Saturday, 31 July 2021

Breaking the pandemic spell

Vaccine protection against infection and “mild disease” has pretty much collapsed, whereas protection against severe disease and death remains at a reasonable level, however with the partial exception of the most senior citizens and especially nursing home residents. Moreover, future coronavirus variants will clearly achieve additional immune evasion – Pic by Shehan Gunasekara

Saturday, 31 July 2021

It seems we’re in a trance. We hear proclamations about vaccines, utterly detached from clearly emerging global data.

Three hundred policemen apparently double jabbed have contracted C-19. We saw a similar phenomenon in India with 1,700 army officers out of a cadre of 2,000, getting reinfected despite being “fully vaccinated.” What is now being said in the press is the vaccines don’t stop you from being reinfected, but from becoming seriously ill or dying.

But we don’t know that either, it is just the relatively mild mortality nature of the Delta variant, and mortality among vaxxed and non-vaxxed in the UK and Israel, and the US, is not distinguishable. In fact, more of the vaccinated in Israel and the UK were getting infected. At least, finally, that will, upon recovery, give them some real immunity.

The idea of getting everyone vaccinated, with the above confession in hand, is silly. Since the vaccines neither seem to stop reinfection or transmissibility, who cares whether everyone is vaccinated? Even Fauci in the US has admitted that with Delta, “viral load” is the same whether you are vaccinated or not.

If the vaccines worked fully, you wouldn’t worry for the vaccinated, because they’d be safe. US mortality, despite surging “positive tests” is as low as it’s been since March 2020. In the UK, no excess mortality. In Sweden (about 40% vaccination), below 5-year lows. So, if those who wish to be vaccinated are, it’s irrelevant about the rest, as they are either assuming the risk (as we do with eating sugar, smoking cigarettes, driving fast, or anything else), or frankly as it’s an age stratified illness only of risk to those above 60 with comorbidities overwhelmingly, they may prefer natural immunity. Moreover, there are large numbers who have had COVID and recovered, and do not therefore need vaccination at all, as we’ll explain below.

The worst idea being floated and circulated is that of vaccinating children. Not one child without serious comorbidities has died in the US as per the CDC. Children are at close to zero risk, and do not transmit either. Young teens have been shown to be at nominal risk from COVID, but of real concern re myocarditis from a vaccination they do not need. Again, what is the mania to inject young people at no risk, with vaccines that have not completed safety trials, that have adverse events cited globally? The calculus with the old and vulnerable may indeed be different, but this cannot be a “mass jabbing” exercise divorced again from costs and benefits, just as the whole debacle has been, for example with ruinous “lockdowns” utterly impotent against an airborne virus that is already widespread.

We had two of the world’s top doctors, front-line clinicians, and researchers and leading COVID early treatment pioneers, present to leading practitioners at Lady Ridgeway Hospital for children. I invite and urge all readers to avail of this to get further details and inspiration on this front: https://ranjandesilva-my.sharepoint.com/:v:/g/personal/info_eplglobal_net/ESIL-B0c53xPmXfBcssQvpgBIZK-Kp3aTje2hLteiKKJWQ

Reviewing the evidence

The latest data from Israel, which has used primarily the Pfizer mRNA vaccine, indicates that vaccine effectiveness against Delta coronavirus infection and symptomatic (“mild”) disease has dropped from about 95% to about 40%, whereas effectiveness against hospitalisation and severe disease (i.e., low blood oxygen levels) remains at 80% to 90%, falling but not as steeply or as fast.

Importantly, in people who got vaccinated already in January 2021 (primarily the elderly), protection against infection and mild disease may already have dropped to near 0%. Moreover, since the Delta COVID outbreak is still accelerating in Israel, the effectiveness against hospitalisation and severe disease may further decrease (due to lags in hospitalisations). Israel, perhaps embarrassed by how “counter-narrative” the data is, has now stopped indicating “vaccination status” of the hospitalised.

In the UK, which has primarily used the AstraZeneca DNA adenovector vaccine, the latest estimate by researchers at University College London indicated an effectiveness against infection of close to zero percent and an effectiveness against severe disease of about 60%. In very senior citizens, the effectiveness against severe disease may be even lower (due to a weaker immune response).

While an earlier, higher estimate by Public Health England (PHE), had been published in the New England Journal of Medicine, it apparently was based on earlier data from June. The most recent PHE update on AstraZeneca effectiveness in the UK, shows a drop in effectiveness below 20%!

The Israeli data shown indicates that effectiveness against infection and mild symptoms decreases rapidly over time and reaches near-zero levels after about half a year. Most likely, this is because the “vaccines” do not achieve mucosal immunity (in contrast to natural infection) and serum antibody levels in the blood decline sharply within months.

Moreover, highly vaccinated jurisdictions from Seychelles to Iceland, have huge post vaccination spikes (seen also in Israel and the UK initially), again addressed more fully below.

Thus, the false promise of very high protection against “symptomatic infection”, found during official vaccine trials, was simply based on very high short-term serum antibody levels mimicking mucosal immunity. The pharmaceutical companies probably even knew that this was just a (very lucrative) “flash in the pan” and not a lasting protective effect.

Since the trials, they’ve since jabbed those with placebos, so no real long-term comparison is even possible. But even the trial data we have from the mRNA vaccines show:

Zero reduction in all-cause mortality
Nonsignificant 0.01% reduction in COVID mortality
4 times the rate of adverse effects in the active arm
2 times the rate of adverse effects
Declining efficacy after months

(Pfizer specifically in trials, 15 patients who took the vaccine have died, 14 who received placebo died. But by vaccinating the placebo group, the “trial blind” is broken, so this is all the data we’ll have.)

Short of the greatest propaganda onslaught and fear mongering drive in history, on those facts, is anyone likely to sign up?

Taking it further, protection against severe disease is achieved by lower serum antibody levels in combination with immunological memory (B cells) and cellular immunity (T cells). However, the Delta variant has already achieved partial immune evasion (as did Beta and Gamma, but not Alpha), and future coronavirus variants will likely achieve almost complete immune evasion. So, by September, when all 30 and above are to be jabbed here, the vaccines will be utterly irrelevant! How is this a sane, national goal?

Other considerations

Thus, vaccine protection even against severe disease will likely further decrease due to new variants, or, in the very worst case, will turn into antibody dependent immune enhancement (ADE), if high levels of non-neutralising antibodies aggravate the infection. Indeed, this is what happened in the case of vaccines against SARS-1 and dengue fever.

To prevent such a decrease in protection against severe disease, or to restore short-term protection against infection and mild disease, updated “booster shots” will likely become necessary.

However, there is a very real risk that additional vaccinations, which inject or induce the coronavirus spike protein (which we’ve learned is what causes the distinctive harm related to COVID-19), could substantially increase the risk of serious cardiovascular and neurological adverse effects, such as strokes, GBS and heart muscle inflammation. Globally, COVID “vaccines” may already have killed tens of thousands of people as per adverse effect reports on government databases (which tend to be 1-20% of actuals). Alternatives include safer oral vaccine candidates or medically supervised, low-dose oral live virus challenges in low-risk people, and a plethora of early treatments we seem to assiduously be ignoring.

And we keep saying “WHO has authorised” with all the sacramental fervour of a revelation from on high, whereas their prescriptions, as per the European and American adherents have produced the worst COVID results in the world. WHO has to present data like anyone else, they are not some fount of verity and probity to be untroubled by the same scientific and medical rigor as anyone else.

Furthermore, the millions of people who were told that vaccination will protect them against a coronavirus infection will soon have to realise (once again) that this is not the case: instead, most of them will get infected anyway. On the positive side, as cited above, this reinfection may actually provide additional mucosal immunity, so other than adverse effects, the vaccines may circuitously get them “immunity” after all.

Indeed, data from Israel as well as numerous highly credible recent studies all confirm that a previous coronavirus infection continues to offer the best protection against future infections and disease. And for those not at risk (the overwhelming majority), this has never been much of a risk anyway.

In contrast, vaccination cannot achieve “sterile immunity” against infection and infectiousness. Thus, the whole idea of “vaccination certificates” has become conceptually obsolete – at least from a medical and epidemiological perspective – and should be rejected: the claim that it’s just “the unvaccinated” that are driving outbreaks – a claim made many authorities by simply not “testing” the vaccinated when they are hospitalised as in many of the US States or comparing the total numbers of hospitalised from the beginning to the pandemic to those hospitalised since vaccination (a few months) – is simply false.

For instance, as mentioned in my last article, a “fully vaccinated” Australian managed to pre-symptomatically infect about 60 people at a party in the United States. Many similar stories have already been reported in Europe and Israel: fully vaccinated people can easily transmit the virus even to large groups. Hence, imposing “vaccination certificates” or “green passes” may only serve some debatable political purpose.

A recent data update from Israel gives slightly more positive news, showing that 80% of fully vaccinated people haven’t infected others in public spaces. While authorities claim that this is a good result, in reality, it is the same percentage from unvaccinated people, thus confirming zero effectiveness against infection and transmission, in terms of any demonstrated, sustained advantage.

As also alluded to above, in many countries, mass vaccination campaigns have themselves triggered large coronavirus outbreaks (“post first dose spike”), possibly due to a combination of vaccine-induced temporary immune suppression and infections at large indoor vaccination centres visited by thousands of people. The vaccine-induced temporary immune suppression may also explain the frequently observed post-vaccination appearance of shingles (i.e., herpes zoster reactivation).

Concerning children, since COVID remains mostly asymptomatic (naturally dealt with by their immune system) or mild in them anyway, and since vaccination cannot prevent infection and infectiousness, the vaccination of children and even of young low-risk adults becomes increasingly difficult to justify, especially given the very real vaccine-associated cardiovascular risks to them (e.g., teen myocarditis and cerebral blood clots).

So, to summarise what we know, vaccine protection against infection and “mild disease” has pretty much collapsed, whereas protection against severe disease and death remains at a reasonable level, however with the partial exception of the most senior citizens and especially nursing home residents (who are the most vulnerable and the ones we most are concerned with), some of whom have never mounted a neutralising antibody response to the vaccine. Moreover, future coronavirus variants will clearly achieve additional immune evasion.

Given the current situation and outlook, it may once again be emphasised that research and implementation of early treatment options for high-risk patients – especially anti-viral, anti-inflammatory (immuno-modulatory) and anti-thrombotic treatment – should be a top priority.

Dr. Chetty’s breakthrough

If you treated over 6,000 patients in rural South Africa for C-19, and not one needed oxygen, got hospitalised, or died (and these are verifiable stats), surely the world would be beating a path to your door. And indeed, globally Dr. Chetty’s protocol is now widely and keenly sought after. It even bypasses using “controversial” drugs like Ivermectin (with a billion doses, this Nobel Prize winning anti-parasitic molecule of nature, demonstrated to be a COVID killer at all stages of the disease, and cheap to administer, and which has had more randomised clinical trials than mask wearing or lockdowns or pointless six feet rules for an airborne virus, is not really “controversial” but WHO knows?) and HCQ.

Most attempts at treatment had focused on the first, viral phase. And most of the exceptional early treatment protocols we’ve referenced seek to reduce viral replication and thereby curb the progression of the disease.

And most recover. About 20 to 30% worsen, and these are the leading candidates among the vulnerable demographic, for hospitalisation and death. Dr. Chetty discovered, they “worsen” on the eighth day. His hypothesis was that the onset of the inflammatory phase was a “hypersensitivity,” a kind of allergic reaction to the spike proteins. Hence, his treatment protocol uses simple antihistamines, corticosteroids and aspirin (as anti-coagulants) primarily.

His clinic is outdoors, remember no outdoor transmission verifiably reported. Therefore, well ventilated, plenty of natural sunlight. And with the drugs, the treatment can take place on an outpatient basis. The dyspnea that sets in, though with differences in speed and severity, seemed to present on the eighth day.

Dr. Chetty says, “I tried, on a patient who was critically ill, a dose of promethazine and oxygen saturation returned to 95% within 24 hours.” This pattern repeated confirmed the hypersensitivity hypothesis.

The protocol evolved from steroids to antihistamines to ecotrin/aspirin and montelukast. 99% of his patients were fully recovered within 14 days from the onset of symptomatic reactions.

Since his treatment is not “off label,” as he’s treating for allergic reactions and inflammation, the drugs used are acutely “on label,” I have continued to urge policy makers here to allow me to put them in touch with Dr. Chetty, as this version of “early treatment” can begin right away…far safer, cheaper and clearly more efficacious than vaccines, while the “off label” debates (irrational as they are) continue. There is no disincentive here, and we can immediately take the stress off oxygen needs and ICU usage.

We need to speak up

Without awaiting symptoms, there are numerous effective treatments and preventatives. HCQ, Ivermectin, quercetin, EGCG, cups of green tea, zinc supplements, Vitamin D3, even bromhexine, dramatically shorten the course of infection and reduce transmission. Since herd immunity via mass vaccination will not happen for reasons explained, dangerous mutations will continue to be “stressed” into existence, mass prophylaxis over a two-week period of time, worldwide, by a reasonable percentage, would resolve undetected early infections, and transmission would be impeded by the temporary immunity. Why should such a campaign not be considered? It has no downside!

We must reclaim “life”. This one pathogen, no matter if it surges or not, has to be rendered endemic. Mass testing has to stop. PCR tests, the folly continues, all indicate they are not diagnostic, and their EUA (Emergency Use Authorisation as not one is “authorised” to date) was only granted for symptomatic testing!

So, we have completely swerved away from that. The US CDC just announced they are withdrawing the EUA application of the original February 2020 deeply flawed PCR test on which the others are modelled by December 2021 and indicate testing methods need to be “multiplexed” and be those that can “differentiate between coronavirus and influenza”! The implications that this wasn’t currently the case are staggering.

Even WHO now indicates to stop mass testing the asymptomatic. So, time to stop! Time to treat symptoms. Time to think that loss of education and livelihood, and other health concerns, poverty and viability, all matter as much as a median influenza strain. It is not a “pandemic” now, as we do not have “excess deaths everywhere,” in fact “anywhere.”

So, time to speak up people, to and with our leaders. The COVID Emperor and the Vaccine God both have no clothes now. That folk tale wasn’t for children, it’s a lesson about freedom, it’s for you and me.

I am not, per se, an Ayn Rand fan. But her insight here was searingly accurate: “When you see that in order to produce you need to obtain permission…when you see that money is flowing to those who deal, not in goods, but in favours; when you see that men get richer by graft and pull than by work; and your laws don’t protect you against them but protect them against you. When you see corruption being rewarded and honesty becoming self-sacrifice; you may know your society is doomed.”

So, let’s prove the doomsayers wrong. Let’s return liberties and permission and autonomy to families and entrepreneurs and take penal lockdown off the list of potential prescriptions. What did it do for us but national despair and devastation? The virus was unimpressed, and our unknown mortality accounting, with no references or specifics, continues unabated. We need to get rid of this shoddy testing method, and only count as “COVID deaths” those who died clearly from acute respiratory distress flowing from it. We cannot even bring ourselves to list the comorbidities anymore. What do we gain from the distortion?

Let’s let everyone who wants a shot at success take it and let the country flourish through the productive capability of its people. Let’s be reverent towards data, not vague pronouncements. If leadership is shown by the value you add to the assets in your stewardship, it is high time our leaders helped us clarify not only what we seek to be free “from” but what we are free “for.” High time we nourished and stoked our national will and get on with creating the future.

Families of disappeared protest across North-East for international justice

Tamil families of the disappeared held demonstrations across the North-East on Friday, calling for the international community and United Nations to step in to find their disappeared relatives.

31 July 2021

Families in Jaffna, Batticaloa, Mullaitivu, Mannar and Vavuniya protested, emphasising their years-long struggles for justice and answers.

Many of the families have been engaging in continual protests for over three years, amidst surveillance and harassment from the Sri Lankan state.

The EPDP’s Sorna Accahs Precipitate A Suicide

JULY 31, 2021

A recent event shows how close to anarchy Jaffna is, fueled by rowdy militants claiming to have turned to the path of democracy. Details are sketchy because the Police in Jaffna want to keep a lid on things.

The matter in Jaffna’s Kannaapuram revolved around two dove rearing households about two weeks ago. What is known is that some doves from one household, said to be to, went and settled in the neighbour’s house.

The dispute was as to ownership and whether the doves went on their own or were stolen. It resulted in some six persons from one group going to the other, assaulting three persons there and running away. The problem was that the three people who were assaulted were close to the EPDP. One woman from the side that was assaulted, Lalitha, is the EPDP Women’s Wing Joint Secretary.

Persons from this household close to the EPDP and dominated by women, called their next-door boy, Puvanenthirarajh Suhanthan, born on 25 July 2001. They dissembled as if wanting to talk things over, saying he would be let off if he apologized. So says his father. When Suhanthan went there, he was tortured. Many women joined in beating him up badly and poured chilli-powder dissolved in water on his face. The attached video suggests that he was also shaved on his head.

The assault by women was so terrible that the men watching did not interfere.

As if sure of impunity, the women even proudly caught themselves on camera.

Those who are fans of Vikram, the famous he-man Tamil actor, would have heard of Sorna Accah, an illiterate political thug and murderess who manipulated elections. Jaffna surely now has its share of them as seen in the video. Since the incident, these women have been nicknamed Sorna Accahs by many members of the Jaffna public.

So sure of their safety, the assailant women even uploaded their films on social media. Sunhanthan was mentally devastated by this on his birthday. He committed suicide on 27 July just after his birthday.

As with all deaths, Suhanthan was tested for COVID-19. Sadly he was found to have COVID-19. Suspecting the EPDP hand in this diagnosis, the body was sent to Jaffna Hospital where the first diagnosis was confirmed. Suhanthan was promptly cremated!

This cremation alone upset many of his friends lamenting their inability to give him a decent funeral, although no one was to blame. Many youths were angered as the police suppressed information by naming anyone who handled or passed around the videos as witnesses. Being a witness is a terrible inconvenience in our legal system where cases never finish, and witnesses need to hang around court wasting many days. So even reporters refuse to share the many copies of the different videos they have of this pernicious assault by women. As such the circulation of the videos has been suppressed, preventing the full identification from the public of those persons seen in the video.

2,460 persons test positive for COVID-19

Health Ministry warns of movement restrictions if detections continue to rise
Says increase in symptomatic patients in Western Province
Total COVID-19 detections rise to 306,662, includes over 70,000 from Colombo District
27,126 persons currently under medical care, recoveries rise to 275,212

Saturday, 31 July 2021

A total of 2,460 COVID-19 patients were detected yesterday as the country’s daily COVID-19 detections rose and health officials warned of movement restrictions being imposed once again.

According to Health Ministry Spokesperson Dr. Hemantha Herath, movement restrictions will be necessary if the number of COVID-19 patients continues to rise and the situation cannot be controlled.

“In the past few days, there has been a clear rise in patients. At present, there is an increase in the number of symptomatic patients going to many of the main hospitals in Western Province,” he said.

Despite the rise in patients, testing has remained below 20,000 a day, with 12,578 PCR tests carried out yesterday, 14,147 PCR tests the day before and 12,887 PCR tests on Wednesday. In terms of rapid antigen tests, 5,615 tests were carried out on Thursday and 5,709 tests were carried out on Wednesday.

A total of 306,662 persons have tested positive for COVID-19 to date and this includes 202,050 persons from the New Year cluster, 82,785 persons from the Peliyagoda cluster, 7,818 persons from the Prisons cluster, and 3,059 persons from the Divulapitiya cluster.

The cumulative patient count of the four clusters is 298,177 and includes 2,455 persons from the New Year cluster who tested positive yesterday.

In addition to this, 6,248 Sri Lankan overseas arrivals and 328 foreigners have also tested positive for COVID-19 in Sri Lanka.

The district distribution of COVID-19 patients shows 70,130 persons from Colombo, 54,446 persons from Gampaha, 32,823 persons from Kalutara, 15,191 persons from Kurunegala, and 14,615 persons from Galle.

During the third wave of the pandemic, 37,833 persons from Colombo, 35,912 persons from Gampaha, and 25,765 persons from Kalutara have tested positive for COVID-19.

The district distribution includes the COVID-19 patients detected on Thursday, of which 396 were from Gampaha, 368 were from Colombo, and 220 were from Kalutara.

Thursday’s COVID-19 detections include 2,323 persons from the New Year cluster, 41 Sri Lankan returnees from abroad and six persons from the Prisons cluster.

At present, 27,126 persons are under medical care, while hospitals have 1,396 persons suspected of having COVID-19 under observation.

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka’s COVID-19 recoveries rose to 275,212 with 1,716 persons leaving hospitals yesterday.

In addition to this, Primary Health Care, Epidemics and COVID Disease Control State Minister Dr. Sudarshini Fernandopulle yesterday said that while she considers the demands of teachers regarding their salaries to be fair, there is room for the emergence of new clusters through protests.

“If there are issues with their salaries, it is best if they are resolved through discussion,” she said, adding, “This is not a time for protests.”

The State Minister went on to stress the importance of following health guidelines despite being fully vaccinated, pointing to countries like the US, where restrictions were relaxed as vaccination coverage increased, which led to an increase in COVID-19 detections.

'Sri Lanka becoming a failed state’ warns former finance minister

29 July 2021

Sri Lanka’s former finance minister, Mangala Samaraweera, warned of a likely fuel shortage in Sri Lanka as the economy continues to grapple with a crisis and fuel debt of 1.2 billion USD, was pushing the island towards becoming a "failed state".

“We are becoming a failed state isolated from the world," warned Samaraweera. "Before July 27, we must repay a billion dollars for a loan taken in 2011. In addition, around USD 1.3 billion in Sri Lankan Development Bonds will have to be paid in December this year.”

This statement comes as the US State Department warns investors of the risks they face in Sri Lanka and credit agencies such as Moody and Fitch to continue to raise the alarm of the state of Sri Lanka’s economy. According to a Bloomberg model, Sri Lanka’s default probability was the highest in Asia with the organisation estimating a 27.9% chance of one-year default.

Samaraweera further criticised the Government of Sri Lanka’s economic policy noting “severe shortage of fertiliser” and “serious shortage of imported medicines”.

Lanka Business Online reports that last year, Sri Lanka’s Central Bank was forced to print the largest amount of money printed in a single year to cover the growing budget deficit. In addition, the amount of new loans obtained by the government for the year 2020 alone has increased by another LKR 2 trillion.

Not a single member of Sri Lanka parliament has responded to an official request for their education qualifications

By Sri Lanka Brief-31/07/2021

Image: MPs supporting disputed prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa threw books and chairs at police who escorted Speaker Karu Jayasuriya into the chamber and did not allow him to sit in the speaker’s chair. (November 16, 2018) (Reuters)

All members of the Sri Lanka parliament has ignored a official letter from the PA [ Parliamentary Assistant?] requesting them to furnish their education qualifications for last two months. The request was made as a result of the mediation by RTI commission with right to information appeal by a citizen.

Parliament information officer has further informed the appellant that parliament does not have information on any criminal charges leveled against the members of the parliament.

Countering the argument of the Parliament information officer that education qualification of members of the parliament are private information the RTI commission says that ” We emphasize the paramountcy of this information being available to the citizenry. As
pointed out by the Indian judiciary, “a successful democracy posits an „aware‟ citizenry”
[Vide Union of India v Association for Democratic Reforms(Supra)] for which purpose, the
said information is of high public interest.As such,it is our view that it is incumbent on the
PA to takerequisite steps to obtain the said information from elected representatives of the Sri Lanka Parliament and to make the same available of public record.”

The ruling of the RTI commission says that:

“Steps taken by the PA to obtain information relating to the educational qualifications of MPs Proceeding on the basis that the requested information is not currently within the possession, custody or control of the PA in terms of Section 3 (1) of the Act, it is encouraging to note that the PA has taken the first steps in this regard by writing to all Members of Parliament (MPs) by letter dated 10.05.2021 to obtain information on the relevant educational qualifications, citing requests for information made by citizens under the RTI Act. However, the PA has affirmed before this Commission that not a single MP had responded to the said request to date.

“The absence of any response even after the lapse of more than two months since the aforesaid letter is undeniably a matter for concern in the context of the overriding public interest as referred to in this Order. The Commission directs the PA to apprise the Appellant forthwith of any responses to the above stated letter, with copy to the Commission. We further note that, contingent on the said information being furnished, the PA has undertaken to update their website with the educational qualifications of MPs albeit without a specified timeline.”

The information request was made by S. Rubatheesan on 01 January 2021.

Rubatheesan v Sri Lanka Parliament

11.What are the educational qualifications of the members of the current Parliament, especially the ministers?

12.How many MPs have criminal charges against them?

Upon the PA refusing the information release on the basis that it does not have the information under Section 3 (1) of the RTI Act in that the Sri Lankan Constitution does not require it to collect that information, that in accordance with the said Articles, Members of Parliament are “not bound to provide any such information to the Parliament” and also that it constitutes ‘private information’

By letter dated 10^th May, 2021, the Secretary General of Parliament has taken steps to write to all Parliamentarians, stating inter alia that “if you are willing to provide this information, you are kindly requested to furnish me your educational and professional qualifications on the attached specimen as early as possible enabling to disseminate such information to the requests of the citizens” but that no response was recieved to date.

Order of Commission on Appeal

We rule that the information asked for does not come within the ambit of Section 5 (1)(a) in that firstly, it has a direct relationship to ‘public activity or interest’ within the meaning of that Section and secondly, as a consequence thereof that, there is no ‘unwarranted’ invasion of privacy thereby. It is of direct comparative interest that in Union of India v Association for Democratic Reforms [2002], the Indian Supreme Court held that constituencies have a right to know about interalia the educational qualifications and criminal charges, if any, of elected representatives, as this is an exercise which furthers the citizens’ right to make an informed decision about who should represent them in Parliament.

…In any event, the public interest in disclosure of the said information is paramount as envisaged in Section 5 (4) of the RTI Act,

…Proceeding on the basis that the requested information is not currently within the possession, custody or control of the PA in terms of Section 3 (1) of the Act, it is encouraging to note that the PA has taken the first steps in this regard by writing to all Members of Parliament (MPs) by letter dated 10.05.2021 to obtain information on the relevant educational qualifications, citing requests for information made by citizens under the RTI Act. However, the PA has affirmed before this Commission that not a single MP had responded to the said request to date.

…The absence of any response even after the lapse of more than two months since the aforesaid letter is undeniably a matter for concern in the context of the overriding public interest as referred to in this Order. The Commission directs the PA to apprise the Appellant forthwith of any responses to the above stated letter, with copy to the Commission. We further note that, contingent on the said information being furnished, the PA has undertaken to update their website with the educational qualifications of MPs albeit without a specified timeline.

…Further, it our view that it is incumbent on the PA to take requisite steps to obtain the requested information regarding pending criminal charges from elected representatives of the Sri Lanka Parliament and to make the same available of public record.

'We cannot be separated from our traumas or our histories' - Canadian MPP Gurratan Singh and PEARL host discussion on Black July

29 July 2021

People for Equality and Relief Lanka (PEARL)’s Canadian Advocacy team co-hosted an online discussion yesterday with Canadian MPP Gurratan Singh about the horrors of Black July and its impact and importance for Tamil Canadians.

Abarna Selvarajah, PEARL Advocacy Officer, stated, “between July 23rd and July 30th in 1983 there were a series of brutal pilgrims and riots that took place and were sponsored by the Sri Lankan state, where Sinhala mobs inflicted a devastating amount of violence on Tamil people on the island.”

Black July “represents a very large escalation of anti-Tamil violence that had been ongoing for many, many decades,” Selvarajah continued.

Archana Ravichandradeva, PEARL Senior Advocacy Officer, added to the discussion stating, “this was systematic and intentional genocide. The mobs that committed the violence were transported in and around Colombo, the capital city of Sri Lanka where most of the violence occurred, in vehicles owned by the Sri Lankan Government. The majority Sinhalese police, soldiers and military officials watched the violence idly or even participated and encouraged the violence themselves.”

“Black the July is seen as the spark that led to the 26-year long armed liberation struggle against the Sri Lankan government and also prompted one of the largest exoduses of Tamils from the island,” she continued.

"After Black July, over 500,000 Tamils left the island and settled in places like Canada, Germany and the US, which led to this very large Tamil diaspora we have now,” Archana stated. “Coming to places like this wasn’t voluntary, we left because we were persecuted,” she added.

Archana Ravichandradeva also spoke about the importance of Black July to Tamil Canadians, stating, “Many Tamil Canadian stories also start with Black July and the violence that occurred in the 1980s... From our perspective, even though Black July occurred 38 years ago, the collective trauma is still being experienced by the community today, and the consequences of that trauma are still being felt on a day-to-day basis which is why we can never forget.”

In the discussion, MPP Gurratan Singh likened the Tamil Genocide to the Sikh Genocide stating, “they are the exact same thing; an organized state genocide targeting people on the voter's list.”

“We cannot be separated from our traumas or our histories,” the MPP added.

Commenting on PEARL’s advocacy work, Ravichandradeva stated, “a lot of [PEARL’s] advocacy is trying to get Canada to take a strong principled and human rights-oriented stand to ensure that justice and accountability is had for these historical and continuing crimes.”

“There has been a consistent failure of domestic institutions in Sri Lanka to hold anyone accountable… when the state itself is unwilling to even let people mourn their dead, how can we rely on the state to actually hold itself accountable? That’s why so much of PEARL’s work is focused on international accountability mechanisms,” Ravichandradeva continued.

Earlier this week, PEARL released a statement "remembering Black July 38 years on," which included renewed calls for justice and reflections on the "indelible impact of this genocide committed against Tamil people."

In addition, several other Canadian Parliamentarians marked the 38th anniversary of the Black July massacre, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau who released an official statement remembering the “victim of the horrific events.”

US views on Obstacles for inevsting in Sri Lanka

Ad hoc tax application, lengthy approval processes are among them

by Kelum Bandara-July 31, 2021

U.S. Ambassador Alaina B. Teplitz said lengthy approval processes, ad hoc tax applications and difficulty in obtaining property to build factories or facilitate investments, tax on financial flows and mandatory requirements for converting dollars into rupees remain barriers to investment in Sri Lanka.

During a round-table discussion with journalists, she said she talks to Sri Lankan business people as well as American business people all the time and they continue to express frustration over barriers to investment here.

“I talk to Sri Lankan business people as well as American business people all the time and they continue to express frustration over barriers to investment here. So lengthy approval processes or ad hoc kind of tax application or difficulty in obtaining property to maybe build a factory or facilitate an investment. Even transferring money. Right now there are taxes on financial flows and mandatory requirements to convert dollars to rupees. All of these things can be big barriers to investment when international firms look at global options and Sri Lanka has to fundamentally be in a position to compete not just within the country or even within the region but frankly, globally with other countries that are trying to attract the same investment,” she said.

Transcript of Ambassador Teplitz’s Virtual Media Roundtable with Sri Lankan Journalists

Ambassador Teplitz: Good morning everybody. Thank you, Doug. And thanks to everybody who’s joined today for the roundtable. I really welcome the opportunity to speak. I have met many of you in the past and of course you’ve heard me say in our previous conversations that Sri Lanka and the United States enjoy the benefit of a very long relationship and a long friendship.

However, the last several years, of course, have been tumultuous. A time for both of our countries to take a look at the quality of that relationship and friendship. And I look back and I certainly see that the quality has been good. The United States has responded in times of need for Sri Lanka. We have deepened ties between peoples, whether it’s through business or study, or family connections. We’ve really sought to ensure that that relationship is a two-way street. It’s not one-sided. It’s one where both countries and both peoples can gain value from the partnership.

The tumult, of course, stems from politics, from the brutal and unjustifiable terror attack that took place in Easter 2019 and of course the ongoing pandemic.

And I did want to say an extended word about some of the pandemic-related support that the United States has provided to Sri Lanka. We have supplied more than $8 million to Sri Lanka’s COVID-19 response and recovery. And, of course, many of you would have been tracking the July 15 arrival of more than 1.5 million doses of the Moderna vaccine that came straight from the U.S. national stockpile to Sri Lanka, delivered here through the COVAX mechanism. The vaccines have come at no cost to the people of Sri Lanka, so they are a true donation and in addition to the vaccines we have provided medical equipment and supplies, PPE, ventilators and other support to ensure that Sri Lankan health authorities and people can overcome the challenges posed by this global problem.

The United States is the largest single country donor to the COVAX vaccine distribution mechanism, and we are continuing to provide support not only through that funding but also with vaccines and other items coming from our own stockpiles and we’re very committed to providing access to these high quality and WHO authorized vaccines. So that’s something that I think is of immediate concern to your readership, but it’s really just the kind of help that we have been consistently providing as a long-term development partner. And you can look back to other periods of stress or trauma in Sri Lanka’s history, whether it’s looking at the immediate aftermath of the Easter attacks when we responded to the Sri Lankan government’s request for support for the investigation, or back to 2004 looking at the tsunami, or even earlier in trying to address some of the challenging development needs of the country.

And building on the shared values and strategic interests that our government has, we hope in the future to increase Sri Lanka’s capacity to foster sustainable and inclusive economic growth, counterterrorism and transnational crime, and to promote the rule of law, transparency and democratic governance.

So we want to continue the partnership. We remain committed to the prosperity and the rights of all Sri Lankans and we look forward to many more years of partnership going forward.

With that let me now open the floor for questions.

Moderator: Thank you very much, ma’am. We will begin with the first round of questions and I first call on David Ebert of Derana to ask the first question.

Journalist: Good morning, everyone. My question basically is, I thought I’d get down to some [inaudible] facts early in the morning is related to the human rights situation and the rule of law situation in Sri Lanka. What I’d like to know is how does the U.S. administration view the situation? Is there a change in its stance? Will there be more engagement with the Sri Lankan government on the issue? And in what form will that entail?

Ambassador Teplitz: That’s a very good question and it is an important part of our relationship. As two countries that have democratic political institutions and where we have signed on to international conventions that support human rights and the rule of law. We fundamentally look at Sri Lanka’s human rights commitments as exactly that – Sri Lanka’s commitments to human rights. Our human rights engagement with the government of Sri Lanka is about helping Sri Lanka fulfill those commitments to its people, to the world, and making sure that the highest standards of respect, tolerance and human dignity are in fact in place here.

This is completely consistent, of course, with the sustainable development goal, something that President Rajapaksa has pledged to undertake for the country and that the United States also has supported. So our human rights commitments and engagement here should be understood in that context. This is about Sri Lanka’s journey as much as it’s about the world’s journey to better respect the dignity and rights of every person.

So looking at the context here, of course we continue to talk with the government about challenges to human rights and we note recent actions, for example, the release of prisoners who have been detained, in fact who were arrested, sorry. I think all of them were convicted under the PTA, this was the Poson Poya pardons. That was a really helpful and welcome step forward and I think that we look forward to the effort to look at more people who have been detained under that legislation, legislation that no longer conforms to international norms and does need to be revised.

There are other challenges out there, of course, and I did note that in light of the Supreme Court ruling in 2008 which had upheld the conviction of another one of the pardoned prisoners, Duminda Silva, that didn’t appear to be consistent with SDG goals or maintaining the rule of law.

So we want to continue to engage with the government to ensure that the rights of all citizens are protected and that Sri Lanka’s prosperity and sovereignty remain protected through adherence to these international commitments.

Moderator: Thank you, ma’am.

Now we move on to Kelum Bandara of Daily Mirror.

Journalist: Good morning, Ambassador. Ambassador, I would like to know how the B3World, Build Back Better World program, how do you look forward to cooperate with Sri Lanka under this particular program in the future?

Ambassador Teplitz: Under the what program?

Journalist: B3W, Build Back Better World Program announced by your President.

Ambassador Teplitz: The Build Back Better Work Program. I have to say, perhaps I know that program under a different name so I’m not familiar with that one specifically.

Journalist: I was referring to that B3W program.

Ambassador Teplitz: I’m not sure I know that one. Like I said, I might know it under a different name or some shorthand that we call it.

I’m happy to address some of our commitments around development more generally, if that’s helpful.

Journalist: Of course.

Ambassador Teplitz: Okay. As noted earlier, we remain a really committed partner of Sri Lanka, and part of that partnership has been supporting Sri Lanka on its development journey. And for 60 years, in fact, we have been really focused on that. It’s been a large part of our partnership. The goal, of course, is to ensure that the people of Sri Lanka arrive at a more prosperous place but also are more capable in terms of managing some of the challenges the country may confront, and I’ll offer the example of sort of natural disasters.

We’ve supported the Disaster Management Center and authorities in the Sri Lankan government and across communities and the entire country to better manage the response to floods and landslides, for example. And the people and government of Sri Lanka have become increasingly capable. And in the last several rounds of predicted flooding, Sri Lanka has been able to respond without the need for foreign support and intervention to meet the challenges posed by that natural calamity. That’s exactly the place we want to arrive at, where Sri Lankans are managing everything without the need for support, although given willingly from friends abroad because they’ve got the institutions and the training to make that response happen.

We are focused, of course, also on growing the economy and many of our development projects are in partnership with the private sector, looking at ways to mentor small and medium sized Sri Lankan businesses. Looking at ways to get them access to finance so that they can grow and create jobs for Sri Lankans. Helping mentor and support the existing talent that’s here.

We’ve also spent quite some time and effort focusing on programs to support Sri Lanka’s young people, connecting them to jobs and helping make sure that they get the training that they need to succeed in the workplace.

So these are the types of things that we’re focused on in the development relationship, and it’s all about supporting Sri Lankans to help themselves. We feel that a prosperous Sri Lanka, one where the economy is growing and hopefully growing in an inclusive way, is going to be a great partner for the United States and of course enhance stability in the region and be a great partner for other countries around the world and will be entering those partnerships from a position of strength and capability.

Moderator: Thank you, ma’am.

We will now move to Robert Anthony from Virakesari.

Journalist: Thank you. Good morning, Ambassador. You had negotiation with recently TNA regarding accountability and reconciliation and a permanent political solution. What is the outcome, and how do you see the accountability and reconciliation program or the issues in the country at the moment?

Ambassador Teplitz: Actually I had a meeting with the TNA, not negotiations. I make a point of meeting with all of the political parties including parties in power and the parties in opposition periodically in order to exchange views, so I can understand where they’re coming from and I can share the policies and thoughts from the United States. So I had a very cordial meeting with the TNA and was able to hear from the leadership there about their concerns related to needed changes in the political process and some of the challenges that people in the north and the east in particular, but island-wide are facing with regard to the economy and concerns, frankly, over preservation of civil liberties here, making sure people are free to demonstrate and making sure that people are free to engage in the political process.

The United States has long supported the human rights, the political rights of all people on this island, no matter what community they might come from or represent or what part of the island they might come from or represent. But we do support a Sri Lanka that remains wholly democratic and is united and strong and sovereign. We don’t think any of those things are incompatible.

So there were, like I said, a cordial conversation in a meeting.

Moderator: Thank you ma’am.

We move on to Easwaran Rutnam of Colombo Gazette.

Journalist: Hi, Ambassador, good morning.

I just want to ask you about the Port City since this administration is putting a lot of emphasis on investing on the Port City, and with the Biden administration enforcing sanctions I believe on the company involved with the project.

As far as U.S. investments are concerned, is there an opportunity or does the U.S. prevent U.S. investors from putting their money on the Port City?

Ambassador Teplitz: One of my priorities has been to encourage U.S. investment in Sri Lanka as a whole. Looking at the opportunities that would be here for joint projects and to help the economy grow, and of course continue to strengthen the ties between our countries by encouraging business relationships. Port City obviously is something that’s new on the economic scene here. New legislation, a new opportunity for potential development. The United States does have one of the companies that are working on the Port City development on our sanctions list, I believe, and we can get you I think some more facts about the specifics on that. And so doing business with that company might not be something that’s advisable. And of course companies are going to have to look carefully at the terms of doing business in the Port City going forward and what the legislation means.

I believe the last time I spoke with some of you or a roundtable like this I expressed concern over the Port City legislation. It was then in draft. It’s now been passed. I continue to be concerned about some aspects of that legislation although I’m trying to dig deeper and really understand what it may mean, because there do appear to be openings for either corrupt influences or potential for illicit finance and financial flows, money laundering, and things like that.

U.S. companies are going to be wary of that. They want to keep clean balance sheets, they’re not going to engage with partners that aren’t going to meet international norms in relation to international finance. And of course we have our Foreign Corrupt Practices Act that makes corruption and the payment of bribes in the conduct of business illegal for U.S. firms. So they’re going to have to look very, very carefully at that legislation and what that means in terms of doing business and at any regulations that get promulgated as a result of the legislation.

The U.S. is not preventing American companies from investing but we have been raising concerns about the investment environment for any companies, not just American companies, and whether it’s going to be one that is attractive, and as attractive I think as Sri Lanka wants it to be, needing that foreign investment to help the economy grow.

Moderator: Thank you, ma’am.

On to Shehan from Hiru TV News.

Journalist: Good morning, Ambassador. Taking back [inaudible] with regards to investment and now you touched upon the Port City. Port City has the potential of about $15 billion U.S. dollar investment capacity. You also said that you will not encourage the U.S. companies to invest in Port City. But you also had concerns over the legislation. But now you know that also in your address you pledged that the U.S. will be the financially backing Sri Lanka in terms of the development process especially in the investments.

So how do you basically encourage to mitigate this with the government and to encourage the U.S. investors to invest in Sri Lanka? And with that, there are a lot of concerns about the U.S., are you behind some negotiations with some power plant in Kerawalapitiya to push an U.S. investor to invest in Sri Lanka.

But the people are in darkness, they do not know what’s the real true story about that. Would you enlighten us on that?

Ambassador Teplitz: A lot of things to unpack in your question, but the first thing I want to clarify is I did not say I would not encourage U.S. companies to invest in Port City. What I said is that we are looking at the new legislation and of course we’ll be waiting for regulations that come from that legislation that would then govern the investment environment and that so far we continue to remain concerned about the legal framework because it appears to have loopholes or provisions that would permit the presence of corruption or potential for money laundering.

I realize that the legal framework of Port City is not complete, that there is legislation, but regulations have to come. There are many details that have to be filled in. So we’re mindful of that evolving situation.

What I said was that U.S. companies are not going to want to invest in an environment that has essentially a problematic legal framework. They want to be assured that they’ll be doing business in ways that meet international standards, and of course we also have legal prohibitions against doing businesses in ways that involve corrupt practices.

So let me just clarify that, what I was saying in response to the earlier question.

Then you asked I think how to mitigate maybe some of the problems or negatives there, and then how to encourage investment. So two thoughts on that. And again, encouraging investment and having economic engagement between our two countries is a key priority for me.

How to mitigate some of these problems. Well, the most obvious thing of course is to look at international norms in relation to international business conduct and looking at guidelines that have been established through whether it’s the OECD or looking at the requirements established by the Financial Action Task Force. There are plenty of international norms that can help these benchmarks for Sri Lanka in terms of establishing legislation and encouraging growth in business practices. That’s part of the best way to mitigate that.

Also I think that having a consistent policy regime, one that is fully open to international trade and that’s going to encourage that trade and bring inward investment with a minimum of barriers. And this gets to the ease of doing business. I talk to Sri Lankan business people as well as American business people all the time and they continue to express frustration over barriers to investment here. So lengthy approval processes or ad hoc kind of tax application or a difficulty in obtaining property to maybe build a factory or facilitate an investment. Even transferring money. Right now there are tax on financial flows and mandatory requirements to convert dollars to rupees. All of these things can be big barriers to investment when international firms look at global options, and Sri Lanka has to fundamentally be in a position to compete not just within the country or even within the region but frankly, globally with other countries that are trying to attract the same investment.

I know this is not a new issue. The ease of doing business annual ranking is well known and the government and the senior leadership I know have promised to tackle these challenges and I hope that that can come to pass, that some of the barriers can be removed and the United States remains ready and willing to support the government in removing barriers to investment. Ultimately we’d like to see Sri Lanka have good quality investment, making sures that it’s transparent, that it’s open, that it’s real investment.

And in that regard, you asked me about the New Fortress Energy Project, proposed project. That’s a private sector investment. It is a real investment with an investor coming with their own money, not bringing loans to finance some sort of project. And they are negotiating with the government according to government processes to make that investment. And I would argue hopefully a crucial investment in the energy sector, a sector that desperately needs to add capacity and new technology in order to supply the needs of Sri Lankans and Sri Lanka’s growing economy.

So I hope that can be concluded, and of course we absolutely support having a fair, clear, consistent legal framework. We absolutely support ensuring that business deals are not made around corrupt practices. And then importantly, investment is meeting the highest environmental and labor standards. That’s definitely something that American companies bring to the table as well as innovation and good technology. But I think increasingly we’re all aware that that is not enough. That taking care of the environment and ensuring the safety, the welfare, and frankly the training and education of the workforce are also very important parts of good quality investment.

Moderator: Thank you very much, ma’am.

We can open up for follow-up questions. First I have David Ebert from Derana.

Journalist: Ambassador, recently the Central Bank announced plans to permit individuals to repatriate what they termed previously undisclosed income into Sri Lanka, that is to shore up Sri Lanka’s dollar reserves. How concerned is the U.S. about decisions like this from a money laundering perspective?

Ambassador Teplitz: That’s a really good question. I know there has been a lot of kind of commentary in the media about the wisdom of the tax amnesty or whatever you want to call this proposal, and I would have to agree that in general this kind of offer doesn’t work in the way people think.

The first problem, of course, is that it’s an open invitation to people to launder money maybe that was obtained in ways it shouldn’t have been and has been stashed abroad, and now they have a chance to bring it in and basically clean it by bringing it into the country under that amnesty. But secondly, it usually doesn’t raise a lot of money for the government at the end of the day. It doesn’t necessarily help. And of course there’s always the possibility that it deters other people in the future from declaring their income because they’ll just wait for another amnesty, right? It encourages them to engage in that kind of practice where every couple of years they can bring their money in and out.

So it’s not the kind of economic choice or policy decision I would advocate. And I think the government really does have a challenge at the moment. You mentioned levels of reserves and just broadly stated I would say there are a lot of concerns about the health of the economy right now. And I think that the solution in the end is not this kind of policy choice. It’s not limited repatriations of funds. A much more massive infusion of funding and economic reform is required and that means going to the International Monetary Fund.

Sri Lanka is a member of the International Monetary Fund. It’s absolutely right to seek the support of the funds. That’s something that the U.S. government would support Sri Lanka doing and support other governments in doing. That’s the purpose of the fund is to help countries that are in need in this way.

I have no doubt that the IMF would work with the government transparently and reasonably to establish appropriate conditions for that kind of support, and that that would benefit Sri Lanka in the long run. There are, I’m sure, economic reforms that are going to be needed in order to strengthen and stabilize the economy going forward. People should welcome that because it’s only going to benefit individuals as well as business to have a strong and stable economy.

Moderator: Thank you, ma’am.

I have Easwaran Rutnam from Colombo Gazette with a follow-up.

Journalist: Ambassador, I just want to ask you, you met the new Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa soon after he took office. I’m just wondering at your meeting, during your meeting with him if there were signs of promise as far as Sri Lanka’s trade relations are concerned and economic policies that you expect from Sri Lanka.

Ambassador Teplitz: Good question. I had, again, a cordial meeting and conversation with the Minster who is new in that role but obviously very familiar with Sri Lanka’s economic needs.

We did discuss trade relationships and of course I’d refer you to the Minister, but I certainly came away with the impression that there’s a desire to strengthen those relationships and an acknowledgement of what might need to be done to shore that up. Not just with the United States but with other nations. I’d note the GSP+ challenges and the need for the government to engage in that process. And also looking at ways to maybe diversify the trade agenda as well. For my part, I think that would be healthy, looking at ways to encourage investment or trade in non-traditional sectors. A lot of our trade has been focused on apparel and while I actually think quite highly of the apparel industry in Sri Lanka, it’s unique maybe in the world, to have gone way beyond manufacturing and working on design and logistics and has very strong global partnerships. In fact it’s kind of a model for the industry in other parts of the country.

I do think there’s other potential in other industries, whether it’s technology or energy as we were discussing, and those are things that we hope we can maybe explore going forward.

Moderator: Thank you, ma’am.

Robert Anthony from Virakesari.

Journalist: Thank you, madam.

Ambassador, the three member panel or commission appointed by the President to look into the previous commission’s recommendations regarding these accountability issues. The Government is saying that it will engage in the accountability process with the domestic legal framework. How do you see that? And what is the present situation of the Geneva resolution 46/1?

Ambassador Teplitz: Let me just start off by saying that respect for human rights is an enduring American value and enduring policy priority for us. President Biden has articulated a vision for the United States and the world, frankly, where people can live in dignity and importantly without fear. And assuredly where there’s justice and accountability not only with respect to maybe specific events such as the conflict in Sri Lanka but globally on an everyday basis. That there is an end to impunity and that people’s rights and their civil liberties are respected and people have equal and equitable access to justice.

So in that context the PCOI that was established to look at the previous commission’s work, I mean I understand that they have put forward an interim report. The government has not briefed the international community on the findings of that commission or their work to date. That’s something, of course, that I would welcome hearing more about. I have said to government leadership in the past, that we do encourage the government of Sri Lanka to look at some of those previous commissions and their recommendations. The LLRC, for example, that was convened under former President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s tenure, did come forward with some very I think useful recommendations that if the government chose to pursue would do a lot to upholding its commitments both in Geneva and just broadly speaking, commitments to people of this island.

So I think there’s potential there. I’d welcome getting that brief.

And with regard to Geneva more specifically, the current resolution, I believe there’s a review in September to encourage the government to come up with that domestic mechanism and to share what that’s going to be with the international community. Again, potentially referring to some of these previous recommendations.

But to be clear on what that mechanism is going to be, there are many issues to be addressed and concrete steps to address them will build credibility in the international system and I think make the Geneva process one that is less contentious and a much more positive one. And some of these steps could be, for example, replacement or amendment of the PTA. This has been a promise including of this government. I understand there’s an effort underway to do that. But doing that sooner rather than later would be a real sign of genuine commitment to the human rights values that we’ve been talking about. Particularly since this government has used the PTA to detain people and that some of those people, Hejaaz Hizbullah and Jazeem the poet, haven’t had a trial. They’ve been in detention for a long time. And Hejaaz Hizbullah is now an Amnesty prisoner of conscience. So that isn’t a credit really to the government’s statements about a commitment. We need to see that there’s actually some genuine follow-through. And as I noted earlier, the United States is ready to stand by and support the government and do what we can to help it meet those commitments, but there needs to be some action on its part.

I think other things that could be done that would build credibility would be, of course, ensuring independence of institutions like the Office of Missing Persons or of Reparations and ensuring that the leadership of those offices is constituted by people of integrity who are widely respected by all communities and who can ensure that those institutions fulfill their missions.

Their work is still needed. Notwithstanding, of course, the long civil conflict that ended in 2009, there were other periods in Sri Lanka’s history that generated missing family members and those families, the survivors, need some sort of answers about what’s happened to their loved ones.

Likewise, families have been impacted and their livelihoods have been challenged due to conflict and due to the absence of family members, and they need help and support. These needs are still out there and they transcend any one particular group. There are needs all across the island. The government could fulfill the mission of these once independent institutions, make them independent again and ensure the leadership is going to move ahead.

Just two examples of some of the concrete steps that could be taken to make the Geneva process a much more positive one. And to support the commitments that Sri Lanka has made, whether it’s through implementation of the SDGs or its ratification of international conventions to human rights.

Moderator: Thank you, Ma’am.

Next is Shehan Baranage from Hiru TV.

Journalist: Ambassador, in your initial comments you made reference to the special presidential pardons that were given. But it’s very unfortunate, Ambassador, that you have been basically speaking only one story about the release of…talking about the special Presidential Pardon that was given, you were only picking up one incident of a release of a former MP. We have seen there are a lot of politicized issues behind that issue as well. But also you have basically overlooked that there were so many former LTTE-ers who were released by the presidential pardon. Your President in U.S. has also given pardons to thousands and thousands of people. And then we see this. You are speaking of one single case and overlooking the release of LTTE-ers by the government. What led you to do this, Ambassador? Don’t you think this is not totally in the purview of your mandate? Thank you.

Ambassador Teplitz: I think if you look at the transcript of this conversation you will find that I noted the release of people who had been arrested under the PTA, the former LTTE-ers and commended that pardon. I think it was 17 or 19 individuals that were released. That was a very good step forward. I noted that in public in a tweet as well, immediately following the pardon, and I will reiterate again, that that was a positive action and in fact I encouraged the government to continue its review, which it said that it’s doing, of people who have been detained under the PTA to either have a trial and conclude the case or dismiss charges or whatever is appropriate to ensure that people have a fair and transparent processing of their case. And a timely processing of their case given that many of the PTA detainees have been in prison for quite some time. Years and years if not decades. And possibly way beyond what any sentence might have been imposed for the crimes to which they’re accused. So that’s addressing the first part of your question there.

Secondly, it is the prerogative of the President of Sri Lanka, just as it’s the prerogative of the President of the United States, they have pardon powers and they exercise them. It is also my prerogative as a representative of the United States to express the views and the policy concerns of my country and that’s my job as it is of every other diplomat who’s represented here in Sri Lanka.

So I try to do that faithfully, both privately and in public and ensure that the issues that are of concern to us, that it is known where we stand on those issues.

As I said in the earlier statement, not only does the United States consider the promotion of human rights an important part of our foreign policy, but of course as a democratic society, we consider rule of law to be an essential pillar of our form of government. Sri Lanka is also a democracy, South Asia’s oldest democracy with a long and proud democratic tradition. Rule of law is a pillar of Sri Lanka’s government and its commitment to the people. It’s incredibly important and ensuring that rule of law is strong, that people have equal access to transparent and prompt justice is something I would think that most Sri Lankans also want. I know in general there’s a large problem with many people not just people who have been detained under the PTA but people who have been arrested for other types of charges who have been held in remand for very, very long periods of time without actually having a trial. This is the kind of justice reform that I think Sri Lankans and I understand the Justice Minister support, making sure that people get a fair shake in the trial process.

Moderator: Thank you, Ma’am.

We will now have one final question and then we will close the roundtable. I see David Ebert from Derana had his hand raised.

Journalist: Thank you for that.

Going back to the International Monetary Fund, Ambassador, the Central Bank recently said that it will not seek a new program in the near future, and this is because they cite concerns regarding conditionalities such as maintaining a devalued rupee level that is to strengthen exports. But the Central Bank is adamant that alternative methods may work in easing for example the cost of living pressure on the people.

What are your thoughts on that? Is that something that could work?

Ambassador Teplitz: Sri Lanka’s economy is experiencing problems. I think if you ask people on the street they will talk to you about concern over rising food prices and other commodities. They will talk to you about concerns about their jobs in the future. And the state of the economy is due to both policy choices and some of the external shocks like the pandemic for example or the Easter attack that nobody could have anticipated.

I doubt at this point that alternative measures are going to achieve the foundational economic reform that’s going to be required for the economy to regain its health and to grow at an accelerated pace going forward without the support of the IMF. And frankly, some of the collaboration that can be achieved between the government and the IMF to look at some of the economic reforms that are going to be needed.

Sure, it’s possible that Sri Lanka can muddle through. We’ve seen other analysts express that thought. These opinion pieces have appeared in the pages of your news outlets or people have expressed themselves on your TV shows. But I’m not sure that’s what the people of Sri Lanka are going to want, an economy that’s always muddling through.

From the perspective of the United States having good, strong economic policies in place that again, facilitate business and help ensure that the economy is growing on a fair, transparent and inclusive basis and in ways that limit corruption and limit opportunities for illicit transactions is the only way to grow that strong economy of the future. Economies don’t – people don’t prosper by muddling through. You prosper by having a really sound foundation on which to build.

So I know that the leadership at the Central Bank and leadership in government of course are very attuned to the challenges that the economy is posing today and I continue to encourage them to look to the IMF as a central part of the economic solution going forward. And to embrace some of the conditionality as a means of helping build that strong economic foundation.

I thought it might be useful to sum a little bit of this up. It’s not in response to any particular question.

Just to say, many of the questions have focused, of course, on the nature of the relationship and thoughts about things that are happening here in Sri Lanka. But I do want to reiterate a key point which is that the United States does support a secure, prosperous and united Sri Lanka. We are a willing partner insofar as the government and people of Sri Lanka remain committed to democratic values and norms that we share, and we have been a willing partner for decades prior to this. We look forward to continued partnership going forward.

We feel that a reconciled Sri Lanka can overcome any disunity and achieve broad-based equitable economic growth and ultimately emerge as a more developed and more secure partner for the United States. And I think importantly also as a deliverer of prosperity and calm to the people of this beautiful island.

We didn’t have a chance to talk about less weighty issues but I have very much appreciated being in such a special place and I think we were able to maybe hint a little bit in some of the questions at the strong people-to-people ties that I think are a very important foundation of our national relationships and our enduring partnership. What a beautiful island. What a great cuisine. What a lovely place to come and engage. So I certainly want nothing but the best for the people and the country.

And in light of that challenging last couple of years, we remain committed to finding ways to work together even when the conversations are difficult because we do think that there’s much potential in that relationship and that as two democratic countries we have the opportunity to see both of our peoples prosper in a free and open Indo-Pacific environment in a free and open world.

So thank you. Just to put things up in a nice package.

Thanks everybody.

Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations

Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations

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2,460 persons test positive for COVID-19

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Not a single member of Sri Lanka parliament has responded to an official request for their education qualifications

US views on Obstacles for inevsting in Sri Lanka

Ad hoc tax application, lengthy approval processes are among them

Sri Lanka-No Fire Zone Trailer 2014

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