190 Sinhalese families seek resettlement in Jaffna

By K.T.Rajasingham | Asian Tribune
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After a lapse of 30 long years, 190 Sinhalese families consisting of more than 600 people - men, women and children have arrived in Jaffna claiming resettlement in the district. According to reports these Sinhalese families came from Anuradhapura, Mihintale, Kurunegale, Matale and some other parts in the South.

Day before yesterday 180 families arrived and yesterday it was reported that another 500 Sinhalese families were expected in Jaffna, but only 10 more families arrived.

These Sinhalese men and women, who have suddenly shown up, said that they were earlier living in the Jaffna district up to 1980 and left the peninsula once the ethnic conflict broke out in earnest.

They said that though they lived there, they have never owned either any houses or any plot of land in Jaffna and were living either in rented houses or with their friends and relatives.

It is reported that the Governor of the Northern Province retired Major General Chandrasri has said that he was not given any advance information about the arrival of these Sinhalese families.

Asian Tribune contacted Mrs. Imalda Sugumar, the Government Agent of the Jaffna district and she also told that the government was not given any advance notice about the arrival of these Sinhalese families for resettlement.

When Asian Tribune contacted the Government Agent of Jaffna, she was returning to Jaffna from Colombo.

Mrs. Imalda Sugumar said that the arrival of these Sinhalese families was reported to her by her officials when she was in Colombo. She said that she has called for a report from the Divisional Secretariat in Jaffna and rushing back to attend to this suddenly emerged humanitarian problem.

She added that once in Jaffna, she would meet those people, verify their claims and send a report to the President Secretariat for appropriate direction.

The majority of the families which have arrived in Jaffna for resettlement reported that they have matrimonial and other social links with the Tamil families in Jaffna. They all speak fluent Tamil, it was reported.

In a memorandum to the Government Agent of Jaffna, they have pointed out that prior to 1980, Tamils and the Sinhalese lived amicably and peacefully in the Peninsula. They have expressed confident that they could live peacefully with Tamils in the future.

They further revealed that during Mrs. Bandaranaike’s period as Prime Minister in the seventies, they were allocated with government lands at Thirunagar, Thirunelvely as well as in Navatkuly, but they said they did not occupy those allotted plots, but they say that still they have those letters sent to them, those days, by the government.

Many of those Sinhalese families who came to Jaffna for resettlement are said to be staying with their relatives and friends except for 76 families who are staying at the old Jaffna Railway Station.

Jaffna Municipality is providing them with water and other facilities. Also it is learnt that the Tamils living around Jaffna old Railway Station are providing these Sinhalese families with necessary help and assistance.

Furthermore, some Tamils visited these families and provided them with some of their basic requirements.

It is not known who were behind arranging and suddenly sending these Sinhalese families to Jaffna.

According to a report, officials from Samudhri attached to the Ministry of Economic Affairs have arrived in Jaffna yesterday, to look into the interest of these Sinhalese families who have claimed resettlement.

Samudhri official L.K.G. Gunatilake has led the team from Colombo met these families who are staying in the old Jaffna Railway Station, talked to them and collected details about their resettlement claims.

Asian Tribune learns that round the clock security has been provided for these families in the railway station by the Army and police.

© Asian Tribune

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'Don’t beg for pardon': Fonseka tells family

By Gandhya Senanayake | Daily Mirror
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Former army commander Sarath Fonseka has asked his wife and children not to appeal for a pardon on his behalf, as he had done nothing wrong, Anoma Fonseka told Daily Mirror online.

“I visited my husband today after a special request was made and he told me not to apologize as he had done nothing wrong.

If we did something wrong it was compulsory to apologize and if we didn’t we need not do so,” Ms. Fonseka said.

She said he was mentally and physically in good health and was eating prison meals. My husband is a strong man.

Commenting on the facilities provided to the former army commander, she said he was just like any other prisoner and that a treadmill was requested as the court had given permission due to his health condition and that he had requested a television as all inmates had access to one.

© Daily Mirror

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Ex Army Chief's wife should appeal to President for husband’s release – Govt.

By Zacki Jabbar | The Island
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Anoma Fonseka should stop holding public protests and request President Mahinda Rajapaksa to release her husband, Sarath Fonseka, who was serving a 30-month jail term, the government said on Thursday.

Media Minister Keheliya Rambukwella told the weekly Cabinet press briefing in Colombo that Anoma should follow Chandrika Kumaratunga’s example and appeal for her husband’s freedom.

"Chandrika appealed twelve times to the then President J. R. Jayewardene to release her husband Vijaya Kumaranatunga, who was imprisoned on Naxalite charges," he said. "We think Anoma should follow Chandrika’s example, without protesting all over the country."

Rambukwella said that Fonseka had rejected the findings of the two court martials against him, but had forgotten that three of those who sat in judgement, were those he had picked to preside over military tribunals during his tenure as army commander.

"How can Fonseka now reject the verdicts given by the very people whom he had appointed to hear cases against other Army personnel," he queried.

Fonseka was convicted by a Military Court for allegedly violating tender procedure in purchasing military equipment, when he was the army commander and sentenced to a 30-month rigorous imprisonment term, which commenced on the 23rd of this month.

He was earlier found guilty by another Military Tribunal of allegedly dabbling in politics, while in uniform and stripped of his rank and pension rights.

© The Island

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Post war suicide rate is escalating in the former LTTE town

Sri Lanka Guardian
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According to authoritative news published in the independent Neruppu.com website, the suicide rate in the former Tamil Tiger capital Kilinochchi has reached an alarming level after the war.

According to psychiatrist Dr M Jeyarajah, serving at the Kilinochchi District hospital, under the present circumstances over four persons, mainly women, are committing suicide in Killinochchi per day.

The cause for the alarming death rate is attributed to failures of social conditions for the victims. According to him, those who have lost their husbands in the war and those unable to find the whereabouts of their spouses following the war are the ones taking their lives in frustration and deep sorrow.

Lack of protection and financial difficulties are leading to their suicidal tendency.

© Sri Lanka Guardian

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Lessons to be learnt for national reconciliation

By Shanie | The Island
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"The quality of mercy is not strain’d.
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the place beneath. It is twice blest:
It blesseth him that gives, and him that takes.
‘Tis mightiest in the mightiest; it becomes
The throned monarch better than his crown.
His sceptre shows the force of temporal power,
The attribute to awe and majesty,
Wherein doth sit the dread and fear of kings;
But mercy is above this sceptred sway;
It is enthroned in the heart of kings;
It is an attribute to God himself;
And earthly power doth then show likest God’s
When mercy seasons justice."

When Sri Lanka obtained independence from colonial rule, we were far ahead of almost all countries of Asia in all areas of the indices that measure the quality of life. We were a participatory democracy where the citizens had had the benefit of universal suffrage for nearly two decades – something that had not been enjoyed by most countries of the world, including the western democracies. Our literacy rate was not only well over Asian standards but over most countries of the world as well. This was because education was freely accessible to all with good schools available in all regions. Similarly health services were freely accessible to all with state hospitals and dispensaries in towns and villages throughout the country.

Co-operative stores throughout the country provided food items at reasonable prices, basic items like rice, rationed and subsidised, available to all citizens. A network of roads, railways and waterways connected all parts of the country. We had an enviable postal system that delivered mail to almost all parts of the country within 24 hours.

But above all these tangible indices, there was ethnic harmony and national integration. The Jaffna Tamil trader had his cigar boutique in the deep south; the Matara Sinhala baker opened his business in the far north and was almost the sole supplier of bread to the Jaffna citizen. Tamil and Muslim traders were able to do business in Kiribathgoda and Sinhala industrialists were able to set up plants in the north and east. Public servants of all ethnic communities served in all parts of the country with great acceptance. They learnt the language of the district and were able to communicate and serve the people of the villages where they served. Teachers of all ethnic communities taught children of all communities in all parts of the country. They were not those who merely taught in the English medium. Sinhala teachers taught Sinhala to Tamil students at Jaffna Hindu College and in many other schools. Similarly, Tamil teachers taught Tamil to Sinhala students at Ananda College Colombo and in other schools.

But where have we taken Sri Lanka in sixty years of self-rule? Over these years, we have destroyed all that was precious in our culture of pluralism and tolerance. The blame should go not just to the politician for whom any means is justified to acquire and retain power. The greater blame lies with the intellectuals, the media and the religious and civil society leaders who really create public opinion. They have been shamelessly willing to compromise their consciences and sacrifice principles of justice to seek favours from politicians in power for their personal advancement. Nothing is more symbolic of this attitude of mind than the harassment of Sarath Fonseka. Irrespective of what opinion we may have of the qualities of the former Army Commander, there can be no doubt that he has been the victim of abuse of power.

Rule of Law and the Public Interest

The last bulwark we had in the slide downwards in governance over the sixty years was an independent judiciary. The public service has been becoming increasingly politicised since the nineteen seventies; it was to check this alarming trend that public opinion, expressed through the JVP, formulated the Seventeenth Amendment which sought to depoliticise key areas of governance. Unfortunately, the seventeenth amendment became a dead letter, despite it being a part of the constitution until the eighteenth amendment was passed, since President Mahinda Rajapaksa took office. We were back to a politicised public service, etc.

The Friday Forum is an informal group of public-spirited citizens who wish ‘to contribute to the future development of Sri Lanka within a framework of democracy, social justice and pluralism.’ Recently they have issued two excellent statements on current issues that concern all those wanting to see Sri Lanka move towards democracy and good governance. The most recent were their submissions to the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission. But what we are concerned now was their earlier statement on the issue relating to the Attorney-General’s Department. From the very inception, the Department came under the purview of the Ministry of Justice. But after the recent General Election, and the consequent formation of the new cabinet, the subjects allocated to the various Ministries were also re-assigned. The Attorney General’s Department has been taken away from the Ministry of Justice, and not being assigned to any specific Ministry, automatically comes under the direct purview of the President. The significance of this re-allocation is seen in the number of prosecutions being brought against Sarath Fonseka, the principal opponent of the President at the last election.

On the issue of the taking away the Attorney General’s Department from the Ministry of Justice, the Friday Forum had this to say: "That in a democracy, the Attorney-General should not only function but must be seen to function in an independent manner cannot be emphasised more. The Supreme Court of Sri Lanka has, in no uncertain terms, recognized and affirmed the independent role of the AG (Land Reform Commission v. Grand Central Ltd. [1981] SLR 147).

The AG is the custodian of the Rule of Law and of the public interest in a democracy. The functions of the AG must always be informed by no other factor or consideration than the upholding of the public interest and the Rule of Law. Even in countries where the Attorney-General is a political appointee, there is an expectation that the holder of that office must act independently of the Executive, especially in prosecutorial functions, because to do so otherwise would negate the preservation of the Rule of Law and the public interest.

If the Attorney-General, in discharging the functions of office, provides legal advice to the government or engages in the prosecutorial function in a non-independent manner, moved more by political and partisan considerations, the Rule of Law is defeated and the public interest stands desecrated."

Needless to add, it is the duty of the Attorney General to defend the rule of law and the public interest, irrespective of whether his department comes under the purview of the President or the Minister of Justice or any other Minister. For democratic governance and in the interests of justice, the Attorney General General must maintain the highest standards of independence and integrity in the discharge of his functions. And more, he must only be independent but also seen to be independent.

Justice for political opponents

The prosecutions that keep mounting against Sarath Fonseka will offend the sense of justice of all except the perverse. To the credit of Sarath Fonseka, he has borne all this with quiet dignity in the same way that Sirimavo Bandaranaike bore the deprivation of her civic rights after the sham of an inquiry by a hand-picked Commission by the then UNP Government of J. R. Jayewardene. It must not be forgotten that JRJ was not content to deprive his principal political opponent of her civic rights but then went to see the principal supporters of his opponent at the following Presidential Election was incarcerated in prison under emergency regulations. These included Vijaya Kumaratunge and Ratnasiri Wickramanayake.

The Friday Forum has stated that the functions of the Attorney General must be informed by no other factor than the upholding of the public interest and the rule of law. We also do not need to remind all state prosecutors of the wise words of a former Attorney General that the duty of the Attorney General’s Department is not to win every case for the State but to help the Judge arrive at the correct decision.

Many religious and civil society and political leaders have petitioned the President that Sarath Fonseka should be pardoned. But the President are reported to have stated that the President would "consider" a pardon only if an appeal came from Sarath Fonseka or his family. Fonseka has quite rightly rejected this. If the President is unwilling to accept the pleas of those who have petitioned him, Sarath Fonseka seems willing to bide his time as Sirimavo Bandaranaike did in the eighties. History has given its verdict on the perversion of justice that deprived Sirimavo Bandaranaike of her civic rights. History will also no doubt give its due verdict on the incarceration of a former Army Commander and now a principal political leader and the deprivation of his seat in Parliament.

‘Mercy is above the sceptred sway;
It is enthroned in the heart of kings;
It is an attribute to God himself;
And earthly power doth then show likest God’s
When mercy seasons justice.’

© The Island

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Inquiry urged into Sri Lankan rights violations

By Mary Fitzgerald | Irish Times
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Human rights violations committed during the Sri Lanka conflict must be subject to an independent, international investigation, former UN assistant secretary general Denis Halliday said last night (07).

“Sri Lanka has been forgotten, despite the staggering violations of human rights, the war crimes and the crimes against humanity that took place there,” he said. “All this has been ignored.”

Mr Halliday was speaking following the second of two public meetings in Dublin at which he presented new evidence of alleged war crimes and human rights abuses in the south Asian state.

Video footage showing extra-judicial killings, the desecration of corpses and the bombing of hospitals was screened at last night’s event at Trinity College. Also in attendance was Mary Lawlor, director of human rights group Front Line.

Mr Halliday and Ms Lawlor served as members of the Permanent Peoples Tribunal on Sri Lanka which met in Dublin in January. The tribunal is a body of academics, jurists and campaigners who have investigated allegations of human rights violations in several countries including Vietnam and Guatemala.

The tribunal on Sri Lanka heard from more than 20 witnesses and received hundreds of written affidavits from people directly affected by the conflict.

It found the Sri Lankan government guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity. The tribunal also declared that the UK and the US shared responsibility for the breakdown of the 2002 peace process between the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

The two meetings were organised by the Irish School of Ecumenics at Trinity College and the School of Law and Governance at Dublin City University along with the Irish Forum for Peace in Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka’s parliament yesterday revoked the seat of Gen Sarath Fonseka, who led the army against the Tamil Tigers but was later jailed after being found guilty of misappropriating funds.

© Irish Times

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Sri Lanka Army stops volunteer teachers’ demonstration in Ki’linochchi

Tamil Net
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Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers in Ki’linochchi did not allow more than 300 volunteer teachers of Vanni to stage their token protest demonstration in front of Ki’linochchi Education office Wednesday demanding Sri Lanka government to appoint them permanently in their posts. The volunteer teachers have been serving the schools in the districts of Ki’linochchi and Mullaiththeevu without salary for the last ten years and even during the war on Vanni, sources in Ki’linochchi said. SLA said that no demonstration will be allowed in public places. The demonstrators who then went into the Education Office held a brief meeting before handing their appeal to the Education officials.

Sri Lanka government which had been appointing the volunteer teachers in all parts of the country permanent in a systematic procedure had completely ignored the volunteer teachers in Vanni saying that Vanni was not in their control.

The protesting volunteer teachers said in their appeal that they should be given permanent appointments or be appointed as Assistant Teachers with salary.

© Tamil Net

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Buddhist monks seek release of jailed ex-army chief in Sri Lanka

Deutsche Presse-Agentur | Earth Times
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Hundreds of Buddhist monks held a prayer meeting in Sri Lanka Thursday to call for the release of the country's ex-army chief who was jailed last week.

An estimated 1,000 monks plus members of the public held a prayers in Kandy, 117 kilometres from the capital, and offered flowers at a Buddhist temple for the release of Sarath Fonseka.

"We are holding a pooja (ceremonial offering) so that the former army chief who saved the country from terrorism is released from custody," Ven Maduluwawe Sobitha, who led the meeting, said.

Fonseka was jailed for 30 months after he was found guilty by a court martial of favouring his son-in-law in military tenders. He was also found guilty in August by another court martial of engaging in politics while serving in the army and was dishonourably discharged.

Fonseka fell out with President Mahinda Rajapaksa after the defeat of the Tamil rebels in 2009. He ran against Rajapaksa in the presidential elections in January but lost. He was elected to parliament in April.

The parliament informed the courts on Thursday that Fonseka had lost his parliamentary seat following his conviction.

"We have been informed that in view of the conviction Mr Fonseka has been unseated and therefore the next member eligible should be appointed," a spokesman for the Commissioner of Elections Department said.

Fonseka's party, the Democratic National Alliance, said it would challenge the decision to expel him from parliament in the courts.

The ex-army chief faces three more cases in the civilian courts.

© DPA

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Sri Lanka's jailed ex-army boss loses parliament seat

By Ranga Sirilal | Reuters
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Sri Lanka's parliament on Thursday revoked the parliamentary seat of former General Sarath Fonseka, who ran unsuccessfully against President Mahinda Rajapaksa and was jailed after being found guilty of misappropriating funds.

Fonseka last week was sentenced to 30 months' hard labour by a second court-martial, after a first ruled he be stripped of his rank and pension for conducting politics in uniform.

It marks yet another low moment for the career soldier, who was glorified alongside the president after leading the army to victory over the Tamil Tiger separatists, ending 25 years of civil war, in May 2009.

Fonseka later fell out with Rajapaksa, blaming the president for falsely accusing him of plotting a coup, and he soon quit the army to run against his former commander-in-chief.

"Parliamentarian Sarath Fonseka's seat fell vacant under... the constitution and we requested the elections commissioner to fill the vacancy," Dhammika Dassanayake, parliament's acting-secretary general, told reporters.

Fonseka's party, the Democratic National Alliance (DNA), vowed to challenge the move, arguing that the constitutional provision for removing a member of parliament convicted of a civilian criminal offence does not apply to a military verdict.

"We will take legal action against this," said Vijiith Herath, a legislator and DNA spokesman.

The general still faces two civilian criminal cases.

Fonseka won his parliamentary seat after losing to the veteran politician Rajapaksa in the January presidential poll.

© Reuters

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18th Amendment: Making a mockery of democracy in Sri Lanka

By Gulbin Sultana | The Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses
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Sri Lanka’s Parliament passed the controversial 18th Amendment Bill on September 8, 2010, with 161 Members of Parliament voting for and 17 against the bill. It is basically an amendment of the 17th Amendment, which the current government considered as “ineffective and impractical.”1 The highlights of the changes brought about by this amendment are:

1. The President can seek re-election any number of times;

2. The ten-member Constitutional Council has been replaced with a five-member Parliamentary Council;

3. Independent commissions are brought under the authority of the President; and,

4. It enables the President to attend Parliament once in three months and entitles him to all the privileges, immunities and powers of a Member of Parliament other than the entitlement to vote. In short, it is all about arming the President with absolute power.

It was hoped that after winning the secessionist war with the Tamil militants, which troubled the island nation for 26 years, the government would accord top priority to finding a political solution to the ethnic issue. But the government had other things in mind. The Cabinet of Ministers chose to certify the proposed 18th Amendment Bill as urgent and approved it on August 30, 2010. The Supreme Court, to which the bill was referred as per the constitutional requirement, came out with its views on September 7, that the amendment was consistent with the provisions of the Constitution and did not require a referendum. The bill was then debated and enacted by Parliament the following day (September 8). The bill was thus put on fast track and enacted within 10 days without offering the Sri Lankan public any chance to air their views.

Provinces were totally sidelined during the process. According to the Standing Order 46 (A) the Provincial Councils should have been consulted on any Bill that provided for matters affecting their affairs.2 Provincial Police and Public Service Commission, which has been made defunct under the 18th amendment, did affect the provinces and thus, ideally, the bill should have received the approval from the Provincial Councils.

The government argued that the amendment was essential to strengthen and enlarge the democratic and sovereign rights of the people. In reality, however, the amendment has concentrated all powers in one individual – the president. It has removed the restrictions on two terms for an elected President, who now also has the power to call for a Presidential election after four years of his second term. Earlier, under Article 17A, the President was obliged to obtain the recommendation of the Constitutional Council for appointments to the independent commissions. According to Minister of Finance Basil Rajapaksa, such a council was “riddled with flaws, which led to a gridlock”3 and affected the appointment of members to the independent commissions. Therefore, the 18th Amendment was needed to replace the Constitutional Council with a Parliamentary Council, which now consists of the Prime Minister, the Speaker, Leader of the Opposition Party and two Members of Parliament to be nominated by the Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition. In case they fail to name their respective nominees within the stipulated time of one week after the amendment became effective, the Speaker has the power to appoint the two members to the Parliamentary Council.

Under the present Amendment, the President has the power to appoint the Chairman and members of the Election Commission, Public Service Commission, National Police Commission, Human Rights Commission, Permanent Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery and Corruption, Finance Commission, Delimitation Commission, Chief Justice and Judges of the Supreme Court, the President and Judges of the Court of Appeal, Members of the Judicial Service Commission, Attorney General, Auditor General, Ombudsman and Secretary General of Parliament.

The President shall seek the observation of the Parliament Council while making the appointments, who in turn have to convey their observations within a week of such communication. Failing that, the President can go ahead with the appointments. He/she is not bound by the observations of the council. He/she also has the power to remove members of the Independent Commissions. Moreover, he/she can remove the two nominated members appointed by the Prime Minister and the leader of the Opposition from the Council. Already, Mahinda Rajapaksa’s relatives are holding all the important positions in Sri Lanka.4 Analysts in Sri Lanka believe that this appointment may ensure that more relatives will be given plum appointments in the independent commissions and the judiciary.

It is interesting to note that during the election campaign Rajapaksa talked about the abolition of the Executive Presidency, but soon after his win he has made the post stronger than ever. Actually, he has realised that the time is opportune for him to acquire greater powers through necessary revisions in the constitution. His popularity, following the success in the Eelam War IV, is at its zenith. His party dominates the parliament. The major opposition party, the UNP, is going through an internal crisis. With all his relatives in major positions, he can easily sideline the opposition. It seems he is in a desperate hurry to grab this opportunity to install himself as the permanent ruler of Sri Lanka. That is why the bill was projected as a bill of “national urgency” though he has had more urgent national issues to solve.

Beyond doubt, the amendment has made the president all powerful without any sound mechanism of checks and balances, which is absolutely necessary for a responsive democracy. The 17th Amendment had, to some extent, provided for limited checks and balances, but it was never implemented. The 18th amendment has removed them completely. It gives the President full control over the executive, legislature and judiciary. It is the first amendment to the current constitution under Rajapaksa since November 2005. The easy passage of the bill must have given him the confidence to initiate other such amendments. He is now reportedly planning to amend the Local Government Elections Ordinance, Municipal Councils Ordinance, Urban Council Ordinance and the Pradeshiya Sabha Act.

In short, Sri Lanka seems to be headed towards nepotism and dictatorship which will certainly have disastrous consequences. And such a change seems inexorable. So far, except for the US, no external power has reacted to the amendment. The Rajapaksa government has rebuffed US remarks and declared that this is an internal Sri Lankan affair. If Sri Lanka under Rajapaksa could carry on its war against the LTTE in spite of international concerns about human rights violations, it is unlikely that it would pay any heed to such reactions from the outside after its victory.

The Sri Lankan opposition, led by the United National Party (UNP), which could have done something, has allowed itself to be turned into a helpless spectator. It did oppose the bill and conduct protest demonstration outside the parliament. But it failed to engage in detailed discussions about the bill and boycotted the debate on the bill in the parliament. This irresponsible act drew sharp criticism in some sections in Sri Lanka who have charged the UNP of indirectly supporting the Government.5 However, given the triumphant mood of the Rajapaksas, any opposition is unlikely to have had any impact.

For example, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), Democratic National Alliance (DNA) and Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) participated in the debate and vehemently criticised the bill. It was a fact that they did not have enough numbers with them. Moreover, six UNP dissidents and eight SLMC members voted with the government. Had these 14 MPs cooperated with the UNP, TNA, DNA and JVP, the 18th amendment could have been defeated in the parliament. The Civil Rights Movement, the Organisation of Professional associations and the Bar Association of Sri Lanka opposed the bill. TNA MP M.A. Sumanitharan commented that the 18th Amendment is the final nail in the coffin of democracy in Sri Lanka.6

In this context, a Sri Lankan observer rightly avers that there are two potential pathways ahead for post-war Sri Lanka. One is the path of “pacifism, resolute adherence to democracy-cum-rule of law, and industriousness of the kind pursued by Germany and Japan which made them economic powerhouses in the world within a short span;” and the other is the path of post-Khmer Rouge Cambodia which is “dogged by democratic deficit, corruption, nepotism and low-intensity authoritarianism, and thereby continues to be one of the poorest countries in the world.”7 Mahinda Rajapaksa seems to be following Cambodia’s example.

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1. By the 18th Amendment Act, Articles 31, 32, 54, 55, 71F, 65, 91, 103, 104B, 107, 109, 111D, 111E, 153, 154, 154R, 155A, 155G, 155K, 156 of the Constitution were amended and Chapter VIIA (Art. 41A to 41H), 155H, 155J, 155L, 155M were repealed. Three new articles 41A, 155FF and 155FFF were inserted. For more details see the Full Text of (Proposed) “An Act to Amend the Constitution of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka,” L.D.O 19/2010 at http://www.thesundayleader.lk/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/Proposed-18th-A....

2. Daily Mirror, September 8, 2010, at http://www.dailymirror.lk/print/index.php/news/front-page-news/20891-pcs-have-to-ratify-18th-amendment-sumanthiran-.html.

3. Daily Mirror, September 9, 2010, at http://www.dailymirror.lk/print/index.php/news/front-page-news/20995-161-in-favour-and-17-against-.html.

4. See the “Family Tree” of Mahinda Rajapaksa in Post War Sri Lanka: Democratic Rights Under Pressure, Report Prepared by Sanchal Foundation in Collaboration with South Asia Forum for Human Rights, September 2010.

5. “United National Party (UNP) dissidents Lakshman Seneviratne and Earl Gunasekara said the absence of the United National Party (UNP) amounted to indirectly supporting the government to enact this legislation,” Daily Mirror, September 9, 2010, at http://www.dailymirror.lk/print/index.php/news/front-page-news/20995-161-in-favour-and-17-against-.html.

6. See M.A. Sumanitharan’s Speech during Parliamentary Debate on 18th Amendment Bill on September 8, 2010, Hansard: 193, at http://www.groundviews.org/2010/09/20/hansard-on-18th-amendment-debate-8-september-2010/.

7. Muttukrishna Sarvananthan (2010), “Economic Freedom: The Path to Economic Cum Political Emancipation of the Conflict Region in Sri Lanka” in Raghavan, V R (ed.), From Winning the War to Winning Peace: Post War Rebuilding of the Society in Sri Lanka, Chennai: Centre for Security Analysis: 26-27.

© IDSA

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