Military ready to assist in operating essential services

The military says it is ready to assist in the operations of essential services if the need arises with trade unions attached to the petroleum, electricity and water board threatening to disrupt the services from today.

Speaking to Daily Mirror online this morning Military spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakara said the army had on previous occasions as well assisted in operating essential services and is ready to do so even now if required.

© Daily Mirror

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Unions vow to cripple essential services

By Kelum Bandara and Hemanthi Guruge - The trade unions of the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation, the Ceylon Electricity Board, the National Water Supply and Drainage Board and the Sri Lanka Ports Authority yesterday vowed to go ahead with their three-day work to rule campaign from today rejecting the government assurance of a 22 percent salary hike from November this year.

Addressing the media, Petroleum and Petroleum Resources Development Minister A.H.M. Fowzie said the government held extensive talks with trade union representatives on Monday, and agreed to increase the monthly salaries of CPC workers by 22 percent. The Minister said the increased

salaries would be paid from January next year, but would be effective from November this year.

“Their major demand was to honour the agreement that their salaries should be revised upward every three years. Accordingly, the government is supposed to announce a pay hike for them this year. Nevertheless, there is an understanding between the government and the public servants that salaries cannot be increased this year given the war situation. It was an understanding. We did not ensure a pay hike even for soldiers,” he said.

However, he said the government took a decision to go for an upward revision of salary scales of these workers from November this year.

“We have given them enough. We have paid their bonuses and other allowances. So, there is no valid reason for them to resort to trade union action. We have agreed to increase their basic salaries by 22 percent. Simultaneously, their overtime rates will also be increased. Eventually, they might get their monthly pay increased by at least by 50 percent. So, we see this action as a politically motivated attempt to inconvenience and topple the government,” he said.

As a result, he said the government had worked out alternative arrangements to distribute fuel today despite the work to rule campaign.

“This is a conspiracy. Most rich people in Colombo support the UNP. So, they buy more and more fuel from filling stations to create an artificial shortage of fuel throughout the country. We saw some people coming with bottles to purchase fuel. Has it ever happened in this country?” he asked.

Ministry Secretary M.M.C. Ferdinando said workers demand that their salary increases be backdated from January this year, but it could not be accepted.

“These employees had reached an understanding to forgo their salary increases from January to October earlier given the high defence budget for the war effort. Now, they are demanding it,” he said.

Nevertheless, Petroleum Common Service Union Spokesman D.J. Rajakaruna said all members of his union would participate in this trade union action demanding a salary increase effective from January 2009.

The All Ceylon General Port Employees Union said the work to rule campaign would have dire consequences on the daily economic activities in the country. Union Secretary Ranjan Jayalal said the government would be compelled to pay surcharges since ships could not be released on time due to the proposed trade union action. The UNP-affiliated Jathika Sevaka Sangamaya said it would also join this action demanding pay hikes for the employees.

Water Supply Board Union Representative Gihan Liyanarachchi said workers would disturb the industrial peace at vital institutions during this period. However, he said there would be a mild approach at the Water Supply Board because it is an essential service for the people.

Ports Authority Union Representative Udeni Kalutanthri said though the JVP and the UNP engaged in hostile politics, they had now come together against this government.

© Daily Mirror

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JDS Commends TNL Newsmen for Their Courageous Exposure of Police Brutality

Journalist for Democracy in Sri Lanka (JDS) highly appreciate the efforts taken by TNL and its Assistant News Editor Sisikelum Dahampriya Balage, to expose the killing of a youth in broad daylight, in the capital of Sri Lanka, allegedly by policemen.

On the 29th of October 2009, TNL aired footage of several policemen clubbing a Tamil youth, Balavarnam Sivakumar forcing him to drown to death in the sea, while many civilians watched on passively.

It was reported that police were in pursuit of Balavarnam Sivakumar who was a mentally ill who threw stones at passing trains. The chase ended in a tragic and avoidable death which would have gone unreported had it not been for TNL journalist Sisikelum Balage who filmed it from a nearby high rise building. The coverage aptly exposed the manner how the rule of law is abused in Sri Lanka by those who are chosen and paid to safeguard it.

Earlier in August following the death of Dinesh Tharanga Fernando and Dhanushaka Udaya Aponsu in custody the media and the public expressed their anger that led to the sacking of the police team in Angulana. However, the death of Sivakumar does not seem to have grabbed the attention of the media or the public in such a manner.

While one suspect policeman Dimuthu Somnas has been remanded after being taken into custody, others who were seen committing this crime are still at large. There were no reports of action taken against officers who command those policemen. The president who is in charge of law and order is yet to make any statement with regard to this atrocity.

In a country where police brutality has gone unpunished for decades, we call upon the media and the public to be vigilant and call to bring those responsible for the killing of Balavarnam Sivakumar to justice. The presence of a camera and a keen eyed journalist helped to bring this crime to light. We call upon the concerned citizens in Sri Lanka not to be silent and let the criminals go unpunished. We need to join hands in order to stop the rule of law becoming a rule unto them.

The TNL coverage about this brutality is also a beacon to us journalists in a land where challenging state authorities or exposing their wrongdoings through media is not seen as a comfortable way of reporting events in Sri Lanka. We sincerely hope that media workers in the country will follow the lead and be more courageous to expose the true nature of things in their coverage in time to come.

Well Done TNL! Well done Sisikelum!!

Executive Committee
Journalists for Democracy in Sri Lanka
10.11.2009

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Sri Lanka state-sector unions to work to rule

By Shihar Aneez and Ranga Sirilal - A united Sri Lankan opposition on Tuesday put its weight behind state sector trade unions which are going on a five-day work-to-rule in their push for higher pay.

State power, water, oil and port workers will not work outside assigned duties and set working hours from Wednesday after negotiations broke down as the government tries to slash spending to meet the terms of an IMF loan deal.

"We are going ahead with the planned union action as the we haven't got a favourable response," said Ranjan Jayalal, convenor of a united trade union front at the state-owned power firm.

Since coming to power in 2005, President Mahinda Rajapaksa has largely avoided conflict with the powerful labour and student unions, having asked them in 2006 to postpone wage demands until the military had defeated Tamil Tiger separatists. But since the 25-year war ended in May, unions have begun to make their voices heard and demand pay hikes to counter a higher cost of living. The government says the work-to-rule is politically motivated. Rajapaksa faces presidential and parliamentary polls by April amid pressure to cut expenditure.

The government is supposed to reduce the budget deficit to 7 percent this year from around 9 percent, under the terms of a $2.6 billion International Monetary Fund loan. [ID:nSP539379]

Trade unions of the Marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna and pro-capitalist United National Party have joined hands in the latest protest, amid speculation over the both opposition parties forming a coalition in the next presidential poll.

The government on Tuesday agreed to raise the wages of state oil firm employees by 22 percent from January next year, which the oil union rejected, saying their claim was from January 2009.

"We will come up with our plan when they start their protest," Anura Priyadharshana Yapa, the government's cabinet spokesman, told Reuters. "This is a politically motivated action."

Queues formed at petrol stations in the commercial heart of Colombo after a four-day work-to-rule campaign last month saw the pumps go dry.

© Reuters

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Sri Lankan Asylum Seekers on Hunger Strike

A group of Sri Lankan women detained at Indonesia's Merak port went on a hunger strike on Monday the 9th.

They are part of a group of Sri Lankans seeking asylum in Australia. Their wooden boat was intercepted by Indonesian authorities a month ago. Since then, they have been living on the boat, which is being held at the port.

The protesters are frustrated that they’re being kept in limbo.

[Shanty, Protester]:
“Why you are sleeping, women organizations? Why you are sleeping? Please try to understand, our feeling and our body condition and everything. Here a lot of ladies and a lot of children are here. We are suffering from Sri Lankan government and this traveling also. We can't stay more this situation. Please try to understand.”

International organizations and some residents near the port have been providing daily basic needs for the Sri Lankans.

Australia is seeing the biggest stream of illegal immigrants in seven years. The Australian government asked for Indonesia’s help in stopping illegal immigrants from heading to Australia.

The Australian prime minister held talks with the Indonesian president last month to discuss the plight of the asylum seekers. Further talks are expected at the APEC summit in Singapore this weekend.

© New Tang Dynasty Television

Related Links:
Sri Lanka deal bid to curb asylum seekers - New Zealand Herald
Sri Lanka's Tamils need more help: Australian special envoy - Radio Australia News
Asylum-seekers' fate still uncertain - The Canberra Times

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Warnings more Tamils will flee Sri Lanka

With the government facing continued pressure over asylum seekers, Australia's Foreign Minister Stephen Smith is in Colombo to seek a solution to what is a growing problem at home.

Foreign Minister Smith received assurances from the Sri Lankans that more would be done to crack down on people-smugglers and people movement from the minority Tamil community. But human rights advocates say the civil war has left the Tamils with little reason to remain in Sri Lanka, and unless something is done to improve the situation, Tamil asylum-seekers will continue to head for places like Australia.

Presenter: Michael Edwards
Speakers: Stephen Smith, Australian Foreign Minister; Jehan Perreira, executive director of the National Peace Council of Sri Lanka

MICHAEL EDWARDS: If the Government's biggest political problem of the moment is asylum seekers then the source of that angst centres on Sri Lanka.

Most of the current wave of those seeking asylum are Tamils, fleeing what they say is persecution following the end of the Sri Lankan civil war.

And it was Stephen Smith's job in Colombo to let the Sri Lankan Government know that it could be doing much more to stop the problem of people smuggling.

STEPHEN SMITH: In terms of capacity building and cooperation on prosecutions. We think there is more that we can do on information sharing which the Minister referred to.

So we face a heightened challenge from the criminal syndicates behind the people smuggling and we need to up our cooperation, up our efforts to combat that and that is what we have agreed to do today.

MICHAEL EDWARDS: Stephen Smith and his Sri Lankan counterpart Rohitha Bogollagama signed an agreement to boost law enforcement cooperation on people smuggling.

Mr Smith says it's a big step forward in tackling the problem.

But he also agrees with many, particularly human rights advocates, that the issue is not entirely about law enforcement.

The Foreign Minister also says that helping Sri Lanka rebuild after its civil war is an important factor in reducing the demand for people smuggling and he's pledged Australian support to help it do so.

STEPHEN SMITH: Sri Lanka faces the great challenge of, in the aftermath of a civil conflict, a terrible civil conflict which lasted for 25 to 30 years, to rebuild, reconstruct and to reconcile and heal and in that respect Australia wants to give Sri Lanka as much assistance as it can.

MICHAEL EDWARDS: Human rights advocates say the demand for people smuggling will continue unless something is done about the plight of Sri Lanka's Tamil community.

Jehan Perreira is the executive director of the National Peace Council of Sri Lanka.

JEHAN PERREIRA: Until I think the checkpoints are removed, Tamils feel that they are not specially, under special scrutiny by the military and until the Government comes up with the political solution, at least a political proposal that meets the aspirations of Tamils to be equal citizens, to have some power in the areas in which they are a majority, I think Tamils will want to leave Sri Lanka.

© ABC Radio Australia

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Court relaxes bail conditions on Vanni doctors

By T. Farook Thajudeen - Colombo Chief Magistrate Nishantha Hapuarachchi relaxed bail conditions imposed on two Doctors who were alleged to have canvassed false information of an alleged genocide of Tamils by the Sri Lankan forces to the international community.

At the outset of yesterday’s magisterial inquiry the CID informed court that they were investigating as to whether the doctors had been actively involved in any unlawful activity or had any connections to the LTTE movement and moved for a date to file the report.

Counsel Poobalasingham appearing for the two doctors Dr. Thangamoorthi Satyamoorthy and Dr. Kathies submitted that his clients were finding it difficult to be present before the Vavuniya Police as per their bail requirements as their workload at the Vavuniya Hospital was extremely high and moved court to relax their bail conditions. The counsel further submitted that the doctors intended collecting their outstanding salaries for the period in which they were in detention and asked the court to allow them leave to collect the outstanding salaries.

The magistrate lifted bail conditions imposed on the suspects to appear in person before the police and said the court will not restrict the doctors’ right to claim their outstanding salaries. Further hearings were fixed for Feb. 8.

© Daily Mirror

Related Links:
Vanni doctors Bail conditions relaxed - BBC Sinhala
Save the Doctors Campaign

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Talks fail, Sri Lankan unions decide to go for joint work-to-rule campaign

The unions of the four main state institutes, Petroleum, Water, Electricity and Ports have decided to commence its planned work-to-rule campaign from next Wednesday as the talks they held with the Treasury Secretary failed to produce any compromise.

The union leaders this evening met with Treasury Secretary Dr. P. B. Jayasundara to discuss over their salary increment, but the talks has ended without any success, said Ananda Palitha, the committee member of Joint Forum for Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) unions.

According to him they will certainly go for the earlier announced union action with the support of Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB), the Port Authority, and the Water Board from November 11th.

CPC union said that the government has one more day to prevent the general public from certain difficulties by announcing a salary hike.

The four unions are demanding a compulsory salary hike which is generally granted by the government every three years, but yet failed to grant this time.

The government has promised a salary hike to all state workers in January of next year.

The unions of the CPC had staged a four-day work to rule campaign earlier immensely inconveniencing the general public.

© Colombo Page

Related Links:
Grant salary demand before 11th of November - Unions.lk
Plantation unions resume campaign - Daily Mirror

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Sri Lanka Says 164,000 War Refugees Remain in Northern Camps

By Paul Tighe - Sri Lanka said 164,000 civilians displaced by the civil war with Tamil Tiger rebels remain in camps in the north and the government intends to reduce the number to less than 50,000 by the end of January.

“We are now moving with incremental swiftness” to settle people from the camps, Rajiva Wijesinha, the secretary at the Ministry of Disaster Management and Human Rights, said late yesterday, according to the government’s Web site.

More than 280,000 mainly Tamil civilians have been held in the camps since the army defeated the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in May, ending the group’s 26-year fight for a separate Tamil homeland in Sri Lanka’s north and east. The U.S. and United Nations are leading international calls for the swift release of the displaced people.

The need to ensure security in the north, the slow pace of clearing mines from former conflict zones and a lack of infrastructure as a result of the war are delaying the program to settle the civilians, Wijesinha said.

“The pressure from the West was quite extensive” to get people out of the camps, he said, adding that countries such as India, Pakistan and China understood the security concerns of the government in Colombo.

“These countries also had questions about the refugees and their rehabilitation, and a political map for the devolution process, but they did not pressure us,” Wijesinha said.

Caught in Fighting

The army defeated the last LTTE forces in a battle on the northeastern coast in May. Tens of thousands of civilians were caught between the rebels and army units.

Sri Lanka rejected comments in September by Navi Pillay, the UN Human Rights commissioner, that the Tamils are being held in “conditions of internment.”

Last month, more than 10,000 people were resettled around Kilinochchi, the northern town where the LTTE had its headquarters. The area was heavily mined and had to be cleared, the government said at the time.

An estimated 1.5 million mines and unexploded ordnance contaminated 500 square kilometers (193 square miles) of the north when the war ended, Lieutenant General Jagath Jayasuriya, Sri Lanka’s army commander, said Oct. 27.

While army units in the north will be reduced in time, they “cannot be removed” because of the danger of the LTTE’s possible resurgence, Wijesinha said. The group’s revival is unlikely without foreign intervention, he said.

The conflict left about 90,000 people dead between 1983 and this year, the secretary said.

Separatist Threat

Sri Lanka is still threatened by separatist forces, President Mahinda Rajapaksa said in a speech Oct. 19. The government’s war on terrorism was based on achieving an “undivided country, a national consensus and an honorable peace,” he said.

Tamils make up almost 12 percent of Sri Lanka’s population of 20 million people. Sinhalese account for 74 percent, according to a 2001 census.

While the government is committed to devolving some power to minorities, federalism is ruled out, Wijesinha.

“There is a danger of legitimization of separatism” in a federal structure in a country like Sri Lanka, he said.

Rajapaksa last week named a five-member committee that will investigate a U.S. State Department report on alleged human rights violations in the last weeks of the war, including the shelling of civilians by the army and the LTTE using civilians as hostages. The team consists of lawyers and a university chancellor, the government said at the time.

Sri Lanka has already responded to 99.9 percent of the allegations, Mahinda Samarasinghe, the minister for disaster management and human rights, said last week. The government has described the U.S. report as “unsubstantiated.”

The State Department said last week the abuses listed in the report are based mostly on reporting by the U.S. embassy in Sri Lanka, international organizations and the media and are “credible.”

© Bloomberg

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Lankan workers stranded in Jeddah

Sri Lankan migrant workers in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia say they have been living under a bridge seeking help from the authorities to come back home.

One Sri Lankan worker who wished to be anonymous told BBC Sinhala service that nearly 3000 migrant workers, including Sri Lankans, have been living under the Sharafiya bridge in the Saudi capital for months.

"We all have been house maids or in factory workers and were forced to leave the workplace due to various harassments or as a result of not being paid by the employers. Now we are stranded here having no means to go back home," he said.

No food

Many stranded workers neither have money nor food, unless some passers by offer something to eat, he added.

"There are some who have been living under this bridge for over one year," he said.

He accused the Sri Lankan authorities of not taking efforts to send them home.

Rejecting the accusation, the Sri Lankan authorities say the workers, who have overstayed their visa in Saudi Arabia, are using the bridge as a tactical move to leave the country without paying a penalty fee.

Kingsly Ranawaka, chairman of Foreign Employment Bureau, told BBC Sandeshaya that Sri Lanka has repatriated nearly 5000 similar workers over the last 17 months.

"When migrants come to this place the Saudi government offer them free air tickets and send them home," he said.

He added that the government will take steps to bring the workers home but warned that another group will replace the current migrants as soon as they were removed.

© BBC Sinhala

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