name shortly.

Let Minister Ranatunga and all others who have launched the tallest Christmas tree project—of course, in good faith—be reminded what legendary, versatile priest, Fr. Marcelline Jayakody famously wrote: Mage naththala dugiya bath kanadaya—which roughly put into English means ‘my Christmas is when the poor dull their pangs of hunger’.

Daily Mirror Editorial

International Day against nuclear tests

While the national government is taking practical and concrete measures for reconciliation and the rebuilding of a sustainable peace, a significant move in this direction was also taken by the Opposition and Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Leader Rajavarothiam Sampanthan. 

Mr. Sampanthan, emerging as a moderate and middle path leader sincerely committed to a united Sri Lanka, last Saturday made his first official visit to the South as Leader of the Opposition. He attended a Pirith ceremony at a Matara temple, was blessed by the Buddhist monks and, speaking in fluent Sinhala, Mr. Sampanthan pledged his full support for reconciliation and sustainable development to rebuild a just society in Sri Lanka. Later, accompanied by the United National Party Matara District Parliamentarian Buddhika Pathirana, Mr. Sampanthan also visited a Devinuwara Kovil where he again called on people of all races and religions to work together for deep unity in diversity.

The opposition leader’s move came about three weeks after the national government acted with determination to pass the bill for the setting up of a wide powered Office of Missing Persons (OMP). The TNA and the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) supported the bill, but parliament was thrown into turmoil when the so called “joint opposition” senior members stormed into the area near the Speaker’s podium screaming that they wanted the bill put off for two weeks. When the Speaker disallowed this, the Mahinda Rajapaksa loyalists stormed out of Parliament alleging that the government was rushing through with a bill that could be dangerous to the armed forces and Sri Lanka’s security. President Maithripala Sirisena, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and other government leaders have refuted this charge accusing Rajapaksa loyalists of trying to create “Goni Billas” in a bid to cause turmoil in the country. The JVP protested that in the melee, some of its important amendments were not included and the government has indicated it was ready to accommodate the JVP’s wish and present an amending bill.

According to our sister paper the Sunday Times, the Prime Minister last week also received Cabinet approval for an allocation of about Rs. 166 million for the Secretariat Co-ordinating the Reconciliation Mechanism (SCRM), which will function under him. Senior civil servant Mano Tittawella will be the Secretary General and A. A. Dayananda the administrative head of the SCRM which will operate for two years. It will function as the co-ordinating body of all reconciliation mechanisms and facilitate the exchange of information among policy makers and officials. 

But amid the positive moves for reconciliation, deeper interracial and interreligious unity in diversity, we also saw a serious negative feature over the weekend. SLFP dissidents including nearly 50 MPs loyal to former President Rajapaksa are to form their own party with Mr. Rajapaksa as the leader. The party will have a new name though similar to the SLFP and a new symbol while reports say its members are likely to sit separately in parliament and claimed the post of the Leader of the Opposition. Most analysts believe the Speaker is unlikely to allow this as these MPs were elected from the SLFP-led United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA). Mr. Rajapaksa addressing a meeting of dissidents in Kalutara on Sunday claimed that the group of his loyalists comprised the ‘pure SLFP’ while those in the national government were virtually functioning under the UNP.

The mainstream SLFP, led by President Sirisena, has however responded in a positive spirit. SLFP general secretary Duminda Dissanayake says disciplinary action will not be taken against SLFP members who choose not to attend the party’s 65th Convention to be held in Kurunegala on Sunday. He says the attendance at the convention is purely voluntary and all party members will be invited to attend. 

Most analysts believe that for a vibrant democracy and sustainable, all inclusive development, Sri Lanka needs a strong UNP and a strong SLFP which could work together for at least the next five years and perhaps even further to rebuild a new Lanka where the politicians will sincerely serve the country and give their best for it instead of trying to indulge in plunder and pillage. Mr. Rajapaksa as President for more than nine years, gave effective leadership for the defeat of the LTTE terrorists and the country is grateful to him. Now he needs to face realities and bow out gracefully without giving leadership to those who want to split the SLFP and thereby damage the country’s two party foundation.

Ceylon Today Editorial

India, not Ban, the adjudicator

 29 August 2016

As reported on these pages yesterday, UN Secretary General (UNSG) Ban Ki-moon is expected to visit the island on Wednesday.

During his visit, he's supposed to meet President Maithripala Sirisena. Ban Ki-moon is also expected to visit Jaffna and meet with Northern Province Governor Reginald Cooray. The UNSG is also billed to speak on the UN's global development goals in Colombo.

UNSG's visit to Colombo on Wednesday will be his second to the island. His first visit was soon after Sri Lanka's 26-year old war with the Tamil terrorists was over on 17 May 2009. During that visit he also met Tamil refugees, then, veritably housed, in their tens of thousands, in refugee camps in the North.

According to the Rehabilitation and Resettlement Ministry website, despite the war end seven years ago, there are still 43,864 internally displaced persons (IDPs) from the North and the East, waiting to be resettled. Ministry Adviser Bradman Weerakoon told this newspaper that those numbers embrace all communities and do not include only the Tamils displaced.

Therefore, this number may also comprise part of the 72,000 Northern Muslims whom LTTE terrorist Leader Velupillai Prabhakaran ejected in 1990. Nonetheless, immediately after the war end, Tamilian refugees from the North alone were allegedly to have had numbered some 300,000.

Still for all, the government needs to find a viable solution to resettle those 43,864 IDPs belonging to all communities of Sri Lanka's, not least Tamils and Muslims.

Meanwhile, Ban's visit to the island comes at the tail-end of his career. Next year there will be a new UNSG on that seat. His visit comes a few weeks after UNESCO Secretary General Ms. Irina Bokova, an aspirant to get into Ban's shoes, visited Sri Lanka.

Bokova denied that her visit was to get Colombo's support for her candidacy to the UNSG post. One wonders whether Ban's visit is to garner support for one of the nine aspirants who are vying for the UNSG post! Ban is on record of having had said that he prefers a woman to succeed him. Of the nine candidates, four are women, including Bokova.

Meanwhile, in respect of Ban's first visit to Sri Lanka (this was when President Mahinda Rajapaksa was at the helm), the UN's website, among other things, had this, in its last para, to say: "Sri Lanka reiterated its strongest commitment to the promotion and protection of human rights, in keeping with international human rights standards and Sri Lanka's international obligations. The Secretary-General underlined the importance of an accountability process for addressing violations of international humanitarian and human rights law. The government will take measures to address those grievances."

After Rajapaksa was twice kicked out by the electorate last year, the mantle of carrying on with these promises now lie on the shoulders of UPFA Leader and President Sirisena and his Prime Minister, UNP Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe. At the UN Human Rights sessions in Geneva last year, Sri Lanka, together with the USA, co-sponsored a resolution to investigate into alleged war crimes 'committed by Colombo during the closing stages of its war with the LTTE. This resolution was passed.

Nonetheless, Sirisena is on record of having had said that he will not allow foreign jurists to probe alleged war crimes. He has said that that will be done by a local tribunal. A few days ago, the government passed the Office of the Missing Persons (OMP) Act, a law which aims at trying to trace all those who have been listed as missing since 1980.

The period covers both the Tamil terrorist and the JVP terrorist engineered conflicts. This undoubtedly is a step on the right direction, which, undoubtedly would also be right up Ban's sleeve. The other, i.e. of getting/not getting foreign jurists is a vexing affair, with international and local ramifications.

If Sri Lanka goes against a resolution which it has jointly sponsored, of, allowing foreign jurists to 'meddle' with Sri Lanka's internal affairs, that may incur the wrath of the West, led by the USA, Sri Lanka's largest market.

On the other hand, if it does, this may be political oxygen to Rajapaksa who's trying to make a comeback on the back of Sri Lanka's overall, 70%, Sinhala-Buddhist vote, who may think that this is a move to punish the security forces and the police, considered as war heroes, for their successful prosecution of the LTTE Tamil terrorist war.

The bulk of the island's Sinhala and Jaffna Tamil population, the latter being the cause of the war, look at each other with suspicion.

It may however ultimately be in the hands of Sri Lanka's closest and giant neighbour India, with its 1.3 billion strong and economically growing population, commercially wooed by the USA and the West, to adjudicate this situation.

Daily News Editorial

A timely relocation

 29 August 2016

The Department of Immigration and Emigration is moving to a brand new home today. “Suhurupaya” the new multi-storey building in Battaramulla, Sri Jayawardhanapura, has been tailor-made for the requirements of the Department, one of the frontline agencies of the Government of Sri Lanka.

This was a long-awaited move as most other government agencies and departments had already moved to Sethsiripaya and other buildings in the Battaramulla area which has plenty of transport links. The Department of Immigration and Emigration was up to now housed in a rather cramped rented building at Punchi Borella. While the location itself was convenient, it did not offer many other facilities such as parking and good washrooms. Parking was especially a nightmare as only one private car park was available and once it filled up, it was practically impossible to find a parking space. The building was located in a narrow, highly congested road, which compounded the problem.

We hope that the new building complex will solve most of these problems. A spacious building was essential for the Department which receives thousands of people including foreigners every day. The former premises was so congested, it is a miracle that no one was injured in a stampede. The parking problem too is likely to have been addressed – no one will mind paying a parking fee if ample space is available.

The former premises also had a smattering of privately-operated photo booths and eateries. We do not know whether these operators had been given accommodation in the new building, but the Department stands to earn more if it too can operate a photo/photocopy booth and a cafeteria open to the staff and the public. No room should be allowed for beggars and touts to harass visitors coming to the building. There will also be an additional demand for public transport and the Department should work with the SLTB and the Private Bus Owners Associations on strengthening the 163, 170, 171, 174, 177 and 190 fleets.

The new building will enable the Department to be more efficient, productive and technologically advanced. In fact, Sri Lanka was among the countries that pioneered the concept of Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA). This system has since been adapted by many countries, including developed countries such as Canada. Within a few years, it should be possible for an applicant to lodge a passport application entirely online, apart from the biometric (fingerprint) registration requirement for which centres can be established islandwide. Even now, the passport photographs taken by approved studios are sent online to the Department, with the applicant not required to get a printed photograph. More awareness needs to be created about biometric passports, with most countries now demanding that all visitors should be in possession of such passports. If biometric info can be included in all passports, it will also end the discomfiture of having to give one’s fingerprints at a foreign embassy or Visa Service Centre.

Biometric or not, there are signs that the Sri Lankan passport is gaining more recognition post-war and post-2015. Many countries have relaxed entry requirements for Sri Lankans, who can now travel visa-free or with e-visa to 40 countries and territories including Singapore and India. Indonesia recently introduced a Visa on Arrival process for Sri Lankans while Malaysia plans to offer the e-Visa facility to Sri Lankans from November. The authorities should negotiate with more countries especially in Asia and Africa to gain improved access for Sri Lankans. As Sri Lanka’s economy and Per Capita Income improve, more countries are likely to offer e-visa or visa-free facility to Sri Lankans. It is a pity that SAARC citizens cannot travel entirely visa-free within their own region yet due to certain geopolitical considerations, but this too should be addressed.

The Department also faces the challenge of addressing the problem of illegal immigration of which there are two aspects – foreigners overstaying in Sri Lanka and Sri Lankans who try to migrate abroad illegally by boat. Visitors from certain countries can blend in very easily with the local population and it is very difficult for the Department alone with its limited resources to nab them. Public and Police cooperation must be sought in this exercise. The latter category has seen a decline, but the Department should continue awareness programmes in collaboration with the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) on the futility of trying to reach foreign shores illegally.

The resumption of the Dual Citizenship Programme, stopped arbitrarily by the previous administration for undisclosed reasons, has been a great success with the Department inundated with thousands of applications from Sri Lankans domiciled abroad. This gives them a renewed sense of belonging to the Motherland. All Sri Lankans living abroad must be encouraged to regain their Sri Lankan citizenship.

As more Sri Lankans travel overseas on business, leisure and employment, the Department of Immigration and Emigration will naturally have a bigger workload in the years to come. “Suhurupaya” will hopefully rise to the onerous challenge of this inevitable extra demand and expansion.