Colombo South Teaching Hospital – Kalubowila

The young woman who was claimed to have been abused by the doctor was alleged to have been assaulted by her boyfriend and had been admitted to the SJGH with minor injuries on Friday, August 28, and then she was sent to the Kalubowila Hospital to be examined by the JMO since SJGH had no JMO’s.  It was a legal case and the report needed confirmation from the JMO, said the Director of SJGH Dr. Susith Senaratne.

The doctor had allegedly requested the mother and a female attendant who accompanied the victim to wait outside during the examination room.  The victim claims that even though she had no injuries in her upper body and chest she was unnecessarily examined by the doctor, over which she was very uncomfortable. One of the JMO doctors, a post-graduate temporarily attached to the University of Jayewardenepura, who was from the Ministry of Health, is alleged to have violated the basic ethical conduct of doctors which request a female or a male attendant to be present during the physical examination.

The doctor in question was temporarily attached to the forensic medicine unit of the hospital. The JMO unit jointly functions with the Colombo South Teaching Hospital – Kalubowila and the University of Jayewardenepura. He is a post-graduate and was serving as a JMO.

The allegation made against the doctor was that he examined the patient without a female attendant in the room. The victim has lodged a complaint with the police claiming the doctor examined her upper body and she felt uncomfortable. She also said that the doctor examined her where there were no injuries at all while the mother and the female attendant from the SJGH were kept outside the examining room.

However, Dr. Asela Gunawardena, Director of Kalubowila hospital told The Sunday Leader that if the doctor is proven to have requested the attendants and the mother to wait outside the room during the examination, he has clearly violated the basic ethic of the doctors conduct to  and he will take action against this.

“The alleged doctor in question says he has not abused her while the patient says he has unnecessarily examined her, the court of law has to decide on what really happened depending on the evidence,” he added.  It should also be investigated by non-medical people as there can be allegations that the doctor supported the investigation, said Dr. Asela Gunawardena.

The court should prove what happened and who is guilty in this incident as there were only two of them in the room.

Dr. Gunawardena said that they were not sure  where the mother and the nurse were requested to wait as the examining room in the Kalubowila hospital where she was taken is a partly glassed room so that it is visible from the outside.

There will be a female attendant available all the time whenever there is an examination or someone would accompany the patient, whereas no one except for the patient and the doctor had been in there during the examination.

Susith Senaratne, Director of SJGH said that the victim in her compliant had clearly stated that she was not forced into the abuse but was examined unnecessarily in the absence of a female attendant. However, they have lodged a complaint at the police and the investigations are being carried out. Reports and evidence they required is being submitted to the investigation committee by both the hospitals and the court of law will decide the rest.

Immediately after the incident was reported to the directors of both the hospitals and the victim was asked to submit a written complaint and on hearing the news, the Health Minister has instructed the Director of the Kalubowila hospital to conduct a full investigation into the alleged incident.

During our investigations an overwhelming number of stakeholders across all segments of the society opined to The Sunday Leader that  the weakening of these businesses by certain individuals in the top management and certain officials in authority prove to nothing but collusion between the ruled and the ruler, the regulated and the regulator.

The most grave issue they point out is that the Rajapaksa regime even after burning its hands from the collapse of Golden Key and Ceylinco Consolidated failed to learn its lessons and as a result the country maybe still prone to a repeat of Golden Key if urgent attention is not given by the authorities.

Rise and fall of oldest finance house

“This institution was one-time one of the most renowned finance houses in the country. Why it has gone down in the last Financial Year and continues to go down is because of its nefarious Managing Director. After he came our beloved chairman who was a renowned central banker and held responsible positions in various capacities during the 36 years of his career in the Central Bank till he retired as Assistant Governor in 2009; was forced to leave. In addition the Chairman who had a Doctorate in Development Economics from the International University of America, was also Director of the Ministry of Finance due to his wealth of knowledge. But the downfall of the company started with him being thrown out by the Managing Director,” lamented a senior employee of the financial institution on grounds of anonymity.

“The worst part is our Managing Director claims that it was he who restructured and re-launched The Finance and Guarantee and has wide experience in launching and re-structuring businesses in Sri Lanka and overseas. Everyone knows that he performed  very badly and could not resurrect F&G!” (See related stories)

“The most humourous part is that when the current Managing Director  came twice for interviews once when he applied as an Assistant General Manager (AGM) and again as Deputy General Manager (DGM), both times he was rejected but finally ended up as MD. The reason is that a certain lady at the regulator office who  sent his resume twice to the former Chairman finally got him appointed as a Director against the wishes of the Chairman. So the regulator works hand in glove with the MD to ensure that each other is safeguarded. We as the senior management are confident that we can revive the company, but both these unscrupulous individuals must be removed and brought to the book,” he added.

Fingara saga continues

The Sunday Leader reported exclusively last week how the controversial self-proclaimed ‘Chairman’ of Finance & Guarantee Real Estate (Pvt) Ltd and Property Developers (Pvt) Ltd – Upali Rajapakse openly announced his wishes to own  Fingara Town and Country Club but also openly practiced oppression and suppression.

The Sunday Leader learns that last Tuesday (September 6) after Upali Rajapakse’s removal was announced, he arrived at Fingara and shouted at employees of the F&G Trust Office.

“Around 4 PM the same day of the court case, Rajapakse arrived at the Trust Office thrust his car right into the open ground floor of the building to show his animosity. He broke open a room which had been sealed. He then called in the OIC of the Guradroom and scolded him in utter filth. He shouted at employees saying that everything would be ‘finished’ and that all employees would end up in jail. Thereafter he had gone straight to the Mirihana Police and lodged complaints against several employees. On the advice of our lawyers, we were too went to the Mirihana Police showed our recordings of his conduct and lodged individual complaints citing his threatening behaviour. When our Director Ashley visited the Police he was present and he had shouted at him going to the extent of almost assaulting Ashley in front of the Officer in Charge,” said an employee on grounds of anonymity.

Suppression and oppression

Previously in June 2016, the senior management of Fingara Town & Country Club reported to the Director Board the oppressive conduct of self-proclaimed ‘Chairman’ Upali Rajapakse.

The full text of the letter:  

06th June 2016

The Directors.

F & G Real Estate Company Ltd & Property Developers (Pvt) Ltd.

Old Kesbewa Rd.

Raththanapitiya,

Boralesgamuwa.

Dear Sir.

Unacceptable behavior by the Chairman of the company-Mr Upali Rajapakshe

As you are well aware that on 20th May 2016 the chairman Mr Upali Rajapakshe of the Company made an entry against the management of the company and three directors of top management, submitting supposititious prosecution and there was an inquiry in Mirihana Police Station. You are well aware about the whole truth of this substance. During this inquiry the chairman clearly stated that he does not want to resolve this matter peacefully and that he wants to take this matter up to the courts. By this statement it clearly shows that his main objective is to suffer the management and cause discomfort and misery to the top management.Thereafter on Monday 06thJune2016 three directors and the management staff of Fingara was taken to Nugegoda courts. After the Judge’s decision the three directors and management staff was released on bail. In addition to that again we would like to remind you the following incidents that we had to face during the last few Month. Please consider the following incidents also. Always forcing to the Accountant of the Company to not to make the salary payment and advance. In this regards we have already informed in writing to you on 18.05.2016. Mr Neranjan Rajapakshe who is the son of Mr Upali Rajapakshe has several times forced the staff of Fingara Club to do their duties as he wishes. We also would like to state that he is not a director to command staff to do what he wants. On13.05.2016 all the cheque books of Fingara Club have been taken from the accounts department by the Mr Upali Rajapakshe on his own decision. Further Mr Justin who was the Accountant appointed under the trust Board was beaten and verbally abused by Mr Upali Rajapakshe on 17.09.2015in the office premises. This is also one vidence showing his character. By this act we are well aware that you were put into a very embarrassing situation for something that you are not accountable for.It clearly shows that the chairman Mr Upali Rajapakshe of the company along with the support of higher authorities of the government institutes suffer his own staff into a bad situation and caused a lot of problems for the directors and management staff and hereby we clearly state that his unprofessional act is not acceptable. We deeply regret going through this whole incident and as it has brought shame on to the Fingara Club as this matter has spread around.So we hereby state that we are unable to continue our work under his chairmanship and we strongly state that he is not capable and not mentally fit to hold this position. Furthermore we would like to state that there were directors earlier also in Fingara and we never had any conflicts with them. Such a bad shameful conflict took place only during your present management. We the management staff await for the directors necessary action and decisions about this whole matter.

Thanking You

Fingara Management

Mr. R.P. Pushpakumara-General Manager Mr. P.N Ranasingha-Accountant, Mr. Sujeewa Hemantha-Assi Manager HR Mr. H.E.C Priyadarshana- Assi Manager Sport Mr. C. P Ranaweera- Engeneer Mr. Upul Chandana- Marketing Manager Ms. Lanka Madurasingha- Cost Controller Mr. Roy Bertrend- F&B Manager               

Cc- Mr Alawathuge- Director Non-Banking Institution Central Bank of Sri Lanka Mr VirajDayarathne- Deputy Solicitor General (SCFR/317/2009) Mrs M.M Jayasekara- Supreme Court Registrar (SCFR/317/2009)

Police protect the grave of Lasantha Wickrematunge
Pic by Lalith Perera

Although the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) is now conducting a full scale investigation to make a breakthrough as there is suspicion on Wickrematunge’s post mortem report, which claimed that the death was due to gunshot injuries, Wickrematunge’s widow Sonali Samarasinghe Wickrematunge and his immediate family members raised eyebrows the day the death occurred that he (Wickrematunge) did not die due to gunshot injuries but due to stab injuries.

Since the JMO report contradicts with the Government Analyst’s report, and also with the medical report of Professor Mohan Silva who performed the emergency operation on Wickrematunge that there were no traces of any gunshot injuries, the CID on Thursday, September 8, 2016 made a request to Mt. Lavinia Magistrate Mohammad Sahabdeen seeking an order to exhume Wickrematunge’s remains to obtain a second post-mortem report. Hence permission was granted to exhume Wickrematunge’s body on September 27 from his grave at the Borella Kanatta under the supervision of Colombo No. 2 Magistrate.

Following the court order to exhume her departed husband’s body for a fresh autopsy report, Sonali Samarasinghe Wickrematunge speaking to The Sunday Leader from New York said that proper conclusion of all such investigations are important in order to re-establish Good Governance and the Rule of Law in Sri Lanka.

“These are extremely gut-wrenching circumstances and for me very difficult to endure as his wife. However, for the sake of the greater good and for the purposes of a thorough independent investigation, we have to go through this. Indeed, we must. The proper conclusion of these investigations are important in order to re-establish Good Governance and the Rule of Law in our country, and halt the cyclical recurrence of violence in various forms and at different levels of society.

“Among others, the proper handling of Lasantha’s case will become the symbol of a restored and renewed democracy where once again, the people of our country will have faith in our judiciary, and in our system of Justice. These assassinations affect not only the families of the victims but society as a whole.

“If we continue to allow these outstanding investigations into extra judicial killings and other abuses of the past regime to go unaddressed, people will lose faith in the institutions of the State, and Sri Lanka will not be able to achieve its security and development goals, nor progress to its full potential. It is also important as we move forward to reform those institutions that were either allegedly involved in or incapable of preventing these killings.

“However, I am pleased to see progress in Lasantha’s murder investigation which, as everyone knows, was stonewalled for six years,” she said.

Meanwhile, Senior Attorney at law and Former President, Bar Association, Mt. Lavinia, Athula S. Ranagala who appeared for Wickrematunge family interests told this newspaper that the post mortem report issued by the then JMO, Colombo South Hospital Dr. K. Sunil Kumara deems to be questionable as the autopsy report says that the cause of death was due to craniocerebral injuries following a discharge of firearms.
“The Government Analyst report says that there were no gunshot wounds in Wickrematunge’s body. Since there is a suspicion over the post mortem report similar to that of Wasim Thajudeen’s autopsy report to mislead the investigation, the CID made a request to the Magistrate to grant permission to exhume the body on September 27,” Senior Attorney Ranagala said.
The JMO report states as thus, “I, Dr. K. Sunil Kumara, Consultant Judicial Medical Officer do hereby affirm,
“The deceased was admitted to Ward No: ASU (Accident Service Unit) of the Teaching Hospital Colombo South on 08-01-09.
“The deceased was found to be dead when brought to the Colombo South Teaching Hospital.
“I have held a post mortem external examination on the body of the above-named deceased.
“From the history obtained from the previous medical records of this case and the statement of the police station who states that there were no grounds to suspect foul play in regard to the death, I am of the opinion that the cause of death is due to Cranio Cerebral injuries following a discharge of a firearm”.
According to a leading Medical Consultant from the Kalubowila hospital, who wished to remain anonymous, it is questionable as to how the JMO came to a conclusion that the death was due to gunshot injuries when there were neither entry nor exit bullet wounds on Wickrematunge’s body.

“If there were no exit bullet wounds then the bullet should have been in Wickrematunge’s body. Without taking an X-ray, how could this JMO come to a conclusion that he died of gunshot injuries. Had he ever visited the place of the incident and spoken to the people to find out whether they heard any gun firing. Had he checked the vehicle the deceased was driving and the scene of the crime whether there were bullet cases. I understand that he now says that the JMO report was written based on the bed head ticket (BHT) where there was a note that he has died due to gunshot injuries. Do the government hospitals need JMOs who write the post mortem reports based on the BHTs,” sources said.

According to Ranagala, Attorney General’s (AG) advice had also been sought by the CID prior to making a request to the court to exhume the body of the victim to conduct another post-mortem by a team of three doctors. It is learnt that Colombo Chief JMO Dr. Ajith Tennakoon who conducted the second post mortem of Wasim Thajudeen will be conducting Wickrematunge’s post mortem as well together with Dr. Jean Perera and the Kandy JMO.
Also both Dr. Ananda Samarasekera, who is accused of giving a false post mortem report on Thajudeen and is also accused of removing body parts of Thajudeen and the questionable  JMO Dr. K. Sunil Kumara are both now working at South Asian Institute of Technology and Medicine (SAITM).

Meanwhile astonishing revelations have now come to light as to how the controversial JMO had removed Wickrematunge’s file from the Colombo South Teaching Hospital Kalubowila when he went on retirement. Highly reliable sources from a Defence Authority told The Sunday Leader on condition of anonymity how the CID got two court orders – one for the Kalubowila Hospital to hand over Wickrematunge’s file for further investigations and the other to obtain the file from Dr. Sunil Kumara’s possession.

“The CID had come to know that the file in question had been removed by Dr. Kumara when he went on retirement. Knowing the fact, the CID took two court orders and had sent one team to the hospital and the second to Dr. Kumara’s residence. Once the first CID team went to the Kalubowila hospital to obtain the said file although they knew that it was not there, the hospital had immediately informed Dr. Kumara that the CID had come in search of the file and to be ready as they will come to his residence with another court order. Dr. Kumara had no time to hide this file as the second CID team was at his door simultaneously. Finally the CID was able to take the file from Dr. Kumara’s possession. The timely decision taken by the CID prevented a possible destruction of Wickrematunge’s file which is vital for further investigations,” the sources said on condition of anonymity.
The defence sources further said how four people who were present at Wickrematunge’s burial have to be present at the exhumation as well, which is the standard practice. “These four have to confirm to the team that goes to exhume the body that it is Wickrematunge’s body. Since Wickrematunge’s wife and children and the family members are not in the country, those who were present have to come to Kanatte on the 27th.

According to the pictures we are now in possession of Wickrematunge’s burial, other than one or two, all those were around the Cabinet of Ministers in the present government including Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe. The CID would make a request for few of them to come to the burial site on September 27 morning,” sources claimed.
The sources further stated as to how it had now unearthed how former DIG Vass Gunawardena was in the vicinity of Wickrematunge’s murder closer to the Bekari Junction in Attidiya, alleged to give a helping hand to the killers in case they were held by the public. “Reports reaching us has confirmed as to how former DIG Vass Gunawardena, who was stationed at Trincomalee at that time, was a few yards away from where Wickrematunge was stabbed.

It is alleged that he was present there to protect the killers in the event they were held. Since Gunawardena and his driver are now in jail, the CID took a court order to question both of them to find out as to why they were in close proximity to the incident on the same day, same time when Wickrematunge was stabbed on his head,” sources added.
It is also learnt as to how the former Inspector General of Police (IGP) Mahinda Balasooriya had a confrontation with Senior DIG CID and State Intelligence Service Nishantha Gajanayake and Maj. General Amal Karunasekera, Director Military Intelligence on Wednesday September 7, 2016 when Balasooriya was summoned to the CID to find out as to why he summoned Gajanayake and Karunasekera to his office in 2010 to discuss about Wickrematunge case where he later handed over the investigation from the CID to the Terrorism Investigation Division (TID). Although both Gajanayake and Karunasekera admitted that they were summoned by Balasooriya to his office way back in 2010, Balasooriya had said that he cannot remember the incident and had confronted with the other two officers. According to Karunasekera, he was in Turkey on an official assignment when he was summoned to Colombo by Balasooriya.

Earlier the CID summoned former IGP Jayantha Wickremaratne together with former DIGs Prasanna Nanayakkara and Chandra Wakista and obtained statements on how Wickrematunge’s notebook went missing after taking it to the police custody. It is said that the registration numbers of all motor bicycles that were following his car had been noted down by Wickrematunge in the notebook that went missing later.

The issue at UGC, Jaffna was sorted out with the former principal professionally handing over the duties to her successor. The situation in the school is said to be back to normal as the students and the teachers’ attendance were observed to be normal

The vice principal of the UGC, Jeevanathi Amilathas confirmed that there was an increase in the students’ attendance last week than two weeks ago and that the school activities are back to normal. Approximately 600 students attended school two weeks ago and attendance increased to 900 students last week out of 1100.Therefore, there are no problems in the school activities now, she added.

The former principal of UGC Mrs. Shiranee Mills was alleged to have been forced to retire at the age of 60 by the Bishop and the selection Board of the school, in spite of her expressing willingness to continue to serve as the principal. This resulted in the students striking and public discord among the society. Some students staged hunger strikes with one student fainting and being treated at the local hospital’s Intensive Care Unit (ICU).

The Old Girl’s Associations (OGA) of the UGC had issued a statement in response to the recent crisis and protests in the school which has received wide media publicity.

The members Past Pupils Associations (PPA) of Uduvil Girls College (UGC) based in the UK, Canada and Australia, in a joint statement strongly condemned the recent actions taken by the UGC Board and the Bishop, Rt. Rev. Daniel S. Thiagarajah over the forced retirement of Mrs. Shiranee Mills.

PPA’s position

The PPA claimed that it is a fact that UGC had always benefited from her Principals serving until the age of 70. This obvious past history was completely ignored by the UGC Board and the Bishop. Mrs. Mills was not given any reply to her letter, but the Bishop casually placed an advertisement for a new Principal of UGC on his Facebook page.

The manner, in which the board and the Bishop ignored the principal’s letters, and the contemptuous treatment Mrs. Mills was subjected to, indicates the ill-intent of both the school Board and the Bishop, alleged the OGA of UGC.

The statement further noted that Mrs. Mills has, through her visionary leadership, selfless dedication and tireless hard work, guided the school to numerous lofty achievements and accolades, not only in the field of education but also in sports, performing arts, visual arts and IT during her 12-year tenure as the Principal. The decision to terminate her services abruptly and so early is, evidently, detrimental to the morale of the students and irreparable damage to the ethos of the school. The continuous protest by the parents and students proves it.

As mentioned before, all PPAs from around the world, when we learnt of the moves to replace Mrs. Mills, wrote letters to the UGC Board and the Bishop, Rt. Rev. Daniel S. Thiagarajah, outlining the valid reasons as to why Mrs Mills’ position merits an extension, requesting that Mrs. Mills’ position as a Principal be extended at least for another five years, in order for her to complete the remarkable process of transformation, she has initiated at UGC.  These letters were sent out prior to the deadline of accepting new applications for the post of the new Principal. The letters requested a response or acknowledgement from the relevant parties within seven days. Copies of these letters can be provided upon request. As no response was forthcoming to the letters sent in June, the PPA’s sent follow-up letters to the UGC Board and to the Bishop after three weeks of sending the initial letters, to which the OGA, yet again, received no response or acknowledgement.

Mrs. Mills was invited for a discussion by the Bishop and his wife Mrs. Thayalini Thiagarajah on 15 August15. The next day she was informed that her application was rejected and she had to handover her responsibilities and leaves the school by 6 September sixth, one day before she turned 60.

On August 30, a formal announcement was placed on the JDCSI website, informing the appointment of Mrs. Suneetha Jebaratnam as the new Principal of UGC. However, there was no mention of Mrs. Mill’s termination.

Acts of totalitarianism

These acts of totalitarianism by the leadership of The Church of South India, in cohort with the local politicians, should be exposed. This situation must be strongly condemned and immediately redressed by the persons in authority. We strongly affirm that Mrs. Shiranee Mills should not have been forced to retire from her position as a Principal.

However, the forced retirement was alleged to have been politically motivated but the former principal of the UGC Mrs. Shiranee Mills claims there is no political motive but, the school wanted someone else as the principal and they decided on it to which they have a right to.

Mrs. Shiranee Mills also said that she was not interested in serving as a principal after her retirement age of 60 but with the continuous pressure by the Bishop to re-apply for the principal post she wrote a letter expressing her willingness to serve the school as a principal.

“I was not interested in extending my service time but since the School Board persuaded me to reapply I wrote the letter but clueless of why I was sent a letter of retirement the next day of the interview” she added.

Mrs. Mills also claimed that she was ready to leave the school after having received the retirement letter in the expectation that farewell celebrations would be held on the last day she leaves, but since the management postponed the re-opening of the school from September sixth to  September eighth, disappointed by the move of the management the students and the parents staged protests.

Mrs. Mills further stated that the students should have been disappointed as it was the third term and more celebrations were expected in the school in December on Christmas. “I work with them very closely and they are reluctant about me leaving the school, but now everything seems to be back to normal,” she added.

However, it is still a mystery why the Bishop who persuaded the former principal to write a letter of willingness to the board and rejected her application for the post

The destroyed Buddhist shrine room

It was reported that the camp, established after the war victory in 2009, does not exist in that location at present. The shrine room had been constructed at the time for religious observances of STF personnel. The Police said the Buddha statue has also been broken to pieces and therefore they have commenced investigations into the incident.

Nagananda Kodituwakku speaking to The Sunday Leader said that there are legal provisions in place if a statue or religious temple is to be removed. The matter should be brought to the attention of the public before it can be removed from the place in question.

He also said that the act of destroying the replica of the Lord Buddha by certain unidentified anti-social elements was an attempt to stir religious unrest in the country. Kodituwakku said that the entire Buddhist community in the country including him was dismayed, disturbed, and irritated by the degrading treatment meted out to the teachings of the Lord Buddha, probably to perturb the hard won peace, at a cost of hundreds of thousands of precious lives belonging to all communities inclusive of the members of  the armed forces and LTTE separatists.

There is statute in place to deal with such situations to bring such anti-social elements that thrive on inciting racism to justice. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights Act, popularly known as ICCPR Act No 56 of 2007. This law provides necessary power to deal with such anti-social elements that advocate national, racial or religious hatred that constitute incitement or discrimination, hostility or violence to justice.

“Whoever violates this law vested upon the constitution should be brought before law and should have action action against them,” protested Kodituwakku. This Act may be cited as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) Act, No. 56 of 2007.

The law reads as, Every person shall have the right to recognition as a person before the law and No person shall propagate war or advocate national, racial or religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence. Nevertheless, he also went on to say that during the last Presidential election Mahinda Rajapaksa declared that the majority of his voters were Sinhalese and that his defeat was solely a result of the ‘terrorists’ supporting the main opposition candidate Maithripala Sirisena. This assertion is grossly unfounded and uncalled for, as it has been intended to provoke controversy and racism amongst the communities. Surely, the law enforcement agencies and electronic media should have the footage of his utterances made in public. Even during the Presidential Election Campaign  in 2015, people witnessed his extremely disturbing racist remarks directed at ethnic minorities, particularly against Tamils and Muslims, inciting racism, with intention of swinging the majority Sinhalese voters towards him, which really worked for him but lost the election due to overwhelming rejection of his policies by ethnic minorities.

The people rejected him mainly for two reasons; ‘divide and rule’ doctrine adopted by him and also for his blatant failure to observe the rule of law, undermining the independence of the Judiciary, whilst condoning government corruption in an unimaginable scale.

Surely people in this country have experience of divide and rule policy, which cost this country tens of thousands of precious lives of youth  that belong to all communities. Therefore, surely, people of this island nation are not prepared to tolerate racism adopted not just by Sinhalese failed politicos, but also by politicos representing ethnic minority groups, Kodithuwakku further stated.

Section 3 of this law provides that every person who, attempts to commit, aids or abets in the commission of or threatens to commit any such act a punishable criminal offence with a punishment of ten years rigorous imprisonment.

This law, whilst recognising the importance of promoting harmony amongst all communities vests necessary jurisdiction in the High Court to try cases brought under this law, with priority given over any other business of the court and also to conduct the trial on a day to day basis with no postponements, unless due to any unavoidable circumstances.

The ICCPR Act No. 56 of 2007 reads as follows, (3) A person found guilty of committing an offence under subsection (1) or subsection (2) of this section shall on conviction by the High Court, be punished with rigorous imprisonment for a term not exceeding ten years.

(4) An offence under this section shall be non-bailable, and no person suspected or accused of such anoffence shall be enlarged on bail, except by the High Courtin exceptional circumstances.

(5) A trial in the High Court against any person for the commission of an offence under this section shall be taken up before any other business of that Court and shall be held on a day to day basis and shall not be postponed, unless due to any unavoidable circumstances, which shall be recorded.

“And therefore, action taken against such elements shall also include the Northern Province Chief Minister C.V Wigneshwaran, who also abuses the authority to make disparaging remarks against the community that respects and practices the philosophy taught by the Lord Buddha to mankind that completely rejects violence in any form except love care and compassion to all beings, Kodithuwakku stressed.

Scenes from Panama

Representing fisher community in the area, K. Ratnamali said that the fisher community was disgusted over the conduct of some politicians of the Mahinda Rajapakse regime. “We worked for President Maithripala Sirisena led UNP-SLFP, thinking that there would be an end to our grievances but matters are now becoming much worse despite Court orders,” she stressed.

She claims her community was given an assurance by President and Prime Minister that ad hoc developments in the area would be put to an end. but a Minister representing the Ampara District is adamant to carry out business ventures against their wishes.

Six years ago, some 350 families of farmers and fisher folk living in Panama, a coastal village in Sri Lanka, were forcibly evicted from lands they had cultivated and lived on for over 40 years.

These lands were taken over by the military to establish camps, and they are now being used to promote tourism. Oxfam, an international confederation of 20 organisations is pressing the government to implement their decisions on immediate release these lands back to the community who depend on them for their livelihoods and food.

The main village of Panama was said to be established in the 1800s and expanded over the years from the main village towards the coast. By 1970s, there were five smaller villages, still commonly referred to as Panama.

For nearly 30 years, the Northern and Eastern Provinces of Sri Lanka were at the centre of a war between the government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). With the end of the war in 2009, the Eastern Province became a tourist hotspot with its lush beaches, world-renowned surfing areas such as Arugam Bay, and with rich natural resources.

The 350 families of the Panama community living in the five smaller villages have been forcefully evicted from their lands by the State on July 17, 2010; the villages of Ragamwela and Shastrawela were burned down to evict the inhabitants, while in the other three villages, the military pressurised the community to hand over their lands to the State by erecting fences and signs claiming that the land belongs to the military.

P. Somasiri, a villager in the area, said, “Our homes were torched, and crops were destroyed; we are now living with relatives or in makeshift temporary shelters, praying for the moment till we are allowed to return to our lands.

He said that Sri Lankan Navy and Air Force have taken control of these lands and established air force and naval camps and constructed a hotel on the Panama lagoon called ‘Lagoon Cabanas’. The hotel is operated by Malima Hospitality Services, a hotel chain managed by the Sri Lanka Navy leisure sector. Peanut Farm and Panama Point are popular surf spots along the Panama coastline.

The complaints of the community have been ignored. The Regional Office of the Sri Lanka Human Rights Commission and the local Magistrate’s Court have both determined that the land should be returned to the community, claim organisations that fight for welfare of the community.

We were told that after the change of government in 2015, a Cabinet decision was taken on February 11, 2015 to return the lands in Panama taken over by the government to the community.

However, to date no action has been taken and the community continues to be displaced.

Women in the community have taken a leading role in demanding justice. They have helped lead and organize the community in local and national demonstrations highlighting the injustice of their dispossession. Amidst the hardship, the women continue to demand that they be allowed to return to the lands they have cultivated for nearly 40 years.

The Land Rights Now Campaign is calling to immediately implement the decision taken by the Sri Lankan government in 2015 to return 340 acres of land in Panama to its community.

During Sri Lanka’s civil war, a large tract of land in the Northern and Eastern Provinces were controlled by the military. The end of the war in 2009 offered hope for many to invest in their land, livelihoods and communities in long-term basis.

Communities displaced by the war longed for the day they could return to their land. However, they were not returned to people who had previously occupied them, and they continued to be displaced, living in camps or temporary shelters.

Instead, the lands were used to establish special economic zones or for other economic development purposes – at the time, the Rajapaksa government promoted economic and infrastructure development to achieve reconciliation. Communities were told that they would not be able to return to their lands as they are now needed for a ‘public purpose’; a sacrifice for the greater good. Rather than supporting and improving people’s lives and livelihoods, these ‘development projects’ were increasingly harming communities with impunity.7

In 2005, land in Ragamwela, one of the five villages in Panama, were taken over by a local politician and in 2006–2007, this land was handed over to the Sooriya Match Company, a producer of matchsticks. This was only the beginning. In 2009, the navy forcibly took over three villages: Horekanda, Egodayaya, and Ulpassa by erecting fences and signs stating that the lands belonged to the navy; they established camps and constructed a hotel, ‘Panama Lagoon Cabana’ on the land. Legal procedures were not followed to take over these lands.

On July 17, 2010, houses and cultivation of families living in Shasthrawela and Ragamwela villages were torched and the community was assaulted by a group of unidentifiable armed men and forcibly evicted from their lands. The local police initially prevented the community from entering this land and the Sri Lanka Air Force and Navy soon took over most of the land and established camps. The five smaller villages in Panama were cordoned off by an electric fence to keep wild elephants away.

With the eviction of the communities, the Navy and the Air Force also took over nearby land belonging to the Forest Conservation Department. In total, the military control nearly 1,220 acres of land which include beaches, forests, cultivation and even temple land.

Part of the land was handed over to the Presidential Secretariat which partly constructed an international conference centre, but this project was later abandoned.

Due to these events, 350 families of the Panama community living in the five smaller villages have been evicted. The community made a complaint to the Sri Lanka Human Rights Commission (HRC) on July 26, 2010. Following an investigation,  the HRC recommended that the land be returned to the community.

After the change of government, a Cabinet decision was taken in February 2015 to release the land from government control and return it to the community. However, to date the relevant state authorities –the Divisional Secretariat of Lahugala, District Secretary of Ampara, and the Land Commissioner General’s Department – have failed to take any action to return the land.

The villagers said that whenever they tried to occupy their land, they were met with threats from the police, and in some instances the police instituted legal action against them for trespassing on State land.

However, the Magistrate’s Court in Pottuvil, Ampara found that they were not guilty and ordered the police to allow the community to return to the land. On the strength of this order, the communities in Ragamwela and Shastravela have returned to their lands and are awaiting formal distribution of the land by the government. The communities in the other three villages remain displaced.

Despite all this, in May 2016 the Divisional Secretary of Lahugala issued eviction notices under the State Lands (Recovery of Possesion) Act to evict the community in Ragamwela and Shashtrawela, who re-occupied their lands.

Director, Environment Conservation Trust Sajeewa Chamikara said neither the Navy nor the Air Force has carried out an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), although they have destroyed the forests that come under the Forest Department.

“In addition they have violated the Coast Conservation and Coastal Resources Management Act No. 57 of 1981 (Amended), Section 20 of the Forest Conservation Ordinance as amended by Act No. 65 of 2009, the Archaeological Ordinance No. 49 of 1940 and the National Environment Act No. 47 of 1980,” said Chamikara.

Navy Media Spokesperson Captain Akram Alavi recently told The Sunday Leader that he completely denies the allegations levelled against the Sri Lankan Navy of grabbing the land from people as the land in question was under the Sri Lankan Navy for a long time and was acquired legally with the approval of the Defence Ministry and the Urban Development Authority (UDA). He also added that there is no environmental issue with the cabanas or in the tourism activities in the Panama Lagoon area as the environmentalists claim.

However, owners of hotels and cabanas in the Panama lagoon claim that the uniquely styled cabanas on concrete pillars are made with eco-friendly materials facing the picturesque lagoon. The cabanas offer views of the dense forest where wild elephants, deer, wild boar, and peacocks frequent.

Astonishing revelations have come to light as to how a Chinese company had been awarded a tender by passing government procurement guidelines.  While an advance payment to the tune of a staggering Rs.3012 million had been paid for an irrigation project that was to benefit the Hambantota and Matara districts.

Gin- Nilwala diversion project was initiated during the previous regime and the scandalous advance payment had been made prior to the January eighth, 2015 presidential election sans proper approvals.

China CAMC Engineering Co. Ltd had been offered the contract without following government procurement guidelines according to higher officials at the Irrigation Ministry although Ministry Secretary R.M.W. Ratnayake claims that it was an unsolicited contract. According to the sources, although the budgetary allocations for the project for 2015 was Rs. 40 million, the then Ministry Secretary K.W. Ivan de Silva who was a close associate of Rajapaksa siblings has made an over payment of Rs.2972 million to the Chinese company without the proper approvals.

“When the Chief Accountant at the Irrigation Ministry wrote to Ivan de Silva on January 2, 2015, claiming that although he has received Rs.2502 million on January 1, 2015 for the projects carried out by the ministry, he will not be releasing more than Rs.40 million as it is the stipulated amount allocated for Gin-Nilwala project for year 2015, the Ministry Secretary insisted that Rs.2000 million has to be paid until the remaining Rs.1500 million is released by the Treasury. Despite of the Chief Accountant’s claim, Ministry Secretary had written to him and the Project Director to release the funds as he has informed the Finance Ministry about the payment that has to be paid to the Chinese Company,” Irrigation Ministry sources said on condition of anonymity.

The Gin-Nilwala diversion project was initiated in 2014 and 5% of the advance as a mobilisation advance had been paid when the agreement was signed in November 2014. According to the note written by the Ministry Secretary to the Project Director and Chief Accountant after the latter said that he cannot release more than Rs.40 million, it states that the entire advance payment has to be paid in 2015 as promised. It further states, “Although only Rs.40 million had been allocated for the project during 2015, another Rs.12, 000 million had been allocated for other special projects undertaken by the Irrigation Ministry which confirms the Finance Ministry letter dated December 31, 2014. In my reply to the said letter, I have made a request to release Rs.3700 million for the Gin- Nilwala diversion project. Since we have already received funds amounting to Rs.2000 million for the above project, the Finance Ministry informed us that another Rs.1000 million would be released in future. Hence I give my approval to make arrangements to pay Rs.2000 million from the funds the Finance Ministry has already released and the rest should be paid once the allocations are received”.

When this scandalous payment was revealed to the Finance Ministry, the National Budget Department instructed the present Ministry Secretary R.M.W. Ratnayake to hold an inquiry and a three member committee was appointed. “We were disappointed as to why the National Budget Department failed to hold the inquiry but asked Ratnayake to hold an inquiry. It is now said the inquiry report had already been sent to the Finance Ministry without leveling allegations to the parties concerned who were behind this fraud. Former Treasury Secretary Dr. P.B. Jayasundera and former Irrigation Ministry Secretary Ivan de Silva were amongst those who were involved directly including the present Secretary Ratnayake who was the then Additional Secretary at the Irrigation Ministry. Since they all were involved in this swindle, the three member committee appointed by Ratnayake has swept the actual details under carpet without any further probe,” sources added.

According to the sources, although Rs.3012 million had been paid to China CAMC Engineering Co. Ltd before the 2015 presidential election, the contractors failed to implement any work even by the end of May 2015. “Realising that it was a fraud, Gamini Rajakaruna who was appointed as the Irrigation Ministry Secretary by President Maithripala Sirisena, wrote to the Chinese contractor requesting to refund the mobilisation advance until the temporary suspended project is re-started,” sources claimed.

Letter send to the contractor

The letter further states as thus, ‘Mr. Yan Hailu, Chief Representative in Sri Lanka, CAMC Engineering Co. Ltd. EPC Contract for Gin-Nilwala Diversion Project. Contract No: MIWRM/ AGR/ CONS/2014/ 064.

‘The agreement has been signed between your company and the Ministry of Irrigation and Water Resources Management and an advance payment (part of the total agreed mobilisation advance) also has been paid. This project will be implemented under the newly formed Ministry of Irrigation hereafter as the employer.

‘According to the agreement (clause 5 of the main agreement) the contract shall come into effect when the employer confirm the date on which the condition stipulated for contract to be in full effect.

‘Meanwhile the cabinet Sub-Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by Hon. Prime Minister has directed to hold the work of the project and to do a proper inquiry before proceeding of work.

‘Therefore, I kindly inform you to temporary suspend any proceedingsof project preparation activities until further notice.

‘Also since the part of the mobilisation advance already paid will not be used for mobilisation of project activities immediately you are kndly requested to refund same which will be paid back to you once the government issue clearance to proceed with the project please.

Gamini Rajakaruna

Secretary,

Ministry of Irrigation

Although Rajakaruna sent this letter, the contractor has so far not responded nor has remitted the mobilisation advance, according to Ministry Secretary Ratnayake.

“I appointed a three member committee and the inquiry report states that there was no such scam as told by certain parties. “The report reveals how the unsolicited contract was offered to China CAMC Engineering Co. Ltd and how the advance payments had been done transparently. Although the former Secretary wrote to the Chinese Company asking them to refund the advance payment which will be paid back to them once the government issue clearance to proceed with the project, the Chinese Company has neither replied nor has remitted the advance payment,” Ratnayake said.

Meanwhile Ministry employees accused the good governance administration for not taking legal action against the fraudsters and further accused for appointing Ratnayake as the Ministry Secretary despite an investigation carried out by the Presidential Investigation Unit in 2008 that has found out how Ratnayake was involved in a financial fraud when he was the Divisional Irrigation Director Anuradhapura. “According to the investigation report, during the construction of the Mahakandarawa Dam, he had been involved in a fraud and had been issued with a charge sheet. However since Ivan de Silva was a good friend of Ratnayake, De Silva has got Ratnayake cleared from all charges. As a reciprocation, Ratnayake got De Silva saved from the Gin-Nilwala scam,” sources claimed

Dehiwala Mount Lavinia Muncipal Council

According to the UDA regulations if the road where the condominium is coming up is less than 20 feet the project cannot be granted approval as it is a blatant violation of the regulations.. The regulations clearly says that a building  with more than three  stories with ground floor cannot be built  in a road less than 20 feet wide as it would create a risk in the area.  Violating this regulation the DMMC has granted approval for a building that is 7 stories high, consisting of 18 apartment blocks.

It had created a stir among the residents of the area as a result of the approval given for the illegal construction. The residents claim that the houses were 3-4 decades old and walls will crack if the piling work for the construction is started. Out of 41 households 34 signed the petition filed against the illegal construction in the area. It is noteworthy that a petition signed by more than 6 households is considered as a public nuisance but almost all the houses have signed the petition but there is no response from the relevant authorities yet against the illegal construction.

Section 13 of UDA Regulations requires submission of Detailed Structural Plans together with design calculations, results of soil tests, soil bearing capacity, type of foundations, type of piles, and machinery to be used for piling work. However, it is learnt that the building permit was approved without any of these required details. In addition, the building permit was approved with a 12 x 4 feet septic tank /soakage pit for all apartments, which is again a total violation of Section 71 of UDA Regulations.

With poor soil conditions in the area, it is obvious that a pile foundation for a seven storied building is necessary. There is a huge risk for the buildings in the very close proximity of the upcoming condominium, when driving long depths piles in a 20p land. When the residents brought the issue up with Commissioner / DMMC, he is alleged to have asked the people to discuss it with the developers.

“We sent many letters a month ago stating this issue to the DMCC and other authorities but a solid response is yet to come. Every Wednesday someone from the road had visited the municipality, we were send from pillar to post and finally three residents were asked to meet the commissioner as the state Minister Faiszer Musthapha had asked him to inspect the project, but he did not turn up nor did he inform about the cancellation claiming he had a meeting.

Even though the signatures and the house numbers of the 34 residents of the area was sent to the commissioner he claimed he had no contact details of the residents to inform us about the cancellation of meetings after we had waited for hours. He did not respond to our calls since, he is even misleading the minister, the residents protested.  Many have raised eyebrows against the suspicious manner of the commissioner.

Even though the UDA regulation is very specific and clear about how a condominium of 7 stories cannot be built on a road less than 20 ft. we are not sure how the approval was given and the developers are getting away with blatant violations, the residents lamented. It is disheartening to know how the officials and people in power are corrupt and work for their personal gain, they added.

Nevertheless, to approve a building construction the planning committee consisting of 6 to7 officials, the mayor, the deputy mayor, the commissioner, 2 planning officers and other officers must meet and give approval.  Unfortunately, Kesarralal Gunasekara, the deputy mayor of the DMMC was not allowed to sit at the discussion as he objected the project coming up illegally.

This is an area where all the ethnic groups live in and every one of them have come forward to fight against the illegal construction coming up on our road. The officers have approved the project basically for their own profit. This land was sold for 42 million a year ago.

Sources revealed how the profit is divided by the officers. They are paid for every extra floor that was approved for construction. Furthermore, the sewerage, and garbage disposal of 18 apartments in a 20p land will create serious environmental problems.

The residents of Atapattu road earnestly request the relevant authorities to seriously investigate into this matter urgently and stop this construction work, which is a total violation of existing regulations and safeguard the rights of tax-paying residents to live peacefully in their homes, where they have lived for ages.

In June, Sri Lanka saw the largest consignment of contraband cocaine that was ever seized in history. The raid was carried out on a tip-off received by the Finance Ministry’s Special Unit in the presence of President Maithripala Sirisena and Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake

His trial is set to start on October 11. Meanwhile in Nairobi the trial of Jack Marrian the 31-year-old Managing Director of Mshale Commodities, (a subsidiary of London-based ED & F Man, where he has been employed for the last seven years) is set to start on October 3.  He faces charges of smuggling 220lbs of cocaine.

Neither man knows each other, nor have their companies ever done business, but their predicaments are linked by dockside corruption in Brazil.

The Sunday Leader has unearthed startling indications that both Marrian and Vasudevan are the fall guys for a trade that exploits significant weaknesses in how shipments are secured before and during their journey. The UN Office of Drugs and Crime report states that 90% of all trade is conducted via maritime containers of which more than 500 million are shipped yearly and of this amount, less than 2% are inspected. It is believed that drug gangs have started targeting sugar because, until now, it has been deemed a ‘low risk’ import and rarely searched. Contents also do not show up on scanning equipment, therefore have to be searched by hand – a monumental task when a single container carries approximately five hundred sacks of sugar. Brazil, the largest of the sugar producers, exports approximately 27.7m metric tons annually.

Once sugar importers have purchased an overseas consignment, they have no control over which ship is used or what route it takes.   Shippers simply book the goods onto the next most convenient departure.

To counter theft and deter smuggling, international companies follow set security measures to protect consignments from tampering. Each commodity load is counted into a container, then locked with a seal and placed inside a bonded warehouse until the ship is ready to be loaded.

However, the system is not 100% foolproof or infallible and dockside corruption allows ‘senders’ to hide narcotics along with duplicate container seals. The ‘receivers’ break open the container at some point en route, remove the stash and re-lock the doors with the new seals.  This is known as the ‘rip off’ or ‘gancho ciego’ [blind hook] tactic.  None of the merchandise is stolen, ensuring that importers at the far end remain none the wiser if the shipment has been tampered with in transit.

Meanwhile, here in Sri Lanka, events unfolding over June 13 and 14 were almost identical to those that happened a month later in Mombasa.

According to local media reports Vasudevan, an importer for 25 years with no history of any offences, had ‘willingly complied’ when asked to attend ‘a routine check’ on June 13, and he was ‘already waiting for them at the yard’. Having failed to find anything in the scanning of the first containers, the Narcotics Raid Unit (NRU) told Vasudevan to return the following day. The report continued that ‘officers were somewhat puzzled by the importer’s behavior. He conducted himself in a manner that did not arouse any suspicion and was at the yard even before the investigators arrived.’ This time, the search was successful and the cocaine, marked with a tiger stamp was found in three black travel bags. The haul was a Sri Lankan record despite the fact that Sri Lanka is not considered to have a big enough customer base to justify the arrival of such a huge quantity of cocaine. Although the country has been used as a transit point for heroin produced by its neighbours to the north, (Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and Myanmar) the 2015 Sri Lankan Handbook of Drug Abuse Information does not even mention cocaine use within the country.

A description of the journey taken by Amro’s 54 containers may shed some light upon why Mr. Vasudevan behaved like a man with no idea what was about to happen to him.

On 4th May, 184 sugar containers belonging to export company Sucden were loaded onto MSC Julie in Santos, Brazil. It is not unusual for sugar companies to purchase stock while ‘afloat’ and Amro Sugars only signed a sales contract (through local Sri Lankan agency, Ramcom) once the ship was fifteen days out to sea. Amro bought 54 of the containers, while other Sri Lankan importers, RG Brothers bought 90, and Woodland and Benson both bought 20 containers each.

The Sri Lankan Narcotics Raid Unit (NRU) received foreign intelligence that was so precise even specific container numbers were provided and thus, President Maithripala Sirisena – with attendant press – was invited along to witness the showcase seizure. The drugs were uncovered inside one of 54 containers Amro had received in Colombo. The presence of the President has made some parts of the Sri Lankan press reluctant to suggest the wrong man may be being held. Meanwhile, police sources said they suspected the cocaine was destined for ‘Ndanghreta crime gangs based in Italy.

The consignment went via Sines, Portugal where the containers were transshipped onto MSC Lucianafor the Sri Lankan leg. Once berthed in Colombo, Ramcom delivered each company the relevant documents and only at that point did Amro know which containers they were to receive. The cargo cleared customs on June 9 and sat unopened for four whole days in a privately owned yard until the NRU inspection. It was only chance that Amro received the cocaine container; it could have just as easily been assigned to Woodland, RG Brothers or Benson.

In a further twist, a second container bought by Amro Sugars was found with enough cocaine to smash the record set only a week earlier. This separately purchased consignment left Santos, Brazil (again) aboard MSC Letizia. This is the same ship as in the Mshale case, it loaded on the same date meaning both cocaine stashes were travelling aboard.

The US Drug Enforcement Agency had been observing the MSC Letizia carrying since its departure from the port of Santos, Brazil on June 10, but its focus was on the containers bought by Mshale. The DEA believed that drug traffickers had ‘piggy-backed’ onto some of the containers abroad the vessel and deemed it likely that the drugs were to be extracted during one of the boat’s scheduled stops in the Mediterranean. The Amros sugar containers were transshipped onto MSC Maria Saveria in Sines Portugal, while the Mshale containers were transshipped in Valencia where police were waiting. In the event, the smugglers were unable to extract the drugs at either place, possibly due to police presence. Commenting on the Mshale case, DEA spokesman Melvin Patterson said, ‘a criminal gang tried to get the cocaine out of the container, but failed’.

It is well known to drug enforcement agencies that the Italian crime syndicate ‘Ndanghreta controls most of the cocaine traffic between South America and Europe and is known to operate in ports all along the Iberian Peninsula as well as Italy.  Correctiv, an online German investigative news site, says, ‘The dominance of ‘Ndanghreta in the international coke market springs from their ability to pay everyone and settle any debts of anything lost during seizure. To maintain their role in Europe, [they] have to be able to pay at the best price: €110-120 per kilo. To secure this price they must always import large quantities. The loads in transit are huge and continuous.’

When the Spanish police searched the Mshale containers in Valencia, they were unable to find the cocaine because four of the containers – one of which hid the cocaine – had already been placed aboard the MSC Sonia that had already set sail. So the Kenyan customs authorities were tipped off and duly found the haul. Valued at £4.5m it is the largest ever uncovered in that country. In an interview, Jack Marrian, said that upon hearing about the bust while he was at home in Nairobi, “I knew it was serious. But I was not unduly worried because the company retained a government-supervised inspector to check all shipments.” Despite them being informed that the cocaine was never intended for Kenya and had nothing to do with Mshale, its managing director or the clearing agent, they arrested them both.  While having experienced problems with heroin smuggling (dhows coming out of the Marakan Coast now that the traditional routes across Syria and northern Iraq from Afghanistan are disrupted, Kenya is not known to have a large enough market of cocaine users to justify such a large amount for domestic use.

The second find in Colombo was clearly missed not only by the smugglers in Sines, but also by the DEA, because there was no tip off this time. After clearing customs in Colombo, these containers were taken to the company’s warehouse where Amro workmen uncovered 665lbs of cocaine along with duplicate seals – as used in the smuggling ‘rip off’ method.

Amro management immediately alerted the police and the cocaine was impounded. No one was arrested and the company was ruled an unwitting recipient. However, no review of Vasudevan’s position was triggered in the light of the reaction to this second discovery.

He has been held in Magazine Remand Prison for the last three months and Amro Sugars’ bank accounts have been frozen, leaving the company barely able to operate.

Sri Lankan newspapers have refused to write about the anomalies in his case. “It’s a terrible mess”, said Vasudevan’s nephew – Sivarajah Jegathieswaran. “We need help. If he was importing cocaine why would he let it all sit in the yard for four days before the police arrive? But no one will listen to us.”  It does seem strange.

If Vasudevan is indeed a drug baron, why on earth would he send such vast quantities of it to his own business address?  Did the infamous cocaine king Pablo Escobar put notes on his exports saying ‘Love from Pablo’, with the address of his latest hideout?

The discovery of a container seal along with the cocaine in the Kenyan bust is likely to form an important part of Marrian’s defence.  It indicates that the shipment was the subject of a failed ‘rip off’ since Mshale would have had no need to secretly reseal its container at the end of the journey.

The defence will also point out that no unusual movements of company funds have been detected, there are no signs of the company having any underworld relationships and furthermore there is no notable cocaine market. It is thought that Vasudevan’s lawyers will take the same course.

Meanwhile, although on opposite sides of the Indian Ocean, two respected sugar traders and a clearing agent’s lives hang in the balance due to the growing popularity of the  ‘rip off’ smuggling methodology that sometimes goes wrong.

The men’s lives have been turned upside down and if found guilty, they face life imprisonment.

While police forces involved have undertaken to investigate very diligently, they have also been slow to accept that sometimes contraband has arrived at a destination the smugglers never intended. However those smugglers are never going to put the call in to say a mistake has been made and ask for it back.

History Of Blind Hook Technique

Until a few years ago, the favoured method for cocaine trafficking was the establishment of fake cargo companies. ‘Ndanghreta’ has since switched tactics however and now plants members all along its coke smuggling routes. According to Nicola Gratteri and Antonio Nicaso, authors of the 2015 book on the crime group Oro Bianco (White Gold), this new technique was originally developed in the Calabrian city of Gioia Tauro. Here, in one of Europe’s largest ports, ‘Ndanghreta has been able to fully exploit the fact that more than 3.6m containers pass through annually, making full supervision of shipments next to impossible. Gioia Tauro’s location in the middle of ‘Ndanghreta’s home turf – and the extra power they wield there – has enabled them to take more risks while they hone the ‘blind hook’ method.

The strategy is that at the point of departure, a gang member covertly opens up a container bound for the chosen port and hides drugs inside along with a duplicate container seal. His counterpart at the destination is given the container’s number, breaks open the seal and rushes to offload the contraband and lock it up with the new seal before customs or police are able to check.

‘Ndanghreta prefers this method as it is cheaper than creating false companies.and uses comparatively smaller loads – 440lbs is usually the maximum. This means any individual ‘loss’ (through customs or police seizure) can be discounted as ‘wastage’ rather causing any major setbacks.

The Italian Guardia di Finanza first worked out that containers were being broken in to using the ‘blind hook’ method when they realised that certain container numbers did not match their seal numbers on arrival. ‘Ndanghreta responded to this law enforcement breakthrough by forging locks with the matching numbers. And so the game of cat and mouse continues.

One such recent incident was the demise of former cabinet minister Alavi Moulana that occurred at a leading private hospital.

Family members allege negligence of hospital care was the certain cause of their father’s death. The eldest son of the late Alavi Moulana  lodged complaints with the Consumer Complaint Unit (CCU) and the Private Health Services Regulator Council (PHSRC) regarding the allegation which is now being investigated.

It all started on June 13^th when the late Alavi Moulana was to be admitted to hospital in the morning as instructed by Professor Ishan De Soyza to undergo a procedure to correct his lack of appetite. Other than the lack of appetite he did not have any other sicknesses but since the doctor suggested the patient could not undergo an open surgery he should be taken to hospital as they are specialised in such sensitive treatments.

That morning he was admitted to the hospital. The room was booked prior to the patient’s arrival to the hospital so that the patient will not have to wait for the procedures for he was not stable. Despite the room being booked an hour earlier when he was brought to the hospital he was kept waiting on a wheel chair for nearly one and half an hours with his neck drooping down until the family members had to plead with the OPD staff.

“The room was booked much earlier so that the patient could be taken to the room with minimum delay or no delay but this was very  frustrating as my father was exhausted when was taken into the room. Yet, again when he was removed from the room at 6.30 pm in the evening for the procedure, he was kept waiting at the lift for more than half an hour allowing inquisitive people to come and look at him for public view and to inquire as to why he was kept that way,” said Naqeeb Moulana.

Around 9.30 pm after the procedure the doctor assured the patient was ‘clinically okay’ and will get his appetite back in a week. Even though he could be sent back to his room he was kept in the ICU for precaution to which the family agreed. But later they found that the care given for him in the ICU was deplorable and without doubt they could have looked after him very much better than how he was treated in the ICU, which they claim was the  cause of his death.

During the 2 days at the ICU every time we visited there were no nurses by his side to look after him, he was shivering and there were no proper blankets to cover him. There were no one to assist him when he wanted a plain tea and when he wanted to urinate. The ICU has not served its purpose at Asiri Hospitals, leave alone the intensive care, lamented Naqeeb Mowlana.

On 15 June, when the condition of the patient got worse in the morning , his heart beat and pressure went down the doctors checked him and said he is better than how he was but yet again we were not allowed to see him as the time to visit the ICU had already passed. Naqeeb Moulana  said they were not allowed to see the patient till that evening and when suddenly they came and allowed everyone in pairs, a big crowd of family, friends, VIP’s gathered outside the ICU claiming that the patient’s condition was deteriorating.

“Meanwhile we saw him in a highly restless condition and they wanted to know whether they should use the ventilator to which we agreed, but there were no proper consultants present even at that critical moment, except a lady doctor who was helpless. But we could see only a couple of nurses trying to inject some medicines desperately but not knowing exactly what to do, which was not satisfactory at all,” he said.

When they inquired they said they were trying to save him but do not know exactly what to do without the help of a proper consultant at this final stage. By about 6.30 he passed away.

“The two days was a nightmare for us, every second due to the attitude of certain members of the staff who never co-operated. Even when we inquired about the blanket, they said the patient pulls it off. It would have been better if we had admitted our father in the general hospital; they would have looked after him much better than this private hospital. Their only concern was the part payment, time to time which we fulfilled at their request,” he further stated.

“What we want is not our father back but  that strong action should be taken against these hospital management who do not supervise what the members of staff are doing and how the patients are being treated.

This is a serious issue and must be addressed soon by the relevant authorities as we saw a 2ft file of complaints against the private hospital while there were only few numbers of files placed at the CCU regarding the other private hospitals,” Naqeeb added.

Naqeeb Moulana said if a person of his father’s caliber is treated this way in a private hospital despite the enormous charges of their care and treatment how would a less known person be treated by the staff. The hospital authorities and the staff, no doubt was more concerned about making money rather than giving proper treatment to the needy.

“I strongly believe the entire responsibility for this great misgiving, falls squarely on the show for the settlement of the bills of the ailing patients and those who loose lives due to their deplorable carelessness. Also the body was not given to us until the balance was settled and the receipt was shown,” he stated.

A sum of Rs. 281,750 was added to the bill stating other ‘outside investigation cath.’ When they inquired about this, no one gave a proper answer as to what type of treatment or service that was. The total bill was at 926,594.42LKR for  treatment.

“If a hospital had been continually alleged for their hospital care and the charges they make, the issue should be seriously looked into. The hospital cannot just take the money and get away with their reckless care to the patients, Naqeeb Moulana stressed.

The hospital however responding to the letter of demand sent by Alavi Moulana’s daughter categorically denied the allegations  that the demise of the late Alavi Moulana was as a result of neglect or failure of the hospital staff to provide him with due care.

Meanwhile, the secretary to the Private Health services Regulatory Council Dr. Kanthi Ariyarathne could not be contacted for a comment but the complaint made by the son of late Alavi Moulana to the council had been forwarded by the secretary to the Provincial Director of Health Services Dr. A.L Fareed for further investigations.

Speaking to The Sunday Leader she stated that she has never misused or abused the powers bestowed upon her and instead had carried out her duties with utmost diligence and responsibility despite numerous drawbacks and obstacles.

“Mr. Kodituwakku alleges that I have suppressed and/or ignored the credible and plausible complaints made to me on 26th August 2016, against the Members of Parliament both in the government and the opposition for illegally selling the vehicle permits granted to them. Firstly, I am only the Director General of the Bribery Commission.

My duty is only to submit complaints to the investigation unit as and when I am directed by the Commission to investigate. I do not conduct investigations either. Investigators do the investigations. There is a process”, she said and added that there are over 10,000 complaints that are currently pending at the Commission.

“If Mr. Nagananda Kodituwakku believes that the Commission could conclude his complaint within a jiffy, it would only be in his fantasy.

So it is not even worth my time, energy and resources to make a complaint against him under section 21 for lodging a false complaint against me. I do not have time to waste on these frivolous complaints” said Ms. Wickramasinghe. She also pointed out that in recent times some of the articles published in the media, particularly on websites and social media, are false and fabricated.  Wickramasinghe said, “I have checked this complaint.

It’s dealt in the normal course. The file on the complaint is not even closed, so I don’t understand the reason of Mr. Nagananda’s hipper”.

Public interest activist Nagananda Kodituwakku has made the complaint to the Bribery Commission (CIABOC) alleging that the government loses a colossal sum of revenue in billions due to the misuse of vehicle permits granted to the members of parliament.

“CID obtained court approval for the exhumation, as the post mortem report issued by the then Judicial Medical Officer (JMO) of the Colombo South Teaching Hospital, Kalubowila seems both wrong and suspicious and hence required to obtain a fresh report to find what the cause of death was,” highly reliable defence sources said on condition of anonymity.  Director CID SSP, B.R.S.R. Nagahamulla, ASPs B.S. Tissera and A. Wickremasekera led the team of CID officers while Borella Divisional HQI who was also a former CID officer led the Borella police team at the exhumation. The exhumation started at 8.35am and the remains were taken out at 11.30am under the supervision of Colombo Additional Magistrate Mohammed Mihal, Colombo Chief JMO Dr. Ajith Tennakoon, Dr. Jean Perera and the Kandy JMO. By 11.45 am, the remains were taken from Kanatte to the Colombo JMO’s office under tight police security. Officers from the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) including its Chief Medical Officer Dr.Wijayamuni too were at present at the exhumation. It is learnt that the CID has asked the Colombo JMO not to start the investigation until they get a directive from the Mt. Lavinia Magistrate to furnish certain vital questionnaire to the JMO in regard to the post mortem. “The Magistrate’s advice will be obtained this week and once the questionnaire is given to the Colombo JMO, the investigation process will start off,” sources said. Meanwhile the sources further said that the CID has now identified who sent the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) over Wickrematunge’s grave at the time of its exhumation and are awaiting the Magistrate’s directive to act against them for contempt of court. “Despite of the court ruling that the media cannot be allowed to cover the process, a certain group sent a drone to capture images of the exhumation. Once the CID receives the court order legal action would be taken against this party on the charges of contempt of court,” sources added.

JMO Kalubowila Dr. K. Sunil Kumara’s autopsy report seems to be a foul play as it says the cause of death was due to cranio cerebral injuries following a discharge of a firearm, the reports of the Government Analyst and Prof. Mohan Silva who performed an emergency operation on Wickrematunge soon after the latter’s admission to the Kalubowila hospital on January eighth 2009  says there were no trace of any gunshot injuries. The Colombo JMO is to submit the second autopsy report within two weeks. “Unlike in Wasim Thjudeen’s case, it is not difficult to ascertain Wickrematunge’s cause of death as if the death has occurred due to bullet injuries; the damage to the skull is very clear unlike to stab injuries where the skull could have cracks around the damaged area. Even a medical student can identify t the difference between a gunshot damage and stabbed damage,” a leading medical professional told The Sunday Leader.

Meanwhile defence sources said that it was puzzling the way the former Kalubowila JMO in his six page post mortem report describes about the death. “Until the last page where the doctor gives the cause of death, the JMO has never mentioned any firearm or gun powder involvement in the murder but suddenly on the last page he had come to a conclusion that the death was due to a wound following a discharge of a firearm. The first few pages says that the death was due to an assault, stab or from a fall,” sources added.

According to the sources, the telephone details of former Kalubowila JMO shows that he was in touch with former senior DIG Prasanna Nanayakkara soon after Wickrematunge’s death and also after the CID started the investigation under the present regime. “Although the JMO did not reveal that he was in contact with the then Senior DIG Nanayakkara though the investigators questioned him whether he was constantly in touch with any police personnel, the JMO had no other options but to spill the beans when the CID showed his detailed telephone bills that indicates he had been talking to the DIG. It was only after the telephone bills was shown the JMO accepted the fact but he said that he cannot remember what they spoke about which is yet another lie. It is this DIG Nanayakkara who is accused of destroying  Wickrematunge’s note books in which he has written down the registration numbers of the motorbikes of his killers. It is believed that DIG Nanayakkara may have instructed the JMO to write the cause of death as due to gunshot injuries,” sources claimed.

It is also learnt, that former IGPs Jayantha Wickremaratne and Mahinda Balasuriya are now in and out of the CID almost every day as they are being questioned constantly over their support to conceal evidence related to Wickrematunge’s murder.

Defence sources also said as to how the Kalubowila JMO did not submit Wickrematunge’s post mortem report to courts up to 2015 but produced only after the courts instructed him after the fresh probe was initiated last year. “Mt. Lavinia Magistrate in October last year ordered the Kalubowila JMO to produce Wickrematunge’s post mortem report to the courts since the  JMO had failed to produce it since Wickrematunge’s death in January 2009. If there wasn’t any interference, the JMO could have submitted his report to the courts after the cause of death was substantiated. What made the JMO to delay in producing the report to courts for more than six years? It was the same with rugby player Wasim Thajudeen’s murder as well. It was only after the fall of the Rajapaksa regime Thajudeen case was re-opened. Although Thajudeen died in May 2012, the then Colombo JMO Prof. Ananada Samarasekera did not submit the report until the Colombo Additional Magistrate Nishantha Peiris instructed him,” sources alleged.

File removed from hospital 

Kalubowila JMO has also come under severe criticism for removing Wickrematunge’s file from the Kalubowila hospital when he went on retirement. “If not for the timely decision taken by the CID to obtain two court orders to inspect the Kalubowila hospital and the JMOs residence simultaneously in search of the file, the then JMO Dr. Sunil Kumara would have destroyed the file. As the CID knew that Wickrematunge’s file had been removed by Dr. Kumara, the first team was sent to the Kalubowila hospital while the second team to Dr, Kumara’s residence where the original file was taken to custody from Dr. Kumara’s possession,” sources said.

A number of journalists were murdered, assaulted and some went missing during the previous regime but not a single investigation was conducted although many promises were given to bring the murderers before the law.

The year 2009 began with horrifying events, with state oppression of the media at its highest. Two days before Wickrematunge was assassinated an arson attack was carried out on MTV/MBC network in Depanama Pannipitiya. Following these two incidents, Rivira Editor Upali Tennakoon and his wife were assaulted causing them injuries. In 2007 Deputy Editor and Defence Columnist of The Nation newspaper Keith Noyahr was abducted and assaulted allegedly for insightful reporting on the conflict. So many other journalists were also came under physical attack during that period.

Wickrematunge, was a vocal critic of abuse of power and corruption of the then government, was subjected to intimidation on several occasions. The newspaper was once sealed followed by continuous bomb attacks on the press to stop him from carrying out investigative reporting on nepotism, corruption and abuse of power in the country. It was not a secret that The Sunday Leader under Wickrematunge became the biggest threat to Rajapaksa regime which was plagued with alleged nepotism, corruption and fraud. Wickrematunge exposed all corruption and fraud one after another.

Failing to stop Wickrematunge from criticising and exposing the politicians for bribery or corruption in the then regime, he was ambushed and stabbed behind his right ear as he drove to work on January eighth, 2009 by his assailants at Attidiya which was within the high security zone and in close proximity to the Ratmalana Air Force base.

Not even three weeks after slaying Wickrematunge, the then Defence Spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella at a media briefing held on January 28, 2009 said that the government was aware of the identity of Wickrematunge’s killers and that then President Mahinda Rajapaksa was anticipating to uncover ‘some very important details’ by February 15, 2009. However, these ‘very important details’ never came to light although Wickrematunge’s widow Sonali Samarasinghe Wickrematunge repeatedly made written requests to the then President and the then Inspector General of Police (IGP) to get an impartial investigation carried out to arrest the murderers and those who were given orders for the massacre (See box for the letter)
“For Rambukwella to say President Rajapaksa was going to reveal information about the murder means that the then President too knew who were behind the killing as Rajapaksa did not deny Rambukwella’s claim. However although allegations are levelled against the CID for not questioning certain high ranking officials in the present and former regimes, they cannot question them without any concrete evidence. That is why the CID had got the courts to serve court order taking time till the evidences are gathered to prove who and who were directly involved in the murder and who were indirectly involved in the assassination. Once the CID is in receipt of concrete evidence, they will not hesitate to question even higher officials and take the Attorney General’s opinion and arrest the suspects without considering their affiliations to any political party,” sources said.

Meanwhile on Thursday, Anil Perera Counsel appearing for military intelligence officer Premananada Udalagama who is now in remand prison for Wickrematunge’s murder when requested bail from Mt. Lavinia Magistrate when Udalagama was produced in court, ASP CID, B. S. Tissera objected claiming it would be a threat to the witnesses.

ASP Tissera told the Magistrate that Udalagama was in charge of MP Karuna Amman’s security detail at the time of his involvement in abducting a witness and how the then Defence Ministry got a post created for Udalagama in an irregular manner at the Sri Lankan Embassy in Germany on a temporary basis.

According to what ASP Tissera told court objecting bail for Udalagama, he (Udalagama) was having close links to a former top government official and could be a threat to Wickrematunge’s driver who identified Udalagama as his abductor. Since the driver had been accusing the former government official for the alleged murder of his employer, it was Udalagama who had abducted the driver and had threatened him.

It was after this, the Defence Ministry has sent Udalagama to Germany claiming that he is being sent to provide security to a certain official at the Sri Lankan Mission in Germany. Although this particular official came back to Sri Lanka after two years, Udalagama remained in Germany for another two years. The then Chief of National Intelligence at the Ministry of Defence Kapila Hendawithana, meanwhile had made a request to the Foreign Ministry to purchase three tickets for Udalagama’s family-wife and two children to pay a visit to Udalagama in Germany to which the Foreign Ministry has declined. However under extraordinary circumstance, on the directives of a top official, the Foreign Ministry had purchased the air tickets for Udalagama’s family since it was the school vacation for Udalagama’s offspring’s. It was revealed that Udalagama was given a separate apartment in Germany and all his food and lodging was paid by the Sri Lankan government.

ASP Tissera further said as to how the Sri Lanka Army is now conducting an investigation against Udalagama for the disappearance of the daily occurrence book (DOB). When Tissera informed this in court, Udalagama said that he had submitted the DOB to the CID for the investigation and that it was not fair by him for such an allegation. ASP Tissera said that the allegation is leveled against him by none other than by the Army Commander, the CID now considers that the DOB given to them is a fake book but not the authentic book.

Meanwhile Senior Attorney-at-law, Athula S. Ranagala who looks after Wickrematunge family’s interest together with Wickrematunge’s cousin Gemunu de Silva too were amongst the witnesses to the exhumation.

No confidence in investigations

According to Gemunu de Silva, he has no confidence in the investigation process as it had almost taken two years to make a breakthrough in Wickrematunge’s murder case. “When the present government was in opposition, they said that they have all evidence to prove who were behind Lasantha’s murder and promised to bring them to book no sooner they come to power. It is nearly two years but they have yet failed to make a breakthrough. Now Lasantha’s remains were exhumed. As a family member I hope this was not done to get a political mileage but on a genuine purpose. We keep our fingers crossed to see what is going to happen next and hope the perpetrators would be severely dealt with. Since Lasantha associated with Chief Incumbent of Paramananda Purana Viharaya (Pahala Pansala) Ven. Thambawita Wimalawansa Thero from his young days, this monk too came to Lasantha’s gravesite to show his support for the investigations,” De Silva said.

Senior Attorney at law, Athula Ranagala meanwhile said that he is happy the way the investigation is conducted and added that once the Colombo Chief JMO’s report is submitted to courts and if it contradicts with the first autopsy report, it would be easy for the CID to make a breakthrough. It is now confirmed as to how the previous regime had ‘looked after’ the military personnel who helped them in certain favourable ‘missions’. Apart from sending Udalagama to Germany with state expense, Sri Lanka Army in 2010 gave a promotion to military intelligence member Kandegedara Piyawansa just three days after his arrest on a criminal charge- Wickrematunge’s murder. The CID meanwhile unearthed as to how the army has continued to pay Piyawansa’s monthly remuneration even though he was in remand prison. Soon after Piyawansa was granted bail, Sri Lanka Army once again took him to their service without any internal investigation against him which raises eye brows.

“How Piyawansa was involved in stealing Pichchei Jesudasan’s national identity card and obtained five SIM cards under Jesudasan’s name and had allegedly given them to Wickrematunge’s killers are now slowly unfolding. It is believed that this was the reason why the Nuwara Eliya police did not record Jesudasan’s statement when he wanted to complaint about the loss of his identity card. The police too had acted deliberately and we will unearth all these at the very earliest,” sources added.

 

Sonali’s Letter to Mahinda Rajapaksa

April 24, 2009.

BY REGISTERED POST

Mr. Mahinda Rajapaksa
President of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka
President’s Office
Colombo 1.

Dear Mr. President,

The Assassination of
Lasantha Wickrematunge

As you are aware, on the morning of 8 January, 2009 my husband, Mr Lasantha Wickrematunge, one of Sri Lanka’s best-known journalists and Editor-in-Chief of The Sunday Leader newspaper, was brutally slain as he travelled to work.

It is no secret that Lasantha and I were the biggest irritants to your government. While you were still prime minister in 2005, I exposed the Helping Hambantota scandal, in which millions of rupees donated to the government for tsunami relief had mysteriously found their way into a private bank account controlled by you. Shortly after that exposé, on October 16, 2005 The Sunday Leader and Morning Leader presses were attacked and severely damaged. The perpetrators of this crime were never brought to book and there was never a serious police investigation.

In September 2005 we reported a suspected plot to attack our newspaper offices following an incident in which a group of thugs entered the premises of the press and recorded the license plate numbers of vehicles parked in it. Lasantha lodged a complaint with the Mt Lavinia police and also informed the Inspector General of Police of the incident. No action was taken.

On the morning of January 11, 2006 you were quoted publicly as having threatened Lasantha’s life. The words alleged to have been used by you in a telephone conversation recorded by him (in addition to statements that propriety prevents me from quoting here), included the following:

“I will show you what it is to be scared. I will rest only once I have destroyed you. You wait and see. You don’t know who Mahinda Rajapaksa is.”

“I will finish you!”

“I treated you well all this while. Now I will destroy you. You don’t know who Mahinda Rajapaksa is. You watch what I will do to you!”

Had these threats been made by an ordinary citizen, they would have been sufficiently serious as to warrant immediate police inquiry. When made by the President, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces and Minister of Defence (and therefore the police), they attain an altogether more sinister significance. What is more, neither you nor your office has ever been able to deny having spoken these words or explain them in a different context to that which ordinary people are likely to infer: a threat against the life of a journalist who had been critical of you and your administration.

Despite your threats and the physical attacks on him and the newspapers we edited, we did not run scared. We continued to expose one scandal after another in your government, ranging from graft and corruption to wastage of public funds and gross excesses on the part of yourself and your brothers.

No one can pretend that the Leader newspapers were singled out as a special case. Under your presidency, violence against journalists has become commonplace. Your government has been forced publicly to accept in parliament that nine journalists have been murdered in Sri Lanka during the past two years of your presidency. International agencies put this figure at 16. Dozens of others have disappeared, suffered physical assault, been arbitrarily detained without trial or been forced to flee overseas for fear of their lives. Numerous other media institutions have been violently attacked in commando-style raids and, in some cases, their employees slaughtered in cold blood.

Just two days before Lasantha’s murder, MTV, arguably Sri Lanka’s only independent television station, was attacked by a squad of some 20 militia armed with assault weapons and explosives. A week later, Mr Chevaan Daniel, the News Director of MTV television station, of which your brother, Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rakapaksa has been viciously critical, was publicly branded on national television as a “terrorist” by your brother, who also announced his imminent arrest. Mr Daniel’s “crime” in your brother’s eyes had been to provide a description of the commando attack to a CNN interviewer. Never in the history of Sri Lanka has a government so ruthlessly suppressed media freedom and political dissent.

It is a tragic irony that Colombo, where most crimes against the media have taken place, is under the strictest security and surveillance, unparalleled in the history of our country. Police checkpoints are everywhere, and it is impossible for an ordinary citizen to travel more than a few hundred metres without having to stop, identify himself and be searched. Yet, bands of heavily armed militia are able to roam the streets with impunity, killing journalists and dissidents, and attacking media institutions.

Mr President, it does not need me to remind you that not in a single one of the attacks on the media catalogued above has there been a serious investigation. Neither have charges been framed against anyone. Yet, in the aftermath of most of them, you have unctuously promised thorough, impartial inquiries. It is difficult to escape the conclusion that your words amount to little more than sanctimonious humbug.

Indeed, it is no secret that your administration is prosecuting an undeclared war of terror on the independent media, and in the eyes of many, you and your brothers have blood on their hands.

With a cynicism that has become your hallmark, you have gone on television to claim that Lasantha was murdered by persons unknown in an international conspiracy to distract attention from the military victories of your government. Possibly there are those gullible enough to believe you; but be assured that the vast majority of free-thinking Sri Lankans reject such puerile claims with the contempt they deserve.

Unless you ensure there is a thorough and impartial investigation, it will be difficult to avoid the public perception that you and members of your family may be complicit in this crime. You will agree that the president, as the First Citizen of our country, should be above reproach and attract the unqualified respect and affection of all citizens. Such ideals have, however, in the Sri Lanka over which you preside, become a joke.

It is more than passing strange that the evening news broadcast of the government-owned ITN television channel on the day of Lasantha’s murder made no mention of the assassination despite it having been by any yardstick the top story of the day, as indeed it was on most international news services. Indeed, national and international interest in and outrage at this crime is evidenced if by nothing else, by the fact that Lasantha’s name now scores more than five times as many hits on Google as does that of the prime minister of Sri Lanka. Even the news editors of ITN, therefore, appear to have concluded that the government was responsible and sought to hush the matter up.

The other state media were little different: they relegated the story to a footnote at best. Lasantha’s funeral too, was boycotted by the entire government, despite many of its members, including yourself, being known to have been closely associated with him. Clearly, even your ministers had arrived at their own conclusions on the matter. Finally, the Dean of the diplomatic corps in Colombo, German Ambassador Jürgen Weerth, a personal friend of Lasantha’s, had been censured by the Foreign Ministry for making a completely appropriate and uncontroversial oration at the funeral. All these serve to send a clear message to the police that the government has a vested interest in seeing the inquiry fail.

The most obvious steps that should be taken in such an inquiry have not been taken. For example, although the type of motorcycles the assailants used has been identified, no public appeal has been made to establish their whereabouts on the morning of the assassination. Further, despite the nature of the murder weapon being known, to everyone it seems, but the police, no description or illustration of it has been published via the print or electronic media, calling for information from the public, who may know who possessed or manufactured such a weapon. There are ample grounds to suspect therefore, that the government has embarked on a cover up. So terrified are the independent media of the violence your government is capable of unleashing against them that they dare not call you to account even in cases where media workers have been the victims. As much as you and your brothers talk of a “war on terror”, Mr President, it is against free expression and dissent that your regime has unleashed a war of terror of the most hideously ruthless proportions.

On 28 January, 2009, your cabinet’s Defence Spokesperson the Hon. Keheliya Rambukwella, stated at a media briefing that the government was aware of the identity of Lasantha’s murderers, and that you intended to personally expose “some very important details” on 15 February, 2009. On 15 March, I wrote to your Inspector General of Police, Mr. Jayantha Wickremaratna, asking that he record a statement from Mr. Rambukwella on his knowledge of the perpetrators of Lasantha’s killing.

Your Police Spokesperson, Senior Superintendant Ranjith Gunasekera who claimed that “there is no necessity” to retrieve evidence that a cabinet minister has relating to the identity of murderers, going as far as to say that it is “not the duty of the police to do so.” This statement has not been contradicted by this Senior Superintendent of your Police force or anyone else in the month since it was published in The Sunday Leader.

Mister President, I find this statement by the police astonishing. As a lawyer yourself, you should know that not only is it the right of the police to question a minister on a public statement that may lead to the apprehension of a criminal, but it is the duty of the police under the law of the land to pursue every avenue and question all those who may have, are perceived to have and claim publicly to have, knowledge pertaining to a murder investigation. That, at any rate, used to be the case prior to your becoming president.

In an interview with the BBC’s Chris Morris your brother, Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapakse, giggled hysterically when asked about my husband’s murder, and made very clear that he was “not concerned” by the killing. Your brother also famously asked “who is Lasantha?” Why is he so important in contrast to those killed by the LTTE? “He was just someone writing to a tabloid.” These are words uttered, Mr. President by the man under whose purview your entire police operates.

Mr. Gotabaya Rajapakse dismissed Lasantha’s killing stating that anyone could have killed him given that he picked up a number of enemies in the course of his career as a journalist. What is implied by this oft repeated statement of your brother is that journalists who criticize abuse of power by the state should accept their fate without protest.

It may be reasonably deduced from your brother’s public pronouncements that he demonstrates a singular disregard for even the most basic principles of democracy and the rule of law. Despite the high office to which you have elevated him, he apparently does not feel it is either his responsibility or his duty to curb or remonstrate those who act against the media with criminal impunity. Indeed, your brother has made it a habit publicly to brand as “tiger terrorists” or “traitors” journalists whom he perceives as critical of your administration. In that infamous BBC interview with Chris Morris after Lasantha’s murder, he confirmed the free media’s worst fears by admitting that the Defence Ministry considered dissent during war time was tantamount to treason, and thereby presumably punishable with death. What is the message this widely publicized statement sends to the officers of the four police teams you claim to have appointed to probe my husband’s murder?

Lasantha made no secret of the fact that his life would be taken. He wrote and spoke about it widely. He also predicted that your government would never bring his murderers to book. After all, he knew that your government has never prosecuted anyone for the murders, attempted murders and assaults on dissident journalists. After all, he knew as well as you who is behind these crimes. Yet you, as Minister of Defence, remain responsible for the police and therefore the successful investigation of these cases.

As late in the day as it is, given that it is clear that the police inquiry into this crime has now been effectively derailed, I call upon you to invite an international inquiry with a view to identifying and bringing those responsible to justice. I have no doubt that should you agree, the governments of the world’s leading democracies, including those of the EU, USA and India, will readily agree to second the relevant experts and detectives and ensure that the assailants are brought to book.

In the alternative, and especially because none of the many other attacks on the media during your presidency have benefited from a successful criminal inquiry, it will be difficult in the extreme to dispel the nagging doubt that many people seem to entertain that the trail of culpability for these crimes leads to the very highest echelons of your government.

I look forward to your swift and positive action in this regard.

With kind regards,

Yours sincerely,

Sonali Samarasinghe Wickrematunge

Cc. Ms. Navanethem Pillay, High Commissioner for Human Rights, United Nations
Cc. Mr. Brad Adams, Asia Director, Human Rights Watch
Cc. Mr. Bob Dietz, Asia Program Coordinator, Committee to Protect Journalists
Cc. Mr. Vincent Brossel, Asia Director, Reporters Without Borders
Cc. Mr. Gareth Evans, President, International Crisis Group
Cc. Ms. Irene Khan, Secretary General, Amnesty International
Cc. Mr. David Dadge, Director, International Press Institute

Dharmeratnam Sivaram

Former DIG Sarath Lugoda is alleged to have concealed vital evidence of the murder on the instructions given to him from the higher up at that time, and he is to be questioned by the police shortly. He was alleged to have been released the main suspects under the instructions given by the higher up claiming it would endanger the national security.

Arumugam Sri Skandarajan also known as Peter, a former member of an armed group, along with another suspect was arrested as the main suspects in June 2005 near Colombo. They were released following an order from the top, saying their arrest could ‘endanger national security.’ It is not yet clear who had ordered Lugoda to release the two suspects.

It was reported that the SIM card of Sivaram’s mobile phone was found in Peter’s possession. The police also said they had found a vehicle that may have been used in his abduction. But the witnesses of the abduction later said the detained suspect was not one of the kidnappers and that the vehicle was not the one they had used.

Sivaram’s relatives and friends however claimed the instigators and perpetrators could be linked to Tamil paramilitary groups, as Sivaram supported Tamil nationalists and was outspoken in his criticism of abuses by the security forces and paramilitaries. But the case did not proceed further despite having taken for hearing several times for over ten years.

As court hearings continued for over 10 years some vital information to boost the investigation into slain journalist Sivaram had been surfaced. Further investigation is expected to commence with the questioning of the former DIG as to why he had hindered the investigation and who was behind it. The family and close relatives of the late Sivaram have moved to Canada since his assassination while, waiting for the government to bring justice to his brutal murder.

Sivaram’s family in Canada speaking to The Sunday Leader said if the allegations against the former DIG are true, it is a serious crime as a senior police officer had vehemently violated the laws of the country. The Sri Lanka police should investigate into it, they saidS.

“We would like to see a progressive probe into Sivaram’s murder, but, we hear news from time to time that someone had been arrested or some important information had been found. What we want is that the murder case of Sivaram should be investigated seriously like Lasantha Wickrematunge’s and bring the criminals to book as soon as possible as it has been a decade and more since his murder,” the brother-in-law of Sivaram, David Poopalapillai lamented.

“When the head of the family was gone, my sister was left with utter responsibilities of her three kids and their future. Two of them have completed their studies and the education of the youngest is soon to be completed. Even though she has not forgotten the brutal assassination of Sivaram, with her responsibilities, she was not much keen into looking into the investigations and the cases ongoing in Sri Lanka but she would be happy if our expectations are met. Ever since the new government took office and started fresh probe into serious crimes one after the other, we were waiting for a positive response in Sivaram’s murder probe as well,” Poopalapillai said.

“The government should take stern action against the criminals and also should probe it to unearth the truth behind the brutal assassination,” he added.

Meanwhile, responding to the The Sunday Leader, former DIG Sarath Lugoda said that he is not sure how such an allegation had been made against him as he was not a police officer who would take orders from top officials to cover evidence and hinder investigations.

“We arrested a few suspects and produced before the courts, but I cannot remember exactly what happened to that case since it has been a long time now. The police can only act according to the evidence available regarding the case and I was an independent police officer, these allegations are not true,” Lugoda added.

As a freelance journalist, Sivaram wrote his weekly ‘Taraki’ column at different times for several English newspapers. He also had written for a Tamil newspaper as ‘DP Sivaram’ and was the editor of the Tamilnet news website. Though controversial at times, his articles were widely read for informative and analytical political nature of those articles.

In 2005, he was abducted during night time from right in front of the Bambalapitiya Police station when he was returning from a small get together with his friends held at a restaurant in the area. When his friends, all were journalists, bade farewell to go home, he and one of his friends turned to the bus station where he was abducted.

An eyewitness describing the scene said that they were waiting for the bus when Sivaram walked ahead to answer a phone call while the eyewitness stayed back looking out in the opposite direction for a bus.

At one point, he saw a bus coming and he turned to Sivaram to say him that a bus was arriving. What he saw then was unnerving. A silver-grey vehicle was parked on the road near Sivaram. It was a Toyota. Two men were trying to force Sivaram into the vehicle while another was standing near the open door. The engine was running with the fourth man at the wheel. Suddenly, they gripped Sivaram from behind and began forcing him to get into the vehicle. Sivaram was grappling with his abductors. They were in civvies and the vehicle just sped off. The entire abduction occurred right opposite the Bambalapitiya police station. Subsequently, it was revealed through eyewitnesses that four men had been loitering outside the restaurant since 8.30 pm onwards. Two men were speaking Tamil while the other two spoke Sinhala. It was reported that according to an eyewitness, one of the men had called someone in Tamil on his mobile and wanted the vehicle to be sent. With the wisdom of hindsight, it was realised that the vehicle called for was the one in which Sivaram was abducted. Since it arrived very quickly, it was surmised that the vehicle must have been ready and waiting close by.

Upon learning of the abduction, Sivaram’s wife contacted her brother living in Mattakkuliya and went with him to the Bambalapitiya police station to lodge a complaint. Sivaram’s journalist colleague and friend Rajpal Abeynayake also informed a number of officials, including then Army Commander, Lt. Gen. Shantha Kottegoda, who promised to issue an alert to all military checkpoints.

It was about an hour past midnight when the Talangama police station received an anonymous telephone call informing the cops that a body was laying on the bank of the Diyawanna Oya. When the police went to the spot near Kimbula-ela junction, about 500 metres behind the Sri Jayawardenepura Parliament Complex, they found a dead body lying amidst the shrubs. It was identified later by friends and family to be that of Sivaram’s.

It was reported that Sivaram was gagged with a dotted serviette and his hands tied behind his back. He had been hit with a blunt instrument on the back of his head. This seems to have been done to prevent his struggling. The brave fighter that he was, Sivaram would have obviously resisted his abductors valiantly and therefore he was made unconscious.

Sivaram seems to have been shot at point blank range with a 9 mm Browning. One shot had cleanly entered his neck and chest. The second had penetrated his hand and entered the body. Contrary to the reports in the Tiger media, there were no signs of torture, the JMO who submitted the post-mortem report said. Two 9 mm empty bullets were found near his body. There was very little blood at the scene.

The body was then taken to the Colombo JMO office for a post-mortem. Dr. Jeanne Perera, the Head of Forensic Medicine at the Colombo Medical Faculty at that time, conducted it.The report continued to read that Sivaram had been given one blow on the back of his head and then shot twice in his shoulder blade and neck while he lay on the ground. The killing occurred where the body was found. The swelling on one of his eyes was not the result of a blow but due to the vibration when the bullets pierced the body.

She also placed the time of death at about 12.30 to 1. 00 am.It was the highly protected zone of the country where his body was found. Question remains as to how kidnappers could enter the parliament premises, the most secured zone – and commit such a crime.

Sivaram was from Batticaloa and native of eastern land. It was fitting indeed that his family resisted pressures by the Tigers to bury him elsewhere. It was Sivaram’s wish that he should be buried at Aalaiyadicholai. It was only in 2004 that he wrote so publicly and the body lies in there now. Sivaram’s death was not like some sepia photograph of an old atrocity, a singular event in a fading history. The Committee to Protect Journalists estimates that from 1992 to 2009, 18 journalists have been killed by all sides because of their (journalists’) writing or their comments during Sri Lanka’s long civil war.The majority of those killed, of course, were Tamil; but others, such as Lasantha Wickrematunge, the founder Editor of The Sunday Leader newspaper were not. And many other journalists, Tamil, Muslim, and Sinhalese, were forced into exile during the war.Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have both noted that the end of the war between the Sri Lankan government and the LTTE has not meant an end to the violent harassment of journalists. The unsolved disappearance of the political analyst Prageeth Eknaligoda on January 24, 2010 during coverage of the recent elections is but one bitter example among others of its continuance.

“Sadly, then, the practice of using violence to suppress journalism has, now, a long history in Sri Lanka, and seems to have become unmoored recently even from the martial circumstances originally used to justify it. It has become a kind of tradition – or, worse, a kind of routine, like tea in the morning: very sour tea,” Prof. Mark P. Whitaker said in the memorial in London of Sivaram’s death.

Power lines… one might wonder why the CEB continues to ignore existing and readily available private power plants

The Ceylon Electricity Board’s long term generation plan in 2005 had proposed constructing six major power plants to be operational by 2016. This included a 245MW Gas Turbine in 2009, a 285MW Gas Turbine in 2010, a 300MW Coal Steam – (Southern Coast) in 2013, a 300MW Coal Steam – (Southern Coast) in 2014, a 300MW Coal Steam – (Southern Coast) in 2015 and a 300MW Coal Steam – (Southern Coast) in 2016.

However, energy experts claim none of these plants were constructed by the CEB. When the CEB finalized its long term plan in 2013 all the power plants proposed in 2005 had been disregarded.

In 2015, the CEB made a fresh long term generation plan which excluded the existing private power plants.

Examination of this plan reveals that the CEB is planning on constructing a staggering eight brand new power plants from 2017-2020 alone.

Officials questioned if it is viable to construct and operate eight new power plants within three years.

“Are they going to do it at the risk of Sri Lanka’s environment due to a lack of environmental impact studies, without feasibility studies or even considering the procedural competitive funding sources.

The whole process of implementation alone takes two to three years with commercialisation (including construction) being 2 to 3 years.

The Norochcholai Coal Power Plant was initially considered in the late 1980’s with construction beginning on 11/05/2006 with the first 300MW unit commissioned on 22/03/2011.

“Where is the logic behind building 8 new power plants within three years? Norochcholai is a good example.

Another example is the Broadlands Hydro Power Plant, first considered in 1984 and then implemented in 2013 with the inauguration ceremony in July 2013; still we are at the start of the plant’s construction,” sources said.

As impractical and unrealistic as this plan is, one might wonder why the CEB continues to ignore existing and readily available private power plants.

“Given the depleting state of hydro reserves in the island in addition to an impending drought – should not both the Public Utilities Commission (PUCSL) and the CEB consider existing plants that can be activated, to supplement the deficit, rather than search for a solution in the dark, during a power shortage as experienced time and time again,” sources added.

Furthermore, while the rest of the world has come to terms that coal power generation is rather archaic, the CEB seems convinced that their coal solution is the solution to an impending power crisis.

They seem to have conveniently overlooked the negative implications coal possesses on agriculture and tourism, predominant industries for the future of the country.

“Moreover, as impractical as the construction of 8 new power plants before 2018 may be, why have existing private power plants not been considered in the LCLTGEP 2015 – 2034 (Long Term General Plan). Have they not proved their worth in the past stepping up to the cause of keeping the country alight during one of the worst power shortages to grip the island in early 2000’s.

Will not the re-commissioning of these currently redundant plants, in fact help CEB meet the power supply requirement and cut down on unnecessary spending/ borrowing. According to the plan, the 100MW Ace Power Embilipitiya is to be retired in 2017 and the 30MW Northern Power to be retired in 2020. The plan also excludes the 24MW Ace Power Matara, which can be converted to natural gas at a later stage and remains in good running condition. The CEB unions have also expressed its support for this plant to run again,” sources added.

Sources also questioned if the public can be expected to bear the burden of funding these unrealistic plans of the CEB.

As unrealistic and impractical as this plan is, it is also one which discourages private enterprises and foreign investment.

Take for example renewable energy which was implemented in 2008. Approximately 300 private enterprises are waiting for approvals to commercialise 2MW to 10MW of renewable energy power plants since 2008 with the CEB sitting on their approvals.

The most renewable power generation plants cost approximately US$1.2M per MW. With an average plant being 5MWs that’s approximately US$1.8 Billion worth of investment shunned away from the country.

The power sector, which is considered the life line of a nation, should be progressive, realistic and forward thinking in generation planning.

“Should the planning burden be eased off the CEB by the establishment of an independent planning team equipped with the knowledge of engineering, finance, environmental impact, economics and other related disciplines? Should there be not a private sector mix in the power generation sector that takes off the burden of investing public funds to the sector but benefiting from generating higher skilled workforce, corporate tax revenue and with financial penalties associated if the privately held plant fails to provide the required power when needed,” sources added.

Separately the Asia Development Bank in June, 2016 identified key problematic areas in the nation’s energy sector highlighting a poor Transmission network, Distribution failures and inappropriate generation mix.

Due to the unrealistic timeline of building new plants and forgoing in running the existing private power plants to meet a pending power crisis as identified by the PUSL in 2018, the CEB has its own ulterior motives behind the LCLTGEP in failing in order to enact an ‘Emergency Power’ policy in fast tracking their own independent viewpoints similar to what occurred in 2001. If the country has a realistic generation plan, the aspect of Emergency Power will not occur.

A well balanced adoption of existing plants together with a moderate adoption of natural gas (LNG) and a focus of Renewable Energy will be a good balance to avert Power crisis and promote least cost long term power generation for the country.

The mix should include private and CEB generation without creating a single dominant generator that can affect the progress of the country.

The mix should include the existing coal, new natural gas (LNG), renewables as well as diesel.

Sources also said that there has been a common misconception regarding Independent Power Producers (IPPs) in Sri Lanka with them being labelled as the ‘diesel mafia’.

“The reality of this accusation is that IPPs have assisted in providing a stable service to the country in times of crisis. We can name the crisis of 2000 as a good example with no power cuts till IPPs were retired from 2012, 2014 and the most recent March 2016 with Ace Power Embilipitiya (100MW) coming to the rescue in stopping any sale of the plant and quickly getting it to run,” a private power distributor said on the condition of anonymity.

Brief operational details of the privately held retired plants (retired IPPs)

 

Ace Power Embilipitiya

Capacity: 100MWs

Manufacturer: Caterpillar

Staff: Approximately 80

Tax paying: Yes, corporate tax

 

Ace Power Matara

Capacity: 24MWs

Manufacturer: Wartsila (Finland), plant can be converted to using natural gas when available

Staff: Approximately 30 when operational

Tax paying: Yes, but no operations since 2012

 

Northern Power

Capacity: 30MWs

Manufacturer: Mix

Staff: Approximately: 50

Tax paying: Yes, corporate tax

Hokandara palatial house built on Shashi Weerawansa’s land

Controversy surrounds the purchase of building blocks in Hokandara, post 2008, by Shashi Weerawansa, spouse of National Freedom Front leader and former Minister of Housing and Construction Wimal Weerawansa.