SAARC summit 2008 in Sri Lanka makes thousands homeless: Has South Asia not seen urban poverty?

Sri Lanka is now categorized as a medium income country but it is no secret that a sizable section of population still lives below poverty line. According to UNDP statistics, 45% of Sri Lankan population lives less than US$ 2 a day (this means their spending for a day for food, shelter, clothes, transport, education etc., does not exceed Rs. 220) and 6% lives less than US$ 1 a day. It is inevitable that some of them live in urban areas, sometimes near city centers.

Urban poverty is not unique to Sri Lanka. Slums are seen in the cities of any developing country. Every South Asian country has its own share. In every Indian metro millions of people live in slums. They cannot afford proper sanitation facilities. Majority of them do not even have toilets. Though not a common sight in Colombo, mass public defecations are seen in many South Asian cities. Mumbai is so crowded that they say when a city train hits a person (which happens every day, it seems) the drivers don’t even stop. Even in Bangalore – claimed to be the high tech city in South Asia there are estimated number of 15,000 toilet cleaners who carry buckets of human refuse on their shoulders. That is the sad reality South Asia lives with.

So what is this big deal about ‘cleaning the city’ for the summit chasing off poor people from their homes? Whom are we trying to fool?

Are the leaders of our government so naïve that they assume other South Asian leaders have not witnessed urban poverty? Don’ they know these leaders, except President Gayoom of Maldives, come from countries with 30% of the population live in extreme poverty compared to Sri Lanka’s 6%. (US$ 1 per day) Colombo might have been a heaven compared to the places they come from. So why this attempt to make thousands of people unnecessarily suffer?

It is also customary now to use ‘National Security’ to justify any damaging act of the government. Some of the people who had been chased off from Glennie passes have been living for more than 50 or 60 years. If they had not been a security threat for all these days how come they are now? Have they been recruited by tigers overnight?

It is also funny that the demolition of houses and shops is not restricted to centre Colombo. Houses of poor people in areas like Kotte, Nawala, Battaramulla and Kaduwela too have been destroyed? Why? Do any of the SAARC leader visit Kaduwela? (20 km from city centre) Why these people were made to suffer unnecessarily?

For development purposes, relocation of human habitats sometimes becomes a dire need. For example, a land in the middle of the city might be required to construct a super market complex, so relocation of current occupants become necessary. It can be done, provided that those poor people not only get homes somewhere but their occupations are not disturbed. Even if they are given land to build homes, will it be of any use if the relocation disturbs their income? How they could find money to feed their children? Are there good schools to send their children?

Perhaps we should not ask these questions. The priority of any Mugabe type ruler is himself and his family. As long as his family could rob the national wealth they have no concerns what happen to the rest. Did Hitler ever worried about the Jew children’s’ education when they sent them to camps? Did Idi Amin ever worried about the welfare of the millions he cold blooded killed? Did Polpot think twice before he made half the population starve? More recently does Mugabe ever worries about what hardships his hunger for power brought to the people? So why should only Sri Lanka be different?

I only hope international journalists take note.

SAARC 2008….? What SAARC?

In two weeks time government/state leaders of eight South Asian nations with thousands of their delegates will have a get together in Kandy, Sri Lanka to have nice break, share few anecdotes, talk about the achievements their children/grand children and enjoy some good food. Then they will return to home countries. We call it 15th SAARC summit.

The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is a noble organization with some respectable objectives. It is the economic and political organization of eight countries in Southern Asia – the counter part of EU in Europe and ASEAN in Southeast Asia. In terms of population, its sphere of influence is the largest of any regional organization: almost 1.5 billion people, the combined population of its member states India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Maldives, Bhutan and Afghanistan.

These are the objectives of SAARC, what these eight countries intend to achieve collectively:

· to promote the welfare of the peoples of South Asia and to improve their quality of life;

· to accelerate economic growth, social progress and cultural development in the region and to provide all individuals the opportunity to live in dignity and to realize their full potential;

· to promote and strengthen collective self-reliance among the countries of South Asia;

· to contribute to mutual trust, understand and appreciation of one another’s problem;

· to promote active collaboration and mutual assistance in the economic, social, cultural, technical and scientific fields;

· to strengthen cooperation with other developing countries;

· to strengthen cooperation among themselves in international forums on matters of common interest; and

· to cooperate with international and regional organisations with similar aims and purposes.

How many of these noble objectives we have achieved so far?

For example, has this regional cooperation been able to improve the quality of life of South Asians in anyway? (No, I do not mean the quality of life of the leaders here – cooperation or not, that has surely improved!)

What economic achievements the group has made compared to European Union? Since 2002 EU has a single currency which has significantly appreciated against the dollar. Have SAARC countries ever being able to even lay a foundation for a common currency?

Do we accept currencies of each other? Is Indian Rupee acceptable in Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Bangladesh? Is Bangladesh Taka accepted in any of the other countries? Do we have any regional preferential treatment in trade? Does any SAARC country prefers the goods from another SAARC country than what is coming from outside? I doubt.

For cultural cooperation, all we have are Bollywood movies. Sharuk Khan in Karachchi, Chittagong or Katmandu is as popular as he is in Hyderabad, but that has more to do with globalization that any regional cooperation. Other than that we hardly share anything even remotely be called cultural, be it music, dancing, arts or literature. Apart from few Indian authours, have we ever heard literary figures from any other nation?

The regional cooperation we talk so much does not happen as long as we stay isolated. Each of these countries has to be open to each other. Does this happen now? Anyone who recently attempted getting visa for India or Bangladesh will not answer affirmative. It is lot more easy for Sri Lankans to get visa to Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand than getting visa to any SAARC country. Sri Lanka has direct flights only to three SAARC countries. Even India that share borders with many does not have direct air links to all SAARC countries. Dhaka is better connected to Bangkok than any South Asian city. Is this how we facilitate intra-regional travelling? With each country trying so hard to maintain their borders will there be any practical economic cooperation possible among them?

Certainly this is not the case of other similar regional cooperation networks. A citizen of any EU country can enter any other EU nation without Visa. The same is true for ASEAN. This, if not for anything else will improve the tourism within region. Looks like none of us are interested in that potential.

SAARC it nothing new. It started in 1985. Twenty three years is a period more than enough to achieve something solid. We have not achieved anything. So the question is how justifiable by SAARC governments to spend colossal amounts for annual international tamashas, which will be of no use to extreme poor populations of these countries. Why not use that money to build more schools or hospitals?

The saddest part is to chasing off the poor people from their homes for this totally useless event. Perhaps this is the legacy of SLFP. Even in 1976 they did a similar thing for the Non Aligned Summit. (In 1977, one slogan at the famous UNP May rally was “Colonel Gaddafi – Pelpath Kadapi” – Libyan leader Muammar Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi was a key figure in the 1976 summit) Wasting public money for hopeless get-togethers is one thing but should we let the poor of the country suffer for that too?

Don’t you feel sorry for them, Kurakkan Uncle?

Where do these poor people go when they were chased off from their homes? Should the poor people suffer because of the political gimmicks like SAARC that will only boost image of key politicians and do nothing to country?

An eviction order has been issued to 800 families in Glenie Passage, Slave Island, claiming that the land they have settled on belongs to the Defence Ministry, reported Lanka Dissent today.

Glenie Passage, which is a cross road in the Chittappalam A. Gardiner Mawatha, has been housing around 1,500 people of 800 Sinhalese, Tamil and Muslim families for nearly 50 years.

The residents, who have been paying the state taxes, water and electricity bills, have even been included in the voters list. In addition, a minister of the current regime has laid the foundation stone for a project to provide electricity to the area.

Soon after coming into power, the present government has obtained their signatures in agreement to evacuate the area, promising to grant them permanent settlements in return. An attempt to evict these residents without providing them means of resettlement was disrupted after a massive protest, even obstructing the train tracks in Slave Island was held.

Several persons who claimed themselves to be officials of the Defence Ministry had visited the area on July 11th and informed its residents to shift to temporary wood settlements in the Keerakotuwa area in Wattala till permanent houses are built for them. Noting that the residents have illegally settled down in a land that belongs to the war department of the Defence Ministry, these officials have ordered them to evict within a week.

Speaking to ‘Lanka Dissent’, a resident of Glenie Passage said that they would not shift to the proposed wood settlements in Keerakotuwa, which are only about 10 x 10 feet in size. He added that they would evict their present homes only if they are offered permanent housing as initially promised.

UNP parliamentarian, Ravi Karunanayake and several others who visited the area today (July 14th) to look into the matter, informed the residents that the Defence Ministry does not have the power to evict them as it required a court order to do so. The parliamentarian added that he would not allow an unlawful eviction to take place. Speaking to ‘Lanka Dissent’, MP Karunanayake said that neither the Defence Ministry nor the government has the power to evict these residents in such a manner and charged that the government was attempting to portray Colombo as a city sans slums to the SAARC summit. The MP further added that the UNP would not allow anyone; especially not a foreign citizen to forcefully evict people from their homes without legal authorization.

News Source: http://www.lankadissent.com

Lalkantha – the David to strike the Goliaths

I am no fan of Lalkantha. To give my personal opinion, taking all hats off, I am also not in favour of strikes of any kind – least the ones by professionals. Traditionally, it was the left that believed in trade union action, not the UNP. We have always believed in nation building by working more, not less.

Since independence, the damage blind trade union actions have done to the economy is only next to that caused by terrorism. Lee Kuan Yew was dead right in thanking the Ceylonese left leaders, who organized a string of strikes in 1960s which resulted diverting most Colombo port bound sea traffic to Singapore, making it the most favoured port between Europe and China. I would have some more respect for Dr. N. M. Perera, and old boy of my own alma mater, had he not been the one responsible for generating such unproductively.

Having said that, I do not deny my interest this time. It is more as an observer. What stimulates most of us is the contrast in confrontation. On one side we have the entire government mechanism using all its influences like a giant octopus. On the other side we have Lalkantha sahodaraya – who is next to nothing. He is an MP, but that is nothing when compared to the establishment he is fighting against. Lalkantha sahodaraya does not give a darn. His confidence impresses me. He is a David, brave enough to attack the Goliaths – with only a catapult in hand. I wish UNP too had more leaders of Lalkantha’s caliber.

Though I hesitate to endorse this kind of trade union action, I empathise with the public and private sector employees on a fixed monthly salary. With the sky rocketing commodity prices most of them find it hard to make ends meet.

Even the essential items now cost twice more when compared with pre-2004 prices. We hear about families that save milk only for the youngest children in the family – others have to be satisfied with plain tea. We see people buying 250 g of vegetables – they cannot afford more.

This is the ‘development’ brought by ‘Mahinda Chinthana’. Minister of Consumer Affairs is shameless in admitting he has no control over the COL. Poor Ajith Nivard Cabraal, the clueless Central Bank Governor, does not even know how much money his organization prints. The inflation level was 30% last month – the highest in South Asia. It would be a miracle if people do not protest.

Is there a solution?

Here is one: Minister Dullas Alahapperuma wants the poor people to reduce one curry from the plates – so that costs will be less.

Look who is talking. I would be very much interested in knowing whether the minister and his wife are ready to do the same. This couple, average sized human beings just one decade ago (before Dullas Alahapperuma got into politics) now look more like Mr and Mrs. Obelix. I am not kidding. They are two walking globes of fat. An observer is forgiven for wondering whether they are the singular reason for the food crisis in Sri Lanka. How come they have become so overgrown during this short period?

This is the pathetic reality in our society. Minister Dullas Alahapperuma and his wife Pradeepa Dharmadasa who once sang about Sarojaas now shamelessly maintain super-luxury lives on the money robbed from poor Sarojaas. They are light years ways from reality.

Given the enormous amount of food they may seem to consume it might not be too difficult for Minister Dullas Alahapperuma and his wife to cut down one curry from their plates. In fact it would be good for their health too. Both of them badly need reducing so many layers of fat. On the other hand, how many poor people will be able to do so?

Perhaps minister Dullas Alahapperuma might not be aware about the millions in this country who take rice only with one curry (most probably the simple pol-sambol) or those who eat rice only for one meal a day. Does the minister what them to also to reduce one curry from their plates? Does the minister Dullas Alahapperuma want children also to cut down on their food? Isn’t he aware that it might result in mass scale malnutrition? Does his wife, who was so emotional about poor Sarojaas now wants to see them malnourished?

That is why the people take trade union action. The strikes might be unproductive but maintain 109 fat ministers at the cost of poor, while they are starving is far more unproductive. Perhaps that is the point Lalkantha sahodaraya wants to make.

To kurakkan boy this action would bring some poetic justice. UNP’s stance has always been a lean government. Ranil Wickremasinghe government of 2001-4 has given special attention to developing private sector so that mass scale employment opportunities are created outside the government. It was the UPFA government that wanted to limitlessly expand public sector for its political gains. What it did not realize was the short of money to sustain such a huge work force. So it is fair that the same government that did that historical mistake now encounter this. Let us see what kurakkan boy has to say.

Congratulations! Sri Lanka Crowned Asia Cup Champs!!

Spinner Ajantha Mendis claimed six wickets to lead Sri Lanka to a 100-run victory over India in the final of the Asia Cup on Sunday.

Mendis (six for 13 from eight overs), who was brought on as early as the 10th over after Virender Sehwag (60) threatened to make quick work of Sri Lanka’s target of 273, struck twice in his first over and then picked up four more wickets to help his side bowl out India for 173.

Sanath Jayasuriya had cracked a blistering 125 and put on 131 runs for the fifth wicket with Tillakaratne Dilshan (56) to help Sri Lanka to 273, a target which had seemed inadequate on a placid pitch.

India lost Gautam Gambhir (six) but the runs flowed as Sehwag and Suresh Raina (16) took up the chase.

Mendis, however, turned the game around.

He first had Sehwag sent back, although the batsman plotted his own downfall by stepping out to hit the bowler over the top and was beaten by the flight and stumped by wicketkeeper Kumar Sangakkara.

Mendis then bowled Yuvraj Singh for a duck and collected the wickets of Raina and Rohit Sharma in his third over to leave India devastated.

India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (49) attempted to rebuild the innings in the company of Robin Uthappa (20), but the latter’s dismissal triggered another collapse.

Doni had raised eyebrows by asking the defending champions to bat first, a decision which seemed even more surprising as India named only four specialist bowlers in the final 11.

But that decision was vindicated when Ishant Sharma (three for 52) produced a fiery opening spell to leave Sri Lanka teetering on 66 for four.

Jayasuriya bailed Sir Lanka out of trouble though, his 27th one-day century coming off just 79 deliveries.

He was dropped on 56 by RP Singh, the fielder making a mess of a lofted short-arm pull. RP Singh bore the brunt of that error as he was hit for 26 runs by Jayasuriya off the next over sent down by the left-arm bowler.

Jayasuriya finally fell to part-time spinner Sehwag, his 114-delivery vigil punctuated with nine boundaries and five sixes.

This is Sri Lanka’s fourth Asia Cup title, adding to title triumphs in 1986, 1997 and 2004.

Source: http://www.cricket365.com

Then they came for the JOURNALISTS, and I didn’t speak up

First they came for TAMILS, and I didn’t speak up,
because I wasn’t a TAMIL.

Then they came for the BUDDHIST MONKS, and I didn’t speak up,
because I wasn’t a BUDDHIST MONK.

Then they came for the JOURNALISTS, and I didn’t speak up,
because I wasn’t  a JOURNALIST

If they come for me tomorrow, by that time
WILL THERE BE ANYONE LEFT TO SPEAK FOR ME?

[Apologies to Pastor Martin Niemöller (1892–1984) who wrote the original First they came... about the inactivity of German intellectuals following the Nazi rise to power and the purging of their chosen targets, group after group.]

 

Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunge to lose her civic rights?

There is a move to quash the civic rights of the ruling Sri Lanka Party’s Senior Patron and former President Chandrika Kumaratunga, ‘Lanka Dissent’ learns through reliable sources.

After retirement as head of state, Mrs. Kumaratunga spent most of her time overseas and kept away from politics, before coming into the limelight once again as a result of her controversial speech at the first delegates’ conference of the SLFP Mahajana Wing on June 12th.

Thereafter, Minister Janaka Bandara Tennakoon told the media that he would propose to the party’s Central Committee to suspend the ex-president from SLFP membership for her remarks concerning the party and President Rajapaksa.

Again, delivering the Felix Dias Bandaranaike Memorial Oration on June 26th, she made a scathing attack against the prevailing political situation.

Now, according to reliable sources, quashing her civic rights has been mooted to the president by senior government leaders and a group of senior lawyers in the SLFP as a means of preventing her possible comeback to politics to challenge the present regime.

These lawyers have reportedly handed over a document to Mr. Rajapaksa about how an ongoing Supreme Court hearing against Mrs. Kumaratunga could be used for this purpose.

This case relates to the ex-president’s alleged use of executive powers to handover 140 acres of prime land from Battaramulla, owned by the Urban Development Authority, to a businessman.

http://www.lankadissent.com/en/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=390:govt-move-to-quash-chandrikas-civic-rights&catid=1:latest-news&Itemid=50

Burma, Tibet and Sri Lanka: There countries that assult Buddhists monks

First Lady Shiranthi Rajapakse is a Catholic devotee. Had Catholic priests been tear-gassed and beaten by Police in the middle of Colombo she would have felt down.  She would have not liked to see a beaten Catholic priest is being forced to a police jeep as if he were a common criminal.

However, I am not sure without a Buddhist background she would have felt any empathy when the Buddhists monks were tear-gassed and beaten by Police last week.

I do not what religion President’s sons follow. But all three of them have schooled at an Anglican college. Had the Anglican priests were beaten so unsympathetically they might have felt sad. Again, without any Buddhist background it is doubtful they would have felt the same for Buddhist monks. Probably for them Buddhist monks are a set of aliens arrived from another universe.

Unlike them, I have studied at a school with a very Buddhist background. This is what makes me sad. Whatever their politics (I do not approve Buddhist priests getting into politics) Buddhists monks should not be beaten in this manner. There are better ways to handle situations. There is a big difference between armed terrorists and unarmed protestors who use only means of non-violence.

Sri Lanka is not the only country where Buddhists monks get such harsh treatment. Burma and Tibet (China) are two good examples. However the situation is not the same Burma is ruled by a Christian junta government, which is obviously hostile to Buddhists. Tibet is under the control of Chinese communists, which does not give a darn about Buddhism.

Sri Lanka is different. We are ruled by a leader who does not even miss a single opportunity to project his Buddhist backgrounds. We also remember how he carried ‘mal vatti’ from temple to temple before the elections. Can we expect such harsh treatments to Buddhist monks from a ruler who claims to be a devoted Buddhists upasaka mahattaya? That is what puzzles me and most of the Buddhists in this country.

Burma, Sri Lanka and Tibet are all predominantly Buddhist societies. Unfortunately these are the same places where Buddhist priests receive the worst treatment from the governments. Surprisingly the majority of Buddhists in these countries maintain their silence. Not a single Buddhist organization yet condemned the ruthless attack on Buddhists monks last week. Have the Buddhists become so spineless? Has somebody robbed the spines of the Buddhists?

 

Mugabe’s Zimbabwe, Musharraf’s Pakistan and Rajapaksa’s Sri Lanka - ALL in FAILED STATES list! (Should we be surprised?)

Sri Lanka has once again been included in the Failed States Index by the Foreign Policy and The Fund for Peace which rank the countries where state collapse may be just one disaster away, reported Daily Mirror, along with Zimbabwe and Pakistan.

Sri Lanka has been ranked 20 in the list of 60 failed states with Somalia claiming the number one spot and the distinction of being the state most at risk of failure.

The rank order of the states is based on the total scores of the 12 indicators. For each indicator, the ratings are placed on a scale of 0 to 10, with 0 being the lowest intensity (most stable) and 10 being the highest intensity (least stable). The total score is the sum of the 12 indicators and is on a scale of 0–120.

Founded in 1970 by Samuel Huntington and Warren Demian Manshel, and now published by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, D.C., FOREIGN POLICY is the premier, award-winning magazine of global politics, economics, and ideas. Its mission is to explain how the world works—in particular, how the process of globalization is reshaping nations, institutions, cultures, and, more fundamentally peoples daily lives.

In 2007, several countries that have long served as the poster children for failed states managed to achieve some unlikely gains. The Ivory Coast, which unraveled in 2002 after a flawed election divided north and south, experienced a year of relative calm thanks to a new peace agreement. Liberia, the most improved country in last year’s index, continued to make gains due to a renewed anticorruption effort and the resettlement of nearly 100,000 refugees. And Haiti, long considered the basket case of the Western Hemisphere, stepped back from the edge, with moderate improvements in security in the capital’s violence-ravaged slums.

Bangladesh took this year’s hardest fall, set off in part by postponed elections, a feuding, deadlocked government, and the imposition of emergency rule that has dragged on for more than 18 months. These political setbacks were followed by greater economic hardships after a devastating cyclone in November flooded large swaths of cropland and left 1.5 million people homeless. In nearby Pakistan, also one of this year’s worst performers, a beleaguered President Pervez Musharraf sparked waves of violent protests when he dismissed the head of the Supreme Court and declared martial law. In a tragic close to the year, the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto left many wondering about the future prospects of this fragile, nuclear-armed state.

Defence.lk Gobilas show their true racist colours

Should a Ministry website that runs by the tax payers’ money act racist? (NB. The tax payers in Sri Lanka are not just Sinhalese)

Should a ministry website that does not recognize it as a general news site run stories not relevant to its mandate?

Defence.lk Gobilas try their best to demonstrate their intention is only to present defence related news (Please note, in Sri Lanka ‘DEFENCE’ is synonymous with  ‘WAR’) but unfortunately their true racist slip sometimes becomes too evident.

Can Defence.lk Gobilas tell us what the news story ‘Tamil Gangsters to be sentenced for murdering youth by stabbing – London’ has to do with the mandate of Defence Ministry?

There is no mention in the story the accused are Tamils of Sri Lankan origin. (Contrary to the loaded ‘news story’ in Defence.lk implies they are not yet ’sentenced’.) Perhaps the Defence.lk Gobilas do not know there are other countries from which Tamils migrate to UK.  Even if they were Sri Lankan Tamils there is no evidence they are linked to LTTE. So how does the story of four Tamils in South London killing another of their own becomes a security concern for Sri Lanka?

So one of the following messages can be what Defence.lk wants to imply either intentionally or not.

1. All Tamils abroad are gangsters. They also collect money for LTTE and kill those who don’t contribute
2. Tamil abroad brings ‘bad name’ to Sri Lanka. They live dubious lives abroad.
3. All Tamils are gangsters/terrorists. So the only way to attack terrorism is to attack Tamils.

However, I do not blame only the blind government for this. This is also the fault of Sri Lankan Tamils. As they have indicated in 2005 Presidential Election, the majority of Tamils of Sri Lankan origin does not want to be in the democratic arena. When they avoid voting they lose their influencing power. Ruling party knows that too well, and subjects Tamils to  humiliation, knowing well they will not vote against.

That is why we see government websites like Defence.lk acting racist at the drop of hat. They aim for Sinhalese vote banks. They do not care for Tamil votes – which, in reality do not exist.

Unless we can bring all communities in Sri Lanka within the democratic framework, this will continue.

(PS. The term ‘Gobilas’ is used as the plural to connote the character of Dr. Paul Joseph Goebbels, Minister for Public Enlightenment and Propaganda in Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945, from who the Defence.lk guys have learnt their first lessons.)