Sri Lanka MPs' salary sacrifices and other stories

(March 10, Colombo - Lanka Polity)  Sri Lanka Minister of Labor Dr. Mervin Silva proposed the parliamentarians on March 08 not to withdraw this month’s salary because the parliament met only for one sitting this month.

The MPs are to get paid the full salary including all other perks such as fuel and mobile phone allowance and MSD security for the month of March and April for a few hours of job which was to participate in the emergency debate in Parliament. An MP draws Rs. 54,285 as the fixed salary with a fuel allowance of Rs. 30,000, Transport Allowance of Rs. 10,000, and Entertainment Allowance of Rs. 1,000 and hand phone allowance of Rs. 2,000 a month in addition to Rs, 500 for every parliamentary session.

Minister Mervin Silva seems forgotten the fact that the parliament met only for one sittings in January and February as well. Will Minister Mervin Silva pay back what he withdrew in these months?

He made this proposal during the debate for the extension of emergency regulations declaring he would not withdraw his salary this month since the parliament met for only one sitting this month. He asked all MPs to sacrifice their monthly salary to the nation in order to strengthen the President’s hands in developing the country.

The President dissolved the parliament on February 08 and called for elections. The elections are to be held on April 08. But later the parliament was reconvened to approve the proclamation signed by President Mahinda Rajapaksa on March 1 extending the emergency state for another month.

The parliament is to meet again on April 06 two days ahead of the general election with the same purpose. For four consecutive months, the parliament of Sri Lanka is meeting with the sole purpose of extending the emergency state. What a ridicule to a parliamentary democracy!

The response of the MPs to Mervin Silva's proposal was not available immediately.

However, the Sri Lankan public are likely to lose this wonderful Minister in the next parliament that meets on April 22. Mervyn Silva yesterday vowed in Parliament that he would not attend the sessions of the next Parliament if at least a single member is elected to Parliament from the ‘Trophy’ symbol at the upcoming general election.

Responding to a statement made by JVP MP Sunil Handunetthi, Minister Silva said that none of the candidates contesting under the ‘Trophy’ symbol would be elected to the next Parliament.

If Minister Silva will not attend the parliament for three consecutive months, he will be considered vacated the post. He has not declared if he will not withdraw the salaries of these three months.

We beg Dr. Mervin Silva to change his mind. Please sir, your stay is a must. Parliament is a place that provides jokes as well to this marvelous polity.

JVP coming to consciousness after the horse bolted from the stable

(March 10, Colombo - Lanka Polity) At the right end of the history of People's Liberation Front's (JVP's) golden era of parliamentary politics, the leftist nationalist party has eventually decided to vote against the draconian emergency regulations.

Since 2004, and even since long before that, the JVP parliamentarians did not vote against the emergency regulations. Until recent times, they just abstained voting lacking guts to vote against. The draconian emergency regulations grant sweeping powers to the police and security forces of Sri Lanka to arrest and detain people that rise against the system. The victims were Tamils first but now the JVP is also paying heavily. This year, the government sealed a newspaper office of the JVP and detained an editor. After all the JVP is a movement against the present system although they have their own limitations what they call as their uniqueness.

Until the demise of the Tamil rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Ealam (LTTE), JVP's political strategy was tuned to be against the Tigers on an ethnic chauvinist basis that was forwarded to masses in the guise of pseudo-Leninism. Ever since the military annihilation of the Tiger movement by the government, the JVP has lost balance or imbalance rather. 

However, the party is shifting towards a policy change and that should be commended. JVP was always swaying like a pendulum between left and right. After been in ultra right for many years, it is the turn to be in left after April 08 elections. 

Comrades, welcome to reality!

Police to save Sri Lanka President's family goodwill; no police can protect your good name but yourself sir

(March 05, Colombo - Lanka Polity)  Media reports say that a special police team of investigation has been appointed to probe the complaints received by the police headquarters regarding several organized unscrupulous groups that are engaged in frauds covering to the good names of the members of the ruling Rajapaksa family.

According to reports, these groups have used the names of President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Defense Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapakasa and the Chairman of the Tomorrow for Youth Namal Rajapaksa and police have begun investigation since yesterday. Basil Rajapaksa's name was not in reports.

This unit is under the direct supervision of the Deputy Inspector General of Police Mahinda Balasuriya, under monitoring of Senior Deputy Inspector General N.K. Ilangakoon and it is administered by the Deputy Inspector General in charge of crime and organized crime Anura Senanayaka.

Police headquarters says that has received a complaint regarding a shocking incident of a person appearing a close associate of the President’s son Namal Rajapaksa molesting a young woman in addition to swindling Rs. 4.5 million promising to purchase a motor vehicle tax free.

Police says that this organized group has cheated money from people promising employment, land deals etc. using the goodwill of the President and his immediate family.

This special police unit has roused criticism of the opposition since it is assigned to protect the good name of one family. But the serious issue is not that. Why did this family, that claims to have made history in Sri Lanka need special police to protect their good name?

Rajapaksas have to think seriously about why this happened. No police can protect what they can do for themselves.

Examination phobia of Sri Lankan teachers and students

(March 03, Colombo - Lanka Polity)  Examination phobia of some sections of the students training to be qualified as the teachers have caused a massive damage to the public coffers of Sri Lanka. Examination Commissioner of Sri Lanka Anura Edirisinghe says that additional Rs. 12 million was needed to hold the postponed examinations of the Colleges of Educations.

Around 3000 would be teachers studying in 17 Colleges of Education are to sit for this examination and Edirisinghe pointed out that Rs. 18 million was spent for the final examinations of the Colleges of Education last year.

Sources said that the store of examination papers was not given additional security except the regular watchmen available for job.

Sri Lanka police arrested 33 students of Uva College of Education in suspicion of the theft of examination papers. The Examination Commissioner guaranteed tough legal action against the culprits.

The Department of Examination had to postpone the final examinations of all the Colleges of Education that were to be held since yesterday. An unknown person or a group stole one examination paper each from all sets of question papers that were stored in Uva College of Education in Bandarawela. The arrested students were residing in the hostel of the College.

Meanwhile, reports say that pilfering of examination papers has taken place in Polgolla College of Education in Kandy. However, no arrest has been made yet. Sources say that the students have broken open the sealed question paper packets, taken them out and photocopied them before returning them to the packets.

This incident should be focussed to identify the competitiveness of Sri Lanka's educational and examination system. Examinations have become a severe burden to education.

Must testing be a fear factor of education? Definitely not.

We have to think if such happened in Sri Lanka. How can we solve this problem?

Colleges of Education final examination is not a competitive examination like Advanced Levels. These students have less fears about the future since they are guaranteed government teacher positions once they are passed out of the colleges.

Informed sources say that various kinds of examination frauds are wide spread among the teacher trainees that are studying for professional qualifications. These teachers might be definite the distributors of examination phobia among the students.

Sri Lanka government in need of some kind of tension to maintain draconian laws

(March 03, Colombo - Lanka Polity)  Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa has reconvened the parliament. Last month he dissolved the parliament and called for elections. The general election is scheduled to be held on April 08.

The President has used his executive powers to extend the state of emergency for a period of one month subjected to the approval of the parliament within 10 days. The aim of reconvening the parliament is approving the extension of emergency.

Sri Lanka is under state of emergency since decades due to the war with the Tamil Tiger rebels. The emergency regulations provide sweeping authorities to police and security forces to interfere in the rights of the citizens.

The government has decided to maintain the emergency regulations further covering to the argument that the Tamil Tiger rebels that were defeated militarily last year might attempt a comeback if the security grip was loosened.

The Prime Minister Rathnasiri Wickramanayaka recently said that several suicide cadres of the Tamil Tiger organization are in Colombo. Police arrested a Tiger financial affairs activist this week.

Peace that prevails after May 18, the day the Tamil Tiger leader Velupillai Prabakaran was killed, seems uncomfortable to the government. The government needs some kind of tension to rationalize the maintaining of draconian laws such as emergency regulations and Prevention of Terrorism Act.

Government needs these draconian laws to suppress unrest. Thousands of Tamil youth are still in custody without urgent legal action thanks to these laws.

Can Sri Lanka government that robs Peter to pay Paul hoodwink IMF?

Robbing Hoodwink

(March 02, Colombo - Lanka Polity)  Sri Lanka overshoot its 2009 budget deficit target set by the IMF for a $2.6 billion loan. High post-war reconstruction costs are attributed for this by central bank officials.

Sri Lankan leaders are clever or perhaps corrupt enough to handle the delegations sent by the IMF or any other international body and it will somehow manage to obtain the next tranche also although it is delayed due to economic mismanagement of the Sri Lanka government. They know the science to win hearts. The IMF officials also have some soft corners that can be touched by our clever men and women.

This is a real pragmatic game of politics. Who wants to be honest to this pirate IMF? Rajapaksa regime knows too well the science of getting their support without being prey to the conditions. They rule the country for today and tomorrow my friend is blowing in the wind. The polity needs no better future. They live for today and Mahind Chinthanaya delivers what they want.

An IMF mission was in Sri Lanka last week to assess December data before deciding on the third tranche of the loan. Sri Lanka’s IMF resident representative Koshy Mathai has said whether or not the IMF is flexible in a country is determined on a “case by case” basis.

The IMF had set budget deficit targets of 7 percent of GDP by end-2009 and 6 percent this year as conditions for a $2.6 billion loan approved last July to help Sri Lanka avert a balance of payment crisis during the global financial crisis.

On Thursday, the IMF said it was delaying payment of a third tranche of the loan until it sees the budget after the parliamentary polls scheduled on April 8.

"The budget deficit of 469,627 million rupees ($4.1 billion) turned out to be 9.7 percent of the GDP," the Ministry of Finance said in a "Pre-election budgetary position report" posted on its website www.treasury.gov.lk.

The 2010 budget deficit is estimated at 7.5 percent, well above the IMF target of 6 percent, the report showed.

"Fiscal adjustment towards containing the budget deficit below 7 percent in 2009 suffered a setback due to a less than expected recovery in trade-based activities and due to a more than envisaged impact of the global economic crisis on the Sri Lankan economy."

Revenue had declined by 0.5 percent of GDP, while interest payments and public investments have increased by 0.8 percent and 1 percent of the GDP respectively, the report said.

Though government revenue had declined only by 3.25 percent from the estimated level, expenditures were 22.2 percent higher than the full-year estimated spending, data showed.

"High spending has been also due to welfare spending on rehabilitation and humanitarian expenditure after the end of the country's 25-year war last year, increased wages for state employees due to expanded public sector," says Reuters.

However, these are the prides of the reign of the Rajapaksa regime and peeling them off will open the hollow inside.

A government that robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul, said George Bernard Shaw,

One arm of Sri Lanka government protests UK while another arm consoles

(March 01, Colombo - Lanka Polity)  Sri Lanka government has sent one arm of the ruling coalition to protest the British government while another arm denied the government had any link with the protest.

National Freedom Front (JNP), a coalition party of Sri Lanka’s ruling alliance led by President Mahinda Rajapaksa's close ally ex-MP Vimal Weerawansa held a protest demonstration before the British High Commission of Colombo today alleging the former Colonial ruler was aiding and abetting terrorism.

Addressing a forcible protest meeting held blocking the gates of the High Commission, vociferous Weerawansa warned that the JNP would continue protests unless UK avoids anti-Sri Lankan actions like British Foreign Secretary David Miliband's attendance last week at a meeting of Global Tamil Forum.

Weerawansa's clan left the High Commission after handing in a protest letter to a High Commission official leaving a hoarding across the gate in which British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Foreign Secretary David Miliband dressed in Tamil Tiger military outfits.

British Prime Minister met the representatives of the Tamil organization following the meeting held in British Parliamentary House. The Global Tamil Forum was successful to win cross party representation from UK for the event held in support of the fight for the rights of Sri Lankan Tamils. British Foreign Ministry later defended the Foreign Secretary's action stating that it held the position of engaging with all stakeholders of the issue.

Sri Lanka accuses the Global Tamil Forum of being sympathizers of Tamil Tiger rebels that were militarily defeated last year. However, Sri Lankan authorities failed to do anything to prevent the meeting being a success with the participation of the bigwigs.

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that the protest was a private affair that the government had no link.

Vimal Weerawansa is running for elections from Colombo district and he needs shows to gain votes amidst a tooth and nail fight among ruling coalition candidates for re-election under the proportional representation.