Ceylon Today Editorial

Emerging Controversy

20 November 2016

Government and intelligence authorities are learnt to be on high alert with every passing week crystallizing speculation about what we editorially addressed last week as a 'culture of political conspiracy' that's inexorably gaining weight, with incidents pointing to evidence of such a conspiracy.

This editorial exclusively warned the government to be mindful of subtle and not-so-subtle moves by supremacist/extremist nationalist elements emerging in tangible form.

It is learnt that Army and Police intelligence authorities have briefed the government, specifically the President and Prime Minister, about these vexing moves to destabilize its very foundation and create socio-religious and political chaos across the country.

Leaders of a few big time corporate entities with anti-government sentiments are also learnt to be on the intelligence radar because of a suspicion that these extremist forces are being financed by them...as are a few indications of some foreign involvement. The overall strategy is to destabilize governance by stoking widespread racial-religious conflagrations, using both Muslim as well as Sinhala stool pigeons to create public disturbances with extremists' religious rhetoric.

This was borne out by the fact that just last week an anti-Muslim Sinhala trouble-maker was arrested in Polonnaruwa and a so-called Islamist extremist of the Thowfeek Jama'ath was arrested in Colombo, for prolonged hate speech in public aimed at stoking anti-religious backlashes. Almost inadvertently in his address in Parliament on the Budget's Second Reading, Justice Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe made a statement to the effect that the intelligence services had authentic proof of 32 Muslims who had left the country to fight alongside ISIS terrorists... in itself an unwitting statement that will add fuels to the fires of racism and religious extremism being stoked by members of this conspiracy to topple the government.

Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe might well have made this statement in connection with Votes on the Ministry of Justice because according to a government source, his ministry will very shortly, perhaps this week, be told to draft amendments to the constitutional provisions for the exercise of civil and political rights with the objective of introducing powerful new deterrents to hate speech and ulterior motives masquerading behind the lawful exercise of these rights which in effect are naked transgressions of the spirit of the law.

Intelligence operatives will naturally be also having more than a couple of opposition politicians on their radar because it's logical to presume a possible hand in this conspiracy by opposition political elements. It is felt that such a conspiracy will – by 2020 when Presidential and general elections are held – have created a deep rift depriving the government, the Ranil-Sirisena combine, of the Muslim vote which played a significant role in the general election and last Presidential election.

Intelligence sources believe the modus operandi is to create such a far, reaching and widespread socio-religious and political animus against the government that its twin partners will also lose the Tamil vote that played the greater pivotal role in voting it into power and making Sirisena the effective Executive President, a fact that is exploited by the Joint Opposition that takes pains to cast Sirisena in the mould of a non-Sinhala-Buddhist elected leader who's intent on giving the Tamils more than 13A-Plus in the long run, in a bid to deceive the less intelligent voter in believing a lie by its Goebellian repetition.

Government also believes this conspiracy has harnessed the fullest support of a few sections of the media to ensure that deceptively minor and 'spontaneous' incidents of hate speech are blown up and sustained in the public eye to ensure maximum mileage by way of setting ablaze a racial backlash that will help the conspiracy establish a case that the President and Premier are failures and the Yahapalanaya is a failed government.

This is in a very subtle, slow measure attracting heavier media exposure and fits into the plans of the conspiracy to grab power in 2020.

Information has trickled down that plans are also afoot to deploy more co-conspirators from among extremist nationalist groups such as the Sinha-Le and BBS on many more public protest demonstrations to add fuel to the ambiance in which the conspiracy seeks fruition.

To hit back at the government's push to expose bribery and mass scale corruption by members of the previous regime, the Joint Opposition has meanwhile in separate moves begun lambasting the government by pointing fingers of allegations of bribery and corruption at its ministers and MPs.

In its latest move, the 'conspiracy' is believed to have used its henchmen to seek a Supreme Court declaration against the enshrined constitutional right to sing the National Anthem in Sinhala...seen as one of the many moves aimed at portraying the President and Premier as 'doubtful' Sinhala-Buddhist leaders not qualified to govern.

Weekend Nation Editorial

A win-win possibility in health sector

20 November 2016

As exclusively reported by the Nation last week, a proposal has been made by the health ministry to start paid channelling of doctors in government hospitals after 4pm. This will encourage patients who are able to afford a reasonable fee to consult doctors of their choice in the evening while it will help poorer patients by shortening the long queues in the mornings.

Currently channelled practice is confined to popular consultants who have established themselves in the private hospitals in the main cities. As a result, it is not easy for newly qualified consultants to enter this lucrative field even if they have excellent skills. The proposed system is expected to create new opportunities through the state hospitals and therefore likely to receive the support of young doctors who have qualified as consultants recently.

It will also create new opportunities for nurses, paramedics and other employees to make extra income by way of overtime payments and other incentives for working after their normal duty hours. If the scheme is successfully implemented, it will also generate new income to the government which can be utilized to upgrade the existing health service.

The other advantage is that some of the costly medical devices like CT scanner and ultra sound systems can be put to good use while they are still within the guarantee period without allowing them to idle in the evenings thereby saving some money to the government.

While some have expressed reservations about this proposal the majority of the professionals connected to the health field seem to be supportive of the idea. However it is true that the implementation of such a proposal should be done in a meticulous manner so that hospital employees who are willing to work in the evenings will not neglect their duties in the morning hours.

Similarly no doctor or any other staff of the hospitals should influence patients to obtain paid services in the evenings and the decision to come in the morning or in the evening should be taken by the patients alone depending on their convenience and the need.

The possibility of sharing some of the facilities available in the private hospitals where such facilities are in shortage in the specialized surgical units of the state hospitals is another proposal that has been made. The idea is for the government to bear the relevant cost while the patient has to bear only ICU or other room charges during the immediate post-operation period until the patient is transferred back to the relevant government hospital. This method can substantially reduce the current waiting lists in places like the cardiology units.

If these proposals are carefully implemented in a manner the real benefits will accrue to the deserving patients, it could be a revolutionary measure that will enable the government to modernize the health sector to suit the current needs of our country. Eventually the process can be developed as a great measure to bring down the escalating health bills of the people while the available resources can be fully utilized.

Sunday Times Editorial

Road terrorism and the corruption ring

20 November 2016

Private buses are a classic example of capitalism gone wrong in this country. In the pre-nationalisation era of yesteryear, private bus operators made a lot of money and provided a useful service to the people. With the advent of socialism, these companies were nationalised and the state began to have a monopoly in public transport with the railways already under it. The load of enabling the people to commute by road fell upon the CTB (Central Transport Board) which however much it tried to do an honest job, and provide a good service, was unable to cater to the burgeoning demands of a fast-growing population. In 1977, the new Government privatised the bus services once again.

Licences were given to private operators to ply on designated routes. They have now become licences to kill and maim. According to the Chairman of the National Council for Safety, every other day someone dies due to a bus accident in Sri Lanka.

It is commendable that at least now, public complaints have reached the ears of the Government. The remedial action seems to be a fine-based option but coming as it did in the annual Budget the impression is that the Government’s interest is only revenue collection as a way to arrest the dangerous trend of road accidents and be a deterrent to drivers.

The Budget proposal seems to be to impose Rs. 2,500 as a minimum fine – a jump from Rs. 20. There is ambiguity whether an amendment is in store when the final reading of the Budget is made. On the one hand, Rs. 20 is no longer legal tender in this country, so to say, when a cigarette is Rs. 55. The bus driver’s complaint is that his daily wage is Rs. 2,000 and the minimum fine exceeds that.

At the 30th anniversary celebrations of the Ravaya newspaper this week with a galaxy of political party leaders present, the speeches revolved around the much talked of subject of our times; bribery and corruption. The JVP leader was particularly harsh on the dooshana walalla (corruption ring) that has enveloped the country – the politician, the government servant, the policeman, the judge etc., not all of course, but many who are in a position of influence who are part and parcel of this ring, and how bribery and corruption are endemic.

The joke doing the rounds on the Finance Minister’s minimum fine of Rs. 2,500 on errant drivers is that what he has actually done is indirectly increased the salaries of the policemen by that process. This is so-called ‘black humour’ at its height because it has serious connotations. The recent acquisitions of motorcycles under the names of a wife or relative of a constable, tri-shaws by a junior officer and coaches and buses by top brass in the Police are telltale signs of bribery and corruption that have seeped almost beyond redemption into the Police. Not for nothing did the Police Department receive the dubious distinction of being the most corrupt Government department in the country.

How can this rot the JVP leader thundered about, be stemmed when Members of Parliament, including Ministers and Deputies provide the worst possible example in leadership. Yesterday they voted for themselves more allowances. The ‘killing’ some MPs have made by selling their Duty Free permit of a vehicle is shameless. It’s a legal bribe, if there is such a thing, that the Government has permitted to MPs – only the JVP as a party has not availed itself of it. The Prime Minister too has not taken this permit and made a valiant, but unconvincing effort at defending the MPs, saying their salaries are so low, and they have to serve their constituencies from their own pocket.

But an MP who sold his duty free permit defrauds the state to the tune of about Rs. 30 million and pockets a sum close to that by selling his car overnight. Is this then the modus operandi of Governments to raise the wages of policemen, public servants and politicians by giving them a side-track to make an extra buck?

Today, the traffic policeman turns a ‘Nelsonian eye’ to what the Media Minister correctly referred to this week as “road terrorism”. These policemen are usually sympathetic to speeding buses; their ostensible argument is that the drivers have ‘targets’ to keep as the owner has loans to pay to the hire-purchase company. That may be why you see young drivers wearing baseball caps and skinnies driving like mad-hatters tooting their horns as if the roads belong to them. The real reason, however, is that the policeman’s palm is oiled with a note inside the driver’s insurance papers. Some private bus companies have a separate desk to handle payments to OICs of stations on their routes. So, the ‘target’ can be other law abiding motorists or innocent pedestrians as long as the driver meets his ‘target’. Just this week an eight-year-old Grade 2 girl on a school tour in Colombo was knocked down on the road by a speeding bus and never went back home.

The Private Bus Owners Association sometimes acts like a terrorist organisation. It has regional unions competing with it for the honour like the buses competing with each other on the highway. Why the Government must buckle under such pressure is a moot point when the public began pelting stones at buses when they struck work on Friday. Is it that they provide buses to the ruling party for their May Day rallies at concessionary rates; or do they fund politicians? No one really knows. This is similar to the previous Government that once proposed to ban two-stroke three-wheelers because of the pollution they caused. Inhabitants of main cities were choking under the fumes and hospitals were recording increasing numbers of those with respiratory problems and asthma patients, particularly children.

Given the voter base of the galloping number of three-wheel owners in the country (never mind the vote base of the ‘silent majority’), that Government hesitated to implement it. It eventually did, but the RMV (Registrar of Motor Vehicles) continues to register them up-to-date. That is the ‘corruption ring’ the JVP leader spoke of.

The fault is not with having privatised the bus service, but in allowing it to run amok. The powers of the regulatory body, the National Transport Commission (NTC), are limited, but while it still has the muscle to curb reckless drivers, the main objective of the NTC seems to be Passenger Rights, not the rights of those on the road. The “flying squads’ that are supposed to keep an eye on errant drivers have their wings clipped unlike in the days of the CTB.

Is then the problem going into the root cause of ‘home economics’; the driver having to meet ‘targets’; the owner meets his ‘targets’, and the policeman purchase his private bike? From the Minister to the bus driver, to the owner to the cop – is that what it is all about? Each for himself and the Devas and God for all?

Sunday Observer Editorial

Religion, warlords and terror

20 November 2016

The Minister of Justice made reference in Parliament last week to Sri Lankans apparently joining the so-called ‘Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant’ (ISIL), and linked those Sri Lankans to a single religion without full clarification about this linkage. After all, it is of significance whether these persons did so purely for genuine, religious purposes, for economic gain or security or, simply because they were joining in obedience to a family elder.

This parliamentary reference, bringing with it, widespread news media coverage, immediately placed the Muslim community on guard for a possible renewal of religious tensions and violence. The news media grabbed this opportunity to sensationalise the Minister’s speech in the House. This inevitably drew attention to the activities and culture of a single ethno-religious community rather than to the specific issues that arise from the joining of ISIL by Sri Lankans.

The nature of ISIL - or, ‘Da-esh’, as it is known in Arabic – is such that it causes much sensation, usually sensations of fear and disgust, but also enthusiasm and exultation, among some people, possibly enamoured with the that organisation’s military exploits.

To date, ISIL can only boast about exploits of violence, indeed, public bestiality, in addition to the breaking of the entire gamut of law: from illegal obtaining and use of weaponry, slavery, mass rape, devastation of social and economic infrastructure and destabilisation of whole states. The exultation it arouses is through the much publicised upholding of a pseudo-religion over and above the laws and practices of civilisation.

This can only be done by the clever manipulation of religious themes to claim that their ‘religion’ is above the rules of humanity – that is, the constitutions of whole societies and international law adopted by the global community of nations. Such exaltation by ISIL of the superiority of their own pseudo-religion above all else can and does appeal to people who feel, for whatever reason, trapped by societies’ laws and norms; those who feel dis-empowered by their citizenship to the degree that they fantasize about creating their own special ‘citizenship’ in a pseudo-religious pretence of a ‘state’.

The so-called ‘state’ created by gangs of illegally armed groups is no more than a large area on the remote margins of several states that have been weakened by decades of war and internal instability. This so-called ‘state’ fails to match even the vestiges of a genuine, orderly and civilised state-society. Further, the very nature of its creation - enabled solely by that power vacuum in corners of several West Asian states (i.e. Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Turkey etc) – renders this so-called ‘state’ extremely temporary in terms of territory and existence.

It is important to understand that this mobilisation of the frustrations and anxieties of people on the basis of their religion is a ploy that has been used time and again in modern times – including our in own country. There is hardly a major religion on earth that has not been abused for the purpose: of mobilising people on the basis that their faith empowers them to transcend the general societal framework which they perceive as disempowering them.

Right now, in this world, we see one popularly elected governmental leader openly declaring the resort to the physical elimination of narcotic drug dealers and users with only the minimum recourse to legal justification. We also saw election campaign mobilisation in another country that encouraged people to look beyond governance and constitutions and be guided by racial differentiation without regard to social norms. That that election mobilisation was successful prompted that country’s analysts to conclude that their country, despite its affluence, did have sizeable segments of its population that felt disempowered and marginalised and, consequently, wanted to break the bounds of existing norms and practices.

In our own country, we had one insurgent endeavour to create a similar separate territory seemingly as a new home for those who felt ethnically marginalised and disempowered. Thankfully, that enterprise did have genuine socio-political origins and, even if the militarily dominant insurgent group did attempt to drag a whole community towards a separatist extreme, the larger social movement of that community turned to more genuinely representative and, more importantly, civilised politics.

Also in our own country, we have seen people claiming to be clergy of a religion who carried out actions in open contempt of the law, indeed, in blatant violations of laws in the very presence of the guardians of law and security. We saw these ‘clergy’ openly incite racial and religious hatred, but more significantly, claiming the right to such actions on the basis of their ‘higher’ religious inspiration which they claimed to be ‘above’ the law.

As long as there are sections of the population that feel trapped in their predicament with existing frameworks seemingly of no help to them, there will be people susceptible to appeals to a ‘faith’ inspiration that is ‘above’ the laws and norms of society.

The Justice Minister must not only raise his warning about such misguidance of people. He must also offer at least ideas – if not active measures - for initial steps to mitigate the dynamics of social frustrations and misperceptions. The Minister is well aware of the many incidents of communal violence and incitement to violence in recent years and should be aware of the ominous, persistent patterns of behaviour by some groups and, more recently, the emergence of new groups. As Minister of Justice, he has the wherewithal, at governmental level, to take quick action to probe past violence and to prevent or mitigate newly emerging trends.

The Government will do well to share its intelligence with the relevant religious and community leaderships and to support actions for internal disciplining with religious establishments.

Already, many major religions in the country are organising themselves in response to this challenge by opportunist, power-seeking, elements attempting to misguide the faithful away from the genuine dharma or doctrine that ensures civilised human community in transcendence rather than a destructive nihilism.

It is a challenge to the faithful of all religions in the country to be vigilant for such deviant behaviour on the one hand and, on the other, to identify areas of social marginalisation and discontent and, cooperate in supportive interventions, including creative theology and philosophy, to meet such contingencies.

Sunday Island Editorial

Rabble rousers in robes

20 November 2016

 

Over 350 citizens including several university academics and other respected personalities wrote to IGP Pujith Jayasundera last week complaining about police inaction against some Buddhist monks who have been making hate speeches inciting violence against minorities. Many of these speeches have been carried on various websites and created alarm in senior political and other circles who suspect with good reason that there is an organized and well funded attempt to create a communal conflagration in the country. Both the president and the prime minister have spoken out in public about this situation, expressing views that have resonated among right thinking people including good Buddhists abhorring the disgraceful behavior and rowdy antics of a small number of robed individuals hell bent on unleashing mayhem in the country.

We as a nation have learned nothing if we did not learn the lessons from Black July of 1983 which blackened Sri Lanka’s image internationally, created untold misery among minority Tamils driving some of the best and the brightest among them out of the country. Prabhakaran and his terrorists drew oxygen from those events to sustain a civil war for close to 30 years. The Diaspora thereby created was a powerful force able to mobilize international opinion against this country and played no small part in raising funds to support the terrorist war. Despite the war being ended in 2009, there is a remaining rump pushing to make further trouble for Sri Lanka with demands for war crimes investigations and whatnot. President J.R. Jayewardene’s grand plan to develop the country lost much of its steam due those events for which some blame even elements within his own party. The then president’s failure to nip those events in the bud created consequences and damage that defy quantification.

The complaint to the IGP, copied to the president, prime minister, law and order minister, the foreign minister, the attorney general, the heads of the police and human rights commissions, the Mahanayakes of Malwatte and Asigiriya and other concerned authorities has been meticulously compiled with attributions to the sources that published the extracts quoted. It is indeed a damning indictment and deserves close and immediate attention. Admittedly the authorities are confronted with a tricky situation because there is no doubt that arresting the perpetrators, hauling them before the courts and seeking remand may well be what these rabble rousers desire. Some members of this yellow peril

have been soliciting baton charging and tear gassing and are even known to have asked police "why aren’t you beating us?" and "at least use tear gas if you can’t beat us." No less than the president is aware of such exchanges and the intention of these elements is abundantly clear.

The people did this country an injustice by electing several (nine?) Buddhist monks to parliament under the Jathika Hela Urumaya banner some years ago. Earlier Ven. Baddegama Samitha of the LSSP, who we must say is no rabble rouser but a committed leftist, was elected to the previous short-lived Parliament being the first Buddhist priest to enter the legislature. He remains a member of the Southern Provincial Council. Thankfully the number of bhikkus in Parliament today has been reduced to one. But there is every possibility that given the immense rewards that a seat in the House entails, undesirables in yellow robes may well be engaging in attracting attention to themselves by whatever despicable means with their eyes on plums that are well worth the picking. Whether especially Buddhist electors will take the right decision if such elements seek election to the legislature remains to be seen. Hopefully at least the big political parties and grouping will in the future think long and hard about nominating Buddhists clergy on their lists.

There is no doubt that Buddhist priests have played an important role in the politics of this country at different times. Many of them have demonstrated exceptional leadership ability and whether they should be elected to Parliament or not will always be hotly debatable with points of view favoring both sides of the argument. Ven. Maduluwawe Sobhitha’s name was mentioned as a common candidate for the presidency if none other was available. But he intended quickly returning to his temple after abolishing the executive presidency if he was made to run as a last resort. What we are fearful of is the rabble among the clergy, some of whom are active today with various propaganda channels including websites giving them wide visibility. Some monks have lent their temples to politicians who host press conferences in places of religious worship that have become their political headquarters. Politicians will always seek the patronage of religious leaders and this is not preventable. Religious leaders have led some countries and names like Archbishop Makarios of Cyprus and Imam Khomeini or Iran comes readily to mind. But nobody, whether they belong to the clergy or laity, should be immune from the law merely because they are men of the cloth. This is why the people will carefully watch what the results of last week’s complaint to the IGP will be.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa succeeded in alienating the minorities at the last election and this was part of the reason he was toppled from the throne. There is credence in the interpretation that it was a minority of the majority and a majority of the minorities who helped the regime change in a large measure. Although memories may be fading over the Aluthgama incidents that turned many Muslims away from the Rajapaksas, they are fresh in the minds of the victims and members of their community. There are extremists in all communities and these include the minorities. Extremism, wherever it arises, must be roundly condemned. Let us hope that attempts to create communal discord in this country will be firmly and effectively dealt with. There is no room for timidity in this regard.