Why is the arrival of Navi Pillay a problem for Sri Lanka? WE have made it a problem, NOT HER!

Navi Pillay an educated South African of Indian Origin, as the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, has a job to do, and as part of that job she is in Sri Lanka on a fact finding mission and to meet with leaders and obtain their views on some of the International concerns that have arisen and report back to the UN.

She is NOT here as a representative of the Tamil Diaspora, to find fault with the SL Govt. Do not forget that the LLRC was a totally internal commission set up by the Govt. which issued a report, on which the Govt faithfully agreed to adopt its recommendations.

It would be ironic wouldn’t it if Navi asks MR, has this report being implemented? Of course MR will say it has, and that’s that! That is why we become a laughing stock, as we dig our own hole which we fall right into!

A Govt with a minority complex, completely unable to deal with these normal overseas intruders, will no doubt pick a fight and end up with a bloody nose. It is all a predictable outcome. The traitors of the nation will undoubtedly accuse her of crimes she did not commit, further disadvantaging the Country in its international standing by making a mockery of due processes. The true patriots will be aghast at the way the cretins get away with their treachery, as it has official sanction.

Navi Pillay is far too smart for these school leavers who inhabit our portals of power, and will run rings round them, when she issues her report, which will be diplomatic, tactful, but clear, that in a dictatorship, what is said is NOT what is done. Lies have gone on for too long, and the crimes have come home to roost.

With accountability only resting with the powerful executive, there will be NO WRIGLE ROOM for the President who will have to take all the blame for all inaction, and all broken promises. I am appalled at this treachery, as we have placed our trust in our Government and Leadership to do what is right for the Country, and when their lies are exposed to the world, it is us who are ashamed to have put them in power.

MR has had four and a half years to make amends, and when nothing he has promised has been done, he turns out to be someone who is just a pathological liar, that we as a country must be ashamed to have vested so much power in one who has dealt this blow against Sri Lanka, when someone will have to painstakingly reverse.

It is more difficult to repair mistakes after they are made! Something that the culprit does not understand.

It would be better for the rabble that are gunning for her to desist from their childish utterances, as they are merely displaying their ignorance of the brief of the UN HC for HR. Similarly with MR leaving for Belorussia at the same time of her arrival it shows that the Govt. is ready for anything that is thrown at them, with NO fear! So then why even mention that she arrived on the island this morning, if it was so inconsequential.

We are schizoid when we should be gracious to any guest who arrives  in our island as we are known as hospitable hosts not ogres!  

Ceylon Today continues with its unabashed lying – a sad reflection of the Gutter Press

It is particularly sad that no one has hitherto advised the Mahanayake Thera of the Asgiriya Chapter about the words he is supposed to have told the delegation of the United Bhikku Front when they visited him recently.

Accordingly the purported report (manufactured as a figment of some wide imagination and ascribed to a Kamal Suraweera) the Most Ven. Undugama Sri Buddharakkhita Maha Nayake Thera, said, and I quote verbatim from the Ceylon Today online paper as follows:

"The UNP Leader acts on the advice of a group of sycophant henchmen around him, who work for only self-aggrandisement, benefits and privileges.

They are immune to people's suffering and the colossal hardships the public has to undergo everyday.

The UNP, under the present leadership is misled by the so-called close advisers," the Thera said addressing a delegation of priests from the United Bhikku Front, who were visiting the Malwatu and Asgiri Chief Prelates.

"For over 20 years, under the leadership of Ranil Wickremesinghe, the Party has been on an irretrievable downward slide. A coterie of sycophants around the leader conjures up every manner of obstruction in the way of any up and coming popular leader, until he leaves the Party in sheer disgust. Day by day the Party is sinking in a quicksand of oblivion.

"There is now virtually no opposition in the country to fight any issues with regard to the government. This is truly a tragedy of massive proportions," the Thera said.

It is time that the Mahanayake is informed of exactly what was ascribed to him, so that he can refute the statements made, as the true meaning of what he said has been misquoted, and lost in translation into the English.         

It is well known that he is unhappy with the direction the opposition is taking he is not as untactful as to not give it credit for their efforts in countering the excesses of this Government. He is now quite convinced that his backing of a regime that is fast losing its credibility is not acceptable. He would like to see a new leader of the UNP, but that is not due to the incompetence of the present leader, just that he believes they need a more electable leader to lead them, and is willing to give more time for one to emerge, as there is no suitable candidate in the horizon.

The mistaken aspersion that the leader does not give a chance for youth to emerge was never mentioned by him in the meeting, and a figment of the Newspapers imagination. So let us hope the papers stops its lying or cease to publish!

PROTECTION OF THE RIGHT TO PEACEFUL PROTEST – Is a Hallmark of a thriving democracy!

The Government by its direct action has effectively removed the right to peaceful protest, and thereby any semblance it has so far tried to pretend that we are a democracy.

It is with this canard, that we approach the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in November, with lies, duplicitous behavior and pretense that the GOSL (Government of Sri Lanka) is serious in addressing one of the numerous claims made against.

It was hilarious when the Leader of the House implied that petrol bombs, and even bullets were fired at the forces who were there! Why were the forces brought there in the first place when they had NO business being anywhere near the place. It is the duty of the Police to protect law and order, and to ensure that under the current status where Emergency Regulations are NOT in force, they have sole authority in managing and resolving local policing and crowd control issues arising from legitimate protests on a fundamental right of the availability of drinking water.

If a Government with such a powerful majority in Parliament is able to lie in Parliament, without impunity, its legitimacy to rule is called into question, when it can easily be proved that the Government has assumed a posture of deliberate lying to achieve its ends.

It is further embarrassing for a mature democracy to face the wrath of the US and UK, with their respective governments calling for the restoration of law and order, and the right to peaceful protests. This foreign interference is predicated on the inability of the present GOSL to enforce the basic laws of the land, as they are continually broken only by the servants of the state, both elected (Pradeshiya Sabha Members, Provincial Councillors, and Members of Parliament) and un-elected, Secretaries of Ministries, with the prime abuser and law breaker being the Secretary of the Ministry of Defense being at the forefront of this illegal activity. I wonder the fact that he is an American Citizen precludes him from the laws of the land, and that he is doing his bidding from a different master as CIA agent. In light of this action is that accusation far fetched?

It is time that democracy is restored not in mere pretense but in reality, where even today, election laws are brazenly broken by ruling party politicians, without any action on the part of the Law Enforcement Authorities. Let us stick up for law and order, justice for all equally under the law, and good governance.

The “Rathupaswela” issue could have been contained long ago!

People in a civilized country have certain rights and freedoms guaranteed under the Constitution and further there are international conventions, to which Sri Lanka is a signatory to further strengthen those guarantees.

It is therefore inept, and unfortunate when a legitimate grievance such as the quality of drinking water, becomes one of dispute. Sri Lanka is of an economic level where people can take their drinking water to a place and for the payment of a reasonable fee, have it tested, and the results given to them. The results should then also come with the accepted norms so an educated opinion on water quality can be made.

Water quality is a very important issue in Sri Lanka today, especially due to the CKDU Kidney Disease prevailing in many parts of the Country. It is therefore important that there are instant and reliable water quality testing places in the Country where water of wells and other drinking sources can easily be tested.

Sadly this basic convenience is not available to us, despite the outpouring of news about bad ground water causing numerous other illnesses. It is time the Govt. sets up at least 15 such water testing places island wide, where we can pay say Rs500 per sample to have water brought to it for testing.

After months of speculation, even at this late stage water samples have only NOW been sent for testing to see if the discharge from the DPL company of Hayleys is responsible for the contamination or any other source. The fact that the state mechanisms were unable to get beyond this level all this time is an indictment as to the inefficiency of the systems in place.

The anecdotal evidence now coming is that an elephant refuses to drink the water supplied, as he knows it is not fit for consumption. Then why was it not tested so the exact facts could be ascertained. This acidity of water could be naturally occurring and also arise out of a chemical reaction of effluent all of which we can only know scientifically after testing.

I am surprised that this issue if it were a serious issue, had not come up before, as it is easy for a resident to bring it to the attention of the authorities as there are numerous government agencies one can go to for redress! Or is it that there are so many departments, none wish to accept responsibility and pass the buck onto another, indicative of the inefficiency of the state apparatus of an overmanned public service.

So let us go back to basics and solve our daily  issues of living before we try to spend money we do not have to boast achievement that are merely pyrrhic!  

Direct and personal interference on the part of the President on the independence of the Press

It is an open secret that the President interferes by directly calling the Editors of newspapers and telling them what and what not to do. Often when there was adverse publicity relating to Govt or a high up or a family member it was suppressed by direct calls by the President or one of his family.

A recent case in point was when a Presidential son beat up on a Rugby referee and it was hushed by personal intervention of the family to all the print and broadcast MEDIA!

This was also the case last night, when the news of the day was the “disproportionate use of force” by the STF and SF against the innocent civilians of the Weliveriya and Belummahara areas of the Gampaha District.

Anyone with any common sense will realize that the papers that the President was able to speak to refrained from putting this in the headlines, and those he was not able to get through, did put this very important news, on their front pages.

Congratulations, Daily Mirror and Lankadeepa to have the guts to tell the people of this country what it is they should know of the abuse of the power granted to this government. If civilians are unable to demonstrate peacefully until their grievances are heard, and instead be fired upon by LIVE BULLETS, that is nothing short of a gross abuse of HUMAN RIGHTS.

If the Govt. is prepared to take such steps to stop a small demonstration, what is in store for future agitation? They are sadly mistaken if they think they can silence peaceful patriotic citizens of this country, to protect what are their rights from the actions of a traitorous and murderous regime, hell bent on imposing their warped sense of self worth on the people of Sri Lanka!

It is high time people take to the streets and people power shows that the Government power is exactly what it is worthless when they try to suppress the just rights of the citizens. This government DOES NOT represent the people, as they have successfully bought the electorate by buying all the politicians to do their bidding. It is for the people now to realize this canard and rebel first at the ballot box against the brutal assassination of the people’s rights and freedoms, tell this ruling CABAL that they are nothing more than a CABAL of their own making and have nothing to do with Sri Lanka or its people, and are more ALIEN than any other form of life. It is now the time for common sense to prevail and realize that this Govt. has lost its right to Govern, as they have lost credibility and time for them to be eviscerated forthwith.