The Epidemiology Unit of the Health Ministry reports that another 823 persons have tested positive for COVID-19 in Sri Lanka, moving the daily total of new cases to 2,543.
This brings the total number of confirmed cases of coronavirus reported in the country to 318,755.
As many as 284,524 recoveries have been confirmed in Sri Lanka since the outbreak of the pandemic.
The Epidemiology Unit’s data showed that 29,586 active cases are currently under medical care.
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka has registered 82 more COVID-19 related fatalities on Tuesday (August 03).
The new development has pushed the official death toll from the virus outbreak in Sri Lanka to 4,727.
This is currently the highest number of coronavirus-related deaths reported in a single day.
Sri Lanka has reversed an import ban on fertiliser after farmer protests, forecasts of severe food shortages and worries about the island’s crucial tea exports
Sri Lanka lifted a ban on chemical fertiliser imports Tuesday after farmer protests, forecasts of severe food shortages and worries about the island’s crucial tea exports.
Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa issued regulations replacing the ban with an import licensing scheme which goes into effect immediately.
Fertilisers were added earlier this year to a list of banned imports that includes vehicles and luxury goods in response to an acute shortage in Sri Lanka’s foreign currency reserves.
But farmers staged protests after reporting failing vegetable crops as existing stocks of fertilisers and herbicides began to run out.
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa had said the ban would help Sri Lankan agriculture become “100-percent organic”.
This was despite a report to the president by a group of experts who warned of “substantial crop losses which in turn would seriously affect the country’s economy as well as result in food shortages”.
In July there was a sharp decline in Sri Lanka’s tea crop, its main export commodity, and growers expect a major impact on the $1.25-billion industry will be felt by the end of the year.
Tea plantation executive Sanath Gurunada, who manages both organic and inorganic tea plantations in Ratnapura, said the impact of the fertiliser shortage after the import ban was already showing in his crops.
“If the ban continues, the crop will start to crash by October and we will see exports seriously affected by November, December,” Gurunada told AFP at his Hidellana tea factory over the weekend.
He said his plantation maintained an organic section as part of a tourism project, but it was not viable on its own.
Organic tea costs over 10 times more to produce and the market for it was limited, Gurunada said.
There was no immediate comment from President Rajapaksa’s office over the government’s U-turn.
Only last week Rajapaksa told a recent preparatory meeting for the UN Food Systems Summit in Rome that he hoped other countries would be inspired by his “bold approach to organic agriculture.”
Why is that the
citizens are expected to stand in mile long queues whiel waiting for the
vaccination? Aren’t we civilized enough to have better system for these people.
Specially since the army, well trained in discipline is supervising the project
and most fo the people standing in the hot sun, and moving at snail pace are
our senior citizens?
I went for my
second injection at Werahara Army hospital. I found the arrangement very well
planned and executed methodically, by ample number of army officers attending,
except that – the people were standing in a queue in hot sun, while there
were many tents put up which were not utilized and there were many chairs which
were not utilized at all.
We often see
queues of people. old and young, sick or with walkers, standing for miles and
miles, waiting for this jab, and no one seems to mind or think better.
Why not follow
a system where –
1.
People are given numbers as they come and asked to sit down on chairs
under the tents
2.
If they are to be informed by SMS, give them a particular time to come
in batches.
3.
Allow people to send someone and get a number for a particular time
according to their convenience
4.
Once they are seated, call them one by one by the numbers and give the
injections.
5.
People should not be asked to walk far soon after the injection to reach
the observation tent. They may have a reaction on the way to the tent. Ideally
the observation tent must be close ot the injection site.
We are living in this 21st
century and we are still behaving like cattle, uneducated, uncivilized people
and the worst thing is, We, the citizens just take it without thinking or
protesting.
When I pointed out this to the officers at Werahara, they
said, Good idea but still carried on the same way letting old people to stand
in queues for a long distance and move at snail’s pace.-
Colombo, August 3 (NewsWire) – 129 Vaccination Centers will be open today for the AstraZeneca 02nd dose administration and 257 Vaccination Centers will be open for other vaccines.
Colombo, August 3 (News 1st) – The Marine Environment Protection Authority (MEPA) of Sri Lanka received eight (08) BeachTech Hydro Sweepy beach cleaning machinery worth about US$180,000, donated by Singapore-based global non-profit, the Alliance to End Plastic Waste (Alliance).
The donation was formally handed over by Foreign Secretary Admiral Prof. Jayanath Colombage to State Minister of Coast Conservation & Low-Lying Lands Development Mohan Priyadarshana De Silva, and Chairperson of Marine Environment Protection Authority Dharshani Lahandapura on Monday (02).
BeachTech Hydro Sweepy beach cleaning machines manufactured by Kässbohrer Geländefahrzeug AG, a company in Germany, are capable of effectively and efficiently cleaning up the plastic nurdles and other types of waste.
Another advantage of the machine is that beach clean-up can be done in a safe manner minimizing the human contact with hazardous materials.
These machines are expected to help with the clean-up of plastic waste from the ship X-Press Pearl, which sank off Sri Lanka’s West Coast in May 2021 causing significant environmental damage.
The donation was coordinated by the High Commission of Sri Lanka in Singapore.
The Alliance reached out to the High Commission in June this year as it is a Global Non- Profit that focuses on ending plastic waste in the environment globally and were concerned about the impact of plastic pellets from the X-Press Pearl incident and its possible impact on the marine environment.
The initial discussions on assistance from the Alliance was held virtually with the participation of High Commissioner of Sri Lanka to Singapore Sashikala Premawardhane, Director General/ Ocean Affairs, Environment and Climate Change of the Foreign Ministry Hasanthi Dissanayake, the General Manager of the Marine Environment Protection Authority (MEPA) Dr. Terney Pradeep Kumara, and Alliance representatives Vice President of Projects Nicholas Kolesch, Head of Outreach and Education Kim Stengert, and Head, Government and Public Affairs Ravi Alfreds.
The coordination effort of getting the machines to Sri Lanka involved officials from the Sri Lanka High Commission in Singapore, Sri Lanka Consulate General in Frankfurt, Foreign Ministry, MEPA and SriLankan Airlines.
Chairman SriLankan Airlines Ashok Pathirage agreed to transport the machinery from Frankfurt to Colombo on gratis basis and Regional Manager Sri Lankan Airlines Mohan Meegolle supported by coordinating the arrangements of the airlift.
Chairperson/MEPA Dharshani Lahandapura and her team facilitated both the initial discussions and the processes involved in donating of the equipment.
The High Commission of Sri Lanka in Singapore extended its appreciation to President and CEO Jacob Duer and the team from the Alliance for offering assistance towards Sri Lanka’s beach clean-up efforts with the donation of BeachTech Sweepy machines and looks forward to working with the The Alliance to End Plastic Waste”, in furthering partnerships and building networks to protect the marine environment of the country.
Soon after the UAE authorities announced that eligible passengers from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and other countries will be allowed to travel to/through the UAE from Aug.5, Dubai’s flagship airline Emirates has issued the list of 11 countries from where the stranded residents can return or transit.
The airline said, “The UAE authorities have announced that effective August 5, 2021, eligible travellers from the countries below will be allowed to travel to/through the UAE.”
• India
• Pakistan
• Sri Lanka
• Nigeria
• Uganda
• Nepal (Operated by flydubai)
Eligible customers will only be allowed to transit through UAE from the countries below:
• Afghanistan
• Bangladesh
• Indonesia
• South Africa
• Vietnam
• Zambia
Earlier, the General Civil Aviation Authority and the National Emergency, Crisis and Disaster Management Authority said that new categories of travellers from the countries from which entry was prohibited, including India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Nigeria and Uganda, will be allowed to enter the country as of Aug.5, 2021,
Holders of valid residency who received full vaccination in the UAE and 14 days have passed since receiving the second dose and carrying vaccination certificates approved by the official authorities in the country will be allowed to enter from those countries.
The authorities also announced prior approval from the Federal Authority for Identity and Citizenship (ICA) is mandatory for the residents wishing to come back to the UAE. Emirates
Russian citizens can enter the territory of Sri Lanka, having previously issued an electronic visa
MOSCOW, August 3. /TASS/. Aeroflot has opened the sale of tickets for direct flights on the Moscow-Colombo (Sri Lanka) route, the flights will be operated from September 2 twice a week, the airline said in a statement on Tuesday. At the moment, air traffic between Sri Lanka and Russia has been resumed after a break amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The flights will be operated on wide-body Airbus A330-300 aircraft.
Russian citizens can enter the territory of Sri Lanka, having previously issued an electronic visa, Aeroflot noted. Travel will require a negative test for COVID-19 in English, taken no earlier than 72 hours before departure. A repeated test must be passed upon arrival at the destination airport.
A total of 1,044 more people were tested positive for COVID-19 today (July 30), increasing the daily count of positive cases to 2,450.
According to the Government Information Department, 2,423 of the new cases reported today have been associated with the New Year cluster.
The new development has brought Sri Lanka’s confirmed coronavirus cases tally to 316,219.
Epidemiology Unit’s data showed that as many as 282,770 patients who were infected with the virus have regained health so far. Meanwhile, the death toll now stands at 4,645.
More than 28,000 are currently under medical care at selected hospitals and treatment centres across the country.
Social
media, which has been originated in the last quarter of the 20th century, started
giving justice to ordinary people who were restrained to express his /her views
in major media (Print, Radio, and Television). The major media represented
owners’ views and sometimes advertisers’ points of view regarding products and services
and they excluded representation of the views of members of the community at
the cost of advertisers because the major media is depending on the earning
from advertisements. Social media also may depend on the revenue earned from
advertisers. The major media cannot get away from independent views always but
were reluctant to disadvantage or create a negative impact on the advertisers
and associated parties. If major media is depending on the revenue from
advertisers, it should go along with advertisers’ expectations and if it expresses
views creating negative impact for advertisers, it would be disastrous for the
media. If social media also depends on the revenue generated from
advertisements. I have a question, did the embarkation of social media to the
field changed the media policy? It is a hard question because finding evidence
pro and against is formidable.
The
beginning of electronic techniques for media has been rejuvenated the handling
of information and has complicated the use of media for various purposes. Social
media is subject to abuse, and it has the possibility of misuse is the major
issue associated with social media. The critical reason for the abuse is social
media gives the opportunity of posting information scrutinizing, the other
concern matter is the freedom to posting information without control. For
example, kids use social media to post information that is not essential or has
a higher probability to lead the community or individual to either conflict or
mislead, or misinformation or many anti-social actions. The risk of misuse is
incurred with the lack of control for the use of social media. As the control
of electronic media is formidable, the development of a strict ethical code for
users would be useful the society.
In
this environment, social media has been originated as an instrument for the globe,
maintain controls has been a laborious task and the new ethical code should be
applied in all countries. The technology of social media is based on electronics,
which is complicated major media, and now social media has driven to the way
the major media has been unexpected by media owners.
Many
newspapers and magazines publishers combined other major media such as radio
and television and electronic media such as web pages to attract viewers and users
of information in major media (print, radio, television, web, electronic,
social media) use without acknowledging. This situation leads to cheating and
creating misinformation, fabrication, and manipulation. The development of an
ethical code for users of all media will be useful to prevent such misuse.
The
ownership of major media in some countries is monopolistic while in other
countries it is an oligopoly with few competitors. In many countries, media
companies are public or private companies, sometimes they may be under the sole
proprietorship. The ownership style has developed in countries based on company
law and regulations and the governments in many countries have freedom and
opportunity to change the ownership style, which is related to the legal and
regulatory environment of the ownership. Could this also be included in the
ethical code and convert all media trusted and honest?
A
part of the total market of media ownership is associated with the government.
In such a situation, could media be independent? According to my experience in
Sri Lanka, since the beginning of major media, the handling of information has
been a biased role toward the politics of governing political parties, and many
times, I observed certain media firms were biased against selected political
parties. It could be treated as an abuse of media freedom. The experience could
happen in other countries too.
Social
media has become a competitive instrument, as many products of social media
arrived in the market for specific purposes. The new structure of social media
has informally classified under subject areas and it is useful for users.
Another visible issue is that the use of major media (print, radio, and television) has been radically
declined because of increasing the use of social media. For example, readers of
newspapers and magazines have been diminished by contributing two major
reasons. One is information publish in print media appears in social media as
well, the second is to gain information from print media became costly. A trend
of increasing prices of print media products during the past several decades
experienced and people feel that when social media provides free, the
purchasing of print media products would be a waste of money that could be used
for other purposes. The cost of social media is comparatively lower than print
media.
During
the past decades, the authorities of social media got a genuine attempt to
controls and listen to the voice of the public. It is an arduous task because
social media associate with all places where online connections are available
and social media handles information in many languages that users are familiar
with. The major issue is social media can publish views on various matters
before verifying the accuracy of the information, and this nature of
information handling in social media supports publishing adulterated
information, insulting people, support political parties, and manipulating
people, etc. Many times, unknown persons used or breached the security of
account owners for various purposes and this opportunity has motivated many
people to get away from the use of social media. I read news in Sri Lanka that a
person living in London manipulated a lady in Sri Lanka and attempted to cheat
her demanding money, threatening to publish her nude pictures. This type of
incident could not happen in major media.
How
can change this situation is a major challenge for social media, and it is
costly. To reorganize social media with new rules might need applying charges
from users and such a direct control may force to reduce the volume of users.
Social media are using various languages and nations and such controls are
difficult to implement.
Many
countries monitor the abuse of social media and use it for criminal intent, and
the volume of abuse in social media is higher than in print media. Control would
be appropriate charging for posting the different information and the
administrators need to develop a schedule of charges that show the price for
posting. However, publishing articles and using them for academic activities
should be free and the administrators of social media should broadly consider
this option.
It
is quite clear that administrators of social media expect self-control among
users and some people who used media for various purposes have created a
competition and this situation has been used to beguile people through
misleading or manipulation, cheating, or any other way.
Allowing
to express views is greater freedom, however, allowing social media to insult
people, cheating, and disclose bogus information would be against expected
media ethics and freedom, and Facebook, Messenger, YouTube, and many others are
used to mislead people. Much information relating to this nature could consider
that they have immoral values How can control mistrust be the major issue, and
freedom should be launched with a console and the user of social media must
sign an agreement with the owners of media stating that they will not abuse the
opportunity.
The
current system of opening accounts needs to change of procedure. The electronic
delivery of education requires kids to engage in using online systems, and
while engaging in online education, they have many opportunities to use social
media. I noticed social media is carrying much educational information that is
useful for learners. In such a situation, social media cannot exclude from
education.
I
think it needs a greater debate on how to productively use social media and
educate the disciplines to use social media.
The Island editorial of 29-07-21 with the title ‘It’s MPs’ Code of Conduct, stupid!’ prompted me to write this short letter on the matter discussed in it.
For starters, let me pose the same question that the editor and
quite a few others too, including the Chief Opposition Whip have asked: What
were (perhaps some of them are still there) they doing in Tokyo? Well, simple
answer; Olympics. And one, obviously belonging to their clan might even try to
defend them. Why can’t they? They need a rest too, having put in an ‘Olympian
effort’ to do well for the country.
And where did the money come from, for the vacation, I, for one
wonder, whether they are all-expense- paid trips, courtesy of some saying thank
you for the favours granted or do the monies come from their own pockets,
knowing very well how baggy and bottomless those pockets can be and how they
get filled and replenished, the wearers never becoming ‘empty pockets’!
Our political enterprise for many decades now has been more of
deals and less of deeds. I do not want to dig even to the recent past or not to
the present, either. People and media have spoken loudly and written volumes on
our political campaigns followed by respective governments. It’s a bitter tale
and the governments that subsequently took over, followed almost the same
tradition, of partaking in the self-serving banquet, which will no doubt
continue into the future and how far, can anybody predict except those
astrologers, perhaps? And while at it, they forget all their difference,
colours and symbols alike and throw them out of the window (by the way,
speaking of windows, don’t they have many, I mean, of opportunity?).
All in all, it’s two rides that are poles apart; theirs and ours.
And I am sure that many of our citizenry will agree with
‘Sophocles’ (below) and live accordingly, but those, who sit at the top?
‘Rather fail with honour than succeed with fraud’ – Sophocles
Media Statement The Association of Engineering Teachers of the University of Moratuwa
The Association of Engineering Teachers of
the University of Moratuwa (AETUM), possesses a responsibility to address
issues in the education system and produce skilled engineers with the capacity
to cater both national and global demand.
Broadening the access to higher education
in Engineering is a need for a country like Sri Lanka while assuring equal
access to high-quality education and equal opportunities for all. The
affordability should not be a deciding factor in accessing education
opportunities. Private Engineering Education would lead to inequality in
education as financially abled could only afford to get an engineering degrees
whilst students with capacity and passion for engineering having no
opportunities. Therefore, we strongly believe that in order to maintain the
sustainability of the Engineering profession and the engineering education upto
the required quality and credibility, equal opportunities should be made
available for all the students in the country.
In this context we, as the Engineering
Teachers, feel that there is a requirement of a national policy for engineering
education to achieve the aspirations, expectations, and requirements of our
nation. The expansion of the engineering education should be done as a
part of national policy formulated by all relevant stakeholders.
We urge the government to refrain from
changing the current education system by amending the Universities Act
forcefully. Concomitantly, we urge the Government to restructure the existing
Kotelawela Defense University to serve its original and intended special
purpose without letting the education system towards a militarized environment.
Engineering graduates who can think and act freely to solve engineering
problems following ethical and moral principles are the type of graduates we
need who are being produced by the current system.
Therefore, we urge the Government to take
steps to draft an engineering education policy that includes the minimum
standards for new Engineering Faculties/Universities/Institutions, required
physical and human resources, and minimum entry qualifications for Engineering
Education as stipulated by the Instituition of Engineers Sri Lanka (IESL).
Bishop Mendis says toxic gas emitted from the plant is causing serious health problems for residents
A Catholic bishop has criticized the largest power station in Sri Lanka for emitting carbon and causing environmental damage.
Bishop Valence Mendis of Chilaw said Lakvijaya Coal Power Plant in Norochcholai is causing health risks to residents.
“The toxic gas emitted from the plant has increased the risk of cancer and lung disease of people in the area,” said Bishop Mendis during his sermon on Aug.
“Responsible people around the world say they have decided to phase out carbon emissions by 2050 because it is so poisonous to human life.”
The Catholic Church and environmentalists have urged the government to shut down the power plant and to generate electricity using alternative sources.
The plant was completed in 2014 by a Chinese company with the financial assistance of the Exim Bank of China.
It has been decided to stop the use of carbon in Sri Lanka in another nine years by 2030
Today, in addition to waste disposal, serious problems have arisen regarding the storage and condition of coal, the basic raw material required for the operation of the plant.
“It has been decided to stop the use of carbon in Sri Lanka in another nine years by 2030,” said Bishop Mendis.
“Global warming is also increasing due to the release of carbon into the universe.”
Farmers and fishermen in the area say they are facing serious health problems caused by the plant.
Bishop Mendis was speaking at St. Anne’s Church in Talawila, close to the power plant, in a service to mark the feast of St. Anne
Sadamali Niroshika, a Sunday school teacher from Chilaw, said that due to improper storage and disposal of coal, the air in villages near the plant contains coal dust and ash.
“People in the area face several serious health problems. A group of children living around the power plant have contracted skin diseases. Many other children living in the surrounding villages have skin problems and many adults suffer from health problems,” said Niroshika.
“The air and water are polluted when coal dust and waste ash are mixed into the environment.”
When the wind blows, the ash scatters like dust
An officer from the Electricity Board claimed that coal dust is everywhere in the surrounding area.
“When the wind blows, the ash scatters like dust. We now cover the entire area with sheets about 45 feet high,” said the officer who asked to remain anonymous.
“The ash is used in the manufacture of bricks and cement.”
Environmentalist Aruna Malcolm said harmful chemicals can cause cancer and lung, skin, kidney and heart diseases.
“Such conditions have already been reported around Norochcholai,” said Malcolm.
“Today, these plants are considered to be one of the major pollutants in the world. It is an outdated technology and has been phased out in many countries.”
All teachers and principals island-wide are required to report for their duties today (August 02) as per a circular issued by the Ministry of Public Service, Provincial Councils, and Local Government.
According to Secretary of the Ministry of Education Prof. Kapila Perera, officers and staff of all the Provincial Departments of Education, Zonal and Divisional Education Offices and the academic and non-academic staff of all schools should report for duty today.
However, the teachers’ and principals’ trade unions have decided not to report for duty today.
Secretary of the Ceylon Teachers’ Union Joseph Stalin said that the Secretary to the Ministry of Education had been informed in writing of his trade union decision.
We are already on a trade union action. This announcement has been made in a situation where that trade union action is ongoing. We have clearly stated not to report to work today. If there is no positive response tomorrow, we will march to Colombo in a motorcade.”
The Epidemiology Unit of the Health Ministry reports that another 702 persons have tested positive for COVID-19 in Sri Lanka, moving the daily total of new cases to 2,382.
This brings the total number of confirmed cases of coronavirus reported in the country to 313,769.
As many as 280,868 recoveries and 4,571 deaths have been confirmed in Sri Lanka since the outbreak of the pandemic.
The Epidemiology Unit’s data showed that 28,393 active cases are currently under medical care.
In
2005, the UN General Assembly passed a
Resolution titled Basic
Principles and Guidelines on the Right to a Remedy and Reparation for Victims
of Gross Violations of International Human Rights Law and Serious Violations of
International Humanitarian Law” (General
Assembly resolution 60/147 of 16 December 2005) .
This UNGA Resolution defines victims” as
persons who individually or collectively suffered harm, including physical or
mental injury, emotional suffering, and economic loss in war, due to gross
violations of International Human rights law (IHRL) and International Humanitarian
law. (IHL) The Resolution says the safety and needs of such victims and their families
must be looked after. IHRL and IHL are directed mainly at wars between nations,
not internal warfare. Due to this, the Resolution
says nothing about violence by non-state
groups, such as LTTE.
This
Resolution is about those caught up in
the war, involuntarily. Not about civilians who take part in the war. The
Tamil civilians in the north supported the LTTE. LTTE were engaged in high treason, considered the worst crime of
all. Therefore, Tamil civilians are not
persons innocently caught up in a war. They are complicit”. Complicit means
involved with others in an activity that is unlawful or morally wrong.” This
means Tamil civilians do not qualify under this Resolution.
Tamil civilians had acted as spies for the LTTE . They had
reported on troop moments. They visibly supported the LTTE at the final phase
of the war. in 2009 The Tamil civilians marched in huge numbers towards the war
zone in Putumatalan area on the orders of the LTTE. They went
willingly. 20,000 LTTE could not have forced 330,000 civilians to follow
them . The Tamil civilians cooperated , because they thought the LTTE would
win,. Interviewers reported later that many had believed that the West would intervene
and save them and the LTTE.
The whole family,
including aged relatives, made the journey. They went in buses, cars, and on
foot. As late as 2012 it was possible to see large piles of corroding motor
vehicles, motor cycles, and bicycles, parked on top of each other on either
side of the road . There were large
swathes of land with thousands of abandoned plastic vessels, cooking utensils,
clothing, shoes children books, and other personal items strewn around.
The
Tamil civil sins did not go on this journey empty handed. It was reported that the IDPs who came
across at Puthumathalam, fleeing from the LTTE came with their land deeds
tightly held. They also carried
millions of rupees in cash and gold securely wrapped in pottanis.
In Pudumatalan,
LTTE used the Tamil civilians to form a
defense that would hold back the
government forces and allow an international rescue operation by sea carried
out by Norway and USA to take place.
The civilians became
a buffer, a human shield. Acting as a
‘buffer’ or human shield, is considered
a criminal act.
Also, the civilians dug trenches, prepared bunkers and helped build
the formidable earth bunds which
protected the LTTE . The
civilians also did sentry duty, and
carried supplies. Each family was allotted
specific tasks like building bunkers, the civilians said.
ICRC rules say Civilians caught up in a war are entitled to protection
under International law.. But civilians
taking direct part in hostilities lose that immunity. Since they had
directly participated in hostilities, the Tamil civilians were not entitled to protection as civilians.
They had forfeited that protected status. Since these Tamil civilians supported
the military efforts of the LTTE, they lost the protection offered to non
combatant civilians under International Humanitarian Law..
The UNGA Resolution permits a victim to seek judicial remedy”. But the Tamil
civilians have not gone to courts, for the simple reason that they have no case. If they go to court the fact
that they were complicit will emerge.
The
Resolution says victims are entitled to reparation for acts committed by the
state. Reparation must be paid by the state and it should be proportional to the
violations and the harm caused. The Tamil Separatist Movement and its NGOs, the
UNHRC and its High Commissioner have latched
on to this issue of Reparation. They demand reparation from the state for their
‘innocent Tamil civilians’ caught up in war.
OISL report recommended reparation, the UNHRC included
reparation in its resolutions on Sri Lanka and Tamil Separatist Movement keeps
talking about reparation. ICES conducted discussions in
Jaffna, Trincomalee, Colombo and Galle on reparations. These discussions were published
in the ICES monograph, Memorialisation and reparations, report of four
dialogues” (2016)
This UNGA
Resolution says victims must be provided with full reparation.
Full Reparation” means restitution, compensation, rehabilitation and guarantees of non-recurrence. Restitution”
includes returning the victim to his original situation and residence,
restoring his liberty and family life,
giving back his employment and his property.”Non recurrence” includes legal action against those who were
responsible for the violence”; this means ‘war crimes.’
The Resolution
also, inter alia, called for several other actions, which
have been recognized in Sri Lanka. They are, searching for the disappeared,
finding bodies of those killed, issuing a public apology and permitting
tributes and memorials to the LTTE. Analysts
observe that the process of tracing people and identifying human remains after
many years is extremely difficult. The government of Sri Lanka under Mahinda Rajapaksa
has never apologized for the Eelam wars, as far I know and it was opposed to
commemorations of the LTTE.
Everyone who has
been a victim is entitled to reparations, said Jehan Perera. Where reparations are concerned, the victims
do not have to confront those who did wrong by them. Nor will they be required
to speak up before the general public and before commissioners. Victims can receive reparations on the basis
of already existing evidence. The advantage of reparations is that they can be
determined administratively, and not through a legal process where the burden
of providing evidence lies with the victim.
The Yahapalana
government, which was a puppet government of the USA, passed the Office for
Reparations Act No. 34 of 2018. This repealed the Rehabilitation of Persons,
Properties and Industries Authority Act No. 29 of 1987. (REPPIA).The new Act
would identify persons eligible for reparations and give reparation.
In 2018,
D.M.Swaminathan had for three weeks in a row, submitted a Cabinet Paper which
proposed to pay reparations for families of dead LTTE cadres. The Cabinet Paper
had been deferred twice but on the third occasion, due to protests from
ministers, was stopped for good, reported the media. The Cabinet paper had proposed to compensate those
affected by the war, including civilians, places of religious worship and the
families of dead LTTE cadres.
The present government, Pohottu, plans to
allocate a monthly sum of Rs 6000 to all those who have obtained Certificates
of Absence (of their relatives) from the Office of Missing Persons, said Jehan
Perera in 2021.
MISSING PERSONS”
After
the war ended the Tamil Separatist Movement encouraged the ‘innocent Tamil
civilians ‘ in the north to start protesting about ‘’Missing persons’, who had ‘Disappeared’ due to the war, most
likely killed by the army. Almost every
family had lost a relative in the war, said analysts. A villager living near Udaiyaarkadu
hospital had told Rajiva Wjesinha that
he had 5 brothers and all survived the conflict except the one who
joined the LTTE.
In
2010 the LLRC received
1,018 complaints of persons who had disappeared due to the war. In 2015, Presidents Commission to Investigate
Complaints regarding Missing Persons (PCICMP),received 23,099. 5000
were from the army.
R.
Sampanthan, said that TNA had conducted its own investigations and found that
there were at least 350,000 to 400,000 people in the Nanthikadal area in the
last stage of the war. Only 290,000 people came out. What happened to the rest.
The figure of 400,000 was promptly shot down. This count,
provided By the Government Agent,
Mullaitivu and Bishop of Mannar was not the count for Nanthikadal in the last phase of the war, said Ladduwahetty.
Further, the figure of 300,000 was not an invention of the government. The figure
was determined by the government jointly with the international agencies working
in the area, such as ICRC and World Food Programme .
Tamil
Separatist Movement said that scores of
persons had disappeared after they
were handed over” to the military by
their families soon after the war ended.
“If a mother handed over her son to armed forces or a police
officer she wants to know what happened to him. It is a legitimate
demand”, said R. Sampanthan. For
the Tamils these were not LTTE , they were sons, husbands, wives, daughters,
kin neighbors and friends, said a supporter, emotionally.
.I saw at
first hand at a recent meeting the powerful sentiments of a people who have
lost their loved ones and found no answers
from the government, said an activist . One mother said that she had surrendered her
son to the military at the end of the war and she wants to know what has
happened to him. She hopes he is still alive. Other people’s sons had been returned.
Many if not most
of them continue to hope that their loved ones are being held in some place of
detention, Whenever government authorities tell them that there are no such
places they get highly agitated, said Jehan Perera. Both President Sirisena and
Prime Minister Wickremesinghe have each said that their government is not
holding anyone in places of secret detention . If OMP says that their loved one
is either dead or they are unable to trace what happened to him, this truth
will be difficult for the families to bear, added Jehan.
Sri
Lanka army firmly denied that these
‘missing’ persons were killed by them. The Sri Lanka army said it was a highly
professional army, not a weak undisciplined one as the Tamil Separatist
Movement tried to show. Sri Lanka army
considered these accusations beneath them. They were contemptuous, not
defensive regarding these accusations.
Spokesman
Brigadier Sumith Atapattu told BBC in May 2019 “.People who surrendered to the army were not killed. That is for sure. Those who
surrendered or were captured have been
accounted for. There are no underground detention camps in Sri Lanka . Foreign
delegates including the UN have come and checked our camps.
In
2020 former army commander Daya
Ratnayake was asked by an interviewer,
it is 10 years after the war, Tamil families are still looking for their
loves ones. Their complaint is that these loved ones surrendered to the army during
the final days of the war but still there is no trace of them. These families
want answers. What happened to these people. Ratnayake replied, none
went missing under our custody. The army has already said so. These allegations
are false.
Anti –Eelamists
alsopointed out that quite a number of persons who had been
reported missing during the conflict and
after, were living abroad under assumed
names.
However,
Tamil families of disappeared
persons lodged complaints with all
possible authorities, police, army, Human rights Commission and various
domestic commissions of inquiry. The only response they got was that the person
concerned had not been detained.
A few
had filed writs of habeas corpus but this did not yield results either. The
habeas corpus petition filed with the Vavuniya High Court in 2013 regarding the
disappearances of the group led by Father Francis, seen surrendering to the
army in May 2009 did not bring forth
Father Francis.
Complainants were sent from place to place, without receiving any information
regarding their missing relatives. One witness stated that she had to pay an
interpreter when she visited different Government offices. There was also the issue of language
. The police would record the statement
in Sinhala and ask them to sign, though they did not know Sinhala. When the
LTTE took away my elder son, I knew
which part of the jungle he was in. In the case of the army, I did not know Sinhala to ask where they were taking our children, one said.
The
Tamil civilians, especially women, have been very active in the matter of
Missing Persons. They have protested
vigorously and are continuing to demonstrate and protest to this day. Their
support could be considered a continuation of their complicit behavior during
the war. They supported the LTTE then, they were supporting the Tamil
Separatist Movement now.
This group
has demonstrated vigorously. Demonstrations were held in Colombo Mannar,
Vavuniya and Jaffna reported Amnesty International in 2013. These
got publicity, which was the purpose of the demonstrations.
In
2017 there has been a spectacular demonstration which went on for 500 days,
into August 2018. These impoverished women could be seen, dressed in
fresh, bright saris, holding placards and photographs. On their 100th day of protest,
the mothers called a massive demonstration and hundreds of people took to the
streets and blocked the A-9 in Kilinochchi, reported the media.
They sit when
it rains, and they sit when the hot wind off the A-9 highway blows sand into
their makeshift tent, reported the media, dramatically. They’ve been sitting for over 200 days now in
Kilinochchi, protesting the loss of their family members. They are mostly
women, and they say they have one thing in common: they all lost their loved
ones in the final days of the war, in 2009.
They want to
know if their sons, daughters, parents, husbands and in-laws are dead, or if
they’re alive somewhere, in a prison or detention camp. Some of their sons and
husbands were fighters for the LTTE they
said, who surrendered after the Army’s final offensive. Some were just
civilians, picked up in camps for internally-displaced persons or loaded onto
buses and never seen again.
Kathasamy
Ponnamma, a mother whose son-in-law disappeared in Vavuniya. If they
supported the LTTE in some way, we are ready for judicial processes, we are not
saying just release them.” If you’ve
killed my son, you can give me the body,” she said, with tears in her eyes. I
need to do the final rituals. You can at least give the body to us.”
The relatives
of the missing were organized into the Association for the Relatives of the
Enforced Disappeared. This would have been done by Tamil Separatist
Movement. These village women lack the ability
to organize in this manner. In 2021 this Association came Colombo to complain to the Sri Lanka HRC.
They wanted to go to the ICC. HRC had told them this was not possible.These uneducated , backward women from the north, could not have known of the
ICC. They were doing as they were told.
Pohottu
government plans to put an end to this matter by declaring all the missing as
dead, issue certificates and give some
money to the relatives. This should not be done
in a hurry. Each claim should be examined closely. Tamils have listed those
killed in war as ‘missing’. The Census data for 1981 could be used as the
baseline.
The stories related by the relatives of the
Disappeared can be true or false. Some
sound flimsy. One said the neighbors had
seen the army arrest and take away her
husband. I am still searching for him.
Here are some first person stories related in
2017. On a recent afternoon, surrounded by about 25 other mothers, Thangavelu
Sathiyathevy recalled the last time she saw her family. She said she remembers
the day exactly. This was May 18, 2009. We were in Vadduvakallu, and there
were buses taking people away,” she said. Thousands of displaced people had
gathered on the beaches there, seeking safety from the fighting. Vaddavakallu
was technically in a no-fire zone.My daughter, son-in-law, and their three
children were taken into the bus. He was an LTTE member,” she said, and we
also asked to join with them. But they said no, you can go
separately.”Sathiyathevy said she was taken to Manik Farm, an IDP camp near
Vavuniya. But she has never seen or even heard from her family again. The
children were 2, 9, and 10 years old.
Jeyakanthi
Narmila’s husband from Thilaiyampathi in Kondavil, Jaffna, disappeared on
August 17, 2007. She alleged that he was taken away by the Army in a white
van.Some Army soldiers reached my home in a white van—it was around 3.30 am.
He has not returned since. I haven’t heard anything about him. I made
complaints about the abduction of my husband to both, the Uralu Army Camp and
the Kopai Police,” she said.
Six months
after the disappearance, she had seen her husband on a motorcycle pillion,
ridden by an Army soldier. Three years later, she saw her husband once again,
in an army truck.On that day, a piece of cloth was tied round his mouth. Thereafter, I never saw my
husband again.
Sivayogam
Ratnaraja said she and her family was also taken to an IDP camp in Vavuniya
after the war. In June, her son Ratnam Ratnaraja came to visit them from the
University of Moratuwa, where he was studying engineering. But after he left
the camp, he was arrested by local police.
She was never given a reason for his arrest. But she has a suspicion.
Her elder son, Ratnam’s older brother, was an LTTE cadre and died during the
fighting. Six months later, Ratnaraja said one of her neighbors, had met with
and spoken with her son at Anuradhapura prison. She has not heard from her son for the past eight years.( continued)
Officials of Sri Lankan Investment Board, Pharma Manufacturers Association to hold virtual meet with investors on August 5
Sri Lanka is seeking to invite potential investors from India to set up manufacturing operations in the new Hambantota Pharmaceutical Zone and is likely to offer a number of incentives, including tax sops.
Senior officials from the Sri Lankan Board of Investment and the Pharma Manufacturers Association of Sri Lanka will hold discussions with potential investors from India through an online meeting this week on the investment opportunity in the zones, an official tracking the matter told BusinessLine.
This follows discussions between Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar and his Sri Lankan counterpart, Dinesh Gunawardena, in Colombo in January on opportunities for Indian pharmaceutical manufacturers in special zones in Sri Lanka.
Indian investments in the zone will be important both from the economic and diplomatic perspective,” the official added.
The Sri Lankan government is setting up the Pharmaceutical Zone in Arabokka in Hambantota on over 400 acres in a bid to increase export earnings to face the Covid-19 challenges effectively. The zone’s objective is to meet around 40 per cent of the local demand for pharmaceutical products while creating the pathway to a $1-billion independent export vertical by 2025, per reports. The meeting with Sri Lankan officials on August 5 is being facilitated by the Federation of Indian Export Organisations and is likely to be attended by a number of pharmaceutical manufacturers in the country.
Tax concessions
While the details of the tax and other incentives on offer may be shared by Sri Lankan officials at the meet, according to reports in Sri Lankan media, concessions will cover corporate income tax, income tax on employees, Value Added Tax (VAT) and the Ports and Airports Development Levy. Enterprises are also likely to be exempted from Customs duty for importing capital goods and construction-related items, raw materials and production/process-related consumables.
Sri Lanka is an important trade and strategic partner for India and the Indian pharmaceutical industry exported shipments worth $245.76 million in 2020-21 to the country. India’s overall exports to Sri Lanka in 2020-21 was $3.5 billion, which was about 7.9 per cent lower than the previous year.
Having strong economic ties with Sri Lanka is also a good strategic option for India to counter the growing influence of China in the neighbourhood. Investing in pharmaceutical zones in Sri Lanka could be beneficial for India on both economic and diplomatic fronts,” the official said.
Investigations disclosed that three of the eleven women who had served as domestic workers at MP Rishad Bathiudeen’s residence in Colombo since 2010, have died.
The Police launched investigations following the death of the 16-year-old girl who recently died of burn injuries while working at the residence last month.
Following the investigations, the police said that 11 women including the 16-year –old girl had worked as domestic aides at Bathiudeen’s residence between 2010 and 2021.
Then, the special investigation teams were deployed to record statements from the women who had previously worked there.
The Police had earlier said the same broker who brought the 16-year-old girl to the MP’s house was instrumental in bringing the other women too to the residence.
It is learnt that in addition to the teenage girl, another woman who had worked there earlier had died due to an ailment (cancer), while another woman is reported to have committed suicide after she had left the MP’s residence.
Police said they have recorded statements from eight women till date.
Meanwhile, Western Province Senior DIG Deshabandu Tennakoon said following the questioning of those women, a 29-year old woman told the police that she too was sexually abused while working at MP Bathiudeen’s house.
Police are conducting further investigations into those incidents.
The wife, father-in-law of former Minister Bathiudeen, the broker were arrested and remanded in connection with the death of the 16-year old girl, while the 44-year old brother-in-law of the former minister was arrested and remanded over the alleged rape of a 22-year-old woman who served as a domestic aide at the MP’s residence.(DSB)
The Secretary to the Ministry of Education has requested all provincial, zonal and divisional education authorities, principals, teachers and non-academic staff to follow the circular on recalling public sector employees to work from August 02.
On Friday (July 30), Secretary to President, P.B. Jayasundera announced that all state sector employees will be called back to work from Monday (August 02).
Accordingly, Secretary to the Ministry of Public Services, Provincial Councils & Local Government J.J. Rathnasiri published a circular in this regard.
In addition, all circulars permitting work from home arrangements and limited number of staff members to be present at the workplace on a rotation basis, in a bid to control the spread of COVID-19, were also revoked by this new circular.
The decision was taken with the intention of restoring normalcy in the public service as majority of public servants have been vaccinated against COVID-19.
However, teachers across the island had withdrawn from conducting online lessons on July 12, demanding solutions for anomalies in salaries, ‘forced quarantining’ protesters, and several other issues.
The strike, joined by a total of 17 trade unions representing school principals and teachers including the Ceylon Independent Teachers’ Services Union (ITSU), has been going on for more than 20 days now.
