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TG REPORT: US Commission recommends Sri Lanka is added to watchlist for 'severe violations of religious freedom'

The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has recommended that the US State Department adds Sri Lanka to a special watchlist for "severe violations of religious freedom" in its latest report. 

The report states that in recent years, the Sri Lankan government has implemented discriminatory policies against religious minorities, and societal actors have increased violent attacks against religious minorities across the country. The findings of the report are based on a visit by the USCIRF delegation who travelled to Sri Lanka in October 2023 to assess religious freedom. This update in the report arises from their observations of the current precarious religious freedom conditions in Sri Lanka. Key observations from USCIRF’s trip include: religiously motivated land disputes, registration challenges, and the use of discriminatory legislation to target and detain religious minorities. The commission previously noted that the Sri Lankan government implemented and enforced policies that disproportionately targeted religious minorities, including the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) Act, and the Online Safety Bill.  

Land disputes 

The report highlights ongoing land disputes in the North-East where the Sri Lankan military continue to occupy large swathes of land as well as the expropriation of Tamil and Muslim sites by Sri Lanka's archeology department to construct Buddhist temples. The report states that Sri Lankan "authorities have restricted access to places of worship, claiming ongoing 'archeological research'. 

The USCIRF features Kurunthurmalai, where the Athi Aiyanar temple, a native place of worship of Tamils in Mullaitivu, has been targeted by intense landgrab efforts by Sinhala Buddhist monks over recent years. Although a court order in 2018 stated that no changes should be made to the site, Sinhala Buddhist monks aided by Sri Lanka's archeology department and the military have illegally constructed a Buddhist temple. 

Places of worship 

The report goes on to detail how religious minorities  "continue to face challenges in registering their places of worship". In 2022, a circular issued by the Ministry of Buddhasasana, Religious, and Cultural Affairs states that new places fo worship or any establishment engaging in collective worship must register.  However, the report states that although the circular applies to new places of worship, "local authorities have attempted to retroactively enforce the circular to existing places of worship."

Hindu nationalism and anti-Muslim sentiment 

In the report, the USCIRF note that that there has been a rise in Hindu and Sinhala Buddhist nationalist sentiment which has affected Christian and Muslim communities. There has been a rise in anti-Christian and anti-Muslim, particularly on social media. The report also highlights that anti-Muslim sentiment has been "proliferated by Buddhist nationalist groups". 

The report highlighted that a racist Sinhala Buddhist monk,  Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara who is the General Secretary of the extremist group Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) was sentenced to four years of imprisonment over his anti-Muslim remarks he made in 2016. 

The Sinhala chauvinist monk has a history of racist rhetoric against Muslims and Tamils. In 2014, before the anti-Muslim riots, he told a cheering Sinhala nationalist crowd in Aluthgama that “if one marakkalaya ( Muslim) lays a hand on a Sinhalese that will be the end of all of them”. The resulting violence killed four people and left 80 injured, with hundreds left homeless. Amongst the sites attacked were mosques, Muslim homes, businesses, and even a nursery.

Gnanasara has vehemently opposed Tamil’s rights to self-determination, threatening in 2020 of a “river of blood”. “We will not allow the Tamils to find a solution through devolution," he said. "If they demand a separate state again, a river of blood will flow in the North and East.”

Anti-terrorism bill 

For years, the international community have been calling on Sri Lanka to replace the notorious Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), which has been used  to detain Tamils and Muslims and supress civil society on the island.

In 2023, Sri Lanka proposed the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), which expanded on the provisions under the PTA. The international community and civil society expressed their concerns over the proposed legislation as it included broad definitions of terrorism. The report states such broad definitions "allow for wide interpretation of who can be accused of terrorism and subjected to arrest."

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights Act

The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) Act has also been used on the island to "has been used to target religious minorities for the peaceful expression of their views or beliefs."

The report also details the arrest of four Tamils in Trincomalee in May 2024,  under the ICCPR Act, for distributing Mullivaikkal kanji as a form of remembrance during Tamil Genocide Remembrance Week. 

Surveillance of Religious Minorities and Advocates

The Sri Lankan government published the Online Safety Bill in 2023 which has been slammed by rights groups as it contains vaguely defined terms and defintiions of offences that could lead to arbitrary and subjective interpretation. The international community and rights groups have expressed concern over the legislation as it could criminalise nearly all forms of legitimate expression. 

The USCIRF concluded that in the absence of policy change, pending legislation such as the Online Safety Bill and the ATA, "risk further marginalising and targeting" religious minorities.

Source: https://www.tamilguardian.com/content/us-commission-recommends-sri-lanka-added-watchlist-severe-violations-religious-freedom

Tamil Guardian VIEW: Take Gotabaya Rajapaksa to The Hague

URL: https://www.tamilguardian.com/content/tg-view-take-him-hague

Amidst a whirlwind week in Sri Lankan politics, Gotabaya Rajapaksa has resigned as the country’s president. Following an aborted attempt to flee the island earlier this week, he is currently sheltering in Singapore, with rumours he may travel onwards to the Middle East. Whilst firecrackers were let off in Colombo to celebrate Rajapaksa’s resignation, he must not, however, be allowed to leave office without facing any consequences. The former defence secretary should be taken and tried at The Hague over his command responsibility for war crimes and genocide.

Rajapaksa has suffered a remarkable turnaround in popularity in recent months, less than 3 years after he won a commanding Sinhala majority at the ballot boxes. The South have only very recently grown frustrated with their once beloved leader for his role in Sri Lanka’s worst economic crisis in recent history. Protests erupted across his former Sinhala heartland earlier this year after an already struggling economy plagued by bloated military spending suffered from his ill-advised economic policies. Though the “Go Gota Gama” protesters’ calls for his resignation are welcome, demands have focused almost solely on Rajapaksa’s financial crimes, and overlooked his most grave - overseeing a genocide.

His crimes are well documented, not least by the United Nations, various human rights organisations and in other reports, news articles and documentaries. Gotabaya Rajapaksa himself spotlighted his military conquests as part of his 2019 presidential election campaign.

As Sri Lanka’s Defence Secretary from 2005 onwards, Rajapaksa oversaw the bloodiest and most brutal part of the government’s military offensive. Under his command the Sri Lankan armed forces displaced hundreds of thousands of Tamils into tiny scraps of land and subjected them to intense shelling. So-called ‘No Fire Zones’, where the army encouraged Tamils to gather, where bombed relentlessly. Rajapaksa himself went on British television and defending the bombing of hospitals – contrary to well established international law. A litany of abuses were carried out under his command including torture, enforced disappearances and sexual violence. Sri Lankan soldiers have even spoken out on how he directly gave orders to execute surrendering Tamils. These are all events he said he watched with a “sense of quiet joy”.

Rajapaksa’s crimes before and after the genocide at Mullivaikkal are also well documented. His notorious ‘white van squads’ were used to forcibly disappear anyone the regime considered a dissident spread fear across the island. His muzzling of free press and murders of journalists, from Lasantha Wickremetunge to Taraki Sivaram, can still be felt today. Over a decade has passed since the events of Mullivaikkal and not a single person has been held accountable for the abuses that took place. But now Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s time is up.

This is something that even the man once nicknamed ‘The Terminator’ has come to fear. With Rajapaksa’s resignation, he loses his official immunity, paving the way for prosecution for his various crimes. Commentators state that is precisely why the military man was so eager to leave an island that he once ruled over, fearing trials and prisons sentences may come his way. And they must, for all his crimes.

For too long the island has allowed war criminals to roam free, embedding a culture of impunity for even the most heinous of crimes. Indeed, long before the Rajapaksas rose to power, a long history of massacres and killings never saw justice. Perpetrators of mass atrocities from the pogroms of 1956 onwards, continue to roam free. Decades of impunity have fed into a broader political culture on the island that perpetuates violence at almost all levels of society. The Gota Go Gama protesters themselves have been victims of it as the shocking images of police brutality in recent weeks have shown. If any new government that takes the place of this regime is going to build a sense of stability, then a new political culture of accountability and transparency must be paramount. Any new government must ratify the Rome Statute and refer itself to the International Criminal Court. It must allow international judges and prosecutors to have unfettered access to Tamil victims and evidence. And other perpetrators of rights abuse and those who have command responsibility for war crimes, including Sarath Fonseka and Shavendra Silva, must also face justice. The culture of impunity must be broken.

Sri Lanka’s domestic judicial processes have shamefully failed to hold perpetrators of rights abuses to account. Over the decades, the judicial system has proven that it has neither the will nor the capability to deal with criminals, especially those that have committed crimes as grave and heinous as Gotabaya Rajapaksa. Efforts to achieve accountability through other avenues such as the United Nations Human Rights Council have also stalled. As Tamils on the island and human rights activists around the globe have argued for years, the only way to achieve justice and accountability is through an international mechanism, such as the International Criminal Court.

Governments around the world, including Singapore where Rajapaksa is currently, have a duty to ensure he is brought to justice. It is morally repugnant and politically untenable for them to play host to a war criminal like Rajapaksa. As Rajapaksa looks to jump from state to state in search of refuge, each and every member of the international community must make it absolutely clear - his next stop will be The Hague.

DP World Chennai Develops Direct Connectivity To China/South East Asia

Chennai:

Global Logistics company, DP World operated Chennai Container Terminal (CCT) has added a new China–East India Service, “CI5 service”.

The new service will enhance connectivity to South East Asia and China. The service is operated by a consortium of five vessel operators – Wan Hai Lines, Interasia Lines, KMTC, Goldstar Lines and BTL.

The new CI5 service is the first-ever service from Chennai that will provide direct connection to Pasir Gudang, Malaysia and Kaohsiung, Taiwan and will also offer direct connectivity to key ports of China in Shekou and Qingdao on the East Bound leg.

The service started with the maiden call of vessel “MV Interasia Heritage” on 5 January, 2021. The vessel arrived from Port Kelang and carried total exchange of 4690 TEUs of which 2685 TEUs were Import and 2005 TEUs Export.

Inclusion of this service reinforces Chennai Port’s position as South India’s major trade gateway with state-of-the-art facilities and best-in-class infrastructure to effectively serve growing needs of the trade. MV Interasia Heritage is one of the six 4250 TEUs capacity vessels which will call the DP World Chennai terminal.

Capt. R. Venkatesh, CEO, DP World Chennai, welcomed the partners of the new service and reiterated the terminal’s efforts to render world-class customer service and to deliver best-in-class operational performance. The new service will allow customers to connect their cargo efficiently with better frequency and service coverage as well as boost the growing trade between China / South East Asia, and East coast of India.

Shri. P. Raveendran, Chairman, Chennai Port Trust, said: “We welcome the new service and look forward to more customers selecting Chennai as their preferred port of call. By the recent declaration of VRC rebates to vessels engaged in transhipment cargo as per specified norms, we are confident this new service will reap benefits, thereby adding value, minimizing costs, and promoting Chennai as a transhipment hub.”

Mr. M. M. Parthiban, Principal Commissioner of Customs, said “it is our constant endeavour to facilitate the Ease of Doing Business at Chennai Port. Our recent initiative to digitize Customs clearance processes for paperless transactions, will not only enhance efficiency at the port but will also benefit customers by reducing the time and cost involved in import/export trade.”

Rizwan Soomar, CEO & MD, DP World Subcontinent, said “At DP World, it is our constant endeavour to innovate, add new products & services and create solutions that improve supply chain effectiveness and add value to trade."

Rizwan Soomar stated: "We are delighted to add the new service at our Chennai terminal and thank our partners for their constant support & trust in us. The New CI5 service will connect South East Asia and China to India’s East coast thereby, providing customers with fast & reliable options to link their cargo directly to key global markets.”

Source: http://portwings.in/dp-world-chennai-develops-direct-connectivity-to-china-south-east-asia/

Port of Melbourne Welcomes Largest Container Capacity Ship to Dock in Melbourne

 

The Port of Melbourne (PoM) on 25 June 2020 welcomed CMA CGM Ural, the largest container ship by maximum capacity to call at the port.

The 299-metre long vessel is one of six currently deployed on the South-East Asia - Australia trade route called the ‘AAX1’. It commenced its 42-day round-trip in Malaysia, calling at Singapore. It then made its way around Australia’s south-west coast and arrived into Melbourne’s Webb Dock for handling by terminal operator Victoria International Container Terminal (VICT).

Named after the Ural mountain range that runs from north to south through western Russia, the vessel can carry up to 10,662 TEU (Twenty foot equivalent unit), with containers stacked up to 12 high on-deck. Compared to the 4,500 TEU carried by the average container ship currently calling at PoM, this is a significant increase in load carrying capacity.

The CMA CGM Ural will spend 44 hours in Melbourne before departing for Sydney and Brisbane.

Brendan Bourke, CEO Port of Melbourne, said the arrival of CMA CGM Ural is an indicator of the durability of Australia-Asia trade, despite the challenges presented by COVID19 and recent natural disasters. It demonstrates the port’s ability to accommodate the next generation of global container vessels.

"The arrival of CMA CGM Ural shows Port of Melbourne’s capacity to service the growing number of bigger vessels we’ll see into the future. PoM’s operations have undergone significant change over the years including automation, changes to supply chains, and to the infrastructure that supports them.

"We’re always looking at ways to leverage the significant capability of our operations. We’ve developed a 30-year strategy that addresses PoM’s critical role as part of an interconnected network of physical infrastructure, commercial systems and land-uses," he said.

Anthony Orgill, General Manager Asia ANZ Lines, ANL, said the arrival of the vessel was significant for the shipping industry.

"By implementing larger container ships into our services, we can support clients operating between Australia, South East Asia and beyond. Today’s occasion marks a fantastic milestone as a business and as an industry, highlighting our ongoing evolution to accommodate increasing demand, population growth and productivity," he said.

Tim Vancampen, CEO, VICT, stressed the arrival of CMA CGM Ural highlights the growth of the shipping industry and brings further economies of scale to the Victorian market and supply chain.

"VICT welcomes the 10,622 TEU CMA CGM Ural as the largest capacity vessel to call at the Port of Melbourne and congratulates all parties involved," he said.

"VICT is well equipped to accommodate this class of vessels ranging from 10,500 – 13,000 TEU and plans to further invest in the Port of Melbourne to accommodate the next generation of vessel ranging from 15,000 to 18,000 TEU. We will ensure that Port of Melbourne will continue to fulfil its role as the main gateway to Victoria, and consolidate and expand its position in the global shipping network."

Credit: www.portwings.in

Three Out of Five Converted VLOCs s Are No Longer Operating, BIMCO Analysis Shows

Chennai:

Port Wings News Network:

Since June 2017, 43% of the VLOC fleet have been sent to the scrapyards, while 18% of the fleet is idled or damaged, a market analysis by Baltic and International Maritime Council (BIMCO) has revealed.

"The tragic Stellar Daisy accident brought the safety aspect of VLOCs into question. Now, three years on, three out of five VLOCs are no longer in operation as their long-term charters have now expired. Going forward, the obsolete VLOCs will be phased out of the market and replaced with technologically superior and more reliable ships," said BIMCO’s Chief Shipping Analyst, Peter Sand.

The VLOCs were converted from single-hull Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCC) towards the end of 2000 as an innovative result of the dry bulk super cycle and the IMO regulation which mandated that all single hull tankers should be phased out by 2010. With cheap and obsolete tanker tonnage in the market, investors eyed an opportunity to convert the ships into VLOCs and deploy them on long-term contracts of affreightment, often with a duration of 10 years.

THE ECONOMIC RATIONALE OF KEEPING THE OLD VLOC TONNAGE AFLOAT

In June 2017, BIMCO analyzed the VLOC fleet which at the time consisted of 51 ships with an average age of 23.8 years, not far from the average demolition age of 24.2 years. Back then, we argued that the ships on long-term contracts still made solid economic sense, given a second-hand price equal to the scrap value and stable earnings.

Arguably, the maintenance and repair costs are significantly higher than younger tonnage, but the statement from 2017 still holds true, granted the condition that the ships have employment under long-term contract. Once the VLOCs no longer have to fulfil obligations under long-term contracts, the economic incentive to keep the ships afloat evaporates.

At face value, during their time as ore carriers, these ships have provided a solid return on investment, even when accounting for higher maintenance cost. Although the conversion from tanker to dry bulker came at an estimated price of USD 12-15m, plus the cost of the actual ship, the freight revenue from the long-term contracts for carrying ore from Brazil to China have exceeded the cost by a fair margin.

Since the last analysis, the fleet has undergone a massive trimming with 28 ships remaining in the fleet, eight of which are lying idle in Labuan, a dedicated lay-up site. Since June 2017, 22 ships have been scrapped while one is damaged and not in service. Therefore, it seems likely that converted VLOCs will soon be a memory of the past.

CONVERTED VLOCS ARE PHASED OUT AS SUBSTITUTES ARE BROUGHT IN

The investment strategy of converting cheap tanker tonnage to dry bulk carriers seems unlikely to be replicated any time soon. With economic growth and prosperity comes opportunities. The VLOCs were acquired and contracted for conversion during the dry bulk bull run in 2007-2008, but many of the conversions were only complete after the financial crisis put an end to the bull market.  

The ships entered a market, which never recovered to previous highs, but nonetheless remained a profitable one in the initial years. In 2009 and 2010, the Baltic dry index (BDI) averaged 2,616 and 2,758 index points respectively, well below the 6,390 index points seen in 2008, but a substantial margin above the averages from 2011-2019, which never exceeded 1,600 index points.

Many of the ships are approaching the average age of demolition, and these ships are set to be phased out as soon as the long-term contracts under which they are employed expire. However, new VLOCs and even larger ships, such as the Valemaxes, have already been supplied to the market. For this reason, the scrapping of converted VLOCs will not create a shortage of tonnage in the market.

Perhaps even the contrary holds true. From June 2017 to April 2020, the Capesize (+100k DWT) fleet grew by 29.6m DWT (9.2%). From 2017 to 2019, seaborne trade of iron ore declined by 17m tonnes (-1.2%)

"A shortage of tonnage will not arise because the converted VLOCs are now phased out. New and even larger ships have already been delivered to the dry bulk market, more than covering the transportation needs," concluded Sand.

Source: http://portwings.in/three-out-of-five-converted-vlocs-s-are-no-longer-operating-bimco-analysis-shows/

DP World’s Chennai Container Terminal Welcomes Largest Container Ship

Chennai:

Port Wings News Network:

Global trade enabler DP World operated Chennai Container Terminal (CCTL) has achieved yet another landmark – by safely berthing MV CMA CGM RHONE, the largest container vessel to visit India’s south and eastern coast, calling Chennai Port on 8 September 2019.

The 299.95 m long Malta flagged vessel has a capacity of 9365 TEUs (Twenty feet equivalent units). The vessel arrived from Singapore, with 2434 TEUs Imports and loaded 1345 TEUs Exports. The vessel is operated by CMA CGM, a leading worldwide transport and logistics group. It is one of the 14 ships deployed on the NEMO (North Europe Med Oceania) service run by CMA CGM and Hapag Lloyd.  

The NEMO service has been calling DPW Chennai’s terminal since May 2007 and is the only direct service to Europe from the South and East coast ports of India. This service connects North Europe and the Mediterranean with the Indian Ocean and Australia and dips into Chennai on its west bound leg thereby offering Exporters direct connections to Mediterranean and European market.

Mr. P Raveendran, IRTS – Chairman, Chennai Port Trust said, “We have worked in tandem with the terminal operators to enhance infrastructure at the port. The permissible vessel draft has been deepened in order to welcome next generation large vessels at the port. It gives me a sense of pride to see a ship of this size calling the Port of Chennai. We encourage and look forward to receiving larger vessels at the Port”

Mr. Ugo Vincent, Managing Director, CMA CGM Agencies, India said, “We are delighted that our ship, the CMA CGM RHONE, is the largest to call at the Chennai Container Terminal. This terminal’s facilities, which have an efficient infrastructure and productivity, will help us reduce berthing time and improve our efficiency.”

Capt. R Venkatesh – Chief Executive Officer, CCTL, DP World, said, “DP World has been the fore runner in achieving tall targets in South India. From one of the earliest container terminals in this region offering a gateway to more than 50 ports globally, we are the first Terminal to be docking a container vessel of this size, in the region. We thank CMA CGM for deploying a vessel of this size, paving the way for cargo growth opportunities and shortest transit times which is of significant importance today. With a Customer centric investment in Terminal assets, multimodal transport solutions, Cold chain facilities and value-added services, DPW caters to the complete spectrum of logistics requirements at all levels in the supply chain. DP World leverages the opportunities to facilitate cargo owners move their goods globally, providing smarter, faster, safer and more cost-efficient solutions.

Source: http://portwings.in/dp-worlds-chennai-container-terminal-welcomes-largest-container-ship/