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A concerned group of Sri Lankan foreign policy observers have referred to as upon President Maithripala Sirisena to right away table &#8220Presidential Commission&#8217s International Advisors Report&#8221 on the final phase of the conflict at the ongoing Human Rights Council sessions in Geneva.

We publish beneath the petition sent by a group of civil society members, retired diplomats, ex Parliamentarians and expatriates requesting the President of Sri Lanka to table the Report on the 2nd Mandate of the Presidential Commission on Missing Persons immediately at Human Rights Council.

His Excellency Maithripala Sirisena,
President of Sri Lanka

Your Excellency,

We the undersigned,  are very concerned about the mechanisms proposed in the Report of the  UN Higher Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) Investigation on Sri Lanka, which was presented to the UN Human Rights Council  in Geneva by Prince Zeid Ra’ad al Hussein, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, on the 16th of September.

We are certain perturbed that the UNHRC conclusions had no opportunity to consider the rigorous legal &amp military evaluation  conducted  by the international advisory council, that had on the 15th of August 2015 completed its process by issuing a report to the Government on the final phase of the war in Sri Lanka as stipulated in the 2nd Mandate of the Presidential Commission to Investigate into Complaints concerning Missing Persons, otherwise known as the &#8220Paranagama Commission&#8220.

Therefore, we would like to draw your consideration to two separate paragraphs in UNHCR report, which itself laments the reality that the UN Human Rights Council members and specially the OHCR group that undertook a complete investigation into alleged severe violations and abuses of human rights and related crimes by each parties in Sri Lanka throughout the period covered by the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC), had been not privy to the report on the  2nd Mandate of the Paranagama Commission. The advanced unedited version of the report that was released on the 11th of  September 2015 stated as follows:

&#8220Following signals of engagement by the newly elected Government of Sri Lanka in January 2015, and the possibility that additional details might grow to be offered for the investigation, the Human Rights Council accepted the Higher Commissioner’s recommendation to defer consideration of the report until the 30th session.&#8221

&#8220At time of writing there had been indications that the Presidential Commission to Investigate into Complaints regarding Missing Persons appointed by the earlier Government had received a further extension to full its perform,  despite widespread issues raised about its credibility and effectiveness.  The International Advisory Council appointed by the preceding Government to assistance the Commission on the second, expanded mandate it had been provided to investigate  alleged violations  in the final stages of the conflict has not been extended but is believed to have submitted its report.  In June 2015, two additional Commissioners were appointed to expedite the hearing of situations.  In July 2015, the Government also announced the appointment of a particular investigation group to expedite investigation into some instances, despite the fact that its status is not recognized .&#8221

It is clear from perusing the above paragraphs of the Geneva HRC&#8217s Report,  (please draw your attenton to the highlighted section)  that the UN Human Rights Council was awaiting the release of the report carried out as per the 2nd mandate of the Paranagama Commission.  It is also curious as to how the certain reference to the International Advisory Council, which was naturally referring to the professional panel assembled to carry out the 2nd mandate of teh Paranagama Commission,  had been omitted in the final version of the HRC Reprot that was released to the public on the 16th of September. We would urge your Excellency to investigate this matter, and find out as to who from the Ministry of External Affairs had advised the UN HRC to drop this reference from their report.

As your Excellency knows, this Commission was established by the previous Government of Sri Lanka in response to the calls by the international community to have a credible domestic investigation process, and had its mandate expanded on the 15th of July  2014, to inquire into the matters of war crimes and crimes against humanity, and therefore secured the services of numerous leading internationally renowned legal and military experts like  Sir Desmond De Silva Q.C. , Professor David Crane,  Sir Geoffrey Good Q.C. and Major General John Holmes, the former commander of the SAS, to give help to the Commission with regard to international humanitarian law, international human rights law, customary international law and the laws of armed conflict usually.
The second mandate of the Paranagama Commission was as a result expected to inquire into the information and circumstances that resulted in the principle loss of civilian life in the final stages of the conflict in Sri Lanka and to issue a report on or before the 15th of August 2015.   Sir Desmond De Silva Q.C. and Professor David Crane, were each chief prosecutors of an international criminal tribunal.   They were both picked personally by the Secretary General of the United Nations to discharge these roles.   In that part, they were both appointed at a level of an Beneath Secretary General of the United Nations. Sir Geoffrey Nice Q.C. was the lead prosecutor in the case against  Slobodan Milosevic, the former President of Yugoslavia.  In reality, all 3 of them, have every single prosecuted a head of state.  Sir Desmond prosecuted the former President of Liberia, Charles Taylor, and had him arrested  and prosecuted for war crimes, for which he is now serving 50 years in prison.

It is imperative, that this 1st official report from the Government of Sri Lanka, prepared with help from independent international legal and military pros, is tabled forthwith to the ongoing Human Rights Council in Geneva,  so that it tends to make a meaningful impact. It is only correct that the 47 voting member nations of the Human Rights Council have an opportunity to read and digest Sri Lanka’s personal independent report in order that they may make an informed judgement prior to the conclusions of the final deliberations on Sri Lanka by the HRC.

We are deeply concerned to learn from media reports and the statements issued by the Minister of External Affairs, that this vital report dealing with the 2nd mandate of the Paranagama Commission, which has been produced offered to your workplace more than a month ago, has not as yet been presented to the members of the  UN Human Rights Council, which commenced its sessions on the 14th September 2015.

It has  been recommended that the present Government has been influenced by a some lobbies  to delay the release of this report till following the Geneva sessions are successfully over, so that the unverified allegations of up to 40,000 civilian deaths in the final months of the war contained in the Darusman Report remains unchallenged and intact.

The announcement created in Geneva by the Minister of External Affairs, Hon. Mangala Samaraweera, that the Paranagama Report would be presented to the Sri Lankan Parliament later this month suggests that the Government of Sri Lanka  has been  misled into keeping this report from becoming regarded as by the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. It is critical that your Excellency is appropriately briefed on the Geneva method, and we would like to take the liberty to bring to your attention that though the OHCHR had given the Government of Sri Lanka five days to respond, and that deadline has already expired, the Government nevertheless has the correct to table this report at the UNHRC, as the final resolution draft is nonetheless in circulation, and would only get finalized on the 24th of September 2015, and only be taken in for consideration on the 30th of September.

Consequently, in the interest of transparency and excellent governance, we are incredibly concerned that this critical Paranagama Report, prepared with the help of the aforementioned distinguished experts, that was expected to delve into the allegations created by the Darusman Panel, which the OHCHR was expecting has not been presented to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva this week.

As Your Excellency is also conscious, certain lobbies produced an attempt to influence you against Sir Desmond De Silva, QC and the international advisory council that ready this crucial report for the Paranagama Commission, by submitting a petition to you on the 4th of August 2015, imploring on you to rescind his appointment and discontinue the panel  just ten days before they have been anticipated to release their report!

Your Excellency would have noticed that the petition was also copied to Prince Zeid Ra’ad al Hussein, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and Mr. Pablo de Grieff, the United Nations Unique Rapporteur on Truth, Justice, Reparations and Guarantees of Non-Recurrence, in a deliberate try to discredit the Paranagama Report in advance of its release. The petition based its request on a complaint to the Bar Requirements Board in England against Sir Desmond.

What was hidden from everyone’s eyes, was that the organization creating the complaint in the UK was the Sri Lanka Campaign for Peace &amp Justice, which has listed the co-author of the Darusman Report, Ms Yasmin Sooka, as its Executive Director!

The TNA M.P.  Mr. M.A. Sumanthiran, led the campaign against Sir Desmond and the international panel in Sri Lanka, raising the matter in Parliament on the 17th of  March 2015 and urged the government itself to forward a complaint against Sir Desmond de Silva to the Bar Requirements Board in England. Thankfully better sense prevailed, and we commend your Government for ignoring Mr. Sumanthiran&#8217s request.

Possessing failed in his try to convince your Government to do this, Mr. Sumanthiran seemed to have secured Yasmin Sooka’s help to lodge the complaint in the UK.  That complaint was utilised by many neighborhood civil society groups as the basis to send you a petition, in a last minute try to sabotage the 2nd Mandate Report of the Paranagama Commission.

There seems to be a nexus in between numerous men and women and groups, some of them separatist groups, based on their determination to tarnish the image of Sri Lanka with in specific the false allegation of “genocide” against Sri Lanka. Consequently, they are anxious to avoid the release of the aforementioned Paranagama Report to the UN Human Rights Council, as that has been ready with inputs from an extremely credible and eminent panel of advisers.

Maintaining reports unavailable to the public and international stakeholders is not constant with the great governance principles. Transparency is vital, and it is the duty and obligation of the Government to hold the UN Human Rights Council fully informed at the earliest chance feasible, as the reconciliation process in our nation can only succeed if all communities are satisfied that our elected Government is acting impartially and with credibility.

We the undersigned, consequently, call upon Your Excellency to give instructions to the Minister of External Affairs of Sri Lanka to immediately table the report dealing with the 2nd mandate of the Paranagama Commission at the UN Human Rights Council and also the Udalagama Report and to make the very best efforts to distribute copies of this report widely to not just the 47 members states of the HRC, but to all 193 member states of the UN represented in Geneva, and to all the NGO’s and other international bodies attending the UN HRC sessions in Geneva, such as members of the international media and feel tank institutions.

We also urge Your Excellency to present this report yourself to the Secretary Common of the United Nations, when you check out New York later this month to attend the UN General Assembly Sessions.  Please also use that opportunity to distribute the report widely to all member countries of the UN,  as the choices in Geneva are influenced by the political policy decision taken at their respective capitals.

The citizens of Sri Lanka and the expatriate Sri Lankan community are awaiting a credible response from the Government of Sri Lanka in the wake of the Geneva OHCHR report. It is the citizens of  Sri Lanka who are the ones who will be most affected by the choices taken in Geneva, and therefore to have an informed view of  our contemporary history in their journey towards reconciliation is essential.

Given the feasible impact on the people of Sri Lanka of choices that will be taken in Geneva, the release of these reports must be carried out right away, and not soon after choices are taken by the UN Human Rights Council.

Your Excellency, thank you for your consideration of our request.

Thank you.

Signatories to this petition

Hon. Veerasingham Anandasangaree,  Sri Lanka
Former member of Parliament of Sri Lanka, and present  Leader,  Tamil United  Liberation Front (TULF)

Prof Rajiva Wijesingha, Colombo Sri Lanka
(Former member of Parliament of Sri Lanka and Head of the Peace Secretariat and delegate to UNHRC)

Dr. Dayan Jayetilleka, Colombo, Sri Lanka
(Former Ambassador/Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva, Former Vice- President of UNHRC former Ambassador to France and Permanent Delegate to UNESCO)

Tamara Kunanayagam, Paris, France
(Former Ambassador/Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva)

Chris Dharmakirti,  Colombo, Sri Lanka
(Former head of National Council for Economic Improvement (NCED) and Strategic Enterprise Management Agency (SEMA),  and delegate to UNCLOS  in New York)

Dr. Ranil Senanayake, Colombo, Sri Lanka
(Systems Ecologist,  and delegate to UNEP)

Dr. N.P. Wijayananda
(Former Chairman of the Geological Survey &amp Mines Bureau and delegate to UNCLOS in New York)

Dr. Kumar Rupesinghe, Colombo Sri Lanka
(Human Rights Activist &amp Specialist on Conflict Resolution)

Dr. T.L. Gunuruwan
(Former secretary to the Ministry of Transport &amp University Academic)

Manohara Silva,  Colombo, Sri Lanka
(Constitutional Law Expert)

Key General  Lalin Fernando, Colombo, Sri Lanka
(Retired Officer of the Army)

Col. Anil Amarasuriya, Homagama, Sri Lanka
(Retired Officer of the Army)

Chanaka Ellawala,  Colombo, Sri Lanka

Dr. Ivan Amarasinghe,  UK

Dr. Anula  Wijesundera , Colombo, Sri Lanka

Sanja Jayatilleka,  Colombo Sri Lanka

Hasina Leelarathna,  Los Angeles, USA

H.L.D. Mahindapala,  Australia

Asoka Weerasinghe, Ottawa, Canada

Ajantha Premarathna,  Sri Lanka

L Wanasundera, Sri Lanka

Mal Munasinha,  Ontario, Canada

Ranjith Soysa, Victoria, Australia

Mahinda Gunasekera, Toronto, Canada

Surein Raghvan,  Toronto, Canada

Gamini Gunewardena,  Sri Lanka

Mal Munasinha,  Ontario, Canada

Charles Perera,  Sri Lanka

David Blacker, Sri Lanka

CC:
Hon. Prime Minister  Of Sri Lanka
Hon. Minister of External Affairs of Sri Lanka
Mr. Maxwell Paranagama,  Chairman of the  Presidential Commission on Missing Persons
Mr. Zeid Ra’ad al Hussein – UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
Mr. Pablo de Grieff &#8211 United Nations Special Rapporteur on Truth, Justice, Reparations and Guarantees of Non-Recurrence
Yasmin Sooka, Executive Director, International Truth &amp Justice Project Sri Lanka
M.P. M Sumanthiran,  Tamil National Alliance
47 members of the UN Human Rights Council:
Albania, Algeria, Argentina, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, China, Congo, Côte d&#8217Ivoire, Cuba, El Salvador, Estonia, Ethiopia, France, Gabon, Germany, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Latvia, Maldives, Mexico, Montenegro, Morocco, Namibia, Netherlands, Nigeria, Pakistan, Paraguay, Portugal, Qatar, South Korea, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Macedonia, UAE, UK, USA, Venezuela and Vietnam

The Chief Minister of Northern Province C.V. Wigneswaran has welcomed the UN report on war crimes.

Wigneswaran who all through had named for an international mechanism of inquiry to investigate war crimes charges has mentioned that he is pleased the report called for a Special Court with international judges and prosecutors.

Wigneswaran, a former Judge has mentioned that Sri Lanka does not have judges and prosecutors who can take up war crimes cases.

Earlier, Wigneswaran told Colombo Telegraph that no Sri Lankan judge will ever find fault with the military.

Meanwhile he has also welcomed the resolution passed by the Tamil Nadu Assembly calling for an international inquiry into war crimes in Sri Lanka and urging the Indian Central government to move a robust resolution at the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) for such an inquiry.

&#8220We thank Selvi Jayalalithaa for the intense concern she has shown more than our predicament. It augurs properly for the future. It demonstrates a sense of togetherness that exists between Tamils all over the planet,&#8221 Wigneswaran had told the media.

&#8220The resolution of the Tamil Nadu assembly is on the lines of the resolution the Northern Provincial Council passed earlier this month,&#8221 he had observed.

By R. Hariharan –

Sri Lanka Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe is neither a stranger to the inner circle of New Delhi polity nor an unfamiliar personality in the North Block. However, for the duration of the final 1 year his profile has undergone a welcome make more than. The fortunes of this seasoned political leader, identified more for his failures than successes in his repeated forays for power, pulled a political coup of sorts. In league with Maithripala Sirisena, one more political veteran even though from the opposition, he thwarted former president Mahinda Rajapaksa&#8217s bid for energy twice!

The duo defeated Rajapaksa&#8217s electoral bid for a third term as president in January and seven months later they outsmarted Rajapaksa’s try to comeback to power utilizing his loyalists in the seemingly more potent coalition – the United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA), in the recently held general election.

As a result Prime Mininister Wickremesinghe now enjoys power with a public endorsement of his political agenda twice inside a year. Regardless of political obstacles the Wickremesinghe-Sirisena duo had made some progress in living up to the expectations of the public. Their promises include increasing the accountability of the executive president to the parliament, empowerment of the prime minister and cleaning up the administration of corruption and cronyism. Their perform carried out so far, although still not completed, has restored Sri Lanka’s credibility which was eroded each at house and abroad by former president Rajapaksa’s autocratic style of governance.

Wickremesinghe is heading a national alliance government, the 1st since 1977, in which the ruling United National Party (UNP) and the principal opposition the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) have come with each other. This has enhanced the possibilities of advertising a national agenda to focusing on improvement in an environment of unity, peace and harmony. Former president Rajapaksa, failed to do just that in spite of his singular success in receiving rid of the LTTE once and for all. He frittered away five years of peace that followed the military victory in Might 2009 by focusing on strengthening his help base. As a result the socio-political atmosphere was vitiated by acrimony, distrust, religious and ethnic polemics and strife.

This has increased the probabilities of the present government making additional progress in its reform agenda regardless of the widespread cynicism in the political milieu. But Wickremesinghe would be more confident than ever ahead of when he visits New Delhi nowadays for the very first time right after becoming prime minister.

There is a lot of convergence in between the leadership in India and Sri Lanka in their outlook than ahead of. Wickremesinghe’s agenda to correct Sri Lanka’s tilt towards China after Rajapaksa had succumbed to its &#8220fatal&#8221 charm in the locations of strategic safety and trade was 1 such area. So it was not surprising to uncover the Ranil- Maithripala duo welcomed Prime Minister Modi&#8217s renewed efforts to build a broadened and enduring connection with Sri Lanka when he visited the island nation some months back. They reciprocated his wish to get rid of other kinks in the relations among the two countries that had appeared during the earlier regime. This makes the Sri Lankan leader’s New Delhi visit a specific one as Sri Lanka government probably enjoys greater credibility in the corridors of North Block than Rajapaksa ever did.

Both Prime Minister Wickremesinghe and President Sirisena have also shown their readiness to act upon the concerns of both India and the West such as the US, which were dealt with superficially in the course of ten years of Rajapaksa rule. These issues are confident to be incorporated in Modi-Wickremesinghe talks even if they are not aired in public due to national sensitivity more than some of them in both countries.

Both India and the West were irritated by Rajapaksa’s ploy to twist their issues over his government&#8217s dismal human rights record throughout and following the ethnic conflict to whip up Sinhala nationalism and encourage xenophobia for his political benefit. Similarly, he distorted their insistence on resuming the political dialogue approach with Tamil polity to resolve their long standing demand for equity with Sinhala majority as encouragement to Tamil separatism.

This had produced issues for India as its adverse fallout in Tamil Nadu politics adversely affected the fortunes of successive governments in New Delhi. This had cramped India’s efforts to meaningfully contribute to create a win-win connection with Sri Lanka. This weakness was exploited by China to enter Sri Lanka in a huge way.

Even though the coalition era has ended in New Delhi, ethnic amity in Sri Lanka will continue to influence India’s policy not only due to its impact on Tamil Nadu politics, but also in the interest of national safety. India and Sri Lanka are geographically too close to every other producing their national security interests complimentary than contentious. This makes it required for them to create a mutually reinforcing partnership, notwithstanding their unequal sizes and strengths.

Political dispensation for Sri Lanka Tamils will continue to stay one particular of lynchpins to progress India-Sri Lanka realtions. The Wickremesinghe government had tried to break the impasse in resuming the dialogue procedure with Tamils within the ambit of 13th Amendment (13A) to the Constitution which is supported by India. Nonetheless, it will be politically hard for the Sri Lanka government to grant land and police powers envisaged in the 13A to the provincial councils. We can anticipate this situation to come up when Modi and Wickremesinghe meet, though it is a moot point regardless of whether it would go beyond creating cordial statements.

For both India and the West, Rajapaksa reneging on his promises to them attend their issues went beyond matters of Sri Lanka’s internal politics it became a challenge to their strategic power assertion specifically right after he got cozy with China and provided a welcome strategic foothold for China in Sri Lanka in India’s close proximity and midway in the Indian Ocean sea lanes by means of which bulk of global maritime trade is performed. This assumes specific significance in the light of China growing assertion of is naval power in Asia- Pacific area, specifically in the Indian Ocean.

From the Sri Lankan viewpoint, there are some issues exactly where it wants India’s help and understanding. The UN Human Rights Council Rights Council (UNHRC) discussion on Sri Lanka’s comply with up actions taken on the US-sponsored resolution passed session 3 years back would come up on Friday, right after the report of the UN Human Rights Commissioner is presented. Although the US is probably to modify its insistence on a UN sponsored international inquiry by accepting a domestic inquiry with the assistance of the UNHRC, Sri Lanka needs Indian assistance to broaden its help base. Though the US move has met with some political criticism in Tamil Nadu and agitation by fringe elements egged on by the Sri Lanka Diaspora, India had always supported domestic inquiries in preference to international ones. In view of this the compromise resolution recommended by the US would almost certainly be supported by India.

The second situation is Indo-Sri Lanka trade. During his Colombo pay a visit to, Prime Minister Modi had revived the idea of a Comprehensive Financial Partnership Agreement (CEPA) in between India and Sri Lanka. India had mooted the idea and it nearly came via in 2008. Nevertheless, in the face of protest from neighborhood enterprise, the Rajapaksa government created cold feet and gave it up following that. Sri Lanka is facing exceptional economic crunch and troubles of debt servicing for the servicing the loans it had incurred. Even the IMF had been lukewarm to the thought of lending much more to Sri Lanka to service Chinese loans.

So Sri Lanka urgently demands India’s hand holding to see it via its crisis. Nevertheless, it will be difficult for Sri Lanka government to openly help CEPA as it is probably a no-go location in Sri Lanka politics. However, it appears Sri Lanka would not be averse to operate out an economic arrangement comparable to CEPA though it may be called by a various name. This was indicated in a report in Sunday Times, Colombo which quoted Sri Lanka Deputy Foreign Minister Harsha de Silva as saying that CEPA troubles have been likely to be among other essential issues throughout the bilateral talks between the two leaders. He added, “We should push for such agreements with nations like India. However, we need to not blindly enter into such agreements. We must study in detail our personal experiences and that of other equivalent countries to negotiate the best deal for us. Any bilateral or multilateral trade agreement that rewards Sri Lanka have to be pursued.”

*Col. R Hariharan, a retired Military Intelligence officer, is related with the South Asia Analysis Group, and the Chennai Centre for China Studies. E-mail:[email protected] Website: www.col.hariharan.information

Sri Lanka&#8217s new government has blocked www.mahinda.info, a website run by Mahinda Rajapaksa Info Centre. The web site has been blocked considering that Friday by one particular of the net service providers, Sri Lanka Mobitel, a totally-owned subsidiary of Sri Lanka Telecom.

Final January President Sirisena appointed his brother, Pallewatta Gamaralalage Kumarasinghe Sirisena as the Chairman of Sri Lanka Telecom.

President Maithripala Sirisena gave a distinct order to lift direct on the web censorship as a single of his first acts in power. Web sites can be “prohibited or be topic to supervision and control” below S.69 of the Sri Lanka Telecommunications Act 1991 – but only under ministerial authority, and below a publicly announced order.

No such order was produced to replace the directive issued by President Sirisena in January.

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Preserve The Guarantee, Shield Net Freedom In Sri Lanka: Worldwide Totally free Expression Orgs Urge Mangala

&nbsp

By Mahesan Niranjan &#8211

Rapidly forwarding to the Eighteenth of May possibly 2016, we observe noisy scenes in the Sri Lankan Parliament. A few members insist that the Prime Minister ought to intervene and quit separation from taking place. They are a noisy minority. The majority, nonetheless, agree with Prime Minster Wikramaathiththan’s stubborn stance: “The right to separation has already been subject to maximum devolution. The central government will not interfere.”

Gosh! Who is Prime Minister Wikramaathiththan, and how can he devolve the most sensitive subjects in our politics – the right to separation?

The lately formed jumbo cabinet of ministers was a disappointment to numerous of you. “Have we gone back to the poor old days?” you worried. Distracted by that, you failed to notice an innovation, the appointment of a Minister for National Dialog.

“But we already have dialog no?” an aunt of mine remarked, thinking of the telephone business.

The new Ministry for National Dialog has, as a starting point of achieving their objectives, offered new names, with minimal edits to their present ones, to the major characters in the governance of our country. The aim is to remind these in power that reconciliation begins by the thought experiment of putting oneself in the other man’s shoes.

“Let peace commence with me,” is the slogan written on the entrance to the new ministry.

Wikramaathiththan is a single such name, the epistemology of which I will clarify now, and leave other individuals to your imaginations.

Normal readers of ampulimaamaa will know this character – a king whose job it was to catch a genie living in the banyan tree and bottle it. The genie was intelligent and each time he caught it, it would inform him a story to distract his interest and escape back the banyan tree. The king, nevertheless, was not an individual to give up in the face of serial failures. He tried and attempted, once again and once again, and in the most current try had caught the genie. Will he be able to hold onto it, we are not positive but.

*Photograph of King Wikramaathiththan capturing the ghost scanned from the author’s ampulimaamaa archives

Prime Minister Wikramaathiththan had introduced a bill to set up a kind of governance that was to devolve significantly power and responsibility to regions of different granularities: provinces, districts, municipalities and villages. Each village chief was offered a Pajero jeep, petrol allowance and had devolved power to decide what concerns need to be asked on the five page kind to be filled before cutting down a palmyrah tree in your back garden. Obviously, if palmyrah does not grow in you portion of the country, there is no want for this five-web page form, is there? That is the beauty of devolved governance.

PM Wikramaathiththan produced persuasive arguments in support of his devolution bill.

“Consider how we Sri Lankans have been poor at solving issues. We do not address troubles of our youth in time. Alternatively we just let them get worse, let the pressure of aggravation develop up so our youth take up arms and rebel. That is when we bring out our tried and tested resolution, don’t we?

“We kill.

“Consider how we handled troubles faced by minorities in our nation. We have recognized these difficulties, have set up so numerous commissions, held inquiries and have signed a number of pacts. Despite the diligence with which gentlemen tasked with obtaining options worked, when it came to implementation, we just shelved the reports and ditched the Pacts, didn’t we? We had a tried and tested response when challenged on this efficiency.

“What difficulty?”

The PM, provided his track record in politics should have felt duty bound to feel of a extended term solution. Right after all, throughout his extended profession, he had observed, amongst other items, how his uncle sponsored the riots of 1977 and 1983, how his mates travelled to the North to make certain that the library was burnt, how the Hanuman army forced an Accord on us, how a previous president ordered the surrender of some 600 policemen who had been then lined up and shot, and, above all, he have to have been a bit far more than bystander of the brutality with which the rebellion in the 1988-90 period was put down.

Desirous of placing all that in the previous, we welcome his devolution plan to attain ever-lasting peace in our country.

Even so, the Devolution Bill faced strong objections from the Leader of the Opposition, Rt. Hon. Trigonometry Aarachchige Sampath (a new name given to him by the Ministry for National Dialogue, of course).

Rt. Hon. Sampath mentioned, as leader of the opposition, he had to represent the majority Sinhala men and women as effectively. Hence he held the view that any devolution need to be opposed &#8212 nipped in the bud, so to speak, simply because it is the very first step towards separation.

“Which college did you go to? Did they not teach you authoritative texts of history to know that warriors from Tamil Nadu will swim across the Palk Strait and butcher us? Our culture, unique in the identified Universe, will be ruined, this being the only country we have. Would the Prime Minister note they [Tamil Nadu fellows] are already engaged in doing just that, with low high quality tv soaps with Sinhala sub-titles broadcast on numerous channels

“Cultural genocide is what I contact it!” Hon. Sampath roared like a lion in Parliament.

Contrary to repeated polite requests from the Ministry for National Dialog, Hon Sampath has not given up the “G-word”, as he is significantly indebted to it for his electoral prospects. If he didn’t say it frequently enough, Chief Minister Gandalf might obtain ownership of it, he feared.

All through the debate, one member was chanting a mantra from a corner of the Property. It was the Vanni representative, Rt. Hon. Ku Rangupillai. “Police powers, land powers, police powers, land powers” he was heard repeating to himself.

The constitutional lawyer Hon. Samaanthiram MP intervened. He is either a member of the government or most likely from the opposition, we are not really sure. However that ambiguity is to be celebrated as a distinct innovation of our new-discovered democracy. Hon. Samaanthiram patiently explained, in all 3 languages, the following: “Policing is not about energy policing need to be a service.”

“In Sri Lanka,” Samaanthiram said, “police had the energy to beat confessions out of suspects, and based on those confessions, folks could be locked up and keys thrown away. In theory, this is nevertheless feasible since the laws enabling these are nonetheless in spot.

“But remember, prior to 2009, such energy was devolved and practiced in the Vanni, with threats of hands becoming chopped off for voting at elections, legs getting chopped off for operating away with no carrying out your patriotic duty of acting as human shields, and bullets in your head if you believed something distinct from what the believed police had thought, proper? Do you want to go back to those dark days?” Samaanthiram asked.

“And it is unwise to claim power over land in such low-lying places,” the eminent lawyer continued, “have you not heard of worldwide warning? If we want to defend our culture for centuries to come, we need to have to find actual estate on high ground someplace. I am confident you have heard about Poompukaar,” he reminded his colleague of the ancient city of Tamil civilization, now lost to the sea. “Mind you, over half of our people live outside the land more than which you claim energy.”

The apparent logic in his explanations had no impact on Hon. Ku Rangupillai who continued to chant “police powers, land powers, police powers, land powers,” for he knew carrying out so was important for his future electoral prospects.

From the opposition benches Rt. Hon Patriotwasa was also opposed to the Devolution Bill. Now, Mr Patriotwasa is a person who claims to be a descendent of the lion, but the well-known belief in Sri Lanka is he is a descendent of the donkey. A donkey in lions clothes, you may possibly say. No, it is more complex. He barks. The PM says that this behaviour is similar to that of monkeys. Geneticists reconstructing evolutionary trees are much puzzled by all this. Which of the 4 did our patriot actually descend from?

Hon. Patriotwasa strongly condemned the bill and in order to demonstrate his patriotism vowed to go on a hunger strike: “I shall starve until you withdraw the bill or my body and soul separate, whichever happens first” he shouted and walked out of the Home.

That is the separation – the possible separation of the body and soul of the most patriotic member of our Parliament – is what was pointed out at the beginning of this story.

Are you surprised that Prime Minsiter Wikramaathiththan’s refusal to intervene – of the centre not interfering with regional choice generating &#8212 had robust support in the Residence?

By Chaminda Weerawardhana &#8211

Rajavarothiam Sampanthan MP (RS) has been appointed as the Leader of the Opposition of the Eighth Parliament of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. MP because 1970, RS also deserves the title ‘Father of the Home’. Even analysts not usually sympathetic to the political ideology of Tamil self-determination concur that RS has a track record of acting with decorum and dignity in debate. This also applies to his celebration colleagues, who, unlike several a Sinhalese and Moor MP, conduct themselves gracefully inside and outdoors Parliament.

TNA: the strongest ‘Tamil’ voice?

Because the War’s end, the RS-led TNA has been successful at each and each election held in the two provinces. The absence of credible political alternatives, other than the EPDP that tarnished its reputation by way of its [in Tamil eyes] unholy alliance with the Rajapaksa regime, UNP’s Vijayakala Maheswaran issue in Jaffna and the SLMC in the East, there is no political movement in the two provinces that can equal, in any substantial terms, the TNA’s electoral strength, the reasons for which ought to form the subject of a separate article.

Some Sinhala nationalists query RS’s positions on the rights of his community, his emphasis on ensuring the Tamils’ political aspirations and proper to live as equal citizens. That RS’s voice on the rights of his people wants to be heard, respected and honoured is a offered. It is the principal signifies by way of which, post-war, the dignity of Tamil society can be restored and much more importantly, the Tamils’ position as full-fledged citizens of Sri Lanka can be enhanced and enlivened. These becoming elected to Parliament by Tamil voters have every correct to raise issues that concern their voters, constituencies and electoral districts.

New duty of ‘national’ relevance?

For the very first time in his political profession, RS has been granted a position of national relevance inside the legislature. His parliamentary responsibilities have been doubly redoubled overnight, going way beyond these of an MP representing a certain district, and a celebration leader representing a offered demographic. From now on, RS has the duty of the complete Parliamentary Opposition upon his shoulders. As he described to the media on the way out of the Property quickly following becoming appointed Opposition Leader, he is completely conscious of the nature of his new role, and has the prospective to perform properly.

RS, this writer believes, is also competent to identify the most advisable forward method, when reconciling his function as the ‘leader’ representing his ethnic community in parliament, and his national function as Opposition Leader. Reflecting along that line, the most advisable path appears to be that of upholding a ‘policy-based’ method, strongly raising troubles affecting the day-to-day lives of the folks of the Northern and Eastern Provinces, even though simultaneously juxtaposing these with a central focus on problems of national concern.

TNA and JVP: troubled (&amp ‘shared’) legacies?

Sinhala nationalist components in national politics despise each TNA and JVP. Concerning the latter, they continuously evoke that party’s armed resistance of 1971 and particularly 1988-89. The TNA is branded as obtaining been pro-LTTE – the ultimate blasphemy in Sinhala nationalist eyes.

As the second half of the post-war decade unfolds, it is essential for Sri Lankans to collectively reflect upon the fundamental motives that prompted young individuals (from each Sinhalese and Tamil communities) to take up arms and resort to violence against the Sri Lankan state.

In the case of the Sinhalese, key contentious concerns involved class pressures, socioeconomic disparities, lack of possibilities and the grossly unequal distribution of resources. These concerns also concerned Tamil youth, who, in addition, had been ethnically catalogued through university entrance regulations, issues of political representation, difficulties of working out their fundamental civic rights, as nicely as ethnicity and language-primarily based discrimination. For numerous Tamil youth (whose militant outfits sooner or later became the Colombo government’s worst nightmares), discontent also stemmed from discrimination from within the Tamil neighborhood, its class, and very especially caste hierarchies. Therefore their intense anguish at those sophisticated, educated, English-speaking, liberal and more typically than not higher caste Tamil intellectuals and politicos who, in their eyes, had been of an uptight disposition, and had been intent upon ‘preaching’ them – the lesser beings – on conciliatory middle paths and the vices of violent resistance.

TNA: from ethnic politics to national politics?

The TNA and the LTTE are two incredibly different entities, and anyone creating a correlation in between them (the ‘TNA is pro-LTTE’ argument) is only making a display of political and sociocultural illiteracy. In the course of the LTTE’s heyday, as Tamil representatives in the national legislature, the TNA could surely have upheld a self-determination-based discourse, for which they can’t be blamed. Today, the TNA is in the procedure of – and in fairness has been significantly effective at – locating its pleine place in post-war Sri Lankan politics. The TNA has expressed its commitment to a united Sri Lankan state, and in guaranteeing the rights of Tamils inside that framework. Apart from its ‘men of the people’, such as Mavai Senathirajah MP, the TNA has equipped itself with professionals such as Messrs Sumanthiran and Vigneswaran, and upon being elevated to a national-level function, has expressed a commitment to uphold that role’s ‘national’ dimension to the fullest.

TNA and JVP: possibilities of functioning collectively?

The Eighth Parliament gives a unique chance for the TNA and the JVP, the two principal opposition parties, to start a cordial and open-minded dialogue, and perform towards sharing shadow cabinet responsibilities. The JVP has a golden chance to stand by its regularly repeated commitment to national unity and inter-ethnic coexistence. The TNA has a golden opportunity to perform with a national-level party that, regardless of its modest size, occupies a decisive position in the polity, and is composed of educated young leaders, all of them representing not Colombo’s privileged high-tea cliques, but the larger Sinhala (and fairly often Buddhist) neighborhood. The JVP’s composition and inclusivity could also send a crucial message to the TNA, on the importance of going beyond Vellalar gentlemen’s politics, to a political strategy that far better accommodates and represents the Tamil social spectrum, and performs towards elevated respect for parity.

To the cynical observer, some of the aforementioned observations may possibly appear to be somewhat devoid of realism.

However, inventive thinking is the crucial path forward for each the TNA and the JVP, to say the least.

By Saliya Pieris &#8211

“The King is dead. Extended reside the King.” In Britain the passing away of the old monarch and the advent of the new, is heralded by these words. In Sri Lanka, Wijithamuni Zoysa, Member of Parliament, echoed these exact same thoughts, in somewhat cruder terms in his infamous “Appachchi Mala” speech.

After the Parliamentary Elections, the speed at which scores of Parliamentarians from the Sri Lanka Freedom Party switched their allegiance from the former President Mahinda Rajapaksa to President Maithripala Sirisena marks a new low even for politicians in Sri Lanka. Gone are the days when politicians at least kept a decent interval and in the very least supplied some excuse when switching sides. Today no interval is necessary and no excuse provided.

The Surrender Of The Rajapaksa Camp 

As for President Sirisena, he has now regained substantial manage over the machinery of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party, which probably just more than a month ago had side-lined him or as some claim was on the verge of removing him as celebration leader. The day was saved only by an order from the District Court.

Hours right after the Parliamentary election it was clear that several of those who had been on the Rajapaksa camp which includes Susil Premajayanth and Anura Priyadarshana Yapa had raised the white flag of surrender. So full is the surrender that they have accepted ministerial workplace from the really President who just weeks ago suspended them from their Secretary posts.

If ever Mahinda Rajapaksa produced a error following losing the Presidential Elections, that was to let go of the party leadership. 1 reason probably why Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe in no way let go of the leadership of the UNP even for the duration of the wilderness years.

President Sirisena in his own quiet way has demonstrated time and once again that he is not a push-more than, some of his political moves equalling or even surpassing the Machiavellian abilities of his predecessors.

Mahinda Rajapaksa Lives On 

However in spite of gaining manage more than the celebration machinery, whether that identical control is regained over the rank and file of the party is an entirely different query. As much as Ranil Wickremesinghe could not be written off regardless of dozens of setbacks in the past, it would be equally naïve to assume that Mahinda Rajapaksa or his political legacy has come to an finish.

Inside the vast majority of UPFA supporters, Mahinda Rajapaksa lives on. Now that President Sirisena has shown an appetite for remaining in party politics, his political accomplishment will depend on his capability to either win over the Rajapaksa camp or his ability to wean the celebration voters away from them. Despite the camaraderie shown at the swearing in of the Prime Minister and at the SLFP anniversary this week, it is challenging to think that the rift will be totally healed as long as Mahinda Rajapaksa remains in active politics.

The months to come will see further developments in the tug of war inside the UPFA and SLFP. That half of the SLFP Parliamentarians abstained from voting for the resolution increasing the Cabinet of Ministers shows the challenges that the President will have in his bid to stave off a permanent split in the party.

2020: Sirisena Versus Wickremesinghe? 

If President Sirisena is in a position to rally the party about him and to fend off the Rajapaka challenge, then when the period of the National Government comes to an end, the most significant challenge to Ranil Wickremesinghe and the UNP will be from the rejuvenated SLFP led by Maithripala Sirisena.

The subsequent Parliamentary elections in 2020 could effectively be a Sirisena v Wickremesinghe election, specially if the Executive Presidency is entirely abolished by this time. In such an eventuality the possibility of Maithripala Sirisena returning to Parliament in the Prime Ministerial form can not be ruled out. Such a move will also see a realignment of political forces as soon as again.

The subsequent couple of years will see political manoeuvring between the two centres of power- Maithripala Sirisena and Ranil Wickremesinghe as each leader seeks to position himself, to lastly probably face each other the day when the national government comes to an end.

Although this eventuality may appear strange to several of us in Sri Lanka, this is not uncommon in countries with national or coalition governments. David Cameron and Nick Clegg sat in the government as Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister even as they battled it out at the hustings in 2015. In 1945 following five years of National Government, Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Deputy Prime Minister Clement Atlee faced each and every other at the Basic Elections and Churchill was buried in a landslide.

Creating The Second Tier Of The UNP 

The unprecedented delays in appointing the Cabinet of Ministers reflect this intricate balance of power and energy play within the new regime. It is in the face of this future challenge that Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe ought to seek to create the second tier of his personal celebration and broad-base his assistance within the UNP.

On the 23rd of July 1977, when Prime Minister J.R. Jayewardene was sworn in by President William Gopallawa, the composition of the new Cabinet itself gave impetus to public self-assurance. What ever criticism that existed against Mr. Jayewardene, of his rule from 1977 to 1988 a single of his greatest achievements was his potential to construct up a powerful team and his capability to select appropriate folks irrespective of his private friendships and preferences. It is this team which helped Jayewardene to develop a solid government, which paved the way for the UNP to rule for the next 17 years.
When he left the Presidency in 1988, Jayewardene left to the UNP a legacy of a sturdy second tier of leaders like Prime Minister Premadasa, Ministers Lalith Athulathmudali and Gamini Dissanayake.

The Cabinet of Ministers in 1977 saw the induction of first time Parliamentarian Lalith Athulathmudali, into the Cabinet of Ministers as Minister of Trade. The present Prime Minister himself was a beneficiary when at the age of 28 years he was inducted into the Cabinet of Ministers in October 1977, just a few months after he was appointed as Deputy Foreign Minister, as the very first time MP from Biyagama.

Old Wine In A New Bottle 

The Prime Minister continues to attract criticism more than the manner in which he selects individuals for public office. Not absolutely everyone in the UNP camp is happy about the manner in which selections have been created to the Cabinet of Ministers, which was appointed on Friday. Some feel that these appointments reflect the perennial difficulty the UNP has faced beneath Mr. Wickremesinghe’s leadership and that after again the UNP has lost an opportunity of bringing in fresh faces to the leadership. Apart from a handful of new faces such as Daya Gamage, and Harin Fernando, the new Cabinet has a lot of of the identical old faces from the past- some stretching back to the 1977 government.

At least three of the new UNP Ministers are septuagenarians on the verge of retirement at least one UNP Minister was recognized to be on the fence during the Rajapakse regime some were mere bystanders in the course of the Rajapaksa era believing Rajapakse to be a fait accompli who could by no means be dislodged some did not contribute in any way to the ouster of the former President. Whether or not some deserved Cabinet Office at all is a moot point.

Leaving Out The Young Turks&#8217 Of The UNP 

In contrast, left out of the Cabinet are many younger Members of Parliament who entered the legislature and energised the United National Celebration, waking it up from its extended slumber in the opposition. Dr. Harsha de Silva, Eran Wickremeratne, Ruwan Wijewardene, Ajith Perera, Niroshan Perera have been among those who worked tirelessly from 2010 to 2015 to energise the opposition and were in the frontlines against the Rajapaksa regime. There have been no critical allegations against them as to their conduct in the last handful of months.

The inspection of numerous government installations and activities by these MPs for the duration of the Rajapaksa regime, their active opposition to the impeachment of the Chief Justice, their vocal criticism of the Rajapakse regime, and their pro-active participation in parliamentary and political work culminated in the effective revolution of January 8th. These MPs worked with dedication in the run up to the Presidential Elections to organise the UNP. Some of them have been deeply involved with the likes of Mangala Samaraweera and Malik Samarawickrema in the effort to bring in a frequent candidate. They have demonstrated competence in both political and specialist life at the highest level.

The appointment of professionals such as Harsha de Silva and Eran WIckremeratne to Cabinet Office would most surely have inspired public self-confidence in the new government. Critical questions arise as to the criteria followed in the allotment of crucial Cabinet portfolios.

Though disaffection and resentment arising out of selections to government, would not surface proper now , numerous years down the line these resentments could surface at the most critical time. This is one lesson which President Premadasa had to discover just two and a half years into workplace as President when disaffected UNPers which includes the Speaker M.H. Mohammed joined in the impeachment against him in August 1991. It hardly needs to be stated that it will be a lot less difficult to pull the rug from beneath the Prime Minister’s feet than from below the feet of the Executive President. This has occurred to the Prime Minister as soon as before.

Nevertheless laudable his vision could be, he must not leave space for complacency and take his party males and the voters who voted for the UNP for granted.

A Lesson From Abraham Lincon 

The Prime Minister should possibly take a lesson from the connection between American President Abraham Lincoln and Edward Stanton his Secretary of War, during the Civil War in that country. Regardless of his intense dislike of Stanton, Abraham Lincoln selected him to his Cabinet because Lincoln felt he had all the needed qualities for the position whatever his private dislikes had been.

At some point, Stanton became 1 of the most beneficial political assets that President Lincoln had and the two established a close specialist and private relationship which lasted until Lincoln died.

President Maithripala Sirisena with his major adversary Mahinda Rajapaksa at his side today called for the Sri Lanka Freedom Party to unite.

He was speaking at a meeting held to celebrate the 64th Anniversary of the SLFP in Polonnaruwa these days.

Nonetheless a extended standing SLFP MP stated that it was the power struggle among both Sirisena and Rajapaksa which divided the SLFP into two factions.

Sirisena went on to say that the SLFP ought to face the next polls as a united force.

Nevertheless, Chandrika Kuratunga who Rajapaksa has described as his greatest enemy was not on stage in Polonnaruwa.

The new General Secretary of the SLFP Duminda Dissanayake in his address stated that Bandaranaike could not attend the occasion as she had gone abroad.

Nevertheless, Sirisena was wary adequate not to grant a speech to Rajapaksa.

Though Rajapaksa was seated next to Sirisena the two did not engage in considerably speak.

Also the division within the SLFP was significantly evident at the meeting with both Sirisena and Rajapaksa factions choosing to band with each other with colleagues from the exact same side.

President Maithripala Sirisena will have to lead the Sri Lanka Freedom Party&#8217s campaign at the forthcoming polls to elect members to the local authorities, expected to take spot at the finish of the year, a SLFP source told Colombo Telegraph.

The above improvement comes in the wake of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa who led the UPFA campaign in a loosing battle against the UNP at the last general election deciding to hand over the reigns to Sirisena.

A supply close to Rajapaksa mentioned that he has already conveyed this decision to Sirisena. This comes in the backdrop of a number of moves initiated by Sirisena to consolidate his power inside the SLFP. However it is unclear which party Sirisena will lead, the SLFP or the coalition UPFA in which the SLFP is the key stakeholder. According to SLFP sources the party is most most likely to pull out of the UPFA shortly.

Already the SLFP is divided with a majority supporting the national government mooted by Wickremesinghe and Sirisena and other folks joining the remnants of the UPFA led by Wimal Weerawansa, Vasudeva Nanayakkara, Udaya Gammanpila, Kumara Welgama and Dinesh Gunawardena.

This UPFA remnant group is planning to be the main opposition in the new parliament which will sit for the very first time tomorrow.

Also they are planning to propose Kumara Welgama, the Kalutara district parliamentarian as the opposition leader.

Earlier in the day the President had told some UPFA leaders that the opposition will be permitted to appoint its own leader in parliament. Earlier the SLFP CC decided that President as the head of the party could take a decision as to who will be the opposition leader.

Meanwhile UNP MP Lakshman Kiriella told media that the powers of appointing the opposition leader were vested with the speaker.

Also the TNA has thrown its hat in to the ring claiming that the opposition leaders post ought to be theirs for the taking as the SLFP already has signed a MoU with the UNP to set up a national government.

Rajapaksa has conveyed to the UPFA remnants that he will sit as a back bencher for a brief period and resign from politics afterwards. However, according to a supply close to the former President, Rajapaksa could stay in parliament and bide his time if the new national government does fail to click as a robust unit.

Prior to the common election President Sirisena mentioned that the Local Government polls will be held soon after the parliamentary polls.

The regional bodies whose terms have been lapsed are currently being administered by unique commissioners in accordance with the Local Authority Act.

The government in March extended the official term of 234 local government bodies, which was due to expire by the 31st of March, until the 15th of Might. The terms of other remaining LG institutes are to expire in October.