Senaka A. Samarasinghe – (Retired) Mahaweli Authority of Sri Lanka, Winnipeg, Canada –
June 18th, 2018
God made the earth, but the Dutch made Holland” This famous proverb express the nature of the country. In Dutch language
Netherlands means low country. Out of total land area (41,568 sq. km.) about half of the country is less than one meter above the sea level. Currently more than 2,400 km of dikes are protecting the country. During the period of 1500 and 1800, in Netherlands there was a rapid population growth and large scale enhancement of hydraulic engineering for land reclamation (desalination). They pumped saline water by using windmills as low-cost energy.
Rijcklof van Goens (1619 – 1682) was the Dutch Governor of Ceylon appointed Captain Hendrick van Rheede (1636 – 1691) as the Dutch Commander for Jaffna. Rheede was very much interested in natural history and wrote classic books on the subject. With this background the historian Dr. M. Gunasingam found that Rheede was the first Dutch ruler who started constructing dykes to converts Vadamarachchi (dyke at Thondamanar) and Upparu (dyke at Nieweli) lagoons into fresh water ponds to create new arable land for the use of Jaffna farming community.
The total area (including inland water) of Jaffna peninsula is 1030 sq. km. The terrain of the region is almost flat. The central part of the western region around Tellippalai the height is about 10.5 m above sea level. From there gently slope towards the south and south east, where as to the north the elevation suddenly dropped.
Before establishing Irrigation Department (ID) in 1900 Central Irrigation Board undertook restoration of Giant Tank in Mannar District during the period of Sir Arthur Havelock (late 1890s). One of the main objectives of establishing ID was to restoration of Dry Zone irrigation systems.
During this year (1900) population of the country was 3.5 million and 5.6 million tons of rice were imported. This is one of the main reason British colonial rulers decided to establish ID. This era renowned pioneers namely Dr. John Davy (1812), Sir Emmerson Tennent (1845) and R.L. Brohier (1933) in irrigation sector identified ancient sluices and other old structures in various parts of the island. The new department was assigned to restore and construct all irrigation works and maintain large irrigation schemes. Maintenance of minor irrigation works came under the control of the Government Agent in each District. In the 1930s ID focused its functions into on- farm water management, flood protection, construct saltwater intrusion structures in the Wet Zone. ID was not a revenue earning Department but spend money for construct and maintain tanks and canal system.
The Gal Oya Scheme, the first river basin development, was started during 1948. Gal Oya Multipurpose Development Project was started in 1948 which was modelled on the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) in the US. This concept was not only to develop irrigation but also consider other activities such as power generationandindustries.TVAconcepttakenupafterthe World War II. The Gal Oya Development Board (GODB) established to manage this project. GODB was the first statutory body to set up in independent Ceylon. Construction of the dam began in 1949, completed within four years in late 1953. The project was completed and paid for within our own resources.
In 1969 with the creation of Uda Walawa Reservoir the second river basin development started. Instead of GODB new statutory organisation named as River Valley Development Board (RVDB) established to manage multipurpose second river basin development scheme.
In 1961, UNDP/FAO recommended for 30 year 13 river system development project based on Mahaweli river and inter-basin river diversions. Recommended to implement over a period of 30 years for 13 river systems marked as A to M. This programme included to irrigate 365,000 ha and generate 470 MW hydro power. The phase one was completed in 1978. Project implementing agency was Mahaweli Development Board (MDB). With the establisment of MDB, GODB was liquidated.
In 1978 the Government decdied to implement Accelerated Mahaweli Development Programme. For this Mahaweli Authiruty of Sri Lanka (MASL) eatblished to realize above objective. MASL is still functionng as a river basin developemnt agency.
In 1954 Eng. S. Arumugam (1905-2000) published River for Jaffna illustrating of a new concept for the peninsula which is almost flat and no rivers. This model is faraway from ancient river-based irrigated hydraulic system. The underlying limestone aquifer recharge by annual rainfall of 1270 mm which is more than 80 per cent from North-East monsoon in October to November. Eng. S. Armugam’s son Eng. Thiru Arumugam is carrying out this idea up-to-date to supply fresh water facility for the comminity in Jaffna peninsula.
It is intersting to note River for Jaffna conscept upraised in two occations. This proposal submitted to the Presdent J. R. Jayewardene. In May 1983 President called for a meeting for a discussion. During this period due to the trouble situation in the country unable to proceed with the proposal. Minister for Irrigation and Water Management, Mr Gamini Jayawickrerna Perera visited Jaffan. In July 2003 Minister submitted a Cabint Paper to obtain approval for implemention. Due to change of Goverement the project was shelved.
Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved a loan of 130 million US dollars (in 2010) for providing safe drinking water for 300,000 people in Jaffna Town and surrounding areas and sanitation facilities for 80,000 people in Jaffna Town. The water source was Iranamadu tank in Kilinochchi District. The farmers of Kilinochchi protesetd as they were cultivating only 30 per cent of rice during the Yala (dry) season. If water pumped to Jaffna the farmers in Killinochchi would not be available for Yala cultivation.
In May 2017 tenders have been invited from contractors to Design, Build and Operate (DBO) for 24 million litres per day (Mld) for a sea water desalination plant at Thalaiyadi in Jaffna Peninsula. This will consume about five to six megawatts of electrical power. Further according to National Water Supply and Drainage Board (NWSDB) the cost of water produced by the proposed plant will be more than six times the average cost of water produced by all the other plants.
In the mid 2010s Goveremenet of Sri Lanka (GOSL) requested the Dutch Government to solve the fresh water problems in the Jaffna Peninsula. As a result they sent an expert to Jaffna in January 2017. Based on that in Feb 2018 they sent a team of six experts (Team Leader, SjefIJzermans) to observe the viabilty of the River for Jaffna project to conduct a preliminery study. Tentative findings are as follows:
Benefits
Benefits for lands alongside of lagoons:
Less damage by salty inundations o Additional irrigation
Recharge of aquifers (limited)
Recharge of aquifers could be increased by pumping
Infiltration through irrigation to now uncultivated areas
Special infiltration canals
GOSL is waiting for the final report with alloction of funds from the Dutch Government to construct and implement the Project.
The present Dutch Ambassador in Colombo, Ms. Joanne Doornewaard has also been briefed how Dutch Colonial admainstration initiated the similer to River for Jaffna project about more than 350 years ago.
During the last few years water resources develpment in Jaffna peninsula was one of the main subjects discussed at the Cabinet Ministers’ level. Prime Minister Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe is working closely with Policy Development Office to introduce a new project for water supply to Jaffna utilizing rainfall into the Vadmarachchi Lagoon. This project was approved by the the Chief Minister of Northern Province and the Cabinet of Ministers in Sept. 2017.
Nortren Provincil Council conducted a three-day seminar 28th-30th Jan 2017 at Jaffna Public Library Auditorum. The theme was Towards Sustainable Water Resources Management and nine research papers were presented during three teachnical sessions. This was inaugarated by Mr. C.V. Wigneswaran Chief Miniister, Norther Provincal Council (NCP) and the Special Guest was Mr. C.V.K. Sivagnanam Chairman NCP. Members of NCP, Secretaries to the NCP Ministries, Heads of Department and staff participated in this event.
During the last several decades river-based irrigation water distribution was the main political theme in other parts of Sri Lanka. At present National and Provincil level political williningness is building up on non-river base water resources developemt in Jaffan peninsula.
This new trend will be helpful to plan and implementation of 350-year old concept of River for Jaffna.
Sri Lanka will lose the chance of becoming a ship-building hub in the region due to the government’s regulations pertaining to the ship-building industry and the country’s tax structure. If the government supports this sector, the country could earn a large sum of foreign exchange, Executive Vice President, Walkers CML Group, Dr. Sarath Obeysekera said.
” Sri Lanka has the potential to become a small and medium size ship/vessel manufacturing hub in the region but unfortunately certain government rules and regulations and the tax structure negatively impact the industry, Dr Obeysekera told The Island Financial Review. The company is known as Walkers Colombo Shipyard (Pvt) Limited , a subsidiary of MTD Walkers PLC and is a fully equipped shipyard with advanced facilities to facilitate vessel repairs, ship-building and other marine engineering capabilities. This is the country’s second ship-building company, which is 100 percent Sri Lankan owned.
Ship-building in progress
He said that at present they are manufacturing 100 ton and 300 ton landing craft for the Maldives, which are valued at US $ one million. ‘Since they have all the facilities, including the technology, they are looking at getting orders from other counties as well, he said.
Dr Obeysekera said that the government is not giving proper support for this industry to grow as it has enormous potential to attract foreign orders into the country. ” Unfortunately, the Sri Lanka Ports Authority, most of the time, in calling for tenders gives preference to foreign companies, he said.
“This is a multi-billion dollar business but needs to get duty free facilities and a simplified regulatory framework to boost the boat/ship building industry as a life style development or leisure sector industry, he explained.
The CEO also said that in Sri Lanka there are 20 fisheries harbors within the country , which could be developed as marinas targeting tourism sector.
He also said that the national export strategy 2018 of the government has identified the vessel and leisure craft manufacturing sector as a potential export sector in the country. ‘This is an excellent move by the government, he added.
‘Walkers will give special concessionary rates for multi-day fishing boat owners for docking and undocking since we need to promote the fisheries industry of the country , provide high standard reliable repair services for them, that could ultimately cause to uplift the quality of fish which goes to the local and foreign market, Dr Obeysekera added.
‘Further, we build fibre glass boats at the Galle boatyard and we repair boats in Codbay in trincomalee using our boat lift, he said.
The CEO added: ‘Sri Lankans have a habit of buying SUV cars rather than buy pleasure craft, so we invite businessmen, hotel owners and the young to buy their own pleasure craft/yacht and enjoy the inland and offshore cruises. We will provide a 24 hour security service and berthing facility for their yachts at Mutwal harbour.’
‘At present, the Walkers Shipyard is located at the Mutwal fisheries harbour having the capacity to offer floating repair for vessels up to 80 m in length, dry berth repair services for vessel up to 65 m in length.
‘The company’s shipping team builds a wide range of ships and vessels of high quality, where they meet the highest level of construction and safety standards with Korean technology and know how.’
Documents relating to a draft Constitution intended for “discussion only” are now out in the public domain. These documents are the work of a panel of 10 experts. The Resolution setting up a Constitutional Assembly intended them to synthesize the opinions contained in the reports of the 6 sub-committees appointed by the Steering Committee, into a form that would embody the makings of the draft constitution. Although it was expected that there would be a single report reflecting a consensus among them, what turned up was a multiplicity of reports.
According to media reports, since some who were not part of the expert panel had intervened and attempted to influence the outcome of the scope of the draft, only 6 of the 10 in the expert panel had signed the report. This draft contains 38 chapters and covers the full scope of what is intended to be a discussion paper. Although those who intervened have since been asked to stay out, the consequence of this direction was that there are now an additional 10 unsigned reports covering a variety of subjects.
If what is reported above is factual, the experts and interventionists have not only collectively debased the constitution making process, but have also made the debating task very complex, because members of the Constitutional Assembly would not know whether to accept opinions in the report signed by the 6 experts, or those in the 10 individual reports.
SIGNIFICANT FEATURES in the DRAFT
Despite the chicanery associated with preparation of the draft constitution, what is of great significance to the nation is the direction the draft constitution is taking judging from recommendations common to most reports. For instance, some of the specific recommendations are:
1. The State would cease to be Unitary. Instead, it would be described as being ‘undivided and indivisible’. The Legislative, Executive and Judicial powers of the People shall be exercised as per the Constitution. The territory of Sri Lanka would be its geographical territory including the Provinces, thus identifying the territory in terms of the Province. The National Anthem is to be sung in 2 languages.
2. The President to be elected by two chambers of Parliament. President’s powers diluted to that of a figurehead to the point that he acts on the advice of the Prime Minister.
3. A second chamber represented by 5 members from each Province and 10 others.
4. The powers of the Governor of each Province diluted to the point that he acts on the advice of the Chief Minister.
5. The Executive and Legislative powers of the Province shall be exercised by the Chief Minister and the Council.
6. The Central Government shall be entitled to the use of State land only in the Capital Territory, and every Provincial Council shall be entitled to the use of all other State land.
7. The provision for two or three adjoining Provinces to merge based on a referendum limited to each Province concerned.
In summary, the draft constitution weakens the powers of the President elected by two chambers of Parliament and makes the Prime Minister the head of the Executive, the consequence of which is to weaken the powers of the Governor, strengthen the Province with Legislative and Executive powers and recognize the Province as the unit that describes the territory of Sri Lanka, with a provision also for 2 or 3 Provinces to merge, based on a referendum limited to each Province concerned.
DIRECTION of the DRAFT CONSTITUTION
The first paragraph of the Resolution establishing the Constitutional Assembly states that the President “…in his desire to give effect to the will of the People expressed at the aforesaid Presidential Election by enacting a new Constitution that, inter alia, abolishing the Executive Presidency…..”.
Abolishing the Executive Presidency is therefore justified on the basis of giving “effect to the will of the People”. The question is: Which “People”? In this instance the “People” has to mean those who elected the President. Considering that the President is committed to “give effect” to several issues during the run up to the election, how legitimate is it to single out an issue such as abolishing the Executive Presidency out of the many issues pledged, and justify it on the basis that it gives effect to the “will of the People”, without an exclusive referendum.
In the absence of such clear and definitive determination the need to abolish the current Executive Presidential system is nothing but the fulfillment of a personal commitment of the political leadership regardless of whether it serves the interests of the Nation and State. As far as the leadership in the North is concerned, the direction of the draft constitution facilitates the inexorable movement towards federalism to start with, and a separate State at a time of their choosing, encouraged by the provision in Article 176 for 2 or 3 adjoining Provinces to merge based on a referendum limited to each Province concerned.
VIOLATION of FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS
What the draft embodies is a diabolical attempt to dismantle the core values of what is of significant importance to the Sri Lankan nation as a whole, and replacing it with aspirations of a segment of the population, thereby violating the right that “All Peoples” have, namely, the right of self-determination of the collective nation to determine its form of government and its political arrangements.
The 13th Amendment with the Province as the unit was definitely not such a collective determination. Furthermore, no opportunity was given by successive governments for the nation to exercise its right to self-determination regarding devolution as a concept, with its unit as the Province. That denial has compelled the nation to accept a form of government at the periphery that is operationally dysfunctional, and at a cost that diverts much needed funds for human development from the nation as a whole.
Territorial integrity is another determination that is sacrosanct to the majority of the nation. The proposal for 2 or 3 adjoining Provinces to merge based on a referendum limited to each Province concerned is a violation of the right of self-determination of the rest of the country. The architecture that would result from this provision is to create a single political unit consisting of the Northern and Eastern Provinces. Territorially such a unit would consist of one-third of the land mass of Sri Lanka and two-thirds of its coast line with Legislative and Executive powers, beside 7 separate Provincial units in the rest of the country. Words in a Constitution such as “undivided” and “indivisible” would not protect the territorial integrity of Sri Lanka under such a set-up.
The fact that the draft is a discussion paper, and therefore, this particular proposal or any other could be rejected, is not the issue. The issue is the fact that the ‘expert panel’ did not mind the denial of fundamental rights such as the right of self-determination embodied in international law, in instruments such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights, which form the very bedrock of Human Rights. The least one would expect from such a panel is for them to bring to the attention of the Steering Committee the implications involved, while fulfilling its primary function of synthesizing the opinions in the 6 sub-committee reports.
EXECUTIVE PRESIDENCY
The other all important issue is the abolition of the Executive Presidency. What needs to be understood is that an Executive Presidential system in the context of Sri Lanka and its many Peoples is not another political arrangement of governance. It goes far beyond and symbolizes the unitary nature of the State, because the President, as a person elected by the whole nation is therefore a unifier; a concept that cannot be replaced by words such as “undivided and indivisible”. Consequently, the Presidential system is inextricably linked with the unitary character of the State.
A nationally elected President is the protector of the integrity of the State in terms of its physical territory, and ideologically the protector of the core values enshrined in the entrenched Article that includes Article 4 of the 1978 Constitution. Such traditions are an integral part of the memory of Sri Lanka’s heritage in the form of the ruler who was the guardian of the State and the religion. This tradition has to continue with safeguards to meet evolved concepts such as separation of powers between Legislative, Executive and Judicial powers. Such separation of powers is represented at the periphery by the Governor who is responsible for executive action, and as the President’s representative in the periphery, is responsible for guarding the integrity and unitary character of the State in the manner in which the Provinces operate.
CONCLUSION
While the expert panel of 10 was expected to synthesize the opinions in the 6 sub-committee reports into a single unified report, what transpired was a botched up job due to the intervention of a few persons unassociated with the process, with the result that there is now one report signed by only 6 of the 10 experts, and 10 other unsigned reports covering various aspects relating to this draft constitution. The fact that the draft constitution in its present form has been seriously compromised means that the task of debating issues would become a daunting challenge.
Abolishing the Executive Presidency although justified in order to “give effect to the will of the People”, has many direct political beneficiaries. One set would be those who are constitutionally barred from contesting a Presidential election. Another set would be those who are unsure of securing a majority at a national Presidential election. For the Tamil leadership it would be an opportunity to weaken the power of the Governor to the point of him acting on the advice of the Chief Minister and the Board of Ministers, thereby transferring Legislative and Executive power to the Council; a process that would be the first step towards federalism (by eliminating the concurrent list), and to eventual separation. The losers would be the People in whose name all this is being done.
The genesis for these incrementally progressive developments is the 13th Amendment with the Province as the peripheral unit. The concept of devolution and its unit of devolution – the Province, never were and have never been the seeking of the nation as a whole. This is a violation of the fundamental right of self-determination that “All Peoples” are entitled to and recognized in the International Instruments that form the bed rock of Human Rights. It is nothing but a top down approach whose cost effectiveness cannot be justified. This injustice has to be corrected not only because it compels a majority to be governed under a system that is not of their choosing, but also the fact that the system is operationally complex because of 2 parallel systems which function at a cost that diverts much needed funds from human development of the collective nation. This too is a violation of Human Rights.
The hope of those whose interests have hitherto been ignored is that at least a third of the Members of Parliament led by a strong leader would have the courage to oppose the draft constitution on moral grounds, because it not only violates fundamentals of justice and equality, but that it also does not represent the core values cherished by the nation as a whole. However, opposition for the sake of opposition is not right either. Therefore, those opposing the draft constitution should follow up and propose an alternative that in principle is for the three major communities to share Legislative and Executive powers at the center with the District as the principal operating unit in the periphery. The nation is waiting for a leadership that would set aside their personal ambitions and fulfill the nation’s long awaited dream of doing what is right by them as a whole, and in the interest of the entire country as well as the generations to come.
Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, yesterday, alleged the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe government did not care to do anything to bring back former Central Bank Governor Arjuna Mahendran wanted in connection with treasury bonds scams perpetrated in 2015 and 2016.
Mahendran lived overseas without any trouble, Rajapaksa said.The government was trying to silence the genuine Opposition by setting up Special High Courts, the former President said. The decisions in respect of those who were to be summoned by the Special High Courts had been taken by the Justice Minister after summoning the Attorney General to her office, the former President said.
The country lacked proper leadership, the former President said, urging the people to rally behind the Joint Opposition and the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna.
Former President Rajapaksa greeting supporters at Viharamaha Devi Open Air Theatre yesterday (pic by Jude Denzil Pathiraja)
Rajapaksa was addressing a protest rally at the Viharamaha Devi open air theatre. He alleged the government was selling public property. He urged foreigners to be wary of acquiring Sri Lankan assets. Former President Rajapaksa said that a future government would investigate all questionable transactions under the present administration. He said the government had not received a mandate to divest state assets. He accused the government leader of selling state ventures to get kickbacks.
The Joint Opposition/Sri Lanka Podujana Peramun (SLPP) members and supporters protested at the Lipton Circus yesterday and marched to the Viharamaha Devi open air theatre, where the former President and JO leaders spoke.
A section of the SLFP’s Group of 16, too, joined the protest march and later Senior Vice President of the SLFP MP John Seneviratne addressed the gathering.
Rajapaksa said the government was using various ruses to distract public attention from the political fallout of the biggest ever financial crime in the country—the Treasury bond scams.
Rajapaksa alleged that the government was rapidly moving towards a dictatorship having taken control of the judiciary. Those who had been worried about the independence of judiciary were silent today, he added.
The former President flayed the government for using the New Inland Revenue Act to impose more economic burdens on the people who were struggling to make ends meet.
Former Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa says that his intention was to provide houses for the low income people living in Colombo city in order to increase their quality of life.
Speaking during an event in Wellawatta, he said that the objective of the programme carried out by him during his time as the Defence Secretary was to remove the shanty homes and turn Colombo into an attractive city.
He stated that today Sri Lanka’s construction sector has completely collapsed and that directly and indirectly over 4-500,000 jobs have been lost due to this.
He said that the government shortsighted actions led to the halting of all development projects as soon as it came to power. The Colombo Port City project was stalled for 2 years and at the same time development projects across the country came to a standstill, Rajapaksa charged.
He said that the incumbent government took power without any proper plan. The former Defence Secretary said that currently there is no leader to take decisions and that nobody is taking responsibility to take decisions when a problem surfaces.
He stated that the underworld has raised its head once again and that some people are even afraid to talk about the underworld.
Joint Opposition MP Shehan Semasinghe says that there is absolutely no preparation to hold elections by the current government, which is attempting govern the country in a dictatorial fashion.
He stated that the ‘small car dream’ has truly become just a dream presently and the government has disregarded all the promises it had given to the youths.
Semasinghe also charged that the current government lacks a proper understanding regarding debt management.
Pope Francis has changed the teachings of the Catholic faith to oppose the death penalty in all circumstances, the Vatican has said.
The Catechism of the Church, which sums up the teachings, had previously stated that the death penalty could be used in some cases.
It now says it is inadmissible because it is an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person”.
Pope Francis has in the past spoken out against executions.
Last October, he had said the Church’s policy on the death penalty was one area where teaching was not static and could change with modern concerns.
The text of the catechism was first set by Pope John Paul II in October 1992.
The teachings had earlier stated that the death penalty was an appropriate response to the gravity of certain crimes and an acceptable, albeit extreme, means of safeguarding the common good”.
However, the new text says there is an increasing awareness that the dignity of the person is not lost even after the commission of very serious crimes”.
It also argues that today’s more effective detention methods protect citizens and do not definitively deprive the guilty of the possibility of redemption”.
The Church will now work with determination for the abolition of the death penalty worldwide, a statement from the Holy See said.
Historically, the Church has mostly been unopposed to the death penalty, including into the 20th Century. In 1952, Pope Pius XII said it was not a violation of the universal right to life.
Pope John Paul II argued for imprisonment over execution wherever possible, although Joseph Ratzinger, who later became Pope Benedict XVI, wrote that the death penalty could be permissible.
For once Prof. G.L has said something worth discussing. He had told media last Monday, his party, the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) would file a petition in the Supreme Court requesting a Writ against the Elections Commission (EC) over its failure to hold elections for the dissolved Provincial Councils.
The Sabaragamuwa, North Central and the Eastern Provincial Councils stand dissolved for 10 months now, since September 2017.
In two months from now, the North, Wayamba and the Central Provincial Councils would stand dissolved.
He has told media, legal action would be instituted when the Court vacation comes to an end in late August.
Reason for not instituting legal action immediately as he says is because; it is only a week more for Court vacations to begin.
For a politically valid intervention, to stay mute for a month is too cheap a ploy to buy. For a legal luminary in fulltime politics, a week would be more than enough, if the statement made is firm and genuine.
Almost two months ago President Sirisena addressing his faction of the SLFP on June 2 had said the PC elections would be held before the year-end.
The UNP decided at its Working Committee last week to request the EC to hold the PC elections without delay” (!) either on the old or the new system of electing members.
By then, the Chairman of the Commission Mahinda Deshapriya had on April 25 (2018) told the media (CDN) the Commission would hold elections to PCs in December, once the legal and Constitutional hindrances are swiftly resolved”.
Neither had they been resolved swiftly” during the past three months. Nor has the Government chosen any of the four options Deshapriya told the CDN (Ceylon Daily News), Parliament could adopt, to have early PC elections.
Firstly, Parliament can approve the delimitation report as it is, with a two-thirds majority.
Secondly, MPs can opt to revise the report by a committee appointed by the Prime Minister. If not, they can change the 50-50 ratio and prepare an early and speedy delimitation report again.
Or they can go back to the previous Preferential Ratio (PR) vote system,”
He told the CDN, that if Parliament could decide on any one of those options, the EC could hold elections in December before the GCE O/L examinations began.
Now it is August and over three months after the options were spelt out by Chairman EC. No decision had been taken by the Government or by the two main allies in Government, the UNP and the SLFP of President Sirisena as to what option they would go with.
Instead, the UNP wants the EC to hold elections anyway it can and President tells his men they would be December.
In end June the same Minister, who kept tearing off calendar pages one after another for the LG elections, tells the new Delimitation Committee in the presence of Speaker Karu Jayasuriya, it would be December (2018) when the Government could be ready with a Road Map for holding PC elections.
He wouldn’t surely decide on a Road Map for December, on his own. He is definitely in consultation with the President and the PM, is playing it soft with President, while on a collision course on many issues.
As it goes, PC elections will not be held end 2018 with only a Road Map proposed. The hurdle President Sirisena fears to hold PC elections is no doubt the MR Factor.
“Now it is August and no decision has been taken by the Government or by the two main allies in Government, the UNP and the SLFP of President Sirisena as to what option they would go with”
As Finance Minister Samaraweera’sGam Peraliya that’s rolled out with gusto to be given a fillip with a populist budget for the year 2019 in November indicates, the UNP is readying itself for the 2020 January Presidential Election and not for PC elections in December.
For Mahinda Rajapaksa, who has in his hands the political network at the local level after LG polls, needs to have with him the next level of political networking at the provincial level to push for Parliamentary Elections in mid or late 2019.
There certainly is a difference in calculations within the JO too. Loners like Weerawansa and Gammanpila would want the Presidential and Parliamentary Elections as constitutionally scheduled for 2020 January and anytime after 2020 February, respectively.
They need to be of importance in a Presidential poll to successfully contest Parliamentary Elections thereafter.
Yet, MR’s strategy that is worked on by Basil Rajapaksa is often heard through JO stalwarts like Dinesh Gunawardane and Vasudeva Nanayakkara, who also talk of Parliamentary Elections.
This Government cannot rule a country and that needs to be changed before it is too late, goes their main argument.
The Colombo protest last Wednesday led by the JO targeting the Government as anti-people is perhaps a beginning.
At the rate, the Government is fumbling with every issue without clear decisions made and then the two partners in Government getting into contradicting positions on almost all issues and mega corruption no less than during the Rajapaksas, the frustration building up in urban and semi-urban societies is what MR seems to be banking on.
He perhaps believes there will be the last straw on the camel’s back when people would want a change of Government before a change of presidency.
That’s when the PCs also become important for MR.
It would be a proverbial walk behind the goat, for MR to wait for his SLPP President Prof Peiris to go to Courts to provide him with the PC elections without any further delay.
Elections Commission should be held responsible for denying the people their right to elections
The EC that aids and abets the Yahapalana Government to further erode democracy
This makes the ground easy for Rajapaksa to run a totalitarian rule if he returns
It was this same Professor who was reported in the media a month ago on July 2 saying his SLPP would sue the FCID, the CID, the Rupavahini Corporation and the Associated Newspapers (Ceylon) Limited for a series of alleged defamatory stories that claimed China Harbour Engineering Limited had in 2014 provided US$ 07 million for Mahinda Rajapaksa’s Presidential Election campaign.
At the same media briefing, he was also reported as having said the SLPP would take legal action against the New York Times, for publishing similar defamatory allegations. He doesn’t seem to have done what he said he would, and taking time over Court vacations seems, he would go the same way with this proposed legal action against the EC as well.
In short, it would not be anything more than his statement to media.
Yet, the fact remains, for once, his argument is on solid grounds. Chapter I Article 03 of the Constitution is clear about the right of franchise being an inalienable right of people’s sovereignty.
It says”
In the Republic of Sri Lanka sovereignty is in the People and is inalienable. Sovereignty includes the powers of Government, Fundamental Rights and the franchise.”
That, therefore, is a basic, Fundamental Right of the people, the EC is constitutionally bound to protect and give validity to.
Read along with article 104B (1) of the Constitution, Article 104B (2) says,
It shall be the duty of the Commission to secure the enforcement of all laws relating to the holding of any such election or the conduct of Referenda and it shall be the duty of all authorities of the State charged with the enforcement of such laws, to co-operate with the Commission to secure such enforcement.”
But has the EC been living with the Constitutional mandate? Sadly not as an Independent Commission constituted under Amendment 19.
The role of the EC in holding elections to LG bodies proved it beyond doubt. According to the Constitution, the EC should treat franchise as an inalienable. Sovereign” Right of the people and thus should secure the enforcement of all laws relating to the holding of any such election”
It means ‘laws’ that are valid at the time an election should be duly held is what the EC has to abide by.
“The EC is playing with a vacillating and hesitant Government through publicity stunts, proposing options to keep the PC elections postponed”
It more than implies the EC need not wait for new laws” the Government is contemplating in bringing or are still in the making.
Thus, if Parliament has not made required law to hold elections on the mixed system of PR (Proportional Representation) and FFP (First-Past-the-Post) with whatever gender representation and with the new delimitation report approved in Parliament at the time the PCs were dissolved, it only means the existing law that allows elections on the PR system is the law the EC has to hold elections to those PCs.
Instead, the EC is playing with a vacillating and hesitant Government through publicity stunts, proposing options to keep the PC elections postponed, violating its own mandate in the process.
It is the EC that should now be held totally responsible for denying the people their right to elect representative bodies.
It is the EC that aids and abets the Yahapalana Government to further erode democracy when it is there to safeguard democracy.
And thanks to this EC and Yahapalanaya, we don’t even have the procedural democracy there was under Rajapaksa. Perhaps they are making the ground easy for Rajapaksa to run a totalitarian rule if he returns.
Colombo port, which thrives on Indian cargo containers that passes through it, has cut transshipment rates by 9.5 per cent after India lifted cabotage restrictions in May, allowing foreign ships to operate on local routes to reduce the country’s dependence on the neighbouring hub to transport cargo.
The island nation, one of the major container transshipment hubs in the region along with Singapore, Port Klang and Jebel Ali, is taking the fight for containers to the Indian shores.
Transshipping containers through Colombo entails extra time and costs, hurting India’s competitiveness in the global market.
Transshipment fight hotting up
Lankan discount
After India relaxed cabotage, Colombo reduced the transshipment tariffs by offering a discount of 9.5 per cent,” said Deepak Tiwari, Chairman of the Container Shipping Lines Association (CSLA), adding that shipping lines were not in love with Colombo.”
Individual terminals must be offering volume-based rebates to shipping lines as part of their agreement, but on the general published rates, no revision was done recently. Customers bringing incremental volumes are offered volume discounts by terminals,” Upul Jayatissa, Chief Manager (Marketing and Business Development), Sri Lanka Ports Authority, told BusinessLine over phone from Colombo.
Jayatissa reckons that India’s decision to relax cabotage will have an impact on Colombo traffic. But, it will depend on the shipping lines; they are the ones who decide the routing of services. They have to decide what they really want to do. So far, we have not felt any impact on our transshipment business, but I don’t know what will happen in the future,” he said.
The transshipment volumes of Colombo, according to Jayatissa, have grown by 20 per cent in the first half of 2018 calendar year compared to last year. Colombo port handled 4.8 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in 2017 from four terminals. Of this, about 45 per cent was India-bound or originating containers, underlining Colombo’s dependence on Indian cargo for its sustenance.
Marine charges
The vessel-related charges or marine charges at Indian ports are four times more than in Colombo, said VK Singh, Managing Director, Shreyas Shipping & Logistics Ltd.
For instance, the marine charges for a 24-hour stay for a 5,000-TEU capacity ship is about $40,000 in India and $10,000 in Colombo. This is a big attraction for the lines. That’s why they don’t want to stop calling Colombo,” said Suresh Amirapu, CEO, Bharat Mumbai Container Terminals Pvt Ltd, a unit of Singapore’s PSA International Pte Ltd.
The marine charges are low in Colombo because the Sri Lankan government funds basic infrastructure, including dredging, unlike in India.
The networking is already established in Colombo,” said Jibu Kurien Itty, CEO, India Gateway Terminal Pvt Ltd, the transshipment terminal-run by DP World at Vallarpadam in Cochin Port Trust. So, when you are looking to divert containers away from Colombo, you have to be actually two steps ahead in the game,” he said, stressing the need to rationalise marine charges in India.”
When you are competing with Colombo, you have to play to your strengths. India has the cargo; that’s what Colombo does not have,” Jibu added.
As China rushes to invest in more ports in Sri Lanka, India views with concern the Asian neighbour’s bid to increase its footprint in the Indo-Pacific region. China also recently gifted a naval frigate to the island nation.
Sri Lanka has started to emerge as the new battleground for the two Asian super powers, India and China. China, Sri Lanka Ports Authority and India are to invest over $700 million for the development of three key ports over the next three years in Sri Lanka,” said a government official.
Though no details have been released about the recent frigate that was gifted to Sri Lanka, market observers believe it could be a Type 053 frigate, or even a Type C28A or C13B corvette, since these three classes are the most common Chinese warships exported to other countries.
The official pointed out that though China’s inroads into the Indian Ocean region need to be carefully monitored, vessels are regularly handed over as part of military aid packages, and that India, too, has done so in the recent past. Apart from ports in Sri Lanka, India has committed an investment of $500 million towards the management and operation of two dedicated berths at the Chabahar port in Iran, and has been assisting Myanmar with infrastructure improvement projects at the Sittwe and Paletwa ports.
Sri Lanka is said to have received an aid of $974 million for the Hambantota port project from China
Sources said China could gain exponentially” through extending financial aid for the development of Sri Lanka’s ports.
Though several of China’s projects in Sri Lanka have faced censure, concerns have been raised by the US, India and Japan that China might use Sri Lanka as a military base.
The next three years are set to see fresh investments in Sri Lanka, both from China and India. While India is to invest $40 million to upgrade the Kankesanthurai Port in northern Sri Lanka into a commercial port, and has extended financial assistance from the Export Import bank, the Sri Lankan Treasury has reportedly received aid of $974 million for the Hambantota port project from China, which has already invested $146 million for port development work.
In January, the Export-Import Bank of India (Exim Bank) approved $45.27 million in credit for the reconstruction of Sri Lanka’s Kankesanthurai Port, which was devastated by the December 2004 tsunami and Cyclone Nisha in 2008. Reports indicate that this brings India’s aid for various infrastructure projects in Sri Lanka to $1.4 billion. The Sri Lanka Ports Authority is to invest $100 million for the construction of the East Container Terminal, which is part of the master plan of the Colombo Port Expansion Project. Plans are also afoot for the conversion of Galle Harbour into a tourism port.
Sri Lanka’s maritime sector master plan, developed by Maritime and Transport Business Solutions, a consultancy firm from the Netherlands, and funded by the Asian Development Bank, is said to be nearing completion. As the government looks to promote Sri Lanka’s cruise liner business, more infrastructure facilities are also to be added to the Colombo Port, to get more cruise liners to dock there.
BERLIN (AP) – German authorities have arrested a Sri Lankan man suspected of involvement in killing captured government soldiers as a member of the Tamil Tigers rebel group a decade ago.
Federal prosecutors said a judge ordered Thursday the 36-year-old, identified only as Sivatheeban B. because of German privacy rules, detained pending a potential indictment. He was arrested Wednesday in the Duesseldorf area, suspected of committing war crimes and membership in a foreign terrorist organization.
Prosecutors say he belonged to the Tamil Tigers from 2006-2009. They allege that, in 2008, he tied up 16 soldiers and guarded them as they were driven to a site where they were shot.
Sri Lanka’s civil war ended in 2009 when government forces defeated the rebels, who fought to create a separate state for ethnic minority Tamils.
Iron cannons installed by the Dutch to ward off colonial rivals still line Galle Face Green, a grassy, mile-long promenade along the Colombo seafront. Further out to sea, within range of the guns, a new world power is leaving its mark on Sri Lanka’s capital.
Currently, Port City is just a flat expanse of blank land jutting out into the ocean, growing a fraction larger each day, as dredging ships pour what will eventually amount to 65 million cubic metres of sand.
The construction of Port Cityis being funded via the largest single foreign direct investment in Sri Lankan history. Photograph: Atul Loke/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Within a few years, however, Port City will be the site of glass skyscrapers, a busy financial district, hospitals, hotels and even a theme park. Across the world, Chinese companies are developing President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative by building new roads, ports and bridges – but in Sri Lanka they are building a whole new metropolis.
Q&A
Cities of the New Silk Road: what is China’s Belt and Road project?
It is a completely new city that will nearly double the size of Colombo right now,” says Janaka Wijesundara, a former director at Sri Lanka’s Urban Development Authority. It is going to drastically change the entire landmass.”
Built on 665 acres (2.6 sq km) of land being reclaimed from the Indian Ocean, the city is designed to be a smaller Singapore, with its own business-friendly tax regime and regulations – and possibly a different legal system to the rest of Sri Lanka.
About 80,000 people are expected to live in the city, with another quarter of a million commuting in every day.
How will the burgeoning city affect the rest of Colombo? Photograph: Alamy
It is the largest single foreign direct investment in Sri Lankan history – a $1.4bn (£1.1bn) project by the state-owned Chinese engineering firm China Communications Construction Company (CCCC).
Artistic impressions of the future Port City show a brightly lit cityscape comparable to Dubai or London’s Canary Wharf. Developers say 1.5 million sq metres of office space will be available and private investment could reach $13bn. Dense high-rises give way to lower-slung residential areas, crisscrossed by parks and canals. A marina and beach line the city’s edges.
It is a world away from the fading bungalows, modest temples and low-slung towers of present-day Colombo. But designers say they have striven to have the new city reflect its roots, according to Daniel Ringelstein, a director at Skidmore, Owings and Merrill (SOM), the firm that created the masterplan for the city’s central business district.
We took inspiration from the colonial era,” he says, highlighting Colombo’s whitewashed colours, elegant arcades and individually expressed, vertically proportioned buildings” as key influences.
The mega-blocks initially favoured by the developers were subdivided by the firm, he says, to create more walkable public space, mimicking the vivid street life of Sri Lankan cities and including an emphasis on natural shade.
The idea to expand Colombo’s business district outward on to land reclaimed from the sea was first proposed in 2004. The city, located along key shipping routes across the Indian Ocean, had been a hub for trade for more than 2,000 years.
But a bloody, 25-year civil war was killing thousands of people each year. Around the time authorities were mulling an early version of Port City, Colombo was struck by its first suicide bombing since 2001. The plans were shelved for five years.
By 2009, the war had been brought to a close, thanks to ruthless offensives by the Sri Lankan army. Then-president Mahinda Rajapaksa declared Sri Lanka open for business – but the spectre of what the UN calls horrific” human rights abuses committed by both the army and the Tamil Tigers continued to ward off most investors.
One major country, however, was happy to fund Sri Lanka’s reconstruction. China offered political cover for Sri Lanka towards the end of the war and had already started to play more of a prominent role on the economic front,” says Dushni Weerakoon, the executive director at the Institute of Policy Studies in Colombo. After the war ended, it all just accelerated.”
In total, Rajapaksa borrowed about $8bn from China, much of which was spent on big-ticket infrastructure in his ancestral home district of Hambantota – which has since become a byword for the risks associated with Chinese loans. A major new airport in Hambantota receives just one flight each day. A new hospital serves as accommodation for Chinese guest workers. Attracting most scrutiny is a port that was upgraded using money borrowed from China. Earlier this year, unable to afford the repayments, Sri Lanka handed control of the port to a subsidiary of CCCC for at least 99 years.
The loans are part of a wave of Chinese investment in south Asia that has been described as the biggest game changer in 100 years”, posing a serious challenge to India, the traditional power in the region.
In 2014, concerns over Chinese loans and corruption played a key part in Rajapaksa’s shock election defeat. The new government promised to rebalance Sri Lanka’s relationship with India, Japan and the west. Though Port City was being funded by foreign investment, rather than a loan, it became a victim of the backlash: the new prime minister, Ranil Wickramasinghe, shelved the project, claiming the dredging would destroy Colombo’s coast.
Environmentalists have raised serious concerns about the impact of the extensive dredging required by the project. Photograph: Dinuka Liyanawatte/Reuters
It was a win for environmentalists such as Hemantha Withanage, who heads the Colombo-based Centre for Environmental Justice (CJE). The project is totally harmful to tourism and totally harmful to fishermen,” he says.
W Jude Namal Fernando, a fisherman and trade unionist in Negombo, north of Colombo, says the excavation of sand along the coast is destroying aquatic life and affecting the livelihoods of approximately 8,000 people who make a living from fishing. The habitat belonging to various species has been demolished,” he says. Corals have been removed, disturbing the ecological balance. And the fisheries industry consists of many others apart from fishermen – the livelihood of those who are on the shore and those who transport the catch to the market are also affected.”
The CJE argues that building the new city will require more natural resources than Sri Lanka can sustainably provide. The necessary sand alone would quickly exceed 100 million cubic metres, it says, threatening a fragile marine habitat and the livelihoods of 15,000 fishermen who work in the mining area. The CJE prices the value of the sand at $3.2bn, which it says outweighs the $1.4bn invested by CCCC subsidiary China Harbour in building the city.
The environmental group also warns commutes into the new financial district will add 300,000 daily car journeys, increasing airborne pollution in a city already exceeding World Health Organisation guidelines.
Yet about a year after suspending Port City, in March 2016 the new government announced work would soon resume. CCCC had been claiming to be losing $380,000 each day the project was on hold, and was threatening to sue for compensation. The government says its amended contract with the Chinese firm includes new environmental protections. In an attempt to ease Indian concerns, 20 hectares of Port City originally slated to be given to CCCC in perpetuity was instead granted on a freehold basis. The trucks and dredgers returned. Within two years, Port City was back on schedule, with land reclamation expected to finish by the end of 2018 and the first buildings expected to appear within four years.
As the project takes shape, key questions about how Port City will operate remain unanswered. The new contract has not been released to the public. Sri Lanka has promised its Chinese investors favourable tax rates and business-friendly regulations, but it may be limited in what it can provide, thanks to an IMF loan the country took in 2016 to help pay its debts. Sri Lankan ministers have also said Port City will operate under a separate British-style” legal system – but what that will entail is unclear. Several requests were made to the government to clarify, with no response.
Sri Lankan activists have also raised questions about the power China Harbour will wield in the territory it leases in Port City, where it will effectively act as the landlord – a majority state-owned Chinese corporation deciding who can populate parts of a Sri Lankan city, and under what circumstances.
Port City is being constructed on land reclaimed from the Indian Ocean. The new city will nearly double the current size of Colombo. Photograph: Xinhua/Alamy Live News
Urban planners say another issue is unresolved: how the burgeoning city will affect the rest of Colombo. That was the missing piece to the brief,” says Ringelstein. How is this city connected to the historic city centre back to the east?”
SOM’s masterplan tried to resolve the problem by creating patches of green space in Port City that will provide views of Colombo. They also encouraged the government to regenerate the western edge of the old city, creating a frontage that looks out on the new one.
The idea is to use green space as a way to mediate between the old and the new,” Ringelstein says. You would hate for this new project to suck the life out of the existing city today.”
Wijesundara, the former Urban Development Authority director, says developers may not even want to establish links between the old and new cities. I will say that Port City will be a separate entity where only a certain class of people will live,” he says. Services may be provided by the local people, but the money coming to them is questionable.”
It has been reported that Mattala airport would be privatized offering a larger stake (70% of initial capital) to Indian company and many people are of opinion that it would be led to a power play between China and India in Sri Lanka’s land. When there were negative conjecture of the government decision, India and Sri Lanka deny that there was not a plan to the airport to Indian government but some reports bespeak that there is a plan to give Indian private company. There is no doubt that when Mattala airport could manage at breakeven level securing the national interest of the infrastructure facility. why is the government of Sri Lanka having a keen interest in privatizing infrastructure facilities disregarding possible consequence? There are opinions that the privatizing of public enterprises or government assets may generate economic benefits to a country depending on many factors such as the monitoring of operations and working out remedial strategies for the identified issues through the monitoring process. Mattala airport is an infrastructure facility, which supposed to provide services of a second international airport. An international airport is infrastructure with a strategic interest and the current government has an irrevocable responsibility to safeguard vital infrastructure facilities in spite of the leasing of the airport will generate few millions of dollars to the country.
The historical evidence in Sri Lanka indicates that privatized public enterprises, as well as nationalized private enterprises, have been running with tremendous managerial problems and many developing countries have faced similar problems. Therefore, investigating possible consequences and planning alternative options to manage public assets at break even or lower profit margin is an erudite acumen. When the government gives a 70% of stake of Mattala airport to an Indian company, the majority power of the management of airport will go to Indian hands and Sri Lankans have no control over the company management and its business operations. There may be legal implications in the future as a result of this type of careless decisions. The government should not make ad hoc decisions with a pure interest in making money. As far as the public concerns, the airport has a national interest and if the government considers it must lease out, the right option is to give 40% of stake to the Indian company and the government holds a 60 % of controlling power. The other option is that there may be Sri Lankans, who are in the country and living overseas with interest in investing in shares, if it is performed by the way of initial public offering. For this purpose, lots of work needed to do, but people are not aware of what sort of procedures have been followed by the government, when making decision to privatize, since the idea of coming to light. People of the country haven’t the financial statement of the airport but Mr Ranil Wickramasinghe assured in the parliament that the capital of the airport will be disclosed to the nation.
Next important point needs to be considered is why India wants to take over this airport, if it is running at a huge loss. People of Sri Lanka fully aware of the problems faced in the past leasing of oil tanks in Trincomalee during the administration of Mr. JR Jayawardena. A Singapore based dummy company was given oil tanks for development and later a part of tanks complex was given to India considering the Indian protest. Ultimately, no company was done the development and later it was disclosed that leasing oil tanks were a gimmick or an international power play, eye washing people of Sri Lanka. In this task, the government has to follow transparent procedures without making a hasty decision. It appears that the behaviour of the government and opposition members of parliament showed that they were acting like doltish or children without knowledge of possible consequences.
In regard to public asset leasing or privatizing, Sri Lanka has no clear policies and the Yahapalana government has not concentrated to develop essential policies and procedures for securing national interest. In fact, the Yahapalana government has been created to make more problems in the country with a view to satisfying Indian interest than solving the problems of the country. Therefore, it is vital to understand the possible consequence of selling or leasing government assets comparatively looking at overseas experiences.
After the cold war, the global economic strategy was broadly focused on privatizing public enterprises in many countries with a view to relieving the burden of them to the government budget process. Public enterprises in many countries mismanaged and as the owner of public enterprises, the government had to allocate a large volume of budgetary funds for the operations of public enterprises as they were making huge losses with the mismanagement. In many times, the government had to take responsibility for the recapitalization of public enterprises when losses incurred. The accounting procedures and standards direct to set off the losses against the capital of the organizations. Many government enterprises initiated with a small quantum of capital or with borrowings from domestic or foreign sources. When accumulated losses are written off from the capital and reserves of the organization, it is subject to maintain a negative capital status and accounting standards do not permit run business organizations with negative capital and reserves. For example, in the early 1990s, the recapitalization of government banks in Sri Lanka was a serious pressure to the fiscal process and the government had to create more debt issuing bonds to find funds for the recapitalization of banks rather than issuing shares to the public for finding capital. The most disgraceful experience was that Treasury issued bonds to capitalize banks and same banks purchased issued the bond and financing for own capital structure.
The economic strategies applied during the cold war period did not permit to subscribe capital from the private sector. Many private investors attempted to get away from risky government investments as the state policy strived to control private business in order to satisfy the feeling of the general public, which was influenced by communist and socialist views of politics and there was a risk of nationalization. For example, when Mr. TB Illangaratne and Mr Felix RD Bandaranaike were holding the Finance portfolio in the cabinet, nationalized the portion of private ownership of Bank of Ceylon and many other foreign companies such as CCC and BBC, Lakehouse, Bus Service and many others. In Sri Lanka too, socialism and communism were fascinated ideology in politics at that time and the responsibility of everything in the life pushed to the government hand.
During this period the world’s opinion on economic management visibly divided to capitalists and socialists. The general public’s opinion appeared to be going along with the socialist politics and the government had a colossal pressure to make investments in business as well as in infrastructure development. When unemployment was reported at a higher level, the government had to make a choice of investing money in the business for employing jobless people. This idea indirectly expressed by JM Keynes in his general theory and his followers used the concept encouraging deficit budgets, however, Keynes view based on an economy which had an excess capacity and many developing countries including Sri Lanka used the Keynesian theory to reach full employment by public spending for government enterprises and infrastructure development disregarding the economic impact.
The other significant pressure to the government was supplying products and services of public enterprises at a subsidized price, despite the real cost of production and services. When the government was in short of sufficient capital through domestic savings, the popular option was taxing rich or borrowing without considering the future debt service issues. For example, when Dr. NM Perera was the Minister of Finance, he introduced 5% of Wealth Tax and 3% business turnover tax, which negatively impact on the economy. This situation appeared in around the globe. After 1950s Sri Lanka also encountered a similar situation because unemployment among educated youth was becoming an acute macroeconomic problem, which appeared to be leading to a social unrest. In 1971 JVP insurrection was purely contributed by youth unemployment, thereby preventing the contribution of the young generation to economic development. As a solution to the unemployment problem, elected governments of Sri Lanka determined to invest in business, in which the capital requirements were within the capacity of the private sector. The socialist views of Sri Lanka forced the government to spend for investments in the business to provide employment to unemployed. In early 1970s Sri Lanka’s government established a public corporation to make gunny bags.
Governments in many countries encountered a serious problem with managing public enterprises. The applying of effective management strategies used by the private sector was also rejected by the party politics and the trade union system as such techniques were believed to be associated with capitalism. During the cold war period management of public investment was a burdensome task and compressing activity that managers were pushing into troubled water. The minister in charge for the public enterprises was the sole authority and managers of the enterprises haven’t had the power to making the right decisions. As reported in many instances, executive management of public enterprises was puppets, who were controlled by the strings of minister in charge.
Experience of Sri Lanka demonstrated that the management of public enterprises was a job of political henchmen, who had no knowledge, experience, and skills to successfully perform the job. Why did this type of management use to perform complex management tasks, was a problem that needed to be investigated and taken actions to resurrect public enterprises? All elected government after 1950 purposely neglected the issue as they wanted to satisfy their henchmen rather than protecting public investments using efficient and capable management personnel. Government banks were managed with less political influence, but after 1970, the bank management too influenced by ruling political parties and after 1977 many politicians of the government influenced to credit decisions forcing bank management to approve credits.
IBRD and International financial institutions advised many developing countries that public investments should be privatized using different formats to get away from the burden and to push responsibility to the private sector or share the responsibility of the government with private investors. There was a highly merit in the advice as a short-term solution to fiscal problems, however, public investments in many developing as well as in developed countries were not in a condition that they could sale overnight or attract right price for investments
The management of public investments and developing different managerial options was an attractive debate in late 1980s and early 1990s. In Sri left political parties directly opposed to privatize public investments and attempted to take reforming public investment as a political issue in the platforms disregarding national interest. It was self-centred attitudes of left political parties. Nationalist attitudes of the public also discouraged privatizing public investments with a clear understanding of potential consequences. Trade unions opposed to retrenchment of excess staff under the restructuring strategies of public investments, which focused on cost effective management. In this background management reforms in public investments was a coarse option and selected options were unacceptable to politics in Sri Lanka.
If it looks at international experience, Australian government had been carrying a large volume of investments in public enterprises and infrastructure facilities. Late 1980s, it was highly concerned on the management of public enterprises Many public investments were owned by state governments. Australia principally recognized the deregulation of financial and other markets and stimulated reforming government investments. In 1990, the Department of Treasury in Canberra issued Treasury Economic Paper No 14 on financial Monitoring of the Government Enterprises and Economic Framework, which gave highly significant views on managing public entries and reporting system in support of public investments. This paper must be read by Sri Lanka’s cabinet members and policy makers. If they can understand the contents of the paper, I don’t think that Mattala airport should be leased out to India. It can be run at break-even level.
Next part of this article make attention to the consequences of privatizing public investments. There are many strategic options. I can see that government policy makers have no understanding of effective policy making and advising nationally interested policy advising whichever political party is in power, the national interest is a long-term desideratum than temporary indulgent selling or leasing out public investment. (TO BE CONTINUED)
The major management strategy proposed in the Treasury Economic Paper in 1990 of Australia was setting targets for public enterprises and monitoring the performance by an effective measurement. This practice supports to identify the weakness of the management of public investments and rectifying the debility. Many public investments in Sri Lanka haven’t appreciated a norm or practice to set target performance. There are inherent management problems in many public investments and performance measurement must be used to identify such inherent problems and correct the bottlenecks. There is no doubt that lack of wise management practices will open the way to go out of control. As politicians in Sri Lanka except few are not educated and experienced people, so enterprise management needs educating them on management techniques. Creating such an environment would not force to privatize them.
Applying the capital asset pricing model and recent addendum to the model, it is possible to estimate the required returns from government investments, above the treasury bond rate. In this way, the government can expect the good value to the public investments. The pricing of products and services needs to recognize the market realities, which means that the price of products and services need to reflect the current operating costs plus depreciation of the associated assets and the opportunity cost of capital. For example, operating cost of Mattala airport needs to calculate considering the entire cost associated with depreciation involved machinery, building and many others, the opportunity cost of capital which means, if the capital invested in an alternative project, government could have earned an additional volume of profit but due to investment in the airport, government lost a part of profits expected or opportunity, that is called opportunity cost of capital. Once all costs are added together, it is called the total cost of the investment. To manage the airport at a break-even level, the airport management requires to earn revenue equal to the calculated costs and that situation is called the break-even level. It is quite a difficult task but it is not impossible. The airport is a fixed asset of Sri Lanka with social, cultural and economic values.
Under the financial reporting system of public investments, government as the owner of investments has similar responsibilities that private investors have, but there are some differences, the Treasury paper advice is to earn less commercial returns than shareholders of private companies anticipate. Sri Lanka’s anticipation is maintaining at a break-even level, where there is no profit no loss situation.
During the last decade of the 20th century, many government enterprises were privatized in Australia. The government aim was to use the proceeds of privatization to retiring government debt and to balance the budget. The strategy was highly successful and is supported to maintain a higher value of Australian dollar against benchmark USD, increase foreign reserves, boosting new investments and many others. Sri Lanka’s public enterprises have no quickly sellable status and obtaining a good price as they have monumental problems in relation to management and many others. however, currently, the Australian government has a pressure to privatize nationally interest assets or increase GST level from 10% to 15% as the current revenue inflow is not sufficed to finance for essential government services and infrastructure development. In this way when addicted to selling all assets, there wouldn’t be anything for sale in the country. Sri Lanka needs to count if such a situation arises in the country what would be the alternative.
Economic management in the world appears that if any country uses a successful strategy, all other countries want to follow same and if one strategy successful, economic managers want to hang on it without diversification of strategies. It is like addicted to heroin. The government economic strategy of Sri Lanka is like a person addicted to heroin. When there are many diversified economic strategies the current government is behaving like a person addicted to heroin. The government asset privatization is last option and the certain asset cannot be privatized as they are containing national interest and the citizens of the country must share the cost of maintaining such assets. However, Mattala airport has tremendous opportunities for business, later we discuss what are the opportunities.
The late 1980s and early 1990s, Sri Lanka has been adopting market economic policies. agreed with international financial institutions to privatize or to implement management reforms in public investments as the public enterprises were making losses, which pressurized the government budget process. However, the advice was not properly implemented by the government. Politicians in the parliament have no idea about these complex issues, in fact, policy advisers need to educate politicians to take the country to the right pathway. Politicians are people with short-term interest to attract votes but dealing with an international airport, the country’s interest is long term.
The strategy of privatizing public enterprises has confronted several national issues. The first major national problem was the justification of handing over national assets to foreigners as many Sri Lankans had a feeling that national assets of the country should not be sold to foreigners. Such an exercise might negatively impact on the country’s independence and sovereignty. When foreigners are controlling vital assets such as infrastructures of the country, it might negatively impact on the political administration and the public policy in relation to welfare, economic discretion and international relations of the country.
Next significant concern is that if the country’s vital and strategic assets sell to foreigners it would impact on the national security and the independence of the country. Sri Lanka is situated in the South Asian, region, which has an especial interest of countries like India, China, Japan, and the USA. Since the Bandung conference in 1954, Sri Lanka has been able to maintain the non-align policy in relation to international matters. Would it be possible to stand on such a neutral status, when the country’s influential assets like airports and harbors are controlled by foreign hands? People of Australia also have a similar feeling and the handling of traditional farmlands to Chinese investors is a genuine concern of Australians. Mattala airport is an analogous case. Hambantota harbor and surrounding investment zone cannot be compared to Mattala airport. People have not seen a plan that India supposed to implement as an investor, but China has a clear plan for investment and development of Hambantota port because it is a part of Chines economic vision. Hambantota port development has mutual benefits to Sri Lanka and China. Let India submit an investment and development plan to Mattala airport. People of Sri Lanka have a right to see the plan.
Past experiences in Sri Lanka clearly indicated that the government and people of Sri Lanka were equally concerned on the management of many privatized public enterprises. Especially textile factories, steel corporation, tire corporation and many other organizations were privatized but the management style did not reflect the satisfaction of the general public. The government had to pass a new legislation to take back privatized organizations if it finds problems with privatized firms. However, there is only clear evidence that the government attempted to take back privatized enterprises was the insurance business under the enacted legislation. The common experience was that many privatized public enterprises were closed down on the private hands, especially creating problems to the community by job loss, losses of services. It might be a valid reason that people of Sri Lanka dissatisfied with reengagement in privatization. In this year people saw that what was going to happen Sevenagala sugar factory. It is a question to the public whether an Indian investor had a genuine interest to produce sugar to the country or the investor was planning to sell fixed assets of sugar factor at a higher profit and close down the industry.
Many public enterprises were in private hands before they become public enterprises. They became nationalized organizations under the socialist policy. For example, BBC, Colombo Commercial Company, CTB, Lake House, Plantation Industry and Insurance business was under the private hands and the government took over the problems of others through a nationalization program. In fact, the government should have regulated and supervised the organizations instead of taking over the operations.
It seems that some countries are successfully managing public enterprises while other countries have failed, for example, China manages many public enterprises adapting right management and control measures. Similar to the private sector. Public enterprises in China are not influenced by politicians and they operate like independent organizations in the economy. Management is a uniform action whether the enterprise is owned by the government or private sector. The management supposes to do the right thing whoever own by the firms.
I believe that Sri Lanka has tremendous business opportunities to manage Mattala airport at a break-even level. Another vital factor is Sri Lanka’s population is growing little higher and foreign relationships of ordinary people also growing the consistent increasing population. The second international airport must be needed. The cost of Mattala airport was cheaper but after ten years’ time, Sri Lanka cannot build an international airport at such a cost. What kind of opportunities Mattala has? We look at in brief.
The original purpose of Mattala airport was to serve as the second international airport. It is the major business, however, until it is established as the second international airport (It might take more than 10 years), it can be used for many business purposes. Sri Lanka is in a lower level of aviation business despite it has an excellent air force with sophisticated knowledge and skills. The more competitive aviation industry, Sri Lanka can negotiate with Russia to develop a variety of area of the industry., which include production and assembling of helicopters, light aircraft for export purposes and training of professional related to the aviation industry. If Sri Lanka commences the aviation industry with a joint venture with Russia. Sri Lanka will have a good market in Asia, Africa, and Latin American countries. In addition to Russia, Sri Lanka can seek supports for joint ventures with Japan, China, Korea and Germany.
Sri Lanka needs a technical and university level for training aviation industry skills. Mattala airport has an excellent background for such a tertiary college and Russia can provide skilled personnel to run the college. Such a business program would be helpful to all countries in the Asian region.
Mattala airport already demonstrated capabilities for fuel supply to logistic transporting aircraft and this business can be extended to passenger aircraft too.
If Mattala airport develops business as indicated above, it would be a centre for providing jobs for increasing population and retraining people
However, we can see that government MPs are talking bullshit in the state assembly as well as in outside the parliament. It is an ocean of potential business. However, stupid politicians have skills to talk bullshit and mislead people.
Election of Members to Jatika Rajya Sabha, Rata Sabhas, Disa Sabhas, Upa Disa Sabha, Grama Sabhas. (The present Palath Sabha and Pradesiya Sabha system will be scrapped with this reorganization)
This will be done on an electoral basis as decided by the Election Commissioner General who will also function as the Chairman of the National Election Commission.
Qualifications to be a politician
The selection as well as election of persons under this system will depend solely on the overall qualities of candidates such as education, character and proven capacity for social service, ability and commitment to serve the people.
Selection and Election of Members to the Jatika Rajya Sabha and other Sabhas
Candidates at different levels shall be first selected by the respective Councils on public consensus by Nomination by voters or by application, from among qualified and distinguished persons permanently resident within such electorates. (They also can hold a primary election to selectees). They will be elected on a non-party basis as there will be no parties in this system, on the first past post basis on and electoral basis thereafter. The simple criterion for in details)
Since Elections to JRS, UMM and Rata Sabha are conducted at District level for the purpose of electing them, the District Council will submit two separate lists
One list for the 3 names for each electorate, for the JRS and Rata Sabhas candidates from among whom the voters of the respective electorate will elect two for the JRS and the other for the Rata Sabha.
The other list of 3 names for the UMM for the whole Disava so that voters will have a wider choice.
Only persons with permanent residence within the electorate/District as the case shall be qualified to be nominated for any given electorate.
In the case of the UMM list the one who gets the highest number of votes get elected
At the conclusion of the Election the Commissioner of Election will announce the list of Jatika Rajya Sabha, UMM and Rata Sabha Members accordingly.
The timing of elections should be logically arranged in a sequential manner to ensure there is no disruption of public life in the country and smooth governance is maintained
Peripheral Government
Grama Sabha
At this level there will be two Sabhas one of elected members and the other of Officials.
The first called the Grama Sabha will function as an Administrative and executive body at Gramaseva level public officials. They will be in charge of the Execution of Central Government policies and coordination of village level departmental activities. The Gampathi will preside over this meeting The Chairman of the Gamsabha will also be an ex-officio member of the Grama Sabha
The elected body will be formed and function on the old Gamsabha model. Village level development activities like roads, water supply and public amenities deciding on petty disputes at village level under the M/Justice. The present Sama Mandala can continue as they are or merged with tis Sabha syste.
.*Referring to Sinhalese Village Council system even J. F. Dixon, one of the most renowned British Civil Servants, GA of CP in his Annual Administrative Report of 1872 has described the Village Council system that was there before 1815 in this country as ‘a remarkable system of self-government which under native rule was so strikingly developed in the Village Communities of the East’ He said so after reintroducing the system in the Central Province, they abolished in the wake of 1818 Independent Struggle.
At the Korale level also we can have the old type of Gamsabha and the Chairmen of these Sabhas should be made ex-officio members of the Upadisa Sabhas
I strongly recommend we should revive and re-establish this system at the grass root level as early as possible as a mechanism to effectively deal with village level problems. (Setting up of people’s committees consisting of 5 village elders including the village monk, GS, village School master and three other elders is suggested to deal with petty village disputes to promote harmony and peace at each village level. I have experimented this system very successfully in 1966-1971 at Uda Dumbara when I was DRO and it proved a wonderful success in solving village level problems with no cost to poor villagers and also saving their time and money, to engage in their day to day work without resorting to cumbersome litigations)
2 Upa Disa Sabbha – Divisional Secretary’s level (Administrative & Executive body )
3 Disa Sabha – District Level (Administrative & Executive body )
4 Rata Sabha Regional level (an elected body)
5 Jatika Rajya Sabha (JRS) National level ( elected body)
Nagara Sabha (Town Councils) and Mahanagara Sabha (Municipal Councils) as local Government for urban centers.
The present system of TCC (Nagara Sabha) and MCC (Mahanagara Sabha) will continue with suitable representations in the District and Rata Sabhas.
Election of Members of Disa Sabha (District Councils), Upadisa Sabha (Divisional Councils) Grama Sabha to be conducted as follows.
We start here with the Grama Sabha
Grama Sabha at GS Divisions Level
There will be a Gam Sabha for each GS Division consisting all above 18 years in the village who are qualified for membership and it will function as a voluntary association of the village like a Grama Sanwardhana Samitiya. A Gam sabha will have an elected Council of 15 members elected by the residents of the Gramaseva Division. An elected Member will function as Chairman and the Gam Sabha and the Grama Niladhari as the Secretary
The Gam Sabha will be elected for a period of five years by the voters of the Grama Seva Division at a Gam Sabha meeting summoned and presided over by the GS. At this meeting members will elect their Office bearers. The Village Monk, the Grama Seva Niladhari and the Village School Master will function in an advisory capacity.
The outgoing Grama Sabha at its last meeting at the expiry of its term of office should select the list of candidates for the next council and submit to the Gam Sabha for the next election by general consensus.
At the conclusion of the election the Council at its first meeting presided over by the GS they will elect the Chairmen of Committees and then elect one of them as the President/ Chairman of the Sabha.
The GS system has to be fully reorganized and re-structured (including the scheme of recruitment, educational qualifications and salaries etc) to meet the demands of this new situation
The Chairman of the Gam Sabha will represent the Gam Sabah at the Upa Disa Sabha
Upa Disa Sabha
Upa Disa Sabha will consist of all Chairmen of VCC and divisional Heads of all government departments The Divisional Secretary will preside over the these committees. The Chairman will represent it at the District council
Disa Sabham
Disa Level/District level. The main functions of the Disa Sabha will be execution, coordination and supervision of Govt work at the District level. If necessary you can have subcommittees at this level. Head of the public Service at that level that is the District will preside over these meetings and the Divisional Secretaries at Upa Disa Sabhas will preside.
Rata Sabhas
The Chairmen of the nine (9) Disa Sabhas in each Disava (District) will also represent their Districts at the Rata ex-officio, in addition to the 40, elected at the General election. In addition to this the representatives of the Mahanagara and Nagara Sabha will also represent their Sabhas in the respective Rata Sabhas
This scheme is expected to drastically reduce the number of parasitic politicians, excess public servants and enormous public expenditure and improve coordination and efficiency of delivery of services to people. The Government Officials like the Disapathi, Upa Disapathi and Gampathi will represent the interest of the Central Government and the elected will represent the people’s interest at these respective levels. Both will work together to deliver the services to the people but at the same time each will act as a device of check and balance on the other to ensure the best service to the people.
(Details of powers and functions of each of these Sabhas, their officials, inter Sabha relations etc have to be worked out in detail as the above is only an outline of the proposal)
(I request you to read this along with my note on the Sinhalaye Avadi Sabha Concept)
Elections to all Positions at all levels except for the post of President of the Republic shall be conducted as follows according to a fixed time schedule to avoid overlapping and smooth operation of the Sabhas.
Day one
Gam Sabha, TCC and MCC
Day Two
Upadisa Sabha within one week after the day one
Day Three
Disa Sabha, within one week after the day Two
The election process described here will have no opposing propaganda meetings, no posters and cut outs or banners, no murders, no public demonstrations, no wastage of time, no disruption of public Services or any other Service and the cost will also be minimum, perhaps the country want even feel that there is an election. However after selection the selected candidates can have a maximum of 3 joint meetings to enable the electors to have the best choice. There will also be no soliciting, back biting, bribing and infighting and above all politics in this country will, once and for all, cease to be a plundering business and get transformed in to a sacred mission of service to man, I hope.
Finally, I appeal you all Patriotic people to go back to the following traditional Geopolitical system to achieve our targets of building a stable, strong, peaceful and prosperous country.
KUDOS to Cassandra for her interesting and lightly entertaining feature article under the long title ‘People’s eternal grouses and profligacy of the past regime Cassandra Cry: A Woman’s Judgmental View of the Past Week’ (The Island/July 27, 2018). Her candid confirmation of a home truth (i.e., an unpleasant truth about herself) in the title itself is praiseworthy: her view is judgmental”. The adjective ‘judgmental’ is not positive; it is a negative one. It can mean a wide range or variety of negatives: too critical, subjective, prejudiced, silly, frivolous, capricious, eccentric, irresponsible, irrational, fanciful, offhand, supercilious, and other similar descriptions. Her article is full of assertions that illustrate most of these adjectival notions. (This article describes my personal point of view for what it is worth. Meaningful criticism is welcome.)
Her choice of ‘Cassandra’ as her nom de plume is appropriate in a twisted manner. The Trojan Cassandra was one of the many daughters of king Priam of Troy, hence sister to Priam’s eldest son Hector, the foremost Trojan warrior who corresponded to the Greek Achilles on the enemy side during the Trojan War, which forms the background to the epic poem ‘Iliad’. It was another brother of Cassandra known as Paris, who abducted Helen, the most beautiful woman of the world at that time, who had been married to Menelaus, king of Sparta. What really happened was not an abduction, but an elopement. Helen ran away with Paris, a royal guest of her husband. The scandal caused the ten year armed conflict celebrated in Greek mythology as the Trojan War.
According to one story, Cassandra was given the power of prophecy by that model of male beauty god Apollo of no little machismo, who had ulterior designs on her. He wanted to seduce her, but she refused his advances. The humiliated Apollo, in his annoyance, cursed her so that although she did prophecy correctly, no one ever believed her prophecies! That was her unhappy plight! The situation of the senior citizen Cassandra of The Island seems to be that she is a victim of a different kind of curse to that which afflicted the young Cassandra of Troy. The former’s predicament is this: Apparently a spell has been cast on her that stimulates her to make bona fide assertions which are nevertheless economical with the truth about the relative merits or demerits of the previous and present regimes, and all these assertions without an exception are bound to be rejected by the majority of sensible, sufficiently well informed readers.
However, there is such a divergence between each one of her statements and the obvious reality it relates to that I wonder whether senior citizen Cassandra is having a laugh at the expense of those whom she apparently praises. For example, she has a grouse against the media. It is that though they are quick to point out the negatives of the present government, they try to suppress its positive achievements. But she may be saying the opposite. Referring to 9:00 o’clock news in English on an unnamed TV channel that gives prominence to the ‘Voice of the People’”, she writes:
…. Hearing them (ordinary people interviewed on the TV program) grouse, one would imagine the government just sat on its bum metaphorically, twiddled its thumbs, enjoyed perks and benefits and did nothing for the citizenry of this country. That just is not true. They, our elected representatives who hold Cabinet posts do work for us, often tirelessly, many of them. Consider the Finance Minister and his right hand Eran Wickremaratne, and Health Minister just to mention three such who work for us and have conferred benefits to us. Thus the justified annoyance amounting to disgust at every man and woman interviewed by a journalist holding a microphone giving vent to a volley of grouses ranging from no drinking water to no cheap vegetables to no tarred roads and bridges. There are of course short comings and large lacunae in providing basic amenities to people, but one thing that has to be stated strong and loud is that people are very reluctant to self help; they want the government to do everything for them expect imbibe in the evenings and have sex”.
If Cassandra is being sarcastic here, she is in good company. But she may well quite literally mean what she writes. Her carping at the hoi polloi about being very reluctant to self help” and their alleged dependence on the government for everything except drink and sex reminds me of Marie-Antoinette’s quip Let them eat cake” when told that the French people were starving because they had no bread to eat just before the French Revolution (1789-99). The wife of king Louis XVI of France is an appropriate analogy for Cassandra because she tells us that she was sick to her eyeballs at seeing people, most looking ugly sorry to say, accusing the government of dire neglect of their personal needs”, which shows her callous insensitivity to the suffering of ordinary people.
Again, she writes:
They don’t complain about not having roofs over their heads. Is it that Ranasinghe Premadasa and now his son Sajith have seen to this need adequately or is the TV Channel that blares forth people’s complaints partial to the latter? Let us viewers, once in a way at least, hear some good words spoken about the government, an MP, a Minister, a successful project”.
Here too, Cassandra may be justifiably sarcastic or irrationally serious.
She is very angry about doctors taking legitimate trade union action as a last resort:
Cannot doctors express displeasure by shouting or throttling themselves with their stethoscopes, and negotiating their demands which may be negotiable and not absurdly protesting government decided economic moves. We’d better complain to the pigtailed Chinamen. We will certainly not find one among the sudden influx of Chinese who move around in cities, hamlets and even villages”.
It is true that medical strikes cause hardship to the poor patients. But we know that doctors and nurses take every precaution to minimize it, and usually ensure that emergency services are not interrupted during strikes. There could be exceptions due to unavoidable circumstances, though. It is the inescapable duty of the government not to wait until medical workers feel compelled to resort to trade union action. They do not go on strike because they enjoy doing so. Of course, there may be a few in the healing profession who are after money. However, moral perfection is not to be expected from human beings. It is the responsibility of the government authorities to create the right environment for providing a good health service for the public. Cassandra is enamoured of the government’s decided economic moves” which people who are better informed about such things including these doctor activists know all about. Probably, Cassandra is unable to appreciate the fact that the innocent poor village people whom she calls ugly” are more understanding and more graceful than her towards striking doctors because they know they won’t do so if they could help it.
In a much more heartless silly comment in an earlier write-up in The Island (July 20, 2018) entitled Cassandra cry: A woman’s jubilant view of the past week”, Cassandra denigrates our war heroes. Actually her target is certain patriotic ex-military officers who are actively campaigning to defend the good name of our armed forces against false war crimes allegations raised in the world body, and also to defeat attempts currently in progress to deliver on a platter (by means of a fraudulent federalist constitution that does not reflect the popular will) to the minority of Tamils who are still dreaming of a separate state what they could not get through terrorism. Cassandra refers to herself in the third person:
Cassandra’s short comment, seconded by the opinion of women she spoke to is: they joined the armed forces knowing full well this was in line with duty; they had to serve the country, run personal risk and save the country at any cost when called upon to do so. So the eternally touted boast they saved the country risking their lives has to stop. It holds no water with thinking people. They did save the country from the LTTE menace and the civil war ignited by those northern terrorists, but they had to fight and do their utmost to save the country as they were trained and paid to do so. It was their job, in short.”
I don’t need to say anything about this to my fellow Lankaweb readers because Sugath Samarasinghe has given her a very good answer in his excellent article ‘O Cassandra………O Cassandra’ published in these columns on July 29, 2018.
God knows better what direction we all in Pakistan would be heading to, in the coming days but one thing is very clear if Imran Khan were not in the driving seat, certainly it would have been a very hazardous journey towards new democratic avenues in Pakistan.
Before 25th July, people had no idea that they would succeed in turning upside down the heavy weight stone tables of political kings and queens in such an easy way; they didn’t know that they had a very strong tool in their hands; the tool of vote, and they didn’t know that they had the authority of changing their rulers but now a new day has dawned; a day full of dreams, a day full of passions.
The recent elections nurtured another conclusion too; the people of Pakistan would never go with the elements hostile to the security forces and the intelligence agencies of Pakistan.
You see that people voted against those who had always been blaming the security forces of Pakistan for all that went wrong in Pakistan. From Balochistan to Gilgit Biltistan, things had not been very pleasant, particularly in the last few years. India and Afghanistan had been doing all their best to disturb the law and order situation there.
Arrest of Kalboshan from Balochistan is a very strong proof of this foreign interference. In spite of government’s best efforts and countless sacrifices of the law enforcement agencies and of the common citizens, situation could not be normalized on permanent grounds. Certainly the foreign elements succeeded in achieving their targets with the help of some local facilitators.
In the recent elections the voters simply rejected such facilitators when they tried to be a part of the election process throughout Pakistan. The hostile foreign elements were never in favour of free and fair elections in Pakistan. They simply wanted to distort the peaceful image of Pakistan with the help of suicide-bombers and other miscreants. Moreover they tried to spread a misconception that the elections in Pakistan are nothing more than a drama staged by the Armed Forces of Pakistan.
With the help of different write-ups, talk-shows and analysis based TV programs, they did their best to misguide the people that the election process in Pakistan was simply an eye-wash; things would be done as the Army had planned to do; they told the people.
The Indian media had been on the top of the list in this propaganda move against the free and fair electoral process. This blame game against the electoral process was simply a part of the fifth generation warfare being waged against Pakistan.
The brains behind this fifth generation war remained totally blind to the fact that so many neutral international organizations were there in Pakistan to monitor the election process closely and in all their reports and analysis they had expressed their complete satisfaction over the fairness of these elections. As far as the involvement of the Pakistan Army in the elections is concerned, Army’s involvement was limited to the maintenance of law and order situation by providing security to the polling staff.
From finalization of voters’ lists, scrutiny of the candidates, printing of the material to the final counting of ballot papers and announcement of results, everything was done by the Election Commission of Pakistan under the supervision of the honourable Judiciary.
The Armed Forces simply provided security to the process; and certainly it was their job to do so. Those who are continuously blaming the Army and the ISI of sabotaging the elections, must keep in their minds that Army has so many other important things to do regarding the security and safety of Pakistan; who wins, who loses in the elections; the Army has nothing to do with it. As far as the security and safety of the process is concerned, the Army did whatever was ordered by the Interim government.
The Interim government asked the Army to provide security to the process; Army obeyed the orders by deputing 3.6 lac jawans and officers and provided security to the democratic process.
Now one feels compelled to think something different rather suspicious about those who are raising slogans against the Pakistan Army with reference to the recent elections; whose agenda such people are following against their own army; the same agenda of the RAW and other foreign hostile agencies, the agenda of defaming the institutions which are safeguarding Pakistan’s interests at various fronts.
It is the proper time to reconsider and review the state of affairs. Certainly if blame game against the Army and ISI were started by some foreign hostile elements, no one would have been surprised at but why do we give liberty of defaming our very sacred institutions to the people who enjoy all benefits being Pakistani; this question needs serious concentration.
Such unfortunates must be taken to task whether they are from political scenario or from the media-hoses. Everyone knows that last year, a media group permitted one of its employees to ‘leak’ some baseless information regarding the security institutions of Pakistan and this ‘leakage’ gave birth to a new dawn of blames and allegations against the security forces of Pakistan.
Unluckily that ‘leakage’ could not be rectified rather ‘mended’ properly. If we really desire to make Pakistan stronger and peacefully prosperous, we will have to take a serious action against such non-patriotic attitudes.
By Norman Palihawadana and Hemantha Randunu Courtesy The Island
August 1, 2018, 11:52 pm
Police commandos arrested a heroin dealer believed to be a close associate of Wildlife Minister and Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka during a raid carried out in the Minuwangoda police area in the early hours of yesterday.
The STF recovered eight grammes of heroin and two grammes of a banned substance known as ‘ice.’
A senior police official identified the arrested person as Aruna Shantha Attanayake alias ‘police.’
The police commandos apprehended the wanted man allegedly involved in heroin distribution in the Peliyagoda area in the wake of Minister Fonseka raising a privilege issue over a spate of media reports alleging that he associated with some underworld elements.
The STF said that the arrested person had been involved in several shooting incidents in the Peliyagoda area.
Did Ven. Athureliye Rathana Thera take a wise decision to vacate the post of presidential adviser?
Monks have played pivotal roles in shaping the political face of Sri Lanka. From the times of the great kings to the many prime ministers and presidents who ruled this island, the opinion, more than the advice, of the Buddhist clergy has carried weight.
Those country leaders who apposed the views of Buddhist monks or ignored their presence soon learned from their mistakes
But what must be taken note of is that these monks functioned in their roles in worldly affairs in an unofficial capacity
From the times of the British occupying Sri Lanka, monks clad in saffron robes have had a presence in almost all the struggles
Those country leaders who apposed the views of Buddhist monks or ignored their presence soon learned from their mistakes. One such leader was the late Ranasinghe Premadasa who initially ignored Ven Galboda Gnanissara Thera (fondly known as Podi Hamuduruwo) when he landed himself in the president’s seat.
When Premadasa observed that things weren’t going too well regarding his political work in Colombo the president forged important ties with the priest and temple.
One monk who has gone public with the displeasure he harbours because his views weren’t sought by the head of state is Ven. Athureliye Rathana Thera. The monk has conveyed that he no longer wishes to hold this post because he was never made use of in his capacity as presidential adviser. The monk is reported to have made this statement at the recent 30th Anniversary celebrations of the Sri Lanka Women’s Development Cooperative Society in Colombo.
The Late Ven Sobitha Thera
This island’s history reveals that a monk’s role was never restricted to the temple. From the times of the British occupying Sri Lanka, monks clad in saffron robes have had a presence in almost all the struggles which were carried out to build a better and safer nation. But what must be taken note of is that these monks functioned in their roles in worldly affairs in an unofficial capacity.
The monk must now start thinking whether his worldly views go well with the Yahapalana Government, which only wishes to work on its own ideas. This is despite seasoned politicians warning about where this Government is heading
Ven. Athureliye Rathana Thera was appointed officially to be the president’s adviser. Does all this indicate that the unofficial system works better for monks in Sri Lanka because the priests who functioned this way were powerful and got many tasks accomplished? One such priest who wielded much power was Ven. Seelankara Thera of Dimbulagala whose work was patronised by President Ranasinghe.
We also had firebrand monk Ven. Sobitha Thera who played a key role in the National Movement for a Just Society which toppled the dictatorial Government headed by Mahinda Rajapaksa, in 2015. The late monk, who possessed a degree in history from the Vidyodaya University, was renowned for his oratory skills and most importantly for the change he made in society through his non-violent movement.
But before the National Movement for a Just Society kicked off the ground, the Rajapaksa Government allowed a monk in the name of Ven. Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara to cause racial tension in the island through his activities. It was alleged that former Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa was backing this monk to the hilt. Gotabaya has denied this claim repeatedly. This monk claimed that he was on a mission to keep a check on the work of Muslim extremists, Christian fundamentalists and many unauthorised constructions that existed close to Buddhist temples. What worried people was how the monk wielded so much power, in an unofficial capacity, when there is a law and a police force operating in the country.
This monk then was functioning as the Secretary of the Bodu Bala Sena, but that’s besides the point because according to the rules on discipline stipulated in the Buddhist order for monks, there is no provision for monks to engage in politics; a fact which questions Ve, Gnanasara’s journey in robes because he was a candidate for the Jathika Hela Urumaya at the 2014 Parliamentary Elections.
Monks have always preferred their unofficial roles in politics. Even at present politicians in the Government and the opposition make quick visits to the temples of of the Malwatte and Asgiriya Chapters when they get fresh appointments in ministries.
Monks have always preferred their unofficial roles in politics. Even at present politicians in the Government and the opposition make quick visits to the temples of Most Ven. Thibbotuwawe Sri Siddartha Sumangala Thera of the Malwatte Chapter and Ven. Warakagoda Gnarathna Thera of the Asgiriya Chapter when they get fresh appointments in ministries. This is because they need the blessings and approval of the clergy for their work.
Ven. Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thera
Ven. Athureliye Rathana Thera has impressed many with his views on economic matters. He very recently aired his views on the use of Glyphosate in Sri Lanka. The monk has called for an internationally accepted legal document to be formulated for the regulation of Glyphosate. This is a monk who could have been one of those rare members of the Buddhist clergy whose views were sought by the law makers while functioning in an official capacity. This didn’t happen. The monk must now start thinking whether his worldly views go well with the Yahapalana Government, which only wishes to work on its own ideas. This is despite seasoned politicians warning about where this Government is heading.
He very recently aired his views on the use of Glyphosate in Sri Lanka. The monk has called for an internationally accepted legal document to be formulated for the regulation of Glyphosate. This is a monk who could have been one of those rare members of the Buddhist clergy whose views were sought by the law makers
Ven. Rathana Thera must understand that monks have taken to entering parliament as the best option to air their views. He has also made an impact on the political platforms which feature representatives of Jathika Hela Urumaya. But it seems that the hierarchy in the Yahapalana Government don’t fancy what the priest can bring to the table at political discussions. It seems a wise move by this monk disembark from this ‘Yahapalana Ship’ which is right now looking into the Abyss.
He said that at present they are manufacturing 100 ton and 300 ton landing craft for the Maldives, which are valued at US $ one million. ‘Since they have all the facilities, including the technology, they are looking at getting orders from other counties as well, he said.-Sa.jpg)
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Those country leaders who apposed the views of Buddhist monks or ignored their presence soon learned from their mistakes. One such leader was the late Ranasinghe Premadasa who initially ignored Ven Galboda Gnanissara Thera (fondly known as Podi Hamuduruwo) when he landed himself in the president’s seat.
