A payment of $2.5 million released by the General Treasury to settle a foreign debt failed to reach the intended recipient and was reportedly diverted to a computer hacker or a third party, according to the ‘FREE LAWYERS’ organisation.
The chairman of the organisation, President’s Counsel Maithri Gunarathne, sent a letter to the Speaker of Parliament requesting a formal investigation into the incident.
The organisation noted that while the Central Bank of Sri Lanka previously managed foreign debt, installment, and interest repayments, these responsibilities shifted to the Department of External Resources and the Public Debt Management Office following the passage of the new Finance Act.
Consequently, these specific departments prepared the documentation and executed the payment in question.
The current investigation is being conducted under an Additional Secretary to the Treasury who bears final responsibility for debt payments.
The organisation emphasised that this official continues to lead operations within the relevant department while the probe is ongoing.
The organisation urged the Speaker to initiate a full investigation through an external team or via Parliament to ensure impartiality, as the current internal process may be compromised.
Meanwhile, the ‘Dinana Dakuna’ collective issued a press release demanding an immediate and comprehensive inquiry into whether the $2.5 million payment was actually executed.
Attorney Shiral Lakthilaka, a member of the leadership council, signed the statement.
An official from Parliament stated, upon inquiry, that no such letter containing this request arrived as of yet.
A strong response has been sent to the letter of demand issued to Hiru News by the lawyer of Agriculture Minister K D Lalkantha, regarding his declaration of assets.
The legal team of Hiru News has communicated that their client categorically denies all and singular the several claims, assertions, allegations and demands made in the said letter of demand, and that the Minister’s purported demand will not be complied with.
The letter further states that Hiru News, recognizing the right of correction, published a correction immediately on the 18th of April 2026, during the 6.55pm and 9.55pm news bulletins of Hiru TV, as well as on other media channels owned by the organisation.
The response also draws attention to the Anti-Corruption Act No. 09 of 2023, stating that there are irremediable errors in the Minister’s declaration, and that his Declaration of Assets and Liabilities has not been filed in compliance with the law.
The letter goes on to warn that should the Minister instigate any litigation against Hiru News, the organisation will invoke its rights as a corporate citizen to have him dealt with under the law, for deliberate violation of mandatory statutory provisions. Furthermore, Hiru News has stated that in the event of any legal action, it will raise, among other matters, that the Minister has been involved in deliberate damage to public property and inciting violence against law-abiding citizens — as admitted to by him in public fora — and will accordingly take up the position that he is a person who does not have a reputation to be tarnished.
On November 14, 2018, Sri Lankan attorney Senaka Weeraratna addressed a symposium at the Japanese Diet (Parliament). Invited by the Society for the Dissemination of Historical Fact, he delivered a keynote speech titled “Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbour ignited the liberation of Asia from Western domination – Time for Asia to express gratitude to Japan”.
Key highlights of his address and the event included:
Commemorative Occasion: The meeting commemorated the 100th anniversary of Japan’s 1919 proposal for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination at the Paris Peace Conference.
Decolonization Perspective: Weeraratna argued that Japan’s military actions during WWII, specifically the attack on Pearl Harbour, served as the catalyst for ending Western colonial rule across Asia.
Criticism of Tokyo Trials: He labeled the International Military Tribunal for the Far East (Tokyo Trials) as “victor’s justice” and a “Kangaroo Court,” citing the lack of Asian representation among the judges and the retroactive nature of the charges.
Call for Gratitude: As the first Sri Lankan to speak at the Diet on this topic, he urged Asian nations to de-colonize their historical narratives and acknowledge Japan’s “blood sacrifices” in facilitating their independence.
Notable Speakers: The symposium also featured the late Hideaki Kase, President of the Society, Japanese Historian Moteki and Professor Emeritus Eiji Yamashita.
This speech emphasizes Japan’s role in Pan-Asianism and challenges the Western-centric narrative of WWII.
One of the most significant points in Weeraratna’s speech was the reference to the 1919 Racial Equality Proposal. This is a frequently overlooked moment in history where Japan’s attempt to include a non-discrimination clause in the League of Nations Covenant was rejected by Western powers, an event many historians cite as a turning point that soured Japan’s relations with the West.
The speech was held in Conference Room No. 101 of the Diet.
Beating India is great; that is our ultimate opponent. They underestimated SL prior to the match.
The problem of fitness still persists. Angelow, Asela, Kusal must be back in action in the quarter final against Pakistan on Monday. SL has a remarkable record of coming from behind. India has a remarkable record of conducting Pooja for various Gods before matches and praying for their players, but Indians go to the extent of destroying the homes of their Cricketer if they lose.
SL win against India is a great motivation and should go undeterred to get into the semis.
Personally there is nothing better for me than winning against India. Indian’s are conducting massive poojas in Kovils with the hope Sri Lanka lose to Pakistan.
In this scenario, it is pertinent to reproduce and enjoy an article published in Lankaweb in 2007 World Cup, to energise our players. This article has annoyed several Indians, so be it again!
WORLD CUP CRICKET – ROUND 1 – STATISTICS AND FUNNIES
India prayed Bangladesh to win on Mar 21, praying BD to lose on Mar 25!
By M D P DISSANAYAKE
Australia, Sri Lanka, NZ and West Indies have won all 3 preliminary matches in the first round, scoring maximum 6 points each. On the net run rate, SL has come first with 3.493, followed by Australia 3.433, NZ 2.138 and WI 0.764.
The two “super-powers” in the Indian sub-continent provided tragedies and comedies during this short spell of two weeks. Both Pakis and Indians have failed to realize the sportsmanship of the game and have put themselves in a ‘pressure cooker’ situation. The Indian team and the country as a whole, has felt losing to Bangladesh was a disgrace, failing to realize that the BD team is now lead by Dav Whatmore who advanced SL’s cricketing dreams to World Cup standards in 1996.
After losing to Bangladesh on March 17, the first Indian comedy took place on March 19, when Indians played against Bermuda. The Indian’s thought this was World Cup Final and after thrashing Bermuda by 257 runs, their world record winning margin was shown over and over to motivate the Team.
The second comedy was staged when SL played Bangladesh on Mar 21. Indians were full of support for Bangladesh, conducting Poojas in India for the Gods. “Bajan” sessions and “Japa Malaya” mantrams by many Indian men and women were shown, praying Bangladesh to beat Sri Lanka.
In the third comedy session, Indian fanatics conducted many Poojas to God Muruga, God Ganesh on the eve of SL vs India’s match on March 23. The Indian Team photos were treated as living Gods, hundreds of men and women chanting “Bajan” and praying with ” Japa Malaya” turning its seeds at a tremendous speed, without blinking eyes. The men were kissing the photos of Ganguli, Tendulkar, Dhoni, Dravid, Schewag. The very next day, they burned the photos, spat at them, hammered the photos with Sandals and physically destroyed poor Dhoni’s house which was under construction.
The final episode of the Indian comedy is to be staged tonight, when BD plays against Bermuda. Since yesterday, mantrams and poojas have already started praying for Gods and Divine intervention for BD to lose to Bermuda. (Gods themselves must be pretty confused, don’t you think so?). This all looks like another “bollywood” film, same script, same dances and fights but with different actors and a different name!
“All India” beat Bermuda in WC 2007 by the highest margin, the record which they can take home now, for an ever-lasting Pooja and Bajan sessions. .
At last, we can watch some sensible cricket from next week. Thank God!
In 1984, I returned to Sri Lanka after working in the harsh, demanding offshore environment of the North Sea. There, welding was not just a trade—it was a science governed by precision, discipline, and unforgiving standards. When I joined Colombo Dockyard as a consulting engineer, I stepped into a yard that had potential—but lacked the technological backbone to move beyond conventional ship repair.
What happened next is a lesson Sri Lanka must urgently relearn.
At the time, we were presented with what many would have considered an impossible task. A French contractor approached the dockyard with a requirement that was far removed from routine marine work. We were asked to roll 20/40 mm thick steel plates into pipes of approximately half a meter to 2 meter in diameter—and weld them to X-ray quality.
Let me be clear: this was not ordinary fabrication. Thick plate rolling at that tolerance is difficult even today. Welding such material to radiographic standards, with consistency, was something even established yards would hesitate to undertake without proper automation.
And we had almost nothing.
No advanced automatic welding systems. No proper pipe rolling and welding machines. Only a few semi-automatic PUG welding units—and a determination to find a way.
Instead of rejecting the job, we engineered a solution.
First, we tackled the biggest constraint—pipe rolling. Colombo Dockyard simply did not have the required machinery. Rather than waiting for capital investment or foreign assistance, we looked within the country. With the support of my good friend, Chairman Premachandra, we identified an idle pipe rolling machine at the Puttalam Cement Corporation. That machine was relocated, reinstalled, and brought back to life at the dockyard.
That single decision saved months of delay and massive foreign exchange.
Next came the welding challenge. We did not have automated pipe welding systems, so we built one. Our in-house electronic engineer—one of the unsung geniuses this country quietly produces—designed a rotating pipe mechanism. We mounted welding units onto a carriage system that could travel along the circumference of the pipe, maintaining consistency in speed and arc.
In essence, we created a primitive but effective automated welding system using local ingenuity.
Sections of pipes, about 2 to 5 meters long, were rolled, aligned, and welded under controlled conditions. And the result?
We passed X-ray inspection.
That moment was more than a technical success—it was a transformation. Colombo Dockyard had crossed a threshold. We were no longer just repairing ships. We were fabricating with precision. We had entered a new technological era.
From that point onward, the yard steadily advanced. It undertook more complex welding jobs, fabricated oil tanks, supported projects in Sri Lanka and the Maldives, and built a reputation that extended beyond our shores.
But here is the uncomfortable question:
What has happened to that spirit today?
In the 1980s, we had fewer resources—but more initiative. Today, we have access to global technology, financing models, and partnerships—yet we hesitate. We wait for foreign investors, imported machinery, and external validation.
We have forgotten how to build.
The current discussion about developing Sri Lanka into a marine and offshore hub misses a critical point. This transformation will not come from policy documents, foreign joint ventures, or expensive robotic systems alone.
It will come from rebuilding a culture of engineering problem-solving.
The world is changing again. With instability in the Middle East, global ship repair and fabrication demand is shifting. Labour markets are tightening. Costs are rising. This is not a crisis—it is an opportunity.
But only if we act.
We must:
Recreate in-house engineering capability within our yards
Train welders not just as العمال, but as skilled technicians
Encourage improvisation, innovation, and ownership
Invest in mechanization where it matters—but not become dependent on it
Sri Lanka once proved that it could rise to a global standard with limited means and bold thinking. I witnessed it firsthand.
We did not wait for the perfect conditions. We created them.
If we continue to wait today—waiting for investors, waiting for technology, waiting for direction—we will miss this opportunity just as we have missed many before.
The lesson from 1985 is simple:
A nation that can engineer solutions with what it has will always move forward. A nation that waits for perfect solutions will remain where it is.
Case study for Cololmbo dockyard/ Mazagon combination
For a product/chemical tanker in the ~30,000 DWT range:
Fillet welds: typically 60–75% of total weld length
Butt welds (groove welds): about 25–40%
Why fillet welds are so high:
Stiffeners to plating (longitudinals, frames, girders)
Brackets, supports, outfitting attachments
Internal structures in cargo tanks and ballast spaces
Even though butt welds are fewer, they consume a large share of time and QA effort (full penetration, radiography, UT, class approval).
Where fillet welds are concentrated
During block construction between keel laying and launching, fillet welding is heavily used in:
Panel lines (stiffener-to-plate welding)
Sub-assemblies and block fabrication
Double hull structures (critical in tankers)
Engine room foundations and supports
Shipyards like Colombo Dockyard PLC and Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited already rely heavily on semi-automatic fillet welding (FCAW/MAG) in these stages.
Should you mechanize or go robotic?
We should mechanize aggressively, but robotics must be selective.
1. Where mechanization makes immediate sense
High return, low complexity:
Long straight fillet welds on panel lines
Flat/horizontal stiffener welding
Repetitive sub-assemblies
Use:
Gantry welding systems
Carriage-mounted fillet welders
Multi-head panel line welders
This alone can boost productivity 2–3×.
2. Where robotics becomes viable
Only where geometry is consistent and repeatable:
Panel line stiffener welding (robotic gantry systems)
Standardized blocks (series production)
Double-bottom structures with repetitive layouts
Robotics works best in flow-line production, not job-shop chaos.
3. Where robotics struggles (don’t force it)
Inside tanks (confined, variable geometry)
Outfitting stage
Erection stage after block assembly
Repair and rework areas
Here, skilled welders remain irreplaceable.
Strategic implication (important for your earlier policy thinking)
Given:
Labour shortages
Possible migration to the Persian Gulf
Rising wages
The smart approach is:
Mechanize all repetitive fillet welding
Retain skilled welders for:
Butt welds
Complex joints
QA-critical work
This reduces dependence on large volumes of labour while protecting quality.
Practical benchmark for planning
For a 30,000 DWT tanker:
Total weld length: ~1,500–2,500 km (rough order)
Fillet portion: ~1,000–1,800 km
If you mechanize even 40–50% of that fillet welding, you:
Cut labour demand significantly
Improve consistency
Reduce rework
Bottom line
Expect ~70% fillet welding by length in such a vessel
Full robotics is unrealistic
Hybrid model (mechanization + skilled labour) is the winning formula
Marine sector development in India and Sri Lanka is an area that needs urgent attention right now, Sri Lanka can either lose skilled labor to a Middle East pull, or deliberately position itself as the alternative regional shipbuilding power
Trying to stop workers from leaving the country is not practical in a democratic economy. Countries like India and Sri Lanka don’t succeed by restricting mobility—they succeed by making it more attractive to stay.
So the Prime Minister’s Modi’s strategy has to be built around retention, attraction, and productivity, not control.
1. Turn the exodus risk” into a wage arbitrage advantage
After a Middle East conflict, yards in places like the Persian Gulf will indeed pay premium rates.
Instead of competing blindly:
Offer tax-free income bands for marine sector workers
Allow workers to legally earn and retain foreign exchange
This narrows the gap without matching Gulf wages fully.
2. Fast-track a National Marine Skills Corps
You need scale, not just retention.
Create a structured pipeline:
Expand welding, fabrication, and offshore training institutes
Bring in certification aligned with International Maritime Organization standards
Partner with Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited to co-develop training academies
Key idea: produce 3 workers for every 1 that leaves.
3. Reform labor relations without confrontation
Sri Lankan unions are strong, and direct confrontation will backfire.
Instead:
Move to productivity-linked wage models
Introduce profit-sharing schemes at yards like Colombo Dockyard PLC
Offer equity participation or bonus pools tied to export earnings
Make unions stakeholders, not adversaries.
4. Create a special marine economic zone
A standard BOI model won’t be enough.
Designate a Marine Industrial Zone around:
Port of Colombo
Trincomalee Harbour
Offer:
Flexible labor laws (within limits)
24/7 operations without bureaucratic delays
Duty-free import of equipment and materials
This improves productivity per worker, reducing dependence on sheer labor numbers.
5. Structured migration—not brain drain
Instead of losing workers permanently:
Negotiate bilateral labor agreements with Gulf countries
Ensure fixed-term contracts with return clauses
Require skill upgrading before departure and after return
Turn migration into a circular system, not a one-way drain
6. Attract foreign skilled labor (yes, reverse the flow)
This is often ignored.
If there’s a shortage:
Allow temporary Indian, Bangladeshi, or Filipino skilled workers
Fast-track visas for marine engineers and welders
Use this as a buffer during peak demand
7. Anchor geopolitical positioning carefully
If Sri Lanka wants naval superpower interest, it must avoid becoming a battleground.
Balance engagement with:
India
China
United States
But keep marine infrastructure commercial-first, military-neutral where possible.
8. Mechanization and productivity leap
The uncomfortable truth: relying on manual welders alone is outdated.
Invest in:
Robotic welding by initially concentrating on developing fillet welding in shops to reduce skilled welders because mass filter type welding is highest in shipbuilding
Mechanized pipe welding in the shops
Modular shipbuilding
Digital yard management
This reduces dependence on volatile labor markets.
Bottom line
If the government reacts defensively (trying to stop workers leaving or suppress unions), it will fail.
If it raises earning potential, increases supply of skills, and boosts productivity, Sri Lanka can actually benefit from the Middle East disruption and become a secondary hub to the Gulf and India.
Half a century ago I was privileged to be one of the youngest lieutenants handpicked to implement the Paddy Lands Act, the magnificent piece of legislation devised by the visionary leader Hon Philip Gunawardena to allay all the ills of peasant agriculture in Sri Lanka.
It was a time when our country, basking in the early glory of independence, was seeking new roots to serve the people. Hon Philip Gunawardena was a man of the people, loved by the people and admired by all who worked under him. With a background of academic expertise gained at famous seats of learning at the Universities of Illinois and Wisconsin, he joined the band of patriotic statesmen- Dr N.M.Perera, Dr S.A.Wickremasinghe, Dr Colvin R de Silva and spearheaded the movement for the common man.
As Assam completed the single-phase largely peaceful polling on 9 April 2026 to elect 126 representatives for State legislative assembly, the focus shifted to probable outcome as both the ruling and opposition parties are claiming the result in their favours citing the reason of an all time high voters’ turnout (85.96 percent) in the north-eastern State. Currently the fate of 722 candidates representing different political parties and independent contenders remains sealed in the electronic voting machines. The outcome will surface on 4 May, counting day sets by the Election Commission of India for general elections in Assam, Keralam, Puducherry union territory as well as bye-elections in Karnataka’s Bagalkot and Davanagere South seats, Nagaland’s Koridang and Tripura’s Dharmanagar constituency. The result of Tamil Nadu single-phase assembly polls scheduled for 23 April and two phases West Bengal elections (23 and 29 April) will also be available on the same day. For Assam, the magic number 64 in the assembly was easily retained by the Bharatiya Janata Party-led alliance in the 2021 elections and formed the government for the second time in Dispur with 75 members. This time they are expecting more.
Recently, while addressing election rallies in north Bengal localities, Assam’s incumbent chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma claimed that the saffron party-led alliance will gain decisive victories in both the bordering States. The outspoken BJP leader predicted wins in nearly 100 seats in Assam and around 200 in the 294-member West Bengal assembly. Earlier, BJP Assam president Dilip Saikia expected to win a commanding majority for the National Democratic Alliance nominees. Terming the visibly high voter turnout as pro-incumbency in nature, the top leaders of BJP allies (Asom Gana Parishad and Bodoland People’s Front) also predicted to win over 90 seats for the NDA. On the other hand, the Indian National Congress-led opposition alliance claimed to win in over 70 seats to return to power after a decade.
Assam Congress chief Gaurav Gogoi, while citing the BJP’s two-term anti-incumbency, continued harassment to religious minority families, and more precisely personal corruption charges against CM Sarma and his family, termed the unprecedented turnout in polls in favour of change. The deputy-leader of the opposition in Lok Sabha targeted Sarma personally as his party senior Pawan Khera made some sensational allegations against the chief minister’s wife on 5 April. Mentionable is that Khera at a formal press meet in New Delhi (and later in Guwahati too) alleged that Riniki Bhuyan Sarma was holding multiple active foreign passports and also undisclosed investments to the tune of million dollars in foreign countries. Gogoi also opined that since then Sarma appeared panicked and went on making abusive public statements.
However, both Sarma and his wife denounced the allegations and challenged in the court with a forgery and conspiracy case. Facing the heat, Khera approached Telangana High Court and even received a short period transit anticipatory bail, but it was stayed by the Supreme Court of India. Khera was asked to approach a competent court in Assam for relief. Now Sarma urges Khera to comply with legal procedures by appearing before an appropriate court. Meanwhile, Sarma expressed dissatisfaction with the police forces as to why they allowed Khera to leave Guwahati after an FIR was lodged. He publicly stated that soon after his return to the CMO, the top police personnel will be made accountable for the failure.
Going beyond the limit, Sarma also announced to file a public interest litigation against the ECI to raise serious issues relating to Khera’s timing (just four days ahead of Assam polls) and intentions to defame his family. A law graduate himself, Sarma claimed that the allegations were made on the specific period to influence the poll outcomes. He believes that the ECI should issue guidelines while addressing such matters as it may have negative impacts on electoral outcomes to the party-concerned. Once a Congress loyal before joining the saffron party in 2015 echoed a strong version that if any political party is proved to deliberately spread wrong information just ahead of polls to misguide the electorates, its registration should be cancelled.
The opposition leaders immediately picked up his PIL comment against the ECI to criticize Sarma for allegedly undermining the constitutional institutions and democratic principles with such comments. Debabrata Saikia, leader of the opposition in Assam assembly condemned Sarma’s views as arbitrary and oppressive. With his arrogance to power, Sarma degraded his constitutional position, asserted Saikia. Political observers also commented that Sarma has somehow given an opportunity to the national opposition leaders to renew their backlash on the ECI in the backdrop of a recent impeachment move forwarded by over 190 parliamentarians against the chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
CAA is the main regulator in Sri Lanka set up with so many expectations in 2003, yet the citizen only will be able to assess the impact and efficiency of CAA which is known to a limited number of citizens of the existence of such an institution, spending 137 million rupees per year with high salaries and perks to the chairman and staff provided with vehicles and ‘handsome col. CAA is a powerful organization with powers to punish errant traders, manufacturers, confiscate goods and report to the courts of mis handling the trade and harassment of consumers and intimidating the trader. It serves a dual purpose of protecting the consumer and regularization of trade as well. Consumerism is at the lowest ebb in Sri Lanka that hampers trade and the quality-of-life cost of living and health of the nation which affects every citizen despite spending enormous sums from the people’s coffers. Consumerism and economy and development is interconnected with trade and states give special attention on consumerism and trade which are per requests of investors and investments. Citizen has highest hopes and expectations of the CAA to bring down prices of consumer items, services, purchase quality items at a reasonable prize with quality and obtain consumer items with no poison or adulterated and the consumer will be in a position how competent the CAA to perform duties. CAA is to settle disputes among consumers and traders and whether the members appointed by the minister on political considerations are able to conduct inquiries or and whether the CAA has appointed competent offices to conduct inquiries will be found out at an inspection on the affairs of the CAA by a competent authority. CAA must give priority to ser up consumer organizations but in Sri Lanka there may be a handful consumer organizations when the CAA is expected to promote and establish consumer organization net work in the entire country as it has a countrywide network of officers just idling with inefficient and incompetent officers. The minister of commerce in charge of CAA is busy with political work and struggling with to defend allegations on the income to the bribery commission that has become a topic to the media aith other politicians.
Consumer Ombudsman
Consumer Ombuds man if appointed legally and following the procedure adopted by appointing the financial and insurance ombudsman will fill the gap and will be beneficial to the citizen waiting for a proper consumer regime and for the trader to regularize trade which is a need for the economy of the country. Ombudsman when appointed will fill the gap to ease the laws delays as this will be a method to avoid laws delays by settling matters in a friendlier atmosphere and less expenses and less time consuming.
Other Countries
In other countries Ombudsman is appointed by the government. In UK rail ombudsman is very effective and in USA every state has appointed an ombudsman for various subjects. In India Ombudsman service is very successful and appointments are made by the state. Europe and Scandian countries the ombudsmen scheme is fiercely successful.
Duty of the government
It is the duty of the government to appoint an Ombudsman in par with administrative, finance and insurance ombudsman as a matter of urgency in order to clear blackleg of inquiries and for a more efficient Consumer regime to work hand in hand with the ailing CAA. Sarath wijesinghe PC 0094766530166 and you are advised to browse the net for other article by me on the subject and you are requested to join the Ombudsman group for further information.
At the Tokyo Tribunal, Justice Radhabinod Pal voted for the acquittal of all the defendants on all counts.
Pal’s dissent, more than 1,230 pages in length, reveals the fissures within the attempts to bring to justice Japanese war criminals. The last of the justices selected for the Tokyo proceedings, Pal, who had acquired his knowledge of international law as an auto-didact, joined after protests from India about the lack of diversity on the Tribunal. His addition did not alter, however, the undeniable fact that the trial was fundamentally a white man’s tribunal,” (‘judging the yellow peril’) as historian John Dower stated so sharply.
Sri Lanka’s storytelling excellence took centre stage at Inspire Global Media Awards 2026, held recently in London, United Kingdom.
The Sri Lankan travel documentary produced by Mark Julian Edwards won the prestigious Television Broadcast of the Year at the ceremony, contested by BBC and Amazon TV.
The documentary was selected from a competitive international field of entries, with the judges highlighting its focus on the depiction of authentic human experiences and destination narratives.
This whole episode of shooting and filming in Sri Lanka, I would say, it was a concophony of incredible people with fascinating stories to tell. The fascinating wildlife, culture, heritage, the fabulous food using ancient, medicinally beneficial recipes passed down through generations, the landscapes, traditions were a joy to watch.
Above all, it’s the warm, kind nature of the hospitable Sri Lankans that truly left an everlasting impression,” Edwards said.
The Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau hosted Edwards as a member of the British Guild’s Media FAM Tour to Sri Lanka last year, with 33 other media. The Off the Beaten Path Press Trip took the media journalists to extraordinary life-changing places and authentic local experiences around Sri Lanka.
The film was produced based on his experience across Sri Lanka during the FAM tour, featuring cultural traditions, wildlife, nature, food, authentic arts, crafts, lifestyle and community-based experiences.
Through Mark’s lens, the world is invited to experience Sri Lanka not just as a destination but as a living, breathing story filled with warmth, wonder and an exciting discovery.
Radhakrishnan and Dissanayake also had productive discussions on further deepening the multifaceted bilateral ties, housing projects and fishermen issues between the two South Asian neighbours
Vice President C.P. Radhakrishnan meets with Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake at the Presidential Secretariat, in Colombo on Sunday. | Photo Credit: ANI
Vice President C P Radhakrishnan and Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake on Sunday discussed the proposed link between India and the island nation through an oil pipeline, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said here.
Radhakrishnan and Dissanayake also had productive discussions on further deepening the multifaceted bilateral ties, housing projects and fishermen issues between the two South Asian neighbours.
Some initiatives that are underway from the Indian side and some proposals that have already been discussed between the two countries, notable amongst them, the project related to the energy hub in Trincomalee and the proposal to link India and Sri Lanka through an oil pipeline.
And in fact, the point was made as to the value of such energy connectivity, especially at a time like now, when the entire world and this region especially is facing the fallout of an energy crisis generated by the Situation in West Asia,” Misri told reporters here after Radhakrishnan’s first day of the visit.
Radhakrishnan’s visit is the first ever by an Indian vice president to Sri Lanka, he said.
The president underlined the very strong bond, civilizational bond, between the two countries. He referred on more than one occasion to the difference that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Neighborhood First’ policy has made in strengthening relations between India and Sri Lanka,” Misri said.
He also highlighted India’s first responder role, first in recent years, first during the economic crisis faced by Sri Lanka in 2022 and then more recently, after Cyclone Ditwah in November-December of 2025 and also referred to the assistance that India is providing at this moment as Sri Lanka deals with the fallout of the West Asia crisis, Misri said.
The vice president, who arrived here earlier in the day on a two-day visit, also discussed with Dissanayake the ongoing Indian project implementation in Sri Lanka with emphasis on the USD 450 million Cyclone Ditwah aid offered by India.
Apart from the Sri Lankan president, Radhakrishnan also met Prime Minister of Sri Lanka Dr Harini Amarasuriya and Leader of the Opposition Sajith Premadasa.
During his meeting with Dissanayake, Radhakrishnan laid emphasis on India’s ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy and developmental bilateral cooperation, officials said.
Both leaders held productive discussions on further deepening the multifaceted India–Sri Lanka ties, rooted in shared history, strong civilizational and people-to-people linkages,” according to a social media post by Radhakrishnan.
They held wide-ranging discussions on various initiatives, including the Indian housing project and projects being implemented under the USD 450 million package for areas affected by Cyclone Ditwah in Sri Lanka, including reconstruction and rehabilitation efforts in the most affected regions of the Indian-origin Tamil community, it added.
The two sides also discussed fishermen issues in a humanitarian manner, considering the livelihoods of fishing communities on both sides.
Prime Minister Amarasuriya hosted a luncheon meeting for the vice president at her official residence, during which both leaders shared the civilisational heritage of the two countries” and discussed the importance of further strengthening bilateral ties, including people-to-people bonds.
When Opposition leader Premadasa called on Radhakrishnan, both leaders discussed further strengthening India-Sri Lanka bilateral ties.
Sri Lanka and India are not just neighbours, we are true partners with shared history, shared challenges, and a shared future. It is time we move with greater ambition, intent and trust, to reap the benefits of this partnership for all citizens,” Premadasa said in a social media post.
The vice president also met leaders of Sri Lankan Tamil parties and Indian Origin Tamil parties.
The Tamil parties thanked the Government of India for its efforts for the USD 450 million rehabilitation and relief package post Cyclone Ditwah, as well as other relief measures taken.
A number of memoranda of understanding between the two countries are also scheduled to be exchanged during the visit, a Sri Lankan Foreign Ministry release said.
The India Foreign Secretary also stated that the digital ID project and the Economic and Technology Cooperation Agreement (ETCA) were also deliberated during Radhakrishnan’s visit to Sri Lanka, a local media report said.
Later in the day, the vice president also participated in a community reception organised by the Indian diaspora here during which he virtually handed over houses to beneficiaries from Tamil communities, built with assistance from the Indian government as part of the third phase of the Indian Housing Project.
With this, the total number of houses for Tamil communities will reach 50,000, and 10,000 more houses are being built in the fourth phase of the project, an official statement said.
During his speech, Radhakrishnan, who spoke in Tamil, greeted people on the occasion of new year and said, the Tamil new year and the Sinhala new year celebrated on the same day four days ago pointed towards the ancient civilisational ties between the two communities.
Radhakrishnan also visited the Gangaramaya Temple and then visited the New Kathiresan Temple in the Sri Lankan capital. He was warmly welcomed with traditional Tamil music and dance.
On Monday, the vice president will travel to Nuwara Eliya, visit the Indian Housing Projects, and interact with the local Tamil community.
Accompanied by a 49-member delegation, the vice president was earlier received at the Bandaranaike International Airport in Colombo by Sports Minister Sunil Kumara Gamage and several other dignitaries.
This visit, which follows recent high-level engagements between the two countries, is expected to further strengthen the millennia-old civilisational and people-to-people ties between India and Sri Lanka, an official statement said.
The cover of the report launched by the Centre for Society and Religion and titled ‘Memory, Pain and Hope; Seeking Justice Even after 7 Years’
A recent report regarding the carnage indicates that organising the attacks went beyond just a gang of suicide bombers
The Attorney General’s Department has so far filed 41 cases in the High Courts related to the Easter Sunday attacks
Centre for Society and Religion launched its latest report titled ‘Memory, Pain and Hope; Seeking Justice Even after 7 Years’
Since 2019, April 21 is not just another day for Sri Lankans who became victims of the deadly Easter Sunday attacks. Seven years have elapsed since this tragedy took place, but the victims and survivors still await justice. Despite many commissions and committees that have been appointed, families of victims and interest groups who have been demanding truth and justice are yet to know the mastermind(s) behind these attacks. It is in this backdrop that the Centre for Society and Religion (CSR) launched its latest report titled ‘Memory, Pain and Hope; Seeking Justice Even after 7 Years’ on April 17 (Friday).
Progress of investigations
The report sheds light on eight investigations which were conducted following the attacks. These include the Justice Vijith Malalgoda Committee which was appointed 24 hours following the attack, Presidential Commission of Inquiry under Justice Janak De Silva, Parliamentary Select Committee, Justice S. I Imam Committee, Justice Jayaki De Alwis Committee, Criminal Investigation from April – November 2019, investigation that continued from November 2019 to October 2024 and the latest investigation from October 2024 to present.
The report indicates that findings from these investigations and committees ‘has characteristics of an organised conspiracy that goes beyond just a gang of suicide bombers who carried out the attacks’. It highlights the failures of intelligence agencies in acting upon information received to them and new details revealed by Hanzeer Azad Moulana through the Channel 4 video.
The Attorney General’s Department has so far filed 41 cases in the High Courts related to the Easter Sunday attacks. One important case is the one being heard in the Colombo Permanent High Court, Trial at Bar against 25 accused. The case is being heard daily, and as one accused has passed away, the case is being heard against 24 accused.
The need to connect the dots
Even though religious establishments including the St. Anthony’s Church, Kochchikade, St. Sebastian’s Church, Katuwapitiya, Zion Church, Batticaloa and several leading hotels in the country have been revived and restored following the attacks, the psychological trauma and the wounds of this tragedy remains fresh,” said Centre for Society and Religion Head Fr. Rohan Silva during the launch of their report titled ‘Memory, Pain and Hope; Seeking Justice Even after 7 Years’.
But we are yet to know the reality of this whole incident. When would we know about the unseen forces behind this disaster and when would they be brought before the law,” he questioned.
He spoke about attempts being made to bury the truth behind this tragedy. Such attempts are sometimes showcased as a drama, sometimes in media and at times there are announcements being made with much song and dance. Many forces are attempting to bury the truth. The fact that such tragedies should never occur on this island shouldn’t merely be a campaign slogan of sorts but it should be reality,” Fr. Silva added.
Referring to a quote from Saint Augustine, Fr. Silva said that ‘in the absence of justice, what is sovereignty, but organised robbery’. Justice is not about a result of law, but it’s a fundamental pillar of peace. The objective of launching this special report is to keep memories alive, to go in search of the truth and to make some impact in this quest for justice. We see that investigations are now taken in the right direction and that has brought us some relief. But any interferences would further delay these efforts. We have come to realize that the findings revealed from numerous committees and commissions haven’t been investigated together and it is one of the obstacles along this quest for justice. Our investigation team identified that certain facts were lead to dead-ends and they were not subject to further investigations. Therefore it is important to analyse these reports in detail in order to connect the dots,” he emphasised.
Call to expedite further investigations
CSR also calls upon the government to expedite investigations on the following;
Abdul Latheef Jameel and the phone calls he received,
Revealing the identity of the individual named Abu Hind,
Whether Sara Jasmine is dead or alive, whether she escaped Sainthamaruthu attacks and if she’s alive, identifying those who provided her protection,
The Vanathavilluwa incident and intelligence agencies
Conflict between State Intelligence Service (SIS) and Military Intelligence (DMI).
‘Unseen forces’ at work?
Speaking at the event, journalist Tharindu Jayawardena spoke in detail about evidence revealed during key investigations. He spoke about contradicting statements allegedly made by DMI during investigations to the effect that Zahran Hashim is not based in Sri Lanka but in India. These contradictions were observed during investigations conducted by the Justice Malalgoda committee. So it’s questionable as to why the DMI made this statement when Zahran has been working on the ground planning the attacks in different places across the country. While testifying before the Parliamentary Select Committee Former President Maithripala Sirisena said that despite having 7000 officers and seven regiments under the military intelligence this incident had not been reported at least once. Therefore the DMI’s role in this incident is questionable. These revelations further indicate that there had been ‘unseen forces’ at work when executing these deadly attacks. This is why we repeatedly urged successive governments to publicise findings of these committees,” Jayawardena added.
Key demands
Some of the key demands included in the report are as follows;
Removal of current Deputy Defence Minister Aruna Jayasekara who was the Commander of the East when the Sainthamaruthu attacks took place until investigations conclude,
Publicise all investigations and evidence records conducted so far,
Appoint a mixed commission comprising of local and foreign experts to study evidence and findings of all commissions and committees appointed to investigate Easter Sunday attacks,
Take disciplinary and legal action against those who obstructed and misled investigations and destroyed evidence,
Guarantee the safety of all witnesses related to the Easter Sunday attacks
Christian devotees carry a partly damaged statue of Jesus salvaged from the rubble after the 2019 Easter Sunday bombing, during a Easter procession at the St. Sebastian’s church in Katuwapitiya (file photo)
April 21 (Daily Mirror) – Ship-tracking data indicates that a crude oil tanker intercepted by the US military in the Indian Ocean made a sharp change of course in the early hours of this morning and is now broadcasting its position around 700km (430 miles) south-east of Sri Lanka.
According to data from MarineTraffic, the crude oil tanker *Tifani*, which has a carrying capacity of nearly 300,000 tonnes, is currently loaded with cargo.
The vessel has been sanctioned by the Office of Foreign Assets Control and is linked to an Indian shipping company that is also subject to US sanctions over alleged ties to Iran.
Tracking data shows that the tanker departed the Gulf region on April 10 and made a brief stop near Sri Lanka’s southern port of Galle on April 18 before being intercepted by US forces.
It was previously expected to reach its reported destination of Singapore on Sunday, according to MarineTraffic.
Sarath Wijesinghe President’s Counsel Former Ambassador to UAE and Israel and former Chair Consumer Affairs Authority
Ombudsman System
Ombudsman system is prevalent worldwide successfully and in Sri Lanka too from the time of Kings as advisor (called Duck – Ganna Rala) to the king and take part in settlement of disputes when king has the full power of adjudication of disputes and all kinds of wrongdoings in the country. Concept stated in China during 12 AD and now spread in the West, Commonwealth and Scandian and other parts of the world including Sri Lanka India and Asia in easy resolution of disputes in place of arbitration which is expensive. Sri Lankan constitution provides for an Ombudsman which is difficult to reach as his ace ss will be through the speaker whereas in India a citizen has access to the Ombudsman by a letter or assisted by a group of activists in India ready to help the citizen.
Financial and Insurance Ombudsman
Financial and Insurance Ombudsman are private arrangements through limited liabilities companies but operating fairly successfully. There is a grave need for a Consumer Ombudsman as the Consumer Affairs Authority spending billions to operate is one of the most sloe, incompetent, and inefficient regulators when the citizen consumes junk food and hospitals are full of cancer patients having consumed poisonous food, fruits and vegetables no fit for human consumption. Unfortunately the governance has no knowledge, vision, or need to put these correct. It is the duty of the governance to appoint Ombudsman and relevant officials including Chairman Consumer Affairs Authority difficult to meet, talk or locate due to sheer indifference or in competency. State spends millions and the citizen is aware of the service they are given by the main regulator in the country.
Consumer Ombudsman
Ambassador’s forum in UK/SL now have resolved and intervened to take steps to form a limited company as has been done in the cases of financial and insurance ombudsman and appoint a consumer ombudsman soon and the public is requested to send their views to the Ombudsman what’s app group created for the purpose.
Ombudsman will fill the vacuum created in the inefficiency of CAA and it will be a powerful unit of reconciliation, arbitration and settlement free as in Singapore and Hyong Kong when Sri Lankans pay high few and seek redress from centers in Singapore and Hongkong. Sarath wijesinghe PC former Chair CAA those who wishes to join the ombudsman group may send a message to 0094766530166
As the recruitment landscape evolves, platforms must continuously adapt to meet the changing expectations of both employers and candidates. XpressJobs has consistently taken this approach, building a connected ecosystem that serves multiple talent segments across Sri Lanka.
The latest addition to this ecosystem isInternJobs.lk, a platform designed to better engage Gen Z talent through a more focused and simplified experience.
Why InternJobs.lk?
Rather than taking a traditional approach, XpressJobs identified an opportunity to create a dedicated, easy to navigate space specifically for interns and early talent.
InternJobs.lk goes beyond just internships. The platform features four key categories that resonate strongly with Gen Z:
Internships School leaver opportunities Trainee roles Remote jobs
By grouping these together, the platform makes it significantly easier for young job seekers to find relevant opportunities in one place, especially as remote work continues to grow in popularity among this audience.
One Ecosystem, Multiple Entry Points
While InternJobs.lk offers a specialised front end experience, it is fully integrated into the XpressJobs ecosystem.
Regardless of where a job is promoted, whether on InternJobs.lk or elsewhere, all applications are seamlessly managed through XpressJobs viahttps://xpress.jobs. This ensures a single, centralised CV database, no additional cost for existing clients, and greater visibility across multiple platforms.
When a role is suitable for early talent, it is automatically extended across platforms, increasing reach without added effort from employers.
A Proven Multi Platform Strategy
This approach builds on XpressJobs’ ongoing efforts to expand access and inclusivity in recruitment.
The acquisition of MyJobs.lk, previously powered by Mobitel, was a key milestone, bringing additional traffic and opportunities into the XpressJobs ecosystem.
To further improve accessibility, Rakiya.lk was introduced to support job seekers who prefer local languages or do not have formal CVs. For relevant roles, jobs are published across both platforms, while applications are still managed centrally throughXpressJobs, ensuring a smooth experience for employers.
Additionally, the launch of HRNews.lk marked XpressJobs’ move into employer branding and HR engagement. As Sri Lanka’s first dedicated HR news platform, it supports organisations in amplifying their hiring campaigns while providing valuable industry insights.
More Reach, No Extra Complexity
With InternJobs.lk, employers benefit from increased visibility among Gen Z candidates, extended reach across multiple platforms, and centralised application management through XpressJobs, all at no additional cost for existing clients.
This means more exposure without added complexity, while maintaining a single, powerful recruitment system.
Looking Ahead
The launch of InternJobs.lk reinforces XpressJobs’ vision of creating a truly inclusive and comprehensive recruitment ecosystem. By combining specialised platforms with a unified backend, XpressJobs continues to simplify hiring while expanding access to opportunity for every segment of the workforce.
Since May 2021, a sequence of public statements has attempted to reshape the understanding of the Easter Sunday attacks and promote a new narrative burying a critical factor that may contribute to future attacks if the indoctrination that Zaharan & associates were subject to was not identified and remedial actions taken at a national level.
The new narrative was initiated by:
Former Attorney GeneralDappula de Livera referred to a grand conspiracy” before leaving office in May 2021
In October 2021, Cyril Gamini publicly linked intelligence actors — naming Suresh Sallay as being linked to Zahran Hashim
In Aug-Sept 2023,Asad Maulana, through Channel 4, advanced a narrative that the attacks were planned to create chaos and change government
These claims intentionally or unintentionally
Introduced new actors not named in any of the reports/commissions to the narrative
More dangerously the new narrative replaced the motive of the attacks
If a new theory is being introduced while replacing the established motive 7 years after the attacks the burden to prove the new links to displace the existing demands powerful evidence not hearsay.
Failure to do both renders the new narrative incomplete.
Contradictions in the new narratives
If Zaharan was co-opted to commit suicide for regime change – how can Fr. Cyril & Asad Maulana explain the decision to commit suicide of 10 or so others? Did the wife of Shangri-la suicide bomber commit suicide in Dematagoda killing her 2 children & unborn baby for that same regime change?
Did the 15 who died in Sainamaradu 4 days after the Easter Attacks also commit suicide for regime change?
These incidents depict ideologically consistent suicide clusters. Indoctrinated individuals don’t require external command to act. This removes any need for a central handler directing multiple suicide events.
Anyone questioning this must present the command structure linking these actors to a political objective?
No evidence has been presented of communication, command instructions, or coordination logs linking multiple attackers to any external controller.
The Sainthamaruthu incident was not an operational attack—it was a defensive mass suicide triggered by imminent arrest.
This behavior is consistent with ISIS doctrine: avoid capture, die as martyrs.
Similar patterns have been observed globally in ISIS-linked cells:
Final stand → detonation
No surrender → self-destruction
Inclusion of women and children → ideological totalization
This raises a decisive contradiction:
A political operation requires survivability, deniability, and post-event leverage
A mass suicide eliminates all assets, intelligence trails, and strategic value
Which political operation designs a plan where every operative self-destructs—including non-combatants?
The father of 2 of the suicide brothers & his daughter-in-law were not politically linked to the party assumed to be brought to power – the father was on the national list of the party that Zaharan campaigned to bring to power in 2015. In fact, the family was funding Zaharan’s training & safe houses – why would 3 members of this family fund and decide to commit suicide to bring an opponent to power?
The funding pattern itself contradicts the conspiracy theory: Funding came from within the network, not from an external handler
Safehouses, logistics, and materials were internally sustained
No evidence has been presented of: state funding, covert transfers, intelligence-linked financial trails
This leads to a critical evidentiary gap:
Where is the financial link that connects this alleged operation” to any state or intelligence actor?
Because: No modern covert operation exists without a financial trail. Absence of such contradicts claims of a state-linked operation.
This contradiction strikes at the core of the regime-change theory:
If the father, sons, daughter-in-law supporting one political party cannot logically decide to sacrifice their lives to enable another political party to power.
What Fr. Cyril & Asad are doing is selective focus on Zaharan & alleged intelligence links against the former head of the intelligence.
But they cannot sustain their argument unless they present evidence that the others who pledged to commit suicide at Span Towers, Mt. Lavinia before the attacks & uploaded several videos of their allegiance to ISIS did so not for Al Bagdadi but to enable regime change.
These were not symbolic gestures. They followed a standard ISIS bay’ah (pledge) protocol:
oath to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi
group synchronization
pre-operation recording
dissemination through ISIS media channels
ISIS did not merely claim” responsibility:
It validated and broadcastthe attackers
It integrated the attack into its global propaganda
This creates a legal and logical barrier:
You cannot reinterpret a declared ideological allegiance as a political act without proving coercion or deception.
Does Fr. Cyril & Co have any recording that claims the suicides are for political change and requested by intelligence?
The evidence is clear:
ideological causation explains collective participation – the members of NTJ followed a code, an ideology, believed in scriptures Zaharan preached and promoted among participants that took part in many sessions held across the country. At none of these sessions is there testimony to ask participants to commit suicide to bring regime change.
Testimony regarding repeated training sessions, ideological instruction, weapons familiarization, and operational preparation indicates a structured radicalization process. This process aligns with extremist indoctrination models, not short-term political manipulation.
The training pattern reflectslong-term radicalization, not short-term tasking:
indoctrination over months/years
religious framing of violence
normalization of death and martyrdom
Importantly:
Participants weresegregated, controlled, and ideologically conditioned
Some were reportedly warnednot to disclose teachings
This raises a decisive question:
If this was a politically engineered attack, where is the evidence of political messaging within these sessions?
Because:
No testimony indicates:
political targets only churches (against Catholics) hotels (foreigners)
electoral objectives
regime-change narratives
Cyril & Co wish to substitute these facts with a conspiracy-based motive they must explain actions of individual suicide actors and explain the background to the training sessions, military training camps (loading guns, learning online to make explosives) securing safehouses, and how all these actions fit into their regime-change conspiracy in particular the suicide in Dematagoda & Sainamarathu.
To date, no such comprehensive explanation has been presented.
What has been Proven — Cannot Be Ignored
Multiple investigations, including the Presidential Commission and judicial findings, international investigations by the world’s top intel agencies have already established:
Violence driven by the same ideology existed before Easter & before Zaharan
Attacks and hostility towardSufi has a historical timeline
Spread ofWahhabi/Salafi exclusivist teachings, including within religious education spaces has been detailed in the PCoI. Extremist teachings had been spreading through informal and formal religious channels
Aclear ideological trajectory of Zahran Hashim evolving locally, complimented with international developments calling to avenge attacks against Muslims.
Zaharan explicitly pledged allegiance to Al Bagdadi – no one else.
Such a declaration cannot be substituted by an alternative motive which must exist across all the suicide bombers.
Targeting of bothnon-Muslims and rival Muslim sects (including Sufis) were done before Zaharan came into the scene. Intelligence agencies had flagged over 90 reports on ISIS-linked radicalization networks
Sri Lankan families had already traveled to Syria to join ISIS. By 2016 some 38 members from 4 families had travelled to Syria.
These departures occurred years before 2019, establishing:
pre-existing ideological commitment
willingness to migrate, fight, and die under ISIS
These individuals had:
no connection to Sri Lankan electoral politics
no role in any alleged regime-change plan
Therefore Fr. Cyril & Co must answer if their departure to commit suicide were also part of a Sri Lankan political conspiracy?
These departures establish that the willingness to die existed prior to 2019 and independent of any alleged domestic political objective. Or does it re-establish the ideological pipeline?
The violence aligned with ISIS ideology was relevant to both Muslims & Non-Muslims.
Important to note that Sri Lanka was shown on the 2014 IS expansion map as part ofKhurasan Province”. In Januaty 2015 ISIS announced Wilayat Khurasan”, its South Asia wing. This inspired Tamin Chowdhury to mastermind July 2016 attacks in Dhaka killing 29 people. Zaharan wanted to do same. In fact PCOI includes this conversation in the testimony Zaharan had with team on 27 March 2019. The call for a separate Muslim homeland with the Oluvil Declaration was made in 2003 – not by Zaharan (he was only 13 years in 2003)
This shows that extremist violence was not initiated by a single actor but existed as a broader ideological current capable of independent activation across different groups.
The targeting of Sufi communities is critical:
It reflects intra-religious ideological purification
It predates Zaharan and mirrors global extremist patterns
This establishes:
violence driven by doctrine, not political utility
A political conspiracy does not require sectarian purification. An extremist ideology does.
The formal claim of responsibility by ISIS seals the attacks within a global ideological framework. There can never be two co-joined motives that are ideologically poles apart for all of the suicide bombers.
The conspiracy theory creates a dual-motive impossibility:
Religious martyrdom for divine reward
Political engineering for earthly power
These do not compliment each other because:
Martyrdom requires belief in afterlife reward
Political operations require survival and outcome control
Therefore:
Which motive did each suicide bomber follow? And where is the evidence that ALL followed the same political objective?
Fr. Cyril cannot isolate Zaharan from all the suicide bombers – as they all were members of his group & all pledged allegiance to the ideology that Zaharan followed.
This raises a critical question for Fr. Cyril to answer:
If the attacks were part of a domestic political conspiracy, why were they executed in exact alignment with a global ISIS operational model?
Any alternative theory must therefore explain not only local actions but also their precise alignment with global jihadist doctrine, timing, symbolism, and execution patterns.
Zaharan was not an isolated creation — but part of a wider ideological framework that will continue regardless of Zaharan’s existence.
The broader implication is critical for national security:
If the ideological root is ignored and replaced with conspiracy:
the real driver remains unaddressed
the pipeline for future radicalization remains intact
This creates a policy danger:
Misdiagnosing ideology as conspiracy does not prevent the next attack—it enables it.
Fr. Cyril must 1st disprove the ideological motive & then prove the political change motive
Ignoring the clear ideological motive and introducing a new narrative suggests:
The attacks were carried out not primarily due to any ideology — but toengineer political change. However, you cannot replace an established motive without disproving it first and thereafter proving the new one.
Fr. Cyril must show with evidence that:
The original ideological motive did not drive the attacks
The new political motive was the dominant reason for carrying out the attacks
Fr. Cyril & Co must now show evidence that Zaharan abandoned:
his ISIS allegiance
his martyrdom ideology
his religious justification for violence which he had been preaching
and instead acted to engineer political change at a request made by an intelligence officer?
Without disproving the original motive, the new theory is not a replacement — but an unsupported diversion.
III. Fr. Cyril & Asad Maulana & Dappala De Livera Must Now Explain
Fact 1:
The Easter attacks were not a single-person act.
Presuming Zaharan agreed to commit suicide for political change – how did all the other suicide bombers agree to the same or how did 38 Muslims who went to Syria in 2016 differ from Zaharan & Co?
Face 2:
Multiple coordinated suicide bombers and others being trained for suicide
Dematagoda explosion— a mother killing herself and her children
Sainthamaruthu mass suicide (26 April 2019)— approximately 15 individuals, including women and children
These incidents are central to understanding the motive.
In Dematagoda, a pregnant woman detonated explosives, killing herself and her children including unborn along with 3 police officers. She was trained in karate & conducted training for other women – these actions have nothing to do with regime change.
In Sainthamaruthu, approximately 15 individuals — including women and children — chose mass suicide when confronted 4 days after the main attacks.
These are not acts of isolated individuals acting on a political instruction.
They reflect:
deep ideological indoctrination
internalized belief in martyrdom
collective commitment to a cause beyond life
This leads to a critical question:
Can a political objective inspire entire families — including mothers and children — to die or even go abroad to die?
Or does this instead confirm the presence of a shared extremist ideology?
These incidents are particularly significant because they involve not only trained operatives but entire family units, including women and children, engaging in self-destruction.
Such behavior is empirically consistent with ideological indoctrination models rather than externally directed political objectives.
The Question That Breaks the Narrative of Fr. Cyril & Co
If Zahran Hashim was:
directed” or used” for political purposes
Then:
Who directed all the others to commit suicide?
Who indoctrinated entire families (over 30 persons) – to lay down their lives? The seriousness of this was brought to focus in Parliament by then Justice Minister in 2016. The SIS had prepared over 90 reports on developing ISIS ideology spreading across Sri Lanka.
Who influenced women to die – some women were even trained in karate and arms and attended the numerous training camps Zaharan held?
Who led children into death – free meals, free courses lured youth who were indoctrinated and threatened not to disclose what was taught?
Who ensured ideological consistency across all actors – was the motive to change govts?
The central weakness in the conspiracy narrative is its inability to explain why different suicide clusters acted independently yet exhibited uniform ideological justification for death.
If a political change was the primary cause, uniform behavioral patterns across unrelated family groups would still require a core objective. We are talking about not changing political affiliations but sacrificing one’s life.
A political theory that explainsone individual but not all participants is incomplete.
The scale of participation further weakens the conspiracy narrative vis a vis suicide (sacrificing one’s life)
The attacks and related incidents involved:
multiple coordinated suicide bombers
trained operatives across locations
families embedded within extremist networks
If one individual was directed,” then:
who directed the others?
who ensured ideological consistency across all actors?
A theory that explains one individual but fails to explain the collective cannot stand.
Proving the First Link Test – made in October 2021by Fr. Cyril
Before any new narrative is accepted:
Where is the first independently verifiable link
BetweenSuresh Sallay and Zaharan that prompted Fr. Cyril Gamini to quote his name at the webinair in October 2021 (2 years after the Easter Attacks & almost 8 months after the handing of the Presidential Commission report in January 2021)
Can Fr. Cyril prove his claims by:
records
communications
intelligence logs
direct witnesses
In the webinair he refers to receipts – have these been presented as evidence to the PCOI or police? Let us not forget that special approval was obtained to allow a representative of the Cardinal sit throughout all proceedings making him privy to every bit of testimony given.
In criminal evidentiary standards, the absence of a first verifiable point of contact invalidates downstream chain construction, regardless of later assertions. Narrative linkage without origin verification constitutes inference, not proof
Has Fr. Cyril provided a verifiable chain. It was he who made the first allegation not Asad Maulana. Father Cyril cannot make an allegation – not present verifiable evidence but expect the investigators to find the evidence or ask investigators to investigate what Asad Maulana claimed 2 years after Fr. Cyrils allegation.
Questions to those Making the Claims
To Dappula de Livera
He first mentioned a grand conspiracy.” just before leaving office during a private tv interview. (He was Attorney General from 29 April 2019 to May 2021)
The public must ask:
What is thefirst piece of evidence that led to this conclusion?
Is there documented communications?
intelligence intercepts?
identified actors?
If so:
Why werecharges not filed?
Why was this not pursued through court?
What action was taken while in office
ToFr. Cyril Gamini
The October 2021 statement and recent Sinhala media address, you continue to claim:
The attack wasnot limited to Zaharan
There wereactors above him”
Elements linked tointelligence connected to political actors were involved.
The public must now ask: Where is your evidence
What is the primary evidencelinking Suresh Sallay to Zaharan that you first claimed existed in October 2021?
Is it:
firsthand knowledge?
named witnesses?
documents?
Have these been presented to the police in 2021 after publicly making the allegation.
Are you aware that your allegation has replaced the Motive for the attacks
What evidence shows Zaharan’sideological motive was replaced by a political objective –and how can you explain this
On Ideological Reality
How do you explain:
attacks on Sufi before Easter and not only by Zaharan?
the spread of extremist doctrineindependent of politics or even Zaharan and preachers who have even been banned by countries for their ideological indoctrination?
On Multi-Actor Suicides
Who influenced:
the Dematagoda pregnant mother to commit suicide and even commit her 2 children?
the Sainthamaruthu group who committed suicide with 6 children?
Were all of them:
part of a political regime change operation?
or part of a shared ideological belief?
On Timing
Why did your allegation emerge:
8 months after the Commission report (Jan 2021 → Oct 2021)?
Did you present this as evidence to the Commission, if not why?
ToAsad Maulana
Through Channel 4, you claim:
You were asked toarrange contact between Zaharan & Suresh Sallay by Pillayan
The attacks were tocreate chaos and enable regime change
But your claims create direct contradictions:
On Introduction
If you introduced the two parties:
does this not prove theydid not previously know each other
Fr Cyril claims that Suresh knew Zaharan.
If so, he could have directly contacted Zaharan there was no need for an Asad Maulana to arrange a meeting.
This creates a direct contradiction with earlier claims.
In 2021, Fr. Cyril Gamini implied that Zaharan and Suresh Sallay already knew each other
In 2023, Asad Maulana claims he introduced them
Both cannot be true.
Therefore:
Which version is correct?
What evidence supports either claim?
If neither can be proven, both collapse.
On connections to Zaharan
What is your connection with Zaharan and how were you able to contact him when he was a fugitive and on the run from authorities.
On February 2018 Meeting
A further evidentiary problem arises regarding the physical possibility of the alleged interactions.
At the time that you claim to have arranged the meeting – Feb 2018:
Suresh Sallay was not present in Sri Lanka – do you have travel documents to prove he arrived in Sri Lanka for the meeting?
There was no house in the estate in Feb 2018 – a house was built only in Aug-Sept 2018
On Easter Sunday call
You claim he called you on the day of the Easter Attacks
Suresh Sallay was in India – do you have phone proof of such a call from India to Colombo?
On Intermediary Role
If direct contact existed between Suresh Sallay & Zaharan:
why was an intermediary (Asad) needed at all?
On Motive
What evidence replaces:
Zaharan’s ISIS-linked ideological motive with
a political objective?
On Timing
Why did this information emerge:
only in 2023?
in an asylum context?
More contradictions
Another fundamental contradiction arises from established intelligence activity prior to the attacks.
Zaharan Hashim was under investigation by the CID prior to 2019
CID took over Zaharan’s investigation from 9 July 2018 onwards
His network had already been flagged through intelligence reports
Multiple warnings — including foreign intelligence alerts — identified him and his group
This leads to a critical inconsistency:
If Zaharan was being controlled” or handled,” by an individual on behalf of an opposition party, while he was not holding any command position nor was even in the country why did he help the party in power to come to power:
Was this why inspite of reports, warnings – he was never arrested?
An individual cannot logically be both:
an intelligence-controlled asset and
a known target of active intelligence pursuit
This contradiction must be addressed.
In criminal evidentiary standards, the absence of a first verifiable point of contact invalidates downstream chain construction, regardless of later assertions.
Narrative linkage without origin verification constitutes inference, not proof.
Therefore, the first allegation was made by Fr. Cyril in 2021 – this requires he present his evidence instead of asking investigators to investigate claims made by Asad Maulana 2 years after Fr. Cyrils claim.
Moreover, in the recent media address by Fr. Cyril – he claimed anyone arrested is not necessarily guilty and guilt is decided by the Courts. He must then explain why after his claim in October 2021, when Suresh Sallay filed complaint with CID & a defamation case – he evaded and appealed to court against arrest. His actions contradict his own public claim.
The Section 127 Risk: When Allegations suprecede Truth
Under Sri Lanka’s legal framework:
Statements can be recorded asvoluntary
Without verification of truth at that stage
This creates a danger:
Allegations can:
enter the system
influence investigations
affect custody
before being proven in court years later.
This makes it essential that:
The burden of proof remains on those making the allegations
The risk is not the recording of statements, but elevating these unverified statements to reconstruct the conspiracy narrative.
This creates a legal distortion where procedural admissibility is mistaken for factual verification.
VII. The Supreme Court and Established Responsibility
The Supreme Court identified:
failures to act • lapses in coordination • negligence in preventing the attacks
Any attempt to move from:
negligence to
conspiracy
must be supported by new, direct evidence while disproving the established theory.
This distinction is critical in law.
No such evidence has been presented.
It is legally essential to distinguish systemic failure from intentional orchestration. Even demonstrable lapses in intelligence coordination do not, in themselves, establish the existence of a hidden controlling conspiracy without direct evidence of coordination or instruction.
No amount of conspiracy theory can remove the fact that
warnings were given –
circulars were despatched and
even at the 11th hour those in positions could have prevented people entering the churches as well as informed hotels to beef up security.
This is what none of the conspiracy theorists can deny.
Unlike other terror attacks – repeated warnings were given, these were not new warnings as the security apparatus were aware of Zaharan and the CID was directly involved in investigations from July 2018 onwards.
Therefore, when foreign intel gave names of the targets and even the identities of the suicide bombers everyone who got the message cannot escape accountability by bringing names of people who were not in the country to pass blame.
VIII. Where the New Narrative Collapses
All three narratives must answer two questions:
Where is the first proven link?
Who explains the actions of ALL actors — not just Zaharan?
Because:
If the first link is missing → the chain collapses
If the motive cannot explain all actors → the theory collapses
Any theory seeking to replace ideological causation with political orchestration must satisfy a higher evidentiary threshold because it introduces an additional causal layer not supported by the original investigative record. Without independently verified linkage at every stage, such theories remain speculations rather than reconstructed facts.
Evidence Must Match the Claim
The Easter attacks were:
ideologically driven
collectively executed
supported by a documented trajectory of radicalization
Any attempt to:
introduce new actors
replace motive
construct a conspiracy
must meet the same legal standard:
Evidence beyond assertion
Consistency beyond narrative
Proof beyond timing
Until then, the public is entitled to ask:
Where is the first proven link first spoken about by Fr. Cyril in October 2021?
A theory that cannot simultaneously explain:
the global ISIS alignment
the pre-existing ideological network not just in Sri Lanka but globally
the large number of coordinated attackers
the participation of entire families
the mass suicide events after the attacks
and the documented intelligence warnings including foreign
is not a complete explanation.
It is an incomplete narrative attempting to override established facts.
To date, no such comprehensive explanation has been presented to deny the ideological motive and showcase the political motive was superior.
THE TEST THAT CANNOT BE AVOIDED
Any narrative seeking to replace the established account of the Easter attacks must pass three non-negotiable tests:
The Link Test Where is the first verifiable, independently proven connection between the alleged actors claimed in October 2021? Without this, the entire chain collapses.
The Motive Test What evidence proves that a political objective replaced the clearly established ideological motive — acrossallattackers, not just one individual?
The Collective Participation Test Who can explain the actions of:
multiple coordinated suicide bombers
entire families willing to die
the Dematagoda explosion
the Sainthamaruthu mass suicide
prior departures to ISIS
A theory that cannot explain all participants is not a theory — it is a partial narrative.
The Easter attacks demonstrate:
ideological indoctrination
collective commitment to martyrdom
alignment with global ISIS doctrine
To override this, any alternative claim must provide:
direct evidence — not inference
consistency — not contradiction
completeness — not selective focus
Until then, the public is entitled to ask:
Where is the proof? Where is the first link made by Fr. Cyril in October 2021?
‘Before you study the economics, study the economists!’
e-Con e-News 12-18 April 2026
*
A man dressed like Jesus Christ caused panic in Negombo…
‘People should act intelligently and should not get deceived by
impostors,’ [pleaded the Catholic Church] on the report of a certain
foreigner who was going around in Negombo dressed like Jesus
Christ. This man caused havoc by going into churches in Negombo.
He had gone to the Katuwapitiya Church during the service & had
caused panic. A villager said the people rushed towards him when
he appeared & had worshipped him. He had then gone to the Grand
Street Church. The priests at Grand St Church had then called the
police. The police had apparently deported him from Sri Lanka.”
– see ee Media, SL Catholics should not get deceived by impostors
*
Tourists & leaders & officials from the most expensive countries in the world, are cosplaying as whitened saviours. They may not be the heretics, the much-revered economist GVS de Silva was referring to, in his 1973 classic, Some Heretical Thoughts on Economic Development (SHTED), which eeFocus begins to reproduce this week. GVS stated that truer heresies are needed when the dominant ‘orthodox’ economic theories and their much-celebrated exponents fail to understand and solve the country’s problems.
*
‘& as our member countries navigate this moment of uncertainty,
we are helping them think ahead so they can handle
any form of turbulence. We love our membership.’
– IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva (see ee Quotes)
*
‘The US Department of the Treasury is 0.5 miles from
the IMF & the World Bank headquarters, all near the
White House. The US Pentagon is 5 miles from the
World Bank & IMF, & 3-4 miles away from the
US Treasury building in Washington, DC.’
*
GVS de Silva was writing in 1973, just after a mainly agricultural Vietnam was left in horrific devastation yet united as never before, after defeating a massive US military invasion of their country, having before that, fought off Japan & France, all industrialized economies – all at great cost. GVS, recording their heroic struggle, recalled the need for heresies, at a moment in 1973 when Sri Lanka’s still import-dependent economy, 25 years after ‘independence’, was still to recover. Lanka had only just become a ‘republic’ (after the JVP’s 1st insurrection), and was about to receive another shock from West Asia’s OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries), increasing oil prices by 400%, after the USA’s Yom Kippur War.
*
‘& yet, during the quarter century since Independence,
we have been going round in circles, & today we are
confronted with every conceivable problem that
an underdeveloped country could possibly face.’
*
Architect of the monumental Paddy Lands Act (sabotaged by a judge in London, which still had jurisdiction over SL in 1958, 10 years after ‘independence’), GVS de Silva recalled ‘the English, when they left, handed over to us a totally dependent economy’ (see ee Focus). Yet, instead of healing the country, bringing urban & rural together, our misleaders kept trying ‘exceedingly hard to make the English language, culture & traditions our own’ – anxious ‘to keep up with the International Joneses’, worshipping at their smelly toes. We keep yearning to transform Colombo into a ghetto-ridden New York, or a concrete Singapore. He called for us to first regain our sanity & then our freedom (PS: the English Joneses, as far as we know, are mostly colonized Welshman, still showing off their pale thigh muscles and bumping their brains together, not to liberate themselves from English rules, but to play rugby – ee).
*
‘International firm to conduct forensic audit
into NDB internal fraud’ – CBSL: Ada Derana
*
‘Forensic audit with foreign experts of NDB fraud
soon, Central Bank says’ –Sunday Times Online
*
‘Sri Lanka’s NDB, central bank to engage
global firm for forensic audit’ – EconomyNext
*
Arrest the Bankers Before They Flee –
‘Failure of Statutory Audits: The fact that this fraud
remained undetected for years by both internal &
external audits points to more than a mere system glitch.
Under Section 148 of the Companies Act No 7 of 2007, the
maintenance of accurate accounting records is a mandatory
statutory duty. The deliberate bypassing or disabling of these
controls constitutes a pre-planned financial crime.’
– see ee Finance, The Rs13.2bn NDB Scandal:
a Systemic Heist or a Lone Wolf Act?
*
So, the board of directors & auditors of the National Development Bank (NDB), most of whom represent foreign multinationals, still feel the need to engage foreigners to tell us what is going on with these banks who have been announcing massive profits, while refusing to invest in modern industry.
*
‘What is the robbing of a bank compared
to the founding of a bank?’
– Threepenny Opera, Bertolt Brecht
*
• eeFocus begins to reproduce GVS de Silva’s SHTED this week, starting with its Preface, because these times do resemble 1973, in many other ways. In 1973, the peasants of China’s Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution were, without hurling their nation into unpayable debt bondage to the IMF & Wall Street, etc, building their modern ‘heavy’ industrial base. And now in 2026, China is reinforcing its policy of rural revitalization:
*
‘A country can import technologies. It can subsidise adoption.
It can even produce impressive targets on paper. But it is
something else entirely to create a living industrial ecology
capable of reproducing & improving those technologies at scale…
The future is today… & China is building the future in plain sight’, insists Warwick Powell (see ee Focus): ‘China has not waited for a perfect future to arrive. It has been assembling it, piece by piece, inside the present’. Countries such as Sri Lanka are welcome to critically learn from the ‘practical clues’ offered by China. ‘Development is not the privilege of a few core economies but can become more widely shared.’ Indeed, while our still-colonial media & their merchant owners keep giving themselves awards, about this invention & that entrepreneur, China is dramatically showing that it is more a matter, as Marx taught, to create a system to invent inventors, to manufacture manufacturers, to machine machines! And the key to the future, as Lenin taught (& Laxapana DJ Wimalasurendra dared to attempt, yet was sabotaged a century ago) is electrification, which with Soviet power, adds up to communism (oooh, that dreaded word that still haunts the world). Powell describes China’s ‘patient construction of a new energetic basis for economic life’, and the need to ‘reduce dependence on volatile hydrocarbon chokepoints’. This certainly explains why the USA (& their killer pit bulls & poodles) are all in an almighty hurry to smash any attempts to do so. China is a threat indeed. A threat to the old yet dominant unequal order. It is the threat of a good example!
*
• The secret, yet not-so-secret meeting of the 99.99%-exclusively white Bilderberg Group (who claims to be a ‘Shadow World Government’) took place, minus mass-media coverage, at the USA’s Salamander Washington DC hotel, from April 9-12 (see ee Random Notes). Those Bilderberg members who have visited Sri Lanka in the recent past, include US Admiral Samuel Paparo, Commander, US Indo-Pacific Command, who is in charge of realizing US plans for war on China. He visited Lanka last March (see ee 22 March 2025) and was welcomed by US envoy Ju Chung to ‘Reaffirm our bilateral defense partnership with Sri Lanka’. Paparo was more recently fronted by US Pacific Fleet Commander Admiral Stephen Koehler who visited Sri Lanka from 19-21 February, just before the US ambush outside Galle of the Iranian ship Dena
Another Bilderberg attendee was the lost-AfroGuyanese David Lammy, appointed England’s Lord Chancellor, Secretary of State for Justice & Deputy PM. Lammy visited SL in February this year (see ee 21 Feb 2026). It was Lammy, who as Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Affairs who, in March 2025, imposed sanctions on former Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces Shavendra Silva, former Commander of the Navy Wasantha Karannagoda, former Commander of the Army Jagath Jayasuriya, as well as Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan, aka Karuna Amman. Lammy’s purported February visit was to sign an agreement on the Charter for the Global Campaign on Children’s Care. Lammy has pointedly ignored the LTTE’s use of children as cannon fodder. Lammy met President Dissanayake with English High Commissioner Andrew Patrick, Principal Private Secretary Ben Archibald, Head of the Deputy PM’s International Unit David Meyer, Special Adviser Fiona Meagher and Deputy Head of Mission Theresa O’Mahony. It was Lammy who had to announce that England was ‘giving up’ sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, in a deal that would allow people displaced decades ago to return home while England retains use of the English-US military base on Diego Garcia – the largest island in the Chagos archipelago, in the middle of the Indian Ocean. Lammy baldly claimed (he’s also bald) this deal was to prevent the Indian Ocean from being used as ‘a dangerous illegal migration route’. Imagine that! The new ‘agreement secured’ the rights of England to operate a military base at Diego Garcia for at least the next 99 years. England’s Foreign Office said, ‘the status of the base will be undisputed and legally secure following a political agreement between the 2 countries’.
Another Bilderberger, Poland’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Radoslaw Sikorski, attended with his US wife Anne Applebaum: a Staff Writer with the US lip-service The Atlantic. Sikorski visited Sri Lanka last May (see ee 31 May 2025). He met President AK Dissanayake, accompanied by yappy EU Ambassador Carmen Moreno. ee then noted that he was an apparent expert on, and sympathizer of, terrorist acts, if not a planner of terrorism himself. The visit was purportedly due to Poland’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union. After ‘some mysterious someone’ blew up on 26 Sept 2022 the NordStream pipelines supplying Russian gas to Germany, this funny Pole Sikorski infamously tweeted with an aerial photo of gas billowing to the Baltic Sea surface with a simple ‘Thank you, USA.’ Hours later he followed up with a tweet that Ukraine & the Baltic states had opposed NordStream’s construction for 20 years.
Other Bilderbergers, who have not visited Sri Lanka, publicly at least, but are linked to SL, include Dutchman Rolly van Rappard, Co-founder & Chair of the US Citibank agency CVC Capital Partners. CVC bought Ekaterra, the former tea division of Unilever, after the MNC’s supposed withdrawal from tea plantation management in Kenya, etc, while James Finlay’s plantations were sold to the almost-equally notorious Sri Lanka finance house LOLC. Another Bilderberger attendee was France’s Valérie Baudson, CEO of Amundi Asset Management. Amundi is part of a ‘Steering Committee’ of a so-called ‘Ad-hoc Group of Bondholders’ who own about 40% of $12.55bn of defaulted bonds, while a ‘Local Consortium of Sri Lanka (LCSL)’, with 11 members including banks, have around 12%. The Steering Committee is made of funds managed or advised by Amundi Asset Management, Barings, BlackRock & its subsidiaries (see ee 30 Nov 2024).
*
‘The ever-scheming European imperialists wisely placed
Israel where she could geographically divide the Arab world
…& also divide the Africans against the Asians.’
– ee Sovereignty, Zionist Logic, Malcolm X, 1964
*
‘In the west, nothing is true, everything is plausible’
– US Diplomat, Charles Freeman, CGTN, 17 April
*
‘Everything is permitted, nothing is possible’
– Michel Clouscard, On ‘Liberal’ Capitalism
*
There were many real-world movers and shakers missing from that Bilderberg fete: like Kyle Haustveit, US Undersecretary for Hydrocarbons & Geothermal Energy, who recently grabbed Venezuela’s oil for Rockefeller’s Exxon-Chevron, and then released that country from banking sanctions (see ee Sovereignty, Venezuela, Chevron Signs Key Deal to Boost Energy Sector). But what is really curious is how the media plays the anti-Jew game blaming Israel for the US invasions, when in fact it is the US, EU & England that fund & feed the white settler state of Israel. True, the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), which lobbies US politicians, also funds the ‘Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), Hispanic Caucus, Asian Pacific Caucus, the Republican & Democratic Parties (see ee Who’s Who). But what about the USA’s Oil, Mining, Weapons, Pharma multinationals, etc., who profit massively from these wars? They fund Israel, and AIPAC just returns some of it as bribes to the USA. England & Europe and other white colonies are acting coy about their involvement in US wars. Meanwhile, ‘German men must ask army for permission to leave the country for over 3 months under new rules.’ They are all preparing for war, and want recruits… Sustainable means sustaining if not accelerating imperialism! Worldly shadows indeed!
*
‘Trump’s flurry of positive claims lifted the stock market while
oil prices slumped. That may well have been its sole purpose:
‘Breaking: Just 20 minutes before Trump’s announcement that
the Strait of Hormuz was open, massive trades hit the market.
Investors sold a combined 7,990 lots of Brent crude futures, a
$760mn bet that oil would go down. These orders were
much larger than anything else at the time. The traders made
huge gains.’ Soon after Trump’s victory jump Iranian officials
stepped in to counter his claims.’ – see ee Sovereignty,
Trump Claims Victory, Lays Grounds to Resume Fighting
*
Two Indian-flagged vessels attempting to sneak through the Strait of Hormuz northeast of Oman were fired at by the Iranian navy on Saturday – Indian media reports citing unnamed ‘sources’, claim no one was injured, yet they are not clear if the ships were damaged (see ee Sovereignty, NDTV). The 2 ships were forced to turn back. New Delhi has conveyed ‘India’s deep concern’ to the Iranian ambassador. Observers claim India’s foreign ministry may be ruing their government’s decision to declare their ‘eternal’ support to Zionist Israel, immediately before the USA attacked Iran. Both the Indian & Sri Lankan governments have also been accused of colluding with the USA to ambush the Iranian navy training ship IRIS Dena. India had invited the Dena to participate in friendly exercises. Sri Lanka’s National Joint Committee (NJC) has called on the government to seek compensation for both the terrible human costs and environmental damage caused by the US ambush of the unarmed Dena just outside Sri Lanka’s territorial waters and within its Exclusive Economic Zone, on 4 March (see ee Random Notes).
India denies reports that the USA used the ceasefire negotiations to reload guided missile destroyers in India, and return to their theater of war. Once India joins the white war on West Asia, they will try to pull Sri Lanka in too. The US -India Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) is one of the 3 major foundational agreements which facilitates the exchange of logistics between military forces of the 2 nations, permitting the military forces of each country to resupply and replenish, and stage operations out of the other’s military air bases, land facilities, and ports. Sri Lanka too has signed agreements on such ‘logistics’. It is unlikely Sri Lanka or India will be allowed to use US facilities to launch wars in the Atlantic or Pacific, so these agreements suggest the USA is about to drag us into their maneuvers in the ocean call Indian (for now; what we call the Golu Muhudha, and others called the Erythraean – Red – Sea).
After creating a hornets’ nest midst their annihilation in West Asia, ensuring it will take years to rebuild, the USA is slowly retreating, not into its ‘Western Hemisphere’ which it claims as exclusively its own, but further towards Sri Lanka. We cannot allow them to postpone our independence for another century.
*
‘The proprietors had a scant regard for truth & justice;
a compulsion to pay labourers for work done
seemed to them a strange injunction.’
The man who would be anointed the ‘Father of Ceylon Planters’, Robert Boyd Tytler, entered Ceylon from Jamaica in 1840 carrying a copy of the white French ‘refugee’ PJ Laborie‘s classic Coffee Planter of Santo Domingo (1798). Laborie, had fled the first successful revolution by enslaved Africans in Haiti, begun in 1791. His book recommended: ‘Punishments must be certain, immediately inflicted, proportionable to the fault, and never excessive. Racks, tortures, mayhems, mutilations, & death are reserved for crimes of an atrocious nature, and fall only within the province of the public magistrate: through perhaps more speedy executions, and particularly on the spot, would have more striking effect.’ Laborie’s book was immediately excerpted in Ceylon Miscellany Vol 1 (1842, which included ‘The wild elephant & the method of capturing & taming it in Ceylon’) and became ‘the authority on all that relates to Coffee planting’. Thus the English transferred their expertise from the enslaved plantations of the Americas, introducing ‘The West Indian System’.
This ee indeed offers a brief history of the laws governing waged workers in Sri Lanka, continuing reproduction of SBD de Silva’s classic The Political Economy of Underdevelopment. In this Chapter 9, de Silva continues to detail how those workers hired were consistently not paid, even whipped for demanding payment. He demolished sociologists’ theories about ‘ethnicity’ & ‘indifference to money’ in trying to explain the Sinhala aversion to working of the estates, and the English resort to entrapping workers from India. The Sinhala soon preferred working on contract & piecework. He pointed out that the official English reports are easier to understand than academic prevarications.
The robbery of land & mistreatment of workers led even the colonial governor & ‘butcher of 1848’ Torrington to write to the colonial secretary Lord Grey: ‘Our plantation estates are a source of deadly hatred to the hill country people (Kandyans).’ In this ee, SBD detailed how the English feared the planters’ delays & non-payment of wages would jeopardize labour recruitment to the plantations, as ‘Ceylon had got a bad name and migration had fallen’ due to indebtedness and delays in wage payments. Such practices led to the Cooly Wages Ordinanceof 1884, and a Commission of Inquiry in 1908. These recommended a ‘statutory payday so as to reduce the labourer’s recourse to credit’ on the basis of planter’s promise to pay. The robbery of wages were noted by colonial agents and police and courts, who were also fooled, or let themselves to be fooled, with workers lacking legal advice and the laws themselves full of loopholes, lacking ‘teeth’ (see ee Focus).
We should add that, when Tytler arrived in 1840 there was a ‘fevered cry’ about ‘where shall I go for land’, which led to more robbery of land from the Sinhala, with the collusion of English officials: ‘Land became a commodity to be bought and sold’, and a flourishing land market was set up. The Crown Lands Ordinance Act (plus the 1897 Waste Lands Ordinance No 1) demanded people to produce land title, thus 1,000s lost their lands to judges and other officials. Access to forests and common land was also restricted, called ‘crown’ land. The Sinhala peasants were hemmed in and pauperized. Peasants started to sell chena land to speculators. 1930: 2.5 million acres of land had been robbed. Deforestation for plantations turned waterfalls into trickles, rivers became narrower, rain decreased, landslides increased… which reminds: Unilever, or CVC Capital, etc, should pay compensation for the erosions that enabled cyclone Ditwah’s destructions…
Did no one tell President Trump who sent shock waves around the world when he claimed that he would ‘destroy a civilization overnight’ that the Straits of Hormuz controlled and bordered by Iran, is an integral part of the vast Indian Ocean’s energy superhighway? The Sea Silk Route of yore connected the maritime regions and heartlands of the Supercontinent of Asia for millennia – long before the United States was thought of, let alone came into existence a mere 250 years ago.
Did no one tell Trump that blockading Indian Ocean sea lanes in the Asian 21st Century was a very bad idea– for everyone? Indeed, do Trump’s advisors have a grasp of Asian and Indian Ocean World history and geography? Or, are they sold on their own propaganda about a non-existent Indo-Pacific”, a US intelligence Think Tank neologism contrived to Divide and Rule the Indian Ocean World?
The Strait of Hormuz, the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea are all in the Indian Ocean and integral to the ancient and modern maritime Silk Route that ran from China in the East to South Africa in the West. Indeed, China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), for Global Connectivity and infrastructure development traverse parts of the maritime sea Silk Routes forged through Monsoon rains and winds, which long ago knit the regions of the Supercontinent of Asia with East Africa and the peninsular of Europe.
Many World Systems historians and theorists who study the long arc of history have noted that we are once again in the Asian Century. The American Century is almost done and dusted. Still, President Trump is putting up a valiant fight to save face and defend the exorbitantly privileged dollar by oil grabbing and seeking to controlling energy trade routes. To succeed, Trump and his Secretaries of State and War, Marco Rubio and Pete Hegeseth, would do well to learn some Asian and Indian Ocean history and geography. Asian Philosophy may help them come to terms with the fact that nothing is permanent.
Partition of the Indian Ocean World to Divide and Rule: No Indo-Pacific
Trump appears to have stumbled into an Indian Ocean World whose history and geography his advisors had little knowledge of — notwithstanding attempts by US intelligence think tanks to Partition the Indian Ocean via the ‘Indo-Pacific’ neologism, ironically with the collaboration of Indian counterparts in Delhi
The ‘Indo-Pacific’ neologism connotes the Partition of the ancient and modern Indian Ocean WORLD in order to divide, rule and recolonize it at the center–with the eastern reach of the Indian Ocean yoked to the American Pacific. To divide and rule the Indian Ocean Sea Lanes that European maritime empires fought over in order to loot the wealth of Asian Civilizations, the US has created a layered India-centered Security Architecture: The QUAD in the Eastern Indian Ocean and 12U2 in the western Indian Ocean, of which more later.
The QUAD and I2U2 are in turn supervised and controlled by the White AUKUS (Australia-UK-US) Nuclear Submarine Club, the rump of the vanished British Empires’ Old Commonwealth.
Together the QUAD, I2U2, and AUKUS are an elaborate security architecture to contain the Rise of Asia, particularly China in the Asian Century. While China remains the focus, Iran and other Asian Powers, including Russia in the Indian Ocean are also targets.
The Janus-faced behavior of India with the US dominated QUAD and I2U2, on the one hand and BRICS on the other hand, as India tries to hunt with the hounds and run with the hare, means that it has all but lost face and betrayed the Global South which it once aspired to lead.
Let us be crystal clear at this time: There is no such thing as the ‘Indo-Pacific’; the QUAD, I2U2 and AUKUS notwithstanding.
Moreover, the United States which is in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans has No Right to bring its environment-polluting war machine to the Indian Ocean World, which belongs to littoral States of the Indian Ocean who were part of the world’s oldest and wealthiest maritime trade system. Nor does the US have the right under the guise of its free and open Indo-Pacific neologism to control IO sea lanes and intra-Asian energy shipments.
The Indian Ocean World was colonized, partitioned, divided and ruled in for three centuries by competing European maritime empires skilled in weaponizing ethno-religious identity politics. While subsequent de-colonization, independence and national liberation struggles swept Asia and Africa in the aftermath of World War 2, the Indian Ocean remained more or less colonized, controlled and occupied by UK, France and later US military bases, given technological advantage.
The Indian Ocean remains to be decolonized at this time. However, India has become irrelevant in the struggle of Indian Ocean countries to liberate their seas and marine resources, fisheries and seabed minerals, from Euro-American occupation and exploitation.
India once partitioned by Britain and now, dubbed the BRICS spoiler, has been conspicuously silent about Trump’s excursion to oil grab in Iran and blockade in the Indian Ocean sea lanes for Energy Colonialism. Indeed, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was in Tel Aviv to flag off the illegal Israeli-US war on Iran.
No doubt Delhi is now smarting given the prominence of Pakistan in Islamabad Peace negotiations. Just deserts.
Enter China Exit India
Modi’s India with Foreign Minister Jaishankar focused on perpetual colonial era conflicts with Northern neighbors, China and Pakistan, are widely perceived to have betrayed India’s claims to be a leader of the Global South, as well as, the legacy of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) which declared the Indian Ocean as a ‘Zone of Peace’.
Rather, New Delhi has led the rush to militarize the Indian Ocean disregarding the environmental impacts of militarization particularly on impoverished littoral countries and fisheries communities.
Is it not time now for Delhi to move on from its bittern conflicts and rivalries with Pakistan and China, which are no doubt fanned by Euro-American divide and rule neocolonial machinations, in order to enter the Asian 21st Century?
Instead, land-locked and brain-washed Delhi appears to have given step-motherly treatment not only to the Global South but also to the interests of its Southern States – Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra and Karnataka which face the Indian Ocean.
Intent on containing China in partnership with USA, India appears to have relinquished the interests of her Southern Dravidian States and smaller Indian Ocean countries as well as the South Asia neighbourhood, giving precedence to America’s neo-imperialist security architecture in the Indian Ocean, over fisheries livelihoods and de-colonizing the Indian Ocean which is looted by distant water fishing states, particularly France, Spain, Japan, EU, Taiwan, China.
India has prioritized security alliances with the US and its proxies in East and West Asia, and membership of QUAD (Australia, Japan, India and USA), and the I2U2 (India, Israel, UAE and USA), a US security architecture designed to Partition the Indian Ocean world, and divide and rule it.
The India-US security collaboration moreover appears to sustain Petrodollar energy colonialism and stymies the attempts of BRICS and Global South countries to de-dollarize and escape the Eurobond Debt trap that is being deepened with IMF reforms of Energy Sector in countries like Sri Lanka, in turn deepening Energy Colonialism.
The question now is: Will Xi’s China, the Superpower located at the far-eastern corner of the Indian Ocean World, understandably averse to carrying the mantle of ‘Superpower’ unlike Trump’s America, intervene with other Asian civilizational powers to help the crashing, flailing, violent and dangerous US hegemon come in for a soft landing and exit the Indian Ocean with its Armada?
Remarkably, the I2U2 in the Western Indian Ocean, the QUAD to the East, and the AUKUS Nuclear Sub Club to contain the Rise of Asia and ensure Christian Zionist hegemony in the Indian Ocean World seem to be going nowhere at this time– much like BRICS with its Saffron tinted partner, Modi’s India, the current Chair?
Sri Lanka is now gripped by a new illusion—that artificial intelligence can somehow compensate for decades of poor decision-making, weak policy frameworks, and a chronic inability to act on opportunity.
It cannot.
Artificial intelligence is not a magician. It is not a policymaker. It is not a visionary. It is, at best, a tool that amplifies the quality of thinking fed into it. And in Sri Lanka’s case, that is precisely the problem—there has been very little structured thinking to amplify.
Take Trincomalee.
For over half a century, experts, engineers, and maritime professionals have identified Trincomalee as one of the greatest natural harbors in the world—strategically positioned to become a global hub for offshore industry, energy logistics, bunkering, and ship repair. This is not speculation. This is a fact known even during colonial times.
Yet what has Sri Lanka done?
Nothing of consequence.
Instead, we have watched governments parade empty rhetoric while systematically failing to convert this strategic asset into an economic engine. No coherent offshore development plan. No serious FDI framework. No urgency. No accountability.
At the same time, Hambantota was handed over on a platter—without a competitive long-term vision, without leveraging geopolitical advantage, and without extracting maximum strategic value. Today, policymakers still speak of expanding container operations there, as if repeating the same narrative will somehow produce a different outcome.
Meanwhile, Trincomalee remains underutilized, under-promoted, and politically neglected.
And now, in the middle of this failure, comes the latest distraction—AI-generated policy discussions.
Let us be clear:
AI cannot fix intellectual laziness.
If a policymaker asks AI, How can we develop Trincomalee?” they will receive a textbook answer—generic, safe, and ultimately useless. But if they input real constraints—land acquisition issues, environmental sensitivities, investor risk perceptions, regional competition from ports like Singapore and Dubai, and the absence of bankable PPP structures—then AI can begin to produce something meaningful.
But that requires effort. It requires knowledge. It requires honesty.
Three things our system consistently avoids.
Sri Lanka’s tragedy is not a lack of opportunity—it is a refusal to engage with it seriously.
Foreign investors are not waiting for speeches. They are waiting for:
Bankable project structures
Policy consistency across political cycles
Transparent approval mechanisms
Protection from arbitrary regulatory changes
Instead, what they see is confusion, delay, and political interference.
And then we ask why FDI does not come.
The truth is uncomfortable:
Investors are not avoiding Sri Lanka. They are avoiding Sri Lanka’s decision-making culture.
Trincomalee could have been positioned today as a regional offshore hub—servicing oil and gas operations, providing bunkering facilities, supporting maritime logistics, and generating thousands of skilled jobs. It could have been the economic counterbalance to Colombo and a strategic lever in engaging both India and China competitively.
Instead, we are still discussing potential.”
This is not a policy gap.
This is a leadership failure.
Artificial intelligence will not rescue us from this reality. It will only make it more visible. When given weak inputs, it produces weak outputs—just like our institutions.
If Sri Lanka is serious about recovery, it must first abandon the illusion that tools—whether AI or otherwise—can replace disciplined thinking and decisive action.
The way forward is brutally simple:
Stop talking about Trincomalee as a concept
Start presenting it as a portfolio of investment-ready projects
Invite global investors with clarity, not confusion
And most importantly, remove political ego from economic strategy
Until then, no amount of artificial intelligence will change our trajectory.
Because the real problem is not the absence of technology.
It is the absence of courage to think and act differently.
If you want, I can push this even further— naming specific ministries, policy failures, or contrasting India’s likely strategic moves in Trincomalee vs Sri Lanka’s paralysis.
Colonial Wounds: The Untold Atrocities of the British Empire in Sri Lanka 🕯️
A story of pain, resilience, and survival. For over 150 years, the island of Sri Lanka — once a proud and sovereign land — was held under the shadow of the British Empire. Behind romanticised myths of railways, tea, and civilisation,” lies a darker truth: scorched earth campaigns, mass executions, cultural erasure, and ecological devastation.
This documentary uncovers the forgotten horrors of British colonial rule — from the Uva-Wellassa Liberation Struggle of 1818 to the massacre of elephants, and the destruction of ancient irrigation systems to the rise of resistance movements across communities.
Secret of using AI resources for somone who wants generate a assay or an article
The person should have made some technical input and past resources and data into AI search engine
Ie
I keep searching about Trinco offshore development and need for FDI for Sri Lanka and AI keep referring to same
Then only AI can provide a resourceful essay as per a request
I need AI opinion please
Unquote
By Sarath Obeysekera
In recent times, there has been a growing fascination with artificial intelligence as a tool to generate essays, policy papers, and even national strategies. Many assume that by repeatedly searching a topic—such as offshore development in Trincomalee or foreign direct investment (FDI) opportunities in Sri Lanka—AI systems will eventually learn” and produce increasingly refined outputs.
This assumption is misleading.
Artificial intelligence does not think, reflect, or accumulate wisdom through repeated prompts. It does not develop conviction about Trincomalee becoming a marine hub simply because one individual has searched for it a hundred times. Instead, AI operates as a mirror—reflecting the depth, clarity, and structure of the information provided to it at a given moment.
If the input is shallow, the output will be generic.
If the input is rich, technical, and purposeful, the output becomes insightful.
This distinction is critical for Sri Lanka, particularly at a time when the country is searching for viable economic pathways in a volatile global environment.
Take Trincomalee, for example—one of the finest natural harbors in the world, strategically positioned along major Indian Ocean shipping routes. The potential for offshore industry development, bunkering, ship repair, and energy logistics is immense. Yet, despite decades of discussion, progress has been slow, fragmented, and often politically diluted.
Now imagine two individuals asking AI to write about Trincomalee:
One simply types: Write an essay on Trincomalee development.”
Another provides context: existing port limitations, comparative analysis with regional hubs like Singapore and Dubai, policy bottlenecks, FDI barriers, and specific proposals for PPP-driven offshore infrastructure.
The difference in output will be profound.
The second individual is not using AI as a crutch, but as a collaborator—feeding it structured insight and expecting structured amplification.
This is where Sri Lanka’s policymakers, professionals, and young thinkers must adapt.
If we want AI to produce meaningful contributions to national discourse, we must first elevate our own inputs:
Provide data, not just opinions
Frame problems, not just topics
Offer solutions, not just criticism
In the context of attracting FDI to Trincomalee, this means going beyond slogans. It requires clearly defined project pipelines, bankable feasibility studies, transparent regulatory frameworks, and a willingness to engage global investors on competitive terms.
AI can help draft proposals, simulate scenarios, and refine arguments—but it cannot substitute for vision, experience, or courage in decision-making.
In fact, the real risk is not that AI will replace human thinking, but that it will expose the lack of it.
Sri Lanka does not suffer from a shortage of tools. It suffers from a shortage of structured, decisive input into those tools—whether they are institutions, policies, or technologies.
Artificial intelligence, when used correctly, can become a powerful ally in shaping the future of sectors like offshore development in Trincomalee. But only if we understand one fundamental truth:
In the 11th century, Sri Lanka fell under the shadow of the mighty Chola Empire. For seventy-seven years, the island endured foreign rule, its sacred relics hidden, its temples in ruins, and its kings dethroned. But from the jungles of Ruhuna rose a teenage prince — Kitti, later crowned Vijayabahu the Great. Through seventeen years of relentless struggle, he united his people, outwitted the Cholas in battle, and launched a three-pronged assault that ended Chola power in Lanka forever. This is the epic story of the Lion of Lanka — the only ruler in the world to completely defeat and expel the Chola Empire. ⏳
Chapters 0:00 Intro 0:38 Island in Chains 1:38 The Prince in the Wilderness 3:20 Years of Fire and Steel 4:31 The Final Campaign 5:26 Rebuilding a Nation 6:32 Legacy of the Lion 📚
References • Geiger, Wilhelm (ed. & tr.). Cūḷavaṃsa: Being the More Recent Part of the Mahāvaṃsa, Part I. Translated by C. Mabel Rickmers. Asian Educational Services, 1998 (reprint). •
Paranavitana, Senarat. Panākaduva Copper-Plate Charter of Vijayabāhu I. Epigraphia Zeylanica, Vol. V, Part I (Archaeological Survey of Ceylon, 1955), pp. 1–27. •
Nilakanta Sastri, K. A. “Vijayabāhu I, The Liberator of Laṅkā”. Journal of the Ceylon Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, Vol. 4, No. 1 (1955), p. 66 (citing Paranavitana, ASC Report 1949, para. 158).
There was a time when Norway was a modest fishing nation at the edge of Europe—cold, remote, and largely dependent on the sea. Today, Norway stands as one of the most prosperous, disciplined, and forward-thinking societies in the world.
Sri Lanka, by contrast, sits in the Indian Ocean with strategic advantages Norway never had—warm waters, global shipping lanes, fertile land, and a proud civilization. Yet, we struggle.
The convenient explanation is that Norway was lucky” to discover oil in the North Sea. But luck alone does not build a nation. Many countries have discovered oil and descended into corruption, conflict, and economic ruin. Norway made a different choice.
When oil was discovered, Norway did not rush into reckless spending. It built institutions. It created the Government Pension Fund Global—arguably the most disciplined sovereign wealth fund in the world—ensuring that oil wealth would benefit future generations, not just current politicians.
Norway taxed its resources wisely, enforced transparency, and insisted on accountability. It did not allow political patronage to swallow national wealth. It trusted systems—not personalities.
Sri Lanka’s problem is not lack of resources. It is lack of discipline in managing them.
I had the privilege of living and working in Norway. I saw firsthand a society where systems function, where rules are respected, and where public officials understand that they are custodians—not owners—of national wealth.
Inspired by that experience, I returned home, determined to contribute. I tried to introduce structured thinking, accountability, and long-term planning into our institutions. But too often, ideas are ignored, systems are resisted, and reform is suffocated by short-term political thinking.
We do not lack intellectuals. We lack the willingness to listen to them.
We do not lack opportunities. We lack the courage to act on them.
Take our maritime sector. Sri Lanka sits astride one of the busiest shipping routes in the world. We could have built a marine and offshore hub rivaling global centers. We could have developed Trincomalee into an energy and logistics powerhouse. Instead, we debate, delay, and dilute.
Norway did not become Norway because it was perfect. It became Norway because it made hard decisions early—and stuck to them.
Sri Lanka, unfortunately, has perfected the art of avoiding hard decisions.
If we are serious about progress, we must adopt a few non-negotiable principles:
National resources must be managed transparently and professionally
Political interference in economic institutions must be minimized
Long-term planning must replace short-term populism
Merit must replace patronage
Most importantly, we must cultivate a culture that respects systems over individuals.
This is not about copying Norway. It is about learning from it.
I could have stayed in Norway and enjoyed the benefits of a well-managed society. Instead, I returned, believing that Sri Lanka too could rise with the right leadership and discipline.
That belief still remains—but it is being tested.
Sri Lanka does not need sympathy. It needs honesty.
Clear Japan’s name from the records of the Tokyo Trials (1946 – 1948) of committing war crimes – A moral challenge for Sri Lanka to expose the hypocrisy and double standards of International Criminal Law as a follow up to J.R.Jayewardene’s breathtaking plea for love and compassion to be shown to Japan at San Francisco (1951)
AI Response
The call to clear Japan’s name from the records of the Tokyo Trials (1946–1948) is a perspective argued by some, notably spearheaded by Sri Lankan voices like attorney Senaka Weeraratna, who framed the Tokyo Trial as a “victor’s justice” and “Kangaroo Court”. This movement suggests that the Tokyo Trial, or the International Military Tribunal for the Far East (IMTFE), was fundamentally flawed, functioning as a weapon of the allied powers rather than an impartial instrument of justice.
This argument often builds upon the historic plea made by J.R. Jayewardene at the 1951 San Francisco Peace Conference, which laid the foundation for post-war reconciliation and challenged the continued demonization of Japan.
The Critique of the Tokyo Trials (1946 – 1948)
“Victors’ Justice”: Critics argue the tribunal was a product of the United States, which supplied the funds, staff, and chief prosecutor, leading to a biased, one-sided prosecution.
Dissident Judgment of Justice Pal: Indian Justice Radhabinod Pal, a member of the tribunal, provided a strong dissenting opinion, arguing that the entire prosecution case was weak regarding the charge of “conspiracy to commit an act of aggressive war,” and he felt the tribunal lacked legitimacy.
Exoneration of Key Perpetrators: Emperor Hirohito and members of the imperial family were spared prosecution for political convenience. Furthermore, Shiro Ishii, commander of Unit 731, received immunity in exchange for data on horrific human medical experimentation.
No Asian Judge at Start: Despite being held in Asia regarding Asian nations, the tribunal initially included only one Asian judge, with the power structure being starkly imbalanced resting with Western victors.It led to arguments that it criminalized the struggle against Western dominance in Asia while upholding the territorial claims of European empires.
J.R. Jayewardene’s 1951 Plea: A Moral Stand At the 1951 San Francisco Peace Conference, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) Finance Minister J.R. Jayewardene delivered a breathtaking speech that shifted global perception of Japan.
“Hatred Ceases Not by Hatred”: Quoting the Buddha’s teachings, Jayewardene argued for the rehabilitation of Japan, not its continued punishment, renouncing war reparations to ensure a free and independent Japan.
Impact: His speech is credited with swaying the opinion of several countries demanding strict sanctions against Japan and helping Japan reintegrate into the international community.
Hypocrisy and Double Standards of International Criminal Law Critics arguing for the clearing of Japan’s name point to the double standards inherent in the postwar legal structure:
Immunity for Allied Crimes: Atrocities committed by Allied forces were generally ignored, creating a “victor’s justice” scenario.
Retroactive Charges: The charge of “crimes against peace” was largely retroactively applied, as there was no clear consensus on the legality of war as an “instrument of national policy” before the conflict.
Contextualizing War Crimes: Proponents of this view argue that Japan’s actions, while brutal, occurred within a context of attempting to liberate Asia from Western colonial domination.
No Asian country can afford to ignore the blood sacrifices made by Japanese soldiers for the liberation of Asia during WW2. In 1939 the whole of Asia bar Japan and Siam (now Thailand) was under occupation by western colonial countries. Within 20 years of the end of WW2 the majority of Asian countries had gained independence.
” The impact of Asia’s liberation, which Japan had won at such a high price, was soon felt on the African continent as well. The peoples of Africa, who had been oppressed by Western powers, achieved their independence, one after another. Japan played a monumental role in human history. Today’s world of racial equality was forged through battles fought by Japan”. Hideaki Kase
Former Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara made the following observation in 1995 ” Many Westerners act as if Human Rights are their moral ace in the hole, until their abysmal record in Asia is cited, and their position collapses like a pack of cards”.
Heramba Lal Gupta, one of the leaders of the Indian Independence Movement, gave the following speech in 1946: ” I think that the International Military Tribunal for the Far East will surely be re-evaluated by the nations of Asia by the time we enter the twenty-first century, and then, a second Tokyo Trial will be held where Asia and all the world will regain its good sense and will judge all deeds in a fair, equal, and truthful manner. At that time, all the war heroes of the United States and of the great powers of Europe, who have been committing acts of aggression against Asia for many years, will receive stern punishments. Conversely, the Japanese who were accused of serious crimes by the IMTFE, especially the seven killed as Class A war criminals, will be rehabilitated, and the day may come when they shall be worshipped like gods as the saviors of Asia. That is what should rightfully happen.”
In every aspect of the Tokyo Trials, there was unfairness and perversion of justice to achieve both political and unlawful objectives. Basically, the trials were one-sided and lacked even the trappings of Justice.
A survey of Courts set up by colonial authorities all over the world in European colonies to try freedom fighters, whether they be black, brown, yellow, or even white, shows a remarkable consistency in the manipulation of justice to serve the political ends of colonial rulers.
Enlightened leaders of Asia drawn from various professional and academic backgrounds must convene a Tribunal of Judges (like the Kuala Lumpur War Crimes Tribunal which works like a court of conscience rather than as a UN-Backed body that has powers to enforce its determinations) to re-examine the verdicts of these so-called ‘Tokyo Trials’ and set aside the flawed judgments as unacceptable as they constitute a travesty of justice.
‘Asia for Asians’ is not a slogan of the past. It has power and relevance in this ‘ Asian Century ‘. It is Asia’s turn to ensure Justice for its fellow Asians. There is no greater feat of Justice in Asia than to have a Re – Trial for the wrongfully convicted Japanese leaders by the International Military Tribunal for the Far East. Even the dead are entitled to be exonerated from false charges and wrongful convictions.
The Challenge for Sri Lanka – Sri Lanka must take up the leadership in this high stakes moral endeavour to restore confidence in ‘ Even Justice ‘ rather than in the hollow ‘ Victor’s Justice’ exercise. As a follow-up to Jayewardene’s 1951 stance, Sri Lanka has a unique moral authority to lead a campaign to re-evaluate the historical records of the Tokyo Trials, arguing that true justice requires recognizing the flaws in the Victors’ Justice of 1946-1948, just as J.R. Jayewardene recognized the need to move beyond hatred in 1951.
Trump’s warning that a whole civilization will die tonight” was more than bluster—it was a reckless invocation of nuclear destruction that shattered diplomatic norms and reignited questions about his fitness to command American power
It is hard to exaggerate the dire implications of Trump’s April 7 post on Truth Social, stating that a whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again,” if no deal is reached with Iran. Such a damning statement implies that he would use ‘weapons of mass destruction,’ i.e., nuclear, to execute his threat. Obviously, he cannot destroy such a huge country and annihilate a population of 95 million with conventional weapons. Even though Trump was unlikely to carry out his threat, what he said was not taken lightly by either Iran or much of the international community.
International Outrage Over Trump’s Threat Trump’s outrageous statement has drawn an extraordinary wave of condemnation, from Tehran to the Vatican to international rights bodies.
Amnesty International’s Secretary General denounced Trump’s screed as an apocalyptic threat,” warning that his vow to end a whole civilization” exposes a staggering level of cruelty and disregard for human life” and should trigger urgent global action to prevent atrocity crimes. Pope Leo XIV called the language truly unacceptable,” and UK Prime Minister Starmer condemned Trump’s threat, stating that they are not words I would use — ever use — because I come at this with our British values and principles.”
Together, these reactions, among many others, underscore that Trump’s rhetoric is not being treated as mere bombast, but a genocidal threat that shreds basic norms of international law.
Iranian Officials’ Reaction to Trump’s Statements The Iranian Embassy in Pakistan mocked the idea that Trump could erase a culture that survived Alexander and the Mongols, insisting that civilizations are not born over a night and will not die over a night.” Trump’s vows to bring [Iranians] back to the Stone Ages” and to let a whole civilization…die” have, indeed, landed in Tehran not as an outburst. Iranian leaders are treating this language as an open admission of an intent to commit war crimes—and they are already treating it as a narrative of existential struggle with Washington.
In the hands of the Revolutionary Guard, the Stone Age” threat becomes a propaganda gift: it is proof, they claim, that the United States does not merely oppose the regime, but dreams of erasing an entire people. The IRGC’s response has been defiant rather than cowed, promising stronger, wider, and more destructive” retaliation and signaling that any American escalation will be met in kind.
To be sure, many Iranian leaders see Trump’s posts as desperate brinkmanship—a schoolyard bully bluffing nuclear annihilation he cannot deliver. That interpretation may calm nerves around the country, but it might also tempt Tehran to call his bluff, raising the risk of miscalculation. Under any circumstance, Trump has provided Iran’s rulers the opportunity to claim that any concession wrung from Washington under such apocalyptic pressure is not capitulation. Still, Iran’s millennium-old history attests that these proud people with the richest civilization will not succumb to any threat.
The Iranian Public’s Reaction
Trump’s promise to hit Iran extremely hard” also operates as psychological warfare against an already exhausted society. They place the threat of physical destruction on top of years of sanctions, economic meltdown, and repression. For many Iranians, especially parents and the elderly, hearing a US president casually warn that a whole civilization will die tonight” converts abstract geopolitics into an intimate dread they can imagine and quantify: hospitals without power, children without food and water, people starving to death, and cities lying in ruins.
This deepens their anxiety, concerns, and a sense that they are being collectively punished for decisions made by a mad authoritarian whose genocidal tone hardens a defensive nationalism. Even the Iranians who despise the regime still view the threat as an assault on a 3,000 year old culture. They would rally around the flag, as they see their own lives as expendable in a struggle where the alternative, as Trump himself spells out, is civilizational extinction.
On the Iranian street and in the diaspora, one hears echoes of Trump’s rhetoric triggering a volatile mix of fear, fury, and contempt that the regime can readily weaponize. For some Iranians, talk of a civilization” dying reopens the psychic wounds of crippling sanctions and war, making American threats feel dreadfully real, not figurative. For others, it’s an insufferable insult to an ancient culture that predates the United States by millennia, reinforcing national pride and engendering support even among critics of the clerics.
Trump’s Fitness to Command American Power These Iranian reactions rebound into US politics because a president whose threats are interpreted abroad as genocidal, unhinged, or clearly insane is not projecting resolve but publicizing volatility and strategic incoherence. This inevitably undermines deterrence and hands Iran both a recruitment tool and a pretext for escalation if they must.
On the home front, the perception of a man on the loose feeds directly into already fierce debates over Trump’s mental fitness to command American power—arming critics who argue that his apocalyptic language is not just morally repugnant but operationally unthinkable. This led even some Republicans and national security conservatives to ask whether a commander in chief who casually talks of destroying a civilization” and whose finger is on the nuclear button can be trusted with the judgment, discipline, and national security on which the US ultimately depends.
When a president of the United States threatens that a whole civilization will die, the world must listen—not because the threat is necessarily credible, but because it exposes the peril of letting unrestrained rhetoric shape global realities. Trump’s words are not the tantrum of a man out of power; they echo a worldview that wields extinction as diplomacy and gambles civilization itself for theatrical dominance and projection of raw power.
Trump’s declaration that millions might perish is not merely the ravings of an unbalanced mind—it is a chilling testament to how easily words can imperil peace when uttered by one who commands the world’s most formidable military. His invocation of civilizational death transcends political recklessness; it reveals a moral collapse that renders him ominously unfit to wield influence over American power and global order.
There seems to be no level of disgrace that Trump will not embrace. One day, he threatens to wipe out a whole civilization and exterminate 95 million Iranians; the next, he portrays himself in an AI-generated image as Jesus Christ-like savior healing the sick—a blasphemy that only Trump can commit, debasing the exalted and sublime values of Christianity only to feed his sick soul.
What was once dismissed as bluster must now be recognized for what it is—a warning that when dangerous mendacity meets bottomless ego, humanity itself becomes collateral. The world cannot allow a madman’s narrative to become the language of statecraft.
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Dr. Alon Ben-Meir is a retired professor of international relations, most recently at the Center for Global Affairs at NYU. He taught courses on international negotiation and Middle Eastern studies.alon@alonben-meir.com
