Can the Asian Human Rights Commission Item - about the Govt. using Parliamentary privilege to defame the CJ be true?

The article I have inserted here which is too long to be included here, but hugely embarrassing for a self respecting country if true, must require a response from the Govt. If not it means that the Govt. is now resorting to unsubstantiated allegations that the Secretary of the Judicial Services Commission was attacked by persons at the behest of the Husband of the Chief Justice, for having an affair with his wife the Chief Justice!!!

The AHRC report   http://www.humanrights.asia/news/ahrc-news/AHRC-STM-215-2012?country=&campaign=&issue=12bb0f18278d98c239d1b15cc1432eee&document=

Surely such gross misuse of Parliamentary Privilege by the Govt. calls for an immediate outcry, however it seems that even the Press in Sri Lanka have resorted to be quiet, the facts are all there in Hansard, so it is not reporting any lies, just the truth. So for the Media in Sri Lanka to be threatened not to print this information as there would be other more serious action taken against them smacks of terror tactics on the part of the Govt. of Sri Lanka in suppressing real and truthful news.

When will the Sri Lankan population wake up and realize what is happening under their very noses, and we in Sri Lanka have to resort to outside sources to report what is going on inside this Country? The people act ignorant and that is unforgivable. When we struggle to get the news out to the people of this country under insurmountable odds, it is the duty of the Law Abiding people of this country to make a stand.

This Govt. is trying to frighten the CJ into permitting the Divi Neguma Bill, by accusing her Husband of Bribery, when he was fronting senior govt. sycophants, and now accusing the poor nincompoop of a husband who cannot organize a piss up in a brewery, to have alleged to have organized the attack on the JSC Secretary is beyond the PALE!!

What is the deal? Will she resign or will she face an impeachment?

In my previous blog entry I called for the resignation of the Chief Justice on the grounds that she finds her position untenable. There is however another side of the story. Supposing her husband is innocent, and he is used as a scapegoat for the wrongs of more weighty personalities, then should she resign knowing full well this is a set up either to force her to resign or be put into an untenable situation?

So I do not believe she will resign, and the Govt. is looking for a two thirds majority to impeach the Chief Justice, on what grounds I know not, but for this govt. does one need justifiable grounds anyway?

It is battle stations, people must take sides and if the impeachment is based on flimsy premises, all law abiding citizens of Sri Lanka must defend the Judiciary, despite its past track record as being a lap dog of the Administration.

It will be an interesting fight, and I cannot predict the winner, except to say that the Govt. will put pressure on its own members to vote the way they say and not according to their conscience as it is the way things are done here. You either accept the MR way or you have NO way.

With the courts muzzled, with the press muzzled it is very difficult to go against the Govt. However if the numbers opposing the way they do business are large, it will give those with a clear conscience the strength of character and will to fight for justice against an increasingly autocratic, schizophrenic state that is looking under the beds for their enemies and making enemies out of everyone as they go along.

The lack of education and understanding of the people to the real goings on here is the unknown factor in not being able to be sure of the people’s backing and the agitation on the streets which our people have not shown an inclination lately to engage in, out of fear or out of ignorance as to the action taking place affecting their daily lives.

Let us hope it is not too long for this issue to be resolved and the people to get back to some semblance of normalcy.  

It’s a shame the Chief Justice MUST resign to save face!!! - Just when we thought the Judiciary was trying to become independant

I pointed out at the time the CJ was appointed that it was BAD for Sri Lanka to have her husband serve as a political appointee as Chairman of the National Savings Bank. (NSB) He should have resigned and found a job in the private sector in NO compromising capacity to protect his wife’s position if he had any sense.

Events have proved prophetic, as he had to resign earlier in the Scandal where the EPF were involved in deals to put together The Finance and NSB in some sort of alliance, and it was done NOT as an arm’s length transaction, but under severely questionable circumstances. Now he is accused of taking a bribe to support it.

Today’s announcement that the former Chairman of the NSB, the largest deposit taking institution in the Country with assets (people’s money) exceeding Rs500Billion, is being taken to court by the Bribery Commission is shocking. HOW CAN HIS WIFE SERVE IN ANY CAPACITY AS A JUDGE LET ALONE THE CHIEF JUSTICE OF THIS COUNTRY?

It is surprising that no journalist or opposition politician is asking this question. It has to be asked, and answered with rational legal and moral argument of good governance. IT CANNOT BE ANSWERED so it is a clear case of the CHIEF JUSTICE BEING FORCED TO STEP ASIDE UNTIL THIS CASE IS RESOLVED ONE WAY OR THE OTHER.

I am not saying that the former Chairman of the NSB is guilty. I will give him the courtesy that you are innocent until proven guilty, unlike in the Rajapakse Government you are guilty even before being accused, and you are dealt death without being able to answer any allegation. So until the case is heard, and a ruling is made, it is the duty of the Chief Justice to resign. I expect her to do so shortly if she has any conscience, and if she does not at least summarily divorce her man just to look as if she is not tainted by him.

I am sad it had to come to this, but it is the President of Sri Lanka who did not heed my advice and get him to resign long ago. I am told the guy is a decent chap, a bit of a simpleton, who can be easily manipulated by others. In that sense he may be the fall guy for a much bigger scandal that he is either covering up or has been used as a tool of other more powerful people. Who can that be? ANY GUESSES?

WATCH THIS SPACE FOR MORE SCANDALOUS DEVELOPMENTS AND ATTEMPTS AT A COVER UP IN THE BANANA REPUBLIC

The Columbian false sense of security is just a temporary illusion

The new development at the racecourse to take an example looks very flashy on the surface but looks can be deceptive. I am not questioning that the eye sore that once was is finally being redeveloped into a complex of up-market shops and an international Rugby Ground with the old racecourse grandstand now part of the Stadium Stand with more being constructed on a similar theme.

No doubt the moneyed Columbians will be enjoying more shopping, and unless we can attract more Indian Tourists we will not be able to make them financially viable with the high rents being commanded. Further the Army being used to develop the property, questions the real cost of such developments and who the beneficiaries of the business plan are?

The intermingled jumble of the UDA, and Ministry of Defense with NO transparency between the two as the Secretary to the Ministry of Defense is also in charge of the UDA which is under his direct orbit. Further the CMC’s  (Colombo Municipal Council) role in this is not clear, as rates are payable to the CMC for the shops and the Rugby Stadium, both for tickets and general rates. Will any of this be done on an arm’s length basis, as would be the case if it were managed by a private concern? NO answers are even asked by any  Columbian I spoke to as they are ignorant and don’t care. (2nd page of Daily Mirror of October 25th said that the Govt.institutes owe the CMC over Rs1B)

The tragedy is that many of these people live on deposit interest with no idea of how real people in the real world live, and commend the Government for everything as their lives are made easy by the developments that take place. Little do they realize that the day the Govt. decides to take over all the deposit taking institutions by an edict of the President, all their money will also be history! Along with their lifestyle!

They would say that the Govt. will not dare do such a thing. However I say in light of the lack of checks and balances of the Constitutional Amendments that the Govt has done away with, anything goes. That is what a dictatorship means. They may like autocracy, but when it comes to their homes, that are taken over using some excuse, then there will be no one left to defend their tightly held material possessions.

It is therefore important to defend the Rule of Law and ensure that we fight for the Independence of the Judiciary from the Legislature and Executive.

(a Columbian is an upper Middle Class, smug resident of Colombo who is far removed from the reality that is Sri Lanka!)

Sajith Premadasa steps into the debate of the violations of the Flora and Fauna Act in Parliament yesterday.

Whilst in my earlier blog article I was castigating the President for a hasty decision to ban safari camps without notice, Sajith in Parliament seems to commend the President for this act, without looking at the whole issue more closely, and the underlying reasons for such action.

I suggested they look into the whole aspect of safaris and what is and isn’t within the law, and if the law needs to be amended to take account of certain types of camps that exist all over the world in similar situations to benefit from high value tourists, while keeping it expensive exclusive and therefore of limited spaces not to or at least minimal interference with the local wildlife balance. We know that most animals not seen during the day, come out only after 6pm when the parks are closed, and therefore a premium few at premium prices is the way to go to protect animal privacy, whilst obtaining needed tourists dollars for the country.

A public debate should have been held and a decision made thereafter, but now that licenses are given, fees collected and tourists attracted, a different sort of evaluation from a decree banning should have been made.

Further as Sajith rightly said, the lack of a Director General of Wildlife for the past 14 months is not helping matters. I pointed this out at the time the previous incumbent was removed, as it seemed to be done for some inexplicable incident.

It further seems strange to make ad hoc changes to the Acts without thinking through a series of aspects, and taking into account the objections and recommendations of environmentalists whose whole aim is to protect wildlife and not any personal agenda, whilst the Govt. is full of personal agendas bordering on greed in everything they do, and could not be further from the National Interest.

If we had a fool proof system of checks and balances, such incidents will not occur. It appears not part of the govt. to do set in place such a system, as its rampant corruption, and poor governance will be further emerge to haunt them. It is sadly the heavy price Sri Lanka has to pay for a complete breakdown in the application of the law, when such incidents occur. Let us hope our legislators have a conscience to make good decisions.

The banning of the exclusive up-market tented safaris inside parks without warning is a typical example of decision making of idiots!

Without warning without notice, a sudden decision to immediately ban tented safaris operating inside National Parks, has become another hammer that the President and his merry cheerleaders, family and all sorts has dealt against the hospitality (tourist) industry that this schizophrenic government had decided is important to the Country’s growth and future development.

It was intimated that other politicians had given permission, but that they were not authorized to do so, and further that the Wildlife Department whilst accepting huge fees Rs millions a year from them, had upset existing operators who were not granted licenses for cheap campsites with unproven safety and ecological safeguards and that they led by local pols were out to get the big guys! I do not know the undercurrents and looking at the action and damage caused to Sri Lanka in this report.

The background of licensing and irregularities if any must be investigated and a solution sought. However, the leader of this country DOES NOT understand business, which has to be generated over a long term, with advanced bookings by tourists over a year ahead. One cannot suddenly stop their bookings, especially when the type of tourist coming for this holiday is paying huge sums, to hire planes, helicopters and come on the exclusive safaris, some over US$500 a day with US$50 per day as park fees alone!

The President of this country does not understand the word Exclusive as he probably has never received any real exclusive treatment! This is another to add to the list of unpatriotic acts by the head of state ostensibly to show patriotism. We cannot run a country at the whims of a dictator of a Banana Republic. We must have laws, rules and justice in order to do business. We have no future in a country with this kind of autocratic dictatorial action.

It is alleged that this was banned, primarily due to the Yala business being lucrative to the operators and Namal Rajapakse wanted part of the money action. So he could ban these and setup his own or ask those going out of business as a result to sell the business to him for nothing. This is further reinforced by Namal involving himself in the decision by influencing the President his father in such illegal acts. Why does the country have to pay such a heavy price for these types of village idiots who purport to defend this country, when they attack the CORE of this country, the hardworking people who bring in much needed business and foreign exchange?

Don’t the citizens finally realize that there is NO future with the current incumbents engaging in acts that are detrimental for the future of this country. They are influenced by local people in hoc with local politicians who are only interested in stuffing their pockets without doing anything for it, be it for the country or even to the people they represent. Short sighted unplanned ad hoc, keen jerk reactions MUST be stopped, please!!!!

Abolishing the Executive Presidency is just a pipe dream

It was obvious that the Mahinda Chinthanaya included the abolition of the Executive Presidency as part of its main themes, as it was a politically popular move, crafted to get votes and nothing else. Once in power the Govt. had NO intention of doing so. So it must be said of anyone else in the opposition making it a plank of their cry. Whilst SF appears to make it one of his main aims, we know from practice the utterings of SF during the last Presidential Election, of nothing but dictatorial promises, that could not be further from the theme set forth above.

So it is with this recent rally, which was staged for the abolition as one of its main aims. These people are barking up the wrong tree here. It requires consensus amongst many parties for a near unanimous vote. It is unlikely to happen. It is completely within the power of the current incumbent so to do, however he shows not the slightest inclination to do so, enjoying the near dictatorial powers to do as he pleases.

It is another question if he feels fallible enough to do so when his life span runs out and he greedily does not wish another incumbent to have the level of power he does. I somehow doubt that age will change the stance, as then it is dynastic politics he will be aiming for.

It is one thing to know what is good, what is needed and what can have a positive impact on the political future of this country, but it is a wholly different concept to believe it is possible and doable under the present system. People now wish for the old pre 1972 constitution with a dual chamber, the senate and the first past the post. We have gone through the whole circle and found ourselves with more than we bargained for, as we made huge assumptions about the sincerity of our politicians and the honesty of those in elected office. We were hugely mistaken about both and we have got the system that we can least justify using a common sense approach.

The only ray of hope lies in a UNP manifesto, which if it includes the abolition of the Executive Presidency, it will in fact be attempted, and it will only be parliament that will ultimately decide, once it is put for a free vote and hopefully secret ballot of MPs. There is hope yet, but the current set of rascals who claim to take the moral high ground are the least likely to carry it through. The people of Sri Lanka on the other hand may prefer a strong leader, if they believe that a change will permit coalition and indecision.