New Police Chief Jayantha Wickramaratne

New Police Chief Jayantha Wickramaratne appears to be showing the way to outgoing IGP Victor Perera at a farewell ceremony organized by the police department yesterday.

Pic by Dinuka Liyanawatte via Wijeya Newspapers

Police Chief Victor Perera who bade farewell to the top job last evening, has been appointed as the Governor of the Northern Province by President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

Mr. Perera is to assume duties as the Northern Governor on Thursday, Police Media Spokesman Ranjith Gunasekara told the Daily Mirror.

At a farewell ceremony organized by the police department followed by a guard of honour, IGP Perera said he was immensely satisfied with the service he rendered during his regime.

The newly appointed IGP Jayantha Wickramaratne who will assume duties today along with other senior and junior police officers took part in the ceremony.

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Janaka Perera the new political superstar

The UNP has scored a major victory by managing to field Major General (Retd) Janaka Perera to contest as the chief ministerial candidate of the North Central Province. When the NCP and Sabaragamauwa PCs were dissolved, one point raised by this columnist was that the UNP’s prospects in these provinces were particularly bleak because of the lack of personalities who can provide leadership to the various districts. The examples that I took were the Kurunegala district, where the UNP has Gamini Jayawickreme Perera, Johnston Fernando and Dayasiri Jayasekera, all capable leaders. Even the Puttalam district has Palitha Range Bandara, an ex-cop who is good at providing leadership in a primitive, caveman like way. Colombo has Ravi Karunanayake, Matara now has Mangala Samaraweera. But the districts of Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa and Ratnapura were wastelands in terms of leaders. Kegalle was slightly better off with Kabir Hashim providing gentlemanly leadership as an educated minority politician.

Always UNP

With Janaka Perera going to the NCP, where he will most probably be based in Anuradhapura, the Anuradhapura district will after a long time have a man of stature as a leader. That Janaka Perera would join the UNP is not surprising because in the 1990s, he was one of those army officers who like his seniors, the late Lucky Algama and Cecil Waidyaratne, were always identified with the UNP. Because of this identification, the Chandrika Kumaratunga regime did not make him Army Commander when his turn came. But in a rare show of magnanimity, she made Perera High Commissioner in Australia. This is considered a first class diplomatic posting and even ex-Army commanders (with the exception of Gen. Dennis Perera) and joint operations chiefs are usually sent to postings in places like Pakistan and Thailand, not to the plum postings in the west. Even General Waidyaratne was sent to Thailand as Ambassador after retirement.

Even though the Kumaratunga regime deprived Perera of the Army Commandership which he so richly deserved, he can’t say that Kumaratunga was unfair to him. Not only did she appoint him as High Commissioner but both she and Lakshman Kadirgamar stood by Perera when there was an LTTE orchestrated attempt to prevent Canberra from accepting his accreditation on the grounds that he was responsible for various human rights violations. Even Lional Bopage, the former general secretary of the JVP now living in Australia, appeared on Australian TV against Perera. But the Kumaratunga government held its ground and the Australians accepted him. This is one of the rare instances when Chandrika Kumaratunga can be held in a good light.

The Rajapakse regime, however treated Perera differently. They suddenly recalled him from his posting as Ambassador to Indonesia last year without allowing him to complete his term. At the time he was recalled, the foreign minister was Mangala Samaraweera. Perera was at that time the most high profile individual serving in an ambassadorial posting, yet the foreign minister of the time had absolutely nothing to say about why he was being recalled. That deafening silence was curious to say the least. Now that Perera and Samaraweera are on the same side of the barricade, they may perhaps be able to discuss things at leisure.

Be that as it may, one can’t really expect a man to be given short shrift by one side and expect him not to look to the other side for succor. Becoming a UNP politician for Perera is a case of going home. Having being labeled a UNPer all his life, there’s nothing wrong in him being a UNP candidate. Perera is going to be the centre of all attraction at the forthcoming PC elections. His acceptance of the UNP nominations in the NCP has upped the stakes. What would have been a one horse race for the government has now become a battleground.

Not that things are going to be easy for Perera. He has a reputation for winning battles against tremendous odds. It was he who held Jaffna in 2000 when the LTTE seemed poised to take over the peninsula. But this election is going to test his abilities to the maximum. There are no consolation prizes here. Had this been a parliamentary election, even if the UNP was unable to win power, Perera would have been an MP in the supreme legislature, and the status of parliamentarian would have been commensurate with his stature and the positions he held as Army chief or staff and former High Commissioner. But at a provincial level, he’ll have to win and become chief minister or he’ll find himself sitting with various unsavory characters who tried to get into parliament but failed and had to settle for second best.

A Herculean task

What are Perera’s chances of becoming chief minister of the NCP? In the past one and a half decades, the UNP has won only two elections – the parliamentary election of 2001 and the local government election held soon after in 2002. If Perera wins the NCP election, this will be the third occasion when the UNP has scored a victory and that alone will catapult him to the forefront of UNP politics. He will become a UNP front liner overnight. The NCP is the UNP’s weakest province, weaker than even the Eastern Province. In the east, the UNP may not have an organization worth talking of, but the UNP’s ally the SLMC, has a formidable organization. But in the Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa districts, the UNP does not even have an ally to help them. The number of MPs the UNP has in these two districts are exactly the same as the JVP. The UNP has two MPs in Anuradhapura P.Harrison and Chandrani Bandara, and one MP in Polonnaruwa, Earl Gunasekera.

For years, the UNP organization in Rajarata has been crumbling and today very little of it is left. At every evaluation of electoral level party activities, the NCP always emerges as a problematic area on the UNP’s radar. The last time the UNP won a provincial election in the NCP was back in May 1993. Thereafter the UNP continuously lost every election in the NCP - the parliamentary election of 1994, the presidential election of 1994, the provincial council election of 1999, the presidential election of 1999, the parliamentary election of 2000. (At the 2000 parliamentary election, the PA won Anuradhapura but the UNP won Polonnaruwa by a margin of 2,000 votes) . At the parliamentary election of 2001, the harassed UNPers of Rajarata got some respite. They managed to win the Anuradhapura district with a majority of over 15,000 votes and the Polonnaruwa district with a majority of over 13,000 votes. But this was in a context where a radical change had taken place at the national level and a massive chunk of the SLFP, including its general secretary S.B.Dissananyake, had crossed over to the UNP in what was until then, the biggest crossover in parliamentary history.

The collapse of the economy, the Katunayake airport attack, which until the September 11 attacks three months later, was the biggest civil aviation disaster in world history, and the UNP’s gaining in strength from the SLFP crossovers, all contributed to the UNP’s victory in Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa in 2001. But one thing that can be noticed when looking at the figures is that even when the UNP did manage to win in these districts in 2001 and in Polonnaruwa in 2000, the majorities were very slim compared to the majorities that the PA got when they won. Since 2004, the UNP has been losing in the Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa districts with even bigger margins than when they were losing prior to 2001. It is in such a context that Janaka Perera has accepted the challenge of winning the NCP for the UNP. It’s going to be a Herculean task to say the least.

In 2001, there was a visible change to be seen in the UNP with the influx of figures like S.B.Dissananayke which was able to give the people hope. But today, Janaka Perera is going to the NCP with no such change to be seen at the national level. Instead of change at the national level, what we have is a party divided, and a powerful section of the party including its chairman and deputy general secretary asking the leader to step down. None of the reasons that made the UNP so unpopular have been remedied in any way, and while all other factors remain depressingly constant. The only new factor in the NCP will be the personality of Janaka Perera, with no change whatsoever in the UNP’s policies or outlook. If Janaka Perera, simply by the force of his personality, is able to overcome the UNP’s unpopularity and win, then UNPers all over the country will look up to him as their deliverer. He is the messiah they have been waiting for. The NCP will then be transformed from the UNP’s weakest province to its launching pad to victory.

Trying to walk on water

That is of course IF General Perera wins. In order to win, he will have to attract tens of thousands of completely new votes to the UNP. When the last PC elections were held in the NCP in 2004, the PA’s majority was over 98,000 in the Anuradhapura district and 36,000 in the Polonnaruwa district. This time however, those majorities are going to come down drastically because the JVP will not be contesting together with the government. Moreover the 2004 PC elections were held just after a parliamentary election at which the UNP was defeated; so the 2004 PC election result was skewed by that. But even if you take the 2005 presidential election result as the benchmark, when the UNP’s prospects seemed brightest, and many people expected Wickremesinghe to win, the UNP still lost the Anuradhapura district by a margin of 48,000 votes and Polonnaruwa by 13,000 votes. Since the JVP is not contesting with the PA this time, these margins will be narrower. But even at a very conservative estimate, General Perera will need something in excess of 50,000 completely new votes to have any hope of defeating the PA in the NCP. Can he garner so many additional votes in the short time between now and the election?

In purely political terms, a victory for the UNP in the present circumstances will be nothing short of a miracle. But then Janaka Perera in his previous profession, was known for being able to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. The NCP election will be very interesting to watch. Perera is no ordinary politician. Without his contribution, this country would not be the same. As such, we can only wish the General all the very best in his new career.

It may be relevant to note in this context, that in the late 1990s when the Sri Lankan armed forces at the receiving end of the LTTE, General Perera was able to inflict a crushing defeat on LTTE forces that tried to overrun Welioya with only soldiers from non-combatant units, grama arakshakas and ordinary villagers under his command. He is a formidable organizer and can inspire people to do what they would not otherwise do. It was he who stopped the retreat from Jaffna in 2000. Clearly, Berty Premalal Dissanayake is going to have to have his hands full in the coming weeks.

The shrewd one

The UNP was faced with an embarrassing position last week, when Upul Shantha Sannasgala, their chief ministerial nominee for Sabaragamuwa, pulled out. Except for Janaka Perera, nobody in the UNP really seems to be keen on facing this election. In fact the UNP even went to courts in an attempt to prevent the election from being held. Sannasgala, from his university days, has always had his eye on the bottom line. The announcement that he had been nominated as the UNP’s chief ministerial candidate for Sabaragamuwa came as a surprise because the defeat was almost certain and the only thing he could realistically aspire to be is the leader of the opposition of Sabaragamuwa.

For anyone with political ambitions, defeat at a provincial election can mean that his career ends before it has even started. In 1999, when the southern provincial election came around, the UNP was similarly faced with the problem of putting forward a chief ministerial candidate. UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe and Karu Jayasuriya then tried to persuade Lakshman Yapa Abeywardene to resign from parliament to contest as the chief ministerial candidate, but he flatly refused. That refusal saved his political career.

Had he contested as the chief ministerial candidate and lost, he may not have been able to get back into parliament and would have been stuck in a provincial council limbo for the rest of his days. Likewise, Sannasgala was shrewd enough to realize that what the UNP was offering him was in fact a poisoned chalice. Had he contested the chief ministerial post and lost, the aura that he built around himself would have been lost forever. The thing to note is that both Janaka Perera and Upul Shantha Sannasgala are complete newcomers to politics. The UNP has had to tap into the social capital built up by outsiders in order to shore up its crumbling support in the country – not a good sign for any political party at all. The celebrity dependency of the UNP is much higher than either the PA or the JVP.

There was a touching scene at Sirikotha last week when Janaka Perera received the overwhelming endorsement of all the candidates of the NCP. Normally, a fellow candidate is seen as a rival. But the UNP’s NCP candidates realized that the infusion of Pererasocial capital into the campaign improved their own chances.

There is however something that Janaka Perera has to watch out for. The UNP has appointed district coordinators for the election campaign as is usually done. From what we hear, Gamini Jayawickrema Perera has been placed in charge of the Anuradhapura district. He’s perfectly OK. But it appears that the person placed in charge of Polonnaruwa, is of all people, Lakshman Kiriella! On the very day of the Anuradhapura air base attack, Kiriella came on TV and said that the government must now go for a ceasefire and peace negotiations. This gave people the impression that the UNP was a party of sniveling cowards, just waiting for an opportunity to surrender to the LTTE at the first sound of gunfire. And in the days following, the UNP built up a campaign for a ceasefire.

A few days later, Tamilchelvam was killed in his bunker and the UNP, which had spoken of ceasefires and the impossibility of winning the war, was suddenly rendered speechless and their campaign for a ceasefire ceased forthwith. Then more recently, Kiriella said in another TV appearance "Oney gonekta yuddha karanna puluwan". That was a sure way of rubbing a lot of people on the wrong side. Many members of the public support the war effort, and people have been taking things from the Rajapakse regime, which they would not have tolerated from any other government, because there is the commonly held perception that the government is committed to winning the war. Even the chief incumbent of the Bellanwila Rajamaha Viharaya came on TV to condemn this statement by Kiriella and the Ven. Monk requested the UNP not to make ‘gon’ statements about the war.

Placing Kiriella to co-ordinate Janaka Perera’s campaign in Polonnaruwa, must be somebody’s idea of a practical joke. Or it may be their way of keeping Kiriella out of the TV cameras and close enough for Janaka Perera to keep a close watch on him. Kiriella is one man who can ruin Perera’s campaign with a single statement. Having him in the campaign will be like wearing a suicide belt made of a volatile, spontaneously ignitable explosive substance! JP had better watch out and it may be useful in his spare time to educate Kiriella on military matters. He can start by asking "Do I look like a bovine type to you?" This brings us to the point that never before has there been such a glaring mismatch between a candidate and the party he was contesting from. JP will have to keep his fingers crossed that neither Kiriella nor Wickremesinghe will say anything during the campaign that would embarrass him.

No Madduma Bandara

With regard to Sabaragamuwa, the joke in UNP circles is that they are now looking for a ‘Madduma Bandara’ to contest as the chief ministerial candidate. This refers to Madduma Bandara, the second son of Ehalepola Disave of Sabaragamuwa, whose family was executed by Sri Wickrema Rajasinghe. When his elder brother screamed and struggled in terror as the executioners seized him, the young Madduma Bandara is said to have stepped up fearlessly and shown his brother how to die with dignity. Sannasgala refused to play Madduma Bandara for the UNP.

Despite the fact that two PC elections are in the offing, the rebellion against the leadership continued, last week, with Lakshman Seneviratne, Johnston Fernando and Jayalath Jayawardene presenting their proposals in writing to the committee of party seniors appointed by the leader to look into this question. The committee of seniors comprised of Tissa Attanayake, Rukman Senanayake, Joseph Michael Perera, Sarathchandra Rajakaruna, Gamini Jayawickreme Perera, Renuka Herath, and Amara Piyaseeli Ratnayake.

A noteworthy thing being that many members of this seniors committee had themselves at one point or another led rebellions against the leader. Tissa, Rukman, Jayawickrema Perera, have all been in anti-Ranil rebellions themselves and the only reason why they are still with him is because they cannot get rid of him! This shows how far gone the UNP is. The attempt of the Johnston-Lakshman group now seems to be to convince the committee of party seniors itself, that there was a need to have a change of party leadership. Immediately after the two PC elections, there will be more MPs joining the Johnston-Lakshman group. If the PC elections are lost, that will be the last straw for many people. Sabaragamuwa is all but lost already, and all hopes of the Wickremesinghe faction will be focused on Janaka Perera. If he manages to arrest the UNP’s slide, that will give the beleaguered UNP leader some breathing space.

But the problem will be that there is only one Janaka Perera in the country and he can’t be sent everywhere to win elections for the UNP. Moreover, if Perera does win this election despite the tremendous odds ranged against him, every UNP rank and file member will be screaming for Perera to be made UNP leader! Even though we said earlier that the UNP has won only two elections during the past one and a half decades, the second election was a local government election held soon after a decisive parliamentary election of 2001 which gave the UNP a handicap. So in actual fact, they have won only one decisive election in fifteen years. If Janaka Perera is able, with nothing but his personality, to deliver a second victory to the UNP, then every right thinking person in this country is going to rise on his behalf.

JVP Politburo

When the JVP politburo met last week, the main topic of discussion was the elections and observations were made to the effect that while the government had lost control, the UNP was not in a position to even organize an effective demonstration. Vijitha Herath said that the JVP has a chance of doing well at the forthcoming PC elections. Even though the JVP itself has been having problems with yet another of their parliamentarians, Anjaan Umma, defecting to the JNP, the JVP is still far better organized at the local level than the UNP. They seem to feel that their superior ground level organization and the prevailing despondency in the UNP will enable them to get a larger number of seats than they would otherwise get.

via M@L

 

‘Dinamina’, leveling dangerous allegation against Press Institute

Free Media Movement (FMM), on Friday expressed serious concern against a false story planted in the Sri Lankan state controlled newspaper, ’Dinamina’, a paper considered as one of the mouthpieces of the government, leveling dangerous allegations against Sri Lanka Press Institute (SLPI) and a group of journalists who participated in a journalism course in Denmark. The story alleged that the SLPI had sent members connected to LTTE under Journalist label. The FMM has demanded the Sri Lankan media minister to extend a formal apology to the Sri Lankan Press Institute (SLPI) and the journalists who participated a journalism training course in Denmark.

Full text of the press statement issued by the FMM follows:

State media level dangerous allegation against Sri Lanka Press Institute

Free Media Movement expresses its serious concern that State controlled media has levelled dangerous allegations against Sri Lanka Press Institute (SLPI) without verifying the story from SLPI.

State controlled Sinhala language newspaper ’Dinamina’ considered as one of the mouth pieces of the government said in a lead story that “the police intelligence has received information saying that a group of members connected to LTTE were sent to Norway through Denmark under the Journalist label by the Sri Lanka Press Institute. This foreign tour has taken place in the year 2007.”

In a press release issued on 26th SLPI said: “Sri Lanka Press Institute (SLPI) strongly refutes the prominently displayed front page story on June 26, 2008 Dinamina newspaper titled: “Eight Tigers sent to Norway under journalist label” as baseless, misleading and factually incorrect.”

According to SLPI there was no training program carried out by the SLPI in Denmark in the year 2007 as reported by the said newspaper. Applications were called on 05th September 2007 for a training program in the capital of Denmark, Copenhagen titled ‘Media and Democracy.’

Approximately 100 journalists from television, radio and print media had applied, out of which 20 had been selected. The 20 journalists have attended the six-week training course from the 01st of April to May 03rd 2008. All of them have returned to the country on May 04, 2008 on board the same flight.

SLPI plays an important role in bringing member of media organization together in press freedom advocacy in Sri Lanka today and in this context FMM views this cooked up story as another attempt to intimidate media and media organizations.

Further this story implies the Tamil journalists who took part in the training programme as LTTE supporters. This allegation coming form a state media today is equal to unofficial death sentence passed on those journalists. FMM holds government and the news paper responsible for the dangerous situation that has been created for these journalists by this story who ever planted it.

FMM request Media Minster to make a formal apology to the SLPI and those journalists mentioned without delay.

via M@L

 

Permanent Peace on Sri Lanka in Less than 7 Days without Weapons

Peace talks had their chance. Weapons had their chance. Both failed. For years. It seems fair to give a third and more profound path to peace a chance.

Sri Lanka needs a systematic method to establish a profound, unshakeable, and permanent foundation on which to build a healthy society. There is such method, a long forgotten, but proven technology of peace, in the ancient Vedic tradition of India.

The Advantages:

• No killing, no bombing
• Risk free
• Inexpensive
• Fast results
• Stable peace
• Supports talks
• Positive side effects: Economic growth and crime reduction
• Verified by 23 published research studies and 50 demonstration projects

As all Vedic techniques, it is a technology of consciousness, and it makes relevant a key belief of the UN:

“War begins in the minds of men”. UNESCO

Certainly, peace must be born in the same place. Consciousness is the basis of both peace and war, yet no leader seems to have any clue about how to make consciousness harmonious. Vedic science and technology on the other hand, has focused on this for thousands of years.

Consciousness Is Fundamental
The Vedic perspective is simple: Action is based on thought, thougth is based on consciousness. When consciousness is harmonious, action will be harmonious. The same applies to a group of people or a nation. If tension is allowed to build up in the collective consciousness, it will be expressed in the actions of this group, like the color of ocean is expressed in the waves.

Tension Accumulates
From this perspective, the problems of any government has one fundamental cause; the accumulated tension in the collective consciousness of its people. Tension accumulates when the connection between the people and the source of harmony is lost. It’s like disconnecting the light from its source of power. The whole room goes dark, and in the dark it is easy to go wrong. For lasting peace and harmony, look for a lasting source of peace.

The Source of Peace
Anyone who has seen tall buildings in construction knows that the project starts by making a deep, unshakeable foundation. Nothing is more lasting, and nothing more unshakeable than existence, the state of Being. Nothing exists outside. It unites all diversity on the deepest, most silent, and least excited state of nature. It is absolute peace, unshakeable and eternal. It is the simplest form of awareness, known in East and West as the Self, the essence of the mind. And yet it is outside the daily experience of most people.

The Mechanics of Peace
In their meditation, experts on the TM-Sidhi program of his holiness Maharishi Mahesh Yogi allow their minds to settle down and experience pure Being. Acting from this most powerful level of nature, they stir the field of peace and generate waves of harmony into the surroundings.

The Field Effect
When dropping a pebble on a quiet surface of water, rings will spread to every corner. Like that the harmonizing effect of the TM-Sidhi Program spreads through the most silent, least excited level of nature to every corner of the collective consciousness. When consciousness becomes more harmonious, actions become more harmonious, including actions of a nation. It’s like changing the color of the ocean; spontaneously the waves will change color.

Proven, Fast Results
The TM-Sidhi program is a thoroughly tested technology of consciousness. The results of large groups of experts practicing this technology has been measured by social indicators and published in leading scientific journals, like the Journal of Conflict Resolution: Bomb shelling, war deaths and casualties decrease, crime decrease, and economic indicators turn positive. The results start appearing in statistics hours after reaching the magic number of experts.

Peace Is Inexpensive
Only 1000 experts the TM-Sidhi program are needed to create a permanent influence of harmony in the collective consciousness of Sri Lanka. It will cost 1 million dollars a month. Next year, Sri Lanka is to spend more than 100 million dollars per month on defence (1.4 billion in 2007 according to BBC News).

The Spiral of Violence
The greatest military power in the world has proven thoroughly that bombs and bullets do not solve the underlying problem. Iraq is costing the US 11 millions dollars per hour. It was supposed to be a short war. Look what they got: They create more terrorists than they are able to kill and more enemies and hatred than they are able to remove.

Weapons Don’t Grant Safety
Tense people with weapon in hand, don’t need more reasons to hate. They need peace, within. Weapons cannot create this peace. Consciousness CANNOT be managed with weapons. Consciousness is managed with technology of consciousness. This is why any type of military defence systems only give illusory safety. Unlike military defence, Vedic technology has a basis in reality, in Being. Sri Lanka can have permanent peace for only 1% of their defence buget. Prevention is always cheaper than cure.

Wise Tradition
Sri Lanka has a long tradition of looking within for wisdom. This is a chance to demonstrate that Sri Lanka has a deeper and wiser mind than the US, and that it does not have follow the superficial way of the west, a way disconnected from Being, disconnected from the underlying field of eternal peace and harmony. No wonder talks are fruitless.

Water the Root

Sri Lanka is better off enlivening peace in the collective consciousness and in every individual, like a gardener who enlivens the sap in every part of the tree by watering the root. Talks can only be successful AFTER peace is created in consciousness, for speech is based on consciousness. The sequence is critical: FIRST create harmony in the collective consciousness, THEN talk. Water the root, to enjoy the fruit. Talks will carry fruits within 7 days of establishing 1000 peace experts in Sri Lanka. Darkness backs off quickly when the sun rises, and when in peace mood, people change their mind even faster.

Prevent the Danger Now!
It is up to the wise and wealthy people of Sri Lanka to make the first move, for the government will only express the collective consciousness. When tension is high, leaders may not have the clarity and depth of mind to act on this offer of permanent peace. And when the leaders fail to do their duty, protect yourself: Give yourself an armor of peace by investing in Vedic peace technology, for your personal safety. Action equals reaction: An action creating peace gives a reaction of peace, it’s a risk free investment. Preventing the danger that has not yet come, is the way of the wise. Now is the time to speak up!

What You Can Do.

• Comit to funding peace experts, each $1000 per month
• Tell your politician, now!
• Write to the President of Sri Lanka

Wishing permanent peace and prosperity to Sri Lanka,

Christer Olsen
Peace Technologist
Norway

www.invinciblepeace.org

 

Sri Lanka’s deadly conflict, but neither can win the war - over 250,000 have died so far!

The Foundation for Co existence Chairman, Kumar Rupasinghe said that over 250,000 persons have lost their lives in the on going conflict although it is reported that only 80, 000 died.

Speaking at the launch of his nine publications in Colombo on Wednesday (25 Jun) he described Sri Lanka war as a deadly conflict with neither side winning.

He also emphasized that respect for laws of the country and lives of citizens must be respected in the first place, as they are imperative for any discussion.

 

Politicians and journalists

Nazly Cassim says… Politicians and journalists are two important groups of people in a country. The former to run the nation and the latter to pen on the trend of their ruling. Politicians, whether literate or illiterate, are elected by the people while journalists are selected by employers only if they are educated and knowledgeable.

Politicians are powerful but the power of the journalist’s pen is unparalleled. Politicians are inconvincible but journalists are corrigible. Most politicians are formidable but journalists are amiable. Politicians have foes and journalists have friends.

The above should be borne in mind when anyone tries or plans to assail or assassinate media men. Often politicians both in the ruling and opposition parties cannot tolerate when articles relating to corruption or their atrocities are published.

The police too have their own follies. Their treatment of some suspects are contrary to law and this is done specially at the behest of politicians.

In the media too there may be journalists who write in favour of the party that they support. But a good journalist should be impartial, and present the facts to the people for them to arrive at a conclusion of their own.

Whatever it is, the pen of the journalist is mightier than the power of any politician.

Similarly the people’s vote is very powerful. It is the vote of the people which decides who is going to come to power and who is going to lose.

via M@L

 

Deepening Political Crisis in Sri Lanka

by R. Swaminathan

The theme “Deepening Political Crisis in Sri Lanka”, may be an under-statement. The current situation in Sri Lanka is in reality more than just a political crisis. It is a military crisis (that has already caused nearly 70,000 deaths), a crisis of governance (with fairness and equity), a crisis of confidence between the different ethnic groups – all of which threaten the very existence a united and integrated Sri Lanka. What started as apparent linguistic chauvinism (and the reaction to it) has taken on most of the aspects of an ethnic civil war.

The India Factor

India, with its growing influence in international affairs, should reasonably be expected to make her overall national interest the primary and supreme consideration in formulating foreign and security policies. Domestic politics and partisan interests would continue to provide major inputs during the stage of consultations, but are unlikely to become reasons for casting doubts on the credibility of the evolved national foreign policy. It is not difficult to perceive that India’s long-term strategic and regional interests require a special relationship with Sri Lanka, going well beyond the immediate Tamil ethnic issue.

The regional political parties in Tamil Nadu often find it difficult to adopt moderate positions on Sri Lanka related issues, lest they surrender ground to the more radical amongst them. Even considering their present disproportionate influence in decision-making by the Central Government, I do not think that the mainstream politicians in Tamil Nadu would attempt to make the Central Government agree to intervene physically in the crisis in Sri Lanka; or that they would succeed if they made the attempt.

India and Sri Lanka are physically separated by a narrow strip of sea, but the peoples of the two countries are bound together by bonds of geographic proximity, historical ties, religious and cultural affinities and similarities etc. State level relations tend to fluctuate from time to time, influenced by domestic political compulsions, international situation, economic needs etc. Stable state level relations are possible only when they closely reflect the reality of people-to-people ties.

A major irritant in Indo-Sri Lankan relations relates to Kachchativu. The issue is really less about ownership and sovereignty over a small island than about fishing rights around it. Despite the Maritime Boundary Agreements, Indian fishermen have continued to fish in areas (including those in Sri Lankan territorial waters) where they have traditionally been carrying on their vocation. It is unfortunate that all the concerned entities seem to find it convenient to let the situation simmer and be available (whenever required) as a stick to beat the other entities with. The issue needs to be defused with a sense of urgency. The fishing communities on both sides of Palk Bay had jointly exploited (with hardly any outside intervention) the local marine resources for centuries. An effort needs to be made to restore to those communities the right and responsibility to work out friendly, cooperative and sustainable fishing in these waters that are the common heritage of India and Sri Lanka.

India cannot easily shrug off her moral responsibility to support the aspiration of the Tamils to be “equal” citizens of Sri Lanka. However, India has consistently been opposed to the carving out of a separate sovereign state of Tamil Eelam. Such an entity is unlikely to function as a classical “buffer state”, but is more likely to have the potential of becoming a focus for pan-Tamil parochialism and nationalism. That this is not a hypothetical fear is shown by a recent appeal by LTTE political wing leader B Nadesan, made directly to the people of Tamil Nadu, "to rise in solidarity with our cause". He said that the "Tamils in Tamil Nadu should not remain silent spectators as we suffer. … Eelam Tamils could record Himalayan victories if they had an upsurge in Tamil Nadu in their support, as well as the backing of the estimated 80 million Tamils living in the world." If LTTE could make such an open call for the Tamils of Tamil Nadu to revolt against the Indian State and the elected governments in Tamil Nadu and at the Centre, when it is still on the defensive and is in need of support, what could one expect from it if and when it becomes the power-holder in the sovereign state of Tamil Eelam?

A week later (on 16 June 2008), in what could be termed a damage-control exercise, KV Balakumaran assured the Australian Tamil Broadcasting Corporation that the demand for Tamil Eelam is not against India’s interest. LTTE sought only ’credible alternate proposals’ to resolve the 25-year-old ethnic conflict. “We believe firmly, our strong cultural ties to our brothers and sisters in India will help their policy makers to select a just and fair path towards our people. …. We will uphold Indian welfare as our own. There was a time when India looked after our welfare as her own. India will change its current policy towards us one day.” He added that “We cannot wait for India’s change of mind to continue with our liberation. One fact should be clear; no one should doubt our friendship, and strong ties to India.”

LTTE

LTTE was one of the many parallel Tamil movements that came up in protest against SLG’s decisions that were seen as being discriminatory against the Tamils. Over a period of time, mainly through the free use of the weapons of violence and assassination, LTTE has eliminated or marginalized most other Tamil movements. LTTE has arguably been the most effective champion of the Tamil cause, but its other face of a dreaded terrorist organization does not elicit the same extent of willing support from the Tamils. However, the reality of LTTE cannot be ignored when attempting any solution to the ethnic problem in Sri Lanka, though it may still be very difficult for India officially to deal with an LTTE led by those involved in the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi.

LTTE’s alternating tirades against and appeals to the international community to rethink their approach of supporting the SLG, as well as the repeated appeals for support from Sri Lankan Tamil Diaspora, seem to display elements of frustration and desperation at the present situation. I feel that the stage has come when LTTE should undertake a serious exercise of introspection, taking into account all the realities, and decide whether or not to pursue the goal of an independent Eelam, through violent means.

Way Forward

When Mahinda Rajapakse won the Presidential election in November 2005, with the support of Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) and Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU), it could be anticipated that his government would move away from Chandrika’s federal formula and towards an attempted military solution. Historical evidence shows that ethnic or ideological insurrections or revolutionary movements suffer from their own versions of revolutionary (battle) fatigue. Some time after the CFA stabilized to a certain extent, LTTE showed signs of having reached that critical stage. Though the LTTE was initially nudged back to the negotiating table at Geneva, the repeated provocative attacks by the Tigers on the security forces and the retaliatory attacks by SLG on Tamil areas led to a situation where the Cease-Fire Agreement (CFA) died and was formally revoked. The intensified military offensives by SLG has probably done more to re-motivate and re-invigorate the fighting cadres of LTTE than any exhortation by Pirabhakaran could have achieved. Though LTTE has repeatedly shown great resilience and capacity to rebound, it seems that its best days are behind it.

It would appear that the capabilities of the Sea Tigers have been severely crippled, at least for the present. Though advances on the ground have been claimed, aerial bombardment of one’s own territory (not under foreign occupation), with resultant casualties amongst innocent civilians, does not show SLG as being in total control of the situation. Some of the counter-attacks (particularly the recent claymore mine attacks on soft targets) by LTTE have highlighted the weaknesses of the government. It seems that the military offensives cannot be carried to their logical conclusion. I doubt the ability of the Sri Lankan Security Forces totally to eradicate the presence or influence of militant LTTE cadres from the areas presently controlled by them, much less from all of Sri Lanka. There will always be bitter remnants which will continue to destabilize society.

The continued military offensive by SLG ignores the lessons of history. Any movement by an ethnic minority, essentially based on legitimate grievances of discrimination and perceived suppression, cannot be eradicated totally by military means alone. Military measures should be accompanied by sincere and sympathetic efforts to address the legitimate grievances and to minimize any discrimination by the state. Ideally, the solution should be totally indigenous and arrived at by consensus. Less ideally, it can be achieved with the help of mediators or intermediaries from outside. It should be realized that any solution imposed only by military force or majoritarian fiat would neither be effective nor durable.

On its part, the LTTE has clearly demonstrated that it is not prepared to work within the existing (or a slightly modified) system. Along with the LTTE, the legitimate and democratically elected SLG has done little to help in resolving the “Tamil problem”. If anything, the Mahinda government has been equally responsible for escalating an intractable problem into one that is becoming near-impossible to solve. One suspects that there is an absence of any serious desire for a settlement.

It has been reported that the JVP is planning to mount a legal challenge (in the Supreme Court) to the dissolution of the North-Central and Sabaragamuva Provincial Councils. It seems to me that this would be an indirect challenge to ’unitary’ Constitution that empowers the President to dissolve the Parliament and Provincial Assemblies.

It is unrealistic to expect any miracle cure to the deepening crisis. The existing crisis of confidence needs to be overcome and the first essential step would be to take measures to convince the majority of the Tamils that their legitimate grievances and aspirations would be attended to, without their having to resort to coercive actions. As a comprehensive agreement with the different Tamil protagonists seems unattainable, President Rajapakse and his party should display the courage and vision to take the initial steps unilaterally and hope that the rest of the Sinhala leaders and the Tamils would respond favorably to those gestures of reconciliation. Terminology like “unitary”, “federal”, “self-determination” etc. could be jettisoned as excess baggage and pragmatic efforts made – placing the overall interests of an integrated Sri Lankan State above those of individuals, parties etc. Any such package should give legal sanctity to Sri Lanka being a multi-ethnic, multi-religious and multi-lingual country. It should address all major grievances of all ethnic minorities and meet their minimum legitimate aspirations – particularly relating to equality of all citizens (under the law and in reality); inclusive economic development; and constitutionally-sanctioned, significant participation in their own governance.

Such an action would strengthen and embolden the presently-silent moderates amongst the Tamils. It may be noted in this context that V. Anandasangaree, President of TULF, issued a press release on 8 June 2008, inter alia reiterating that the SLG should come out with a reasonable proposal acceptable to the International Community, not out of fear of the LTTE , but to enable the International Community to step in and to tell the LTTE to stop all their brutal killings of innocent civilians. He described the present situation as one in which a group that claims to be waging a war against the Government for the liberation of the Tamils is fighting against another group of ultra-nationalists claiming to be great patriots trying to save the country from the former. Neither group realizes that a patriot is not one who merely loves his country but also its people as well. The ultra-nationalists should appreciate that the [moderate] Tamil Leadership openly opposes separation, defying the LTTE at grave risk to their lives. They have declared that they will be satisfied with a reasonable and an acceptable solution within a United Sri Lanka. Whatever be the solution that is arrived at should be the last and final one that will strongly unite all sections of the people of Sri Lanka to a common identity as Sri Lankans, to live in peace and amity, enjoying all rights equally with others. Could such views be supported by the Sinhala leadership of different hues and could they summon the necessary sagacity, maturity, tolerance and pragmatism to do so? Let us hope so.

(This note was prepared by R. Swaminathan, Former Special Secretary, DG (Security), Govt. of India, to form the basis of his valedictory address on 19 June 2008 at a two-day, bi-national seminar on “Deepening Political Crisis in Sri Lanka”, organized by the Indian Centre for South Asian Studies, Chennai. The author can be contacted at rsnathan@gmail.com)

 

Upali Rajakaruna the best wheelchair Tennis Player in Sri Lanka

Upali Rajakaruna, a soldier, lost his left leg in an LTTE artillery attack in Welioya in 1997. The 35 year-old son of a farmer at Kekirawa, was then attached to the Singha Regiment. He took to playing wheelchair tennis in 2002 at a training program conducted by the Sri Lanka Tennis Association. Barely five years later, Rajakaruna has now become the best wheelchair tennis player in the country. With the highest international rank (102) in the sport, he has been tipped to win the ongoing ITF Wheelchair Open Tournament now on in Colombo.
Pic by Nishan S. Priyantha via The Island

 

Guidelines for Media (Self)-Censorship

The Media watchdog, the Free Media movement (FMM) stated that it unequivocally stands by the rights of Media Institutions and personnel to criticize military strategies, military procurements, policy options, transfers and promotions militating against a settlement of the ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka.

It is its view that open discussions and forums are contributory, and not contradictory to Democratic governance and fostering peace in the country.

According to these censorship guidelines, the media should not:

Be critical and analyse military strategies
Scrutinise promotions and transfers within the military
Question military procurements and tenders
Espouse/ discuss anti-war positions
Obtain information from military officers other than official spokespersons

The FMM was particularly concerned about the latest guidelines set for Media by the Defence Ministry website, which are aimed at further restricting the free Media and are tantamount to a self censorship, particularly, when the whole World (leave alone Sri Lanka) is bitterly critical of Sri Lankan Govt.’s failure to protect Media Organisations and Media personnel who have suffered most under this regime.

The website statements are also haunted by doubts as to whether they are Defence Ministry views or of the Editorial writer or an element of Govt. policy.

via M@L