Issues

Is SB guilty of contempt of court?

By G.L. Peiris  1. The reason why S.B. Dissanayake was held guilty of contempt of court and sentenced to two year's rigorous imprisonment was spelt out by the Divisional Bench of the Supreme Court, presided over by Chief Justice Sarath N. Silva, as follows: "The respondent has ridiculed the conduct of the President but has gone far beyond in relation to the court itself by describing the decision yet to be given by a disparaging and slanderous word. The thrust of his attack is on the court itself and he has repeatedly said that the decision of the court will not be accepted. Therefore it is not a mere political speech, but a speech clearly intended to scandalize the court itself and to bring the decision of the court into ridicule and contempt." (p 17-18)

S. B. Dissanayake

This approach, which pervades the judgment as a whole, is diametrically at variance with enlightened judicial attitudes in the modern democratic world. Even at the turn of the century the Privy Council observed that "committals for contempt of court by scandalising the court itself have become obsolete." (McLeod v St. Aubyn [1899] A.C. 549 at p. 561) In a case decided five years ago the Privy Council asserted: "In England such proceedings are rare, and none has been successfully brought for more than sixty years." (Ahnee & Ors v. D.P.P.) [1999] 2 W.L.R. 1305 at p. 1313)

The established judicial attitude is that contempt of court, based on the premise of scandalising the court, is incompatible with contemporary democratic values and is appropriate only "against the background of a largely illiterate society" (Atake v. The President of the Federation) Supreme Court of Nigeria November 26, 1982 unreported) and "in small colonies consisting principally of coloured populations" (McLeod v St. Aubyn).

This is hardly applicable to a country with the enviable educational standards achieved in Sri Lanka. The basis for rejecting the reasoning of the Divisional Bench as obsolete and authoritarian is convincingly expressed in an Australian judgement: "There is no more reason why the acts of courts should not be trenchantly criticised than the acts of public institutions including parliaments. The truth is, of course, that public institutions in a free society must stand upon their own merits; they cannot be propped up if their conduct does not command the respect and confidence of the community. If their conduct justifies the respect and confidence of a community, they do not need the protection of special rules to protect them from criticism." (Attorney-General for New South Wales v Mundey [1972] 2 NSWLR 887 at p. 908)

2. The judgment of the Divisional Bench strikes a mortal blow at freedom of speech, the right of expression of political dissent and the legitimate role of the opposition in a parliamentary democracy. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights declares in explicit terms that "everyone shall have the right to hold opinions without interference" and that "everyone shall have the right to freedom of expression; this right shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds." (Article 19)

The constraints inherent in outmoded concepts like 'scandalising the court' have been consistently frowned upon by judges upholding the paramount need to protect freedom of expression. The Supreme Court of Canada has aptly commented, "The salutary effects of the publication ban must outweigh the deleterious effects to freedom of expression of those affected by the ban." (Dagenais v Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (1995) 120 DLR (4th) 12 at p. 38)

The Manesar Declaration of December 4, 2004, subscribed to by participants from Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, reminds us of the sanctity of conditions essential for the preservation of a truly democratic society. The Declaration, adopted unanimously in Haryana, India, just a month ago, emphasises that "judges should exercise extreme caution in the grant of restraint orders in contempt cases where this would have a chilling effect on the right to freedom of expression" (paragraph 6). This is because "governments and judges should at all times have regard to the importance of the right to freedom of speech and expression - a right which has been accorded pride of place in international instruments such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights - while making and implementing the law on contempt of court" (paragraph 1).

3. The assumptions pervading the judgment of the Divisional Bench in S.B. Dissanayake's case are manifest in several passages. The court, at p.19 of the judgment, refers to "the path of public confrontation" allegedly chosen by the respondent and decries "his vituperative and slanderous tirade." In similar vein, the court, at p.21, complains that the respondent "directly confronted the authority of the court with a slanderous and abusive tirade." This represents a vivid contrast with the informed and enlightened attitude of courts in other countries.

A good example is the Granada case in England. Lord Denning's judgment met with ferocious criticism expressed in extravagant language. Michael Foot, a leader of the Labour Party said, "Denning is an ass." The observer in a banner headline tried to explain: "Why Denning Is An Ass" (Lord Denning (What Next In The Law, p.328). Lord Denning considered his shoulders "broad enough" to accept such criticism with equanimity.

If the Divisional Bench presided over by Chief Justice Sarath Silva had just reason to complain of "a slanderous and abusive tirade" by S.B. Dissanayake, much more cogent would have been the complaint of the Canadian Court which had to contend with a far more "vituperative tirade" directed against its judgment by unsuccessful counsel: "This decision is a mockery of justice. It stinks to high hell. I have lost faith in the judicial system to render justice. We're wondering what is the point of appealing and continuing this charade of the courts in this country which are warped in favour of protecting the police. The courts and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police are sticking so close together you would think that they were put together with Krazy Glue."

It is difficult to imagine a stronger "vituperative tirade." And yet, thanks to the liberal values underpinning their decision, the five judges of the Ontario Court of Appeal hesitated to apply the "scandalising the court" principle with anything resembling the ease with which the Divisional Bench in Sri Lanka found itself able to relegate basic requirements relating to the freedom of expression.

In marked contrast with the view of the Divisional Bench, the case for tolerance and understanding was articulated with irresistible force by the Canadian Court. "As a result of their importance the courts are bound to be the subject of comment and criticism. Not all will be sweetly reasoned. Some criticism may be well founded, some suggestions for change worth adopting. But the courts are not fragile flowers that will wither in the hot heat of controversy. The courts have functioned well and effectively in difficult times. They are well regarded in the community because they merit respect. They need not fear criticism, nor need to sustain unnecessary barriers to complaints about their operations or decisions" (R.v Koptyo (1987) 62 O.R.(2d) 449 at p.469)

4. The Divisional Bench in S.B. Dissanayake's case said: "The respondent's tirade against the court is devoid of even a vestige of bona fides, since the abusive words were uttered even before the decision was made. Therefore we have to necessarily hold that the conduct of the respondent is an aggravated form of contempt of court" (p.16-17).

This is clearly wrong in principle and inconsistent with judicial authority of impeccable standing. It has been held by Commonwealth courts that even an imputation of bias, demonstrably militating against bona fides, does not necessarily amount to contempt of court.

The Supreme Court of New South Wales has confidently stated, "It does not necessarily amount to a contempt of court to claim that a court or judge had been influenced by some particular consideration in respect of a matter which has been determined. Such criticism is frequently made in academic journals and books, and the right cannot be limited to academics (Attorney-General for New South Wales v Mundey, cited above). A judge of the highest court in Australia has declared: "I am not prepared to accede to the proposition that an imputation of want of impartiality to a judge is necessarily a contempt of court." If that is the case, then lack of bona fides in the respondent, even if established, cannot constitute an aggravated form of contempt of court. (R.V. Nichols (1911) 12 CLR 280)

The Divisional Bench was plainly insensitive to the proposition, supported by unassailable authority, that comments which are excessive and lacking in proportionality need not amount to contempt of court. A Belgian Court has stated: "An opinion may be excessive in particular in the absence of any factual basis" (De Haes and Gijsels v Belgium (1997) 25 EHRR 1 at p.47-8).

The rationale for latitude was explained by the Privy Council: "The path of criticism is a public way; the wrong headed are permitted to err therein. Justice is not a cloistered virtue." (Ambard v. Attorney-General for Trinidad and Tobago (1936) AC 322 at p. 335) The priorities applicable were defined in a manner which represents the opposite of the view which commended itself to the Divisional Bench in S.B. Dissanayake's case. Lord Denning has stated that the paramount right is that of every member of the public to criticise decisions of the courts in the public interest: "They can say that we are mistaken, and our decisions erroneous, whether they are subject to appeal or not" (Metropolitan Police Commissioner, ex parte Blackburn (1968) 2 QB 150 at p.155).

In that case, how much more important is it to ensure that this right is available in abundant measure to a member of parliament and the national organising secretary of the largest party sitting in opposition in parliament?

These liberal sentiments, sadly, represent a far cry from the narrow approach of the Divisional Bench which went as far as to curtail the right by reference to the occasion on which the impugned statement was made: "The respondent made an important official function the occasion to make the impugned speech. The 'Vap Magul' ceremony is the foremost national event to signify the commencement of the paddy cultivation season. Paddy cultivation is the main agricultural activity of the country and produces rice, being the staple diet of the people. The respondent's speech is not even remotely connected to the noble process which the ceremony signifies, steeped in the long history spanning reveal millennia and the rich cultural traditions of the country." (p 15-16).

5. The most elaborate part of the judgment by the Divisional Bench consists of a series of paragraphs which attempt to reach the conclusion that the exercise of consultative jurisdiction by the Supreme Court forms part of the administration of justice by the court in a manner not distinguishable from the exercise of other jurisdiction vested in the court. The constitution of Sri Lanka empowers the President to invoke the consultative jurisdiction of the Supreme Court where "a question of law or fact has arisen or is likely to arise which is of such nature and of such public importance that it is expedient to obtain the opinion of the Supreme Court upon it, by referring that question for consideration to the court." The court is then required "after such hearing as it thinks fit, to report to the President its opinion thereon." The court's insistence is that consultative jurisdiction conferred by Article 129 of the Constitution is an integral part of its overall jurisdiction comprehensively defined by Article 118.

The laboured argument which the Divisional Bench resorts to in support of this conclusion is entirely beside the point. Nothing relevant to liability for contempt turns on the question whether consultative jurisdiction is on the same level as other jurisdiction vested in the court; rather, the relevant question has to be defined in entirely different terms.

A person who invokes the jurisdiction of a court of law with regard to the determination of legal rights and liabilities is entitled to two guarantees. The first is that he should be able to rely on obtaining a decision which is free from bias and is based on facts proved in evidence before the court. The second is that he should be able to rely on "there being no usurpation by any other person of the function of the court to decide according to law." (Lord Diplock in Attorney-General v Times Newspaper Ltd., (1973) 2 All E.R. 54 at p. 72)

This was the crucial issue which the Divisional Bench was required to decide in S.B. Dissanayake's case. In light of the statement attributed to the respondent, was there any risk of the usurpation of the court's function by any other person? The Divisional Bench drew the inference that "the respondent sought to intimidate the court and make such intimidation a general and public process, at a time when the judges were in the process of deciding the matter." (p 16)

It is established law that there must be "a substantial risk" that the court of justice in the proceedings in question will be "seriously impeded or prejudiced" (see, for example, s.2 (2) of the Contempt of Court Act of the United Kingdom (1981).

The Divisional Bench overlooked the obvious distinction in this regard between a judge and a jury. The principle is widely recognised that, because of professional training, a judge is far less likely to be influenced by statements of the kind imputed to S.B. Dissanayake than a jury. An English court has observed: "It has generally been accepted that professional judges are sufficiently well equipped by their professional training to be on their guard against allowing (a prejudging of the issues) to influence them in deciding the case" (Vine Products Ltd., v. Mac Kenzie and Co. Ltd (1965) 3 All E.R. 58 at p 62).

The Divisional Bench appropriately places emphasis on Article 129 (3) of the Constitution which declares that, with regard to the exercise of consultative jurisdiction, "the opinion, determination and report shall be expressed after consideration by at least five judges of the Supreme Court." It is ironical that the court, having underlined this aspect of the exercise of consultative jurisdiction,  is oblivious of its patent corollary - that the danger of public perception of usurpation of the court's function is remote in these circumstances.

The test adopted by the law requires that "the substantive evil must be extremely serious and the degree of imminence extremely high before utterances can be punished" (Bridges v California 314 U.S. 252 at p 263 (1941). There must be "a real risk, as opposed to a remote possibility, that the statement was calculated to prejudice a fair hearing" (Duffy, ex p. Nash (1960) and All E.R. 891 at p. 896).

It is fanciful to suggest that this test was satisfied in the circumstances of S.B. Dissanayake's case.

Put at its highest, the impugned statement amounted to mere abuse or vituperation. But it is settled law that this, by itself, does not amount to contempt of court. There must be clear proof of "an interference with the due administration of justice, either in a particular case or more generally as a continuing process" (Lord Diplock in Attorney. General v Leveller Magazine Ltd. (1979) A.C. 440 at p. 449). It is this vital element which was not, and could not have been, realistically established with regard to S.B. Dissanayake's statement.

6. The judgement of the Divisional Bench suffers from the grave weakness that the court failed to give proper consideration to the submission, pressed on behalf of the respondent, that it is the official view of the United National Party, of which the respondent is a member, that no person is obliged to accept or follow the opinion of the Supreme Court in the exercise of its consultative jurisdiction. This conclusion had been formally adopted by the parliamentary group of the United National Party, and S.B. Dissanayake was merely giving expression to the party's officially declared position.

Moreover, the same view had been publicly expressed by President's Counsel, K.N. Choksy and a leading legal advisor of the United National Party. A copy of Choksy's opinion was annexed to the written submissions of President's Counsel, Romesh de Silva representing the respondent.

It was also stated in the written submissions by Dissanayake's counsel that the Attorney-General took the same view while making submissions in the Supreme Court in the matter of the special determination regarding the Tax Amnesty Law. In these circumstances S.B. Dissanayake had every reason for believing that the view which he was expressing on the legal effect of an opinion pronounced by the Supreme Court in the exercise of consultative jurisdiction, was sound and defensible.

7. The procedure adopted by the court in subjecting S.B. Dissanayake to questioning was open to the gravest objection, from the standpoint both of legality and reasonableness. The impugned statement, on the directions of the court, was read by the Registrar to Dissanayake, sentence by sentence, and he was ordered to respond. Recourse to this procedure had a material bearing on the conviction and sentence in which the proceedings cultiminated.

The use of this procedure flagrantly violates fundamental principles governing the administration of criminal justice. Our entire system of jurisprudence relating to the rights of accused persons in criminal proceedings is founded upon the privilege against self incrimination and the presumption of innocence.

These are essential and indispensable principles. S.B. Dissanayake had every right to remain silent and to challenge the prosecution to prove the case against him without any support, direct or indirect, from responses of any kind sought to be elicited from him. This sacred principle received short shrift in the procedure adopted by the court. Consequently, the foundation of the proceedings can be convincingly assailed on the ground of repugnance to values which are part and parcel of any just and humane system of criminal justice.

Moreover, the procedure adopted was palpably unreasonable. A prominent politician of the stature of S.B. Dissanayake, who is accustomed to making several public speeches a day, can hardly be expected to recall, with any degree of accuracy, the form and content of a speech he made several months ago and to vouch for the authenticity of every phrase or sentence which he is alleged to have uttered; and yet, the gravest consequences, in terms of criminal liability and imprisonment, flowed from the use of this fundamentally unacceptable procedure.

8. The principle of proportionality between the act and the penalty is one of the basic tenets of sentencing policy in any developed legal system.

As far as I have been able to gather within a couple of weeks from the reported Sri Lankan decisions, the longest sentence of imprisonment imposed in our country for contempt of court (barring a recent controversial decision which has been canvassed in international fora) extends to only about a quarter of the period of the sentence received by S.B. Dissanayake. That, too, was a sentence imposed by the Criminal Justice Commission and not by the Supreme Court.

Typically, however, in accordance with the practice of our courts, a custodial sentence for 'scandalizing the court' has been nominal, or the contemnor, notwithstanding a technical finding of guilt, has been admonished and sent home. A newspaper editor who was held guilty of contempt for publishing notice of a motion in the order paper of parliament containing allegations of bias against a supreme court judge in his capacity as a member of a special presidential commission of inquiry, did not have to suffer even a day's imprisonment (Hewamanne v de Silva (1983) 1SLR 1).

In Re Garamunige Tilakaratne (1991) ISLR 134 a member of parliament who declared in a public speech that the outcome of a presidential election petition had already been decided and that if the petitioner (his party leader) was not successful, "that would be the end of justice in this country," was held guilty of contempt of court, but did not lose his liberty even for a matter of hours.

In England leading politicians and newspaper editors who publicly described Lord Denning as an ass suffered no penal consequences at all. In the leading Indian case of Arundhati Roy a civil society activist made derogatory remarks about the judiciary of India, and Justice Sethi, in the Supreme Court of India, sentenced her to only one day's simple imprisonment.

In keeping with these trends reflected in judicial precedents, I would submit that the sentence of two years' rigorous imprisonment imposed on S.B. Dissanayake (even on the assumption that he was guilty of contempt) was grotesquely excessive.

9. On the basis of the analysis presented above, I would submit that the judgement of the Supreme Court in S.B. Dissanayake's case is:

(a) misconceived in terms of the application of legal principle suitable for a modern democratic society;

(b) indicative of a profound distortion of policy perspectives and priorities;

(c) inconsistent with trends reflected in contemporary legislation;

(d) in direct conflict with major currents of judicial authority throughout the democratic world;

(e) out of line with the modern literature on the subject;

(f) directly contrary to intuitive perceptions of justice and equity.

(g) incompatible with core values which underpin the administration of criminal justice;

(h) deeply flawed in respect of disproportionality of the sentence imposed, even on the (erroneous) assumption that liability had been established.

- The writer, Professor G.L. Peiris (D. Phil. (Oxford), PhD. (Sri Lanka) is a Quondom Distinguished Visiting Fellow of the Universities of Oxford, Cambridge and London; Emeritus Professor of Law and former Dean of the Faculty of Law and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Colombo

Billions needed to rebuild infrastructure

Chunks of the main Galle Road have simply disappeared and Track down south will take months to restore

By Easwaran Rutnam 

On December 26, Sri Lanka not only experienced a massive loss of life, but also colossal  damage to infrastructure that will take months to be restored completely. The cost of the damage is still being worked out, but is expected to run into over Rs. 100 billion rupees. The country is looking for foreign aid to cushion the financial losses and to reconstruct the damage.

Roads

Among the badly damaged was the road network between Colombo and Ambalantota.

The Secretary, Highways Ministry, S. Amarasekara told The Sunday Leader that the cost of the damage to the road network is yet to be assessed. "Right now we want to ensure the roads are repaired and usable. We will asses the cost later on," he said.

Amarasekara said that the main road from Colombo to Akuressa had only minor damages which have already been repaired. A bridge at Akuressa has been severely damaged while a major culvert near the Seenigama temple when travelling beyond Akuressa was completely destroyed in the tsunami.

There are two major ditches measuring 30 to 40 meters between the Seenigama temple and Hikkaduwa making road transport impossible. While there are only minor damages to the road from Hikkaduwa to Galle the Maganna bridge leading from the town to the Galle navy camp is completely destroyed. The next major damage on the road network is at Dondra where the bridge in the town is destroyed.

Amarasekara says temporary bridges are now being installed and should be ready for use in seven to 10 days. He also said the damage to roads in the north and east are yet to be assessed. However, officers assessing the damage said that the roads in these areas are also severely damaged.

"We have begun repairs with the supplies and contractors in hand," Amerasekara said. "Our prime task is to get the roads usable. Once that is done then we will calculate the damage and look for foreign funds to cover the costs," he added.

Transport

Public transport was also severely hit by the tsunami. Viewers watching the destruction on television saw visuals of mangled buses and trains among the wreckage. The Transport Ministry says several state run buses were destroyed, but since telecom services are not fully rectified they are unable to contact the relevant bus depots to get an exact figure.

President, Private Bus Owners Association, Gemunu Wijeratne speaking to The Sunday Leader said that six private buses are reported missing while more than 800 buses were damaged in the tsunami. Wijeratne said that in the south alone 500 buses were damaged. Wijeratne noted that the private bus operators are unable to claim insurance as it does not cover natural disasters. However, he said he has made a request to the insurance companies for at least Rs. 100,000 to cushion the financial loss.

Wijeratne said that it will take at least one month to get the private bus services back on the road. He says there are standby buses for the operations, but no passengers to travel in them. He said it will not be wise to clog the damaged roads with buses especially when there are no people to travel in them.

Of course the biggest to be hit in the transport sector was the country's rail network. The coastal rail network is almost completely out of service and is facing damage amounting over Rs. 6 billion. General Manager, Sri Lanka Railways, Priyal de Silva said that the rail network only upto Ratmalana is functioning.

He says repair work is now under way from Ratmalana to Angulana while the next stage will be to repair the tracks from Angulana to Kalutara which is expected to be completed soon. De Silva says the completion of major repairs that need to be carried out on the remaining stretch of the rail way line from Kalutara right along the south coast that was badly damaged will depend on the enormity of the task involved, which by the looks of it will take several months. He added that the rail track along the east coast is completely out of service, damage of which is yet to be assessed.

The Transport Ministry says the restoration of the rail network will be carried out on a step by step basis as railway stations along the coast that were completely destroyed also need to be repaired. Four engines were also damaged by the tsunami. An official at the Ministry said that the damaged engines cannot be transported to Colombo for repairs as the rail network is crippled.

He says as the repair work begins the Transport Ministry is considering building two lane tracks instead of the current one lane track and to install stronger concrete sleepers to avoid similar damage in the future.

The Ministry official added that foreign aid is expected to be used for the repairs.

Fuel

The fuel supply was also partially affected by the tsunami. The Ceylon Petroleum Corporation's (CPC) main storage facility in Galle was badly damaged and fuel to the southern region was distributed from this facility. Repair work on the storage facility is being hampered because of exposed live wires. However, Chairman, CPC, Jaliya Medagama told The Sunday Leader that fuel to the south and east is being transported from Colombo.

He noted that the distribution from Colombo is at snail pace because of the damaged roads leading to the south. Medagama said that repairs to the damaged filling stations in Galle is currently underway.

Water supply

The water supply faced some disruptions following the disaster but is now fully operational.

The south and east was like a ghost town at night after the disaster with electricity completely cut off by the killer waves. Homes in many coastal towns in the south and east were washed away damaging the national electricity grid and low voltage lines supplying electricity to the homes.

Electricity

The Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) is currently restoring supply on priority basis to telecom centers and hospitals while most other areas are at least partially connected. With the roads leading from Colombo to the south and east damaged, engineers are trying to hook up temporary transmission lines along alternate routes so that supply can be restored to these institutions.

Meanwhile, the CEB is facing an administrative crisis as well with the billing center in Galle completely washed out and the files in Hambantota also destroyed.

Telecommunication

Telecommunication was another area hard hit by the disaster. Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT) suffered extensive damage to its services in the tsunami hit areas. However, the technical staff have restored its services in several areas around the country affected by the waves.

However, SLT services are still not available in the Hambantota,  Angunakolapalessa, Suriyawewa, Dickwella, Kosgoda and Weligama areas.

SLT has restored essential services to the police, GAs offices, divisional secretariats and hospitals in these areas.

Mobile operators Dialog GSM and Celltel also faced minor damage. Two towers of Dialog GSM were destroyed by the wave while one tower of Celltel faced an electrical short circuit.

The Commercial Director, Celltel, Aniljit Singh told The Sunday Leader that they are currently assessing the financial loss incurred and that a backup tower has been setup to ensure uninterrupted service. Marketing Director, Dialog GSM, Nushad Perera said that they have also put up a temporary tower and added that they did not face a major financial loss which they are currently evaluating.

Tea, coconut, spices affected

By Pelham Juriansz 

The events of December 26 has created a problem for the tea industry.

Joint Managing Director, Bartleets as well as Chairman, Colombo Tea Brokers Association, Bryan Baptist said, there is a two fold problem here for the factory owners. First the roads have to be cleared, especially the roads leading up to the estates. Next, the diesel has to be sent up to the estates and low worker turnout will also be prevalent because all the people are going round trying to find out what has happened to their kith and kin. Even in our office about two or three are missing. Even the buyers have told me 'no go.'"

"There are about 371 low country tea factories, i.e. in the Galle, Matara, Deniyaya and Kalutara Districts. The factories themselves are untouched though the people are affected. Even if the vehicles use a detour route and a road other than the Galle Road that at some point the vehicles have to come on to the Galle Road even at Ambalangoda," he explained.

Chairman, James Finlay & Co. Ltd, R. L. Juriansz, when contacted by The Sunday Leader, said that the tea industry has not been that badly affected as the Galle Road is now being cleared.

Chairman, Tea Small Holder's Association, Tikiri Kobbekaduwa, said that they are currently making a quick recovery. "I even went down south and made an assessment myself," said Kobbekaduwa.

"A few people in Kalutara and Galle are affected. We have a few factories in Matara and towards Deniyaya, Elipitiya and Batapola. The factories are not near the sea and have not been affected much, but the people are affected. The transportation of course has been hampered and we have to take by roads when it comes to transportation. We are setting up a fund for those families who have been directly hit by the tsunami. There are about 250,000 tea small holders and they are willing to donate a day's pay towards the victims of this tragedy. In that case the turnover for a day is about Rs. 23 million. Even if we collect 10% of that we should collect about 2.3 million which is a start," said an optimistic Kobbekaduwa.

"We need to build a few houses for those who lost theirs," said Kobbekaduwa.

Managing Director, Ranfer Group, Nirmal Ranasinghe said that the tea trade has been slightly affected, but according to Director, Ranfer Group, Nanda Kohona the cinnamon trade is badly affected since most of it comes from down south. "The roads are not 100% safe, the rail track is devastated. It is as if someone has just uprooted the track," added Kohona.

Yet another industry to suffer was the coconut industry. A broker, Githanjala Rajapakse told The Sunday Leader that the situation in the coconut industry was disastrous. Since most of the southern regions are areas where coconut were in abundance the tsunami has caused a lot of damage to the industry. "The coconut prices will increase as there is a scarcity in the nuts," commented Rajapakse.

Nanda Kohona also reiterated that the coconut industry is badly affected. "We are at the lower end of the season," added Kohona.

"Transportation, no doubt has been affected, and we have to detour through Elpitiya and Deniyaya. This has resulted in transportation problem. The tea would take around three or four days longer to get to their destination. The main problem at the moment was the lack of fuel as some of the tea estates were in the interior of the country. But the greatest plus point if there is any is that all sympathisers from abroad have been very supportive.

"Co-ordinating this whole operation is very difficult. Secondly, we have to allow some of our workers who are mostly from the coastal areas to return to their homes and families," added Ranasinghe.

Economy badly hit

The economic loss that Sri Lanka will face  as a result of the wave will run in to billions of rupees. This was the view that many economists and heads of private firms and different chambers had when interviewed by The Sunday Leader.

Trading at the CSE was suspended on Monday to enable investors to make an assessment of the unprecedented nationwide disaster caused by the tsunami.

Speaking to The Sunday Leader Chairman, Bartleet & Co, and Chairman, CSE, Eraj Wijesinghe referring to the adverse effect that the tsunami had on the CSE said that it would be mainly the hotel sector that would naturally get affected, but there again because the other areas in the region like the Maldives, Indonesia, India, Thailand, etc., have also been affected the impact on tourism is expected to be much less.

"The CSE should settle down shortly and it should be 'business as usual,'" said Wijesinghe.

President National Chamber of Sri Lanka, Asoka Gunasekera said that this is the worst disaster to have hit Sri Lanka in recent times. It has hit the entire coastal belt of the country. Irrespective of whatever caste, creed or religion one belonged to the tsunami had a terrific impact and of course the worst hit is the tourist industry.

"There is major damage to hotels," he said. "To repair these it will take at least two to three years and we have to start from the very beginning. We have lost billions of dollars in terms of revenue and the tourists will not return till everything is 'tickety boo.' Apart from tourism, we have to embark on a massive rebuilding process. The telephone systems have been affected, water supply has been disrupted, so it means a lot of work. True, we have received a lot of assistance from foreign donors, but it will take years to get back to normal, because the roads have to be repaired and also the rail track down south is in shambles. Thousands have been affected," said Gunasekera.

Analysts predict that the stock market will bounce back soon. There was, however a downward trend in the CSE, but stock analysts predicted that the market would bounce back in the coming weeks.  The stock analysts warned investors against panic selling as Sunday's unfortunate incident will only have a temporary effect on the economy.

"However, the government and the private sector must act promptly and efficiently to lessen the impact of this disaster on the country's economy," a spokesman from Bartleets said.

It is clear the mid-sized, US$ 18 billion (Rs. 230 billion) economy of Sri Lanka - its total GDP was 74th of 208 nations measured by the World Bank in 2003 - will be the hardest hit.

Tourism accounts for about 20 per cent of Sri Lanka's economy and analysts are predicting interest rates will rise as the government increases budget deficits to pay for rebuilding and humanitarian aid. Individual tourism-related stocks in Sri Lanka were hammered on Wednesday. Shares in hotel operators John Keells Holdings and Aitken Spence were down by as much as 20 per cent and 40 per cent respectively, according to the CSE website.

Airlines and travel-related stocks continued to fall across the region, but the market was on a high as investors judged that the cost of the earthquake and destructive waves would be measured more in human cost than in economic terms.

The whole region has been hit and some observers say that as much as 1% of annual growth may be lost.

Government is expected to take steps, such as cutting taxes and increasing spending to facilitate a recovery. The outlook however is not good with the tourism industry struggling to recover.

Another industry that has been badly hit is the fisheries industry. Nine fisheries harbours have been destroyed by the tidal wave.

Speaking to The Sunday Leader, Chairman, Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, Deva Rodrigo, said that the chamber had a special meeting on Thursday and agreed that the greatest impact will be on the micro enterprises and not the large companies that will be affected. "It is the large companies that are dependent on the micro enterprises since the micro companies will not be in a position to work they will not be given any credit."

The biggest problem is the loss of livelihood. For instance if a fisherman has lost his boat he has lost his means of livelihood.

As regards the tourism sector, Deputy Tourism Minister, Arjuna Ranatunga, mentioned that just as the tourism industry was getting a facelift and 50% of the hotels were getting a facelift and going ahead with refurbishment these were destroyed.

- Pelham Juriansz

 Autopsy requirement for the dead waived

Burying the dead

By Sabrina Ahmed  The government last week decided to do away with the requirement for an autopsy under the Birth and Death Registration Act of 1951 in order to facilitate the mass burials taking place on the eastern and southern coastal areas. It has been announced the government will waive the application of the act, whereby in this exceptional circumstance, bodies will be allowed to be buried without the requirement of autopsies, death certificates, post mortems, inquests and so on. The government is yet to gazette this waiver.

A mass burial underway - But will there be questions later?

Police Spokesperson, Rienzie Perera said this waiver was brought in "so as to speed up the burial of the decomposed bodies." He added the police "accepts the deaths were caused by drowning."

Finger prints and photographs

The police have, however, emphasised that before the mass burials, fingerprints must be taken of all those to be buried, and they also must be photographed before burial.

An official from the Bar Association, who did not wish to be named, stated this will be admissible in a court of law, adding, "Under normal circumstances too, an autopsy is carried out only when the cause of death is unknown or suspicious, and as the present cause of death is known to all, the waiver of the rule is admissible."

It must, however, be pointed out there have been numerous burials which did not adhere to the fingerprint and photograph rule, either because they were buried before the information came out, or due to the difficult situation. Hundreds more are missing without a trace.

Legal expert Zulficar Ahmed said, "In itself will not be a problem later on, if there is any suspicion of foul play, the body can be exhumed, as places of burials are marked."

Rising death toll

As volunteers still pull out hundreds of decomposed corpses from ruined buildings, derailed trains, cars and damaged roads, the death toll has kept mounting.

The first burials from the tsunami disaster took place in the eastern and southern towns last Tuesday. Some 400 of the dead have been buried in Trincomalee, and over 200 buried in Matara.

In Muslim villages in the east, where some of the highest death tolls are reported, survivors have already buried most of their dead, as custom requires the dead to be buried within 24 hours.

The people had used large iron forks used for community cooking and their bare hands to hollow out the final resting places for the several thousand victims, half of them children.

Appeal

Inspector General of Police, Chandra Fernando appealed to the public to identify the bodies in the Ampara, Batticaloa, Trincomalee, Karapitiya, Matara and Panadura hospitals soon since there is no possibility of keeping them for long periods.

The mortuaries have had no refrigeration to preserve the bodies rapidly piling up and as such immediate burial was necessary as most of the bodies decomposed to a point where identification was not possible.

Many resorts and villages along the coastline are burying corpses as soon as they find them. The graves of tourists are being marked and notes have been taken of names where they are known. There is also a severe shortage of coffins to bury the bodies.

Ironic

Of the 1,500 on board the train travelling between Galle and Colombo that was swept off the tracks, just 300 got out alive. The train was ironically named Samudradevi (Queen of the Sea).

Of the bodies rescuers recovered from the train's carriages, 150 bodies were cremated or buried on Tuesday next to the railroad track that runs along the coastline, with Buddhist monks conducting prayers.

For the Muslim victims, who ideally require a 24-hour burial, a mass grave was dug with the help of a bulldozer.

Swift burials

The dead are being buried with swiftness and little ceremony in order to prevent a greater calamity by the spread of diseases.

The Birth and Death Registration Act of 1951 and The Registration of Deaths (Emergency) Act No. 24 of 1952 do not state what procedures should be adopted in the event of deaths in natural disasters such as those resulting from the tsunami.

Instead, the latter act deals with the law relating to the registration of deaths, inquiries into deaths and to the burial and cremation of dead bodies in their application in the case of the deaths of persons subject to military law or of members of the armed forces of the enemy.

This act states it is not necessary to register deaths where the person is subject to military law or is a member of the armed forces of the enemy. As such lawyers say it is reasonable to assume a similar procedure will be adopted in this instance too, and persons who die due to natural disasters too will not have to register the dead, due to the catastrophic situation prevailing.

Tsunami terror hits tourists

By Marianne David  An idyllic Sunday morning filled with Christmas cheer turned into one of death and disaster in a matter of minutes for those resting and relaxing in hotels in coastal areas and on the beaches last week, as the Tsunami struck, leaving utter chaos and devastation in its wake. The tsunami hit Sri Lanka at a time when many hotels along the coastal belt - from Trincomalee in the east coast to the hotels down south and the luxury resorts on the west coast right up to Negombo - were filled to the brim with foreign guests. Most of these hotels were flooded with many lives lost, though structural damage was minimal. According to information released by the Tourist Board on Friday, 104 tourists died as a result of the Tsunami and 89 were missing.

Yoko Haiwa and her two children, Sauri and Saturu

Death toll

An estimated 6,000 foreign visitors were holidaying in the coastal areas affected by the tsunami. At Yala Safari Hotel alone, 46 tourists have been reported dead. The death toll is expected to rise as more bodies are discovered in the days to come.

The bodies of tourists that have been identified are being released to the relevant embassies and are being sent to their respective countries. Unidentified bodies of tourists have been sent to the A.F. Raymond funeral parlour.

While bodies of Sri Lankans were rotting in the streets, the media was not allowed to even see the bodies of the foreigners at the parlour, with police personnel guarding its closed doors.

By December 29, many of the surviving tourists were transported to temporary accommodation in Colombo, and the city's major hotels threw open their doors to the visitors, offering all available bed-space, with even banquet and function rooms turned into temporary housing.

The BMICH was also converted into a facility for accommodating tourists, conducting medical checks and for processing travel documents for those who had lost their passports.

With groups being continually flown out, even more were coming in on a daily basis as fast as they could be evacuated from the affected areas.

A group of 22 guests including seven Japanese visitors who were staying at the Nilaveli Beach Hotel in Trincomalee who managed to get away in time with no lives lost relating the tragic events that took place that morning to The Sunday Leader said one member of their party, Ajith Liyanage was still in hospital with serious injuries.

According to Anura Kariyawasam, who also went on the trip, all they had left when they escaped were their room keys, which remained in their pockets due to the heavy key tags that were attached.

Having planned a boat trip, which was cancelled due to the rough sea, Anura was on his way to Ajith's room when he heard a loud noise.

"I thought it was a terrorist attack," said Anura, "but when we looked out there were waves over 10 feet tall crashing on to the land."

The sea was black and people were being thrown about in the water. That was only the first tide. As the sea receded and started crashing onto the land once again soon after, there were screams of terror.

"People were terrified. There were many dead even by then and since the hotel was full, there were a lot of people. Barely 200 people managed to escape. We lost over Rs. 500,000, our credit cards, identity cards and all documentation," Anura said.

Escape

The group, along with other survivors, had managed to get to an army camp.

"Many people were crying since their family members were missing. The forces were very helpful. They did their best but they didn't have enough facilities," said Anura.

After the Tsunami hit the shores of Trincomalee, the place had been deserted with boats from the seashore being found in the centre of the town.

Ajith's Japanese wife, Yoko Haiwa and their two children, Sauri and Saturu were in shock, unable to get over the sudden disaster.

The Sri Lanka Tourist Board (SLTB), which took fast action as the disaster struck, is leading the emergency evacuation effort and has arranged a shuttle bus service from the city hotels and the BMICH to take people to the airport.

"Following a huge effort from the entire travel industry in Sri Lanka, we have evacuated most of the group-travel tourists safely to Colombo," said Chairman, Tourist Board, Udaya Nanayakkara.

The Tourist Board is now concentrating on helping the Free Independent Travellers (FITs), putting them in touch with their individual embassies and providing transport from the coastal areas to Colombo.

All scheduled flights are operating at maximum capacity and over 1,000 tourists were flown out of the country on special charter flights on December 28.

The Tourist Board has also set up help desks and a special facility at the Taj Airport Gardens Hotel to assist travellers awaiting repatriation. Emergency travel certificates are being issued by embassies for travellers who have lost all travel documents, with help desks set up at the airport.

The airport will facilitate foreign aid and medical assistance from other countries and will continue to service outgoing flights of SriLankan Airlines and all other airlines, which are being arranged for tourists who want to leave the island back to their homes.

The Tourist Board also issued an advisory for foreign visitors to postpone their travel plans, warning them not to travel into the island for the next 48 hours, shortly after the disaster. Arriving passengers were being transported to the highland areas such as Nuwara Eliya and the Cultural Triangle.

Crisis management unit

A crisis management unit has been set up at the Sri Lanka Tourist Board and information regarding tourists in the island's coastal belt is being provided around the clock.

"Tour operators need to be advised that the entire South Asia region has been affected by the tsunami, and the operators should advise travellers to postpone their travel plans into the island until the situation is under control," the Tourist Board further said.

By Thursday (29), several hotels in the coastal areas resumed operations with generators being utilised to supply power. An increasing number of hotels, particularly on the south coast, were back in business again by Friday, servicing a number of tourists who are determined to carry on with their holidays.

"Of the 48 hotels affected, 26 are operational. The remaining 22 non-operational hotels have varying degrees of damage, but only six hotels suffered serious structural damage. We will be able to restore the majority of these non-operational hotels within a matter of weeks," Nanayakkara stated.

The southern and eastern coats were among the hardest hit, with some resorts and hotels, including those bordering wildlife parks, suffering structural damage. The hotels that were badly affected are Bayroo Beach Hotel, Blue Oceanic, Confifi, Yala Safari and Nilaveli Beach Hotel.

Cancellations

In the aftermath of the disaster, cancellations came pouring in from foreigners who were to visit the country, giving rise to speculation on the effect it would have on the tourism industry as a whole. The main reason for the cancellations, however, is not the fear of another tsunami wrecking havoc on the island, but concern over the health situation.

General Manager, Galle Face Hotel, Anura Lokuhetty told The Sunday Leader guests are naturally concerned about the health problems that are sure to follow the tsunami disaster. However, he said the industry would pick up soon and there would be no long-term consequences.

"There will be a slow time but the industry will bounce back. A temporary slow down is natural but there will be no major effect if we can repair the hotels that are damaged and clear the debris on the coastal belt, which is an uphill task that will take some time. If we can prove there are no health problems in the country, there is nothing to prevent tourists from coming to Sri Lanka," he further said.

Tsunami's economic nightmare

By Jamila Najmuddin 

The business community was among the hardest hit in the country following the devastating tsunami that hit most parts of the island's coastal belt on Sunday (26). Among those affected were several business organisations, including banks and factories as well as retail and wholesale stores.

With the economic infrastructure and businesses in the affected cities and towns completely destroyed, organisations have fast established 'disaster relief committees' in a desperate bid to relocate employees and reconstruct the damaged properties as soon as possible.

While some organisations face severe losses due to destruction to property, others remain closed due to the destruction of machinery, IT and basic facilities such as electricity and water.

Destroyed

In Galle, the area worst affected by the tsunami, businesses in the city and coastal belt have been completely destroyed. A large number of tourist hotels, banks, factories, guest houses and restaurants in the coastal belt have been severely damaged and will not be able to operate without major reconstruction.

Apparel factories situated in Galle which have been destroyed are now unable to meet their shipments on time which has caused panic amongst the Joint Apparel Association Forum (JAAF), which is trying to ascertain the number of apparel factories damaged or otherwise affected and the extent of worker displacement in order to generate publicity and reassure buyers that the supply capacity is not impaired.

"If factories do not function soon, there is a strong possibility that buyers might shift orders elsewhere resulting in immediate and long term damage to the industry," a JAAF spokesperson told The Sunday Leader.

Banks located within the Galle city area have also been severely damaged with customers unable to perform transactions. Manager (Marketing), Commercial Bank, Ranil Fernando told The Sunday Leader two Commercial Bank branches had been severely damaged by the tsunami. The damaged branches are located in Galle city and Hikkaduwa.

He said although the two branches were not functioning, employees attached to the branches had already been transferred to other Commercial Bank branches so that they continued to be employed. "Although two Commercial Bank branches have been destroyed, customers can continue to perform their transactions through the computer or through the nearest Commercial Bank branch," Fernando said.

He further said it is still too early to evaluate the cost of the destruction. Commercial Bank currently has one employee casualty and one employee reported missing.

Assistant General Manager (IT Operation), Seylan Bank, Sunanda Perera told The Sunday Leader while its Galle and Koggala branches have been damaged, 10 of its other branches scattered within the tsunami hit areas have also been affected due to poor communication links and disruption of basic facilities such as electricity and water.

"While the Galle and Koggala branches remain closed, customers are unable to use the bank's online communication system in the other 10 branches as well. The damage to the Galle branch alone is an estimated at Rs. 2 million," Perera said.

Although Seylan Bank has no employee casualties, 70 staff members are currently displaced. Employees attached to the Galle and Koggala branches have been transferred to other branches in the island.

Chief Manager (Human Resources and Administration), Hatton National Branch, Gihan Mendis said its Galle branch suffered structural damage and its Hambantota branch was also affected due to the lack of electricity and communication. However, according to Mendis, these facilities are currently being restored in order to enable customers to perform their transactions without any further delay.

Displaced

While HNB has one employee casualty, some employees have been displaced, Mendis said. The employees from the Galle and Hambantota branches continue to remain in the branches in order to assist customers.

Deputy General Manager (Branches), People's Bank, Deepal Perera said the eight of its branches had been destroyed due to Sunday's tsunami tragedy. According to him, the affected branches are situated in Ampara, Hambantota, Matara, Galle, Trincomalee, Batticaloa, Jaffna and Vavuniya.

"Some of our branches have been damaged to a great extent and more than 10 of our employees have lost their lives. We also have 100 staff members whose family members have been killed and a large number of employees who are displaced. We have no links with our staff members in the north and east and we are trying our best to relocate the displaced employees in order to start functioning soon," Perera said.

"We have opened a National Disaster Fund in order to assist our displaced employees," Perera said.

Sampath Bank also has many branches affected within the Tsunami hit areas with the most number of branches destroyed in the Galle District. Employees from these branches are currently transferred to other branches and are involved in rebuilding the damaged branches.

In order to begin reconstruction activities to revive businesses within a short period of time in the Tsunami affected areas, business chambers claim the challenge is unimaginable and needs a lot of coordinating support from various government, private sector institutions and international organisations. Business organisations are currently involved with the government and the provincial councils to ensure immediate relief to those affected as well as families of employees and those displaced.

In Matara, according to Chief Executive Officer, Matara District Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Yasantha de Silva, the damage is severe. Tourist hotels, guest houses and restaurants in famous tourist locations such as Polhena and Unawatuna have been completely washed away. The fisheries industry in Matara coastal belt is also badly affected.

In Ampara, according to Chief Executive Officer, Ampara District Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Wasantha Kumara, even though Ampara town has not been affected, the business areas such as Akkaraipattu and Samanthurai have been severely damaged. In Ampara, unlike other districts, most of the agricultural infrastructure has been damaged. Hundreds of acres of paddy fields have filled up with water and the Ampara chamber is currently coordinating immediate relief measures to a number of camps in an around Ampara town.

Chief Executive Officer, Batticaloa District Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture, P. Charathchandran said tourist areas like Pasikudah and Kalkudah have been severely affected and most of the newly refurbished hotels have been destroyed. A large number of paddy fields closer to the coastal areas have been affected by sea water. A large number of domestic and small scales farms, cattle and goats have been killed and a number of prawn farms also have been affected.

Chief Executive Officer, Trincomalee District Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Keetha Ponkalan said the most affected areas in Trincomalee are Kinniya and Muttur. Fishing areas such as Nilaveli, Kuchchaveli and Kinniya are all submerged and the loss of lives and damage to economic activities is unprecedented.

The Yarlpanam Chamber of Commerce and Industry represented by Chief Executive Officer, K. Senthivel reported the worst affected areas in Jaffna are Point Pedro and Valvetithurai. Even though there are no industries in the areas, the fisheries industry and retail sector have been badly affected.

Chairman, Ceylon National Chamber of Industries, Nimal Perera told The Sunday Leader the industry was still in the process of evaluating the number of industries affected and the number of employee casualties reported from each industry. "Companies such as DSI and Nippolac paints have already reported that some of its employees have died. The chamber is trying its best to get all the information as soon as possible," Perera said.

Evaluation process

Companies such as MAS Holdings and John Keells are also in the process of evaluating how many of its employees are dead and reported missing. Deputy Chairman, John Keells Holdings, Susantha Ratnayake told The Sunday Leader up to date six employees from the company had died while more than 15 have been reported missing.

While the company begins the process of rebuilding the damaged properties in the tsunami affected areas, Ratnayake said employees working in those branches had been given temporary leave until they assessed the damage and rebuilt the properties.

Meanwhile, Executive Director, Cargills Food City, Sidath Kodikara said although a few supermarkets had been damaged, they were still unsure if there were any employee casualties. "Most of our employees have contacted the management so we are still unsure if there have been any employee deaths," he said.

According to Kodikara, since Cargills has already started repairing its outlets in the tsunami hit areas, employees attached to those branches will continue to get their monthly salaries until they resume work. "None of our employees will be unemployed as they will all continue to receive their allowances till the branches are reopened," Kodikara said.

Peace process takes back seat

Anton Balasingham, Vidar Helgessen and Milinda Moragoda during the high profile peace talks last year and Secretary General, Peace Secretariat, Jayantha Dhanapala

By Mandana Ismail Abeywickrema 

While the tsunami devastation has pushed back the urgency to recommence peace negotiations, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) expects the government to implement its ISGA proposal for the commencement of rehabilitation work in the north and east.

There is no gainsaying the peace process will take a back seat following the devastation not just in the north east but also the south.

Given the loss of human life and destruction, neither the LTTE nor the government will in the foreseeable future be in a position to go to war. Neither will there be an urgency for resuming peace talks.

But the LTTE may well use the opportunity to justify their demand for an ISGA claiming the government was turning a blind eye to the ravaged north east with no relief flowing their way.

If LTTE accepts

For, if the LTTE was to accept the government offer to work together, it will necessarily blow the bottom off their claim for an ISGA.

The government for its part too knows this only too well and has intensified their call for the LTTE to jump aboard.

The question that arises however is whether the government would use the aid flowing in only to rehabilitate the areas affected by the tsunami and not the war ravaged areas which have a longer history of suffering.

That probably would be the pitch the LTTE would use to intensify their call for the immediate implementation of the ISGA by pointing out the irony to the international community.

The LTTE has in fact observed the need for the ISGA to receive direct foreign aid for the rehabilitation work under its control.

LTTE's Trincomalee Political Wing Head, S. Elilan told The Sunday Leader that any form of aid for the rehabilitation work in the north and east should be directly handed over to the province.

However, he observed that it does not mean the LTTE would not cooperate with the government on rehabilitation work.

Elilan pointed out that most of the immediate relief items being brought to the north and east by NGOs are robbed on the way by highwaymen, making it a tedious process for the donors as well as those affected in the north and east.

"Therefore, any rehabilitation aid should come directly," he said.

Elilan observed that officials from humanitarian agencies or even government officials involved in rehabilitation work could enter LTTE controlled areas after receiving permission from the LTTE political office in Kilinochchi. Even aid could be channelled through the same office, he said.

However, he pointed out that at this juncture priority is with providing relief to those affected irrespective of race or religion.

Also speaking to The Sunday Leader, Secretary General, Peace Secretariat, Jayantha Dhanapala said that priority has now been given to providing humanitarian aid for the areas affected by the tsunami in the north and east.

Recommencement of negotiations

The recommencement of the peace negotiations according to Dhanapala would have to wait till the relief and rehabilitation programme is underway.

The recommencement of peace negotiations, which has been on stalemate for over an year now, has been on the centre stage till the tsunami.

Efforts made by the Norwegian facilitators to restart the talks have so far been unsuccessful with the LTTE rejecting the government's latest agenda for talks, insisting talks should commence based on the ISGA.

The Secretariat for Coordinating the Peace Process (SCOPP) has said that it had been reaching out to the LTTE Peace Secretariat through the assistance of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) to ascertain the essential items required for urgent humanitarian relief since December 26.

On December 27, Dhanapala had conveyed the offer of government assistance to Secretary General, LTTE Peace Secretariat, S. Puleedevan.

SCOPP further says that on December 28, the government's offer to render all possible assistance to the people of the north and the east, without discrimination, was conveyed in a letter sent by the Secretary to President, W. J. S. Karunaratne to Head of the LTTE Political Division, S. P. Tamilselvan.

Effective delivery

According to SCOPP, he had also invited the LTTE to participate in a high-level coordinating committee that President Chandrika Kumaratunga has established to ensure prompt and effective delivery of relief services.

The government's offer of assistance to the LTTE in disaster relief has also been conveyed to Kilinochchi by Norwegian Ambassador, Hans Brattskar.

SCOPP on Thursday said that Director General, Relief, Rehabilitation and Reconciliation Ministry, Harim Peiris had visited Jaffna on December 29. He had visited Kilinochchi and held talks with the LTTE leadership on the disbursement of assistance to disaster-affected areas in Kilinochchi and Mullaithivu. The President has directed all the Government Agents of the affected districts be allocated Rs. 10 million each, for relief efforts. The districts of Jaffna, Mullaithivu, Kilinochchi, Vavuniya in the north and Trincomalee, Batticaloa and Ampara in the east were granted an initial sum of Rs. 70 million.

To facilitate the relief activities, SCOPP says, a National Relief Operations Unit (NROU) has been established and is headquartered at the Presidential Secretariat. NROU is the apex body that will assist all disaster relief activities undertaken by the various government and non governmental organisations. A needs assessment and situation analysis is being undertaken by NROU with the help of the special UN team now in Sri Lanka.

Clearing operation smooth - officials

SLAF helicopters working 24 hours a day

By Dhananjani Silva 

The government together with other welfare organisations and individuals are now actively engaged in providing relief assistance to the victims of the tsunami disaster.

Responding to the allegations against the Sri Lanka Air Force that there were not enough helicopters to evacuate the people from the coastal areas when the tsunami waves struck, Group Captain, Ajantha Silva denied the charges saying that all the possible steps were taken in covering coastal areas after the tragedy. "We have done our best when it comes to rescuing people," he said. According to him, the initial information reached them around 9.20 a.m., after which they had deployed several helicopters.

"Within 15 to 20 minutes, the helicopters have reached the areas - but it takes some flying time too," he said. "At that time, first hand information that we got was limited. After we got the exact information, depending on the incident only we deployed aircraft," he said adding that since then, they have been supporting eastern, southern and northern areas deploying the necessary helicopters and aircraft. "We have now deployed our ground troops too. Six helicopters including the three which we sent to the Southern District and the three which we sent to the eastern area are working 24-hours continuously," he added.

Also speaking to The Sunday Leader, an official from the Ampara District Secretariat said that there is no shortage of either machinery or manpower to carry out the clearing activities. "There is no shortage of equipment for the moment. But what we lack at the moment are a couple of water bowsers. We are getting enough manpower as well," he said.

Asked whether there is a shortage of coffins to burry the dead bodies, he said, since there are not enough coffins they use other alternatives. "In Ampara District, about 8436 bodies were found and finding coffins for all these dead bodies immediately is impossible. So instead of coffins we use other material such as polythene and white clothe. But there is no shortage of these material," the official added.

Similarly Centre for Disaster Management Head, N. Hettiarachchi was also of the view that although there is a slight shortage of coffins, there is no shortage of machinery and equipment needed when carrying out the clearing activities. "We are providing those areas with needed heavy machinery. Even when Hambantota District GA requested for heavy machinery, we provided those immediately," Hettiarachchi said.

Wattala Divisional Secretary, H. D. S. Malkanthi said that clearing and reconstructing activities are being carried out. "Although we are being provided with a tipper, we are in urgent need of a loader and we are even ready to pay money and purchase the loader in order to carry out our work," she said.

Volunteer workers

Further an official from ICRC on condition of anonymity said that there definitely was bound to be a shortage of machinery and manpower depending on areas. "Different areas are affected in different ways." But even what is lack be it even manpower or machinery, varies depending on how the areas have been affected," he said.

"Even when it comes to burying the dead, it is the same. We manage with body bags or white material when we lack coffins. However, if the body bags run short we have to wait till a new stock comes in," the official further added.

Meanwhile according to a statement released by the Sri Lanka Red Cross Society, in Hambantota, Galle and Matara Districts, for instance, around 200 SLRC volunteers are engaged in providing first aid services. In Batticaloa and Trincomalee the SLRC branches continue their mobile medical clinics for the displaced as well as the distribution of nonfood relief items. "The SLRC has already dispatched 26 volunteer doctors to Hambantota, Matara, Galle, Kalutara, Trincomalee and Gampaha with medical supplies to support those displaced currently living in welfare centers," it is stated.

"SLRCS has dispatched water bowsers to Trincomalee, Matara, Ampara, Galle, Batticaloa, Kalutara, Killinochchi and Mallathivu to enable the displaced to cope with the problem of difficult access to clean water," the statement further added.

Supply of water

Also Consultant, Disaster Management, Red Cross, Mervin Perera said that Red Cross has identified several areas that they think is necessary to intervene. The supply of drinking water, shelter, medical facilities and transport, according to him, are identified as essential and therefore the Red Cross is giving priority in meeting with those needs. But he was of the view that Red Cross is not going to implement a special programme, but facilitate the government instead.

With regard to the supply of drinking water, 24 bowsers are required. "Since all the water is polluted we identified supplying drinking water as a key area of our programme. But despite the fact that we pay a large sum of money to purchase bowsers, still there is a shortage. Already we have 200 bowsers and we are hoping to purchase 400 more bowsers," said Perera. Also in need are 20 litre capacity water cans to store drinking water added Perera.

Also focusing attention on medical facilities he says is essential. "Hospitals are full of patients and a number of hospitals have been flooded and damaged. At the moment the patients in those hospitals are being transferred to other hospitals that are not being affected. To attend to those patients we have to form a team consisting of four doctors for each district. We require 40-50 teams to attend to those patients," he said.

He said that since a number of people are deprived of shelter they stay in temples, churches and mosques. Even those places he says are considerably crowded. "So we expect to set up 4000 camps and even this is not adequate," he said. "Therefore what is lacking are plastic sheets or whatever is needed for roofing and building of camps," he said. Speaking of the vehicles needed he said any number of lorries, ambulances and other vehicles are required. "We welcome any number of vehicles. We are expecting funds from the donors. We already have opened up a special bank account in Suduwella People's Bank branch," Perera added.

Gender dimensions of disasters

One week later, Sri Lanka is still reeling from the tsunami strike. What hits us most at this juncture is our total unpreparedness to face this specific type natural hazard, and magnitude of the entailing disaster. The immediate rush to provide physical assistance and humanitarian relief is very heartening, despite instances of looting of the dead and displaced.

While people from all walks of life have mobilised themselves towards providing and assisting in relief efforts, the delay in rebuilding infrastructure, and the lack of overall coordination in facilitating these initiatives have impeded disaster management.

This is where it becomes important to subscribe to current thinking on disasters and development, which looks at natural hazards in any form as a regular occurrence, to be accounted for in overall development planning. In fact, naturally hazards are a cyclic phenomenon in human experience. Natural hazards become disasters due to its effects on people. And often, those most affected by disasters are the most vulnerable communities.

The neglect of nature and its forces in development policy, uncoordinated and unsustainable planning is the reason that natural hazards turn into human disasters. Furthermore, disasters may be aggravated due to various political, social and economic forces of development. Consequently, there are both socio-economic as well as natural sides to a disaster.

Identifying hazards

Minimising the scale of a disaster would mean taking into account environmental considerations and the potential of hazards in all aspects of development, especially in human settlement schemes and infrastructure projects. An overall strategic re-think is necessary to conceptualise of disaster not merely in terms of emergencies and relief, but also as an opportunity for an integrated development intervention.

A paradigm shift with regard to policy approaches and finance allocations for disaster-based interventions is required - not only with the objectives of makeshift relief and the restoration of normalcy, but rather towards the betterment of the affected communities. To achieve an improved state for the affected communities means an integrated approach that takes into consideration both shelter and livelihoods.

It need not be pointed out that aside from long onset natural hazards such as drought, other natural calamities strike unexpectedly, resulting in disasters due to the lack of preparedness. Yet, modern technology as well as simple observations are able to provide us with fair warning of some natural hazards, such as volcanic activity, earth cracks, cloud build up, etc., heralding landslides, cyclones, floods, and so on.

While recent assurances that Sri Lanka would henceforth subscribe to forewarning networks in the region to provide prior indications of tsunamis are reassuring, it is equally necessary that pertinent mechanisms with the capacity to disseminate such information to the relevant communities are also put in place.

A forgotten aspect of disaster mitigation is the implications of gender in relief measures, reconstruction and rehabilitation. Approaches to disaster management do not recognise the differing vulnerabilities of men and women in life, and during / after disasters. There is comparatively little understanding of the gender aspects of risk and vulnerability not only in Sri Lanka, but worldwide.

Vast numbers of women are economically underprivileged as opposed to men, and are, unlike men, targets of unequal cultural practices. They are disenfranchised vis a vis politics and legal systems, due to various gender unequal ideologies and hierarchies. They may also be discriminated within their families, kinship structures, and communities due to accept the norms and images of gender identities. All in all, women, and especially poor women, are thus rendered vulnerable even before a disaster strikes.

Furthermore, there are other factors, which increase the risks for girls and women. For instance, childbirth and in pregnancy-related health limitations, more responsibility for dependents, longer life span and increased mobility limitations, greater risk of domestic and sexual violence, chronic illness, less knowledge of how to access emergency assistance or the capacity to do so. Therefore, women's position can only be further exacerbated in the face of a crisis.

Different impacts

Thus, the two sexes experience disaster differently due to their gendered social construction. Consequently, disasters, also impact differently on men and women. For instance, a woman may have access to indigenous knowledge that portends disasters and a man may rely on weather bulletins. A woman's daily workload may increase during and after a disaster (due to her multiple roles and responsibilities within the family), whereas a man's work may actually decrease.

A man may be able to migrate in search of employment during a crisis period, while a woman may be left with the responsibility of the family. A woman may be more prone to post-traumatic disorders due to multiple responsibilities within the family, unlike men. Unlike women, men may have more access to emergency relief due to dominant perceptions of men as the heads of household.

However, though women are more vulnerable to disaster, they are not just helpless victims as often thought of or represented in the media. Women have valuable knowledge and experience of coping with disasters. In many communities, women take an active part in community disaster initiatives - both in roles of leadership and at grassroots - often outnumbering men.

Yet, in larger, more formal emergency planning organisations, women are scarcely represented, and markedly absent from decision-making positions. Their strengths and capabilities are thus ignored in policy decisions, and in mitigation, thereby, allowing these valuable resources to go waste, and sometimes creating dependency situations.

Thus, ignorance of gender differences has led to insensitive and ineffective relief operations that largely bypass women's needs and their potential to assist in mitigation and relief work. For instance, the necessities of menstruating women, cultural and personal requirements for privacy, the special needs of female-headed households, pregnant women and lactating mothers, etc., are often overlooked in relief operations and refugee situations.

To make development in disaster management holistic and sustainable, it is necessary to have policies that transfer the focus from emergency relief to risk management - that is incorporated as an integral component of development planning to ensure that reconstruction and rehabilitation involves long-term disaster preparedness and development that centres on livelihoods, as well as infrastructure so that communities can resist future disasters.

Gender sensitive

Furthermore, it is vital that planning and implementation of disaster / development initiatives are gender sensitive towards all the stages of the disaster cycle. This requires understanding specific gender concerns in disaster mitigation planning; recognising the immense value / capacity of women as a resource in both risk reduction and disaster management, providing women with necessary information and skills so as to empower them and reduce their overall degree of vulnerability, as well as ensuring the participation of women in all stages of disaster management.

Unless such action is taken, it would be difficult for affected communities to successfully move on and move up from the abyss of a disaster.

- Ms. is indebted to the book Gender Dimensions In Disaster Management by Madhavi Malalgoda Ariyabandu and Maithree Wickremesinghe for this article.

Changing focus of state media

The devastation the tsunami wave caused along Sri Lanka's coastline is receiving vast media play not only locally but also internationally, where correspondents from many networks and newspapers are busy gathering as much information as is accessible in order to piece the sequence of the tragedy together.

The state media have been no different. It has been engaged in an effort to make the public aware of the lives that have been lost and the damage caused to property and infrastructure as a result of the tsunami destruction. But as of last Tuesday (28) the state media chiefs were issued instructions from one of the highest seats of power that the 'line' of the government controlled electronic and print media was to be altered. The heads of state media institutions were advised to portray the tsunami devastation as not just one that affected Sri Lanka but one that struck the region as a whole. They were also ordered to lay more emphasis on the damage suffered by the LTTE and its members by the tsunami calamity.

The chiefs were also told to hint at a need for caution when massive amounts of funds were raised to help victims of the devastation.

One such state media boss who has been using the calls for relief for tsunami survivors to obtain maximum publicity for himself through the television network returned to the station following this high profile meeting at which the 'advice' was dispensed and told his closest confidantes - "we should not be doing this kind of thing."

It has also been noted that the number of advertisements being telecast over state media in between programmes, calling for donations and volunteers have also seen a dramatic decrease. The Lake House newspapers during the latter part of the week began to tow the latest government line, attempting to portray that the LTTE has suffered great losses as a result of this disaster.  

Battle to save SB's eye

While the tsunami devastation was sending shockwaves throughout the island and the country in mourning, now imprisoned S.B. Dissanayake too had some rude shocks to deal with. On December 18, prison officials escorted Dissanayake to the Jayawardenapura hospital for a minor surgery in his left eye. Eye Surgeon, Dr. Wariyapola having examined the eye performed the surgery and then ordered that Dissanayake remain at the hospital until December 29.

Although prison officials attempted to make arrangements to leave Dissanayake at Jayawardenapura hospital under security, an order received from higher powers said that everything Dissanayake needed was available at the prison hospital and he should be transported there forthwith.

As a result, Dissanayake was taken from the Jayawardanepura hospital to the prison hospital with Dr. Wariyapola unable to oppose the decision after being informed the identical facilities were available at the prison hospital.

Despite the claims of a perfectly comfortable facility at the prison hospital, Dissanayake was placed in an extremely unclean room with improper sanitary conditions. The bathroom was dilapidated and the toilet was unsanitary. The first thing Dissanayake did upon arriving at the prison hospital was to take a bath. So unhygienic was the bathroom that Dissanayake's recently operated eye began to get infected and swell up.

When Dissanayake's wife, Tamara and his son Tharaka went in to visit him in the prisons hospital, they were shocked at what they heard. Arriving soon after was Professor G.L. Peiris who also balked at the sight and conditions of the room and the toilet. Upon seeing the swelling in Dissanayake's eye, Professor Peiris immediately went to meet Prisons Commissioner Rumy Marzook. Professor Peiris told the commissioner that Dissanayake's eye problem was serious and requested him to issue an order to transfer the former minister to the Jayawardenapura hospital for treatment. He emphasised that unless steps were taken immediately, Dissanayake could lose his left eye. Marzook replied that he could not do this unless he received orders from above.

At this point, Professor Peiris called up Justice Minister John Seneviratne and explained the situation to him. He said that the Justice Ministry would be held responsible if Dissanayake loses his sight since he had been taken away from the Jayawardenapura hospital on the basis of a false assurance given by a ministry official. The Professor said that before Dissanayake's condition worsens, he should be transferred. Seneviratne asked whether Dr. Wariyapola would accept Dissanayake back at Jayawardenapura hospital, to which Professor Peiris replied that he would take care of that. Soon afterwards, Seneviratne issued the necessary instructions to have Dissanayake transferred to Jayawardenapura Hospital.

And upon being transferred, wife Tamara was to visit S.B. armed with a sarong. But the jailers not only refused Tamara entry into the room but also said the sarong cannot be given since it was coloured.

Hearing the commotion outside S.B. got up and peeped and observing what was going on pitched into the jailers stating if he does not have a white sarong whether they expected him not to wear one. The jailers then backed off. Not for long however.

The hospital room was occupied by four jailers. And once again losing his cool S.B. asked three of them to stay outside since he could not even breathe in peace. With just one jailer remaining in the room, S.B. pitched into the President, accusing her of every conceivable crime in the country including corruption and deceit.

Shocked, the jailer said he should not speak disparagingly of an officer of the state in that manner which remarks only made Dissanayake only more livid. "You can manacle me but you cannot shut my mouth. I dare you to write down what I have to say about Chandrika and send it to her" Dissanayake said and went on to chronicle a series of shocking incidents. The jailer beat a hasty retreat.

More interestingly, into S.B.'s prison ward numbering 50 prisoners, there had been a couple of new additions who were trying to monitor his prolific writing - the book on Chandrika.

Later, the duo have confided they were intelligence operatives sent to monitor the goings on in the prison and those who visit Dissanayake.  

Taking the driver's seat

Two days after the tsunami struck the island's coastline and claimed the lives of 30,000 Sri Lankans and counting, President Chandrika Kumaratunga who was holidaying in London, returned home. In a bid to manage the massive crisis resulting from the tsunami, Kumaratunga called several rounds of discussions with top officials following her return to Sri Lanka.

She was of the opinion that although two days has passed since the devastating wave had struck, no measures had been taken to provide relief to the survivors. The President issued orders that a special relief centre was to be established at the Presidential Secretariat.

However, by this time, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse had already toured the affected areas by helicopter and assessed some of the damage. Premier Rajapakse had set up a relief centre at Temple Trees to cope with the problem. State electronic and print media had been making the public aware of the existence of the centre. But following the centre being set up at the Presidential Secretariat, all the media attention was focused on the latter.

The day Kumaratunga arrived in the island, the Prime Minister had called a party leaders' meeting. But on the evening of the same day, the President insisted on calling another party leaders' meeting in order to discuss the emergency situation in the country.

The tsunami destruction included the death of many foreigners who were holidaying along the coast in addition to the massive numbers of the local populace it claimed. As a result, the focus of the international community has been on Sri Lanka and aid has started to flow in to help the survivors cope with what could be a huge humanitarian crisis in the coming days. A few days ago, a foreign medical team arrived in the island in order to travel to the affected areas and attend to casualties. And while a briefing was held for this team at the Presidential Secretariat, at such a time of national crisis, the health minister was not in the island to meet with the medical delegation. As a result, Acting Health Minister A.H.M. Fowzie was assigned the task of welcoming the team of doctors.

Tempting fate

When President Chandrika Kumaratunga took off to London to spend the Christmas holidays after having concluded her various ceremonies to mark 10 years in office, she had big plans of coming back in January and getting set to amend the constitution and thereby remain in power for at least another decade.

Shortly before her departure to London, her brother and Tourism Minister Anura Bandaranaike also hinted that January would be the month any such plans for the President's further stay in office would materialise.

In effect then, President Kumaratunga's tour to London was a brief vacation before she began really working towards remaining in power for a further term. Following suit, Ports Minister Mangala Samaraweera too took a vacation, hoping to return to the island in January and commence work in earnest.

The basic steps of the plan for keeping Kumaratunga in office were as follows: 

1.         Putting S.B. Dissanayake in jail

2.         Bringing a no-confidence motion against the speaker of parliament

3.         Bringing the draft of a new constitution to parliament

4.         A referendum

President Kumaratunga and her brood were standing ready, all guns blazing, certain that with Dissanayake behind bars as planned, nothing was going to get in their way. But what had never crossed any of their minds was that the forces of nature and fate could take any such well-laid plan and turn it upside down in a matter of seconds. And this was exactly what happened.

So high were the hopes for the January deadline to bring about constitutional change that even an astrological publication which often makes prophesies as per the wishes of President Kumaratunga or Samaraweera, foretold the same. But mother nature got the better of even this astrological newspaper.

And even as Kumaratunga, Bandaranaike and Samaraweera dreamed about political endurance while overseas, the ocean surrounding this tiny island arose with a fury unparalleled, swallowing all in its wake and making the coastline a veritable mass grave. With over 25,000 deaths reported from the tsunami that hit the Sri Lankan coast and the toll rising every hour, President Kumaratunga and co. were forced to return to the island sooner than expected; and upon their return were faced with the logistical problems of mass burials and compensation for destroyed property - a far cry from plotting political survival.

"Ever since the day a decision was made to celebrate the President's 10 years in office with a view to staying on for a further decade we have been confronted with ill omens," a senior minister remarked recently, reminiscing about the recent Nilawala Tribute fiasco at the conclusion of the 10th year ceremonies in Matara that resulted in a ritual going horrendously wrong and giving out all manner of inauspicious signals. The ritual which was intended to grant a head of state long life and many more years in power involves chanting pirith at the highest point of the Nilwala river, after monks and dignitaries travel upstream by boat. At the ceremony in question however, the boat traveled downstream instead, a mistake considered highly inauspicious by southern folk.

The tragedy of the Nilwala fiasco was that it was organised as an attempt to detract public attention from the lightning bolt at the initial rally in Attanagalla, just as the President was getting up to make her speech. The bolt hit the stage and the torrential downpour that followed ensured that the grounds were empty of people within minutes. The incident was perceived as being an especially ill-omened occurrence, and to brush off any bad voodoo, Kumaratunga handed it over to Samaraweera to organise the grand finale of the 10th year commemorations in Matara.

When Buddhist monks at the ceremony noticed that the ritual was being conducted incorrectly, they urged Samaraweera to start again and correct the mistake. The Minister ignored their warnings, promising to do it the right way in 2006, when Kumaratunga ascends to power for another 10 years.

But when the President arrived in Matara for the closing ceremony, she found that the candle she had been given to light the traditional oil lamp kept going out. Candles were also handed over to four students from schools in the area who were to light the lamp along with the President, but although their candles burnt on steadily, the President's just would not burn. After three attempts to light the candle proved unsuccessful, members of the Presidential Security Division surrounded the President and attempted to keep out the wind so that the candle could be lit. Afraid that this attempt too would prove a flop, Kumaratunga decided not to even try.

Watching all of this unfold were the monks who had warned Samaraweera about the tribute ritual. "We told you not to allow it to go on that way. We told you it would be a bad omen. Just like you, we also love the President. It's because we know such charms and omens exist that we told you let's do it the right way.

Still, Samaraweera refused to believe in such superstitions.

A few days later, on December 17, a fence of the Sri Maha Bodhiya fell down. Eight days after that, the deathly wave struck Sri Lanka's coast.

Grappling with the tsunami disaster, people tried to connect the incidents of Dissanayake's jailing, the lightning bolt in Attanagalla, the Nilwala tribute fiasco, the candle that refused to light and finally the collapse of a Sri Maha Bodhiya wall.

"Maybe the southern seas were angered by the wrong way the ritual was conducted."

"It was Galle that testified to put S.B. in jail. Now it is a graveyard."

"The ceremonial candle went out, and now how many lives have been snuffed out in the south?"

"What a curse there must be on the country for a piece of the sacred Sri Maha Bodhiya to fall down?"

This was the general gist of conversation among superstitious folk. It has not slipped their minds that less than 10 days after President Kumaratunga took control of the three ministries from the UNF last November (2003), 10 deep sea diving commandos were killed during a training exercise. Soon after the UPFA took office, the country suffered a terrible drought, followed by flash floods in the North Central Province and then an outbreak of a mystery virus much like the deadly SARS in the south. And finally, the fury of the ocean which claimed over 30,000 lives.

Whether these incidents tie in together to form a picture of a country under a curse or just unhappy coincidence is hard to say. But one thing to keep in mind is that in his teachings Lord Buddha said that if a country is to prosper, its leaders must be righteous:

Let the rains come at the right time,

Let the fields bear much fruit

Let all minds be at peace

Let kings be good and the world be well.