Monthly Archive for July, 2007

Arugam Bay & next Big waves?

Published
by
Greg
on 30/07/2007
in Security & Safety and press coverage
. 0 Comments

Lanka veering off earthquake-safe zone

Manjula Fernando

COLOMBO: A Geological Survey and Mines Bureau spokesperson said the recent frequent earth tremors indicated that Sri Lanka has veered from its earlier classification of ‘100 per cent earthquake safe’ category.

He added that there was no reason for the public to panic over what he called ‘minor earth tremors’ of less than 3.0 points on the Richter scale, as there is no concrete evidence of an imminent disaster.

Responding to the Daily News, the spokesperson said five geological experts have visited Matara during the past few days to conduct a ground survey and assess the probable cause for the tremors recorded in the area. Their report will be out today.

The team will also try to find if there was a connection between Matara tremors and the 5.2 point tremor recorded 335 kilometres off Ampara and Arugam Bay coast, last week.

Surf Relief PR

Published
by
Greg
on 30/07/2007
in Blogs, press coverage, surf and the bay
. 0 Comments

Background to Sri Lanka Projects

 

TSUNAMI Surf Relief UK (now Surf Relief UK), the organisation that helped co-ordinate the UK surfing communities’ response to the Asian Tsunami of Boxing day 2004, has made real impact on the East coast of Sri Lanka, building houses, employing teachers and helping to build an orphanage and contribute towards enhancements to a pre-school building school.

 

Phil Williams one of the charity’s trustees visited Sri Lanka in May to monitor the progress of projects funded by Tsunami Surf Relief UK. He found that the funds that have been raised through the generosity of the surfing community have been well used.

 

The amount of money raised by Surf Relief UK, in partnership with organisations such as Christian Surfers UK, topped nearly £50,000 in 2005. This has been used for a number of projects, particularly in the Arugam Bay area of Sri Lanka. 

 

Surf Relief UK is now a registered charity. Having experienced the generosity of the surfing community in response to the Boxing Day Tsunami organisers realised that there was potential to raise further funds for other projects acting as the UK’s surfing charity.

 

The projects include:

 

·      Seven brick constructed houses built.  In May Phil Williams (Trustee), met four of the seven families due to take possession of these properties and they expressed huge gratitude to all those from the UK who had contributed to the re-building of their homes. This provides permanent residency for these seven families affected by the Tsunami who have currently lost so much in terms of both material and human life.

·      Sponsoring ten teachers who are currently teaching in six different denomination schools in the Arugam Bay/Pottuville Region. These teachers are replacing the paid staff lost in the Tsunami.  Thanks to the generosity of the Charity their training is being funded and they will be paid during their first year in post.  After this time the Government will take over responsibility for their on-going training and salaries.

·      The construction of an orphanage for young girls orphaned by the Tsunami.  Tsunami Surf Relief UK and Christian Surfers UK have funded the staff quarters of the orphanage.  This will sleep up to three staff ensuring that the orphanage can use all its space for the orphans and enabling western-trained teachers to visit the orphanage.

·       Working with Paddle4Relief (www.paddle4relief.co.uk), who refurbished and

extended the local pre-school in Arugam Bay as well as creating a

playground, Surf Relief UK provided funding for the roof of the extension.

A number of small donations to support local businesses providing valuable help to rebuild their lives and livelihoods.

 

 

  

source:

http://www.tsunamisurfrelief.co.uk/Projects.htm

A4 Open

Published
by
Fred
on 21/07/2007
in From our own Correspondent, Security & Safety and front page
. 0 Comments

Good News!
As of last night the main A4 is open all night again and there are as good as no more check points on the way to Arugam Bay.
You may plan your journey accordingly and arrive refreshed in your favorite Bay for morning surf!

NGO or ENJOY?

Published
by
Greg
on 20/07/2007
in From our own Correspondent and front page
. 0 Comments

Extracts from a recent Press Interview two and a half years on – in the still- worst affected area of Sri Lanka. Arugam Bay:
high-street-after-high-tide.JPGsvh-room-1-6-destroyed.JPG
Question:
Nobody seems happy with the organizations. Is there nothing positive to report?
Answer:
Only three foreign groups have left a positive impression in everyone’s memory:.
The French Formations Militaires Security Civile
DEMIRA – German Mine Clearers & Doctors
The Thai Dunkew Foundation
Why is that?
Because these three were professional, efficient and done exactly what ones expects from highly paid and well trained International helpers.

Lankan Friends

Published
by
Greg
on 12/07/2007
in Blogs, press coverage and the bay
. 0 Comments

DAYS OF WINE AND ROSES….
*By Delerine Munzeer*
*Moiya Hazell recalls what it was like to be born in “Ceylon” and live a
carefree life on a tea plantation in “Ceylon” over half a century ago…*
*Moiya Hazel on her recent visit to Norwood where she spent her early
childhood***
Norwood Bungalow as it stands today is one of the world famous “Ceylon Tea
Trails” bungalows, which maintain the ambience and old world charm of an era
long gone by. But Moiya Hazell Kidde-Hansen is a rare person who has
experienced the real thing – she was born and lived at Norwood when life
still went on at a tranquil pace and we all had time to “stand and stare.”
Moiya Hazell was born at the Hatton Nursing Home in Dickoya in 1949, as were
her older and younger sisters before and after her. This nursing home no
longer exists but it was where most planter’s wives of that era went when
the need arose. Her father Dick Hazell was planting at Medecoombra Estate
for a short while before moving on to Norwood where Moiya spent the first
very happy 12 years of her life.
*A young Moiya Hazel with her parents at Norwood*
“We never went to school,” recalls Moiya. “Mum taught us at home until it
was time for us to school in England.” She recalls that as young children
they had to be very self-sufficient and finds ways of entertaining
themselves. This was long before the era of computer games and T.V. – a
period during which children actually learned to integrate with one another,
build relationships with fellow human beings as opposed to machines, and use
and develop their imaginations to keep themselves occupied.
She recalls how Podi Singho the cook would make them sugar sandwiches and
lovely plaited rolls with a thick layer of butter (the bread was always
baked in the bungalow kitchens) and they would picnic in the garden. “If
snails happened to invade the garden, we were given a bucket into which we
would collect them and be paid one cent for each snail collected,” she
remembers adding: “If we got two rupees we thought it to be a lordly sum in
those days.” “Mother would read to us every afternoon after lunch – the
usual Enid Blyton stories and it was a truly happy and carefree life,” says
Moiya.
Moiya remembers their neighbour – Elton Lane – who drove a pale blue
American car and one of the children’s greatest thrills came when Lane
allowed them to push the button which opened the boot of this magical car.
“He had built his own mausoleum and we were fascinated by it and would ride
around it and think about him being buried there!” says Moiya.
She recalls her father going snipe shooting in Mannar and on one particular
occasion he came home around 4 a.m. and announced to her mother that: “I
have a pony in the trailer – you sort him out.” Notwithstanding the hour,
her mother did just that and the pony became a part of their lives, starting
out the size of a large Alsatian and growing to a size where they were able
to go riding every day.
*Moiya Hazel as a child at Norwood with her pony ‘Dollar’*
Among her other memories of those halcyon days, Moiya counts going camping
in Okanda, near Panama in Arugam Bay. “We had special khaki shorts and
shirts and jungle gear made for these camping expeditions,” she says.
“We had a little barking deer called Bambi and ever so often she would
escape from her enclosure, and we would have to call out all the tea
pluckers to go and look for her,” says Moiya. They also had quite a few
other animals including cows, pigs, chickens and rabbits and her father kept
a pack of hounds and would often go hunting in the jungles and mountains
which lay behind the bungalow.
“My Dad would grow mushrooms and Mum would make her own butter and cream
cheese and she would even make our own ham, bacon and sausages,” she says.
Recounting how the Hazells first came to Ceylon Moiya says her father Dick
Hazell was originally from Guernsey, Channel Islands and came to Ceylon in
1935. He was a creeper on Norwood Estate, starting out as an S.D. or “Sinna
Dorai” and ending up as P.D. – “Periya Dorai.” While planting he had joined
the Ceylon Planters Rifle Corps (CPRC) and saw active service during the war
in Burma and Egypt along with other planters from Ceylon.
Dick Hazell met Thea, his wife to be in the New Forest in Hampshire while on
home leave. It was a whirlwind romance, they married in 1946 and he returned
to Ceylon while Thea his 25 year old wife followed a while later travelling
from England to Ceylon on board a troop ship. “And unfortunately my father
forgot and no one was there to meet the ship!” recalls Moiya. But Thea was
made of sterner stuff and remained unfazed by this slight hiccup. She had
stayed two days in Colombo and travelled upcountry to begin her life as a
planter’s wife.
“Norwood was a simply perfect place,” enthuses Moiya. She recalls that what
is today the Irwin suite at the end of the corridor was the children’s
nursery. “We always ate in the nursery and never had a meal until we could
put food in our mouths!”
Moiya married at the Scotts Kirk in Colombo and had “a wonderful wedding
reception” at the Ballroom of the Galle Face Hotel.
Moiya Hazell has moved around the world considerably since those wonderful
days of her childhood and youth spent at Norwood in “Ceylon.” She lived in
the Middle East, moved to Denmark and Poland finally South West France. “But
I want to return home to Ceylon,” she says. “I want to end up here and
finish up where I started….”
*Reproduced with permission of the author. First published in the Sunday
Observer*
* * These images can be seen in a larger size in the Photo Album. Please
type “Moiya Hazel” in the keyword search which will bring the images up.*
taken from: http://www.historyofceylontea.com
–
Fazli

Schweizer Korruptionshelfer

Published
by
Woofgang
on 12/07/2007
in Money Matters and presse-deutsch
. 0 Comments

Sorry!
This Article is only in German language.
It is important, however, as it deals with the waste of Tsunami cash by the Swiss Red Cross and other well funded organizations.

Von Philipp Gut

In Sri Lanka wurde mit Spendengeldern für die Tsunami-Opfer Missbrauch in Millionenhöhe getrieben. Die Verantwortlichen vertuschten den systematischen Schwindel.

Für sich reklamiert: Dieses Schild zierte Häuser, die mit Geld aus Deutschland gebaut wurden.
In der letzten Ausgabe berichtete die Weltwoche über den Schwindel, der in Sri Lanka mit Schweizer Spendengeldern für die Tsunami-Opfer getrieben wird («1000 US-Dollar für eine beschädigte Haustür in Sri Lanka»). Die verantwortlichen Organisationen reagierten prompt. Die Deza, die Direktion für Entwicklung und Zusammenarbeit im Aussendepartement (EDA), und die Glückskette stellten quasi gleichlautende Texte ins Internet (www.sdc.ch, www.glueckskette.ch). Sie nennen den Weltwoche-Artikel eine «völlig verzerrte Darstellung» und betonen die Qualität ihrer Hilfstätigkeit. «Registrierung und Kontrolle» der Geldempfänger seien «streng». Eine «unabhängige Begleitexpertise» habe das Programm untersucht. Kernaussage der gemeinsamen PR-Anstrengung ist der Satz: «Potenziellen Missbräuchen wurde nachgegangen und notwendige Korrekturen wurden vorgenommen.» Der Realität hält diese Aussage nicht stand. Der Weltwoche liegen Dokumente vor, die belegen, dass die Verantwortlichen im Aussendepartement und bei den Hilfswerken (Rotes Kreuz, Heks) die Korruption zugelassen und sogar aktiv gedeckt haben.

Am 6. April 2005 unterzeichnete der Schweizer Botschafter in Colombo, Bernardino Regazzoni, ein Abkommen mit der srilankischen Regierung, das den Einstieg der Schweiz in das bereits laufende «Cash»-Programm für Hausbesitzer regelte (mit vollem Namen «Cash for Repair and Reconstruction». Das Prinzip des Vertrags: Die Schweiz zahlt, die srilankischen Behörden wählen die Begünstigten aus. Bern akzeptierte, dass es nur «begrenzten Einfluss» auf die «Ausgestaltung und Umsetzung» nehmen konnte. Selbst auf lokaler Ebene, schreibt die Deza in einem internen Bericht, sei sie «nicht in der Lage, das Programm zu managen». Der Korruption waren auf diese Weise Tür und Tor geöffnet; Betrügereien gab es in verschiedenen Varianten.

1300 Häuser stehen leer

Ein ehemaliger Projektmanager vor Ort, der vom Hilfswerk der Evangelischen Kirchen Schweiz (Heks) angestellt war, hat die Fälle schriftlich und fotografisch dokumentiert. Allein im Distrikt Matara erhielten 3188 Eigentümer 1000 US-Dollar, obwohl deren Häuser nur geringfügig beschädigt waren. In Hunderten von Fällen verursachten die Besitzer die Schäden mutwillig selbst. Sie schlugen Fenster und Türen ein, leerten Wasserkübel aus. Ein weiterer Schwindel: Eigentümer, deren Haus als «teilweise beschädigt» galt, liessen sich in die Kategorie «vollständig zerstört» umteilen und erhielten so 2500 statt 1000 Dollar. Darüber hinaus gab es zahlreiche Begünstigte, die doppelt entschädigt wurden. Die Schweizer zahlten Beiträge für den Wiederaufbau von Häusern, die durch andere Hilfsorganisationen bereits vollständig finanziert waren. In Matara trifft dies in mindestens 428 Fällen zu. Allein diese Form des Missbrauchs dürfte rund eine Million Dollar an Spendengeldern verschlungen haben.

Die Lage verschärfte sich Anfang 2006. Damals reduzierte die srilankische Regierung den Abstand von der Küstenlinie, in dem Neubauten untersagt waren (sogenannte Pufferzone) von hundert auf fünfunddreissig bis fünfzig Meter. Dies hatte zur Folge, dass Tausende von Familien aus dem staatlichen Umsiedlungsprogramm in das Hausbauprojekt der Schweiz wechselten – Familien, für die zahlreiche Hilfswerke im Hinterland bereits neue Häuser und Siedlungen geplant und teilweise bereits fertiggestellt hatten. Aus einem Dokument der amtlichen srilankischen Wiederaufbau-Agentur Rada vom Juni 2006 geht hervor, dass 644 Wohneinheiten aus diesem Grund «verlassen» wurden. Der Projektleiter des Schweizer Konsortiums (der Allianz von Deza, Glückskette, SRK und Heks) rechnete zu diesem Zeitpunkt damit, dass bis im Herbst 2006 rund 1300 Häuser leer stehen würden. Sie alle wurden über den Bedarf hinaus gebaut.

In diesem und den anderen dokumentierten Fällen gilt: Der systematische Schwindel war den Schweizer Verantwortlichen bekannt. Noch am selben Tag, als er von den massenhaft leerstehenden Häusern erfuhr, informierte der Projektmanager den Gouverneur des Distrikts und die Koordinatoren des Konsortiums in Colombo und der Schweiz. Eingeschritten sind sie nicht, stattdessen beschuldigten sie den Mann vor Ort, er ziehe das Ansehen der Schweiz in den Schmutz. Die Deza schickte eine diplomatische Protestnote an die Heks-Zentrale in Zürich und verlangte, dass fortan keine Kritik mehr ohne Autorisierung aus Bern geäussert werden dürfe.

Auch die Spitzenkader, die letztlich die Verantwortung tragen, waren im Bild. Deza-Vizedirektor Toni Frisch, der Chef der humanitären Hilfe, und Glückskette-Direktor Félix Bollmann wurden vor Ort aufgeklärt. Am 3. April flogen sie in Begleitung von Botschafter Regazzoni in einem eigens gemieteten Jet von Colombo nach Matara. Der dortige Projektleiter zeigte ihnen eine Reihe von Häusern, die mit französischen Spenden aus der Bretagne komplett wiederaufgebaut wurden. Neben den Namen der bretonischen Gemeinden klebten an den Häusern auch Schilder mit dem Schweizer Kreuz und einem Text, wonach «die Bevölkerung der Schweiz» den Wiederaufbau unterstützt habe. Die Eigentümer bekamen aus der Schweiz zusätzlich 2500 Dollar, obwohl die Häuser von den Franzosen vollständig bezahlt worden waren. Der Projektleiter führte die Besucher schliesslich vor ein Hinkelstein-artiges Monument, das die Bewohner des Stadtteils zu Ehren der französischen Spender errichtet hatten. In diesem Augenblick sagte Glückskette-Direktor Bollmann: «Wenn jetzt die Presse hier wäre, wären wir erledigt.»

Über dieselbe Art des Missbrauchs an einem anderen Ort orientierte die private srilankische Wohltätigkeitsorganisation Jayawickreme Foundation den Schweizer Botschafter in Colombo. In einem E-Mail, das der Weltwoche vorliegt, schildert der Vorsitzende der Stiftung, Sujith C. Jayawickreme, folgenden Vorfall: «Am 21. August 2006 erlebten wir einen unangenehmen und harten Schock, als wir deutschen Sponsoren, begleitet von deutschen Medien, unsere Projekte zeigten: Häuser, die von unserer Stiftung gebaut und vollständig von deutschen Geldgebern finanziert worden waren, sind über Nacht mit Schildern versehen worden, auf denen steht, die Häuser seien durch Gelder der Schweizer Bevölkerung wiederaufgebaut worden.» Wie eine Nachfrage bei der Stiftung in Sri Lanka ergeben hat, waren davon 16 Häuser betroffen. Auch in diesem Fall, das wusste man im Aussendepartement und beim Heks, flossen die Schweizer Spendengelder unnötig und zweckwidrig.

In vierzehntäglichen Feld-Rapporten der Projektleiter wurden die Vorgesetzten in der Deza, beim Roten Kreuz und beim Heks über die vielfältigen Missbräuche informiert. Im Bericht vom 20. September 2006 heisst es, die srilankischen Behörden seien «direkt verantwortlich für den bewussten und exzessiven Missbrauch» der Spendengelder, das Hausbau-Programm in Matara sei «völlig korrumpiert». Entgegen der Behauptung von Deza und Glückskette sind die Verantwortlichen diesen Missbräuchen weder «nachgegangen», noch haben sie «notwendige Korrekturen vorgenommen». Ganz im Gegenteil: Den Projektleiter vor Ort, der die Fälle dokumentierte und die fehlbaren Beamten direkt ansprach, forderten sie ultimativ zum Schweigen auf (später wurde er entlassen).

Die Geschichte spielte sich so ab: Am 9. November 2006 schrieb Projektleiter Georg Mayer einem srilankischen Programm-Mitarbeiter, der einen gewissen Mr Dadli auf die Liste der «vollständig Geschädigten» gesetzt hatte, er solle den Empfänger wieder von der Liste streichen. Mr Dadlis Haus war nämlich nur minimal beschädigt, und zwar nicht durch den Tsunami. Eine Kopie des E-Mails ging an den Distrikt-Sekretär, eine zweite an den Deza-Koordinator in Colombo, eine dritte an Mayers Vorgesetzten beim Heks in Zürich, Andreas Sicks. Dieser antwortet umgehend: «Wir fordern Sie dringend auf, von solchen Aktivitäten ein für allemal abzusehen!» Mayer müsse sofort aufhören, «inkriminierende E-Mails und Briefe» über die Betrugsfälle zu schreiben. Für Beschwerden an «unsere lokalen Partner» brauche es das Einverständnis des Heks und des Schweizer Konsortiums «als Ganzes», also auch der Deza, der Glückskette und des Roten Kreuzes. Das Schreiben schliesst mit der Aufforderung, Mayer solle «bitte bestätigen», dass er «unsere Instruktionen verstanden» habe.

Für eine Stellungnahme war Andreas Sicks nicht zu erreichen. Sein Vorgehen zeigt: Die srilankischen «Partner» sollten unter allen Umständen geschont werden – und die Schweizer Öffentlichkeit über die wahren Verhältnisse getäuscht werden. Derselbe Sicks, der dem Projektleiter vor Ort verbot, die Behörden auf ungerechtfertigte Bezüge der Schweizer Spendengelder aufmerksam zu machen, lässt sich auf der Homepage des Heks mit dem Satz zitieren, «Cash for Repair and Reconstruction» sei das «effizienteste und erfolgreichste Wiederaufbauprojekt in Sri Lanka nach dem Seebeben». Wie Deza und Glückskette in ihrer Entgegnung auf den Weltwoche-Artikel von letzter Woche, verweist das Heks auf eine externe Evaluation, die dieses Selbstlob bestätigen soll. Aus der Studie, die von vier internationalen Experten verfasst wurde, zitiert es nur die Aussage, die Schweizer Programmbeteiligung sei ein «bemerkenswerter Erfolg». Schaut man sich die Zusammenfassung der Studie – der Volltext ist nicht greifbar – näher an, bleibt vom schönen Bild wenig übrig: «Der relative Erfolg des Projekts bedeutet nicht, dass es nicht schwerwiegende Bedenken und Nachteile bezüglich der Umsetzung gab.» Der Bericht listet eine ganze Liste von Mängeln auf: doppelt Begünstigte, die ein Haus gebaut bekamen und obendrein noch Bargeld; ein zu geringer Betrag für den Wiederaufbau, so dass sich manche Empfänger verschulden mussten; mangelnde Flexibilität, um auf die massive Teuerung zu reagieren; eine ineffektive Umsetzung usw.

Zu seiner Entlastung führt das Schweizer Konsortium weitere externe Untersuchungen an. Die Hilfswerke, die mit der Deza in Sri Lanka zusammenarbeiten, haben sich von der Stiftung Zewo, der Zertifizierungsstelle für gemeinnützige Organisationen, und von Firmen wie Pricewaterhouse Coopers und Ernst & Young prüfen lassen. Der skandalöse Betrug im Hausbauprojekt wurde so nicht aufgedeckt. Die Zewo evaluiert nach eigenen Angaben nicht «einzelne Projekte», sie hat lediglich das Rote Kreuz und das Heks Stellung nehmen lassen. Sie kommt zum Schluss: «Unsere Abklärungen zeigen, dass die Planungs-, Evaluations- und Kontrollsysteme funktionieren und die Kontrolle wahrgenommen wurde.» Dieses positive Urteil über das durch und durch korrumpierte Projekt erweist die Zewo-Abklärung als Farce. Ähnlich geringe Aussagekraft haben die Untersuchungen der Rechnungsprüfer. Sie schauen lediglich, ob die Geldflüsse dort ankommen, wo es auf dem Papier steht. Über die zweckwidrigen Bezüge erfährt man aus ihren Berichten nichts.

source:

http://www.weltwoche.ch/artikel/?AssetID=16863&CategoryID=66

Nate Berkus Does Your Coffee Table

Published
by
Greg
on 11/07/2007
in Blogs and people
. 0 Comments

http://www.towleroad.com/2007/07/nate-berkus-doe.html
Nate Berkus Does Your Coffee Table
Oprah’s home design guru Nate Berkus prepares to hypnotize you on the
forthcoming August issue of OUT magazine in which he mainly discusses
how he found himself on Oprah and what he’s got in the wings in terms
of his design career. But he does briefly mention his January 2005
appearance on the show shortly after his partner Fernando Bengoechea
was killed in the Southeast Asian tsunami:
“After the show, I got a tremendous amount of letters and e-mails from
kids across the country who were coming out. They said that watching
the way my relationship with Fernando was presented on the show gave
them the courage to say to their friends and parents, ‘You know what,
I’m gay just like him and I want to have what he had.’ The most
touching correspondence I received came from an 18-year-old who said,
‘I’d never seen a gay couple’s love story presented like that on TV
before. Now that I’ve seen it, I realize I’d be wasting a lot of time
if I didn’t get out there and try to find it for myself.’ It was
amazing, and it makes me really proud, because somebody somewhere was
watching the show and it changed how they viewed themselves and their
own opportunities to live in a successful gay relationship…I wasn’t
concerned about presenting my relationship with Fernando to the world.
I wanted people to know about our life and what I lost.”
No groundbreaking revelations on whether or not another significant
other has entered the picture, but those of you with fantasies of
setting up house with Berkus should be pleased he has at least make it
to your coffee table.
You may have missed…
http://www.towleroad.com/towleroad/2005/01/its_not_just_th.html
Nate’s Long Good-bye
In a tear-soaked, classic Oprah farewell, interior decorator Nate
Berkus yesterday told the story of his experience with the tsunami in
Sri Lanka, where he lost his partner Fernando Bengoechea.
“It’s not just the sight — it’s the sound and the smell that will be
with me forever,” Berkus said, describing in horrific detail how the
scene unfolded in a hut about 50 feet from the shoreline.
“We were in a room making plans for the day. All of a sudden water
started coming in between the wall and the roof…Fernando jumped up
and started lifting our things onto the desktop. I said, ‘What is
this?’ Then we heard a crack and I was pressed against the wall and
the floor.”
Berkus described how the hut’s roof was torn off by the force of the
water and the immediate sensation of drowning. He claimed that “a
heightened sense of consciousness” allowed his survival instinct to
take over.
“[Fernando and I] ended up popping up together and he swam over to me
and said ‘Stay together,’ and then a minute later we were drowning
again, and then we popped up together again, and the water was
calm…we were trying to hold onto each other. You were just swirling,
just trying to keep your face up,” explained Berkus..
When another wave took them the designer thought they would become
separated. “And then we both popped up about three feet away from one
another. Fernando and I came back to one another and there was a
telephone pole and we both held each other.”
Finally, his last moments of contact with Fernando provide the
painful, wrenching picture so many tsunami survivors experienced as
they saw their loved ones taken from them…
“And I felt his hand on the back of my shirt and I felt his hand slip
away…”
Berkus choked back tears and was reunited with some of the other
survivors he spent time with at Arugam Bay. Marcello Bengoechea, who
had set up the recently deleted “Fernando and Nate” blog was also on
hand. There has been speculation as to why the blog has been deleted
but I can only imagine that finding a sense of closure necessitates
the difficult letting go.
The lack of closure and feelings of helplessness must be the most
difficult aspect for victims of a disaster like this — the absence of
a corpse, the neverending search for details and answers.
All the criticism of the attention placed on Nate and Fernando because
of their “celebrity” connections seems an attempt to place the scope
of the disaster in perspective for many people. Certainly there are
thousands of stories as tragic as Nate’s. The sense of “milking” this
particular story for TV ratings is unavoidable. Yet putting a face to
the tragedy is important in the public’s comprehension of it. And the
fact that Nate and Fernando were a gay couple behaving like any other
couple on that beach is something the world has now seen.
And that’s important. For outside of the tragedy they became unwitting
examples that a gay couple’s love for one another can be as real (and
as ordinary) as anyone else’s.

Surfing The Nations

Published
by
Greg
on 11/07/2007
in Blogs, press coverage and surf
. 0 Comments

Update from Our Sri Lanka Team
On June 10th a second summer team from Surfing The Nations flew out to Sri Lanka to serve the people of Arugam Bay. One of the team members, Zach Ifland, posted an update about his experiences in a blog; this is what he wrote:

” Tonight we have a beach bbq that we are hosting for the small town of Arugam bay. we will surf , eat and just make friends and let them know that the lords presence is here. Our team is made up of 18 fabulous men and women ranging in ages from 11- mid 40’s.

monday, wednesdays, and friday we will be teaching english in one of the top muslim school of all of sri lanka. so pray for the language barrier to shattered and our lessons to be a sucess. I am real excited. later today we will be goingto a small town called peanut farm and delivering toy, clothing and food donations.

I surfed the longest right of my life today and it wasnt even good according to everyone. the water feels like the same temperature as pee and the reef is extra sharp. hopefully i will be shredding on my backside by the time i get home.

It is evident that the tsunami ripped through here and hurt this town as well as country. just across the street is a hotel Oprah built in memory of one of her employees that was killed during the tsunami. its nice but doesnt seem quiet right to have it here for some reason .the war between the tamil tigers and the singalese (dont know if i spelled it right) is real and just feels intense. just trying to get through the check points on our bus from columbo felt more like me trying to escape a refugee camp out of a movie.

Plus there was a a crazy rain /lightning storm going on that added to the ambiance. we have to be careful what we say, where we go, how we answer questions, where the women team memeber are (cause women are not free here.) yet at the same time everyone is so friendly, it makes you on edge a little.

There are monkeys on roof tops that steal your stuff, goats on the beach, dogs everywhere, water buffaloe in the fields and elephants crossing roads. this place is beautiful and sweltering hot. Thanks again to everyone who has prayed for me and supported me. You have not only answered my prayers but help fulfill a small dream of mine.

“Be joyful always” 1 Thessalonians 5:16 is what i wear around my neck to keep me in check while going through the thick and thin here. i ask you at home or whereever you are to do the same. i will fill you in as the days go by with more words, stories and hopefully pictures if these crappy computers let me. Peace & love, Zach ”
source:
http://www.globalsurfnews.com/news.asp?Id_news=28853

Scotsmen & Mercy Corps

Published
by
Woofgang
on 10/07/2007
in Blogs and press coverage
. 0 Comments

Executive pledges £250,000 to aid the crisis in Darfur

HAMISH MACDONELL SCOTTISH POLITICAL EDITOR ( hmacdonell@scotsman.com)

THE new SNP government is expanding the reach and scope of the Executive’s international aid fund by committing £250,000 to ease the plight of those suffering in Darfur in east Africa, it emerged yesterday.

Jack McConnell, the former First Minister, set up a fund of £4.5 million for international development during his time in office, most of which was allocated to charities in Malawi, which is now twinned with Scotland.

Mr McConnell believed that the best way to make an impact was to concentrate much of the Executive’s very limited resources in one country.

Now, however, Alex Salmond has changed the emphasis. He has promised to double the size of the fund to £9 million in the new spending round, which will be announced in November, and he has decided to spread the Executive’s resources more widely.

The decision to give £250,000 to the Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund for its work in the crisis-hit region of Darfur is an example, both of the extra funds which the new Executive is committed to providing, but also the wider scope of its aid programme.

The Scottish Executive is limited to what it can do in international development and ministers have to be careful not to impinge on the remit of the much bigger Department for International Development in London, which co-ordinates Britain’s aid effort.

But the Darfur initiative falls within the remit of the Scottish Executive, principally because the money is going to a Scottish charity, not to the authorities in Darfur.

A spokeswoman for the Executive also confirmed that ministers in Edinburgh had been in close touch with Whitehall while drawing up this grant and that the International Development Department was “fully behind” the initiative.

Mary Cullen, the head of communications at SCIAF, said the money would be very well spent helping “the poorest of the poor”.

“It will go immediately to projects on the ground in Darfur to help keep people alive through what continues to be a complex and desperate crisis,” she said. “Together with the threat of violence, there is the very real risk of large scale fatalities from diseases such as cholera and malaria.

“The displaced population in Darfur now accounts for a staggering 2.1 million people, with the number of new arrivals going up all the time. Since January alone, 110,000 new people have fled to camps for protection, food and shelter.”

The war in the Darfur region of Sudan has been raging for four years and has left hundreds of thousands dead, either through the conflict itself or indirectly from starvation and drought. Announcing the cash, external affairs minister Linda Fabiani said the money would support more than 120,000 people in communities most affected by the violence and unrest in the south and west of the Sudanese province.

More than two million people are thought to have been displaced within Darfur and a further 235,000 have fled to neighbouring Chad.

Britain had allocated £104 million since April, and the Executive is already contributing by supporting an educational project in south Sudan with a £190,000 award.

Ms Fabiani said: “With the arrival of the rainy season, we are looking at immediate and practical solutions to support impoverished and displaced people.

“In an area where three quarters of the population are farmers, this money from the Scottish government will provide essential seeds, tools and training to allow people to begin planting to feed themselves and their families.”

Meanwhile, Mr Salmond is to try to raise Scotland’s profile on the international stage with a trip to Brussels this week when he will meet a number of senior European figures, including Peter Mandelson, the EU Trade Commissioner.

LATEST ROUND OF GRANTS

THE latest round of Executive grants for international development included many for Malawi and a small number for Scottish charities working in disaster areas.

The grants included:

• £250,000 to provide facilities and resources to train Malawians in tourism development.

• £137,000 to train people in the Mulanje region in Malawi to deal with and solve their own problems in health, nutrition and HIV/AIDS control.

• £70,000 to train specialist eye doctors for Saving Sight in Malawi.

• £222,000 on a project to provide reliable power supplies for health facilities in rural Malawi.

• £218,000 to help the Malawian growers of macadamia nuts to get their produce to markets.

• £185,000 for Mercy Corps Scotland in its work at Arugam Bay, Sri Lanka, helping the community to recover after the tsunami.

• £167,000 to fund Scottish volunteers to work with local NGOs in Sri Lanka on health and water projects in areas affected by the Tsunami.

• £100,000 – two awards of £50,000, one to Oxfam and one to Mercy Corps Scotland – to help them in their work in Pakistan after the earthquake.

This article: http://news.scotsman.com/politics.cfm?id=1071902007

Last updated: 09-Jul-07 00:26 BST

Comments Add your comment

1. AM2, Glasgow / 1:08am 10 Jul 2007
SCIAF, their website says, “was set up by the Catholic Bishops of Scotland in 1965″ and is “the official aid agency of the Catholic Church in Scotland”.Should the executive really be giving to a denominational charity?

Report as unsuitable

2. James, Dundee / 1:26am 10 Jul 2007
The Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund (Sciaf) has launched an appeal to raise funds for Darfur.Donations can be made via its website or through an emergency donation line on .

Perhaps as a Scottish rather than a UK based appeal is the rationale?

As you’re well aware AM2 the population of Darfur are almost exclusively Muslim.

Helping these people is a noble thing to do.

IT’S A DISGRACE THAT YOU RAISE THIS AS A SECTARIAN ISSUE.

It seems you just cant help yourself.

Report as unsuitable

3. AM2, Glasgow / 1:32am 10 Jul 2007
I’m certainly not criticising the aim of helping the people of Darfur. Neither am I raising a “sectarian issue”; that’s a straw man argument if ever I saw one! I’m raising a query about the appropriateness of public funds being given to a charity operated by a religious denomination. You see that as a “disgrace” only because, as we’ve seen before, you can’t tolerate anything that might be construed as criticism of the SNP.Report as unsuitable

4. Hebb, Scotia / 1:34am 10 Jul 2007
Oh for goodness sake AM2, give it a rest. Can you not see anything positive in what our new Scottish government does? You’ll be telling us next that SCIAF siphons off the aid money destined for the poor to fund militant Jesuit training camps preparing to overthrow what’s left of your beloved British Empire in Scotland.Come to think of it that’s not a bad idea. Maybe we could also institute a modern-day Scottish Inquisition to deal with the remnants of the heretical sect that is Unionism.

Report as unsuitable

5. James, Dundee / 1:41am 10 Jul 2007
#3 No I object not only as a Scot, but also as a Catholic. You are taking a cheap shot.There are certain aspects of SNP policy that I personally disagree with – but I’m on board with most of their manifesto.

I see nothing wrong with this charitable gesture.

Report as unsuitable

6. AM2, Glasgow / 1:47am 10 Jul 2007
#5 JamesI raised a perfectly reasonable procedural query, but now you’re raising an issue of race and religion. I’m certainly not going down that line with this.

Report as unsuitable

7. James, Dundee / 1:50am 10 Jul 2007
#6 The ice is particularly thin at this time of the year. Tread carefully! Report as unsuitable

8. AM2, Glasgow / 2:08am 10 Jul 2007
#7 JamesAs I said, I’m certainly not going down any such line.

Report as unsuitable

9. Buchanan, California / 4:44am 10 Jul 2007
AM2Have some respect for your Scottish Government
and also the the dire situation in Darfur.

Your continual whinging, glass half empty pessimissim is simply depressing in addition to boring.

I see you also criticized Alex Salmond’s nobel & voluntary donation of his salary to local charities.
Do you have something against charities now or is
it simply a brain dead reflex that you have in that
you read any article about SNP or Alex doing something positive so you just automatically criticize
like some Unionist automaton.

Any contribution by any means to help the situation
in Darfur is to be applauded. I suggest you get
out your cheque book and do some good, the
few seconds it takes to write the cheque in support
of Darfur will be time much better spend than the drivel you pen here.

Try and support your elected Scottish government’s efforts to serve the best interests of Scotland. They have no other agenda than that no matter what
conspiracy theories you might have.

Saor Alba

Report as unsuitable

10. Mercutio, Falkirk / 5:56am 10 Jul 2007
International aid /development is not a matter for the Scottish Executive, as with the previous administration this is political posturing.Report as unsuitable

11. Boy Wonder / 6:34am 10 Jul 2007
Everybody knows how antireligious I am, but even I would never criticise the work being done by any charitable aid to countries that are in dire need.For AM2 to do so is beyond the pale!

It doesn’t matter who is giving the aid in Darfur as long as they are getting every penny we can send to help alleviate the awful plight these people are in.

I’d hate to think that if it was us, people would stop to wonder who’s best placed to render the aid!

Report as unsuitable

12. ex katman 2, ex sudan / 7:37am 10 Jul 2007
Sadly the truth is ,you can throw all the money you like at these crisis countries but it will never reach the intended victims.If we have learnt anything from past episodes,it is that the money never reaches the poor intended people because of the corruption in all these countries.If you are of the opinion that if only a pitance gets through then thats ok,then you are only fuelling the corrupt govermentsReport as unsuitable

13. Dr Who / 8:00am 10 Jul 2007
Well despite AM2 taking this opportunity to bring his religous bigotry against Catholics, I have to say that I like the way the money is being targeted to actual the concrete goals of enabling the people of Darfur to improve its ability to solve their own problems with education. As an athiest I dont give a whatever to the Catholics using their already established infrastructure to administer these funds. There is little chance of the forces who continue this war getting their hands on these funds.Lets face one other point as well. If these people had massive OIL reserves there the US, UK, Australians would be there quick smart to stop the war and start to asset strip the country. We would have another Iraq on our hands.

Report as unsuitable

14. Nick_Byrne, Glasgow / 8:06am 10 Jul 2007
£250,000 is not going to make much difference to the atrocities being committed in Darfur.I wasn’t aware the goverment was allowed to make donations to charities – as we’ve seen that leads to all manner of allegations.

Report as unsuitable

15. James Moore / 8:18am 10 Jul 2007
What a waste of money! This token gesture will not achieve anything! Report as unsuitable

16. paulr / 8:42am 10 Jul 2007
He would be better off giving the 250,000 to the tram scheme in edinburghReport as unsuitable

17. Arugambay, Arugam Bay / 8:54am 10 Jul 2007

Quote:
“• £185,000 for Mercy Corps Scotland in its work at Arugam Bay, Sri Lanka, helping the community to recover after the tsunami.”
I am a professional Brit. Expat living in Arugam Bay since 1977 – 30 years.
This Century me and my family never left the small village, including Boxing Day 2004 when we all learned to swim….so we tend know what is going on.
Let me assure you:
Mercy Corpse Inc. has indeed been ‘active’ around here, but they left a long time ago!
Further, they wasted valuable cash from the US Oprah Whinfrey show on totally USELESS projects, splitting the entire Community by supporting only or mainly the Islamic Community around us.
There are many real Tsunami victims, such as us – and our non-Muslim neighbours, such as Tamils and Sinhalse- who swear on oath that we all have not received a single cent (or anything else) from anyone, incl. Mercy Corpse.
Kind, caring and concerned PRIVATE citizens have trusted large organization too much – and funded nothing but their elaborate lifestyle in our region.
In Tamil, the word “N.G.O.” is pronounced: “E.N.J.O.Y.” they do enjoy life in the tropics – with your kindly donated money – that is our opinion and experience here.
Do not believe their PR exercises!

look at true Community feed back, such as:
www.arugam.info
and search for the performance of Mercy Corpse and other time and cash wasting NGO’s – specially the Red Cross.
Arugam Bay Hotel Association
AbHa
Arugam Bay
Eastern Sri Lanka

Thoppigala: A land of many wonders

Published
by
Peter
on 10/07/2007
in press coverage
. 0 Comments

By Upali Salgado

The fall of Thoppigala, the citadel of the Tamil “Tigers” is imminent. A raging battle by land supported by effective air strikes ferreted out the terrorist group which stood firm in pockets for several months.

Where is Thoppigala? The huge rock, 1753 feet tall, clothed with virgin jungle and rough stony terrain close to Manampitiya has had the military spotlight for sometime now. In times of yore, this “Tiger” fortress with several natural caves (recently used to house food and artillery) was Veddah country. The plains below extending upto the well-known Dimbulagala Hills, better known as “Gunner’s Quoin” about 10 miles south east of Polonnaruwa and about 8 miles from Manampitiya were irrigated and developed under the Mahaweli scheme.

The huge rock, 1753 feet tall, clothed with virgin jungle and rough stony terrain.

Dimbulagala has an ancient Buddhist monastery which was the home of a well-known pious monk, the Ven. Kitalagama Seelaratana Maha Thera until he was killed by the Tigers. This monk was the godfather to the poor villagers and established 23 other Buddhist temples in the Eastern Province.

Dimbulagala has ruins from 300 BC to 1200 AD. It is known for its Brahmi rock inscriptions seen over drip ledges of caves in the vicinity of the temple. This forest hermitage is perched up on the hill from where one gets a beautiful bird’s eye view of the irrigated plains and water spots below. The entire region was once Veddah territory where leopard, deer and elephants roamed.
The whole of the Eastern Province is rich in archaeological ruins and rock inscriptions of Buddhist interest. Besides these, there is the historic Mahiyangana stupa which legend says was a place visited by Gautama Buddha. There is the Digavapi stupa, south-east of Amparai, Magul Maha Vihara near Pottuvil and the Kudimbigala forest hermitage on the west bordering the Yala sanctuary. There are several lakes and ponds and small tanks that supported agriculture – the Divulana lake, Rukam tank, Maduru Oya reservoir, the Irrakkamam lake and Sorabora Wewa that attract beautiful migratory birds – the teal and heron who come there to nest during the season, from May to September each year.

Moving further south in the picturesque Eastern Province is yet another geographically interesting rock outcrop, south of Inginiyagala and not far from the largest tank of Sri Lanka, the Senanayake Samudra. This majestic-looking rock had been indicated in the Survey Department topographical sheet of Pottuvil as Westminster Abbey (Native: “Govindahella”) rising 1831 ft. over a flat plain.

During the time of the Sinhala Kings it had been a fortress – an outpost for the Rohana Province. Over 100 years ago, it was the home of the Veddah community who lived hunting and gathering bees’ honey. Prof. Seligman and later Dr. Richard L. Spittel, surgeon and anthropologist visited the Veddahs quite often to care for their needs.

Dr. Spittel in his first book on Ceylon and the Veddahs, “Wild Ceylon” says interestingly – “I have had a small share – into a narrative (in the Preface) primarily designed to describe the homely aspects of jungle life, especially as it concerns the Veddahs – the last remnant of Ceylon’s aboriginal race.

“In the dim waste lands of the Orient stands the wreck of a race, so old and vast that the greyest legend cannot lay hands on the single fact of its tongueless past.”

Dr. Spittel was a crusader of the backward communities – the Veddahs who lived at Sorabora Wewa, at Pallebedde, at Gunner’s Quoin and close to Westminster Abbey. He was always there to see to the needs of the Baiyas who lived near Chenakaladi; the Rodiyas and the Kinnarayas who engaged themselves in mat weaving. They all led a sad meagre existence and were a rare indigenous cultural entity, who braved living with the Malaria mosquito. Their folklore was interesting, their witchcraft age-old, and their unity was an example to those who loved and lived in the jungle.

A note on the picturesque and rich East will not be complete without a brief reference to a few better known personalities, who in diverse ways took an abiding interest to introduce to us, over the years, the beauty and richness of the province. Prof. Seligman and Dr. Spittel were anthropologists who were friends of the Veddahs and the backward community there. Ven. Kitalagama Seelaratana Maha Thera was besides being a religious leader, a great social worker.

Dudley Senanayake as a Minister of Agriculture set up the Gal Oya Valley scheme and saw that the Senanayake Samudra was constructed and named after his father who for decades did much to improve agriculture. S.V.O. Somanader, an educationist and journalist of Batticaloa and Nihal Fernando of “Studio Times” are great travellers and writers who introduced the area to the outside world.

Then there was D.B. Ellepola who handled work of the “Backward Communities Board” set up by D.S. Senanayake, and Dr. R.L. Brohier, a geographer, historian and cartographer of the Survey Department, who with his devoted band of surveyors travelled to all parts of the province to unearth and record for posterity the treasures there to be seen. Ven Ellawala Medhananda Thera, (MP) an epigraphist too has travelled widely in the Eastern Province to read for us, under difficult conditions, a large number of rock inscriptions discovered by him over cave drip ledges. This galaxy of people with diverse interests were a perfect mix of educated sons who did much for Lanka.

source:

Glueckskette

Published
by
Greg
on 10/07/2007
in presse-deutsch
. 0 Comments

Völlig verzerrte Darstellung

AbaY Walk

Published
by
Fred
on 06/07/2007
in From our own Correspondent, front page, services, shops and the bay
. 0 Comments

In July, every year, at Arugam’s ‘high’ season, we walk all the way through our Bay.
From the Northern end
star-rest.JPGat the bridge
right through to the Panama, Southern end at the 6-km.JPG 6km sign
For the past few years, every single sign, telephone-box.JPG notice board or advert was filmed and preserved, a kind of digital piece of local history.
It also allows all local establishments to advertise what facilities they offer.
Since 2005 it allowed all passing NGO’s to say what they claim they would do. (sorry, nasty! editor!)
See the 2007 walk below and maybe compare it with last year’s walking impressions published in the same Gallery.
http://picasaweb.google.com/arugamsurf/AbaYWalk2007

1,000$ Door

Published
by
Greg
on 05/07/2007
in presse-deutsch
. 0 Comments

Tsunami-Hilfe
1000 US-Dollar für eine beschädigte Haustür in Sri Lanka

Von Philipp Gut

Die Schweizer Hilfsgelder für die Tsunami-Opfer in Sri Lanka versickern in
korrupten Projekten. Bundesrätin Calmy-Reys Entwicklungshelfer zahlen, ohne
dass sie etwas zu sagen haben. Man weiss um Misswirtschaft und Betrug.
Trotzdem fliessen die Millionen.

Anzeige
Vor kurzem hat die Glückskette, die laut Bundespräsidentin Micheline
Calmy-Rey «die starken Gefühle und den guten Willen» der Schweizer
Bevölkerung «kanalisiert», ihren Jahresbericht 2006 vorgelegt. Darin heisst
es: «Der effiziente und verantwortungsvolle Einsatz der Tsunami-Spenden
stand im Zentrum aller Tätigkeiten.» Dieses Selbstlob entspricht dem
branchenüblichen Ton. Die Hilfswerke, aber auch die Deza, die Direktion für
Entwicklung und Zusammenarbeit in Calmy-Reys Aussendepartement (EDA), stellt
ihren Einsatz in den vom Seebeben verwüsteten Regionen Südasiens als
Grosserfolg professioneller Solidarität dar.

Der Jahresbericht der Glückskette, bei der nach der Flutkatastrophe vom
26.Dezember 2004 Spenden in der Höhe von 227,72 Millionen Franken eingingen,
enthält aber auch eine ungewohnt deutliche Selbstkritik.
Glückskette-Direktor Félix Bollmann spricht von «weniger erfreulichen
Feststellungen», die ausgerechnet ein Prestigeprojekt der Schweizer Hilfe
betreffen. An diesem sind neben der Glückskette auch die Deza (also die
Eidgenossenschaft), das Schweizerische Rote Kreuz (SRK) und das Hilfswerk
der evangelischen Kirchen Schweiz (Heks) beteiligt. Vereinigt zum «Schweizer
Konsortium», unterstützen sie auf Sri Lanka ein Programm der Regierung und
der Weltbank, das sich Cash for Repair and Reconstruction (CfRR) nennt und
den privaten Wiederaufbau von beschädigten oder zerstörten Häusern
finanziert.

Der Direktor der Glückskette macht drei Mängel des Programms namhaft:
«Erstens ist der Höchstbetrag, den die Behörden für den Wiederaufbau
bewilligten, für den Bau eines Hauses von annehmbarer Qualität zu gering.
Und zweitens führen die unterschiedlichen wirtschaftlichen Verhältnisse und
die persönlichen Vorlieben der Empfänger dazu, dass sich die Häuser
beträchtlich unterscheiden. In manchen Fällen ist sogar ein Beitrag aus den
Kassen der internationalen NGOs erforderlich, damit das Haus fertiggestellt
werden kann. Dazu kommt, dass in rund 10 Prozent der Fälle bezüglich Auswahl
der Begünstigten Unklarheit herrschte.»

Wer kritisierte, wurde entlassen

Dieses Eingeständnis von oberster Stelle bedeutet eine zumindest indirekte
Rehabilitation für jene Mitarbeiter des Programms, die auf die
Unkorrektheiten hingewiesen hatten und daraufhin entlassen wurden. Man
erinnert sich: Ende letzten Jahres orientierten zwei ehemalige
Programm-Manager in Sri Lanka, Max Seelhofer vom Roten Kreuz und Georg Mayer
vom Heks, die Öffentlichkeit über Missstände bei der Hilfstätigkeit. Dies,
nachdem beide die Zentralen in der Schweiz regelmässig über die Mängel
informiert hatten. Geschehen ist nichts, ausser dass die Ãœberbringer der
schlechten Botschaft entlassen wurden (das gleiche Schicksal ereilte noch
drei weitere kritische Mitarbeiter).

Was der Glückskette-Direktor zugibt, ist bloss die Spitze des Eisbergs. Das
tatsächliche Ausmass der Misere ist weit grösser. Es umfasst
Ungereimtheiten, Fehlschläge, Missmanagement und sogar Fälle von Betrug.
Eine kleine Chronologie.

Als Aussenministerin Calmy-Rey Anfang Januar 2005 begleitet von
Deza-Direktor Walter Fust die verheerten Gebiete bereiste, versprach sie in
Thailand und Sri Lanka spontan Hilfe. Dass beim Bund dafür kein
ausreichender Budgetposten vorhanden war, kümmerte sie nicht. Als Folge
dieser Gefühlsdiplomatie (noch bei der Pressekonferenz nach ihrer Rückkehr
traten Calmy-Rey laut Zeitungsberichten «mehrmals Tränen in die Augen») sah
sich die Deza Verpflichtungen gegenüber, denen sie gar nicht nachkommen
konnte.

Gelöst wurde das Problem, indem die Glückskette einsprang, statutenwidrig.
Denn gemäss ihren Regeln darf sie nur Nichtregierungsorganisationen (NGOs)
unterstützen. Im Fall der thailändischen Fischerdörfer wurde dieser
Grundsatz missachtet. Der Glückskette-Jahresbericht schreibt dazu
verschleiernd bis irreführend: «In Thailand gibt es kein Schweizer Hilfswerk
vor Ort, das auf den Wiederaufbau nach einer Katastrophe spezialisiert ist.
Die Glückskette hat sich deshalb mit der Direktion für Entwicklung und
Zusammenarbeit (Deza) zusammengetan.»

Das ist eine Umkehr des tatsächlichen Ablaufs: Die Glückskette kam
nachträglich für das Versprechen der Aussenministerin auf, damit diese ihr
Gesicht wahren konnte. Das Projekt habe «aus politischen Überlegungen» hohe
Priorität, bestätigte der Leiter der Asien-Sektion der Deza, Willy Lenherr
(mittlerweile frühpensioniert).

Mitte Januar 2005 lancierte Calmy-Rey auf Empfehlung eines externen
Beraters, der seit Jahren für die Deza arbeitet, ein Programm in Sri Lanka
mit dem Titel Cash for Host Families. Hierbei sollten Gastgeberfamilien, die
überlebende Opfer des Seebebens aufnahmen, finanziell entschädigt werden. Im
Februar 2005 schrieb die Deza, gegen 19000 Familien kämen in den Genuss der
Zahlungen und bis zu 100000 Obdachlose fänden so einfach und schnell ins
Alltagsleben zurück. «Diese Art der Unterstützung ist nicht nur
kostengünstiger als die Unterbringung in Lagern – sie ist auch sozial
wirkungsvoller», liess die Deza verlauten. Calmy-Rey sagte, das Angebot sei
in Sri Lanka «begeistert aufgenommen» worden – doch die sri-lankische
Regierung wollte es nicht. Es widerspreche der traditionellen sri-lankischen
Gastfreundschaft, hiess es aus Colombo. Das Finanzministerium lehnte die
Offerte ab, und die Uno-Botschafterin in Genf sprach in Bern vor, um die
Unsinnigkeit des Vorhabens zu erläutern. Das gross angekündigte Programm
wurde begraben.

Als Ersatz kündigte die Deza Ende März 2005 eine neue «Priorität» an: den
Wiederaufbau. Am 6.April unterzeichnete der Schweizer Botschafter in
Colombo, Bernardino Regazzoni, ein Agreement mit dem sri-lankischen
Finanzministerium, das den Einstieg der Schweiz ins CfRR-Programm regelte.
Die Schweiz verpflichtete sich zu einer Zahlung von 7 Millionen US-Dollar
für den Häuserbau (rund 10,5 Millionen Franken, in einem Zusatzübereinkommen
wurde dieser Betrag später um 4,5 Millionen Dollar erhöht).

Geld in einen vollen Topf?

Doch auch dieser erneute Versuch, Schweizer Hilfs- und Spendengelder
sinnvoll auszugeben, ist im Begriff, spektakulär zu scheitern. Schon die
Grundsatzfrage, ob es notwendig war, auf den CfRR-Zug aufzuspringen, stellt
sich akut. Nach der übereinstimmenden Einschätzung mehrerer ehemaliger
Projektmitarbeiter war das Programm nämlich bereits zuvor vollständig
finanziert, durch die Weltbank, die Asiatische Entwicklungsbank und die
Kreditbank für Wiederaufbau.

Die Schweizer Gelder fliessen in zwei der zwölf betroffenen Distrikte,
Matara und Trincomalee. Auf die Bitte um Auskunft, was dort ohne die
Schweizer Unterstützung geschehen wäre, antwortete Chulie de Silva, External
Affairs Officer der Weltbank in Colombo: «I have no answer to your question
and have not been able to find one.» Konkrete Nachfragen beantwortete die
Weltbank bis dato nicht, auch nicht am Hauptsitz in Washington.

Eine kleine Rechnung legt nahe, dass die Schweiz tatsächlich Geld in einen
vollen Topf schüttet. Die Weltbank hat für das Programm 65 Millionen Dollar
bereitgestellt. Für ein als «vollständig» beschädigt geltendes Haus erhalten
die Berechtigten 2500 Dollar, für ein teilweise beschädigtes 1000.
Ursprünglich ging man davon aus, dass in den betroffenen zwölf Distrikten 40
Prozent der in Frage kommenden Häuser in die erste Kategorie eingestuft
würden, 60 Prozent in die zweite. Mit den 65 Millionen Dollar liessen sich
16250 ganz und 24375 teilweise zerstörte Häuser finanzieren (ohne
Administration). Dies entspricht ziemlich genau den Zahlen einer Erhebung,
welche die Weltbank und die Asiatische Entwicklungsbank im Januar/Februar
2005 machten – und zwar für alle zwölf Distrikte.

Ein zentraler Schwachpunkt des Agreements mit der sri-lankischen Regierung
besteht darin, dass sich die Schweiz mit der Rolle einer Assistentin und
Geldgeberin zufriedengibt. In einem Bericht über die anlaufende
Unterstützung des CfRR-Programms schrieb der zuständige Leiter im
Deza-Hauptquartier am 11. Mai 2005: «The Swiss Party has decided to join a
predefined project design, accepting a limited influence in the design and
implementation.» Und am 1. Juli heisst es in einem Protokoll des Schweizer
Koordinationsbüros in Colombo, die Deza sei «not in a position to manage the
project at field level having only a support role and no specific power».

Das Aussendepartement nahm also vorsätzlich in Kauf, dass man wenig zu sagen
hatte. Entsprechend gering ist der Einfluss auf Steuerung, Kontrolle und
Qualität des Programms.

Und um diese Qualität steht es schlecht, allerdings nicht nur durch das
Verschulden der sri-lankischen Regierung. Auch die beteiligten Schweizer
Organisationen haben operative Fehler gemacht. Die Baufortschritte nach zwei
Jahren sind gering. In einem Rechenschaftsbericht per Ende 2006 weist das
Schweizerische Rote Kreuz aus, dass erst knapp 40 Prozent der konkreten
Projekten zugeordneten 83,2 Millionen Franken verbraucht sind. In jenen
Projekten, die das SRK ausserhalb des CfRR-Programms durchführt, sind
lediglich 491 von total angestrebten 1283 Häusern «bezogen» oder
«bezugsbereit». Offenbar wird, um die Bilanz zu verschönern, die exakte
Bezeichnung «fertiggestellt» vermieden. Trotz dieser Schummelei ist die
Quote schlecht, zumal ein Haus in der Dritten Welt sehr bald einmal als
«bezugsbereit» gilt.

Der Wert der Spenden zerfällt

Ein Grund für die Langsamkeit: Dringend benötigtes Baufachpersonal traf –
mit einer Ausnahme – erst mit einem Jahr Verspätung in Sri Lanka ein. Der
SRK-Chefdelegierte vor Ort forderte im April 2005 schriftlich mehr
Baufachleute an (statt der entsandten Anglistin und Ethnologin). Davon
wollte die SRK-Zentrale in Bern nun aber gar nichts wissen: «Die Meldung,
wir brauchten an jedem Standort zumindest je einen permanenten Construction
Delegate, ist für uns nicht ausreichend, um darauf reagieren zu können.»

Ein Blick in die Bilanzen der Glückskette, der Hauptgeldgeberin der
Schweizer Programme, bestätigt den schleppenden Gang der Hilfe. Für die
Tsunami-Opfer hat die Glückskette 227,72 Millionen Franken Spenden
gesammelt. Bis Ende 2006 hat sie lediglich 105,5 Millionen Franken an die
projektausführenden Organisationen überwiesen, also weniger als die Hälfte
der zur Verfügung stehenden Mittel. Selbst Glückskette-Direktor Bollmann
sagt: «Die Perspektiven für 2006 sahen höhere Zahlungsausgänge vor. Daraus
resultieren in Schweizer Franken treuhänderisch angelegte liquide Mittel,
die nur wenig Zins einbrachten (unter 2 Prozent im Jahresdurchschnitt).»

Das heisst im Klartext: Weit über 100 Millionen Spendengelder liegen
ungenutzt auf den Konten der Glückskette, da deren Partnerorganisationen
(Hilfswerke, Deza) nicht in der Lage sind, das Geld innert nützlicher Frist
auszugeben. Wie in Sri Lanka deutlich wird, führt diese Verzögerung zu einer
Wertverminderung der Spendengelder. Wegen der grossen Nachfrage beträgt die
Teuerung auf dem Bausektor rund 80 Prozent. Die Hilfeleistung, die mit einem
Spendenfranken erzielt werden kann, reduziert sich daher fortwährend.

Selbstbehinderung der Helfer

Mit der Beschränkung auf die Rolle des assistierenden Geldgebers hat sich
das Schweizer Konsortium unter der Führung der Deza weitgehend um die
Möglichkeit gebracht, aktiv gegen Missbrauch vorzugehen. Ein ehemaliger
Programmleiter des Heks hat im Distrikt Matara 428 Fälle dokumentiert, in
denen andere, nicht-schweizerische Organisationen Häuser voll finanziert
hatten – und in denen die Hausherren trotzdem noch die 2500 Dollar aus der
Schweiz bekamen. Tür und Tor für unrechtmässige Bezüge wurden auch dadurch
geöffnet, dass man darauf verzichtete, eine Kategorie der «am geringsten
Geschädigten» einzuführen. Allein in Matara wurden 3188 solcher
Bagatellfälle als «teilweise beschädigt» eingestuft, wodurch die Empfänger
die ganzen 1000 Dollar erhielten.

Noch betrügerischer: Wie ein Kadermitglied des «Schweizer Konsortiums»
berichtet, beschädigten Hunderte von Eigentümern ihre Häuser mutwillig,
schlugen Türen und Fenster ein, produzierten Wasserschäden. Die Beamten,
welche die Schäden aufnahmen, wurden bestochen – ein eigenes kleines
Cash-Programm: Für einen Obolus leiteten sie die Schadensmeldungen an die
Schweizer weiter, die dann nach den Richtlinien des Abkommens mit der
sri-lankischen Regierung brav zahlten. Und noch immer zahlen.

Was sagt man bei der Deza zum missbräuchlichen Bezug von Spendengeldern?
Toni Frisch, Delegierter für humanitäre Hilfe: «Es gibt wohl überhaupt kein
System, das einen Missbrauch von vornherein völlig ausschliesst.» Es gehe
aber darum, «Massnahmen zu treffen und Instrumente einzusetzen, welche das
Risiko absolut minimieren, vor allem in einem ausserordentlich schwierigen
Umfeld, wie dies in Sri Lanka der Fall war».

Das Missbrauchspotenzial war bekannt

Die Schweiz sei verschiedentlich bei der sri-lankischen Regierung vorstellig
geworden, um eine stärkere Abstufung der Beiträge für die zu reparierenden
Häuser durchzusetzen. Sie konnte aber, so Frisch, «als einzelner Donor nicht
die Auslegung eines inselweiten Vorgehens verändern».

Dies wusste die Deza jedoch von Anfang an, wie die zitierten internen
Berichte über das Agreement mit dem sri-lankischen Finanzministerium
belegen. Sie stimmte ihrem «begrenzten Einfluss auf die Ausgestaltung und
die Umsetzung» des Programms ausdrücklich zu. Sogar das Missbrauchspotenzial
war dem Aussendepartement schon beim Start des Programms bewusst.

Der Deza-Bericht vom 11.Mai 2005 hält fest: «Concerning the design, the
definition of the category ‹partially damaged house› is weak. For instance,
a destroyed door makes the house owner eligible for the project.» Die
Schweiz unterschrieb also ein Abkommen, das von ihr verlangte, für eine
beschädigte sri-lankische Tür 1000 US-Dollar zu bezahlen.

source/Quelle:

http://www.weltwoche.ch/artikel/?AssetID=16816&CategoryID=66

Relevant for AbaY?

Published
by
Greg
on 05/07/2007
in Blogs and press coverage
. 0 Comments

Archive for June 29th, 2007

Uncertain Future for Tissa Vitharana’s Proposals to the A.P.R.C

by D.B.S. JEYARAJ

Cabinet minister and All Party Representative Committee (APRC) chairman Prof. Tissa Vitharana participated at a forum held on June 18th at the Sri Lanka press institute. The gathering comprised journalists, media activists and publishers.

The forum was intended to encourage more discussion in all three linguistic media about Prof. Vitharane’s working paper submitted to the APRC. Vitharana was hopeful of formulating a final draft in about six weeks time.The APRC itself has met 27 times during the past eight months.

On the following day President Mahinda Rajapakse met with members of the APRC conference in Parliament. According to media reports Rajapakse has stated that ” the APRC was primarily for the benefit of India and the Western nations”.

[President Mahinda Rajapaksa meeting British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Aug 2006]

It was a stratagem to demonstrate to the International Community (IC) that a political process was on.

Rajapakse disappointed many minority community members by his frank admission of what he envisaged the APRC’s role to be.

The President also re-iterated his stance on what the final product will be. Sri Lanka was to be a unitary state. The unit of devolution was to be the district.

Rajapakse also mildly admonished Vitharana about some newspaper reports attributed to the Professor.

Rajapakse was unhappy that an impression had been conveyed through the media that the unitary state was out and that the devolution unit would be the province.

The president advised Vitharana to be careful about the media and inform him privately of dissenting viewpoints.

It had transpired during the discussions at the press institute forum that there was a difference between the Tissa Vitharana paper and the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) position.

There was congruence between the chief opposition United National Party (UNP) stance and that of the Vitharana proposals.

But the SLFP stance was sharply divergent on the essentials from that of Vitharana. Now Rajapakse was confirming that the SLFP position on unitary and district as unit were non – negotiable.

During the discussions at the Press Institute forum Prof. Vitharana stated that there should be a consensus between the SLFP and the UNP to successfully implement whatever agreed upon at the APRC. It also required support of the majority of other political parties. Now it was being made clear by Rajapakse that such a consensus could only be on the basis of an inflexible SLFP stance.

Despite the worthwhile efforts of Prof. Vitharana to steer the APRC through troubled waters there is a school of thought which doubts his bona fides on the issue. This school opines that the APRC was a mere sham initiated by Rajapakse to con the world and buy time till his security forces established categorical supremacy over the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

The APRC was doomed from the start as agreement among diversely extreme points of view could not be reached. To go along with the APRC exercise therefore was either a conspiracy or sheer naivete on Vitharana’s part this school of thought, felt.

[Prof. Tissa Vitharana]

This writer agrees partly with the notion that Rajapakse had ulterior motives in convening the APRC. I am also doubtful about a positive result from the APRC. But I do not agree with the charge that Vitharana is a catspaw of Rajapakse. I feel that the veteran Samasamaajist has been fihting a lonely battle to evolve something concrete out of the APRC.

While Rajapakse may have had his own reasons for appointing Vitharana, the APRC chairman has been striving hard to achieve solid results. If Vitharana fails the consequences will be tragic indeed!

This writer is not naively optimistic about the APRC . It is not that one has suspended disbelief about reality . It is more a case of trying to support the best of the limited choices available.

If the APRC fails we would have lost another chance to reach an acceptable political solution. In the absence of such a solution the rationale for the on going war gets strenghened and “legitimised” further. Therefore this column will continue as far as possible to support exercises like the APRC .

It is in this context that this writer has lent consistent support to the APRC and has endorsed the majority expert report and also the Vitharana working paper. The APRC and experts panel have not been ideal fora where like – minded people converged to formulate just and reasonable solutions.

They have in a sense been battle- grounds reflecting the divisions in the Sri Lankan polity. They have also been fora where political games reminiscent of Byzantine intrigues are being played.

In spite of this climate several persons have risen above race and religion to try and arrive at solutions beneficial to the Country at large rather than parochial interests.

Vitharana’s working paper itself was necessitated due to the divisions among members of the experts panel appointed by President Rajapakse. The expert panel was expected to assist the APRC in devising a basis for discussion. But the expert panel itself got divided.

Eleven members comprising Six Sinhala, Four Tamil and One Muslim submitted a proposal described as the majority report. Four Sinhala experts presented another report called the minority report. Two other Sinhala members came up with a dissenting report each.

The expert panel majority report was the most progressive of all reports in form and content. Besides it had multi – ethnic support whereas the other reports were by members of the majority community alone.

But Rajapakse supported by the ethno – fascists and national socialists adopted a hostile attitude towards it.There was a concerted campaign against it although the IC as well as many political parties like the UNP supported it.

With four expert reports circulating and the President being opposed to the best of them all the APRC was in a state of turmoil. Further progress seemed impossible.

It was at this juncture that Vitharana surmounted the challenge by coiming out with his own working paper as a basis for discussions. The Vitharana proposals were essentially based on the majority export report.

It was not identical and dropped a few of the more controversial elements but retained the substance of the majority expert report.The APRC was on track again.

Once again, this was not to Rajapakse’s liking but the President went along with the motions of the APRC. But Medamulana Mahinda did two things that undermined prospects of APRC success.

Firstly he welcomed into Government folds eighteen MP”s from the UNP. In one stroke Mahinda rendered the SLFP – UNP agreement worthless. Without a SLFP – UNP bi – partisan consensus the APRC was under a cloud because agreement between the two major parties was a pre- requisite for any solid achievement.

The second thing was Mahinda’s imposition of his opinion on the SLFP recommendations to the APRC. The SLFP committee headed by Prof. Wiswa Warnapala had persons like Sarath Amunugama and Dilan Perera as members. It was expected that the SLFP report would be commendable and an improvement on the 2000 draft bill.

The final report was a great disappointment to say the least. Unitary was emphasised and the unit was to be district/ village. The hand of Rajapakse in this dilution was transparent.

Against this backdrop it appeared that the APRC would not yield any worthwhile result as President Rajapakse had clearly foreclosed any chance of a viable, equitable and acceptable option emerging.

Still Tissa Vitharana persisted in trying to make the APRC work. Vitharana was working on the twin premises that the SLFP proposals were not the government proposals and that they were not final.

On this basis there was room to hope that meaningful efforts could make Mahinda Rajapakse revise his stance. One way was for constituent parties in the Government to exert pressure. The second was for members of the APRC and other political groups outside to mount pressure.

Other avenues were for civil society and media to help form public opinion. There was also the International Community. Discreet yet intensive pressure was expected from these sections.

The APRC and experts panel etc may very well have proceeded at a slow, leisured pace but for International pressure. Initially Rajapakse hoped to drag the APRC on for an unusual period of time. During this space he was optimistic of the armed forces routing the LTTE and acquiring much real estate in the North – East.

Once a military victory was achieved on ground then the APRC became irrelevant. It was for the Rajapakse regime to impose a forced peace and enforced political solution.Whether a total military victory is possible is one question. Whether a military victory sans a just political solution will resolve the problem is another question.

But the IC was not deceived. India in particular was pressurising Rajapakse intensely. This led him to declare specific deadlines. In recent times some Western nations also have shifted focus to the APRC. They feel that the APRC is the only visible silver lining today in a gloomy political sky.

The IC is not telling Colombo to call off the war against the LTTE. It is only saying dont violate democratic freedoms and human rights while fighting. More importantly the IC opines that a military solution alone is not feasible and that only a political settlement will be durable.

Therefore the IC wants an effective political solution to be achieved. The IC does not say that military efforts should be abandoned and that only a political search should be undertaken. What it requires is a credible, peace process to be on parallel to the military campaign.

Unlike the earlier stage where the IC felt a peace process could be effective only between the GOSL and LTTE , the stance this time is, that the process should be as much inclusive as possible and that a solution acceptable to a majority of opinion should be evolved.

Majority does not mean Sinhala alone but there is no denying that no solution within a united Sri Lanka will work unless a majority of the numerical majority support it.

It is in this context that the IC is supporting the APRC and evinces keen interest in its progress. The APRC has many flaws and a success is not guaranteed but it remains the best option available.

The ideal of course would have been for the GOSL and LTTE to sincerely explore the federal option in terms of the Oslo declaration. But both parties have been very insincere in that.

Under those circumstances the only alternative now is the APRC. In democracy one has to choose from what is available and not what is desirable.

However much the IC may back the APRC , its ultimate success depends on Sri Lankans themselves. Whatever the external input it is Sri Lanka’s problem alone and in the final analysis Sri Lankans have to resolve it. This is the IC position too.

So despite fits and starts, ups and downs, the APRC was seen as positive forward movement. The working paper submitted by Tissa Vitharana as basis for discussions was seen as credible. The expectation was that further discussions could enhance it further.

But now Mahinda has upset the” dodang karathe”. By stating openly to APRC members what the solution ought to be. He has also said the APRC is only to impress the IC that Colombo is keen on a political settlement.

Rajapakse has undermined the credibility of both the APRC and Prof. Vitharana. Some parties particularly those from minority commuities may feel the exercise is pointless hereafter. Future sittings of the APRC could become akin to a lame duck session of parliament.

But this column in the words of Dylan Thomas does not believe in “going out gently into that good night” but in “raging against the falling of thelight”. The towel should not be thrown in prematurely.

The APRC should not be allowed to fade away. Instead efforts should be made to strengthen it further and seek ways of utilising it to greater advantage.

The plus point of the APRC at this stage is the Tissa Vitharana proposals. These have been criticised severely by both the Sinhala and Tamil hardliners. Rajapakse is clearly dissatisfied with them. This shows that these proposals have their merits.

It is this column’s view that no solution within a united Sri Lanka will succeed under a rigidly unitary structure. The substance of devolution should amount to federalism or quasi – federalism.

However if one is realistic then one has to accept that in a climate where federalism is a “F- word” to many people on both sides of the ethnic divide, a straight course to the federal idea is difficult. Moreover Rajapakse through his myopic “chinthana” has tied himself down to a unitary state.

Under these circumstances adopting a pragmatic approach is necessary. The Tissa Vitharana proposals are the best of what is available. The best ones in recent times were the GL – Neelan package and the majority expert report.

But these are not in the picture now unless the Tamil United Liberation Front’s Veerasingham Anandasangaree resurrects the GL – Neelan package and brings it on to public domain again instead of chirping incessantly about an Indian federal model.May of the suggestions made in the majority expert report have been adopted/adapted by Vitharana.

So the Vitharana proposals remain the best bet of what is available before the Country. More importantly it enjoys the distinction of being the “official” position of the APRC to date. It has many commendable features but has shortfalls too.

But it can be improved upon if there is a will. Even Rajapakse can be persuaded into changing track if a united front is presented. For this some measures need to be taken.

[Ranil Wickremasinghe, UNP leader at a rally in Gampola on May 19th, 2007 - Pic:UNP.lk]

The onus is primarily on Ranil Wickremasinghe and the UNP. Wickremasinghe spends most of his time pointing out the negative aspects of Rajapakse’s policies and complaining to the IC about it. What is required of him is a more , determined effort. One place for Wickremasinghe to prove his fighting abilities can be the APRC itself.

The UNP should take the lead in pursuing an acceptable and equitable solution through the APRC. Instead of letting it fail the UNP should utilise it to greater advantage. Wickremasinghe himself can make a political statement – metaphorically and literally – if he himself attends the APRC once as a demonstration of his concern.

The various political parties representing the minority communities could join forces on a principled basis. Given the conduct of these parties hanging on to Mahinda’s “Sataka” I have my doubts whether they will ever rise to the occasion but nothing can be finalised without trying.

One sincerely hopes that the minority parties could present a strong position contrary to that of the SLFP and Rajapakse at the APRC.The Lanka Sama Samaaja Party (LSSP) and the Communist party (CP) could also play a part in formulating a non – SLFP viewpoint at the APRC.

There is also the fact that the SLFP is not unanimous in its position on the APRC. Though Rajapakse is trying to take the SLFP to a pre – 1956 position many stalwarts feel that the party should not go below its avowed position in 2000 when the draft bill was presented.

SWRD Bandaranaike used to say that “rivers do not flow backwards” but Mahinda and his fellow travellers from the ethno- fascist camp want the SLFP to flow backwards in terms of the party’s commitment to devolution. So there is space for hidden persuasion within the SLFP too.

There is also room for more positive public opinion being formed through progressive sections of the media. Civil society can play its part too. The International community too could take the initiative in exerting pressure on Rajapakse.

[Peace hoarding, sponsored by a Sri Lanka media organization at the dawn of last year - Pic: HumanityAshore.org]

It seems obvious that the President is trying to use the APRC as a cosmetic exercise to hoodwink the IC and buy time. But this sword can cut both ways. If a determined effort supported by the IC is made then Rajapakse could be presented with a “fait accompli” at the APRC.

If the President chooses to disregard the “consensus” of opinion at the APRC he will stand exposed. Therefore he would do his best to avert such a possibility and subvert the APRC. The need of the hour is to resist such moves.

For that efforts should be made firstly to prevent the APRC from sinking into oblivion and secondly to utilise it fruitfully and evolve a reasonable set of proposals devolving maximum powers to a large unit of devolution. Tissa Vitharana’s proposals can be the foundation for this.

Let us remember that the search for greater devolution amounting to federalism / quasi – federalism is not for or against the LTTE. It is for the silent majority of Tamil people who want to live with equal rights in a united but not necessarily a unitary Sri Lanka. At the same time it must be emphasised that devolution would help greatly in bridging the urban – rural divide and also help equalise uneven development among regions. For all this the quest to share power must not remain an unfinished task.

DBS Jeyaraj can be contacted on: djeyaraj@federalidea.com

34 comments June 29th, 2007

PottuVille Massacre on U-Tube

Published
by
Greg
on 01/07/2007
in Security & Safety and press coverage
. 0 Comments

Arugam.info is, of course (as you know!!) a strictly non-political, non religious and totally non- violent, home-based information site.

The still very much unexplained deaths of some Muslim Labourers from nearby PottuVille, however, did cast a dark cloud over our entire area.
Without comment we feel that a recently uploaded video clip on U-Tube should not be ignored.
[youtube]http://youtube.com/watch?v=etmbFz1biQc[/youtube]

However, at the time, in hospital the only survivor was interviewed and said:
[youtube]http://www.arugam.info/wp-admin/post.php?action=edit&post=758[/youtube]