Ceylon Today Editorial

Let May Day truly be a tribute to labour force!

01 May 2017

May Day remains a day of salutation to the labour force which makes the world move for the betterment of all living beings on the earth.

May Day commenced with the agitation of more than 300,000 workers from more than ten thousand business establishments across the United States of America demanding an 8-hour working day on 1 May 1886.

Since then the May Day is celebrated globally as a tribute to the labour force while highlighting their unresolved problems.

However, in Sri Lanka more than glorifying the labour force on the May Day, the international event has been largely misinterpreted as an event where the political parties take the opportunity to show off their strength.

In Sri Lanka May Day also has a sad history with the brutal assassination of President Ranasinghe Premadasa on May Day in 1993.

The second Executive President of Sri Lanka who had been a leader with several humble qualities died in the hands of ruthless LTTE terrorists while the late President mingled freely with the people gathered for the May Day celebration at Sri Sumanatissa Mawatha (former Armour Street) Colombo.

This year the May Day is being celebrated with all leading political parties flexing their muscles to show their strength in the backdrop of Colombo getting a facelift to boost its economy with the creation of the Colombo Port City project and on the other hand with the man-made Meethotamulla garbage dump tragedy.

There was a time when the architect of Singapore Lee Kuan Yew admired Sri Lanka as a promising developing nation with the infrastructure put in place by the British.

However, the unscrupulous politics without any farsightedness which began to take shape gradually has led the island nation on a gloomy path ruining all resources putting the labour force of the country in peril.

Despite the open economic policy of the country, the three decades of strife in the country had ruined the agricultural and the industrial sector to a great extent.

Being described as the Pearl of the Indian Ocean by the historians, Sri Lanka is also considered a heavenly spot on the earth for tourism.

However, it is a pity to note that even after the lessons learnt from the ruthless war which had annihilated several high profile politicians including President Premadasa on a May Day, the politicians in the country are still entangled in political populism with hardly any attention paid towards rejuvenating the country's economy with due consideration for its labour force.

It is important to remember the sacrifices made by the country's labour force from the central hills of the island in the plantation sector and in various other fields in the country.

As several countries are far ahead in strengthening their economies in an extensively globalized atmosphere, Sri Lanka cannot keep on continuing with political populism giving less importance to constructive development activities and to the labour force which remains as the driving force to rebuild the fractured economy of the country.

So the political parties, instead of making the May Day celebration an event to show their strength, must respect the true spirit of this great day and determine to work towards the betterment of the labour force which remains the backbone of the country's economy.

Despite successfully bringing an end to the war, Sri Lanka is yet to travel a long way to put its economy in right shape.

Conducting lengthy processions and holding mega rallies with mudslinging slogans on the May Day will only ridicule the sacrifices made so far by the labour force in the country.

Focusing on rebuilding a peaceful reconciled nation with the salutation for the labour force only will make the May Day celebration a meaningful event.

Daily News Editorial

May Day reflections

01 May 2017

Workers around the world celebrate May Day, also known as Labour Day and International Workers’ Day, today. It is a national holiday in more than 80 countries including Sri Lanka and the event is celebrated in some of the most staunchly capitalist countries too.

The May Day tradition is around 125-years-old, having begun as an agitation campaign against harsh working conditions by workers in the US in 1886. They were demanding a 40-hour working week. The slogan was “eight hours for work, eight hours for rest and eight hours for what you will”.

In the famous 1886 Haymarket incident in Chicago, US, police fire killed several trade union leaders and workers who were engaged in a demonstration seeking better working conditions and fewer working hours. It was usual for employers then to get their employees to work for 16-18 hours a day. It is generally accepted that these events eventually led to the adoption of the 40 hour working week.

In 1889, the first congress of the Second International, meeting in Paris for the centennial of the French Revolution and the Exposition Universelle, following a proposal by Raymond Lavigne, called for international demonstrations on the 1890 anniversary of the Chicago protests. May Day was formally recognized as an annual event at the International’s second congress in 1891. However, the US and Canada now observe the Labour Day in September.

With the establishment of the United Nations, a specialist agency for labour matters, called the International Labour Organization (ILO) was created. In cooperation with Governments around the world, it has evolved labour charters honoured by all UN members. This has ensured much better working conditions than the demonstrators of 1886 ever envisaged.

Sri Lankans have observed May Day for decades. It is a vibrant event with rallies, demonstrations and parades. Over the years, May Day has been transformed into a political event based loosely on the significance of the day for the working class. It has become an opportunity for the political parties to show their grassroots strength and also their affinity to the working masses. Although one can no longer witness the massive May Day rallies of yesteryear, the day has still not lost its significance in our country.

Now the focus has shifted firmly towards political propaganda, with workers’ rights and struggles often relegated to the second place. Parties should strive to put the worker first in their rallies and meetings. This year too the parties have made elaborate arrangements for May Day.

The SLFP should be commended for taking May Day celebrations to the outstations – last year, their rally was held in Galle and this year, it is being held in the outskirts of Kandy. This gives outstation workers and party supporters to attend a May Day event closer to their hometowns. The UNP, as usual, has opted for Campbell Park where they held a successful rally last year. The Joint Opposition rally at Galle Face Green has already been subject to controversy as MPs Bandula Gunawardena and Basil Rajapaksa gave widely differing projected crowd figures of two million and 120,000. Filling the Galle Face Green is no easy task and how they cope with the challenge remains to be seen. The JVP too has stuck to its BRC venue, where they are likely to put up a very elaborate stage as is the norm.

In the end, it very hard to separate the labour movement from politics in Sri Lanka. The workers in many organisations are represented by trade unions which are for the most part affiliated to the major political parties. There are some stand-alone trade unions, that find it hard to raise their voice without the backing of a political party.

Sri Lanka has a vibrant trade union sector, especially in the one-million strong government workforce. Most private sector companies generally do not tolerate trade unions, but this is beginning to change. There also are a number of powerful professionals’ trade unions which should essentially be non-political but which have increasingly dipped their toes in political waters. The GMOA is a good example.

Most trade unions are well known for making demands from the Government in power. For this reason, many trade unions are nearly always at loggerheads with the Government. Some of the demands are reasonable, but most are not. Sri Lanka’s trade unions have a predilection for demanding higher salaries for their workforce, regardless of the economic situation of the country.

Trade unions should stop the current practice of resorting to strikes at the drop of a hat if their demands are not met. That should be a last resort, to be considered only when negotiations with the authorities fail. They should stop taking the public ‘hostage’ when they strike to win their demands.

But do workers and trade unions pause to think of their obligations to their organisations and to the public? This rarely happens. Work really is a two-way street. This May Day, both workers and employers must work towards addressing labour unrest and implementing better working conditions.

The Island Editorial

May Day circuses & ‘mindsuckers’

01 May 2017

 

The animal kingdom is known to have some wily parasites which control the minds of their hosts and turn the latter into zombies. The National Geographic magazine featured some of these ‘mindsuckers’ in 2014; hairworms turn crickets suicidal and wasps make spiders spin their last web and transform ladybirds into suicidal surrogate mothers. Some parasites get into avian faeces to complete their life cycle by infecting snails and causing them to climb to treetops and get devoured by birds.

Animals are, however, not alone in this predicament. Some humans also allow parasites to manipulate them from within to act in self-destructive ways to the benefit of the latter. The plight of the working class in this country is a case in point. Political parasites mainly of three colours—green, blue and red—have turned workers into zombies to achieve their objectives.

Today is May Day. Sri Lankan workers have suffered a crippling blow at the hands of the present government, which, having caused a massive loss of Rs. 10 billon to the Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) through a mega bond racket, is contemplating a massive tax on workers’ savings in their superannuation fund. If such things had happened in any other country workers would have taken to the streets. But, here, the self-emasculated trade unions have chosen to take it lying down.

Worse, the trade union arms (or tails?) of the UNP and the SLFP will take part in the May Day processions of the two parties today, singing hosannas for the government leaders. They seem to have mistaken trade unionism to prostitution to their political masters. The Joint Opposition (JO) leaders also have a history of having workers assaulted and even shot dead to crush trade union struggles and making a despicable attempt to convert the EPF and ETF into a pension fund so as to avoid making lump-sum payments to workers upon retirement and dip into workers’ savings; they also abused the EPF for pump and dump operations in the Colombo Stock Exchange. But, workers and their trade union leaders will shamelessly march in the JO procession today.

It is a pity that workers have chosen to lick the boots of UNP and SLFP leaders. The SLFP and its leftist allies have unconscionably used workers as pawns. In the 1980s, they, in an abortive bid to unsettle the seemingly monolithic JRJ government, called a general strike, which caused about one hundred thousand public sector workers to lose their jobs. Today, the UNP and the SLFP are savouring power together and workers are unashamedly grovelling at the feet of the leaders of these two parties.

Our Rathu Sahodarayas, who were honeymooning with the JRJ government on the sly, pulled out of the 1980 strike at the eleventh hour, betraying the workers. A few years later they gunned down rival trade unionists who refused to toe their line during their abortive second uprising. Having prepared the ground for the current UNP-SLFP political marriage, the Rathu Sahodarayas are today shedding crocodile tears for the workers and being mildly critical of the government over the proposed tax on the EPF. They staged street protests against the Rajapaksa government’s attempt to introduce a private sector pension scheme as part of its plan to convert the EPF and the ETF into a pension fund. But, today, they are only shouting slogans without resorting to action. What has made the self-proclaimed revolutionaries act with restraint? This is the question workers ought to ask the JVP leaders.

Workers have been left without anyone to fight for their rights with might and main because the trade union movement––or what passes for it––is manipulated by the mind-sucking political parasites. Unfortunately, workers haven’t realised this simple truth. The time has come for them to break free from the clutches of wily politicians if they are to win their demands. Let that be their May Day resolution.

Ceylon Today Editorial

OF POLITICS, MORALS AND CONSCIENCE

30 April 2017

We have consistently articulated the fact that an overwhelming percentage of the population in this country has, since the immediate post-independence period, been consistently inveigled by opportunistic politicians, as well as sections of the anti-establishment clergy, into apparently legitimate expressions of dissent, ostensibly in the exercise of democratic rights.

We have also warned that dissent of late has had overt features in them which in effect make a mockery of that democratic right. Subversion against legitimate and creditable national development initiatives can hardly be called legitimate dissent.

Egged on by politicians lacking even an iota of political morality and social concerns, we've been treated to a surfeit of near violent, disruptive and destructive forms of dissent from peasants, farmers, trade unions, student unions, professional organizations et al with all of them sans exception being used by politicians deranged by their loss of power. Back of all the destabilizing slew of strikes, walk-outs and sundry protest demonstrations has been the objective of overthrowing this government. The reasons given have been mere excuses of parochial political ploys resorted to by politicians who themselves plunged this nation into a decade of an unparalleled rape of all our democratic rights and privileges. Dissent, legitimate and morals-based, especially from the media, was met not with restraint but with gun and sword as the country's best journalists were done to bloody death as they drove to work or returned home. Politicians daring to cry out for justice were gunned down within minutes of leaving TV studios after chat shows or attending some religious festival with loved ones. Men of dignity were hounded by scum, flown out to the streets of London to humiliate our envoy there. Others, multiple scores in the BASL, were beaten up by thugs for demanding the removal of dirty hands from interference in and humiliation of the judiciary. The armed services were brought to the gutters with lackeys ever willing to sign up for motorcycle or white van duty, to kill with brutal efficiency, anyone who dared speak up for truth and morality.

All of that hellish era came to an end when the government now in power was favoured by an electorate that was sick in its soul of the hideous monstrosity that the government of that day had become.

Let's make no bones about it: It is to regain that lost altar of power at which those narcissists strutted that all these strikes, protest demonstrations and sundry acts of socio-economic and political destabilization are all about.

We editorially though out aloud less than a month ago whether the government had abdicated its authority and mandate to rule, to secure the peace , development and prosperity of the nation, to restore its lost sense of morality, to restore to the nation every vestige of self- respect that it had lost.

In the face of this unending stream of efforts to destabilize the entire nation and the government that's masquerading behind a mask of legitimate democratic dissent, the government has to date shown a far from impressive performance in stemming the rot.

Dissent is a right to which one only has a rightful claim if and when the cause is justifiable and reasonable and when the objective in bona fide. This is far from the truth of what has generated the past two years of political mayhem masquerading as legitimate dissent. All the players in this dissent have clearly demonstrated the fact that they operate under the same law: socio-economic-political destabilization before the slew of murder, bribery and corruption cases against their handlers are proved and they are marched off to jail permanently. A leading academic, a legal luminary of sorts though lacking in moral fibre, recently had the temerity to question the legal and moral validity of the Office of Missing Persons, raising objection to the possibility that service and political leaders could under Constitutional changes be dragged before an international court to answer for proven crime. The argument is that murder and pillage are 'patriotic' actions when such crimes were committed under State impunity. He seemed to forget that men of integrity and moral substance who fought for all things pertaining to human dignity, for truth and justice, were gunned down like dogs on the streets for committing no crime. Those were the years when the government in power, not truth, law and justice, deemed a man a criminal and a "Desha Dhrohi" if he called a crime by its name and had the integrity to call criminals to justice, instead of extending that impunity into today's socio-political mainstream also.

Will the government relinquish its mandate?

The Nation Editorial

May Day .. the political hijack

30 April 2017

In this day and age where life is a race, everyone has been compelled to work hard to survive. Almost everyone labours and hence a labourer.

But there are those who work day and night not only for their families, but also to keep the economy on the move.

Thousands of labourers work elsewhere in the country and do not see their families for months. Then there are those who have gone abroad as skilled workers to bring in foreign revenue. The problems and trials they face are known to everyone.

On May 1, the world appreciates the value of the labourers who toil hard for there organizations, countries and their families. It is a day dedicated for them, the workers who ensure that the country does not stop even for a second.

Sri Lanka has enough and more labourers. One only has to walk along the road in the mornings to see for themselves the amount of labour strength Sri Lanka has. They clean streets, they lay roads, they carry heavy loads and building materials along treacherous pathways. Yes, their lives are not that great. But they work or toil at desks to keep the country moving.

But are their efforts recognized the way they should be? Yes. We do commemorate May Day. But do we see the labourers coming to the fore?

Do we really felicitate them. Sadly, we don’t. We are living in a world where there is always someone who would look to make use of someone else’s plight for his or her own advantage.

Sadly, the May Day has also become a victim of such a mindset, thanks to politicians. Yes there are trade unions who campaign for the rights of the workers and labourers. But unfortunately, several of these trade unions are now affiliated to major political parties. Even political parties bring out the issues of workers during their rallies. But, do we see the labourers among the politicians?

Since of late, we have come across situations where political outfits opt for marches and processions to show their political strength and might. Today, May Day is also one of them.

Many of these May Day rallies are used by parties mainly to make a political statement instead of bringing out the concerns of the workers.

The processions are not identified by those who are in it, but by the colours displayed. The colours lead the way while the workers follow.

It is time that the workers come out on their own and voice their concerns. Even claims made by trade unions cannot be considered authentic because of their political affiliations. Why do the workers have to be used only to extend the procession? Why cannot they come to the fore? Why do they keep silent?

One could argue that some political rallies speak on behalf of the workers. But once the rally gets a political twist, the whole exercise becomes in vain.

The government too should use the May Day to address issues faced by labourers. Why wait till the budget?

The May Day is the best time for the government to make its pledges and fulfill the needs of the workers.

There is nothing wrong in political parties speaking on behalf of workers. But why hog the limelight on a day that is dedicated for the workers?

Let them come to the fore for a day. You have the rest of the year to care for them and to help them.

Sunday Times Editorial

May Day politics and worker issues

30 April 2017

With May Day – the day marking solidarity with the workers of the world approaching, one might think the most important issues would be the cost of living; the wages and safety of workers; or their trade union rights. Wrong. The main issue at the highest political levels in the country is – can the Joint Opposition fill up Galle Face Green for its May Day rally tomorrow.
That politics has overwhelmed so many aspects of life, not just in Sri Lanka but around the world too has become a fait accompli, so much so that traditional politics is being shown the door; the latest example being the run-up to the French presidency poll.

Like in the case of Provincial Councils – and Local Government elections which are primarily a test of the political strength of the competing parties, so too is tomorrow’s May Day celebrations. It has little to do with worker solidarity, in fact, it is a textbook case of “workers of the world – divide”, not unite. In Sri Lanka, May Day will be marked under a dark cloud. Just last Sunday, the very threat of a strike by the trade unions of the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) caused typical panic among the citizenry. The workers were protesting the renting out of a mere 15 oil tanks in Trincomalee to an Indian company. Meanwhile, Government medical officers by day (and private practitioners by night) downed their stethoscopes and dragged out undergrads, disrupting already congested traffic on the city roads, protesting against private medical colleges – and trade agreements with India.

Not a day passes without a protest here or a protest there, from garbage disposal to police abuses to elephant-human conflicts, all without the issues being resolved by the Government. While some may see all of this drama unfolding as Vox Populi – the Voice of the People, and democracy at its best, others think it is governance at its worst.

Such is the situation that the Government has come to its wits’ end and in what seems a knee-jerk reaction suggested that the no-nonsense former Army Commander Sarath Fonseka take charge of the situation.
“To restore discipline in the country” is the explanation given by the Cabinet spokesman for the move to assign the Field Marshal to tackle the serial public protests and looming strikes that cripple the day-to-day life of the ordinary people. According to the annual Central Bank report released this week, the number of workers involved in strikes increased in 2016 and the number of man days lost due to strikes increased by 21 percent to 85,637 in the plantations and by as much as 61 percent to 18,690 in the other sectors.

The Government, however, had a terrible sense of timing in coming out with the Fonseka antidote for strikes and demos. The announcement, which some ministers said was only made in jest, came on the eve of the European Union Parliament taking a vote on a resolution to scuttle Sri Lanka receiving the Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP+) duty concessions for exports to the bloc. An EU delegation that was in the country earlier this month had expressed concern over growing limitations on workers’ rights towards collective bargaining, and the right to strike. While they concentrated on labour rights in the Free Trade Zone, they also referred to allegations of torture, the rights of minorities and of gays and lesbians and recommended that GSP+ not be renewed to Sri Lanka.

And yet, not all protests and demonstrations need have negative effects. While strikes must be the ‘last resort’ – not the first, and it often seems unreasonable that one group having control of a particularly sensitive handle on the life of the community – like doctors or petroleum workers or Electricity Board workers or bus operators, the case of the demonstrations by the workers at the Hambantota port – even if they were engineered by political elements, had the desired effect of the Government taking a fresh look at a hurriedly done agreement with the Chinese and came up with a better deal for this country.

It was unfortunate that such had to be the case. And it was all because the Government, or at least a section of it, was perceived –not only by the public, but by another section of the very Government, to have struck an agreement ‘hatched in secrecy and incubated in darkness’ to the overall detriment of the country.

Whether the Government is serious in asking Field Marshal Fonseka to ‘take charge of situation’ vis-a-vis strikes and protests, or it was said in jest at the Cabinet meeting by no less a persona than the President, it betrays the Government’s insecurity with the working class — an insecurity it showed earlier with the independent Media, and how to handle growing tensions with trade unions and others. Blaming opposition parties is another sign of weakness, as it is the duty of the Opposition to protest – and strike. It is the duty of the Government to ensure circumstances do not arise to provoke protests and demonstrations.

Each year, as we mark International Workers Day, we remind ourselves of two categories of people who tend to get sidelined, almost forgotten on this day. They are the near one million Sri Lankan workers toiling in harsh, inhospitable climes overseas and the unemployed.

A large contingent of workers in West Asia, Japan, South Korea etc., remit nearly US$ seven billion annually to the country and that money helps keep this country’s nose above the water. The Central Bank confirms that the number who went abroad for employment last year dipped as an economic slow-down following an oil price slump hit most of West Asia.

The number of officially registered unemployed, according to the same Central Bank report stands at 360,000, a figure marginally lower than the previous year (a drop from 7.6 per cent to 7.0 per cent); yet, the real figures can be much higher. There is a high rate of GCE A/Level jobless in the country as youth look for white collar jobs in the public sector.

There is also a high proportion of youth in the category known as ‘Not in Employment, Education or Training’ (NEET) which is a burden to society and which results in skills deterioration of the labour force. Their place is being taken by foreign workers, mostly from India and China – guest workers by the hundreds taking the place of absentee Sri Lankans; a new labour force in Sri Lanka. (Please see story on page 1).
But this is all by the way. May Day will be the day for politicians to parade in the limelight, and the workers to follow in the shadow.

Sunday Observer Editorial

GSP+: economy + social gains

30 April 2017

Economic development is the biggest gain being celebrated after the European Parliament last Thursday voted overwhelmingly to endorse the renewal of the GSP+ concessions facility for Sri Lanka’s vital trade with the lucrative European market. But, while government and business celebrate, the ordinary citizen would be forgiven if she or he also celebrates the social and political gains built into the GSP linkage with Sri Lanka that is now set to resume after a lapse of six years.

In economic terms, the GSP+ facility will, once again, provide Sri Lanka with special concessional rates of import duties and special facilitation of Sri Lankan imports into the European Union’s giant ‘Common Market’. The GSP+ trade facility is offered by the EU to developing countries to support development of trade that will contribute to economic growth as well as social upliftment. It is offered in a graded manner depending on the country's need, with the poorest countries receiving the most concessions.

Sri Lanka, now a lower-middle income country, still enjoyed a level of concessions until the GSP+ facility was withdrawn by the EU when Sri Lanka’s then Government failed to meet certain standards of labour and human rights, good governance and, social equity that the GSP+ facility requires the beneficiary country to maintain. Worsening social and political conditions arising out of the ethnic conflict, but also the violations of basic human rights and labour rights under an increasingly repressive regime at the time, had been noted by the EU in its regular appraisals of GSP+ progress.

The EU repeatedly advised the Mahinda Rajapaksa regime that with failure to meet social and governance standards, Sri Lanka could not qualify to remain as a GSP+ beneficiary.

When Sri Lanka re-applied to the EU for a resumption of GSP+ with the onset of the National Unity coalition government in January 2015, Brussels agreed to consider renewal of GSP+ if Colombo worked to improve social and human rights conditions and governance in a manner that would enable Sri Lanka to match those basic requirements of the GSP+ facility.

What are these country conditions that needed improvement? They are nothing more or, less, than the very same issues that we, Sri Lankans – if in differing ways – have been raising over recent decades as conditions worsened around us. Both, blue and white collar labour has seen its rights eroded and its organizational strength reduced, ethnic minorities have experienced continued marginalization and communal hostilities, women remained subject to gender discrimination, while the general socio-political degradation had seen a rise in child abuse. Of course, there are a myriad other issues of socio-political injustice and ecological degradation, but the GSP+ social standards bottom-line only focussed on some.

The few points of human and labour rights, ethnic justice and reconciliation that required addressing under GSP+ standards are only the very salient problems currently being addressed by the Government. It has also had to manage continued post-war communal suspicions and tensions even as it also had to focus on other parts of the world, as the country strove to escape the geo-political straitjacket of Rajapaksa dependence on a single great power in foreign relations.

What the resumption of the GSP+ requires is that the Government adheres to its program of repair of the corruption-ridden and authoritarian political system to ensure more democracy and good governance on the one hand, and, on the other, a reform of repressive laws, redressing of human rights and ethnic rights violations and, continued protection of labour rights, especially those of women.

The EU now waits to see evidence of progress in the above as it prepares to induct Sri Lanka back into the GSP+ circle. On the one hand, the Government has already begun the reform and repeal of laws that had been enacted, under the guise of combating ‘terrorism’, to weaken the citizens’ rights and capacities to monitor and resist corrupt, authoritarian governance and oligarchic family rule. Thus, even aspects of the criminal justice system are being re-designed to ensure the fair treatment of all citizens and prevent future abuse of power to target people, especially, to silence critics.

The working conditions of women as well as the access of women to political and social power are also being addressed by the Government in its effort to catch up with the rest of the world in terms of social development and, at the same time, meet the requirements of GSP+.

Workers will appreciate the renewed commitment of the Government to protecting labour rights and, more, to ensure that the new profits gained from GSP+ export concessions are shared with the labour force. Already, Government ministers have called on business to take heed of the EU’s requirements to ensure that the benefits Europe offers to poorer countries genuinely reach the masses.

Ethnic chauvinists and unscrupulous political opportunists are raising the communal bogey over the aspect of inter-ethnic peace-building that is inherent in the ‘democracy building’ dimension of GSP+ requirements. However, there is no specific policy or concrete task imposed by the EU in this regard. All that is required is that inter-ethnic relations are brought in line with other standards of democracy and good governance. Thus, if equality and harmony between all communities requires a consolidation of the devolved democratic system, then it is up to Sri Lankans, under the leadership of their Government, to work to ensure that that aspect, too, is addressed.

The renewal of GSP+ will be an opportunity to renew our country’s role as a player in the global market even as we enjoy the social gains of citizenship to which our Government is committed to achieving under that same GSP+.

Sunday Island Editorial

May Days then and now

30 April 2017

 

Time was when reporters covering the various May Day demonstrations and meetings in Colombo used to time how long it took a particular demonstration to pass a fixed point to get at least a rough idea of whose was longest. Admittedly this was not an accurate method of measurement; the JVP demonstration, for example, was more militarized than the others in those days and there were sections, separated from each other by a fair distance. Then there was the various stopping and starting, all of which took time. But the slogans were catchy and memorable, sometimes tilting towards the bawdy. They also made statements on the politics of the day. Who can forget the May Day after Mr. Dudley Senanayake formed a government that included the Federal Party of Mr. Chelvanayakam. The SLFP-led United Front had a joint demonstration with its leftist partners and one of the slogans there was Dudley-ge badey, Masala vadai. Believe it or not, parties like the LSSP and CP who boasted of their non-racist politics marched in that demonstration!

The late Sarath Muttetuwegama of the Communist Party used to relate a story of a May Day when the late Vijaya Kumaranatunga was alive. He was standing on the platform with Vijaya and as each section of a massive demonstration entered the rally ground. He said that Kumaranatunga made brief eye contact with the sectional leader, and that activist who had striven might and main to put up a good show, knew that the boss knew what he’d done. "It was truly amazing," Muttetuwegama would say. Those glory days are now history and the memorable leaders of another era have gone beyond the sunset. Perhaps the most recent memory of a vintage leader was that of the late Bala Tampoe, then all of 90-years old, riding to the CMU May Day rally – decidedly smaller than what it used to be in earlier times – on the pillion of a motor cycle. Comrade Bala did not live to see another May Day.

Thanks to television, the average citizen can treat himself to the sights and sounds of May Day in Colombo and elsewhere from the comfort of his home instead of roasting in the April heat. Recent weeks have shows the scramble among political parties to put up as big a show as possible. It will not be possible to compare the performance of the Maithripala Sirisena-led SLFP rallying at Getambe and the Mahinda Rajapaksa-led Joint Opposition massing at Galle Face. Both sides are scrambling to present themselves as the more credible. Guesstimates will surely be the name of the game with media partisan to either side projecting the best possible pictures. Boastful claims will follow for sure. Cynics have been wondering aloud whether granting Galle Face green to the JO to hold their show was a gesture of goodwill, unlikely in the present political context, or a backhander from those in power confident that it will be not possible for anybody to fill that venue. The UNP has chosen the more fill-able Campbell Park. The various political chieftains of the different political parties will as usual try to marshal their troops to show the bosses that they can deliver, no doubt with an eye on patronage gravy.

Many ordinary people, who don’t owe politicians of whatever side, will surely wonder what all the May Day fuss and bother in this country is all about. It is obviously far removed from the European spring festival it was once or from the events in 1886 when over 300,000 workers walked off their jobs in 13,000 businesses in the USA to demand an eight-hour working day. The Haymarket massacre in Chicago and the violence that followed a peaceful worker demonstration in that city helped internationalize May Day which was made a public holiday in this country in 1956 although rallies have been held from 1933 according to reports. It was traditionally a left affair and when the UNP decided to join the May Day frolics at a time it was in office, the reds jeered, Chee Dudley lajja nadda, Kola patata May dinayak koi ratey the pavathvanney?

Here is Sri Lanka it has long been an exercise of demonstrating how popular (or unpopular) a government or opposition is. Incumbents have commonly abused state resources to boost their performances, particularly transport services to bring in the crowds. A buth packet and a bottle of arrack has commonly been an inducement to participate and caps, tee shirts and sometimes saris in party colours distributed. We’ve seen some television advertising of the different rallies in addition to the hoardings that have mushroomed over the city. The assurance that that the TV ads were paid for carried by some the advertisers is some consolation in the context of the vast unpaid bills from the 2015 election campaign. Hopefully, the state TV stations have managers with the gumption to demand upfront payment for these ads given the sorry experiences of the past.

Given the organizational effort, the massive expenditure and everything else thrown into May Day, some important political statements are to be expected. We will not hazard a guess on what these would be but draw readers’ attention to a letter from Father J.C. Pieris of Galle published in yesterday’s issue of The Island. In essence the good father lays the blame for the Meetotamulla disaster on Presidents Rajapaksa and Sirisena, Prime Minister Wickremesinghe and all MPs of their different groups and asks how they got the gumption to hold a May Day rally at all. He says that they all boast they’ll get the best attendance adding that anybody attending any of these rallies will be a traitor to the martyrs of Meetotamulla, Rathupaswela and Chilaw. No doubt his words will resonate among thoughtful citizen – particularly those who owe nothing to any politician.

Ceylon Today Editorial

Poor showing on a national treasure

29 April 2017

The recent story of Tharjini Sivalingam's success playing in Australia might have the chance to be the next valuable national treasure to move to greener pastures to become a loss to Sri Lanka because of official bungling. Sri Lanka officials in charge of the netball in the country could not have noticed this 6'10" tallest netballer in the world and her capabilities and get the real value from her skills as a netball player. Even after being the player to be selected as the Best Shooter at the 2011 World Netball Championship, instead of being celebrated over her success as a national treasure, three years later she became an unwanted in the national side. There was a lot of disagreement over the way Tharjini was treated by the then authorities. This was purely not a show of faith and the disgusted top national player decided to call it a day.

This girl who did not know what sports could bring to her life played the game for the team performing her given duties playing for the Batticaloa District, while studying at the Eastern University in 2004 and caught the eyes of national scouts. She was immediately invited to join the national side that year, where she proved her value as a netball player, going on to become a most valued player. By the year 2009 she had become a star player in the Sri Lankan national side and in 2009 during the Asian Championships she became the highest scorer getting 74 of the 77 points scored by the Sri Lankans. For someone who kept a low sports profile it was an awesome achievement, but, there were others who could never resist her performances for the country, when her playing brought glory.

Here is an excerpt of a 2016 April interview, done on the netball player, by a staff writer from Ceylon News: Senior netball star Tharjini Sivalingam ruled out any chance of her returning to the national side in the near future with the current netball hierarchy in the country. "I firstly want to say that whenever we played for Sri Lanka, we played because of our love for the country. We never played for money or anything of that sort because we were never paid on contract basis, but still we gave our all to the country. With these present administrators and coach, I don't want to play for Sri Lanka. We were the champions of Asia and there was a fear factor about us. During tournaments people will look at us and talk about us because we were that good, but now the national team's standards have gone down drastically. I would play for my country, I would fight for the coach, only if it is worth it and it is not at the moment," the giant netballer said.

The shallowness of the Sri Lankan authorities got highlighted when they appointed her the captain of the national side only to be told later that she would have to share it with another. To be brought down like that would have made others not want to be in that country, leave alone the team, yet, Tharjini still talks of playing for her motherland if it would be possible for her to do so, after being ditched by the selectors of the national netball team in 2014, it might not have shaken her firm cementing achieved through her humbleness and upbringing, but, her being selected for this scholarship by one of strongest Australian netball clubs, City West Falcons of Melbourne, would have relieved her pressure to a great extent.

She now seems to be enjoying herself so much representing St. Albans for City West Falcons in the Victorian Netball League; she has definitely caught the eyes of the press who are comparing her height to that of hulks in the NFL. They have gone to praise her abilities and describe her catching passes that are four inches away from her body position and doing all the scoring by herself.

Why could not the Sri Lankan authorities notice these possibilities of a player who was thought to be Sri Lanka's best at one time?

It is always the same with other sports and the so called federations that are designed to take care of the sport. Not all of those that involve themselves in such organizations are at fault, though some of them are there in it because of their love of the sport, many are incapable of comprehending much of what is needed to take sport to the top, except themselves. This is an unfortunate occurrence taking place in these sporting bodies too often, it only makes the nation lose their most needed assets like players and coaches who are good and know what is wrong where and how to fix it.

Daily News Editorial

Another victory for Sri Lanka

29 April 2017

Sri Lanka secured a major victory in the international arena on Thursday as a motion to deny the Generalized Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+) to Sri Lanka was defeated at the European Parliament. The motion to deny the trade concession put forward by the European United Left/Nordic Green Left, was voted down, as 436 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) voted against it. There were 119 votes for the resolution, while 22 abstained.

The proposal to deny Sri Lanka the GSP Plus status was tabled by 52 MEPs from the European United Left/Nordic Green Left group, who argued that the country’s labour laws are insufficient to protect workers, while there had not been enough progress in the field of human rights. This initiative was led by MEPs Anne-Marie Mineur and Lola Sanchez Caldentey, who visited Sri Lanka from April 10 to 12 and sent a letter to European Commissioner on Trade Cecilia Malmström arguing that the trade concession should not be restored unless Sri Lanka kept its promise to improve labour rights.

However, the majority of MEPs clearly had not agreed with this view, acknowledging the vast progress made in the fields of labour rights and human rights since January 2015. There is a general consensus in the European Union (EU) that even though improvements could be made in the above sectors, the present achievements can justify Sri Lanka’s efforts to regain GSP Plus.

This is yet another major victory for Sri Lanka at the EU, following the restoration of fish exports to the bloc a few months back. The final decision with regard to granting GSP Plus to Sri Lanka will be taken as soon as next month by the EU, but judging by this vote Sri Lanka will not experience any problems.

The granting of GSP Plus will make Sri Lankan exports to the European Union market cheaper and lead to export growth. GSP allows developing countries to pay fewer duties on their exports to the EU. This gives them vital access to EU markets. The “GSP+” enhanced preferences mean full removal of tariffs on essentially the same product categories as those covered by the general arrangement. Sri Lanka still does enjoy the normal GSP, but Plus status gives additional advantages.

The main beneficiary will be the apparel and textiles sector, which accounts for nearly 62 percent of all experts to the EU (2016 figures of European Commission). The EU is also the country’s second biggest trading partner after India, absorbing 32 percent of all exports, which amounts to around Euro 2,225 million (2016). Garments are one of the country’s top export items and any losses on that front affect the economy adversely.

Sri Lanka lost the Plus facility in 2010, after an HR investigation by the European Commission. The investigation relied on reports by UN Special Rapporteurs and Representatives, other UN bodies and by human rights NGOs that identified significant shortcomings in Sri Lanka's implementation of three UN human rights conventions: the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Convention against Torture and the Convention on the Rights of the Child. This was partly due to the belligerent attitude by the Mahinda Rajapaksa administration towards human rights in general. They argued that conforming to these conventions would amount betraying the country’s sovereignty, whereas they would actually have strengthened sovereignty.

The loss of GSP Plus was a massive blow to the economy, as we could not compete with the other countries in the region including Bhutan, Pakistan, Nepal and Laos which were enjoying the additional zero duty benefits of Plus. Thousands lost their jobs as many garment factories closed around Sri Lanka. The garment industry did find some new markets, but that could not offset the losses incurred from the loss of GSP Plus.

This Government promised to get the ban reversed. Now Sri Lanka is on the cusp of receiving GSP Plus again. The new Government’s pragmatic foreign policy has won over the International Community, especially the West, that was once very hostile towards Sri Lanka as a result of human rights concerns. If the Rajapaksa administration continued, many countries would have blacklisted Sri Lanka and imposed economic sanctions. Fortunately, the January 8 transformation saw an end to such designs. In fact, the Government was able to secure a two-year extension for its accountability and truth-seeking endeavours at the UN Human Rights Council recently.

As Sri Lanka moves higher up the development ladder, it will lose most aid packages granted by Western countries. It will have to rely mostly on external trade and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). Hence it is vital to rely more on trade, according to the mantra “trade not aid”. Efforts should thus be made to increase exports other than garments to the EU and other countries. This is why the Government is keen to have more FTAs with leading economies in our region, which will give duty-free access for our goods. Trade and investment are the keys to a prosperous future and the GSP Plus will be an immense boon to our economy.

The Island Editorial

Garbage: Heed CM’s proposal

29 April 2017

 

The main difference between Sri Lanka and the rest of the world is that the latter is manically focused on economic development and the former is still grappling with basic issues which should have been sorted out decades ago such as mountains of garbage. It was only the other day that a visiting Japanese disaster management team said in Colombo that Japan had solved the waste problem way back in the 1960s in response to public protests. All signs are that our politicians won’t be able to tackle the issue even by 2060.

What really snuffed out so many lives in Meethotamulla the other day was not garbage as such but corruption, so to speak. Garbage has become a goldmine for politicians at all levels. There have been several proposals to remove the Meethotamulla garbage dump, but some politicians have scuttled them. Western Province Chief Minister Isura Devapriya revealed, in an interview with Bandula Jayasekera on Sirasa TV yesterday, that he had asked for a government land encompassing about 60 perches to start a project with a British company to segregate, recycle and remove the Meethotamulla garbage replete with harmful heavy metals, but in vain. He said he had sought help from the Urban Development Authority (UDA), President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe to launch the project only to be disappointed.

President Maithripala Sirisena has appointed a commission to probe the garbage issue. There have been many such commissions, but the problems they are intended to solve continue to trouble us. Most of them are toothless. It is hoped that the Western Province Chief Minister will be summoned before the aforesaid commission so that he will be able reveal why his plan to clear the Meethotamulla garbage came a cropper. He told Sirasa that his plans had gone awry because certain persons could not get their palms greased. Under the previous government everything became a deal and nothing got done unless the ruling party politicians and their kith and kin benefited from them. The situation hasn’t changed in spite of the 2015 regime change.

Let the Cabinet be urged to study Chief Minister Devapriya’s project and see whether it is feasible.

Finding facts

On Thursday, Justice K. T. Chitrasiri, Chairman of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry probing the alleged bond scams, happened to declare that his outfit was only a fact finding one and it could not punish anyone. He made no revelation. That its mandate does not provide for prosecution is only too well known.

Bond scams perhaps may get into the Guinness Book of World Records as the most probed issue in the world! It was first investigated by the COPE (Committee on Public Enterprises) in 2015 under the chairmanship of UPFA MP D. E. W. Gunasekera. The second probe was conducted by the COPE with JVP MP Sunil Handunnetti as the Chairman. Now, presidential commission inquiry is currently underway. It was also investigated by a committee consisting of UNP lawyers. Enough and more facts about the bond rackets have already been found and what needs to be done now is to have the culprits arrested just like the Joint Opposition MPs who are made to languish in remand prison for alleged abuse of public property.

Nobody in his proper senses expects the government to punish those responsible for the bond scams. For, that will be plain political suicide for the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe administration, which captured power by promising to eliminate bribery and corruption. If any of the politically connected bond racketeers were to be sacrificed by any chance, he would surely rat on the mastermind behind the racket before being thrown behind bars. Therefore, the powers that be are all out to ensure that the culprits will get away with the mega financial crime.

Some of the much-publicised probe committees and presidential commissions of inquiry, appointed by successive governments, have been like fake wrestling matches on TV. Those well rehearsed contests look real and are very entertaining. But, nobody gets hurt.

Ceylon Today Editorial

Sri Lanka is at a critical stage

28 April 2017

No, not the kind which all the Joint Opposition lackey's concoct conspiracy theories to scare the mass populace with, but a rather practical and important stage which resembles a cross roads. One would lead to us becoming a failed State due to poor governing, while the other would lead to us being finally developed and a successful State.

With the growing foreign influence, both economic and political of nature, in Sri Lanka in the form of China and India, we have come to this cross road, which depending on what path we take, would determine the consequences we have to face and the eventual future of our country. The biggest Super Powers of the world have become our greatest beneficiaries in economic development now. With the Southern part of the country being leased to Beijing in order to pay off our crippling debt to the Eastern Empire, and the Northern part of the country about to be given away to our ever present Big Brother India, things are looking pretty crucial to any observer.

Of course, this would lead to more conspiracy theories – we will be colonized and invaded by the Chinese, while the Northern part of the country will be taken over by the Indians. This would remain where they are, as useless and irrational delusions of tinfoil cap wearing politicians trying to win back what they lost. They would win something if their cards are played properly, and the government decides to muck up this brilliant opportunity we have at our hand, to finally see some work done in the country.

There are obvious benefits from shaking hands with India and China when concerned with our own economy. As planned, if the Colombo Port City, now dubbed as the Colombo International Financial City and the matters with regard to the Hambantota Magampura Harbour is handed over to Beijing, it will resolve a considerable percentage of debt Sri Lanka owes to China. Similarly, if the Trincomalee port and the British built oil storage tanks are leased to the IOC in a joint venture between India and Sri Lanka, it would also be a boom to our economy, eventually attracting investments into the area, which will spread to most parts of the North and the East. This would also see to an increase in job opportunities for the local population as well as an influx of foreign cash income to the country.

But this would also lead to heighten China and India having the opportunity to influence the country's politics to a greater length.

Accordingly, we would come under a diplomatic invasion – not a military one – similar to many cases from around the world. This, if it ever comes to pass, will not be anything new.

Furthermore, giving control of two pinnacle and crucial points of the country to two Super Powers, who are indirectly competing against each other can lead to major setbacks to us. For instance, giving India the control of Trincomalee will result in us, supporting the growth of India's naval strength. Being a peninsula country and with a considerably strong naval force, India, once in charge of Trincomalee will prove to be an unstoppable force. This will only be an eventuality if the Chinese controlled Hambantota moves to accommodate Chinese submarines and other naval vessels in the southern seas – India will see itself being forced to show their naval dominance in the Indian Ocean.

Ultimately, the Indo-China [diplomatic/economic] occupation of Sri Lanka will also lead to threatening our own national identity.

This is what the lackeys of the Joint Opposition pine for. Selling the idea of a threatened national identity, and a sovereignty going extinct, can lead to the mobilization of the masses on a massive scale. When hay is thrown to the raging fire it can only worsen matters.

President Sirisena and Prime Minister Wickremesinghe have their hands full at the moment. With one party's ideological perspective driving the country towards more liberal free trade and better prospects, we see another movement – one that wants to preserve the national sovereignty of our own – without any interference from aliens.

This is the cross roads Sri Lanka is facing. The decisions made by our leaders in the next few days will determine the course we will take in the future.

Daily News Editorial

MR and Bandaranaike policies

28 April 2017

Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa laments that SLFPers in the Unity Government had ditched the policies of SWRD Bandaranaike and that it was only those in the Joint Opposition that follow the policies of the late leader and who were in fact are the true blue SLFPers. Speaking at an event in Matale he also says that the SLFP MPs in the government were controlled by Sirikotha. Both these remarks have been the refrain of Rajapaksa and members of the JO all along. For Rajapaksa, it appears that the Bandaranaike policies are the be all and end all of the SLFP and he is finding it difficult to adapt to the new social order. True, Bandaranaike policies may be still appeal to some, especially the old guard of the SLFP. But Rajapaksa must concede that even Chandrika, the daughter of SWRD, had misgivings about certain policies of the SLFP's founder.

It would be appropriate if Rajapaksa casts his mind back to 1994. On that occasion his leader was Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, daughter of SWRD whom he says the SLFPers in the present government had deserted. It would also be relevant to jog the memory of Rajapaksa as to the events that unfolded upon CBK taking over the reins of the country. Of the significant statements made by Chandrika at the time, one particular statement stood out. Said she: “I had been a good socialist all along but now I will be a good capitalist”.

And CBK walked the talk. She not only rolled back the Bandaranaike policies but even went one better than the UNP. CBK recalled the Shell Company which was shown the door by her mother. Not stopping at that, she embarked on a privatization programme with a vengeance that must have even made Ranil Wickremesinghe blush. Not only that, the new President leaned heavily on the experts and advisers of the UNP to get her economic programme going. She retained the Central Bank Governor A.S. Jayawardena even amidst the objections of some of her ministers.

Her iconoclastic actions even elicited a response by Dullas Alahapperuma in parliament that aanduwa vamata signal dala dakunata haravwa (the government had signaled to the Left and taken the turn to the Right). One was given the impression that it was a continuation of the UNP government in all but name.

Not only that, Chandrika strove to shed the communal patina that the SLFP had acquired since the Bandaranaike days and set about mending fences with the minorities. She took the daring step of appointing a Tamil, known to have links with the LTTE, as Chairman of the state run Rupavahini Corporation, without a thought to the ire this would invoke among the hardcore SLFPers.

In her second term as President, CBK, in a magnanimous gesture, also apologized for the Sinhala Only policy of her late father that placed the country's youth population at a grave disadvantage and strove to make amends towards this end. So determined was CBK to effect a radical departure from her father's legacy she even attempted to craft a federal constitution, that however was shot down by parliament. Chandrika also took the extraordinary step of deciding to share Tsunami funds with the LTTE, the project however coming a cropper with the JVP threat to withdraw from the government.

While the policies and concepts of SWRD were being rolled back with a vengeance by CBK one cannot recall Mahinda Rajapaksa who was a Minister in her government making even a whimper of protest. Perhaps, being part and parcel of the government, he would not have wanted to rock the boat, unlike now, where he can take the liberties to criticize what he himself acquiesced to in a different avatar.

Be that as it may, the SLFP has come a long way since 1956 and Bandaranaike policies, needless to say, could not fit in to this day and age, especially with the advent of concepts such as global village. Besides, the ideological and policy differences between the UNP and the SLFP is now blurred, although some individuals like Dullas Alahapperuma still romanticizes on the SLFP of the past. Who would have imagined that the once arch foes would one day jointly govern the country?

Chandrika, no doubt, deserves all the credit for transforming the SLFP and bringing it in tune with the modern times. It is a very thin line that now divides the UNP and the SLFP, which is increasingly getting blurred. This is a happy augury for the country which had regressed due to the vituperative and contentious politics of the two major parties, over the decades.

Mahinda Rajapaksa's lament of the SLFP ditching the policies of SWRD may have to do with the fact that it was his late father D.A. Rajapaksa who followed Bandaranaike “like his shadow” when the latter broke ranks with the UNP and crossed the floor of the House. But he should not allow sentimentality cloud his better judgement.

The Island Editorial

End of yahapalanaya?

28 April 2017

 

The yahapalana administration has unwittingly admitted that there is only one person with a backbone within its ranks. Cabinet Spokesman Rajitha Senaratne told the media on Wednesday that the government had decided to prove that it had a backbone vis-a-vis what he called politically motivated protests. President Maithripala Sirisena would, he said, put Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka in charge of the armed forces and police to bring order out of chaos.

The government has apparently got cold feet perhaps due to strong public criticism as evident from Minister S. B. Dissanayake’s claim that something President said at a Cabinet meeting in a lighter vein had got blown out of proportion. If so, a statement to that effect should have been issued by either the President’s Office or the Cabinet Spokesman.

Even those who hold Fonseka in high esteem for the role he courageously played in ridding the country of terrorism may look askance at the President’s decision. Fonseka has consented to accept the new role the President wants him to play. A former unsuccessful presidential candidate, he must be happy that he has got an opportunity to boost his image.

The government has demonstrated that it is ready to go to any extent to overcome the so-called wimp factor troubling it and hold on to power. Here is another instance of the yahapalana regime acting in contravention of people’s sovereignty. Voters rejected Fonseka at the last parliamentary election. The UNP brought him to Parliament through the backdoor and made him a minister with no heed for the will of the people. Now, President Sirisena has decided to get him to tame trade unions etc. Thus, people will soon have their right to protest suppressed at the hands of a person they rejected at the last general election!

Now, it is clear that the yahapalana regime has so far acted with some restraint in dealing with protests etc because of its inability to crush them with might and main and not out of any concern for people’s democratic rights. The Rajapaksa regime branded anyone who opposed its autocratic rule a traitor in a bid to justify the suppression of his or her right to dissent. The yahapalana government is using the label, ‘conspirator’, for that purpose.

The self-proclaimed champions of good governance flayed the Rajapaksa government—and rightly so—for ‘militarising society’ by deploying the army and police to curb protests. But, today, they are emulating their predecessor; they have decided to task a former army chief turned minister who still wears military uniform to deal with protesters.

Time was when the yahapalana leaders raked Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, (who left the army much earlier than Fonseka), over the coals for acting like a military person in handling civilians. In fact, he thought and acted like a soldier; he amply demonstrated his demolition skills as the Defence Secretary. He had no qualms about having unauthorised houses pulled down. He simply bulldozed his way through. Now, they want Fonseka to play a similar role under the present dispensation!

The yahapalana regime and its immediate predecessor are Tweedledum and Tweedledee where corruption is concerned. Former Central Bank Deputy Governor Dr. W. A. Wijewardena, who was a bitter critic of the Rajapaksa government, has told the Presidential Commission of Inquiry probing bond scams that the bond rackets have cost the state coffers Rs. 10 billion. The Central bank professionals have revealed that the Employees’ Provident Fund has also suffered a loss of Rs. 10 bn due to bond scams. But, the culprits are still free and there is no end to probes though there is irrefutable, incriminating evidence against them. The only discernible difference between the two governments is that people have so far had some freedom to express their dissent. The champions of yahapalana are now all out to deprive the public of that freedom.

Fonseka stands accused of his involvement in attacks on journalists. It may be recalled that the UNP, making a special statement, told Parliament in 2008 that Fonseka as the then Army Commander had under him a special army team which carried out attacks on media persons under the Rajapaksa regime. Crimes against journalists in the past are being probed at present. Doesn’t President Sirisena think his decision to put Fonseka in charge of the armed forces and police will lead to a conflict of interest?

Fonseka has had no experience in handling public protests democratically because he has never faced such situations as a politician. True, he is back in Civvy Street, but the fact remains that he still walks like a soldier, talks like a soldier, thinks like a soldier and acts like a soldier. How he will try to bring order out of chaos is not difficult to guess.

It is hoped that at this rate the much-dreaded White Vans which the previous regime was notorious for won’t make a comeback with a ‘vengeance’.

Ceylon Today Editorial

Premier must safeguard Sri Lanka’s national interests

27 April 2017

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe is currently on a visit to India, having high level negotiations regarding a few pivotal economic matters. According to the Hindu reports, discussions involve signing a MoU to develop Trincomalee port's prospects through operating a major oil-storage facility, LNG plant and piped-gas projects and developing it as a key transit point with major expressways and industrial zones in the region. The reports further stated that discussions will take place regarding the Economic and Technology Cooperation Agreement (ETCA) which has been a suggestion that has generated much criticism in Sri Lanka, not only by politicians, but by also professionals.

According to reports, Premier Wickremesinghe is expected to meet External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari. The visit of the Premier to big brother India comes at a very crucial moment for Sri Lanka when the country is finding it difficult to maintain the balance of power due to the strong Chinese presence in the country. Despite the criticism by Wickremesinghe and the United National Party regarding the strong Chinese presence in the island nation when they were in the Opposition, Wickremesinghe turned to China for economic assistance. More often than not, when the money comes your way you do not ask questions. Similarly, the Government of Sri Lanka did not ask questions when the Chinese investments were rolling into the country. In fact, Sri Lanka was in dire need of Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs) and the dreams of the yahapalana government to attract investment from Europe or USA did not turn into reality. That left the government with the option of turning to Mahinda Rajapaksa's friend China.

Now, it appears that the government is allowing the Chinese to invest in Sri Lanka, and particularly letting the Chinese to own strategic locations with great geopolitical and economic significance, through projects such as Colombo Port City and Hambantota Port, has caused some trouble. It also appears that the government has got caught between the devil and the deep blue sea. While the government is depending on China to receive required economic assistance, the country should be mindful about the regional power and the big brother, India. In that context, Wickremesinghe appears to be putting in efforts to balance out India, by allowing India's presence in strategic locations in the country. For the moment, it appears that India is interested in making its presence in Trincomalee and the Cabinet Memorandum regarding signing a MoU with India about the ownership of oil tanks in Trincomalee was approved, although the suggestion was strongly opposed by petroleum unions over the concerns regarding national interest.

Bilateral relations between Sri Lanka and India have been dominated by India, more often than not. Nine out of ten times, Sri Lanka has played the role of a little sister listening to big brother India. The exception to this norm was practised by Sirimavo Bandaranaike and R. Premadasa who dealt with India in a different manner. Premadasa, boycotted the SAARC summit held in India opposing the presence of the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) in the country which subsequently forced India to withdraw the IPKF from the island.

While Premadasa took such stern action, it is also important to understand that the context in which the foreign policy decisions are taken also matters. Wickremesinghe's visit to India comes prior to his visit to Beijing to attend the Belt and Road Summit that Sri Lanka has joined. In that context, India's concerns over the Chinese presence in Sri Lanka, are understandable, looking at it from a perspective of the national interests of India. However, the question is whether Sri Lanka would compromise its own national interests for the sake of safeguarding the national interests of India. It is the duty of the Premier to ensure Sri Lanka's national interests during the negotiations regarding the balance of power.

The task of safeguarding national interests at critical moments like this, is neither simple nor easy. But, that is what they are elected for.

Daily News Editorial

The right move

27 April 2017

An English daily ran as its main story on Wednesday that President Maithripala Sirisena had proposed the setting up of a Committee headed by Minister Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka to deal with emergency situations such as disruption to power, work stoppages at the port, fuel distribution etc. This was in response to several ministers pointing to the near anarchic situation that prevailed on Monday following the petroleum strike called by the CPC unions. It was pointed out at the Cabinet meeting chaired by the President that some 1,500 petroleum workers were able to cripple all government activities on that day and that there should not be a repetition of such a situation. The Ministers stressed that the military should be equipped to deal with emergency situations to ensure public life is not disrupted. That probably may have been the reason for the President to suggest that the war winning army commander head the Committee that will also include other stakeholders such as the military and the Law and Order Ministry.

The proposal, no doubt, will be welcomed by most who would not want the even tenor of their lives disrupted by anarchic elements who prevent essential services reaching them. Today, the city’s landscape is marred by frequent protest marches and agitations resulting in chaos on the highways. The New Year festival provided a welcome breather and the Petroleum strike signaled the return to business. The GMOA too has announced that it is going to devote the month of May for strike action, once again causing distress to the sick. The government is increasingly being conceived by the public as being soft in not tackling the situation with a heavy hand. Perhaps the Yahapalanaya tag attached to the regime has proved a millstone round the neck of the government. But it cannot stand by and watch as the country descends to anarchy. Decisive action is called for to ensure public life is not disrupted as a result of politically motivated strikes.

Governments are elected to govern. Different governments have different styles in governing. Their policies too differ. These policies may not be to the liking of some, Trade Unions included. But they (TUs) cannot be allowed to call the shots on matters that are unrelated to their personal welfare or work conditions, as was the case with regard to the Petroleum strike. The Unions struck work against an alleged move to sell the Trincomalee oil tank farm to the Indians. Even if such an agreement was to be signed, this certainly would not endanger the jobs of the strikers. Besides, this was a matter to do with the country’s trade and economy where they (TUs) have little or no stake. If the trade unions are allowed to dictate terms on how the government should conduct its economic policy there will be no knowing where things are going to end up. It will be akin to the doctors striking against ETCA which is well beyond their remit.

Be that as it may, agitations by trade unions are not always based on their own interests or that of the country. In a majority of the instances these TUs are being manipulated by politicians. A good example is the recent doctors’ strike where one of the GMOA’s big guns delivered a speech that took on a political flavour. The garbage crisis too saw the public being instigated by politicians.

True, most Trade Unions today operate on party lines to which there can be no objections. But it should be ensured that their actions don’t go beyond permissible limits. Monday’s petroleum strike came without warning that took the public unawares. It is the duty of any responsible government to ensure public life is not disrupted as a result of the denial of essential services. It should employ every means towards this end. If the military is deployed in the public interest to make sure essential supplies reach them without hindrance, so be it. It will be recalled that army personnel commandeered SLTB buses during the height of the JVP violence in 1989.

There is little doubt that more work stoppages and disruptions are in store in the coming days as the political temperature hots up. The government should be prepared for any eventuality. The strategy will be to target those services which the public cannot do without. This way the public wrath against the government would that much more pronounced. Anti-government TV channels would be dutifully on the scene to record the public indignation that would be beamed to the homes of the citizenry.

In Fonseka, the government will have the ideal choice to deal with emergency situations such as the petroleum strike. Declaring garbage collection an essential service did not have much impact. Protests are still continuing, with garbage trucks blocked from reaching their destinations. What is needed is a military presence to deal with such situations. The Joint Opposition too will not be able to blame the military for any highhanded action. If they do their “war hero” cries would be rendered hollow.

The Island Editorial

From blast to bawl

27 April 2017

People of Salawa are up in arms over the non-payment of compensation. Having lost their houses and business places due to the army’s central armoury blast last year they are bawling at the ruling party politicians who have reneged on their promise to award compensation to them as a matter of urgency. The government has since chosen to remain silent on the issue. All signs are that the pent-up resentment of the forgotten victims will spill over on to the streets soon. Politicians and bureaucrats had better get cracking without letting the situation get out of hand. They must not wait till people put up barricades on arterial roads to act.

There is no way the government can cite financial difficulties as an excuse for its failure to provide compensation to the armoury blast victims. It claims to be in straitened circumstances while its leaders are indulging in the dissipation of public wealth.

Salawa was still burning when the yahapalana grandees unflinchingly presented a supplementary estimate to Parliament, seeking about one and a half billion rupees to purchase super luxury vehicles for ministers with some political rejects among them. (The much-maligned Emperor, Nero, only fiddled while Rome was on fire; he did not dip into the public purse to buy chariots, did he?) Public funds have since been allocated for ministerial vehicles thrice. Disaster victims are making heart-rending appeals for help, but the ruling politicians are busy feathering their nests while pontificating on the virtues of good governance. Having emerged from the political wilderness after many years, they are apparently making up for lost time, impervious to the woes of the people in distress. So much for the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe government’s commitment to yahapalanaya!

Having reneged on promises it made to the people of Salawa, the government has now pledged to look after the victims of Meethotamulla garbage dump collapse. A few months after coming to power, the yahapalana regime, in its wisdom, stored paddy at the Mattala Airport amidst protests. Now, it is providing shelter to the families displaced by the Meethotamulla garbage disaster at a Paddy Marketing Board storage complex, of all places, according to media reports. One is intrigued. The disaster victims, no doubt, have to be provided with alternative accommodation urgently, but where does the government expect to store paddy? It will take a month of Sundays for the displaced families to be resettled. Is it that the yahapalana leaders, having done away with the subsidised fertiliser scheme, think there won’t be any more bumper harvests and, therefore, there is no need for so many warehouses to store paddy?

How can the ruling politicians who have let down the people of Salawa be expected to provide relief to the Meethotamulla victims? The government would have us believe that there is no threat of a garbage dump explosion. But, one would go along with the visiting Japanese disaster management experts, who have warned that high methane levels are likely to cause the rubbish mountain to explode. Whether there will be a garbage dump explosion or not, the disaster victims are sure to explode with rage and take to the streets if the government does not honour its promise to award compensation to them fast.

President Maithripala Sirisena is reported to have summoned Parliament and the declaration of garbage disposal as an essential service is said to be on the agenda of the House. It is hoped that all so-called people’s representatives will attend the special parliamentary session and take up the issue of inordinate delay in paying compensation to disaster victims in Salawa as well. Let the government be asked why it has deployed the armed forces personnel to stabilise the Meethotamulla garbage heap, full of methane, risking their lives while most of the Colombo Municipal Council workers are idling.

Ceylon Today Editorial

MAKE IT EVEN

26 April 2017

For a brief, yet effective moment which lasted more than just a day, people of this country forgot that we were still in the fallout of yet another disaster made due to our own negligence and the myopic morals of our elected public representatives.

Sometimes, if you don't join the bandwagon, you simply cannot survive. Or rather, that's a common sentiment found in most Sri Lankans, including our politicians.

People who were concerned about those affected by the Meethotamulla disaster were quick to divert their attention to the next big political scandal that happens basically every other week in this country; in this case, it was the major petroleum distribution disruption due the trade union action organized by the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation.

When the Corporation announced that they would be going to walk out on a strike, closing all the fuel stations and depriving all consumers of fuel, the ability to transport and rather long lines waiting to get fuel from the small stations that are not participating in the strike, none of the politicians took it seriously.The trade union action itself was borderline blackmail and was unnecessary in the first place. The main reason the government leaders didn't take it seriously, we assume, was that fuel has become an essential product of survival and thought the Corporation would not see it through. Of course, they were proved wrong.

But unfortunately for Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC), the people whom they were protesting against – the Indians – were able to find profit from a single day due to the extended queues that thronged their fuel stations.

The Corporation was protesting against the government's decision to create a proposed joint venture between India and Sri Lanka to operate and manage oil storage tanks in Trincomalee. These oil storage tanks were built by the British in 1924 and completed in the 1930s.

The farm had 101 storage tanks built with 1 inch thick steel sheets and the tanks near the harbour are enclosed by one foot thick concrete rings. Legend has it that labourers were brought in from British African colonies to complete the work. 102 tanks were planned, but the site of 102nd tank was cleared, but never built probably out of superstition.

Each tank could hold 12,000 tonnes of fuel and has an astonishing total capacity of over 1.2 million tonnes. This dwarfs the CPC's existing storage facility and even the new storage complex built by the Chinese at Muthurajawela, which has a capacity of 200,000 tonnes.

The storage complex fell into disuse after the British ceded power in 1948 and nature took over the land. Out of the 101 tanks, one of the tanks was destroyed when a Royal Ceylon Air Force plane crashed in early 1960's. The steel has long since been removed with only the concrete cover remaining.

But the most famous is the number plate of tank No. 91 lying at the far edge of the forest.

Only the charred, twisted and melted metal remains of this tank and a small notice near the tank gives details of how the tank was destroyed in a Kamikaze attack during the Japanese air raid on Trincomalee at dawn on 9 April 1942.

The government-owned CPC used only 15 tanks in the lower tank farm close to the sea until the farm was handed over to the Indian oil giant, Indian Oil Corporation in 2002. The IOC too, used only these tanks while others were forgotten in the jungles.
Since then, the storage tanks have fallen into disuse, have become more of a remnant of the past, quickly being forgotten, than a part of a beneficial development project of the government.

Accordingly, the government has planned to reinvigorate the 2002 plan to lease a number of oil tanks to IOC in order to accrue somewhat of an income from a let-down and deteriorating edifice – which we see as a logical plan.

The initial draft was to allocate 14 tanks to the IOC, 10 for the CPC and 74 to be owned by a joint venture between the two governments. However, this is also what paved the way for the trade union action by the CPC, demanding that they should receive more tanks to be managed and operated. While this might seem a yet another selfish demand made by any selfish person, there seem to be some validity in the request. The government could reach a consensus and divide the number of tanks evenly between the IOC and the government owned CPC, so that it would be beneficial to both parties. There is no harm in a zero-sum game.

But in the end, what either government should remember is that this project is worth the effort of funding our tax money in heavy amounts. After all, we wouldn't want this project to flunk like all the other boasted development projects this country has seen.

Daily News Editorial

Will it be curtains for JO?

26 April 2017

The Sri Lanka Freedom Party, or more precisely President Maithripala Sirisena, has apparently had enough. Two weeks ago the President declared that he would soon be making several important decisions, politically. Reading into the President’s statement, one cannot but come to the conclusion that he wants to consolidate the SLFP and in furtherance of this take a firm decision against the rebels of the party, read Joint Opposition.

Presiding at the party Central Committee meeting on Sunday the President unequivocally stated that all MPs of the SLFP MUST attend the party May Day rally at Getambe and a resolution was passed giving effect to this decree. In furtherance of this, letters had been sent to all SLFP MPs and Provincial Councillors that it was mandatory for them to attend the party May Day rally. Coming out more into the open SLFP General Secretary Minister Duminda Dissanayake said that SLFP MPs who boycotted the party May Day celebrations in Getambe would be expelled. What is more, the resolution also specifically mentions the mandatory presence of Mahinda Rajapaksa at the party May Day celebrations.

The past few weeks saw the President becoming more assertive, taking the full reins into his hands. He removed several SLFP electoral organisers who were backing the JO and replaced them with his loyalists. From all accounts, the SLFP is gearing up for perhaps its biggest ever May Day show this time, with over 2,000 buses already booked to transport crowds. The undoubted show of strength it is speculated will be a prelude to drastic action against the rebels.

In the past too, the SLFP had threatened action against the JO members for staging independent rallies. But these threats were lukewarm and unconvincing. This time though, it appears that President Sirisena is set to walk the talk. The tone and tenor of Minister Dissanayake’s statement left no doubt that there will be no compromise this time around and for good reasons.

President Sirisena cannot be seen to be a weakling right through, a leader of a party, nay the President of the country, who cannot get a section of his party men to fall in line. He can ill afford a direct challenge to his rule by the rebels who have even threatened to lay siege on the President’s House come May Day. Besides, it is incumbent on him to lead the SLFP to victory at elections, soon to be held. A defeat of the party caused by the present split will not only dent his image as a leader but also cause a drift of supporters towards the other camp. He would certainly not want to be a leader who presided over the defeat of the party while also being the Head of State. It has never happened before, barring the instance where CBK lost the General Election while still being the President, in 2001.

The JO has some 50 members in parliament but commands support out of proportion to its numbers, due certainly to the leadership given to it by Mahinda Rajapaksa. This is hanging like a sword of Damocles over the President. Hence he has to act and act fast. Last time around the Supreme Court held with the rebels when the UNP petitioned for the expulsions of messrs. Sarath Amunugama, Wijepala Mendis, Nanda Mathew and Susil Moonesinghe. The country was witness to a bizarre scenario where the rebels claimed they were still loyal members of the UNP while sitting and voting with the government. The court did not find anything amiss with this state of affairs. Of course that was a court that had Sarath Nanda Silva as its head. Things have changed since then. Is parliament going to witness a mass exit of members in the not so distant future? Will the SLFP hierarchy walk the talk this time around?

‘Cheers’ to John

Labour Minister John Seneviratne, no doubt, is going to be the toast of all the imbibers of this country. Speaking at a District Development Committee meeting in Ratnapura the Minster spoke in favour of reducing the price of a bottle of Special Arrack, commonly known as Gal, due to it being beyond the reach of the common man. Presently a bottle of Gal which is favoured by manual labourers and others engaged in strenuous duties, is priced at Rs. 1,500 which they can ill afford. As the Minister noted, this has made them turn to the cheap rot gut moonshine (kassippu) which is injurious to health.

Of course, the minister’s suggestion will clash against the concept of mathata titha of the former President and also the current attempts by President Sirisena to combat drug and alcohol abuse. However the government should open it’s eyes to reality. Although it may earn extra shekels to the state coffers by way of excise revenue, on the other hand this will be offset by the extra expenditure imposed on the health budget to cure illnesses caused by drinkers taking to the rot gut.

The Island Editorial

Needed: A memorial at Meethotamulla

25 April 2017

 

Japan is a predominantly Buddhist country and most of her people believe in nirvana. The generous Japanese taxpayers can rest assured that they will definitely attain the supreme bliss someday. (Non-Buddhists among them will go straight to heaven!) For, they have acquired enough merit all these years by helping the hapless Sri Lankans, who are exploited and cheated by a bunch of wily, greedy politicians who are helping themselves to public funds.

Nearly seven decades have elapsed since the British colonialists left this country, but successive governments have failed to manage even municipal waste. Besides, a heavy shower usually turns the capital into a billabong of sorts within minutes. But for generous financial assistance from friendly nations such as Japan for rehabilitating dilapidated sewers etc we would have had to wade through muck in Colombo. So much for the achievements of the governments led by the two main parties, which have finally come together and made a bigger mess of the affairs of the state!

Luckily, the Japanese people are too considerate and solicitous to demand that their government refrain from spending their tax money to help a country which votes crooks into power and inflicts suffering on itself willingly. They cannot be unaware that Sri Lankan politicians spend colossal amounts of public funds on their luxury vehicles while begging for foreign aid. Their tolerance and munificence are praiseworthy.

It is being argued in some quarters that Japan has been so exceedingly bountiful to Sri Lanka because the latter courageously leapt to its defence in San Francisco in the aftermath of the WWII and refused reparation thus making it embarrassing for other nations to demand their pound of flesh each. That may be so, but we believe, it would have cost Japan much less to make reparation to the entire world than to provide financial assistance to this country all these decades.

No sooner had the Meethotamulla disaster occurred than Japan offered its help to manage the garbage crisis. It lost no time in rushing a team of experts, who have handed over their report to the government after studying the disaster site; they have analysed the situation and recommended ways and means of solving the problem once and for all. They have pointed out that the Japanese, too, used to protest against massive garbage dumps in the 1960s and successive governments worked hard and succeeded in solving that problem. In other words, Sri Lanka is still where Japan was half a decade ago as regards waste disposal thanks to the corruption-ridden, inefficient governments it has been burdened with.

We are not short of politicians who wrap themselves in the flag and boast of what they call their outstanding service to the nation. They never miss an opportunity to wax eloquent on the virtues of patriotism and urge others to ask what they can do for the country and not what the country can do for them. Will these great patriots explain why they have failed to tackle even the garbage problem let alone build the national economy?

Since the Meethotamulla tragedy, government leaders have been running around like headless chickens. Instead of getting their act together, they are flaying their holier-than-thou opponents, who are also responsible for the mess the country has got into.

One of the recommendations made by the visiting Japanese experts is to stabilise the Meethotamulla garbage mountain immediately to prevent another collapse and then reduce its size gradually through waste recycling etc. It behoves the government to heed expert advice and take necessary steps to mitigate the crisis.

Opinion is divided on the number of people who perished in the Meethotamulla disaster though the government says it is 32. The actual number could be higher, we reckon. We suggest that after the garbage dump is removed or reduced to a manageable level a huge memorial be erected so that not only the victims but also the monumental failure on the part of the present-day political leaders to remove garbage and ensure public safety will be remembered forever.