Minister Gunawardena meets HC McKinnon (pic courtesy FM)
Foreign Minister Dinesh Gunawardena yesterday (10) conveyed Sri Lanka’s deep concern over the adoption of Private Member Bill 104 on ‘Tamil Genocide Education Week’ by the Ontario Legislative Assembly on 06 May 2021 to Canadian High Commissioner David McKinnon.
The meeting took place at the Foreign Ministry. Pointing out that the position taken by the Ontario Legislative Assembly contradicted the Canadian government’s stand, Gunawardena sought immediate intervention of the Canadian government to stop Royal Assent by Lt. Governor of Ontario to the controversial Bill.
Joining the meeting, Foreign Secretary Admiral (Prof.) Jayanath Colombage elaborated on the potential harm the Bill 104 could cause to the reconciliation process, peace building and the bilateral relations between the two countries. The Foreign Minister, while thanking the Canadian Government for the continuous support extended to Sri Lanka on multiple fronts, also discussed with the High Commissioner a wide range of bilateral issues.
The UN Committee on Enforced Disappearances (CED) has called on Switzerland to conduct an impartial investigation into past illegal adoptions from Sri Lanka and pay reparations to victims.
In its review of Switzerland’s record on enforced disappearances on Tuesday, the CED raised the issue of illegal adoptions of Sri Lankan children that happened a few decades ago.
While acknowledging that the Alpine nation had accepted its failure to prevent the illegal adoptions, the committee said that a rich country like Switzerland should do more” for these children who are now adults. Specifically, the Swiss authorities were asked to follow up on the cases to determine the gravity of the injustices committed during that period.
The Committee urged the State party [Switzerland] to conduct thorough and impartial investigations to determine whether children adopted from Sri Lanka during the 1980s and 1990s may have been victims of enforced disappearance and wrongful removal, and whether other offences, such as falsification, concealment or destruction of identity documents were committed in these cases,” the CED stated.
The committee also recommended that Switzerland should guarantee the right to reparation to any person who has suffered from such acts”.
Last December, the government finally admitted to oversights in adoption regulations that led to some 900 Sri Lankan children being illegally sold to Swiss parents from the 1970s to the 1990s. The admission and the internal report came three years after a parliamentary question prompted an investigation into gaps in adoption oversight.
Another report published last February by the Zurich University of Applied Sciences also revealed the extent of trafficking, which led to some 11,000 Sri Lankan children given up for adoption in European countries.
A digital COVID vaccine identity card will be issued in near future in order to make the inoculation drive more efficient, says Minister of Youth and Sports Namal Rajapaksa.
The initiative is expected to be implemented as a joint effort of the Health Ministry and Information and Communication Technology Agency (ICTA).
This digital ID will include all details related to the individual who received the vaccine, such as the date and place of vaccination, brand of the jab, due date of the second dose, Minister Rajapaksa pointed out.
As many as 23 COVID-related deaths were confirmed in Sri Lanka today (May 11), says Director-General of Health Services.
The new development has moved the total number of COVID victims in the country to 850, according to official data.
As per the media release issued by the Department of Government Information, the victims have succumbed to the virus infection between the period of May 05 – May 11.
The deaths were reported from Ratmalana, Polonnaruwa, Pilimathalawa, Pathana, Thalawakele, Hangranoya, Matale, Elkaduwa, Madulkele, Menikhinna, Matara, Thalgaswala, Moronthuduwa, Maharagama, Halthota, Waskaduwa, Kelaniya, Moratuwa and Panadura areas.
COVID pneumonia was identified as a cause of death of majority of the victims.
The Epidemiology Unit of the Health Ministry reports that another 1,305 persons have tested positive for COVID-19 in Sri Lanka, moving the daily total of new cases to 2,530.
Emeritus Professor of Agriculture Biology UNIVERSITY OF RUHUNA and Former Executive Director Sri Lanka Council of Agriculture Research Policy
Sri Lanka is at present engaged in a Total Agro chemical ban as decided by the Government. There are two aspects; the first is the ban on Chemical Fertilizers and the second is the anticipated ban on use of pesticides. Three eminent scientists, namely, Dr Parakrama Waidyanatha (formerly the Soil Scientist of RRI and later Chairman of Chilaw Plantation Ltd), Prof O. A. Ileyperuma Former Professor of Chemistry University of Peradeniya, and Prof C. S. Weeraratne Former Professor of Agronomy University of Ruhuna have effectively dealt with the repercussion of the ban on chemical fertilizers which appeared in the Island newspaper on recently. The major points summarized by these authors are listed below
FERTILISER ISSUE
1.These scientists are of the view that the President’s decision to shift totally to organic agriculture, from conventional, could lead to widespread hunger and starvation in future. Organic farming is a small phenomenon in global agriculture comprising a mere 1.5% of total farmlands of which 66% are pasture.
2.Conventional farming (CF) is blamed for environmental pollution; however, in organic farming heavy metal pollution and release of carbon dioxide and methane, two greenhouse gases from farmyard manure, are serious pollution issues with organic farming.
3.On the other hand, the greatest benefit of organic fertilizers as against chemical fertilizers is the improvement of soil physical, chemical and biological properties by the former which is important for sustained crop productivity. Appropriate combinations of organic and chemical fertilizers can also provide exacting nutrient demands of crops and is the best option!
4.Sri Lanka has achieved self-sufficiency in rice due to the efforts of the Department of Agriculture and all these efforts will be in vain if we abruptly ban the import of fertilizer. While adding compost has some positive effects, such as improving soil texture and providing some micronutrients, it cannot entirely substitute the fertilizer requirements for high yielding varieties of rice. These will not Applying organic fertilizers alone will not replenish the nutrients absorbed by a crop. Organic fertilizers have relatively small amounts of the nutrients that plants need. For example, compost has only 2% nitrogen (N) whereas urea has 46% N. Banning the import of inorganic fertilizers will be disastrous, as not applying adequate amounts of nutrients will cause yields to drop; making it essential to increase food imports, r. This may be impossible as our economy is in dire straits.
PESTICIDE ISSUE
Acute pesticide poisoning is a major public health problem in Sri Lanka. In dry zone of Sri Lanka, a very high incidence of serious pesticide poisoning has been observed, with 68% due to intentional ingestion of liquid pesticides due to easy availability and widespread use of highly hazardous pesticides. The frequent application of highly hazardous pesticides in high concentrations was often irrational and posed serious health and financial risks to the farmers. Sri Lankan farmers at present at mercy of Five Organizations namely The Central Department of Agriculture, . The Provincial Ministry of Agriculture, the Private sector Pesticide Companies, NGOs and the leading farmers who are advising them. Instead, enforcement of legislation to restrict availability of the most hazardous pesticides would result in an immediate health benefit. Improved agricultural extension services to promote alternative non-chemical methods of pest control is especially the use of Integrated Pest Management
Locally Pest control depends mostly on the use of synthetic pesticides Ready to use products that can be easily procured from local vendors are applied when and where required Abuse and misapplication of pesticides is a common phenomenon in Sri Lanka Even though many farmers are aware about the detrimental aspects of pesticides they often use them due to economic gains
Recommendations:
1.Ban or stop imports of Pesticides in categories 1A and1B highly hazardous category And allow the lesser hazard pesticides to safeguard lives of farmers Judicious usage of pesticides is recommended
2.The promotion and the use of integrated pest management techniques whenever possible
3. To minimise the use of pesticides
Pesticide traders would be permitted to sell pesticides only through specially trained Technical Assistants.
Issuing pesticides to the farmers for which they have to produce some kind of a written recommendation by a local authority.
Introduction of new mechanism to dispose or recycle empty pesticide and weedicide bottles in collaboration with the Environment Ministry.
Laboratory-testing of imported pesticides by the Registrar of Pesticides at the entry-point to ensure that banned chemicals were not brought into the country.
Implementation of trained core of people who can apply pesticides.
Education campaigns to train farmers, retailers, distributers, and public with the adverse effects of pesticides.
Maximum Residue Level (MRL) to reduce the consumer’s risk of exposure to unsafe levels.
Integrated pest Management and organic agriculture to be promoted.
4.To ensure the proper use of agrochemicals by farmers
Education campaigns to train farmers, retailers, distributers, and public with the adverse effect of pesticide.
Strengthening the awareness of extension officers/AIs/and related parties in pest and disease diagnosis and management principles.
Proper monitoring programs efficiently operated at the field level to ensure proper usage of agrochemicals.
5.Adopting Integrated Pest Management as National Policy in Agriculture Production
In view of equality and human health, a need has arisen to develop and disseminate effective pest management methods that are safer, environment friendly and sustainable. Therefore, it is suggested that Sri Lanka adopts Integrated Pest Management as National Policy in Agriculture Production.
6.Development of a National Level Policy for Correct Pesticide Use
Imposing rules and regulations in issuing pesticides to the farmers for which they have to produce some kind of a written recommendation by a local authority (agrarian service, AI etc.). Proper monitoring programs should also be efficiently operated at field levels to ensure proper usage of agro-chemicals.
7.Promoting Production and Utilization of Organic Agriculture, and Bio Pesticides
Promotion and the production and utilization of organic agriculture and bio pesticides to reduce the use of chemical fertilizer is a safe strategy. Bio fertilizers and biological pesticides are proposed to be incorporated into agricultural practices in Sri Lanka enabling food security and sustainability.
8.Implication and Strengthening of Strict Plant Quarantine Measures
Imposing strict plant quarantine laws at all ports of entries and changing laws suits with modern living strategies to reduce dissemination of pests and diseases. Rigorous implementation of Plant Quarantine as first line of defense against invading pests.
9.Imposing Laws and Introducing Guidelines for Postharvest Handling of Agriculture Produce without pesticide
Introduction of some set guidelines for wholesalers and retail traders in transporting/storing and general handling of fresh produce is a must in reducing postharvest losses. Research focused on minimizing post-harvest losses due to pest and diseases is also important.
The country also should have a professional body, like the Planning Commission of India, with high calibre professionals and other experts to advise the government on national policy matters rather than concentrating on individual opinions.
Her Excellency, Madam Elizabeth Dowdeswell Leiutenant Governor of Ontario Copy to: Ombudsman of Ontario
Your Excellency,
Disallow passage of Bill 104 claiming Genocide of Tamils in Sri Lanka
I along with the other members of our community are deeply troubled and disappointed with the undemocratic and unprincipled manner in which our elected leaders of the Ontario Legislature proceeded to approve of the above private member’s bill. This Bill claims that the Tamil community in Sri Lanka had been subjected to genocidal action on the part of the Sri Lankan authorities in the armed conflict that was thrust on Sri Lanka by the armed forces of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) that was declared as an international terrorist movement by the UN Security Council’s resolution of September 2001. Based on which, 32 countries including the USA, UK, India, EU, Malaysia, Canada, etc. took action to proscribe this terrorist movement in their own jurisdictions, and which remains in force even to the present day.
Bill 104 was moved by MPP Vijay Thanigasalam which contains numerous falsehoods and unproven statements which unfortunately gets into the Statute Book provided you give your assent to it, making Ontario an ignorant and unthinking state that will regret the purely politically motivated decision taken in order to woo the voters from the Tamil community and most likely the funding offered to the political parties by them out of questionable funds raised by certain pro-LTTE groups within this community. The Human Rights Watch report of March 15, 2006, stated that the pro-LTTE groups had raised vast amounts of funds through extortion of individuals as well as Tamil businesses to launch their so called ‘Final War Of Liberation’ in Sri Lanka, to establish a separate mono-ethnic racist state called ” Eelam” in the north and east of the island taking up over 30 percent of the land and over 66 percent of the coastline and adjacent territorial waters of the Indian ocean for Tamils numbering 12.8 percent of whom less than half lived in the region sought for their state.
MPP Vijay Thanigasalam was an active supporter of the terrorist LTTE as he carried pictures of the LTTE leader V. Prabhakaran in his Facebook along with other propaganda material which he removed after he had been exposed. The only other Tamil MPP, namely Logan Kanapathi had replaced the Chair of the Legislature’s Committee that reviews public opinion on proposed legislation, decided to not hold Committee Hearings and instead refer Bill 104 to the Legislative Assembly for the the third reading. The Bill also envisages fixing the 18th of May each year as Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day and holding of a week long program in Ontario schools and the public arena. This will cause immense embarrassment to children attending Ontario schools from other constituent communities from Sri Lanka such as the Sinhalese, Muslims (Moors), Malays, Burghers, etc., as no such Genocide took place. The only authorized body that can determine the act of genocide is the United Nations, which has not made any such ruling on Sri Lanka. The Ontario Legislature is not a competent body to make such determinations, and they have clearly overstepped their limits of authority. This Bill was passed bypassing public consultations.
Contrary to the claims made in the Bill, the Tamil Tiger Forces cut off irrigation and drinking water to 30,000 farming families living downstream from the Mavil Aru Anicut, forcing Sri Lanka after a wait of 14 days to take military action in August 2006 to restore the water supply.
The LTTE forces under pressure began to retreat from the northwest coast and north central Vanni to their strongholds in the northeast, compelling the Tamil civilians to accompany them to be exploited for their labour, conscripted to replace fallen cadre and serve as a ‘human shield’.
It has been established that over half the LTTE fighters did battle in civilian attire blurring the distinction between combatants and genuine civilians. Sri Lanka declared two 48 hour ceasefires in February and April 2009, so that the unarmed civilians held by the LTTE may get to safety as requested by members of the international community, but the LTTE would not allow them to leave even firing on those that attempted to flee killing a large number of these civilians. On conclusion of the armed conflict on May 19, 2009, Sri Lanka had rescued a total of 295,873 including 12,600 ex-tamil tiger cadres that surrendered out of an estimated total of around 305,000 individuals in the battleground, with some escaping by boat to India just 25 miles away and entering Canada and other western countries seeking refuge. Those who were rescued were housed in welfare camps, given three meals a day, access to education, medical and psychological treatment, vocational training and released to society with 1 to 3 years with new livelihood skills, after the grounds were de-mined and infrastructure put in place including new houses for the rehabilitated civilians and ex-fighters. Peace has returned to the island nation with not a single bomb going off following a 30 year armed conflict.
You are no doubt aware that the LTTE had illegally abducted children as young as ten years and conscripted them into their fighting ranks which was condemned by UNICEF. They also had a separate squadron of suicide bombers that carried out attacks against both military and civilian targets detonating over 375 human bombs in the course of their separatist war. You may recall, that even Toronto Police had to set up a Tamil Task Force to curb the violence and criminal activities within the Tamil community.
I am a Canadian of Sri Lankan Sinhalese descent who migrated to Canada with my wife in 1975, and contributed my skills and knowledge for the betterment of my adopted country. The actions on the part of the Ontario legislators who are only interested in seeking power by whatever means, and feel obliged to pamper members of the Tamil community that may have votes to sway the results in a few ridings in the northeast end of the GTA, plus funds from illicitly acquired means to finance elections/political campaigns disregarding truth, principles or other values of human society. Our only hope is that you may be able to withhold your assent for Bill 104 and prevent it from becoming law. You may even summon the Political Party Leaders and question them if the Ontario Legislature has the authority to decide on issues relating to genocidal charges levelled against other countries.
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has advised the relevant authorities to impose travel restrictions among provinces.
The restrictions are to be imposed until the 30th of May, 2021, President’s Media Division stated.
President’s Media Spokesman Kingsley Rathanayake issuing a statement today (10) stated that President Rajapaksa arrived at several decisions to curb the spread of the COVID-19 virus in the country after holding discussions with all stakeholders.
Accordingly, relevant authorizes have been advised to implement the following measures:
– To impose travel restrictions between all provinces, – To cancel all public gatherings and functions – To limit the number of people who can enter and remain inside commercial establishments – Isolation of areas where infections rates are high
However, the President has also emphasized that proper procedures should be followed to ensure that the daily lives of the people are not disrupted and the essential services are maintained when implementing these strategies.
The Epidemiology Unit of the Health Ministry reports that another 992 persons have tested positive for COVID-19 in Sri Lanka, moving the daily total of new cases to 2,573.
This brings the total number of confirmed cases of coronavirus reported in the country to 128,479.
As many as 105,611 recoveries and 801 deaths have been confirmed in Sri Lanka since the outbreak of the pandemic.
The Epidemiology Unit’s data showed that 22,067 active cases are currently under medical care.
I fully endorse the stand taken by Hon Minister
Sarath Weerasekara in requesting the Speaker not to allow Badurdeen to attend
Parliament, who is presently detained for three months for questioning on
alleged high crimes against the State that amount to treason. I think the whole
country, other than Badurdeen,‘s Lawyer
and those utterly irresponsible opposition MPP who are trying to make hay while
the sun shines, will also fully endorse the stand taken by Minister
Weerasekara. The whole nation must be happy to see that there is at least one
legislator in our Parliament who represents the true interests and the rights
of the Sinhala nation. Looking at our present Parliament it is interesting to
note what H.L. Mencken has said of the Parliament when he called it a Monkey
cage where he said Democracy is the art of running the circus from the monkey
cage”, when he referred to Parliament.
Meanwhile many a brow has been raised
when Attorney General said there is no legal barrier for him to attend
Parliament. Well still as he is only a suspect and not a person convicted by a
court technically there appears to be is legal substance in what AG has said.
But considering the seriousness of crimes Badurdeen is said to have committed,
not as an ordinary citizen but as a legislator in Parliament nearly for 20
years, I think it is beyond all principles of natural justice by the society
and by the nation to allow him to attend it. What is more is there is very
little public credibility left with our Parliament even sans him allowing him
to attend Parliament under the present circumstances, I think will further
worsen public image of our Parliament. Therefore, in my opinion, it is
advisable not to allow him to attend sessions until inquiries and legal
proceedings against him are over. Further it will be good for everyone’s
political health, I think. As far as the call by the opposition is concerned, I
am not surprised as it comes from a gang of desperate and brainless political
goons who also wanted Ranjan a convict in jail serving a four year term of
rigorous imprisonment back in this Parliament. As such I don’t think we should
take them seriously.
Bathiudeens’s lawyer Rushdhie Habeeb is
said to have told the Island that the decision to prevent MP Bathiudeen from
attending parliament was political. Of course yes it is a political decision on
both sides. For the Government as it has a direct bearing on public interest and
security of the country as matters of paramount importance not only for the
Ministry of Public security but also for the government as they fall among the
cardinal duties of an elected Government in a Democracy.
On the other hand it is also
political for the opposition as well as lawyer Habeeb says as is trying to fish
in troubled waters to catch voters in a cheap game of dirty politics in this
country. Both his lawyer and those in the opposition shedding crocodile tears, to
woo the Muslim electorate at home and create displeasure in International
circles and increase their lot in the House, not realizing that it will
boomerang on them as it will greatly reduce the Sinhala and Catholic votes This
attitude is no wonder for a set of politicians who have no concern for the
country or the people in this country. It appears the opposition is thinking,
the number of criminals in the parliament are not enough to make it an august
Assembly” and also as if the Parliament is going to end without sufficient
number of anti- social elements such as Badurdheen in the nation’s Legislature.
Although the opposition doesn’t know
it, the whole country knows who Badurdeen is and what damages he had done to
the nation’s economy, through the CWE and more particularly to the country’s Agricultural Minor Export Crop sector
by importing substandard goods from
Indonesia and other countries from 2005 up to date and what damage he has done
to Wilpattuwa. They also should be reminded of the investigations conducted by
the Indian Government on his involvements with Kerala in carrying ought his
nefarious criminal and illegal business deals. In my opinion not only Badurdeen
but there are many others as well, who should not be allowed to be in
Parliament
Badurdeen’s lawyer, both as a lawyer
and a Muslim is free to raise this issue vigorously as he has said and even
nakedly, both here and abroad at his will, as a mark of gratitude to the
Sinhala people who have accommodated their ancestors who came here either as traders
in search of fortunes or refugees in desperation at different times in history.
It is high time that people of this country stop electing this type of
uneducated undesirable rogues to the Parliament of this country which is
supposed to be the august Assembly that presides over the destiny of this
nation as it is already converted to another den of Alibaba and forty thieves.
I think enough is enough. Either
people should definitely take immediate action to reform it and convert it to
an august Assembly of patriotic statesmen and women of high stature, character
and ability who can rescue this nation from the political abyss in to which it
had been thrown since 1948 and restore the ancient glory of this once Pearl of
the Indian Ocean or close down this British model of the Monkey cage as Mencken
has very appropriately called it and seriously look for a native machinery of
just Governance for the good of the people and the country fashioned on the tenets of Buddhist
Governance of the Dharmasoka Model.
The Report on
Sri Lanka presented by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, to the 46th
session of the UNHRC in February 2021, carried an invitation to the Member
states of the UN, to report Sri Lanka to the International Criminal Court (ICC)
or prosecute Sri Lanka in their own country, under Universal Jurisdiction. We
have to thank the Tamil Separatist Movement for this unwelcome possibility of
getting hauled up before the ICC or encountering Universal Jurisdiction.
The threat of
appearing before an international forum on the charge of mismanaging the
country’s affairs and ill treating its citizens will infuriate Sri Lanka. Sri
Lanka is not a badly run, grossly mismanaged State. It is not a bumbling,
inexperienced new state either. Sri Lanka is possibly one of the oldest
sovereign states in the modern world. It
has a long history of successful rule .Sri Lanka has firmly withstood
externally induced attempts at destabilization and has never allowed its central government to lose control. Sri
Lanka will not take kindly to an ICC probe or Universal Jurisdiction.
INTERNATIONAL
CRIMINAL COURT (ICC)
The
International Criminal Court (ICC) developed from the work of the International
Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the International
Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR). These were established by the United
Nations in 1993 and 1994 to try individuals suspected of committing war crimes.
The UN
General Assembly had earlier called upon the UN International Law Commission,
to initiate a permanent international criminal court that would try
international crimes including crimes against humanity, genocide and war
crimes, using the universal jurisdiction principle.
The
International Criminal Court was established in 1998, under the Rome Statute by
a vote of 120 to seven, with 21 countries abstaining. The seven countries that
voted against the treaty were China, Iraq, Israel, Libya, Qatar, the United
States, and Yemen. Four
signatory states, Israel, Sudan, United States and Russia later decided not to ratify the
treaty. As of December 2020, there were 41 countries which had not signed. Sri
Lanka is one to them. Others include China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nepal
and Pakistan.
The ICC is
the only permanent international court with jurisdiction to prosecute
individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and the crime of aggression. The ICC is a court of
last resort, acting only when national courts are unable or unwilling to act. The official seat of the Court is in The Hague,
Netherlands, but its proceedings may take place anywhere.
The ICC has
the power to prosecute individuals who belong to a state which has signed the
Rome Statute. Also individuals who have committed crimes in an ICC state. Two Uyghur
activist groups filed a complaint with the ICC in 2020 against China. ICC
refused to take action. China was not a signatory to the ICC
There is a
third entry point for prosecution by the ICC. The ICC will also hear cases
referred to the ICC by the UN Security Council.
The request to prosecute Sudan’s Omar Hassan al Bashir and Libya’s Muammar
al Qadhafi came through a United Nations Security Council Resolution. This is
the route that will have to be used in the case of Sri Lanka. However, the
consent of a non-party state is needed before ICC can proceed.
An important
innovation of the ICC is its recognition of
victims. For the first time in
the history of international criminal justice, victims are able to present
their views and observations before the Court. They are also entitled to
reparation. Reparations can include compensation, restitution and
rehabilitation.
The Court
issued its first judgment in 2012 against Congolese rebel leader Thomas Lubanga Dyilo, guilty of
the war crime of using child soldiers. Since then,
ICC has indicted 44 people. Proceedings against 24 have been completed.
Proceedings against 20 are ongoing.
As at 2021,
the ICC has opened investigations in thirteen countries. Afghanistan, Burundi,
Central African Republic, Côte d’Ivoire, Sudan, Congo, Georgia, Kenya, Libya,
Mali, Uganda and Myanmar. ICC is conducting preliminary examinations in nine
states Colombia, Guinea, Nigeria, Palestine, Philippines, Ukraine, Bolivia, and
Venezuela.
The ICC has
faced a number of criticisms, including objections about its jurisdiction,
accusations of bias, the fairness of its case-selection and trial procedures,
as well as doubts about its effectiveness.
The ICC has
been accused being a tool of Western imperialism, since it
was only punishing leaders from small, weak states while ignoring crimes
committed by richer and more powerful states. Also that ICC was focusing
disproportionately on Africa. In 2016, all nine countries ICC was investigating
were African.
Sudan,
Uganda, Ethiopia, Kenya have charged ICC with political bias. In 2013 Kenya decided to withdraw from the
ICC and urged the other 33 African states who had signed to do the same. In
2017, the African Union agreed to collectively withdraw from the ICC. In 2016,
Burundi withdrew.
One of the
biggest critics of the ICC is the US, the only Western nation not to ratify the
Rome Statute. The American
Service Members’ Protection Act 2002 (ASPA)
authorizes the President of the United States to use “all means necessary
and appropriate to bring about the release of any U.S. or allied personnel
being detained or imprisoned at the request of the International Criminal
Court.”
In 2018 USA
said U.S. would do everything “to protect our citizens” should the
ICC attempt to prosecute U.S. servicemen over alleged detainee abuse in Afghanistan. If that happened, ICC judges and prosecutors
would be barred from entering the U.S, their funds in the U.S. would be sanctioned and the U.S. will prosecute them
in the US criminal system. We will do the same for any company or state that
assists an ICC investigation of Americans, said US.
The United
States ordered sanctions against the ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda and the
ICC’s head of Jurisdiction, Complementary, and Cooperation Division, Phakiso
Mochochok for an investigation into alleged war crimes by U.S. forces and the
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in Afghanistan since 2003. ICC responded that
it will continue to investigate war crimes.
UNIVERSAL
JURISDICTION
Universal jurisdiction
is a doctrine of international law that holds that certain crimes such as
torture, war crimes, genocide,
crimes against humanity, forced
disappearances, are so grave, that society
is entitled to go beyond national borders to prosecute offenders. International
treaties such as the 1949 Geneva Conventions, the 1973 Convention against
Apartheid, the 1984 Convention against Torture, provide for states to use
universal jurisdiction.
Under
Universal jurisdiction a state can try persons for crimes committed outside the
state, but only very serious crimes, such as genocide, war crimes and crimes
against humanity are considered worthy of such prosecution. They are considered
to be crimes that affect the world
community as a whole.
Universal Jurisdiction is also used to prevent
criminals from slipping through the gaps between national jurisdictions. Under
Universal Jurisdiction, a state cannot shield a suspect. The state is required to exercise
jurisdiction or to extradite the person to a state willing to do so or
surrender the person to an international criminal court. No place should be a
safe haven for those who have committed heinous crimes.
Over the past
15 years, a number of states have started to apply universal jurisdiction
legislation with regards to war crimes, crimes against humanity, torture or
genocide, said Human Rights Watch. But as at 2015, there seem to have been only
17 reported cases. Most of these cases concern low- or mid-level perpetrators
who had been hiding in the state, admitted HRW.
But there
were some high profile arrests too. In 1961, Universal Jurisdiction enabled
Israel to prosecute a senior Nazi official, Adolf Eichmann, for his role in the
Holocaust during World War II. In 1998 former Chilean dictator Pinochet was
extradited from London at the request of Spain. In 2005 former Peruvian
President Alberto Fujimori was extradited from Chile to Peru.
Hissène Habré, President of
Chad was arrested in 2016 and charged before an international tribunal in Senegal for, inter alia, ordering the killing of
40,000 people. He had been supported as
President by France and the United
States, who provided training, arms, and financing. He was sentenced to
life imprisonment. He is the first head of state to be convicted in the court
of another nation.
In 2015, Center for Constitutional Rights, (CCR)
based in New York, wanted U.S. officials held accountable for torture, war
crimes, and crimes against humanity under universal jurisdiction. US had refused to conduct investigations at home.CCR
then linked with Berlin-based European Center for Constitutional and Human
Rights (ECCHR), the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the
Canadian Center for International Justice (CCIJ).
CCR filed
cases in Germany, France, Switzerland, Spain,Canada and with
United Nations Committee Against Torture (CAT). Investigations into U.S.
torture are on-going in Spain and the UN. United Nations Committee Against
Torture was also reviewing Canada’s
failure to uphold its universal jurisdiction obligations to investigate George
Bush for torture, following the filing of a case against him during his visit
to British Columbia in 2011.
In May 2012, the Kuala
Lumpur War Crimes Commission again
under universal jurisdiction took
testimony from victims of torture at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo, and
convicted in absentia former
President Bush, former Vice President Dick Cheney, former
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, and others
for conspiracy to commit war crimes. The tribunal referred their findings to
the International
Criminal Court. The legitimacy of the tribunal and its findings have been
questioned.
There is now a retreat from rampant universal jurisdiction. Spain
passed a law in 2005 which said that Spanish courts could try genocide cases
even if they did not involve Spanish nationals. Spain then became a convenient
port of call for those who wished to push universal jurisdiction. Henry
Kissinger was called to Spain to give testimony about the US Government’s Operation
Condor.
in 2006, the Spanish
High Court agreed to investigate a case in which seven former Chinese
officials, including former President, Jiang Zemin, and former PremierLi Peng were alleged
to have engaged in genocide in Tibet, decades ago.
China denounced the investigation as interference in its internal affairs and
dismissed the allegations as “sheer fabrication”.
Spain then decided to change direction. Spain passed a law in 2009 that restricted
investigations to those “involving Spanish victims, suspects who are in Spain
or some other obvious link with Spain”. This was followed by Organic law 1/2014.
Organic law 1/2014 expanded the list of crimes covered by
universal jurisdiction in Spain but restricted the targets. For genocide,
crimes against humanity or war crimes, the accused had to be a Spanish
national, a foreigner who habitually resides in Spain or a foreigner who
happens to be in Spain and whom the Spanish authorities have refused to
extradite. This law led to the dramatic closure of practically all criminal
cases in the National Court, leaving
victims ‘in a state of great legal helplessness, ‘reported analysts.
From its inception universal jurisdiction has been contentious,
raising hackles not only in authoritarian states but in democracies too, said
analysts. the domestic legislation
differed in each country, prosecutions are costly and cumbersome, evidence and
witnesses were not easy to find. The end result was highly variable and may include miscarriages of justice. There is
also the danger of politically motivated prosecution. complaints can be filed without sufficient
evidence simply to cause political embarrassment.
Former US Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger did not like Universal
Jurisdiction. he said it was a breach of
a state’s sovereignty. Any state
could set up universal jurisdiction
tribunals and this could quickly degenerate into trials of the states’
opponents. Universal Jurisdiction with its divergent national criminal
procedures, standards of evidence, accepted forms of punishment and the
like will only help
to fragment international criminal law, added
analysts.
Spain’s experience with China shows that diplomatic relations can
get adversely affected. When national
judges turn to universal jurisdiction, they cannot help creating diplomatic
frictions, observed analysts.
The weaknesses in universal jurisdiction of independent states, strengthens the case for limiting the
exercise of universal jurisdiction to the International
Criminal Court (ICC). ICC was created to eliminate the inefficient,
double-standard-ridden international criminal justice regime that was emerging
from the patchwork of tribunals created in the 1990s. It was intended as the
first universal institution for enforcing international criminal law.
ICC is assuredly an imperfect tool, but single states are at a
much greater disadvantage when it comes to investigating and prosecuting
complex criminal cases across state boundaries under universal jurisdiction, concluded
analysts. (continued)
A documentary about a 10-year-old Aboriginal boy’s experience in school, In My Blood It Runs, has reignited a debate about Australia’s failure to give indigenous children a good education and a fair start in life.
“Listen carefully,” the teacher tells the class. “This one isn’t a story, this is information, or non-fiction – it’s fact.”
She’s holding up The Australia Book, a picture book from 1952, and reads: “In Botany Bay, Cook landed for the first time in a new country. Then he sailed up the coast, mapping as he went… On an island in Cape York he raised the English flag. And he claimed for the English country the whole of this new land.”
Dujuan Hoosan’s hand shoots up, but he doesn’t get the chance to speak.
Afterwards, the children have to find a list of words in the text and mark them with a highlighter. Dujuan, a 10-year-old Aboriginal boy, struggles a bit with the vocabulary, but he finds it even harder to recognise the story, because the history he has been taught by his elders is very different.
“That [lesson] was for white people, not for Aboriginals,” he reflects. “This man came on the ship and he was the first white man on Australia. The Aboriginal people told them to go and find another land, because this was their land. But people didn’t listen.”
Film-maker Maya Newell filmed the scene for her documentary, In My Blood It Runs – in which she followed Dujuan at school for a year – and could feel his frustration.
“You imagine what it feels like to be essentially erased from history,” she says.
Maya and Dujuan first met “out bush” when Maya was filming a story-telling session in one of the red-earth deserts of central Australia. Sitting around a campfire at night, a rapt group of Aboriginal children listened as aunts and grandmothers told stories in the Arrernte language about how the world began and about their connection to the land.
Dujuan was an eager learner. He had already got to know quite a few plants with medicinal properties, and told Maya about his healing gift: when his family had aches and pains it was his job to lay hands on them, he said, using powers that had passed to him after his great-grandad died.
Maya was struck by the unusually confident and articulate 10-year-old. When Dujuan said she should make a film about him, she asked his family, and they agreed. They wanted to shine a light on the difficulties Aboriginal families face in Australian schools, and they trusted Maya, who had been working with their community for more than a decade, making educational films and archiving songlines (an ancient way of passing on laws and knowledge).
Maya began to spend two or three days a week with Dujuan’s family – his mother, grandmother and two brothers – recording day-to-day life in the Hidden Valley Aboriginal Town Camp, on the outskirts of Alice Springs. Some days there was no milk, so the boys ate breakfast at school. Some nights there was no electricity, so they played I-spy under the stars.
About 20% of the town’s 30,000 residents are Aboriginal, and most of them live in heavily-policed, run-down camps that sprang up in the 1960s, when many Aboriginal people were forced off their land.
“You grew up around drunks, smoking – then you start learning from that,” says Dujuan’s mum, Megan. She was expelled from school at 14, so her parents sent her to stay with aunties in the safety of the countryside in Borroloola, 1,260km (780 miles) north. That’s where she met Dujuan’s dad, James, who came back with her to Alice Springs with their first child, but left when they broke up, a few years after Dujuan was born.
“Being a teenage parent is hard, and being an Aboriginal mum is exhausting,” Megan says. “Every day you hear that you are not good enough – in the newspapers, on TV, on social media.”
She worries about her children getting into trouble, like she did, particularly “smart and cheeky” Dujuan. And as filming progresses, her fears are realised.
One day a teacher reads the class a picture book of the Dreamtime, the Aboriginal story of how the world began. It’s an effort to teach Aboriginal culture, but it’s not a great success. The teacher seems puzzled. “So they’re actually saying there’s a spirit?” she asks.
Dujuan reacts with emotion: “The spirit is real, man!”
When his report card arrives he gets very upset. He has the lowest grade – E – for every subject. He thinks there must be something wrong with him.
Soon afterwards, he gets angry and smashes a window; he is sent home and risks being suspended. He also starts skipping school, and this could have serious consequences – under strict rules brought in with the aim of improving educational outcomes for Aboriginal children, attendance is directly linked to income support and family assistance. If children are regularly absent, their parents’ welfare payments can be stopped. It also increases their risk of being taken into care.
Australia’s “national shame”
In 2008 the Australian government pledged to “close the gap” in outcomes for indigenous and non-indigenous people in terms of life expectancy, child mortality, education and employment
Last year the government acknowledged that most of the seven targets had not been met – which Prime Minister Scott Morrison described as a “national shame”
When Dujuan doesn’t come home from school one day, his mum and grandma go out looking for him until late in the night. If the police find him first, they will report it to welfare, and he could end up in foster care – or worse, juvenile detention.
“You know, your little age is the right age to go to juvenile centre,” Megan warns him.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are vastly over-represented in the Australian penal system. Nationwide, they make up close to 70% of those aged 10-14 in youth detention, despite being only about 6% of the population in that age group. In the Northern Territory, in which Alice Springs is located, the situation is even worse: at the end of March, 31 out of 33 young people in detention (94%) were Aboriginal.
“Trust me, juvenile is not a good place to be,” Dujuan’s aunt Alexis tells him. “You’re only going to end up in two places: a jail cell, or a coffin.”
“What’s a coffin?” asks Dujuan.
Dujuan’s family move him to a different primary school, one that offers a bilingual curriculum. But he skips classes here too, and his late-night adventures on the streets of Alice Springs continue.
He’s picked up by the police several times, and gets formal warnings that if he’s found causing a nuisance again he’ll be sent to juvenile detention, or taken into care.
“This is what happens to young boys in Alice Springs. This is the story of what it is to be a First Nations child in this country,” Maya Newell says.
Finally, after stealing a teacher’s car keys and throwing them on the school roof, Dujuan is expelled.
The Northern Territory department of education says its schools are supported to deliver the Australian curriculum framework in a “culturally responsive and engaging way” acknowledging the “rich culture and diversity” of the community.
It says schools can opt to use an “indigenous languages and cultures curriculum”, including tuition in any of 30 languages, and that they are encouraged to share decision-making with families, communities and industry partners.
But Dujuan’s family never felt these good intentions were reflected in the classroom.
“White people educate our kids in the way they want them to be educated, but I need [our kids] to speak the language,” says Dujuan’s grandmother, Carol.
Within living memory it was government policy to break the link between children and their Aboriginal ancestors and culture and to assimilate them into the white population.
Dujuan has grown up with stories of children being taken away to be brought up by white families. One of his great-grandmothers was taken, while another was hidden “way out bush” for safety.
William Tilmouth, chair of Children’s Ground, a charity that teaches Aboriginal children through storytelling sessions like the one at which Dujuan and Maya first met, is an example of this “stolen generation”.
“I can remember my eldest sister telling me that when they used to see Welfare coming down the road all the mothers used to run out, grab the kids and run straight back into the house, that way Welfare couldn’t get them,” he says.
He and all his siblings, however, were forcibly removed after his mother’s death. The five oldest had whiter skin and were sent to Adelaide, where they were expected to “blend in”, he says. He and two brothers were taken 1,400km from Alice Springs to be brought up in a Methodist mission, where they were banned from speaking their language.
“We never knew who our family were,” he says. “It was a deliberate attempt to fragment the foundations of our lives, to the extent that we kept asking ourselves, ‘Who are we?'”
Dujuan is at least in no doubt about this. “I was born a little Aboriginal kid,” he tells Maya. “That means that I had a memory about Aboriginals. I just felt something, a memory. History. In my blood it runs.”
When William ran away from a children’s home he was placed in juvenile detention, which he describes as a “conveyor belt that led ultimately to the prison system”.
Only when he was 17 was he able to hitchhike back to Alice Springs, to be reunited with his father, three years before he died.
Although the policy of assimilation is no longer explicit, William says, the draconian rules governing education and welfare mean the system is still set against indigenous children. He sees many parallels between his story and Dujuan’s.
But Dujuan’s family come up with a strategy to keep him safe – the same one that was used in his mother’s case, before he was born. They send him to live in Borroloola, with his father, James Mawson.
“Kids like Dujuan go to detention centres. I wanted to move him away before that happened,” says his mum, Megan. “We Aboriginal parents do love and care about our kids.”
Despite the fact father and son have not seen each other for five years, it works out well. In Borroloola everyone pitches in, working the land and looking after cattle. Dujuan likes being able to spend weekends fishing or swimming in the family’s homelands – and there are no armed patrols on the street.
“Borroloola is like a little town where you are related to everybody. It’s better than Alice Springs, where there are many other kids that lead you into bad places, and lots of police that are watching over you,” he says.
He is also happier at the community’s small middle school, where 95% of students are indigenous.
“What I want is a normal life of just being me,” he says at the end of the film, still only 11 years old. “And what I mean by ‘me’ is, I want to be an Aborigine.”
Dujuan has since had to move out of Borroloola to finish high school. Now 14, he’s doing well, but he’s still not a huge fan. “It’s boring to be in school, but I know there is knowledge I need to learn there,” he writes via email.
After the Black Lives Matter protests last summer, the head of English, Andrea Jensen, decided her year nine class would read Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence, the true story of three Aboriginal girls removed from their families in 1931 who walked 1,600 km (995 miles) home. In My Blood It Runs touches on many of the same themes.
But the students could also relate to the experience of not fitting in at school.
“I felt the same way as Dujuan did,” says Elvin, 14. “Because when I was in primary school, I had to go into this special place for people with autism or physical disabilities. When I went out at break time, everyone would go away because they didn’t want to play with me.”
Matthew, 15, says he was made to use a different entrance. “They put me in a room all by myself and they covered the window so I couldn’t see anybody else.”
Dujuan says: “I made the film to give other Aboriginal kids hope and strength, but I think it can give all kids everywhere that too.
A total of 15 COVID-related deaths were confirmed in Sri Lanka today (May 09), says Director-General of Health Services.
The new development has moved the total number of COVID victims in the country to 801, according to official data.
The media release issued by the Department of Government Information stated that the victims had succumbed to the virus infection between the period of May 06 to May 09.
Human Rights
Watch (HRW) and Amnesty International supported the Report of the High
Commissioner for Human Rights. Human Rights Watch said that UNHCR, at its
upcoming session, should act on the recommendations of the UN High commissioner
for Human rights, and adopt a new resolution to enhance scrutiny of Sri Lanka’s
deteriorating human rights situation and pursue accountability for past and
recent violations.
President
Gotabaya Rajapaksa has withdrawn its support for the 2015 consensus resolution
seeking justice and reconciliation, and shown general disregard for upholding
basic human rights. UNHRC should act to
protect those most at risk and advance accountability for grave international
crimes,” Human Rights Watch said.
The UN High
commissioner’s report highlights Sri Lanka’s shocking record of complete impunity
for appalling crimes, and very disturbing developments under the Rajapaksa
administration,” said John Fisher, Director, HRW Geneva. The UNHRC has given
Sri Lanka every opportunity to address these issues over many years, and now
greater international involvement is needed to help protect vulnerable groups
and hold those responsible for grave international crimes to account,” he concluded.
Amnesty
International said: The international community must not turn a blind eye to
the deteriorating human rights situation in Sri Lanka, which is being abetted
by the government’s regressive moves on justice and accountability. The OCHCHR
warns that there are ‘clear early warning signs of a deteriorating human rights
situation and a significantly heightened risk of future violations.
Members of
the military leadership that were in command during the last phase of the war,
when allegations of human rights and humanitarian law violations are
widespread, were rewarded with promotions and positions of power under the new
administration, including to civilian positions. This has had a chilling effect
on victims demanding justice said Amnesty International.
’Amnesty is
calling on the UN Human Rights Council to implement the report’s key
recommendations to put in place more stringent oversight on Sri Lanka,
including more robust monitoring and reporting on the human rights situation,
and the collection and preservation of evidence for future prosecutions. UNHRC must
take urgent steps to address the worsening human rights situation in Sri Lanka.
The Human
Rights Council must take steps to end the cycle of impunity by holding the Sri
Lankan government fully to account, and launching a new internationally agreed
justice process,” said David Griffiths Director of the Office of the Secretary
General at Amnesty International..Amnesty International’s findings reveal a
pattern of targeting those who have played an active role in investigating,
documenting, litigating, or reporting on human rights violations and abuses,
and advocating on behalf of the victims, including at least six incidents where
lawyers were targeted.
The UN report
lays bare Sri Lanka’s abject record on delivering justice and accountability
and the decaying effect this has had on human rights in the country. The
seriousness of these findings highlights the urgent need for the UN Human
Rights Council to step up its efforts in Sri Lanka.”
For more
than a decade, domestic processes have manifestly failed thousands of victims
and their families. Given the Government’s decision to walk away from
resolution 30/1 and regression on the limited progress that had been made, the
Human Rights Council must send a clear message that accountability will be
pursued with or without the cooperation of the Government said Griffiths.
China took the
opposite view. China extended strong support to Sri Lanka at the Interactive
Dialogue. China’s Permanent Representative in Geneva Ambassador Chen Xu said it
is the consistent stand of China to oppose politicization and double standards
on human rights, as well as using human rights as an excuse in interfering in
other countries’ internal affairs. We are concerned about the clear lack of
impartiality shown in the OHCHR’s report to this session on Sri Lanka and
express our regret over the failure of the OHCHR to use the authoritative
information provided by the Sri Lankan Government. The so-called preventive
intervention” and the proposed targeted sanctions contained in the OHCHR’s
report are clear interference in the internal affairs of Sri Lanka and exceed
the mandate of the OHCHR.
The
Government of Sri Lanka also strongly rejected the Report. Sri
Lanka pointed out that the Office of the High Commissioner was bound by United
Nations Resolution 60/251
. United Nations Resolution 60/251 said
that the work of UN Human Rights Council shall be guided by the principles of
universality, impartiality, objectivity and non-selectivity, constructive
international dialogue and cooperation.
(clause 4)
The preamble to United Nations Resolution 60/251 said the UN recognizes the importance of
ensuring universality, objectivity and non-selectivity and the elimination of
double standards and politicization.
The preamble also said that the promotion and protection of human
rights should be based on the principles of cooperation and genuine dialogue
and aimed at strengthening the capacity of Member States to comply with their
human rights obligations.
The Report
was subjective and biased” said the government. It was intended to mislead the
international community, said Sri Lanka.
This report
shows that the OHCHR wishes to directly intervene in the internal affairs of
our country. The Report
has broadened its scope, and included issues of governance and matters that are
essentially domestic in any self-respecting, sovereign country.
High
Commissioner Michelle Bachelet has overreached her jurisdiction and has
interfered with the independence and sovereignty of Sri Lanka by releasing this
new UN report. She cannot challenge appointments made by the head of state of a
sovereign country and interfere with its internal affairs and independence. She
must be advised not to overreach her scope of authority in this manner.
The Report wants
Sri Lanka to remove from office Security Forces personnel and other public officials
alleged to have committed war crimes. The alleged charges were not proven
against any of the officers. The removal of such officers without being proven
guilty would be a violation of their human rights.
The continued
chorus in the Report that credible allegations of serious violations of international
humanitarian law amounting to war crimes having been committed during the
separatist war, however, remains unsubstantiated with the absence of
substantive related evidence, said Sunday Times ,
Here is the full statement made by the government of Sri Lanka to the OHCHR
Report:
The OHCHR Report which is
presented today, emanates from the Resolution 30/1 and 40/1, from which the
Government of Sri Lanka announced its withdrawal of co-sponsorship, at the 43rd
Session of this Council last year. Sri Lanka rejects the High Commissioner’s
Report which has unjustifiably broadened its scope and mandate further,
incorporating many issues of governance and matters that are essentially
domestic for any self-respecting, sovereign country. This is in complete violation
of Article 2 (7) of the Charter of the UN that states: Nothing contained in
the present Charter shall authorize the United Nations to intervene in matters
which are essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of any state…”
The trajectory that has emerged
with regard to the recommendations and conclusions reflects the preconceived,
politicized and prejudicial agenda which certain elements have relentlessly
pursued against Sri Lanka. These recommendations are based on ill-founded
allegations.
Sri Lanka categorically rejects
the conclusions and recommendations in the High Commissioner’s Report. The call
for asset freezes, travel bans, references to the ICC and the exercise of
universal jurisdiction by individual States, based on evidence that up to date
has been denied access to and retained by the High Commissioners Office with
some of it unreleased for thirty years, particularly in relation to a country
like Sri Lanka which has consistently and constructively engaged with the UN
and its mechanisms, points to a distinct and eminent danger which the
international community as a whole need to take note of. Such unilateral
actions by certain countries are unacceptable and a violation of the principles
of natural justice.
In addition to the progress made since
last March, Sri Lanka has provided written comments on instances of erroneous
information, misconceived and arbitrary assessments in the Report. It is
regrettable that the High Commissioner’s Office published its Report,
accompanied by an unprecedented propaganda campaign on it and refused to
publish our Comments on the report as an addendum. This has deprived Sri Lanka
and Members of equal visibility of Sri Lanka’s views on the report.
Sri Lanka refutes the allegations
that have been reproduced in the High Commissioner’s report, from the highly
contentious Report of the Panel of Experts (PoE) on Accountability and the
Report of the High Commissioner’s Office Investigation on Sri Lanka (OISL),
which have been rejected by Sri Lanka for reasons explained to this Council
before. The contents of the Report which have been drawn from the said disputed
reports are rife with factual inaccuracies that appear to equate atrocities
committed by the LTTE, a terrorist organization proscribed internationally,
with legitimate action taken by the Government to safeguard the territorial
integrity of the country and the right to life of our people.
The insistence on ever-expanding
externally driven prescriptions, notwithstanding our continuous cooperation and
engagement with this Council and all UN bodies, can pose numerous challenges
and such processes could set a dangerous precedent affecting all Member States
of the UN.
We regret the disproportionate
attention drawn to Sri Lanka by this Council, driven by political motivations.
Sri Lanka calls upon the members of this Council that any resolution which is
based on this Report, be rejected by the Council and be brought to a closure.
We remain open to engaging
constructively with the UN, including this Council, and the international
community in mutually agreed areas, in conformity with the Constitution and in
keeping with domestic priorities and policies.” End of statement. (Continued)
Colombo, May 8: The Harmony page has been since last month featuring articles from the north-east of Sri Lanka and pertaining to ethnic and religious harmony as well as human wellbeing. We have promoted the concept of dedicating May as a month of peace in Sri Lanka as the nation marks the 12th year of defeating terrorism. Below is the link of the Harmony page article of last week and several related editions.
In the next few weeks, the Harmony page hopes to continue the detailed research it started last month in the interior of the north-east of Sri Lanka, especially in now almost forgotten areas such as Mulliwaikkal, the last bastion of the war. We hope to find out the humanitarian day-to-day needs of the people, beyond the boundaries of local and international politics.
Our last week’s article will reveal some of the difficulties faced by the people. It will also reveal the perseverance, the courage and the incredible potential of using the north-east human capacity for the economic wellbeing of not just that region but the entire Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka is the only country in the world which provided amnesty and pardoned an entire fighting force of an internationally proscribed terror organisation. Although receiving skill training and successfully de-radicalised, and re-integrated back to society, and today leading peaceful lives, these individuals and their families face much difficulty, with lack of employment opportunity. This has led to suicide and mass scale depression which is a phenomenon that should not occur in any country, especially a country which is known as a Buddhist country.
To reverse this situation all it takes is some genuine commitment. We should stop merely waiting for Western foreign agencies or foreign donors to look into the wellbeing of our people. Our people are our people. Whether they are Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims or Burghers. Sri Lanka can easily eradicate poverty whether in the north or south if every profit-making business institution in this country undertakes to assist in the entrepreneurship creation of each poverty-stricken family.
This is what the Harmony page hopes to encourage with the support of Nisthar Cassim, the editor of the Daily and Weekend FT. In what we hope will be a sample media initiative in Sri Lanka the Harmony page will assist Sri Lankan youth such as university students and others, especially between the ages of 18 and 25 to create the link between private companies and families in the north and south.
In the north it will be families such as the beneficiaries who were rehabilitated and integrated back to society and those who are disabled. As needed, we will be in contact with the related institutions of the Sri Lankan Government for security and other considerations, following normal protocol. In the southern areas we are aware that there are still families in acute poverty and that some of these families have a history of being involved in the 1971 and 89 Marxist insurgency.
The way this wellbeing assistance model will work is as follows:
Young people will be mobilised through universities and other educational/vocational institutions to make a list of private companies in Sri Lanka and thereafter to engage with them.
Private companies, especially local companies of diverse stature, including young entrepreneurship ventures set up by young people, will be requested to support in the building of two to three rooms and a toilet and bathing area for identified north beneficiaries. The identification of the beneficiaries will be with the assistance of related Government officials.
All money-related matters will be solely between the beneficiary and the business sponsor. The business sponsor can to their advantage use the ‘marketing’ of their brand as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility framework. For example, its products, etc., could be featured on the walls that they are building. These are once again totally up to discussions between the beneficiary and the sponsor.
After the assistance of the housing renovation/construction, these beneficiaries will be then linked to those having technical skill in product making in diverse sectors. Where relevant the business companies assisting in the construction/renovation of homes can also help in the entrepreneurship creation as benefitting their own business goals.
The identified youth to facilitate the program will be mobilised to create a detailed list of every kind of innovative skill that could be used for entrepreneurship.
Sri Lanka’s heritage, the heritage of the north such as the intangible cultural heritage of Siddha medicine and the northern tradition of cuisine, design, arts, crafts, and construction will be utilised.
The concept of integrated home tourism will be introduced first to the north of Sri Lanka as the culmination of a five-year research begun in 2017 by Surya Vishwa, founder of the Harmony page. This is linked to her concept of integrated education/knowledge tourism on which academic abstracts have been featured.
The integrated home tourism concept is part of the integrated knowledge concept to revitalise the human mind to interconnect different forms of knowledge and especially diverse arts/aesthetics, in order to create stimulating change for the self and society. This is opposed to knowledge being seen as confined to paper qualification.
The knowledge connected to mother nature, the soil, water, plants and indigenous medicine, which this Harmony page has dedicated itself to in the past three years will be a key component of the integrated knowledge concept.
The integrated knowledge-based home tourism will be used consistently for national reconciliation through local tourism, and especially aimed at linking southern Lankan families with those in the north.
The concept of integrated knowledge tourism will be promoted especially during school holidays where southern families with children and youth will be encouraged to visit and stay with northern families, especially in remote areas of Kilinochchi, Mullaithiviu and Mannar in the homes built with the assistance of diverse Lankan companies.
Thus, Sri Lanka can showcase to the world the home tourism concept being used not just for integrated entrepreneurship, economic wellbeing and knowledge enhancement but also national reconciliation and peacebuilding.
International and local events such as bookfairs/knowledge camps/reading camps will be encouraged as part of the above concept.
The first such affiliation being considered is the Northern Children’s Book Festival and Children’s Literature promotion to be carried out by the Lankan chapter of the International Board on Books for Young Children early next year.
The assistance for rural homes in the north-east and south to build up trilingual home libraries is envisaged.
Book knowledge will be encouraged to be used as a vital living component to create innovation and idea stimulation for combining economic, spiritual and mental wellbeing. This combination will be consistently promoted in the north-south facilitated entrepreneurship creation combined with the home tourism concept.
Once the COVID-19 pandemic eases this model will be promoted globally. We will be focusing on tourists such as biodiversity experts and those such as innovators who strive to replace non bio degradable products.
The youth we are training for this overall endeavour will be mobilised to create vast links across the world to identify persons and institutions who respect mother earth and whose inventions are focused on protecting and not destroying nature.
Promoting nature-based innovation will be a core component of the integrated knowledge and integrated home tourism concept.
We would like all individuals and companies who would like to support this endeavour to contact Nisthar Cassim on nistharcassim@gmail.com and Surya Vishwa on 0777 27 33 95. The facilitator of this initiative, Surya Vishwa, will not at any point get involved in handling money. Her role is only as the creator of the concept and as the mobiliser and facilitator. The financial interaction is purely between the business company volunteering the support and the beneficiary.
As a policy this initiative will not include any INGO or NGO or foreign agency support. This is an initiative that will encourage and motivate Sri Lankans to take responsibility for fellow Sri Lankans and for the wellbeing of their country. If INGOs or NGOs or foreign agencies which to support the people of the north as well as rural south using the information of our research on the day-to-day difficulties faced by them, they could do so directly with the people concerned, in collaboration with the Sri Lankan Government. Where needed we can support this facilitation.
We encourage Sri Lanka’s retired military officials who are now working in the private sector to assist us.
(The author/concept developer is a Sri Lankan who strives to transcend beyond inherited birth identity. She has a keen interest in comparative spirituality and indigenous knowledge. Her academic training has been in sociology and she is a curriculum writer and visiting lecturer in Mass Communication at a national university in Sri Lanka under her inherited family name. She has for over 20 years worked as a writer for local and international publications and has been associated with the peace building/training sector. Her library of 15,000 books, of which a large number is on global literature, science, comparative religions and secular spirituality has been opened up for the public free of charge. She cultivates trees using ancient biodiversity centred methods of cultivation and promotes the concept of ‘Integrated Knowledge’ linking diverse aspects of knowledge to create stimulating thinking and innovative practical initiatives that benefit the individual as well as the country).
Colombo, May 8 (Daily Mirror) – Lawyers of DIG Bimshani Jasin-arachchi, who was removed from her duties as the DIG in charge of the Police Ombudsman Range, has written to IGP C.D. Wickramaratne urging him to immediately reinstate her back to her assigned duties or allocate other suitable duties, a statement from her lawyers said.
He said IGP C.D. Wickramaratne had instructed to remove DIG Bimshani with effect from May 1 in line with the programme to regularize the police service. DIG Rohana said that DIG Bimshani would be appointed to a new post by the IGP soon.
He said following the removal of her, a staff DIG has been appointed to the Police Ombudsman Division. It is reported that the move to remove DIG Bimshani from her assigned duties comes following the filing of the petition by a group of Senior Superintendents of Police (SSPS).
Bimshani Jasin Arachchi was appointed as the first ever female DIG in Sri Lanka in October 2020. (Jamila Husain)
