{"id":119732,"date":"2021-10-29T15:41:23","date_gmt":"2021-10-29T22:41:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=119732"},"modified":"2021-10-29T15:41:23","modified_gmt":"2021-10-29T22:41:23","slug":"pandora-papers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2021\/10\/29\/pandora-papers\/","title":{"rendered":"Pandora Papers"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Dr. Tilak S. Fernando<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n

FOCUS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Pandora<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The \u2018Pandora\npapers<\/em>\u2019<\/em> is a\ncomplex offshore financial investigation led by the International Consortium of\nInvestigative Journalists that has exposed the corrupt politicians the world over.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The latest research contains 11.9 million confidential files analysed by\nthe ICIJ in the teamwork of over a hundred journalists worldwide. ICIJ first\ncame out exposing international politicians and corrupt businesspeople with the\nPanama Papers in 2016. Some of the prominent global names in the illustrious\nlist of the latest \u2018Panama\nPapers\u2019\ninclude (as per Media reports) the former Prime Minister of the UK, Tony Blair,\nthe King of Jordan, and the Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar Et al.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Journalists Responsibility <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Journalists allocate much time to establishing the positive aspects of\nany regime within the hearts of the public. Each time they make a political\nstatement, they must not point out failings in political rulership. Still, if\nthere is any corruption, it helps because \u2018pronouncing diagnosis to a patient is not the same\nas curing the sick.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 If journalists require, by their wish to cast an image, it will\ndebase their attempt. But if they think their calling is in the public interest\nit would be acceptable. Simultaneously if journalists maintain silence out of\nfear, it will not help the public whom the ordinary man and woman pay taxes to\na Government compulsorily, direct or indirect. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Journalists have a prime responsibility towards their vocation, conscience,\ntruth, and the world community (in this instance<\/em>) to fight against\ninjustices. How are those in power to be helped if journalists ignore\nthese? The voluntary silence in the face of corruption or oppression would be\nspiritual suicide, and it would silently undermine the foundation of the\nbrotherhood of journalists. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sri Lanka<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

 The Government of Sri Lanka was struck by a bolt from the blues\nwhen the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists featured names\nof those Sri Lankans for the second time in \u2018Pandora Papers.\u2019 Sri Lankans managed to enter the Forbes Rich List.\nHeading the list was businessman Thrirukumar Nadesen and his wife Nirupama\nRajapaksa, a former parliamentarian and Deputy Minister. Eminent Buddhist monk\nVen. Muruththetuwe Ananda Thera has already presented a submission to President\nGotabaya Rajapaksa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The venerable has requested the President to carry out a full\ninvestigation by The Commission of Bribery and Corruption (CIABOC) and delve\ninto the Sri Lankans named in the \u2018Pandora and Panama papers 2016.\u2019 In the\nVenerable\u2019s letter, he observed that the Panama Papers identified not less than\nsixty-five names who had robbed Sri Lanka\u2019s wealth for their advantage. Added\nto the Nadesen couple, there seem to be sixty-five Sri Lankans, including\nChampika Ranawaka\u2019s (Samagi Bala Wegaya) right-hand man Vidya Amara Pala\n(exposed by the Media). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The venerable monk also appreciates the attitude taken by President\nGotabaya Rajapaksa in advising the CIABOC to investigate illegal transactions\nand not to confine the probe only to the couple,d but to restructure a transparent and impartial\nexamination to unearth the devious and money-spinning dealings of all Sri\nLankans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Exposure <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Panama Papers exposed were\nvarious trusts, holding companies and bank accounts of those \u2018authorised<\/em>\u2019\nusers to open accounts, but there seem to be no documents to prove that those\nare fraudulent wealth. \u2018Pandora\nPapers\u2019\ndisclosed fourteen offshore facilities of prosperous individuals and\ncorporations. They sought to integrate shell companies, trusts, foundations in\nlow tax or tax-free areas, and helped investors open bank accounts in countries\nundemanding financial regulations across or in several taxhavens via the most\nrobust covert operations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

At this very moment, the Sri Lanka Government is \u2018starving<\/em>\u2019 for\nUS dollars. It is a significant apprehension for the administration because the\ncountry suffered a tremendous blow on the economic front due to the COVID-19\npandemic. As a result, the Government did shut down for many months. On top of\nsuch miseries, the Government Teachers and Principals\u2019 Unions came to the\nstreets, at first demanding their salary incongruity that lasted for the last\ntwenty-four years! Sri Lankan protesters were free to demonstrate as they\nwished (while their salaries get transferred to teachers\u2019 bank accounts<\/em>). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Comparatively, the Australian police used water cannons mixed with\npepper powder to control demonstrators. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa had issued\nfirm instructions to the Sri Lanka police not to use any water cannon or baton\ncharges against protesters! Yet,\nprotesters seemed to have taken such a caring attitude to their advantage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Also, despite the Prime Minister\u2019s meeting on 13 October 2021 with\nthe stalwarts of the Teachers & Principals\u2019 Union, the Sri Lanka Government\nwent out of the way to settle the dispute in two instalments (one in the\nNovember Budget<\/em>) and 2nd and the 3rd instalments in 2013 Budget<\/em>.\nHowever, the teachers\u2019 union leaders seem to protest continuously demanding\ntheir dues at once! Buddhists clergy requested the Union leaders to accept the\nlatest offer and think of the children\u2019s future. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet, the Ceylon Teachers\u2019 Union (CTU) General Secretary Joseph Stalin\nJoseph and Mahinda Jayasinghe were adamant on their stance, stating that \nwe are protesting adhering to COVID19 health guidelines, so there shouldn\u2019t be\nan issue to spread the pandemic.\u201d<\/em> But the cardinal point is that the\nselfish General Secretary forgets to what extent the poor children are\nsuffering by advising teachers not to engage in teaching or engage in online\nclasses. The rich children will always get the advantage of getting their\neducation through international schools but the helpless poor students! Many\nteachers stayed away from conducting online classes for three months as a part\nof the trade union action act\nover the pay anomaly. It has reached a stage when parents become\nfrustrated when children are left idle at home. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On 14 October 2021, TV news revealed how a young boy hung himself and\ncommitted suicide due to frustration for not being able to learn in any form.\nSome public sections are getting frustrated with the teachers and Principals\u2019\nprotest when the Government has stretched its hand beyond financially\npermissible limits. As a result, in some areas, the teachers were hackled by\nthose who were passing by. Teachers\u2019 and Principals\u2019 unions have been claiming\nover three hundred protests around the country to demand an immediate solution\nto their salary anomaly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It becomes somewhat clear that those unions who are against the\nGovernment by declining the latest offer are hell-bent on political skulduggery\nto debase the Government with their political ideology. As far as the young\nschoolchildren are concerned, it is an encouraging sign to note that various\nPrincipals\u2019 unions have come out now and say that they will continue with the\nchildren\u2019s education when the school reopens again. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is commendable that faction of Teacher Union led by Joseph Stalin\ndecided to report for duty on 25 October, but other faction led by Ven. Ulapane\nSumangala Thera has decided to continue with the TU action. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

tilakfernando@gmail.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Dr. Tilak S. Fernando FOCUS The \u2018Pandora papers\u2019 is a complex offshore financial investigation led by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists that has exposed the corrupt politicians the world over. The latest research contains 11.9 million confidential files analysed by the ICIJ in the teamwork of over a hundred journalists worldwide. ICIJ first […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-119732","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-by-drtilak-s-fernando"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119732","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=119732"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119732\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=119732"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=119732"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=119732"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}