Ceylon Today Ediorial

Promotions, Demotions

24 May 2017

 

Monday's Cabinet reshuffle centred round four key portfolios, though there was double that number involved.

Those were 'Ports', going under the expanded version of 'Ports and Shipping,' 'Media', 'Finance' and the creation of a new portfolio called 'Development Assignments.'

In these aspects, Ports and Shipping Minister Arjuna Ranatunga was demoted to be Petroleum Resources Development Minister, Parliamentary Reforms and Mass Media Minister Gayantha Karunathilaka to 'Lands and Parliamentary Affairs' and Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake to Foreign Affairs.

And the promotions: Foreign Affairs Minister Mangala Samaraweera as Finance and Mass Media Minister and UNP's national list MP Tilak Marapana, PC, as the minister of a new ministry especially created for him, i.e. that of 'Development Assignments' Minister.
Samaraweera's promotion rests not in him being granted the 'Finance' portfolio, but rather the 'Mass Media' portfolio.

Mahinda Samarasinghe's re-assignment from Skills Development and Vocational Training Minister to Ports and Shipping Minister, more than being a promotion to him, may be classified as being a punishment to Ranatunga, the former Ports and Shipping Minister.

Among Ranatunga's sins is opposing the leasing of one of several of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa's white elephant projects, the Hambantota Port to the Chinese for US$ 1.1 billion to get over the current debt trap. Nonetheless, Ports and Shipping is a key ministry portfolio in the Cabinet. Forty years ago, President J. R. Jayewardene appointed an unknown MP called Lalith Athulathmudali as Trade and Shipping Minister to usher in his dream of making the Colombo Port the hub port in South Asia. There was no separate Ports Ministry then.

Athulathmudali, hearkening unto 'his master's voice,' made this dream a reality with Japanese aid, given as one of several marks of gratitude, due to Jayewardene's plea for mercy for war defeated Japan, in the dock at San Francisco in 1951 and which plea won the day.

'Media' is a sensitive portfolio. Samaraweera as the Unity Government's Foreign Minister, successfully steered the country to regain the lost GSP+ duty free facility in exports to Sri Lanka's largest market the EU, lost in August 2010 due to Rajapaksa's blunderings. Samaraweera, who in part was responsible for the controversial October 2015 Geneva resolution which called for foreign jurists to interfere in the internal affairs of the country vis-à-vis alleged human rights violations committed by the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) in its 26-year war with Tamil terrorism, nevertheless, helped GoSL to get a reprieve till at least 2019 to implement these recommendations. Nonetheless, GoSL and its Cabinet cannot run away from the responsibility of co-sponsoring this resolution together with the USA, Sri Lanka's largest export market, countrywise.

Under these circumstances, the media portfolio plays a key role, being Sri Lanka's voice, overseas, in this era of globalization, GSP+, Geneva and human rights and all that. For that purpose, Sri Lanka needs an articulate voice. Samaraweera, who had been the Media Minister before, i.e. in the Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga government of August 1994 to December 2001, fits the groove.

It was the UNP which won the day at Monday's Cabinet reshuffle, by getting one of its MPs, Marapana, once more into the Cabinet.
Marapana served in the National Unity Government's Cabinet for two months previously, from September to November, 2015, before resigning over the Avante Garde affair. This affair now appears to have had died a natural death.

Samaraweera, Karunathilaka and Karunanayake are also all from the UNP, whereas Samarasinghe, a former UNPer, crossed over to the SLFP/UPFA during Rajapaksa's tenure.

Ranatunga is also from the SLFP/UPFA. As far as the other ministers who were subjected to yesterday's reshuffle, namely W. D. J. Seneviratne, Mahinda Amaraweera, S. B. Dissanayake and Chandima Weerakkody, are from the SLFP/UPFA and were Cabinet Ministers even before Monday's reshuffle.

Nonetheless, Karunanayake, the Unity Government's Finance Minister from January 2015 to Monday, has presented three budgets, appointed his brother-in-law as one of two managing directors of Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation Ltd. and was responsible for increasing the VAT, a baby of the IMF, by four percentage points to 15% whilst also making supermarket retail transactions VATable. Nevertheless, there is collective Cabinet responsibility over the VAT hike.

If J. R. Jayewardene, as Finance Minister in 1953, was responsible for the hartal after raising the price of a measure of rice by 50 cents to 75 cents, resulting in the resignation of Premier Dudley Senanayake, the demotion of Jayewardene from Finance to Agriculture Minister and the UNP losing the Parliamentary Election three years later, there are similarities to Karunanayake's demotion 64 years later.

The first budget which Karunanayake produced in January 2015, no sooner the Unity Government was instituted to power after Maithripala Sirisena's presidential election victory of 8 January, 2015, was an election budget targeting the parliamentary elections, subsequently held in August 2015.

His second budget held soon after, was checkmated by his Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe as being austere. And his removal took place seven months after the presentation of his third budget in November.

Nonetheless, Karunanayake, in his new role as Foreign Minister should take advantage over the terrorist bombing at Manchester on Monday, by issuing a message of condolence to London and Whitehall over this tragedy as his first positive move in his new role. UK, USA and the rest of the West played key roles in drafting the controversial October 2015 resolution involving Sri Lanka.

Daily News Editorial

Padeniya’s company tells a tale

24 May 2017

In journalism it is an axiom that a picture tells a thousand words. This truism was brought home starkly by the front page picture captions depicted in almost all daily newspapers yesterday showing GMOA President Dr. Anuruddha Padeniya brushing shoulders with stalwarts of the Joint Opposition outside the Supreme Court premises where a Contempt case was being heard against the God Father of government doctors. In the picture with Padeniya was a Buddhist monk, notorious for his rabid nationalism and visceral hatred towards the minority community and an avowed loyalist of Mahinda Rajapaksa who even went to the extent of conferring him high government office when the latter was President. Among the others in the picture were a learned medical Professor, known for his rationalist views and who is often in the news, but barely concealing where his loyalties really lay.

This is not the only occasion where Padeniya was seen in such company. He was pictured a few weeks ago at the launch of a book, said to have been authored by Wimal Weerawansa during the period the latter was behind bars, occupying the front row with the JO front liners. With such glaring evidence only a nincompoop will believe that the GMOA is an apolitical body and detached from party politics, as often claimed by Padeniya and his minions and that it was not carrying out a political contract for Mahinda Rajapaksa, their former benefactor.

Padeniya and his ilk of the GMOA are entitled to their political views and the right to support any political party or Opposition group. But they cannot hold the public to ransom by playing political games in their bid to bring back to power vanquished political leaders through whose largesse they benefited in the past. It is against the Hippocratic Oath nay immoral. It goes against the very tenets of the medical profession which is looked up to with much regard and respect by the general public. It behoves the doctors to give their first preference to the care of the patients, if they are not to lose the respect of the general public who funded their education. But what do we see? The GMOA holding media conferences, almost on a daily basis, threatening strikes and disruption of the medical services. All because of one private medical institution when there is another operating on the same lines, with not a murmur of protest from the doctors. All this no doubt will reinforce public belief that the doctors are bent on promoting their vested interests of a political nature.

Padeniya has already displayed his colours in this regard. Addressing a meeting, amidst a doctors’ strike, he not only castigated the government in very uncomplimentary terms but also singled out two government Ministers for a vituperative outburst. He got so carried away with his rhetoric that his diatribe extended to the country’s courts of law, which has now landed him in trouble.

The GMOA once again staged a 24 hour token strike on Monday throwing patients into severe hardship, for reasons other than SAITM, their main bone of contention, though this too was in the package but not in the order of merit. One of the reasons given for the strike was the ‘police brutality’ inflicted on medical students protesting against SAITM. The solidarity expressed thus with the medical students no doubt is a craftily thought out strategy to engage them and others in the planned protests earmarked by the doctors in the near future on matters nothing to to do with the medical profession. The strike initially slated for a short duration was suddenly extended to 24 hours at the eleventh hour, putting patients, who would have come to seek treatment even during those limited hours, into great hardship. This, from an organisation which claims that their raison d’etre for the anti-SAITM campaign was purely in the interest of the patients, to ensure they receive quality medical treatment. But this altruistic feelings were nowhere to be seen on Monday given the fact that as much as 600 operations were not performed on that day and hapless patients who reported for their Clinic Day milling around hospital premises with no succour coming their way.

The GMOA spokesmen addressing a media briefing also stated that the work stoppage was also to protest against plans to arrest their friend, guide and philosopher Dr. Padeniya, a reference to the Contempt case now being heard against him for insulting the courts. Padeniya is an ordinary citizen of this country and is subject to the law like any other citizen. He cannot be above the law merely because he is a doctor and the President of the GMOA. Doctors, professionals, Buddhist monks and even a member of the Anglican Church were made to suffer for their crimes and felons in the past. Padeniya cannot be an exception and the sooner the GMOA members come to terms with this reality the better they would be prepared to accept the court verdict with equanimity if and when the guillotine falls.

The Island Editorial

A gruesome finale

24 May 2017

The latest terror strike in the UK has killed 22 persons including children and left scores of others injured. The cowardly attack must be condemned and the criminals responsible for it brought to book. Thousands of terrified music lovers were seen running helter-skelter following Monday’s blast at the conclusion of the Ariana Grande concert at Manchester Arena. The gruesome finale of the musical show must have evoked, in all Sri Lankans, horrible memories of numerous savage terrorist bomb attacks on civilian targets from the mid 1980s to 2009.

Mega events extend an open invitation to terrorists who are looking for the slightest opportunity to strike. True, life must go on in spite of terrorist threats and terrorists must be denied the pleasure of having civilians life crippled, but people must not be exposed to danger unnecessarily. Foolproof security is not within the realms of possibility and the organisers of the Manchester concert should have been more careful. It is reported that the bomber gained access to the venue when doors were opened shortly before the end of the concert.

Terrorists have once again demonstrated their ability to strike at will anywhere in the world by carrying out a bomb attack with ease in Britain, which has been on red alert. Brainwashed and bent on plunging the civilised world into chaos, they won’t baulk at anything to achieve their macabre goals. No country is safe.

Unfortunately, the world is not united in tackling terrorism. The less said about the UN the better. It allows its human right arm to be used by certain strategic alliances as a tool to advance their agendas on the pretext of protecting global democracy much to the disappointment of the victims of terror.

Addressing a group of leaders from the Muslim countries, US President Donald Trump declared on Sunday: "No discussion of stamping out this (terrorist) threat would be complete without mentioning the government that gives terrorists ... safe harbour, financial backing, and the social standing needed for recruitment ... I am speaking, of course, of Iran." Ironically, among the leaders in the audience were friends of the US, responsible for creating the ISIS, which blasts civilian targets in the West! He may have struck a responsive chord with terror victims the world over if he had, instead of venting his spleen on Iran, lashed out at all countries which provide safe haven, financial backing and social standing to terrorist groups.

Can the US and its allies deny the fact they themselves have sponsored savage terrorist outfits to further their interests? Afghanistan would not have been plagued with terrorism today but for US backing for some ragtag armies which, after driving away the Russians, evolved into formidable terror groups such as the Taliban and al-Qaeda. The self-righteous western powers also backed militant groups in Libya though they were fully aware that there were many Jihadist fighters among the armed combatants to get rid of Gaddafi. Having sown the wind, they are now reaping the whirlwind.

In 2009, the then British PM Gordon Brown stressed the need for fighting the Taliban terrorism in Afghanistan so that the streets of London would be safe. (Ironically, he was promoting war on terror with gung-ho zeal while his government was trying to confer pariah status on this country, which had just defeated terrorism and made its streets safe for one and all.) Terrorists have over the years opened new fronts and rendered British cities as vulnerable as their counterparts in other parts of the terror-stricken world.

Unless the powerful nations abandon their despicable policy of promoting terrorism on the sly against other nations to further their interests, and make a concerted effort to root out the scourge of terror in all its forms and manifestations wherever it occurs the world will become an even more dangerous place.