Features
CHAUVIN TRIAL REPRESENTS A DEFINING MOMENT OF RACE RELATIONS IN AMERICA
by Vijaya Chandrasoma
The trial of the George Floyd murder began last Monday, when Police Officer Derek Chauvin was charged with Unintentional Second Degree Murder and Third Degree Murder of a black man arrested on suspicion of using a counterfeit $20 bill. He was murdered by the grisly act of Chauvin nonchalantly placing his white knee on Floyd’s neck for over nine minutes, in full view of the camera.
In the United States, the laws and sentences for murder vary by jurisdiction. According to Minnesota law, under which jurisdiction Chauvin is being tried, the statute for “Unintentional Second Degree Murder” is generally defined as “unintentional killing that lacks premeditation, is intended to only cause bodily harm, and demonstrates an extreme indifference to human life”. Third Degree is murder is based on not having an intent to kill, and often charged as a “depraved, heart or mind crime”.
Both these charges certainly do not verify the evidence of the video, that Chauvin’s actions were intended only to cause bodily harm. He continued to keep his knee on Floyd’s neck for three minutes after he was told that Floyd no longer had a pulse. And to accuse him of Third Degree Murder, based on not having an intent to kill is laughable, although there is no doubt at all that Chauvin has a depraved heart and mind.
There have been no charges that the murder of Floyd was a hate crime, even though Chauvin had a history of 18 complaints of brutality largely against the black community on his police record. Complaints which had been dismissed with hardly a slap on the wrist.
The Minneapolis court was shown new footage of Floyd’s behavior in the Cup Foods convenience store before his arrest. It was evident that he was high, laughing and talking to people and walking around, but never in a threatening manner. He had a very cordial conversation with the young cashier, 19 year-old Christopher Martin, who sold him the cigarettes and accepted the $20 note, which he later felt was counterfeit. Martin relayed his suspicions to the manager, but said that “Mr. Floyd didn’t seem to know it was a fake note”. Martin told the manager that, according to the rules of the store, he was prepared to let this go and “put the $20 on his tab”. He said he did so because Floyd was a regular customer. However, the manager ordered Martin to ask Floyd, who was getting into his vehicle, to come back. Martin carried out this order, but Floyd refused. At this point, another employee called the cops.
Mr. Martin, who witnessed the arrest, told the court he felt “disbelief, grief and guilt” because “if I’d have just not taken the bill, this could have been avoided”.
Charles McMillian, another witness who took the stand on Wednesday, was the first bystander at the scene of Floyd’s arrest. He told the court he “engaged in conversation with Floyd, urging him to get into the police car”. He remembers feeling “helpless” seeing the incident unfold, when the police had him, handcuffed, on the ground, clearly not resisting arrest or violent in any way. He can be heard on video telling Chauvin: “Your knee on his neck, that’s wrong, man”.
As the court was shown footage of the arrest and subsequent murder, McMillian burst into tears while on the witness box. In this footage, Floyd is seen to be begging of the police: “Please don’t shoot me… I just lost my mom”. After he is handcuffed, he continues to plead, saying he is not resisting arrest, and “will do anything you tell me to”.
Defense counsel for Chauvin, Eric Nelson argued that Floyd’s autopsy showed that he was in poor health and had used drugs in the past, and had “a mixture of opioids in his system at the time of death; that he may have died of a drug overdose and cardiac arrhythmia” at the very time Chauvin was kneeing the life out of him in open view. That the force used was reasonable.
A similar defense was used in Dr. Martin Luther King’s assassination case, when defense counsel argued that his autopsy showed that King, a 39-year-old man, had the heart of a 60 year-old. The implication being Dr. King suffered a massive heart attack at the very moment the bullet of James Earl Ray’s bullet entered his left cheek!
The damning evidence against the brutality of Derek Chauvin continued. His supervisor stated that Chauvin should have stopped using force the moment that Floyd was handcuffed and on the ground, showing no resistance. The paramedic who arrived minutes later said, “Floyd was dead on his arrival”, and had to ask Chauvin to get off Floyd so that he could access the patient.
The fourth day of the trial began with the emotional testimony of Floyd’s girlfriend of three years, Courteney Ross. She gave perhaps the most compelling evidence against Chauvin, talking about Floyd’s love for his daughters and grief after the recent death of his mother, his love for all types of exercise and their struggles with opioid addiction. Floyd and Ross had both tried several times to give up their addiction to opioids, which had started, for both of them, by taking prescription pain-killers to get relief from the pain they had suffered in the past. She said that Floyd had been hospitalized a month earlier for a drug overdose. “It’s a classic story of how many people get addicted to opioids. We both suffer from chronic pain, me in my neck and he in his back”.
Ross said they were “very close”, and saw each other every day until the day he died. She humanized Floyd, talking about his love for his daughters and the grief he felt for his mother on her recent death. They used to “spend time outdoors, walking around the city’s sculpture garden”. They also shared a love for fine dining, and ate out a lot.
The concept of “humanizing” a black person is an important one. American society has always dehumanized African Americans, with the idea that black people are dangerous, they are sub-human. They use their black skin as a weapon, they should be treated differently by, and present a danger to, society. All the black community and the minorities in America are asking for is that they be treated as normal human beings, with human frailties. They only ask that they be given equal protection under the law, just like a white person, just like any other human being who succeeds, who stumbles.
Civil Rights attorney, Ben Crump, who represents Floyd’s family, released a statement following Ross’ testimony.
“As the defense attempts to construct the narrative that George Floyd’s cause of death was the Fentanyl in his system, we want to remind the world who witnessed his death on video that George was walking, talking, laughing and breathing just fine before Derek Chauvin held his knee to George’s neck, blocking his ability to breathe and extinguishing his life for all to see…. We are confident that the jury will see past that and arrive at the truth – that George Floyd would have lived to see another day if Derek Chauvin hadn’t brutally ended his life in front of a crowd of witnesses, pleading for his life”.
Most of you would have forgotten the Los Angeles riots of April 1996, when four policemen, three of them white, the fourth Latino, were acquitted of the brutal beating of Rodney King, an African American who had led the police on a high-speed chase through Los Angeles. When he was finally stopped, King was ordered out of the car. Although he offered little resistance on arrest, he was hit by two high-voltage tasers, and then kicked and beaten with metal batons for a full 15 minutes, watched by more than a dozen cops who did nothing to stop this brutality.
These 15 minutes, illuminated by the floodlights from a police helicopter hovering overhead, were caught on camera by a bystander. The graphic video was broadcast into homes throughout the nation and the world.
In a subsequent negligence claim filed against the City of Los Angeles, King alleged he had suffered “11 skull fractures, permanent brain damage, broken bones and teeth, kidney failure and emotional and physical trauma”. For being pulled over on a suspected misdemeanor.
Rodney King was no angel. He was on parole for robbery, and was driving under the influence when he was arrested. He was ultimately charged with Driving Under the Influence (DUI), a misdemeanor. In defending the officers who beat King within an inch of his life, the regular framework used by the police in justification of racial brutality was used: covering up the attack, devaluing the target, reinterpreting the events, using official channels and intimidation of witnesses. These tactics worked, the officers were acquitted of a brutal assault seen by the world.
There is every indication that this strategy will be used in the defense of Derek Chauvin in an effort to get him a light sentence. For a sadistic, obvious murder of hate, carried out in full view of the world.
Justice in America has taken some very strange twists in the past. The outcome of the George Floyd case may reverse the course of continuing law enforcement brutality against minorities, especially African Americans. However, if Chauvin, who committed a murder of utmost hatred in full view of the world, gets off with an acquittal or a light sentence, there is little doubt that there will be Black Lives Matter riots, nationwide, which will dwarf the BLM riots of last Summer right after Floyd’s murder. And make the Los Angeles Rodney King riots of 1996 look like a walk in the park.
The trial continues, and is expected to last at least a month.
by Dr Gotabhya Ranasinghe
Senior Consultant Cardiologist
National Hospital Sri Lanka
When we sought a meeting with Hon Dr. Ramesh Pathirana, Minister of Health, he graciously cleared his busy schedule to accommodate us. Renowned for his attentive listening and deep understanding, Minister Pathirana is dedicated to advancing the health sector. His openness and transparency exemplify the qualities of an exemplary politician and minister.
Dr. Palitha Mahipala, the current Health Secretary, demonstrates both commendable enthusiasm and unwavering support. This combination of attributes makes him a highly compatible colleague for the esteemed Minister of Health.
Our discussion centered on a project that has been in the works for the past 30 years, one that no other minister had managed to advance.
Minister Pathirana, however, recognized the project’s significance and its potential to revolutionize care for heart patients.
The project involves the construction of a state-of-the-art facility at the premises of the National Hospital Colombo. The project’s location within the premises of the National Hospital underscores its importance and relevance to the healthcare infrastructure of the nation.
This facility will include a cardiology building and a tertiary care center, equipped with the latest technology to handle and treat all types of heart-related conditions and surgeries.
Securing funding was a major milestone for this initiative. Minister Pathirana successfully obtained approval for a $40 billion loan from the Asian Development Bank. With the funding in place, the foundation stone is scheduled to be laid in September this year, and construction will begin in January 2025.
This project guarantees a consistent and uninterrupted supply of stents and related medications for heart patients. As a result, patients will have timely access to essential medical supplies during their treatment and recovery. By securing these critical resources, the project aims to enhance patient outcomes, minimize treatment delays, and maintain the highest standards of cardiac care.
Upon its fruition, this monumental building will serve as a beacon of hope and healing, symbolizing the unwavering dedication to improving patient outcomes and fostering a healthier society.We anticipate a future marked by significant progress and positive outcomes in Sri Lanka’s cardiovascular treatment landscape within the foreseeable timeframe.
by Fr. Emmanuel Fernando, OMI
Jesuit Fr. Aloysius Pieris (affectionately called Fr. Aloy) celebrated his 90th birthday on April 9, 2024 and I, as the editor of our Oblate Journal, THE MISSIONARY OBLATE had gone to press by that time. Immediately I decided to publish an article, appreciating the untiring selfless services he continues to offer for inter-Faith dialogue, the renewal of the Catholic Church, his concern for the poor and the suffering Sri Lankan masses and to me, the present writer.
It was in 1988, when I was appointed Director of the Oblate Scholastics at Ampitiya by the then Oblate Provincial Fr. Anselm Silva, that I came to know Fr. Aloy more closely. Knowing well his expertise in matters spiritual, theological, Indological and pastoral, and with the collaborative spirit of my companion-formators, our Oblate Scholastics were sent to Tulana, the Research and Encounter Centre, Kelaniya, of which he is the Founder-Director, for ‘exposure-programmes’ on matters spiritual, biblical, theological and pastoral. Some of these dimensions according to my view and that of my companion-formators, were not available at the National Seminary, Ampitiya.
Ever since that time, our Oblate formators/ accompaniers at the Oblate Scholasticate, Ampitiya , have continued to send our Oblate Scholastics to Tulana Centre for deepening their insights and convictions regarding matters needed to serve the people in today’s context. Fr. Aloy also had tried very enthusiastically with the Oblate team headed by Frs. Oswald Firth and Clement Waidyasekara to begin a Theologate, directed by the Religious Congregations in Sri Lanka, for the contextual formation/ accompaniment of their members. It should very well be a desired goal of the Leaders / Provincials of the Religious Congregations.
Besides being a formator/accompanier at the Oblate Scholasticate, I was entrusted also with the task of editing and publishing our Oblate journal, ‘The Missionary Oblate’. To maintain the quality of the journal I continue to depend on Fr. Aloy for his thought-provoking and stimulating articles on Biblical Spirituality, Biblical Theology and Ecclesiology. I am very grateful to him for his generous assistance. Of late, his writings on renewal of the Church, initiated by Pope St. John XX111 and continued by Pope Francis through the Synodal path, published in our Oblate journal, enable our readers to focus their attention also on the needed renewal in the Catholic Church in Sri Lanka. Fr. Aloy appreciated very much the Synodal path adopted by the Jesuit Pope Francis for the renewal of the Church, rooted very much on prayerful discernment. In my Religious and presbyteral life, Fr.Aloy continues to be my spiritual animator / guide and ongoing formator / acccompanier.
Fr. Aloysius Pieris, BA Hons (Lond), LPh (SHC, India), STL (PFT, Naples), PhD (SLU/VC), ThD (Tilburg), D.Ltt (KU), has been one of the eminent Asian theologians well recognized internationally and one who has lectured and held visiting chairs in many universities both in the West and in the East. Many members of Religious Congregations from Asian countries have benefited from his lectures and guidance in the East Asian Pastoral Institute (EAPI) in Manila, Philippines. He had been a Theologian consulted by the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences for many years. During his professorship at the Gregorian University in Rome, he was called to be a member of a special group of advisers on other religions consulted by Pope Paul VI.
Fr. Aloy is the author of more than 30 books and well over 500 Research Papers. Some of his books and articles have been translated and published in several countries. Among those books, one can find the following: 1) The Genesis of an Asian Theology of Liberation (An Autobiographical Excursus on the Art of Theologising in Asia, 2) An Asian Theology of Liberation, 3) Providential Timeliness of Vatican 11 (a long-overdue halt to a scandalous millennium, 4) Give Vatican 11 a chance, 5) Leadership in the Church, 6) Relishing our faith in working for justice (Themes for study and discussion), 7) A Message meant mainly, not exclusively for Jesuits (Background information necessary for helping Francis renew the Church), 8) Lent in Lanka (Reflections and Resolutions, 9) Love meets wisdom (A Christian Experience of Buddhism, 10) Fire and Water 11) God’s Reign for God’s poor, 12) Our Unhiddden Agenda (How we Jesuits work, pray and form our men). He is also the Editor of two journals, Vagdevi, Journal of Religious Reflection and Dialogue, New Series.
Fr. Aloy has a BA in Pali and Sanskrit from the University of London and a Ph.D in Buddhist Philosophy from the University of Sri Lankan, Vidyodaya Campus. On Nov. 23, 2019, he was awarded the prestigious honorary Doctorate of Literature (D.Litt) by the Chancellor of the University of Kelaniya, the Most Venerable Welamitiyawe Dharmakirthi Sri Kusala Dhamma Thera.
Fr. Aloy continues to be a promoter of Gospel values and virtues. Justice as a constitutive dimension of love and social concern for the downtrodden masses are very much noted in his life and work. He had very much appreciated the commitment of the late Fr. Joseph (Joe) Fernando, the National Director of the Social and Economic Centre (SEDEC) for the poor.
In Sri Lanka, a few religious Congregations – the Good Shepherd Sisters, the Christian Brothers, the Marist Brothers and the Oblates – have invited him to animate their members especially during their Provincial Congresses, Chapters and International Conferences. The mainline Christian Churches also have sought his advice and followed his seminars. I, for one, regret very much, that the Sri Lankan authorities of the Catholic Church –today’s Hierarchy—- have not sought Fr.
Aloy’s expertise for the renewal of the Catholic Church in Sri Lanka and thus have not benefited from the immense store of wisdom and insight that he can offer to our local Church while the Sri Lankan bishops who governed the Catholic church in the immediate aftermath of the Second Vatican Council (Edmund Fernando OMI, Anthony de Saram, Leo Nanayakkara OSB, Frank Marcus Fernando, Paul Perera,) visited him and consulted him on many matters. Among the Tamil Bishops, Bishop Rayappu Joseph was keeping close contact with him and Bishop J. Deogupillai hosted him and his team visiting him after the horrible Black July massacre of Tamils.
Sri Lanka-Singapore Free Trade Agreement
By Gomi Senadhira
senadhiragomi@gmail.com
“You might tell fairy tales, but the progress of a country cannot be achieved through such narratives. A country cannot be developed by making false promises. The country moved backward because of the electoral promises made by political parties throughout time. We have witnessed that the ultimate result of this is the country becoming bankrupt. Unfortunately, many segments of the population have not come to realize this yet.” – President Ranil Wickremesinghe, 2024 Budget speech
Any Sri Lankan would agree with the above words of President Wickremesinghe on the false promises our politicians and officials make and the fairy tales they narrate which bankrupted this country. So, to understand this, let’s look at one such fairy tale with lots of false promises; Ranil Wickremesinghe’s greatest achievement in the area of international trade and investment promotion during the Yahapalana period, Sri Lanka-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (SLSFTA).
It is appropriate and timely to do it now as Finance Minister Wickremesinghe has just presented to parliament a bill on the National Policy on Economic Transformation which includes the establishment of an Office for International Trade and the Sri Lanka Institute of Economics and International Trade.
Was SLSFTA a “Cleverly negotiated Free Trade Agreement” as stated by the (former) Minister of Development Strategies and International Trade Malik Samarawickrama during the Parliamentary Debate on the SLSFTA in July 2018, or a colossal blunder covered up with lies, false promises, and fairy tales? After SLSFTA was signed there were a number of fairy tales published on this agreement by the Ministry of Development Strategies and International, Institute of Policy Studies, and others.
However, for this article, I would like to limit my comments to the speech by Minister Samarawickrama during the Parliamentary Debate, and the two most important areas in the agreement which were covered up with lies, fairy tales, and false promises, namely: revenue loss for Sri Lanka and Investment from Singapore. On the other important area, “Waste products dumping” I do not want to comment here as I have written extensively on the issue.
1. The revenue loss
During the Parliamentary Debate in July 2018, Minister Samarawickrama stated “…. let me reiterate that this FTA with Singapore has been very cleverly negotiated by us…. The liberalisation programme under this FTA has been carefully designed to have the least impact on domestic industry and revenue collection. We have included all revenue sensitive items in the negative list of items which will not be subject to removal of tariff. Therefore, 97.8% revenue from Customs duty is protected. Our tariff liberalisation will take place over a period of 12-15 years! In fact, the revenue earned through tariffs on goods imported from Singapore last year was Rs. 35 billion.
The revenue loss for over the next 15 years due to the FTA is only Rs. 733 million– which when annualised, on average, is just Rs. 51 million. That is just 0.14% per year! So anyone who claims the Singapore FTA causes revenue loss to the Government cannot do basic arithmetic! Mr. Speaker, in conclusion, I call on my fellow members of this House – don’t mislead the public with baseless criticism that is not grounded in facts. Don’t look at petty politics and use these issues for your own political survival.”
I was surprised to read the minister’s speech because an article published in January 2018 in “The Straits Times“, based on information released by the Singaporean Negotiators stated, “…. With the FTA, tariff savings for Singapore exports are estimated to hit $10 million annually“.
As the annual tariff savings (that is the revenue loss for Sri Lanka) calculated by the Singaporean Negotiators, Singaporean $ 10 million (Sri Lankan rupees 1,200 million in 2018) was way above the rupees’ 733 million revenue loss for 15 years estimated by the Sri Lankan negotiators, it was clear to any observer that one of the parties to the agreement had not done the basic arithmetic!
Six years later, according to a report published by “The Morning” newspaper, speaking at the Committee on Public Finance (COPF) on 7th May 2024, Mr Samarawickrama’s chief trade negotiator K.J. Weerasinghehad had admitted “…. that forecasted revenue loss for the Government of Sri Lanka through the Singapore FTA is Rs. 450 million in 2023 and Rs. 1.3 billion in 2024.”
If these numbers are correct, as tariff liberalisation under the SLSFTA has just started, we will pass Rs 2 billion very soon. Then, the question is how Sri Lanka’s trade negotiators made such a colossal blunder. Didn’t they do their basic arithmetic? If they didn’t know how to do basic arithmetic they should have at least done their basic readings. For example, the headline of the article published in The Straits Times in January 2018 was “Singapore, Sri Lanka sign FTA, annual savings of $10m expected”.
Anyway, as Sri Lanka’s chief negotiator reiterated at the COPF meeting that “…. since 99% of the tariffs in Singapore have zero rates of duty, Sri Lanka has agreed on 80% tariff liberalisation over a period of 15 years while expecting Singapore investments to address the imbalance in trade,” let’s turn towards investment.
Investment from Singapore
In July 2018, speaking during the Parliamentary Debate on the FTA this is what Minister Malik Samarawickrama stated on investment from Singapore, “Already, thanks to this FTA, in just the past two-and-a-half months since the agreement came into effect we have received a proposal from Singapore for investment amounting to $ 14.8 billion in an oil refinery for export of petroleum products. In addition, we have proposals for a steel manufacturing plant for exports ($ 1 billion investment), flour milling plant ($ 50 million), sugar refinery ($ 200 million). This adds up to more than $ 16.05 billion in the pipeline on these projects alone.
And all of these projects will create thousands of more jobs for our people. In principle approval has already been granted by the BOI and the investors are awaiting the release of land the environmental approvals to commence the project.
I request the Opposition and those with vested interests to change their narrow-minded thinking and join us to develop our country. We must always look at what is best for the whole community, not just the few who may oppose. We owe it to our people to courageously take decisions that will change their lives for the better.”
According to the media report I quoted earlier, speaking at the Committee on Public Finance (COPF) Chief Negotiator Weerasinghe has admitted that Sri Lanka was not happy with overall Singapore investments that have come in the past few years in return for the trade liberalisation under the Singapore-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement. He has added that between 2021 and 2023 the total investment from Singapore had been around $162 million!
What happened to those projects worth $16 billion negotiated, thanks to the SLSFTA, in just the two-and-a-half months after the agreement came into effect and approved by the BOI? I do not know about the steel manufacturing plant for exports ($ 1 billion investment), flour milling plant ($ 50 million) and sugar refinery ($ 200 million).
However, story of the multibillion-dollar investment in the Petroleum Refinery unfolded in a manner that would qualify it as the best fairy tale with false promises presented by our politicians and the officials, prior to 2019 elections.
Though many Sri Lankans got to know, through the media which repeatedly highlighted a plethora of issues surrounding the project and the questionable credentials of the Singaporean investor, the construction work on the Mirrijiwela Oil Refinery along with the cement factory began on the24th of March 2019 with a bang and Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and his ministers along with the foreign and local dignitaries laid the foundation stones.
That was few months before the 2019 Presidential elections. Inaugurating the construction work Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said the projects will create thousands of job opportunities in the area and surrounding districts.
The oil refinery, which was to be built over 200 acres of land, with the capacity to refine 200,000 barrels of crude oil per day, was to generate US$7 billion of exports and create 1,500 direct and 3,000 indirect jobs. The construction of the refinery was to be completed in 44 months. Four years later, in August 2023 the Cabinet of Ministers approved the proposal presented by President Ranil Wickremesinghe to cancel the agreement with the investors of the refinery as the project has not been implemented! Can they explain to the country how much money was wasted to produce that fairy tale?
It is obvious that the President, ministers, and officials had made huge blunders and had deliberately misled the public and the parliament on the revenue loss and potential investment from SLSFTA with fairy tales and false promises.
As the president himself said, a country cannot be developed by making false promises or with fairy tales and these false promises and fairy tales had bankrupted the country. “Unfortunately, many segments of the population have not come to realize this yet”.
(The writer, a specialist and an activist on trade and development issues . )
US sports envoys to Lanka to champion youth development
Rahuman questions sudden cancellation of leave of CEB employees
