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 Sri Lanka
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A Marraige Proposal (Chintana Style)
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I thought one WTF story would do for the day. But no, look at what Anar got herself into this time. According to the Daily Mirror, Popular actress Anarkali Akarsha has complained to the Kollupitiya Police that Western Provincial Councilor Duminda Silva’s men had forcibly taken her to his office on Thursday evening and threatened her to get married to him soon. She had also said that she and her mother were taken by armed men carrying semi automatic weapons and they were later dropped near a five-star hotel in Colombo. [link]
This is how the Chintana-types, propose to their girl friends. Get a gang to abduct her and stick to a gun to her head and ask, "will you marry me?" So much fun. Getting back to the story, The Government in a statement, has denied any knowledge of this incident and vehemently condemned this horrendous act. The president, speaking at a meeting in siyambalnduwa, has said that this is the work of a systematic gang trying to discredit the government. Some in the government has pointed out this is a work of fiction, staged by Anarkali herself to become the her stated goal to be the Paris Hilton of Sri Lanka. Ok, not really. But they just might.
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Remembering Raviraj
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Nadarajah Raviraj would have celebrated his 46th birthday this year. In the spirit of citizens’ journalism, unionblackcolombo remembers his friend, killed in November 2006 in a video exclusive to Groundviews.
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When meritocracy dies and nepotism reigns supreme
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The country got a new Inspector General of Police (IGP) on July 1 with Jayantha Wickremaratna’s appointment to the highest position in the Police Department. His predecessor Victor Perera was not left much time to be twiddling his fingers because he was almost immediately appointed the Governor of the Northern Province. Mr.Perera’s predecessor Chandra Fernando too did not get much time to enjoy his retirement. He was appointed as the Advisor to the President on Eastern Infrastructure Development.
Now if one comes to the conclusion after reading my opening paragraph that the two latter men while they were in office were pandering more to the whims and fancies of the government in power than looking into the best interest of the Police force bearing at the back of their minds that a plum assignment would await them once they retire, I would not blame the readers. That is exactly the conclusion I have come to after observing the behavior of some of the people who are in government institutions and whose main interest seems to be in securing employment after retirement at state expense, enjoying pay and pension along with official cars, petrol and overseas trips.
It would be unfair to say that the services of experienced public service officials should not be made use of after they reach the age of 60. However, governments in power dangle plum appointments in the face of public officials including those serving in high public office such as the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka, military commanders and others holding vital positions in government institutions. Government, or more accurately, individuals in them, lure beureaucrats and public officials into being ”yes men” when they should stay well clear of partisan political afflictions. Unfortunately, those able to resist the temptation of such offers are few.
It’s not a new phenomenon and I am not going to blame the Rajapaksa administration alone for this situation. Successive governments have resorted to this practice and today, many top public officials have began to expect post retirement appointments as a reward for being “yes men” while in office.
The Sri Lanka Overseas Service (SLOS) has become a favorite dumping ground for retirees. Recently, a retired as a judge of the Supreme Court was named as Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner to London. Who can resist a fully paid, three year long holiday in a foreign land after all the hard work they put in while in service in Sri Lanka?
Former President Chandrika Kumaratunga sent out two yes men who served as under her while she was President as heads of mission to two of the most coveted postings in the Overseas Service, even though there were many others within the SLOS more qualified for the appointments. This list could go on and on. While I accept that political appointees can be sent out as heads of Sri Lanka’s missions abroad , I would also strongly submit that they must be persons who are proficient in diplomacy and international relations and able to portray a positive image of this country abroad. As we know, few political appointees are up to the task.
It is little wonder that the government service in Sri Lanka is going from bad to worse each day. While the hierarchy is eyeing what they can get once they retire, they do little to set an example to the men and women working under them. When junior level workers see what their superiors are aiming at, they just dream walk thorough their years in service well aware that a government pension awaits them, however poorly they perform, if they just supinely accept the orders of their partisan political masters.
It was with pride that public service was spoken of in Sri Lanka in the past but the inability of the bureaucracy to stand up to political pressure has now made it putty in the hands of corrupt politicians. Government servants need to take pride in their work, uphold the law and do what is legally (and morally) right. Former Auditor General S.C. Mayadunne became in recent years an epitome of how a public servant should function - fearlessly, independently and with integrity.
If he could withstand political pressure as well as pressure from some sections of the politically affiliated powerful officialdom, then there is still hope that there are other men and women holding high government official who can do the same.
Government servants are paid for with the money of the tax payers of this country and it is their duty to serve the public and not become puppets in the hands of politicians. Sadly self interests have made many forget this salient aspect of their duty.
It’s self before duty now and not duty before self, as it should be.
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Going for the Kill in More Ways than One
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What does the failed abduction attempt against Namal Perera of the Sri Lanka Press Institute (SLPI), which turned into a brutal assault on him and his friend Mahinda Ratnaweera , Political Officer at the British High Commission, tell us about the Rule of Law, human rights protection, the culture of impunity and law and order in Sri Lanka today ? It took place in close proximity to a major security checkpoint, an army installation and ironically enough, the media ministry and not in the early hours of the morning or at dead of night, but in the evening on a busy road with considerable traffic.
The sheer chutzpah and audacity of the attackers is a further reminder of the culture of impunity. Who would dare to perpetrate such a dastardly deed in this vicinity at this time if they were not “cock sure” of being able to get away with it? How will the array of apparatchiks and flunkeys in the regime spin this one? And how will the new IGP and the Cabinet Sub - committee on threats to the media, acquit themselves? After all, if the regime is not responsible for the attack they are responsible for ensuring that the perpetrators of the attack are speedily brought to justice. As the Free Media Movement (FMM) statement points out, investigation of the attack, indictment and conviction of the perpetrators, will be a “litmus test” of the commitment and effectiveness of the Cabinet sub -committee.
Indeed, all media and human rights organizations must ensure that this is the case in respect of this sub-committee. The tendency of the regime to move from denial to “offence as the best form of defence” and then to the appointment of commissions and committees whose work disappears into the ether, must be stopped if we as a society are serious about democratic rights and human dignity.
Given the gravity of the issue, we need to know as to whether it is the case that at the heart of the regime is an individual or group of individuals who are running amok and who cannot be controlled by those elected to run our government. Be it ignorance or helplessness, or command or complicity, these attacks against the media in particular, constitute an incriminating trail that leads back to the regime and to the heart of darkness within it. The vicious antics of the Defence Secretary ranging from the chilling threats and warnings spewed out to a newspaper editor and then to the Lake House journalists, following the horrific attack on Keith Noyarh, are known. Nothing has been done about any of this, except for the Cabinet sub committee. It would be a sad day indeed if it turns out to be the case that the media were duped by this act of apparent solicitousness in the way that the international community, despite warnings, were either taken or willingly went along for the ride as far as the Commission of Inquiry (COI) and the International Independent Group of Eminent Persons (IIGEP) was concerned. There is good reason too, to add the All Party Representatives Conference (APRC) to this list.
At a time when the GSP Plus concession could be on the line because of the attitude towards key human rights instruments and their implementation, one would have thought that the deterrence, prevention, investigation, indictment and conviction of human rights violations and perpetrators should be given the highest priority. We are treated instead to the demeaning and despicable spectacle of brutal assaults, vicious tongue lashings, the tear gassing of monks and prolonged detentions without charge. The second part of the Army Commander’s statement, where he is quoted as saying that in the war against the LTTE, the regime is not going after territory but going for the kill, could well be the epitaph of the regime as far as democratic rights are concerned as well.
There has to be a way to get through to this regime that it has a fundamental responsibility for the human rights protection of all of its citizens that extends beyond the artful spin of apparatchiks and hypocritical rhetoric of its front men. There can be no denying a growing belief that there is an element within the security establishment that is nasty and brutish and which cannot even begin to comprehend the role and responsibility of the security forces within a functioning democracy. And given the “Ranaviruvan rhetoric” extolling the bravery, patrioticism and heroism of the armed forces, this rotten cabal should be read the riot act in no uncertain terms. What they are doing is a rank disservice and a slap in the face to their colleagues on the battlefront extolled as heroes. Will the patriotic movements, movements against terrorism, freedom fronts, national and otherwise, take this up in earnest, please ?
We have just gone through the Universal Peer Review Process at the Geneva Human Rights Council and lost our re-election bid to it. The IIGEP has gone, the Witness and Victim Protection Bill is in limbo and the ACF request to the French government to consider taking the murder of its humanitarian workers before an international tribunal is being considered. GSP Plus comes up for renewal in October.
Going for the kill, literally or metaphorically in this context, is not the answer.
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Tags:
colombo, economy, english, humanrights, humansecurity, media, peaceandconflict, abductions, democracy, fmm, governance, gsp, mediafreedom, srilanka
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The attack against Namal and the culture of impunity
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We reproduce in full a statement by the Free Media Movement on the attacks against journalists in Sri Lanka. Namal Perera, the most recent victim of an abduction attempt, was a former colleague who significantly facilitated a number of progressive media initiatives in Sri Lanka including the creation and adoption of the Media Charter.
This is the second time I have run with a story of an abduction of a former colleague. The first was a little over a year ago. Although Vijayan was lucky, those who abducted him have not been identified to date.
Ironically, as I was on the way to see Namal at Apollo hospital on the night of his assault, I was stopped and checked at a prominent and well-known checkpoint just before the hospital. Clearly, only the white vans that operate with false license plates have a magical way around, through, under or over them.
Attacks against media in Sri Lanka: Whither democracy?
1st July 2008, Colombo, Sri Lanka: The Free Media Movement (FMM) notes with dismay the dramatic and irrepressible decline in media freedom in Sri Lankan since 2005 under the Rajapakse administration. We have for years repeatedly spoken out against the attacks against media and journalists by the LTTE in areas under its control. It is well known that the LTTE does not and cannot tolerate diversity of opinion and viciously clamps down on free expression and critical dissent. What is of greater concern today is the increasing attacks against independent journalists with complete impunity in areas under government control.
The facts are indubitable and very disturbing and point to the Government’s egregious complicity in violence against free media. 14 journalists/media workers have been killed since 2005. 7 have been abducted. More than 25 have been forced to leave Sri Lanka. Noted journalists and defence correspondents such as Iqbal Athas have stopped writing altogether because of sustained hate speech campaigns openly conducted by the Ministry of Defence. The Government has shut down entire media establishments for spurious reasons. Government Ministers repeatedly and openly verbally and physically attack journalists with absolutely no disciplinary action taken against them. 13 journalists have been arrested by police. Senior columnist and news website editor outreachsl.com J.S. Tissainayagam, and printer and manager of the outreachsl.com Jaseharan and his partner Valarmathi have been in detention Terrorist Investigation Department (TID) since 7th March 2008 without being charged. There are disturbing reports of torture and psychological abuse of journalists detained by the Police. Ironically, instead of investigating and preventing attacks against journalists, the Police have themselves attempted to abduct journalists. Several journalists live in fear of their lives and have been forced to bunker in safe houses. Tellingly, the Chairman of the State controlled Sri Lanka Broadcasting Cooperation (SLBC) openly called for the death of a senior journalist in June. The Army Commander Major Gen. Sarath Fonseka has repeatedly named and shamed several journalists as traitors and enemies of the State. The Defence Secretary and brother of the President Gotabaya Rajapakse, named by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) as a media predator in its Annual Report, has repeatedly and viciously threatened senior journalists and Editors with complete impunity.
The recent abduction of Keith Noyahr, defence columnist and Associate Editor of The Nation newspaper and the brutal abduction attempt of journalist Namal Perera on 30th June are two significant markers of a regime unable and unwilling to stop violence against journalists. Both were mercilessly beaten and were lucky to escape with their lives. There are no credible investigations into these attacks. Further, the lack of critical voices in the media has created a dangerous context for the few journalists who dare to speak out – a general public fed by the partisan rhetoric and propaganda of the State can no longer appreciate independent voices that interrogate the war. Insincere and essentially useless mechanisms to protect human rights in general and the rights and security of journalists set up by the Government attempt to pull wool over the eyes of the international community on the appalling conditions facing independent journalists on the ground.
The situation is already untenable yet getting worse. The on-going war in the Northern front is an all-consuming exercise that trucks no dissent or critical investigation. Monumental allegations of corruption involving the highest levels of government including the defence officials, the deplorable erosion of human rights, the rise of extra-judicial killings, disappearances and abductions and the silencing of journalists through outright terror are disturbing features of Sri Lanka’s flailing democracy. Aiding and abetting intolerance, racism and violence is the modus operandi of the Sri Lankan regime and it’s refusal to sincerely address the incontestable decline of media freedom, the freedom of expression and human rights rightfully contributed to the loss of its seat at the UN Human Rights Council this year.
Yet even this loss has not resulted in progress. The FMM flags the growing desperation of independent journalists and other voices of dissent in Sri Lanka. We are under attack and our voices are being permanently silenced. We urgently call upon the international community to help us stop this erosion of democracy and ensure the full restoration of media freedom and the freedom of expression in Sri Lanka.
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GSP PLUS AND THE NEED FOR CONSTITUTIONAL REFORM: WHAT WE DID AND DID NOT SAY
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Rohan Edrisinha and Asanga Welikala
The Political Watch Column of the Sunday Island of 22 June titled Opposition at Sea included a critique of an article co-authored by us which was published on Groundviews (and in the Sunday Leader) sometime ago, in which we argued that if Sri Lanka was serious about ensuring that its laws were compatible with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, a constitutional amendment to its bill of rights was desirable.
We are disappointed that the columnist has either completely misunderstood several of the arguments put forward or distorted what we stated.
We recognized in our article that one of the EU requirements for the extension of the GSP Plus privileges was BOTH ratification and effective implementation of several international treaties and covenants including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. As the columnist rightly pointed out, ratification is one matter, implementation another. But our point was that even with respect to ratification or making the substantive provisions of the ICCPR, a “very basic human rights document” indeed, part of the Sri Lankan legal regime, our laws, including the country’s supreme law, had to be improved. The Second Republican Constitution of 1978 has been widely recognized as fundamentally flawed, across the political spectrum which is why there is a consensus that it should be replaced. Critics from N.M. Perera to Chanaka Amaratunga have argued that it promotes authoritarianism and provides inadequate protection for the citizen from the tyranny of those who wield political power. From the days of the Premadasa All Party Conference in the early 1990s, there were proposals to mitigate some of these weaknesses by improving the chapter on fundamental rights. Unfortunately the then UNP government stubbornly refused to support such changes which were very much on the lines proposed in our article.
- THE NEED FOR CONSTITUTIONAL RECOGNITION OF BASIC HUMAN RIGHTS
We argued that several basic rights recognized in the ICCPR were not recognized explicitly by the Sri Lankan constitution and that they should be. One of these rights is the right to life, a seminal right, used by courts in many countries to ensure freedom and dignity for people. The refutation of this proposal by the columnist suggesting that a right to life provision in the constitution would not have prevented the abduction and killing of journalist, Sivaram, is not only puerile, but misses the point completely. Of course, legal recognition of a right does not automatically ensure its effective implementation as this requires effective enforcement mechanisms, a culture of respect for the Rule of Law and people in the relevant institutions acting with integrity. A Bill of Rights which recognizes basic human rights including rights enumerated in the ICCPR is, however, a necessary, though not sufficient guarantee for the effective implementation of such rights. Explicit constitutional recognition of the right to life for example gives it a surer foundation than merely having it recognized implicitly by some judges in their decisions or in an ordinary law that can be trumped by subsequent legislation.
Furthermore if, as the columnist argued, the essence of these “absent rights” is part of our legal regime, then why not recognize them expressly in our Constitution?
2. RESTRICTIONS ON RIGHTS AND THE VALIDATION OF EXISTING LAW
The columnist completely misunderstands our critique of the constitutional provision providing for restrictions on rights, confuses Article 15 (the restriction clause) with another provision that is inconsistent with the ICCPR, Article 16 (the validation clause), and then proceeds to refute an argument we never made!
Our position was and is that both Articles 15 and 16 of our Constitution are incompatible with the ICCPR.
a) Article 15.
We never as the columnist suggested, oppose the existence of a restriction clause. Our critique of Article 15 was with respect to the scope of the restrictions it permitted. Both the ICCPR and modern constitutions with effective Bills of Rights like South Africa, provide for restrictions on rights but in a manner that ensures that the executive’s decision to restrict rights is subject to legislative and judicial oversight and review. Restrictions on restrictions clauses are vital. There is no point in having a detailed enumeration of rights if such rights can be comprehensively curtailed at the whim of those who wield political power. The ICCPR by permitting restrictions that are reasonable or necessary in a democratic society, imposes a check on the nature and extent of the restrictions. Article 36 of the South African Constitution demonstrates that constitutional design has moved far beyond the approach of even the ICCPR.
The rights in the Bill of Rights may be limited only in terms of law of general application to the extent that the limitation is reasonable and justifiable in an open and democratic society based on human dignity, equality and freedom taking into account all relevant factors including-
a) the nature of the right;
b) the importance of the purpose of the limitation;
c) the nature and extent of the limitation;
d) the relation between the limitation and the purpose and
e) less restrictive means to achieve the purpose.
Since we realize that such a restriction clause will shock our executive convenience obsessed politicians and members of the legal community, we proposed at the very least, a more modest ICCPR style restriction clause.
b) Article 16
Article 16 validates ALL existing laws written and unwritten, even though such laws violate the chapter on fundamental rights in our Constitution. This is an unprecedented constitutional provision that undermines constitutional supremacy, human rights, and has shocked constitutional scholars around the world. Since an identical provision existed in the First Republican Constitution of 1972, it is ironical that the effect of this and the present Article 16 is to protect all laws enacted before Sri Lanka became a republic in 1972, including ordinances passed during British colonial times, from constitutional scrutiny and challenge. It was deeply regrettable that the Supreme Court in its recent advisory opinion on the ICCPR, chose not to deal with this anomaly.
3. AN APPEAL WITHIN SRI LANKA
The columnist once again misrepresents our third main argument. We pointed out that under the Constitution of 1978, fundamental rights applications with respect to violations by executive and administrative action must be filed in the Supreme Court which has sole and exclusive jurisdiction in such matters. Since the highest appellate court in the country, therefore, exercises original jurisdiction in such cases, the consequence is that there can be no appeal. We argued that this is unsatisfactory in terms of principle as there should be at least one opportunity and forum for appeal in the interests of justice. We quote the relevant paragraph from our article-
A further general point to note in respect of the ‘full implementation’ of the ICCPR is that Article 126 of the Constitution vests the sole and exclusive jurisdiction in respect of fundamental rights with the Supreme Court. While at first glance this might seem to be an indication of the seriousness accorded by our Constitution to fundamental rights, international best practice, and indeed our own experience suggests that, there should be provision for at least one appeal from a decision of any court. This will also free the Supreme Court from the burden of trying facts, only take up cases of constitutional significance on appeal, and thereby be able to articulate a more coherent fundamental rights jurisprudence.
The last sentence makes it absolutely clear that we proposed that a local court such as the High Court should exercise original jurisdiction in fundamental rights matters with an appeal to the Supreme Court so that the Supreme Court, like its counterparts around the world could focus on questions of law rather than questions of fact and act in an appellate capacity. At no stage in the article did we propose that there should be an appeal to a foreign court, as claimed by the columnist.
CONCLUSION
Many of the arguments made by the columnist are similar to those advanced by Minister Prof. G.L. Peiris in recent interviews and public statements. Their argument is basically that Sri Lanka needs do nothing more to meet the requirements of ratification and effective implementation of the ICCPR in Sri Lanka. We believe that this is a highly risky and arrogant approach given the widely recognized crisis with respect to both governance and human rights in the country. The government should demonstrate some willingness to engage with civil society and be self critical with respect to its human rights record. Our argument is that, apart from the gulf between the law in the books and the law in practice with respect to the Rule of law, media freedom, human rights and governance (eg the non-implementation of the 17th Amendment and parts of the 13th Amendment), full compliance with the ICCPR requires change in the constitutional text as well. The proposals outlined in our article are practical, will have a real and substantial impact on the human rights situation in the country and are certainly not, as the columnist states, “curious legal abstractions.” The extension of the GSP Plus privileges is essential for the garment industry including the workers and for the economic well being of the country. We believe that certain changes need to be made and certain things done, to ensure that the privileges are extended; that they can be done and that it is desirable for the country that they be done. It will help improve the human rights situation in the country, help restrain the executive, make the judiciary less complacent and promote access to justice in addition to ensuring that GSP Plus is extended- a win -win situation for all.
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The Dead-End Formula of Neo-Liberal Economics
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Although I teach economics at the University of Peradeniya for my bread and butter, I have been quite distant from the discipline for sometime and my readings on the subject has been quite limited to the two courses I teach at the university. My principal research work is on conflicts. Hence, it was not strange for people to call me oftentimes as a teacher attached to the Department of Politics. However, in the last three four months, I had to re-enter this interesting area of work as I was invited to make comments on two books, one in Sinhala (Sri Lanka Arthikaya edited by O G Dayarathna Banda et al) and one in English (Development and Conflict by Kumar Rupesinghe). I had to refresh my knowledge and do some additional readings in the course of my preparation to make these two presentations. More I read on the subject, more I got convinced on the ineffectiveness and the incorrectness of the economic policies proposed by neo-cons and the international trios, the IMF, the World Bank and the WTO. All successive Sri Lankan governments since 1977 adopted those incorrect policies. When I say ‘incorrect’ I mean not some elements of the policy package but the policy package in toto and its underlying theoretical premises. The policy package includes inter alia the followings:
- The government should adopt free trade regime with lower tariff rates: Annual Report of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka 2007 boasted that ‘[t]he depth of openness continued to remain high as reflected in the low average tariff rate of 4. 1 per cent in 2007.’
- The government should maintain lower budget deficit (something like 5% of the GDP) since the inflation is the main evil: Annual Report of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka 2007 lamented that the government managed to reduce the budget deficit to 7. 7 per centin 2007 it was not able to do it adequately because of many constraint beyond the control of the government;
- The government should liberalize both current and capital transactions of the balance of payments;
- The government should close down inefficient state enterprises;
- State enterprises should be privatized;
- Interest rate should be maintained at higher level in order to discourage wasteful investments;
- Labor market imperfections should be corrected.
Of course some of these measures taken separately make sense. For example, Cuba reduced its budget deficit 3. 8% in recent years in order to counter inflationary tendencies although inflation may not be attributed only to budgetary policies. Leon Trotsky commenting on development policies of the USSR in the late 1920s and 1930s emphasized the prime importence of maintaining stable currency for development. However, the policy prescription of neo-liberals in its totality is absolutely flawed. The policy package is based on three principles and those three principles characterize the neo-liberal economic theory. The followings are the three principles:
- Free trade enhances economic growth and all economic activities tend to reach equilibrium through the operation of market. This is I called the Smithian Principle as the neo-classical writers attribute this view to Adam Smith and to his book, The Wealth of Nations. Although Smith means by free trade the absence of monopolies, neo-classicists do not put much emphasis on private monopolies.
- The countries engage in free trade get benefits if they produce least ineffective goods or in other words goods with comparative advantage. This is I called the Ricardian Principle.
- The governments are ineffective and government’s intervention in the economy invariable creates disequilibrium and adverse effects. This is I called Friedmanian Principle since Milton Friedman revived this anti-state perspective.
From development perspective, all these three principles are theoretically incorrect, and not substantiated by contemporary experience and/or supported by historical data. However, this flawed theory supports the needs of the industrially-developed economies and benefits the world capital markets. This theory works well when an industrially developed country interacts with an industrially undeveloped country and contributes working invariably in favor of the former and against the latter. None of the present day industrially developed countries (England, the USA, Germany, Japan, and Australia) however adopted economic policies based on these three principles when those countries were in their early phase of industrialization. The countries such as South Korea was able to break the trap of underdevelopment in the 1960s and 1970s by consciously adopting economic polices that countered these three principles. If the countries that are under-developed adopt these polices and base their economic thinking above-mentioned three pillars of neo-liberal theory, those countries will fail to break the vicious circle of underdevelopment.
Capitalistic growth needs specific social relations and structures (Karl Marx) within which the operation of the principle of increasing returns, technological change and synergy and cluster effects (Schumpeter) are made possible. The presence of market and availability of capital do not provide adequate basis for capitalistic growth as these two conditions by in themselves do not provide the basis for capitalistic growth. A country can develop if and only if it produces more commodities that encompass these three elements, namely, increasing returns, technological change and synergy and cluster effects. Free market and lower tariff structure do not help but rather hampers production of such commodities. No country in the world has developed without tariff barriers and protection for its infant industries that were characterized by increasing returns, technological change and synergies. Economic policies of 1977 are flawed not because of those policies reactivated internal market mechanisms by eliminating restrictions imposed by the dirigisme regime but because of those policies were detrimental to industries that are characterized by increasing returns, technological change and synergies. The whole exercise has been trade-based not production-based. It favors merchant capital not the production capital.
Take the Sri Lankan case and its principal export products. The production of tea by nature is subject to diminishing returns, and the production process does not require constant technological changes to reduce the unit cost. Moreover, it has a very few synergies or cluster effects. One may argue, it is different in the case of garments. Up to certain point, the production of garments involves increasing returns and technological change. Since there are backward and forward linkages, it can possibly link with other production processes. Therefore, it was not incorrect to build such an industry at the early phase of development. But we have to keep two things in mind. Garment production depends still on an extensive use of labor and the sectors that can be mechanized are limited. Still one person needs for one sawing machine. So, Sri Lanka entered garment production when advanced capitalist countries gave up that industry because of the fact that it reached technological saturation point. When an industry reaches its technological saturation point, its market competitiveness depends on the availability of cheap labor. Hence, we do not compete with other garment producing countries in the world on the basis of technology but on the basis of the cost of labor the advantage that we are losing at increasing rate. The second factor is that no important steps were taken to advance synergy and cluster effect element when the garment industry made a progress in the last three decades. Countries that began with garment and textiles have gradually moved to technologically more advanced sectors with more synergy effects by producing goods that are characterized by increasing returns. Those success stories showed that those countries gave reasonable protection to those ‘infant’ industries even refusing the advice given by international organizations. Flying geese model explaining East Asian industrialization is good example for such successes. We have followed in the last two decades or so what is known in development discourse as dead-end model. There is no fundamental difference now between tea industry and garment industry.
The whole debate on GSP+ today signifies the flawed economic policies adopted by all the successive governments including the present one since 1977. The principal issue discourse on GSP + should pose is: Will Sri Lanka continue to follow the dead-end formula of the IMF, World Bank and the WTO or adopt a new formula that brought development in today’s advanced countries in the world?
It is better to follow what the developed countries did in the past rather that what they tell us to do today.
The writer teaches political economy at the University of Peradeniya. E-mail: sumane_l [at] yahoo [dot] com
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The voice of an IDP single mother in Puttlam
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Dushiyanthini Kanagasabapathipillai
“We lack road, water, and housing facilities. Our children are unable to attend school regularly as there is no proper transport service. We don’t have any facility and leading the same life even now as same as 18 years ago”.
This is a cry of an Internally Displaced single mother from Jaffna, A. Shahula who chewed betel and shared her agony. She is living with her two kids in Saltern 2 welfare camp in Puttlam.
Most of them are still leading their lives in welfare camps, and lack the normal living standard of a person. A large number of internally displaced persons from Jaffna are living in Thillaiyady, which is called “Little Jaffna”. These Internally Displaced Persons feel that, there is a discrimination between the Internally Displaced Persons from Jaffna and Mannar. They are frustrated about the long delay in distribution of services and goods.
The People’s Revival Front was inaugurated in order to fulfill the needs of the IDPs, who languish in the welfare cam[s for nearly two decades. They say that, they have been cheated by the politicians, and they want a political representation for the Internally Displaced Persons from Jaffna.
“Our people have lost many of their rights. We want to make a difference in their lives and restore their rights. We like to resettle them back in their own places and solve their hardships. These are the main reasons for us to start a new political party. Starting a new party was a long due, we must have started this party 10 or 15 years ago” says M. M. Kuthoos, the President of People’s Revival Front as a call for prayer was called in the evening.
There were 20,000 Muslims, who got evicted from Jaffna district in 1990. The number and the needs have doubled during nearly two decades. There are about 15,000 registered voters among the Jaffna Internally Displaced Persons in Puttlam.
The part of the trouble that has developed in Puttlam is between the IDPs and the host community, there aren’t enough jobs and resources for both.
“We are living with a lot of hardships in the welfare camps. There is no job opportunity, rations are not given at regular intervals. We receive the rations after four or five months” lamented S. H. Mansoor, who is running a small grocery shop adjoining his thatched house in Saltern 2 camp.
The members of the host community in Puttlam believe that, the beginning of a new party such as People’s Revival Front is a good move to meet the needs of the Internally Displaced Persons.
“When the minority political parties contest along with the majority political parties, there are injustices such as poll rigging” said S.R.M.Muzammil, the Chief Trustee of Puttlam Grand Mosque and a member of the host community as her relaxes and supervises in his coconut grove.
Internally Displaced Persons are hopeful that the People’s Revival Party will be able to solve their problems in the future. According to the President of the People’s Revival Front that, they are planning to register it in the near future.
Puttlam is situated on the coastal belt of North Western Province. According to a survey carried out by the District Secretariat of Puttlam, the total population of the district is 8,14,000. Sinhala population is 5,85,000, Muslim population is 1,49,000, and Tamil population is 80,000. There are currently 75,000 Internally Displaced Persons from Northern Province in Puttlam.
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The Sri Lankan Voter
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Most of our politicians are sanctimonious, bigoted, corrupt thugs; they are parasites sucking the blood out of our society.
And yet I don’t blame them. I don’t like them, but I don’t blame them. I blame our voters, most of whom if given the chance to become politicians, would turn into sanctimonious, bigoted, bribe taking, scum sucking thugs themselves. George Carlin (may he rest in peace) said it best: “garbage in, garbage out: if you have selfish, ignorant citizens, you’re gonna get selfish, ignorant leaders.”
Our politicians like to hang out with Buddhist priests (who like to hang out with politicians). The moral nobility that is represented in the saffron robe is a good place for a politician to hide their sins. When a politician known to be a drug dealer piously shuts down all bars in his area for Vesak while the priests cluck approvingly, you’d expect everyone to think this is a farce. When they seek blessings from the purveyors of non-violence, compassion, and loving-kindness to promote war, you’d expect everyone to think this is ironic. Surely everyone gets that, right? No, not everyone. Our voters don’t get it.
When they suppress the freedom of speech and freedom of expression and call the media traitors, you’d expect everyone to get that they’re trying to hide something. When a deputy editor of a newspaper is kidnapped and tortured after he revealed that the army just bought an S-class Mercedes for their commander, you’d expect them to get that maybe this war is really about making money. No, not everyone. Our voters don’t get it.
When they spend three billion on a failed airline, but our teachers are underpaid, our schools are falling apart, and our children don’t know what the Internet is, you’d expect everyone to get that maybe this is unfair. No, not everyone. Our voters don’t get it.
They make patriotic speeches on how we absolutely do not need NGOs (who built most of those tsunami houses), and we do not need international aid (guess who funded the Kelaniya overpass? England; the Colombo-Matara Highway? Asian Development Bank). And of course we don’t care what the Europeans think about us (but we want duty free access to their markets, thank you very much). Everyone gets that this is just a gimmick to put a little patriotic fire in our belly in place of ever-increasingly priced food. No, not everyone. Our voters don’t get it.
Everyone says our political system needs to be changed. I happen to think the system is fine. After all, we get a long list of people to pick from in the general elections; we just pick the wrong ones. So the next time you get run off the road by a convoy of Defenders escorting a retinue of armour plated luxury cars, don’t curse the politicians-they are not the problem.
Look in the mirror; the problem is YOU.
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Drew Carey on Free Trade
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Drew Carey in another installment of his series at Reason.tv takes a swing at the U.S. protectionists' (Obama-types) fear mongering over NAFTA.
Something that's rarely understood by protectionist all over the world is that the biggest source of "job losses" is technology, not free trade agreements. The emergence of Digital Cameras have dented the guys who sell films. small-time Christmas/Vesak-card vendors are feeling the pinch because of SMS. Does this mean these technologies need to be banned, discouraged or taxed away at least until everyone adjusts? Protectionist usually don't say stuff like that.
In all economic activity, whether you buy this soap over that one, or go to KFC instead of McDonald's, you create winners and losers. Should you be fined for picking one over the other? Free Trade (or international trade) just allows you to do this across a political border. There's nothing special about international trade, that isn't also true about domestic trade, except for the fact that governments have introduced barriers. I agree with those who say, that the source of much of protectionist opposition to free trade comes from the fact that in international trade, the trading partner is a "foreigner".
If you haven't already, go See the video. It's drew carey! (I love that end bit)
Related Link : Tyler Cowen : This Global Show must go on
P.S : Now that the primaries are over, Obama is a "pro-growth, free-market guy". Heh.
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When servants of the people become oppressors in Sri Lanka
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In the Republic of Sri Lanka, sovereignty is in the people and is inalienable. We elect a President, Members of Parliament, and Provincial Councilors etc using the powers vested with the people to exercise and enjoy that sovereignty through them. But what is happening today is the reverse. We elect a bunch of people into office and instead of being the servants of the people, which is what they rightfully should be; they have all become our masters, a law unto themselves, from the top to the lowest Pradeshiya Sabha member.
Take the issue of VIP movement on our already depleted, over burdened roads that have become a menace to thousands of people, particularly those having to commute to the city on a daily basis. The freedom of movement that is enshrined in the Constitution now only applies to VIPs and their henchmen while ordinary people cannot even walk or stand one road when one of these high ups are doing the rounds.
Agreed that protecting VIPs is paramount in a country that is plagued by terrorism and our security apparatus seems to be in top gear to ensure that they do their job well. But now it has come to such point that, there is room on the roads for only the handful of VIPs that behave, not as if they have been elected for a brief period in office but as if the entire country has been turned over to them by a Deed of Gift for a lifetime of exploitation, while the citizens of Sri Lanka have to grin and bear all the their audacities.
Terrorism is a scourge that the entire world is affected by and is not a uniquely Sri Lankan situation. The government likes to rub it in time and again that the LTTE is the world’s worst, most brutal terrorist organization. That maybe or maybe not but there is an indisputable fact, and that is, this menace of terrorism is going to be around for a very long time and the sooner the government and the security establishment realize this hard fact, the better life would be for the citizens of this country.
What the security establishment needs to adopt are long-term methods that will not only ensure that security of VIPs but also the security of the people of this country and which are non intrusive into the everyday lives of the people. While the government likes to put on mighty big displays to show its “military friendly” image, the money spent on such extravagances can be used to give overseas training to those who map out VIP security plans so they learn to adopt methods used in other countries where despite the presence of high security arrangements in place, they are not staring in the face of the people every minute of the day and being a hindrance to their every day activities.
People generally appreciate the tough job that the members of the security forces and the police do which is why they cooperate to the best of their ability when required. We know that there are Emergency Regulations in palace that give extraordinary powers to the military and police and, yes they are needed to deal with the LTTE. But today those powers are being used in such a manner that even law-abiding citizens are being treated as terrorist suspects. You could be walking on the road when a VIP is passing by and you have a soldier pointing an automatic rifle in your face or you could be standing on a road and suddenly get shoved into some else’s garden. You could be pulling over your vehicle to drop or pick someone up and would have a uniformed man treating you as if you committed a crime. This way all the personal liberties that every citizen in this country should be enjoying are being eroded one by one and very soon we will become a country run with the use of military might while having a democratically elected government in office. This country has been through even darker periods in its recent history but the people have never had the military or the police stepping on their toes in this manner in the past.
Our politicians need to take the advice given by two Indian judges who ruled last year that politicians should remain in the confines of their homes and offices if they feel threatened by citizens.
”You should not let these men (politicians) to come out. Their presence in public places itself threatens the common men. I do not know why it has become a matter of prestige for them to move with 10-15 uniform security personnel carrying lethal weapon,” two Indian Justices T S Thakur and Justice Veena Birbal observed during a case last October. “It has become fashionable and a status symbol. The more people (security men) surrounds these people (politicians) the more prestigious they feel. It is obnoxious that common men are forced to stay on the sidelines and are prevented to walk on the pavements when the politicians pass through”, the Indian judges said.
These comments are very true of the Sri Lankan situation as well. What those who enjoy almost absolute power in this country today should realize is that will be nothing but a footnote in the history of this country in a few years time. How they behave while in office is how history will judge them. The Government has often referred to the people of Kilinochchi living in an open prison under the watchful eyes of the LTTE but does it understand that people living in other parts of the country too are beginning to feel the same way. By all means eliminate terrorism and terrorists and go about in achieving that elusive “honorable peace’ but don’t trample on the civil liberties of the people while doing do.
The people of this country did not put you in high office to become your slaves.
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What's Sri Lanka's gas tax?
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As readers of this blog would know, I have been trying to figure out what the total tax for petrol and diesel in Sri Lanka. I put the question out in a r elated article in LBO. Some people responded, you can read them here. I'm reproducing, without permission, the comment by ddm (who, by the way, I wish blogged more) : given the frequent changes it's hard to keep track, but the best source is the customs website's tariff calculator. It's not 100% up to date but it's the closest freely accessible source of tariff information. Before the change in May it was something like this; Petrol - customs duty of Rs.5 per litre and a surchage of 10% on this Rs. 5 which makes it R.s 5.50 per litre. Excise duty of Rs. 20 per litre, VAT 15% (in the last budget it was brought down to 5% but I'm not sure where this stands at the minute), Ports and Airports levy 3% and social responsibility levy of 1.5%. This is when petrol is completely imported as it is done by LIOC. So if petrol costs Rs. 127 per litre CIF, the taxes on this would be Rs.38 at 5% VAT at Rs. 57 at 15% VAT. According to Customs there are no tariffs, VAT, or any other levies on crude oil imports - and CPC refines 50% of its petroleum from crude oil imports (but still pays the VAT, excise on the petrol retail price). For Diesel, again prior to changes in March, there was no customs duty or VAT, there was a Rs. 2.50 per litre excise duty, 3% PAL and 1.5% SRL. But do check out www.customs.gov.lk - it's a great eye opener about how restrictive our import regime is. [link] So, according to this, before the increase in May (Which was a whopping 37% for Diesel and some 23% for Petrol) The total tax is about 30% of the retail price of petrol at 5% VAT and about 44% at 15% VAT. TheIndian article, which quotes an Association of Indian Chamber of Commerce official is probably just about right when they say the total tax for petrol in Sri Lanka comes to about 37% of the retail price. That's high. More on petroleum on deaned. p.s. : Blogging is slow these days. I'm suddely very busy and everytime I do blog, I can think of 100 other things I "should" be doing. So this doesn't update often, don't be suprised.
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Intra-Party Democracy
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In many countries there is a constitutional prescription that parties’ internal operations be transparent, and in accordance with the general democratic mores of the nation. In Germany, parties’ internal organization ‘must conform to democratic principles’, and they have to publicly account for the source of their funds and other assets, as well as for the use of such funds. A Portuguese party ‘must be governed by the principles of transparency, democratic organization and management and the participation of all of its members’. In both Finland and Spain, parties’ internal structures and operation must be democratic.
In some systems there is a requirement for the registration of parties, usually with a requirement to give evidence of a reasonable number of members. Most notably, only registered parties can win seats in the Swedish Riksdag, and even then only if they receive a fixed percentage of the popular vote. As noted below, (pp. 1213), party registration is often linked to the question of public funding. In Norway, however, there is a requirement for party registration irrespective of any question of public funding. An application for party registration:
must be supported by the minute book of the constituting meeting, the names and signatures of those elected to the party’s central committee, and the signatures of at least 3000 electors who declare they wish the organization to be registered as a party.
Sweden may well be moving towards making political parties even more accountable for their activities. In 2000 the Commission on Swedish Democracy reported on a wide range of matters that impacted upon democracy in Sweden. These included such questions as civics education, the means citizens have of seeking redress against government decisions, and the need for more opportunities for open fora for citizens to express their views. The Commission also considered the part played by political parties, which were described as having a ‘key role’ in representative democracy. The Commission believed that this role was based on:
- parties’ role in constituting ‘links between citizens and political power’
- their role in ‘balancing various interests’, and
- their assumption of responsibility for the structure of political power.
The Commission’s conclusion was severe, however. Swedish parties, it believed, demonstrate ‘an inadequate capacity’ to adapt to political change, and point to an increasing difficulty in attracting citizens. The Commission pointed to a need for parties to adapt for the good of Swedish democracy; it concluded that in order to reinforce representative democracy, the parties must develop both ideas and working forms that match the needs and requirements of citizens. If any legislation were to be introduced in Australia, the work of Dan Avnon of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem warns that protection is probably as important as control:
- continuity of the democratic features of the political system must be ensured
- the state must not be given excessive powers of intervention in the development of parties that express different ideas from those in power
- a legal framework for the resolution of intra-party disputes should be created, and
- the legitimate activities of parties should be definedparticularly if they received public funding.
If rules are legally enforceable, this removes some of the devices that party elites use to block newer participants from exerting too great an influence upon party matters:
…when those who are being excluded have recourse to law, and especially when the state itself is responsible for overseeing aspects of the selection process, the discretion of elites in being able to exclude unwanted newcomers is much reduced.
In various countries that have moved to put some controls upon parties’ internal operations, there is a realisation that not only must candidates be attractive to voters, but they must also be seen as coming from a system that is not obviously unfair. This, in turn, has had the effect of modifying the behaviour of party elites.
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