Car Bombs in London-UK feeling the heat

UK Anti-terrorism police have launched a huge manhunt for the people who planted two car bombs in central London. Police, who have described events as "troubling", are studying hours of CCTV footage in the search for suspects. The cars - both Mercedes - were packed with nails, petrol and gas cylinders, but the devices were not detonated.

 

One car was found outside a nightclub  while the second was towed to a pound before its device was found. police have increased their patrols of the capital and are reviewing security for a number of public events being held in the city.Police said the safety of the public was their top priority and urged everyone to remain vigilant. BBC security correspondent said "Simultaneous, co-ordinated bombs have historically been a distinguishing feature of (al-Qaeda's) anti-Western attacks ".

 

while the new cabinet crisis group met under the leadership of the new PM Gordon Brown , UK police have started a massive hunt, while discussions are being taking place to have more stringent security measures and also to have tighter anti terror laws.

 

acts of terror must be not only condemned but also be it any where  in the world , we understand the scourge terror far too well than any other country . LTTE in Sri Lanka has repeatedly over the last couple of decades carried out indiscriminate bombings in both Colombo and rest of the country. many hundreds if not thousand of lives were lost in such bombings and many are living with visible and invisible scares of such attackers.

 

all through the time, well through some of the most devastating bomb attacks including the Bomb in Maradana, Central Bank UK not only took the position of peacemaker but also insisted the successive governments to follow a process of peace, dialog with a terrorist group who had no interest in a political solution nor dialog. UK kept their pressure on the Government of Sri Lanka through the decades ,cutting off financial and military aid,forcing the government to fight on its own, a murderous terror group ,while UK harboured the most of the predominant and leading LTTE figures, turning a blind eye to LTTEs use of UK as a logistics and a financial hub.

 

LTTE made UK its financial hub, the center of its operations in Europe for extortion but also procuring weapons and explosives and also exchanging terror know how. the latter was achieved by making connections and links with many of the terrorist and subversive groups of the world, most of whom who had a presence in UK. it was only recently that the UK authorities arrested two of the top LTTE financier in UK, in a bid to stop the use and abuse of UK soil as a centre of terror financing.

 

i guess UK government and the police should understand the graveness of terror, be it waged in streets of Jaffna or London , terror is terror and to fight it the methods and standers are the same. while UK presses with More and more tough anti terror laws they should not criticise actions of the Sri Lankan security forces as abusing human rights.UK needs to understand, when you play with snakes they tend to bit you back too.

 

may be the arrest of the two LTTE agents in London may be linked to the two car bomb , or it may not be the case, but who ever the culprits are , rest assured the LTTE may have links to them,even may have provided bomb making know how.so, its up to UK to understand the graveness of terror abroad is also terror at home.

 

it was divine intervention or some thing else prevented the two bombs from going off, thus preventing a great loss of life. that would have been bad, and we understand that well.we have felt the pain of losing so many in the hands of terror and we need to get together to fight the scourge of terror.but then you cant have double standers, one set for UK and another for Sri Lanka.

 

 

Richard Boucher’s interview with a Norwegian newspaper

I was going through Asiantribune when I came across two articles on an interview of Richard A, Boucher, US Assistant Secretary, for South and Central Asian Affairs with Dagsavisen, a Norwegian newspaper. The interview took place soon after the end of the Co-Chairs meeting in Oslo to review the latest developments in Sri Lanka.

Boucher represented USA. While Japan, EU, and Norway, the other members of the Co-Chairs, also participated in meeting.

I find the interview quite interesting, not because Boucher was plain and up to the point about the LTTE but also hinted or at least expressed on the type of ‘solution’ the Co-Chairs vis a vis International Community wants to see, parties to the conflict accept.

With regards to the LTTE, he had stated that the US governments banning of the LTTE was based on the fact that it was crucial in terms of finding a solution. And went on the state “We have to be honest. The organization has killed leading members of parliament and public officials; they have killed the Indian Prime Minister. They have been engaged in terrorism until to this day. This the nature of a terrorist organization” needless to say, at least it’s good to know that US understands the true nature of the LTTE.

Unlike some of the other members of the Co Chairs, particularly Norway who constantly attempt to whitewash the terrorist actions of the LTTE, US made it clear about LTTE’s use of violence as means to justify its cause.

Furthermore, Boucher refused to compare the Human Rights violations of the Government with LTTE terror, claiming that the Sri Lankan Government is leading a democratic country. This is quite right, hats off to Mr.Boucher for that. But the notable fact is that the Norwegian papers attempt to compare LTTE terror to HR violations is a highly significant point. It gives out the viewpoint of the Norwegian Press over the LTTE and, again its use of terror to justify its claims.

Boucher went on to say that the Government should ‘dissolve’ Karuna group as its involved in Child recruitment and went on to state that “They have been involved in too many unacceptable actions”. However, in terms of the LTTE , Boucher acknowledged the fact that LTTE also recruits child soldiers but stopped short of saying “In order to get the Tigers to abandon the use of child soldiers there must be pressure from the international community “ So in Boucher view what are the ‘unacceptable’ actions that are executed by Karuna Group ? And why is that the LTTE is to get pressure from International Community over child soldiers, while the Karuna group has to dissolve? This need to be answered by the International Community I guess before we proceed beyond this point, as there should be no double standards of each different group or stakeholders.

But what’s more interesting is that while explaining the International Communities current approach to the situation, he mentions that the diplomats will use both whip and carrot in order to get the parties in the civil war back to the negotiation table. He cited economic consequences as the ultimate penalty to be paid by the Sri Lankan government, if it elects to continue war.

While commending the International Communities efforts so far to both screw up and to settle the conflict in Sri Lanka , I have to ask how on earth did they decided on this policy. Is it that they decided to use it because this is the best option so far, open to them or just that they see us as easy pray to yield to their consuming pressure? I don’t think this is the approach they used in Afghanistan, with its dealings with the Afghan government or Pakistan, over its issues in Human Rights and eroding Democracy or government of Israel.

As for the penalty, the sad truth is that not only it’s a hard hitting reality but also due to our prolonged reliance on foreign aid and investment we are but bounded by it.

Then the ‘final solution’ bombshell, where He stated “The USA shares the view of other countries involved in the peace process and a final solution must contain a one state solution where the Tamils are given broad control over their own matters. The problem is to get the parties to accept such a solution”.

So, if that’s the case, I’m I to understand that already US and rest of the Co-Chairs have found a solution to this question? What’s a ‘one state solution”? I guess these are some of the questions the Sri Lanka public should ask from the Co-Chairs, if not we might finally get ended up with imposed ‘solution’ with the kind courtesy of the Co-Chairs.

Abductions –an after thought

Reading few websites, including Tamilnet and few Pro Peace (LTTE Peace) NGO/ NGO Ltds' I get the impression that most of the people who are living in Colombo or at least majority of the Tamils get abducted now days. So, if that's the case, then all most all the white colored vans I see on the road everyday must be either transporting abductees or transiting towards an abduction point.

Some times I'm made to feel as of these metaphorical 'white vans' are a alternative and covert means to curb the shortcomings with public transport, introduced by ,well at least in the eyes of the 'Peace' NGOs .,the Government and some cases 'Para militarise'.

Either way there are many ways to define Abductions, for example in the West , including NATO +PfP countries use the term Rendition instead of Abductions, while in the US its known as Extraordinary Renditions.

whereas is Sri Lanka , white vans are associated with Abductions, Renditions are associated with Executive Jets and Cargo Planes flying to hitherto unknown air fields in eastern Europe, and Middle East , stopping over in major NATO/US bases in Mediterranean and Central Asia.

Then there are other forms of abductions, such as in Central and South America, where abductions are also known as kidnapping and are a thriving local industry itself. There are related services provided by major Western companies and institutions in order to prevent kidnapping in Americas in the form of risk assessments /hostage negotiation etc.

Some people believe in more unearthly forms of abductions and this is known as 'Alien' abductions. X-files are well known for this.

When abductions take place in Europe and US (or renditions as know in that region), they are a necessity. they involve one or many western states , mostly NATO members like Norway , UK and Germany etc. when that happens , people get abducted and bungled in jets and flown to Middle East or North Africa, to places where better known for torture then tourism. They end up later by a busy street in a third country they are wanted or under persecution and of course, a county with a high quality Human Rights abuse record.

When Abductions happen in Sri Lanka, they are a gross violation of Human Rights, a major draw back for Democracy and Fundamental Rights. that's the view of the 'International Community' mainly consisting Western Countries with a interest in Sri Lanka , such as US,UK, Germany ,Norway etc. that view receives a instant seal of approval provided by the so called 'civil society' of Sri Lanka ,consisting a motley collection of Colombo based NGOs. Also since such acts are committed by the Government according to NGO sector and furthermore they will say the government is behind every missing person, however genuine or not the claims are.

When the LTTE abducts children to expand its cadre, that's called a forced recruitment and warrants no reaction from neither the international community nor the civil society and in turn the LTTE is served with a muted press communiqué.

Considering above, one can say there is a stark difference between how abductions are perceived in Society, and moreover, it depends of the different powers involved and also depends of biases and sympathies.

Anyway with regards to abductions in the Sri Lankan context, one has to be more rational and practical. This phenomenon of abductions should not be interpreted not treated with western norms but must be looked through a Sri Lanka angle.

Abductions are a integral part of the Sri Lankan psyche, and this has been practiced for a long time. When considering the actual history of abductions, it spans a few millennia and the oldest recorded incidence of abduction is recorded during the ancient Lankapura times, when king Ravana of Sri Lanka abducted the wife of Rama , princess Seetha of India.

This was not a snatching of a woman, as its portrayed in some western text. Had that been the case there will be a different type 'Ramayana' today, as the Ramayana discusses in length the character of Seetha before and after the abduction and her subsequent rescue. So, it was a abduction, of Political in nature. Is a nutshell the first recorded abduction in Sri Lanka involves a woman but is centered around a political issue. The fight to save Seetha is seen as a war between good and the bad, it self reflects the opposing ideology representing the two warring parties.

Then there are more historical evidence, including Pandukabhaya abducting his mother etc.

Therefore, abductions in Sri Lanka should be taken in a more cultural sensitive aspect. This is a expression of culture and a manifestation of our hidden identity as island dwellers of Sri Lanka and not a pseudo western practice of rendition.

This is why both the government and TNA is silent on the 'growing' spectra of abductions as they both get their interests served, as the government go on thinking with abductions , the Security Forces are getting rid of the LTTE sympathizers ,while LTTE is clogging time with more the suffering of the Tamil people , more the support to their cause increase.

Sri Lanka and 'Failed State' Mantra

Week since the launch of the "Failed States 2007" report by Foreign Policy magazine, we are hearing more and more of the 'failed state' mantra being chanted by the so called Civil Society.

Foreign Policy journal has been compiling this report for some time now and they based /ranked States on different indicators. The report is some what extensive but doesn't give out much about the back ground and also about the factors that change status of the states in the report.

Also, reading the report I get the impression that most of these factors /indicators are more towards the western way of thinking, and attempting to interpret life the western way but in reality the report should be based on more realistic terms and factors.

Report mentions freedom of worship as a significant indicator of stability. Furthermore, it states that vulnerable states display significant amount of religious intolerance. They go on to say that religious repression is a thinly veiled attempt to muzzle civil society of the said countries.

I don't know much about the ground situation in Sudan who is topping the list nor Yemen who is just a notch above us or Republic of Congo, a notch below us but one thing I know is that there are four main religions in Sri Lanka and they all co-exist. If anyone, doubt for a fraction of a second that there is persecution based on religious beliefs in Sri Lanka, please visit the local township nearby or visit four most significant religious places of each major religion in Sri Lanka, and you'll find may be a Temple, Kovil, Mosque or may be a Church close by not more than 1Km away, with a healthy congregation.

So are we really failed states as much as they say?

Are we like Yemen or Congo?

I think not. However, I do accept the fact that there is a question when it comes to the level of rule of law, transparency and accountability that exist currently in Sri Lanka. But that doesn't definitely amount to be ranked and places below Liberia or Congo.

What's next for the Failed States? Pass resolution in the UN Security Council against such stats and send in US troops to remove the failed government and establish a new democratic and all love, happiness and strawberries type government, like the one in Iraq?

I guess the NGO pundits will add the 'Failed State' tag into their list of reasons (War, Abductions, killings, human rights violations, and evictions) why we need to discuss 'peace' with LTTE, or yield to pressure from Norway or organisations like AI or even Federalism as a solution to a so called Failed State.

May be its time we simply forget this "Failed States 2007" report and get on with exploring and executing realistic ways and means to restore Rule of Law in the country and enforce Accountability and Transparency within Governance.

Duminda Silva released-again

UNP Western Provincial Councillor Duminda Silva who was charged with attacking security officials of the US Embassy at Clancy's Irish Pub was released by the Colombo Magistrate yesterday.

this incident happened in May last year when Mr.Dumin Silva assaulted and caused injuries to the two US nationals following a drunken brawl inside the pub, with another group of people.duminda silva was released as the two witnesses had gone abroad and was not available for the court hearing.

however, this incident, the third case against such behavior of him , is not the only,there is a history of such incidents including shoot outs , threats , and attempted rape. the list goes on.

in a nutshell Duminda Silva is nothing but a thug and he should be no where but in Welikada Prison doing good quality time, but UNP decided that since he represents the youth of the UNP ,therefor he must be in the Parliament.that didn't work out.thank god for that!

but sadly he is now in the Western Provincial Council, as a Councillor of UNP. this is a man who get to vote on provincial councils spending on education, development etc.

can we have a guy with a long and extensive history of bashing people ,just because he had money and power ,who repeatedly pick fights and smashes people at night clubs on a regular fixture represent us?

i think this is a clearer and visible aspect of UNPs policy's toward youth of this country and how UNP view the rest of the people of this land.

no wonder why Ranil Wicramasingha is a colossal loser of a leader.

Armed Hovercraft for sale -Rs. 250 million

The Sri Lanka Navy has called tenders to sell its only Hovercraft - Landing Craft Air Cushion  (LCAC) that has never seen any action nor being used for any security related operation during its illustrious career.

This UK built LCAC was purchased by then commander of the Navy , Admiral.Daya Sandhagiri for a exuberant price , with of course kick backs provided/received for use in amphibious attacks, mainly to land Special Forces and spearhead troops in the shallow waters of the North.

The medium-lift M10,  is capable of carrying 50 troops or two jeeps ,and is equipped with a forward ramp for easy access and landing and is armed with a 20mm cannon.

When the Sri-Lanka Navy acquired this  Hovercraft ,they were told that it could achieve a speed of 50 knots with a full load of 10 tons and a range of 600 km for logistical use.however, during sea trails in both UK and later in Sri Lanka, it was revealed that it could only sustain speeds up to 35 knots and the payload capability restricted the range.

This Hovercraft was once hired out by the Navy for the launch of the Porche Cayenne , the SUV of Porche in 1998 and earned some money for the Navy. apart from that , it was never used for any other purpose , either military nor commercial, other than the yearly photo op , for the Navy calender and publications.

In 2005, then newly elected Rajapaksha administration wanted it to take part in the show of sea power on Independence day and it almost made to the last rehearsal before being withdrawn with engine failure.

Aftermath of the 2004 Tsunami when the Navy found itself deploying all sea worthy assets for relief and recovery, the LCAC failed the Navy  another time...,

All in all the SLN Hovercraft excelled well in qualifying it self as a 'white elephant' ,however, with intense pressure brought in by Admiral.Daya Sandhagiri, it was purchased using public money and was rendered useless afterwards.

Sandagiris actions are well documented , not only with regards to the purchase of the Hovercraft ( which is a minor issue) but with many other purchases and in general the mis-management of the Navy during his time as the Commander and later as all powerful CDS.

Apart from 'Soosai' of the LTTE Sea Tigers, Daya Sandagiri ranks No.2 in the list of people who were responsible for destroying the Sri Lanka Navy. at least Mahinda Rajapaksha administration did some good by getting rid of him, but that should not be the end to this sad story.

In my opinion Daya Sandhagiri should be tried for high treason and be shot at dawn ..may be in Trincomalee.pay back for all the sons of this country who perished at sea fighting in the name of Sri Lanka.

Tamilnet banned in Sri Lanka

It seems what i guessed for the last few days is right. Tamilnet , the pro-LTTE web site is 'banned' in Sri Lanka. this was announced in Groundviews , and few other blog sites . it seems ,according to GroundViews , the government had requested all ISPs in Sri Lanka to block Tamilnet. if this is true , then this must be the first time a  website was banned in Sri Lanka.

 

Tamilnet is well know for its pseudo impartiality , and its strong anti-Sinhala / anti-GoSL stance. not only that they were quite anti-anything anti LTTE. all in all Tamilnet was the quasi virtual voice of the LTTE , being operational continuously since 1997. operating out of Norway the Tamilnet was notorious for not only biased reporting but also its twisted form of reporting incidents that relates to the conflict in Sri Lanka, claiming 'reporting Tamil affairs to the world' .

 

D.Sivaram or Taraki was the former Editor of Tamilnet until he was abducted and assassinated by Karuna Group in 2005. a well known LTTE sympathizer, fell victim to the breakaway group from Wanni LTTE , the Karuna group.

 

I guess this will be another major coup for the 'Civil Society' now and I'm quite certain Sunanda Deshapriya of FMM and the gang will hit the Lipton circus pretty soon, claiming 'another infringement to freedom of expression' . however, i do agree that the banning is somewhat curtaining of freedom of expression, as this ban will be effective only in SL, there can be alternative ways to access Tamilnet , thus government will lose out the intended outcome anyway.

 

This is the case in fact, as already Groundviews along with the announcement provides few options in reading the Tamilnet via other mirror sites. may be the government should look into closing them too. may be even GroundViews, so called space for citizen journalism. Groundviews is run by CPA and its nothing but a wanna be pro LTTE web , with a loose collection of former ,now bankrupt journalists from Ravaya and CPA, now running on USAID and other Western funds.

 

I don't agree on the Governments moves to ban websites, that freedom of expression and in this new century , this new form of society called the Internet the government needs to understand that , it too has to provide space for different views however subversive they may be. as the freedom of expression is one of the core distinctions that we differ from a society the LTTE intends to established with the power of gun , called Eelam , we need to uphold that freedom and have adequate mechanisms to address the ill effects of negative publicity on the society by such entities like the Tamilnet , not ban them outright.

 

The banning, if its true, is it based on the terrorist  content of the Tamilnet or is it a futile attempt to stop the Sri Lankan society reading some thing more countervail , such as the Mahinda Rajapaksha- V.Prabhakaran deal ?

 

Only time will answer that question.

 

Al-Jazeera TV footage of the Thoppigala offensive

this is some what old, nevertheless has some good points to ponder ,plus real close up of the real action the Army is facing in the East.good television journalism in the part of the Al Jazeera reporter Tony Britly and crew.

interestingly, there is a scene where they film a bunker built by the LTTE using sacks of rice, donated by 'Humanitarian' agencies. watching this clip makes me think... the whole mask of so called Humanitarian agencies are exposed ..they have no concern for plight of the civilians caught in the war, instead they just use the misery as means to widen their own spear of influence.

Falklands War and UK offer to mediate peace in Sri Lanka

10,000 veterans of the Falklands war congregated to commemorate 25 years since the end of war in the South Atlantic islands of Falklands ,also known as Malvinas to the Argentinians.

An air-show featuring aircraft's that played a role in the conflict followed a moving ceremony of speeches and music that was attended by Prince Charles and former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.

The war came to an end on 14 June 1982, two and half months after the UK territory was invaded by Argentina. Some 255 British servicemen, more than 650 Argentines were killed in the 74-day conflict.

On the eve of the celebration, outgoing UK PM Mr.Tony Blair offered to mediate between the GoSL and the LTTE in a bid to kick start the currently dormant peace process. although UK has played an active part in the governments search for peace and the International Communities support for such a search, UK by far has done nothing to stop the LTTEs murderous campaign of terror , both on its own people and the rest of the people of Sri Lanka.furthermore , Tamil terrorist supporters and agents in UK continues to play a major role in financing , coordinating and controlling the LTTEs rain of terror.

While UK celebrates a war they waged to wrestle power back to them of a colony of its own in South America , they preach us about peaceful dialogue and need to find peaceful means to end conflicts. I'm not a expert on Falklands war but I'm sure Mrs.Thacher ,then PM of UK didn't send a party of Politicians and Dilpomants to Bounos Aires to have peace talks ,or requested the UN to intervene , instead she dispatched a massive flotilla of ships and bombers to hit hard and wage war and wrestle back the control of Falklands.

After 25 years of that war , UK still hasn't admitted their inclination to war and not apologised to the families of the Argentinians killed during the war. for the UK government , Argentinian dead were combatants and the road to war was the only choice they had. be it may be , but when third world governments, particularly Countries that fall under the UKs spare of influence face threats Domestic and International ,they tend to turn around and play the role of 'Peace maker', the great believer in dialogue and discussion.

Was this the case for Falklands? why the Foreign Office and the Parliament of UK didn't request PM Thacher to sit down with the Argentinians , instead of bombing them ?

it all depends on who is fighting whom, if you're a big power, or a NATO member , or part of the G8 then you're exempted, if your nobody , like Sri Lanka today, then we have no option but to discuss peace and search for 'Peaceful Solutions to War" .there is no Peaceful solution to War , nor there is a space for discussion with people who practice terrorism as a means to justify their political demands.

The West, the so called IC understand that dictum very well , but in their zero sum/cost-benefit game they tend to tell us otherwise. so enter Mr.Blair. the Peace Maker in making... i wonder what will happen to Mr.Erik Soilham then... will he join the LTTE international Secretariat and continue to play the role of Antone Balasingham in proxy ?

President in Geneva-Big Talk and lots of noice but did the IC hear it right?

President while addressing the 96th Sessions of the International Labour Conference in Geneva yesterday said "We are determined that in a democracy like ours where political views can be expressed freely, political objectives must be realised through negotiation and dialogue and through compromise. There can be no room for extremism, and even less for violence,"

And he went on to say "Terrorism has no place in the contemporary world. As a government, we are not prepared, at any cost, to bow down to terrorism," . MR also in his speech at a latter part asked the question "Would any of your governments submit to terrorism had they been in our position?"

yah!, i guess it was all great talk, its anyway embodied in our Constitution ,but are we really practicing it? instead of the rest of the world seeing this speech as all talk and big fart and no deeds,... the president has to have the balls to tackle all this allegations of abductions, 'culture of impunity' and the rest of the 'Civil Society' talk and live up to what he says...

I'm sure he may have got a big round of applause, may be a even a near standing ovations, due to the presence of a huge Sri Lankan delegation that accompanied the president but applause's is not we want at this stage of the game , its more hard political support that we need along with big wads of cash.as i see that's not going to happen in the near future.with this gathering storm against the Sri Lankan government in the west, it may be the time we start doing few quick impact 'special projects' and do out few 'quick fixes' so to have our tarnished image is fixed and glittering as new as a Swarnamal ad.

To start with may be we should get rid of the current Police Chief, for not ordering the (he didn't do it, we all know that-it was someone else idea!) expulsion of the Tamils in lodges but because he cant keep his mouth shut and keep on making comments that hurt the wider game plan of the government.

I like it when he asked the terror question on submitting to terror, of course no one will , except may be Norway.but then, not submitting to terror is one thing but violating some of the basic rights of citizens and denying rule of law is another.

New SG for SCOPP

Professor Rajiva Wijesinghe, who was until recently attached to the Sabaragamuwa University has been appointed the new Secretary General of SCOPP. He replaces Dr. Palitha Kohona, who is the Foreign Secretary and was the Secretary General since April 2006 .

Professor Wijesinghe was a senior member of the Liberal party and till recently was its leader.
apart from his functions as a lecturer at Sabaragamuwa Uni., he was also a active member of the Board of Directors at the BCIS in Colombo.

Tinker of Colombo on ADSL

I got my ADSL today. it was an end to a great saga, a Sri Lankan epic , a chronology of typical incompetency and sheer sub standard practises.a month after getting the runaround by the regional SLT office , i sent a letter to CEO and COO of SLT and within 2 hours i got ADSL, not only that i got a call from the regional office.

 

The call from the Regional office was a momentous change of face, about turn for the some people who insisted repeatedly at times humanly impossible undertakings from the part of the subscriber and inhumane treatment from the side of the Regional office staff .

 

Hats off to the CEO and the rest of the key people. at least i can rest knowing the SLT is in good hands , and the people at the helm are competent and concerned of their clients.

 

This is sadly the very opposite of some of the foot soldiers of SLT.

 

Now, I'm online..my virtual presence ensured, this is my web..

 

God speed.

Hambantota Air Port

I see that the President Mahinda was in Hambantota recently to lay the foundation stone and cut the ceremonial pillar of soil to kick start the Hambantota Port.i was passing by Hambantota few days prior to the event and witness half of the Sri Lanka Army there. i guess when your the president and and when your' under threat from the LTTE you have to have some decent security.

 

Back the subject at hand , Hambantota Air Port is a massive project (or claims to be ) undertaken by the Rajapaksha administration and this is is in fact going to be the second international air port in Sri Lanka.

 

Apart from utilising  a USD $175 Million loan from Saudi Arabia the Government wants to tap into locally generated funds. this is mainly going to be funds from the development lottery and National Lotteries Board. this appears to be fine , if the Government can unitised that funds its good, but i amazes me, to see the fact that this funds are coming from revenue earned by the Lotteries Board. one might ask the question now, who buys lotteries ? its the poor people of this country.

 

Although we talk about banning gambling, illicit liquor and casinos, the jackpots this Lotteries are on the top of the vice list.but then, Governments gets to earn the big bucks from the Lotteries so , who is there to complain!

 

Back again to the point of discussion, if the poor are buying lotteries then its safe to assume its the poor folk of this county are funding the Weeravila International Air Port in Hambantota.

 

So , in reality for whom is this Air Port for ? the poor? no, an international air port if for the rich and now the paradox.

 

Poor people> buy Lotteries> lotteries Board earns> Government taps in the Lotteries board earnings>make Air Port> rich people use it

 

That means the poor of this country is funding a air port for the rich people of this country.

 

get it?

Massakar of Policemen in Eastern Province 11 June 1996

On June 10 ,1996 the LTTE resumed its campaign of terror for a Eelam with viralance, snuffing out 14 months of Peace Talks with Colombo and shattering Premadasa administrations hopes of peace with the LTTE.

Tamil Terrorist unleashed a killing inferno, massacring hundreds of Sinhala, Muslim and Tamil Police men and Women in the Districts of Trincomalee, Batticoloa and Ampara in the countries East.

Premadasa government in a break neck attempt to save the Cease Fire and the Peace with the LTTE went ahead and requested the Police to surrender , even though Military and Defence establishment in Colombo were certain of LTTEs resumption of war. end result was more than 600 Police personnel getting brutally killed by the LTTE.

Governments view of hoping the surrender would trigger a change of mind in the side of the LTTE hierarchy tragicly shattered when the LTTE went into a blood bath.

11 years on today, the LTTE has enterd and broken 4 Peace accord and a number of Cease Fires. its rain of terror and thurst for blood has never ceased to stop.LTTEs utter disrespect of laws of war , laws governing combatants and rules of engagment are very much evident.

even the SLMM has to agree on that , even the TNA will ,even with LTTEs cold steel behind their backs will agree.

when will the so called International Community realise the true face of the LTTE?

Unethical hiring practices by NGOs in Sri Lanka

i got this article written by Hemendra Fernando via e-mail and not sure about the original source, but I believe it may have had appeared on the last weeks Daily Mirror .however , this article highlights somewhat controversial aspect of NGOs in Sri Lanka.

Not only hiring of staff members, but firing and pay scales of NGOs are very much a subject of interest to many but one thing that's not highlighted is that these activities are not governed by any law of the country nor there is a mechanism to monitor any malpractices.

There is a vast disparity in terms of Salaries and payments for staff in many NGOs, expeacially the 'Elite' Colombo based National level NGOs. However, there has not been much discussion on these issues in either the public or state forums. The government keeps on following its 'anti NGO' stance, while some of the Opposition parties fuel the greater anti NGO drive.
This is the same with INGOs operating in Sri Lanka, and this is more evident in the Eastern Province where there is still a major presence of INGOs and Local NGOs. Rather than promoting a anti NGO rhetoric, the Government should look into establishing a Competent Authority or a NGO Regulator, thereby not only monitor what the NGOs do but also how they treat their staff.

During my time with a certain UN agency in Eastern Province during the post Tsunami reconstruction period, I have witnessed so many expatriates working in capacity of minor positions, ie-Accoutants/Logisticians etc, positions that can be easily filled by qualified and competent Sri Lankans. Most or, all most all Organisations don't have Local counterparts for high positions held by expatriates. And the access to facilities and benefits that are enjoyed by expatriates are far away from the reach of the Locals within Organisations.

In most of the Colombo based 'elite' class NGOs like the FoCEx, CHA, CPA and Berghoff, there is a particular group of people who consist the public face of these organisations. They also get all the benefits or at least the lion's share of benefits plus retaining the ability to undertake foreign travel (disguised as study visits/meetings/workshops etc) and other vide range of 'Civil Society' type activity.

Currently the NGO Secretariat of the Ministry of Social Services and the Centre for Non Governmental Sectors (CNGS) in Ministry of Finance handle all NGO matters particularly INGOs and big Local NGOs. Registation, visas and work permits are issued by or recommend by these two institutions. However, I'm not sure if any applicant has to neither justify any staff appointment nor account for the pay scales or benefits issued to the staff.

there has to be a uniformed structure ,may be a National Policy on NGOs , therefore not only the state and the public can keep tabs but also facilitate the good work of the NGOs in Sri Lanka.

I hope the Government and the State Structures act soon and not rather sit on their lazy rear sides to formulate some effective procedures and set up a structure to ensure the rights of the staff of NGOs and also ensure transparent and accountable manner in which the NGOs are managed.

this is the Article-here goes>

FEATURES
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Unethical hiring practices by NGOs in Sri Lanka
By Hemendra Fernando

Ever wondered why some of us can’t get a job in an NGO; especially in the old and established INGOs? This is a question that many qualified and experienced often ask. What is required to get hired into an NGO?
The writer conducted many interviews on this matter with current and ex INGO/LNGO staff and a range of applicants with diverse qualifications who continue to apply for specialized positions in INGOs/LNGOs. Often, an organization would place huge advertisements in the print media and the internet, advertising for various posts that require a very high standard of education and experience. However, when the selection is complete, it is rather interesting to know that the person who has bagged the job has merely a basic degree or in some cases just their secondary education only. On some occasions, positions are not advertised at all and backdoor recruitment takes place.
Many interviewees who are qualified (graduates, post graduate degree holders and those with doctorates) said of their experiences; that despite more than 30-40 attempts, their applications have never been acknowledged leave alone have an opportunity for an interview.
Most INGOs when interviewed declined to talk about their hiring practices perhaps because of the negative publicity and public opposition they already experience. Some senior officials point blank refuted any such malpractice in the hiring of staff while other senior managers feigned ignorance. The middle and junior personnel were afraid to commit themselves openly for fear of retribution.
A lady who worked as an assistant to the Human Resources manager of an INGO described how applications of qualified and experienced candidates are immediately thrown into the waste bin and unqualified persons are recruited via the back door. She related the story of how an unqualified yet highly connected lady who worked as an ‘Office Assistant’ (this position was previously referred to as Clerk) was later recruited into the INGO as an “Office manager” who subsequently became the designated ‘Program Officer’ for a very important National Project. She takes home a considerable LKR. 100,000 as salary.
The Human Resources lady acknowledged that this particular post was never advertised. In another instance, two PhD candidates who applied for specialized posts said that they were amused to be interviewed by persons with no more than just O/L qualifications.
Many INGO/LNGOs are supposed to be involved in a variety of activities ranging from conflict resolution, awareness raising programs, peace conferences, advocacy for women and child rights, human rights issues, legal aid, youth empowerment programs, community development, psychosocial support to micro-credit schemes and so on.
However, they lack the capacity in suitably skilled staff to manage the projects. The temptation for most NGOs is to first take the money, and thereafter worry about their actual ability to implement the projects. They often cling on to existing projects and engage in fragmented work just to satisfy donor funding requirements.
A country manager of an NGO was heard complaining that he is unable to get a project completed due to lack of competent staff. On further probing, he discovered that the reason for the dearth of talent in his organization was owing to the unscrupulous deeds of his own project manager/coordinator. There is speculation that the said Project Manager possibly is someone who has reached his maximum level of incompetence (Peter Principle- "In a hierarchy every employee tends to rise to his level of incompetence." Formulated by Dr. Laurence J. Peter) thus he feels uneasy in recruiting persons more qualified than him.
Projects funded by foreign aid always come with conditions imposed by the donor countries. What is surprising is that even these donor agencies show disinterest to investigate the reasons behind the lack of capacity and trained staff to be properly engaged with their projects. This has in turn created confusion amongst the public that INGO contributions do not have any practical impact.
Legally unauthorized personnel
There have been occasions when legally unsuitable persons have been recruited into INGOs. In one instance, a reputable INGO recruited a raw unregistered medical graduate, (with no internship and practice experience at all) to the important post of National Health Advisor. He was paid a very high salary. This person posed as a consultant doctor by having a photocopied hospital (cancer hospital, Maharagama) entry permit pasted on his car windscreen!! It’s shocking that he still operates “at large” escaping the Medical Council’s “Quacks catching net”.
The persons responsible for such unscrupulous and unethical hiring practices are the INGO/LNGO heads themselves. Higher level bosses of established INGOs pursue their own interests rather than national interests. The behaviour of some of them are worse than those in ‘spurious’ organizations that are formed to acquire donor funding. They lack total interest in inducting staff with exceptional skills. These bosses enjoy extravagant perks and are a breed of irresponsible spendthrifts. Developing countries with poverty and conflict is a fiesta for these mercenaries who fail to acknowledge that there is a cost to their extravagance.
This further contributes to the notion that foreign aid is associated with fraud, waste, and abuse and the main cause for the culture of corruption that pervades our society. These facts are even highlighted in an American Economic Review study by James Bovard. (http://www.lewrockwell.com/bovard/bovard13.html) Most interviewees confirm that aid money is used in unproductive ways and not towards real needs. They claim that although some aid money goes into projects, it has only brought about economic and social calamity rather than encouraging good governance and economic stability because NGO bosses fail to take practical decisions that are necessary for self-sustainable growth of the beneficiary.
Subcontracting mechanisms
Subcontracting mechanisms within NGO systems also cast doubts and is a process which is dubious. It is observed that when an NGO arrives in the country, politicians and other shady characters tag onto them. They then thrive on foreign money by obtaining highly inflated subcontracts. In one instance, a media and advertising campaign (AIDS Day 2004) was handed over to the niece of the office manager of an INGO. A sum close to six million rupees was granted for the poster and banner printing! Other printers quoted between 2-3 million for the same job. What was more surprising is how this very lady appeared at a UN workshop and talked about corruption of other INGOs! Another common occurrence is when powerful local staff members of various INGOs hire their houses for the use of INGOs using fake quotation procedures.
In Sri Lanka, the majority of the public perceive INGO activities as foreign intrusion and most such activities are closely monitored by various ethics groups. NGOs are playing a negative and irresponsible role that harms their reputation by encouraging unethical hiring practices.
Thus it is time for INGO/LNGOs to make a significant investment in organizational change and development. Ethical hiring practices require the change in mindsets of the donor agency and the INGO/LNGO. It is time for the big bosses to re-think their employment strategy and implement considerable organizational change if development and peace initiatives are to be taken seriously.
There are many qualified individuals trained in a range of disciplines much suitable for NGO activities. (Community development, Capacity building, peace-building health etc) These individuals must be absorbed into organizations in order to build integrated, highly knowledgeable multi-disciplinary teams. A few INGOs interviewed said that they have already started this process. The ethics groups will continue to monitor the code of conduct of all INGO/LNGOs.

Supreme Court of Sri Lanka puts a stop to the shamefull eviction of Tamils

Reuters today quoted a lawyer with the Colombo based independent think tank Centre for Policy Alternatives stating " "They have just made the order. The registrar has been asked to contact the Inspector General of Police immediately to stop any further evictions of Tamils from Colombo,"

 

this follows the Governments decision to forcibly evicting minority ethnic Tamils from the capital ,which started on Thursday the 05th June.

today a  day after police deported hundreds to the island's war-torn north, the news of the Supreme Court order brings a sigh of relief for the rest of the Sri Lankan citizenry ,who was shocked and at the same time angered by the move of the Government to evict Tamils from Colombo.

 

CPA had on Friday early morning filed a stay order with the Supreme Court request a stop to evictions.

 

Hope this serves as a wake up call to President Mahinda Rajapaksha.