Courtesy Daily Mirror

• Government delays the appointment of the Auditor General to secure a party-aligned nominee
• Govt should decide what is needed to be done with foreign assistance
• Funding post-disaster rebuilding through high-interest borrowing is risky
• Govt should reconsider proposed expressways
• Kandy, Ratnapura are fragile cities, fresh urban planning needed

United Republican Front (URF) leader Patali Champika Ranawaka, in an interview with Daily Mirror, responds to questions about the government’s alleged failure to take measures for the mitigation of Ditwah impact, the delay in the appointment of the Auditor General and the post –disaster development strategy needed for the country.

QYou remarked to the press that the government disregarded warnings regarding the cyclonic development and failed to take steps for mitigation of the damage. How do you support your argument?

The government was always arguing that the Department of Meteorology had not properly advised them about cyclone Ditwah and its possible implications. That is not true. If you go to the department’s website, you would be able to see a lot of warnings.

 After November 25, they had warned that a cyclone is developing with possible impacts for Sri Lanka and over 200 mm rainfalls might be happening. The Disaster Management Centre (DMC) should be having a detailed report. The DMC and its Director General must know about them all.

Apart from this, there are two other agencies which knew about such developments. One is the Ceylon Electricity Board which maintains daily hydrological curves so that they can maintain the hydro- base electricity generation. They calculate each day the rainfall in the catchment areas of the reservoirs- Mahaweli reservoirs and the Kelani- based reservoirs , inflows and gaps between the spill levels and the existing level so that they can manage the whole hydropower generation .

The Mahaweli authorities have dam safety manuals. The Kotmale dam was built by Sweden, Victoria by the British, and Randenigala by Germany. All these countries are highly equipped, knowledgeable in engineering.

There are detailed dam safety manuals to be maintained by the Mahaweli Development Authority. They clearly stipulate how to handle that kind of situation. It was in written form then. Now it is the computerized era.

In Polgolla, there is a real-time data centre. It has proper rainfall data about the buffer stock. There are details about the capacity of the reservoir concerned, the rates at which water flows in and is discharged.

The government always argues that they don’t have proper data. But it is very clear right now. The Mahaweli Development Authority and the CEB data clearly showed what happened on November 26 and 27. In the span of 48 hours, a sharp increase of water level had occurred. 

After November 26, you were able to see heavy rainfalls in Randenigala, Victoria, Upper Kotmale, Kotmale, in Nawalapitiya. By around 9 o’clock, someone there should know that all these reservoirs were going to overflow during the day. So they have to manage the water levels accordingly.

For instance, if the Kotmale Reservoir is managed from around 9 a.m. with a controlled release of about 800 cubic metres per second, the resulting rise in the Mahaveli River downstream is limited to roughly one foot—posing no flood risk at all. Even if such a release is sustained until the following day, it would still not trigger flooding. A huge flood happened in Gampola, Gelioya, Gatambe or Peradeniya and Randenigala, though. The Mahiyangane town was inundated and a lot of destruction happened as a result.

 A proper analysis of rainfall data from Hunnasgiriya and surrounding areas would have enabled timely warnings to affected communities. Instead, people were forced to flee only when massive landslides were already crashing into their homes.

Well before the disaster occurred, Assistant Divisional Secretaries and local police stations had the capacity to warn residents to evacuate vulnerable areas. In some locations, alerts were issued only after the 27th or 28th—by which time the damage had already occurred. Crucially, there was no significant rainfall after the 28th. Following Cyclone Ditwah’s landfall, the system moved northwards, while rainfall across Badulla, Kandy, Matale and surrounding districts remained minimal, posing no real threat. In effect, the risk was limited to just two days and could have been managed with timely intervention.

Q So you mean to argue that there was no proper coordination among these institutions?

That’s the thing. The most responsible person is the President because he is the head of the Disaster Management Committee.

He has not been able to convene that committee before. He did it on November 27. Then, the disaster has already happened. Suddenly, all the gates were open and a huge volume of water was released to the Mahaweli River.

QYou hold the President directly responsible for this?

I don’t know whether he was informed or not. But there should be an impartial, professional inquiry into this matter.

QHow can the President be taken to task over this because he is the Executive President?

The system remains. The disaster management act, disaster management policies, disaster management action plans are there. The Disaster Management Centre is there. The Disaster Management Director General is there. He must brief the President.

 They should evaluate the whole picture and alert the President. I don’t know if it has happened or not, but there should be an impartial inquiry. 

QThe World Bank has estimated the damages to be US $ 4 .1 billion. According to your knowledge and experience, how long will it take for Sri Lanka to recover from this disaster?

I think within one year, we can recover. But you have to have a proper pragmatic plan. First of all, they have to identify where to dump debris. Now, everyone knows that they are dumping things everywhere. But they have to identify some places to dump debris. That is one thing.

The second thing, you can’t keep people there in safety centres. You must involve these people to rebuild their houses. In order to do that, you have to identify proper plots of land and prepare them to stand resilient against landslides and other environmental disasters in the future.

QAre you referring to smart engineering techniques like in Japan?

Not in Japan, everywhere, they have been practiced.

QWe see a lot of assistance coming in from different countries. India has come out in a big way. How do you see this phenomenon?

That is India’s soft power politics. Earlier, they had hard power politics in the 1980s. Now they have this kind of soft power politics.

We have to choose what to do- what to do with Indian aid or the other countries ‘aid. We have to have a proper plan to do that. For example, I think the government should redraft the budget proposals.

The government is now trying to have both budget proposals and the reconstruction phase as well. For example, the government capital expenditure budget during 2025 is around Rs.500 billion. The President himself admitted that it’s around 45 percent successful.

He is now going to handle Rs.2000 billion this year. The government should redirect and reformulate the budget proposals. For example, they are planning to have expressway linkage from Rambukkana to Kandy. Kandy is now an environmentally fragile city.

The population there should not be increased. There is a proper scientific urban plan developed by Japan. So instead of this expressway, they have to develop this urban plan for Kandy.

There is an alternative plan for Kandy’s road network. That is to connect Kurunegala to Galagedara via Mawathagama by a four-lane road. It’s one-tenth of the cost of the expressway. Ratnapura is also a fragile city right now. They are trying to have a Ratnapura expressway. All these projects are there.

That seems to me that the government is trying to have both things. But, they don’t have the proper capacity. Some proposals such as these expressways are unscientific. They are against the national physical plan of Sri Lanka. 

QWe have to redo this central expressway plan. Don’t we?

Yes, definitely. The Colombo – Kurunegala expressway is okay. But beyond that, you have to have a separate plan to connect Kegalle and Kandy with this expressway. It has to be a separate plan. 

There is a plan by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to connect Homagama in Colombo with Pelmadulla via Ratnapura. It is a four-lane road. What we should do is to dedicate the inner two lanes as an expressway. Other two lanes as a public way so that way you can reduce the cost by one-tenth. All these plans are there in the Road Development Authority (RDA). That is to reduce environmental cost, urbanisation problem and also the debt problem.

The bigger question is how such projects are to be financed. With commercial borrowing costs hovering around 8 percent—and even IMF lending close to 7 percent—the space for debt-financed expressway construction is extremely limited. The proposed US$200 million from the IMF risks repeating past mistakes. Sri Lanka has been down this road before: under Mahinda Rajapaksa, high-interest loans were channelled into expressway construction that generated little or no revenue, contributing directly to the eventual bankruptcy.

There is a real danger that the current administration will follow a similar path. India has so far extended around US$350 million in soft loans, but Sri Lanka must be acutely mindful of interest rates and, more importantly, the economic viability of the projects tied to such financing. Beyond this, the government has indicated that it intends to pursue an international donor conference.

QHow do you look at the participation of these foreign powers in the rebuilding process here?

First of all, the government should have a proper plan as per the national fiscal plan to rebuild all these broad networks and urban areas and also the livelihood of the people. Without that, you can’t go to donor conferences with empty hands. My opinion is that the government has enough money in the treasury.

As per the Committee on Public Finance meeting, Rs. 1 trillion remains with the treasury. They hold this buffer stock. They are spending around Rs. 20 billion as per the treasury. So what is the World Bank estimate? The World Bank estimate is around 1,300 billion. 

It’s borrowed money. They overdrew money at the additional cost of 20 billion per annum. They should use this money. There is no need for this country to be indebted further.

QDo you think there should be a level playing field for all major countries to participate in the process?

 The countries can come. The government should only decide what kind of grants and loans are needed and what is best for Sri Lanka. It should look at the interest rates they are going to ask for us. But the government has Rs. 1 trillion in the treasury.

QFinally, there are a lot of allegations against the government and the President regarding the delay in the appointment of the Auditor General. What is your view?

The government is effectively waiting for the establishment of a new Constitutional Council so it can secure a nominee of its own—essentially a party loyalist. This directly contradicts the promises made when it came to power last year, when it assured the public that key oversight institutions, particularly the Auditor General’s Department and the Audit Council, would function as genuinely independent bodies.

That independence is now being systematically dismantled. A politically aligned Auditor General is set to take charge at a time when the Committee on Public Accounts (COPA) is being empowered with some judicial authority. COPA’s work is fundamentally driven by reports issued by the Auditor General. If both the Auditor General and the COPA chair are party loyalists, the risk of selective enforcement and political punishment—under the guise of parliamentary oversight—becomes very real.

What is unfolding mirrors troubling developments seen at the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC). The appointment of its Director General itself has been challenged as unlawful, yet the commission has launched a wave of cases claiming to expose bureaucratic misconduct and financial misappropriation. However, accountability remains one-sided. Responsibility at the political level is conspicuously absent.

 Kamanthi Wickramasinghe   Courtesy Daily Mirror

Sri Lanka was not ready for Cyclone Ditwah, both in terms of the intensity of rainfall and winds,  and also in terms of infrastructure. Even though Sri Lanka discussed about incorporating disaster-resilient infrastructure post-Tsunami, many of these discussions remained in black and white. In this backdrop, hydrology experts underscore the fact that Sri Lanka should prioritise on proactive planning, resilient infrastructure and community readiness, at least now.  In a candid interview with the Daily Mirror, Lakshman Galagedara, Professor in hydrology and agrogeophysics at Grenfell Campus, Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada,  explained the importance of proper land-use planning, advance weather forecasting and nature-based approaches in mitigating natural disasters. Prof. Galagedara is a leading researcher in sustainable land and water resources management, with a strong focus on agriculture, water security, and food security.

Excerpts : 

Lakshman Galagedara, Professor in hydrology and agrogeophysics at Grenfell Campus

Q : Sri Lanka wasn’t ready for the kind of disaster it faced following Cyclone Ditwah. As a coastal nation how should we have been prepared?

For any natural disaster, including Ditwah, proactive planning, resilient infrastructure, and community readiness are critical to avoid any catastrophes. I think that the country never thought of such a strong cyclone that would cover the entire country within a very short time period. We did not have advance forecasting instruments like Doppler Radar or sophisticated computing power to forecast it accurately. Correct land-use planning for zoning and strict enforcement of that zoning is essential.  In addition, we should have clear evacuation plans, public education and even drills, well-equipped emergency response systems particularly led by respective communities, and coordinated communication across all levels of government. Long-term climate adaptation planning should be a priority now, which should be guided through proper land-use decisions and infrastructure investments to reduce exposure and vulnerability before disasters occur.

Q : Over 100,000 houses have been partially damaged and over 6000 of these are fully damaged. Going forward, what sort of infrastructure is necessary for Sri Lanka to minimise damage caused by disasters?

We are basically living everywhere without a correct plan or identification of zones for different activities. We have very limited land and most of it has been allocated for agriculture, plantation crops etc (other than the around 20% for forests and wildlife). So that, housing, business and services areas should be properly planned rather than building everywhere. The best is to go for 4-6 storey buildings on identified locations/clusters (sub-divisions),  and the ground floor can be allocated for business and services. Each building can have 4 to 6 units horizontally and 4-6 vertically. This will bring to around 16 (4 * 4) to 36 (6 * 6) units in one building. 

Q : Much attention is now being given to Central Highlands which is described as a fragile area. It is a watershed area that has a huge population. What are your observations on this matter?

Yes, the biggest issue in the Central Highlands is unplanned living and livelihood. It is a very sensitive area where most of our river basins originate and drain radially to every direction of the country. The other point is that other than a Hydrological/Physical Unit, watersheds are also considered  Social-economic and Political Units. That means people live there and take decisions that will affect directly or indirectly on the ecosystem. In the past, we have had politically supported/motivated land encroachments. This has created a lot of pressure in some of the most sensitive areas leading to all these issues including  increasing the frequency and magnitude of landslides. We need to immediately stop (if land encroachment is still being done) and start zoning. When managing sensitive areas in watersheds, degraded/risky areas must be corrected promptly. In addition to the high-tech and expensive engineering approaches, we should also look into simple and cost effective Nature Based Solutions” when restoring degraded watersheds.

Q :  Do we have the capacity to decentralise the population living in such vulnerable areas with prevailing land issues for instance?

Yes, I think we should begin with proper zoning and the development of planned subdivisions, such as 4–6 storey housing complexes. For residents interested in home gardening, suitable nearby land can be designated for community gardens. This zoning process should be led by a trans-disciplinary team that includes researchers from universities as well as representatives from relevant government departments and institutions. Ideally, this work would be overseen by a high-level body operating directly under the President.

Q :  Sri Lanka has lacked scientific approaches in terms of reconstruction post-tsunami, resettling people. What are some scientific approaches that need to be incorporated in post-disaster management? 

We can’t say we do not have scientific approaches, but the issue is the those approaches are either not fully developed or implemented correctly. 

We should focus on: Ecosystem based approaches (nature-based solutions) including identification of sensitive areas, restoration of wetlands in some areas as needed; Watershed and hydrological modelling, specifically under the threats of changing climates to identify/predict potentials risks; Land-use planning and identification & demarcation of risky areas (these are being done  to some extent by the NBRI); Socio-economic and livelihood assessment, focusing on what has to be done and where,  and what should not  be done; Data driven decision making through transdisciplinary approaches; and Community awareness and strengthening.

Q : We don’t have the technology to determine accurate rainfall and early warnings. What should be our immediate priorities in terms of getting down the necessary technology at this juncture?

As far as I am aware, we are not fully equipped with all the necessary instrumentation (for example, lack of Doppler Radar systems to track Cyclones/Severe weather). I think, the government is going to install one or two very soon. The other point is lack of a data sharing culture, which hinders some of the forecasting by independent scientists. I think data belongs to the people as most of these are generated through tax payer’s money. So that, data should be freely available for researchers to use (This – Open Data Policy is the world trend now). 

At the same time, we should place greater emphasis on scientific approaches such as AI-based tools and high-performance computing to simulate weather and hydrological events, as well as hazards including landslides, floods, and droughts. Downscaled future climate projections under different emission scenarios can help forecast long-term impacts and identify potential risks more accurately.

Q : What are the challenges and opportunities we have in terms of transforming Sri Lanka into a disaster-resilient nation?

Challenges are as follows; 

High exposure to multiple hazards in particular due to changing climates (climate change has increased frequency and magnitude natural hazards like severe weather worldwide) and unplanned development. Island nations like Sri Lanka are highly vulnerable to these changes and effects would be severe similar to what we experience with Ditwah. Poor land use and high population densities increases the chances for catastrophes and low-income communities are highly vulnerable to these disasters (especially due to aging and vulnerable infrastructures). 

Limited use of science in decision-making: Gaps in data integration, modelling capacity, and evidence-based planning hinder effective risk reduction.

Institutional fragmentation: Weak coordination among agencies leads to overlaps, delays, and inefficient disaster response and recovery.

In terms of opportunities, the priority should be given to take the advantages from advances in science and technology (as mentioned earlier: AI, remote sensing, GIS, and high-performance computing enable better hazard forecasting, early warning, and risk mapping).

Focus on Ecosystem/Nature-based solutions (mangroves, wetlands, forests, biodiversity etc) and use of Trans-disciplinary approaches in understanding problems and then finding solutions.  

Policy and planning reforms: land-use planning, zoning (where to live and livelihood and what to do in sensitive/risky areas. These will significantly lower future losses.

Balanced Development and Environmental Sustainability: Again, supported by proper Zoning and land-use planning and will avoid encroachments to sensitive areas.

Community engagement, and local knowledge: Empowering communities through education, preparedness, and participatory planning strengthens resilience. Should also focus on Equity-Diversity-Inclusion in all aspects of planning and implementation. This also goes with Early Warning & Communication Systems: Expand real-time monitoring networks for rainfall, river levels, and severe weather indicators; Standardise multilingual alert systems (SMS, radio, sirens, apps) to ensure all communities receive timely warnings; Integrate community-based communication networks so trusted local leaders can amplify official alerts.

Q :  What are some key lessons we need to learn from the recent disaster? 

Very simply, we need to change the way we think—both as individuals and as communities, and as a country—and be prepared for real change. Challenges will continue, and the frequency and intensity of hazards and disasters are increasing. Poor land-use planning and high population density can turn natural hazards into major catastrophes. Preparing for the future requires genuine change. This is not only the responsibility of the government; citizens also share equal responsibility. We must listen to guidance from government officials and agencies and be ready to adapt our ways of living and our livelihoods to build a safer and more resilient society.

Courtesy The Daily Mirror

Sri Lanka’s Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (TRCSL) has blocked access to a website that was referenced in a Grade 6 English language module, following mounting public concern over its inclusion in printed school learning material.

The regulator confirmed that access to the website has been restricted through all Sri Lankan internet service providers, citing the need to prevent further exposure while authorities examine how the reference appeared in an official educational publication.

Courtesy Hiru News

The Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) suspended the party membership of Colombo Municipal CouncillorSohra Buhari with immediate effect after she voted in favour of the Colombo Municipal Council budget.

Party General Secretary Nizam Kariapper issued a letter stating that party leader Rauff Hakeem personally instructed opposition members to vote against the budget proposal.

The SLMC identifies the decision to ignore these directives as a serious breach of party discipline.

Courtesy Hiru News

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Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) National Organiser, Namal Rajapaksa, has accused the government of deliberately delaying the appointment of a permanent Auditor General to facilitate high-level corruption.

Speaking to the media, the Member of Parliament pointed out that the crucial oversight position has remained vacant for eight months, following a standoff between the President and the Constitutional Council.

According to Rajapaksa, the President’s attempts to install a “close associate” in the role were rightfully blocked by the Constitutional Council, a move that has reportedly led to some ministers criticising the Council’s independence.

He alleged that the government is desperate to avoid a truly independent Auditor General who would scrutinise controversial transactions, such as the illegal importation of double-cab vehicles, the irregular release of 323 containers from the port, and the procurement of substandard medicines.

The MP issued a stark warning that this “administrative game” could jeopardise the country’s lifeline of foreign assistance.

He noted that international financial agencies like the World Bank, IMF, and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) require transparent, audited accounts before releasing loans or aid.

Borella Handiya

උපුටා ගැන්ම ලංකා සී නිව්ස්

අධ්‍යාපනික සංශෝධන ඔස්සේ පාසල් දරුවන් අතර සමලිංගිකත්වය ප්‍රචලිත කිරීමේ ප්‍රයත්නයක් පවතින බවට වර්තමානයේ විවේචන එල්ල වෙමින් පවතී. 

හයවන ශ්‍රේණියේ ඉංග්‍රීසි විෂය ඉගෙනුම් කට්ටලයක අඩංගු වූ යොමුවක් (Link) හරහා සම ලිංගික සහකරුවන් සොයා දෙන අන්තර්ජාල අඩවියක් වෙත යොමු කර ඇති බවට කොළඹදී පැවැත්වූ මාධ්‍ය හමුවකදී අනාවරණය විය.

අදාළ වෙබ් අඩවිය නිරීක්ෂණය කිරීමේදී එය සමලිංගික සබඳතා සඳහා පුද්ගලයින් සම්බන්ධ කර දෙන වේදිකාවක් බව තහවුරු වී තිබේ. 

මෙම සිදුවීමත් සමඟ අදාළ ඉගෙනුම් ද්‍රව්‍ය පාසල් වෙත ලබා දීම නතර කිරීමට රජය වහාම පියවර ගෙන ඇති අතර, මෙම බරපතළ වරද සිදු වූ ආකාරය පිළිබඳව පුළුල් පරීක්ෂණයක් ද මේ වන විට ආරම්භ කර ඇත.

මේ අතර අධ්‍යාපන අමාත්‍යාංශයේ ලේකම් නාලක කලුවැව මහතා පවසන්නේ ජාතික අධ්‍යාපන ආයතනය විසින් පිළියෙළ කළ, මේ වන විට මුද්‍රණය අවසන් කර ඇති, 6 ශ්‍රේණිය ඉංග්‍රිසි භාෂාවට අදාළ මොඩියුලයක යම් නුසුදුසු වෙබ් අඩවියක නාමය ලෙස දැක්වෙන හැඳින්වීමක් කර ඇති බවට ලද පැමිණිල්ලක් මත ඒ පිළිබඳ ව සොයා බැලූ අතර එම පැමිණිල්ල නිවැරදි බවට තහවුරු වී ඇති බවය. 

එබැවින් වහාම එම මොඩියුලය බෙදාහැරීම අත්හිටවනු ලැබු අතර මේ සම්බන්ධයෙන් වහාම ක්‍රියාත්මක වන පරිදි පරීක්ෂණයක් ද ආරම්භ කර ඇති බවත් අපරාධ පරික්ෂණ දෙපාර්තමේන්තුව වෙත ද පැමිණිලි කිරීමට අපේක්ෂිත බවත් හෙතෙම පවසයි.

Borella Handiya

උපුටාගැණීම මුහුනුපොත

වර්තමාන ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ සමාජ ජාලා මාධ්‍ය තුළත්, පොදු සමාජ සංවාදය තුළත් “අචින්ති තම්පි භවති චින්තිතම්පි විනස්සති” යන ගාථා පාඨය අතිශය ජනප්‍රිය මාතෘකාවක් බවට පත්ව තිබේ. විශේෂයෙන් “කත්නෝරුවේ හාමුදුරුවෝ” වැනි අය විසින් මෙම ගාථාවට ලබා දෙනු ලබන “හිතන දේ වෙන්නේ නෑ – වෙන දේ හිතාගන්න බෑ” යන සරල සහ අලංකාර යැයි හැඟෙන අර්ථකථනය නිසා බොහෝ දෙනා මෙය මහා දාර්ශනික සත්‍යයක් ලෙස වැළඳගෙන ඇත. නමුත් කණගාටුවට කරුණ නම්, මෙම ප්‍රචලිත අදහස හුදෙක් බුද්ධ භාෂිතයට පටහැනි, අර්ථ විකෘතියක් සහිත ප්‍රකාශයක් වීමයි. “සරභමිග ජාතකය”, “මහා ජනක ජාතකය” සහ “ඒතදග්ග පාලිය” වැනි මූලාශ්‍රයන්හි සඳහන් වන මෙම ගාථාව හරහා බුදුදහම අපේක්ෂා කරන ගැඹුරු අර්ථය, වර්තමානයේ ප්‍රචලිත වී ඇති අදහසට වඩා හාත්පසින්ම වෙනස්ය. මෙය හුදෙක් ත්‍රීරෝද රථයක හෝ පච්චයක (tattoo) කොටා ගැනීමට තරම් ආකර්ෂණීය වැකියක් ලෙස පෙනුනද, ඉන් සමාජගත කරනුයේ බුදුදහමේ මූලික ඉගැන්වීම් වන වීර්යය සහ හේතු ඵල දහම ප්‍රතික්ෂේප කරන මිත්‍යා මතවාදයකි.

මෙම “හිතන දේ වෙන්නේ නෑ” යන මතය බුද්ධ වචනයක් ලෙස පිළිගතහොත්, එය බුද්ධත්වයේ මූලික පදනමටම පහරක් එල්ල කරයි. මන්දයත්, ගෞතම බුදුරජාණන් වහන්සේ සාරාසංඛ්‍ය කල්ප ලක්ෂයකට පෙර දීපංකර බුදුරදුන් පාමුලදී තමන් වහන්සේ අනාගතයේ බුදු වන බවට “සිතූ” උතුම් ප්‍රාර්ථනාව මෙම තර්කයට අනුව ඉටු නොවිය යුතුව තිබුණි. බෝසතාණන් වහන්සේ එදා ස්ත්‍රියක්ව ඉපදී සිටියදී “මම කවදා හෝ මගේ අයියා මෙන් බුදුවෙනවා” යැයි සිතූ සිතුවිල්ල, වත්මන් විකෘති අර්ථකථනයට අනුව නම් කිසිදා යථාර්ථයක් නොවනු ඇත. එසේ වී නම් අද අපට දේශනා කිරීමට ගෞතම බුදු කෙනෙකු පහළ නොවනු ඇත. එබැවින් යමක් සිතූ පමණින් එය සිදු නොවන බව කීම එක් දෙයක් වුවත්, සිතන දේ කිසිදා සිදු නොවන බවත්, සිදු වන දේ කිසිදා සිතාගත නොහැකි බවත් පැවසීම බෝසත් ප්‍රතිපදාවටත්, සසර පුරා පාරමිතා පිරීමේ සංකල්පයටත් කරන බලවත් නිග්‍රහයකි.

තවද, “වෙන දේ හිතාගන්න බෑ” යනුවෙන් පවසමින් ලෝකයේ සියලු සිදුවීම් අහඹු හෝ අද්භූත දේවල් ලෙස හුවා දැක්වීම බුදුදහමේ ඉගැන්වෙන නියාම ධර්ම පහට (උතු, බීජ, චිත්ත, කම්ම, ධම්ම) මුළුමනින්ම පටහැනිය. උදාහරණයක් ලෙස බීජ නියාමයට අනුව අඹ ඇටයක් පැල කළ විට ලැබෙන්නේ අඹ පැලයකි; එයින් පොල් පැලයක් ලැබෙන්නේ නැත. යම් සම්භාවිතාවක් තුළ සිදු විය හැකි දේ වෙනස් විය හැකි වුවත්, ඍජුවම “වෙන දේ හිතාගන්න බෑ” යැයි පැවසීමෙන් ගම්‍ය වන්නේ කිසිදු හේතු ඵල සම්බන්ධයක් නොමැති අරාජික ස්වභාවයකි. අවාසනාවකට අපේ සමාජය මෙවැනි ගැඹුරක් නැති, ආටෝප සාටෝප වදන්වලට රැවටී ඇත. ජ්‍යෝතිෂය ප්‍රතික්ෂේප කිරීමට “කිං කරිස්සති තාරකා” වැනි පාඨයක් අන්තනෝමතිකව යොදාගන්නා සේම, මෙම ගාථාව ද පුද්ගලික අත්දැකීම් පොදු ධර්මතාවක් ලෙස වරදවා වටහා ගනිමින් භාවිතා කරනු පෙනේ. සත්‍ය වශයෙන්ම මෙය එක් අවස්ථාවකදී සිදු වූ විශේෂ සිදුවීමක් මිස, සමස්ත විශ්වයටම බලපාන නියත ධර්මතාවක් නොවේ.

මෙම ගාථාව ඇතුළත් සරභමිග සහ මහා ජනක ජාතක අටුවාවන් විමසීමේදී එහි සැබෑ අර්ථය මනාව පැහැදිලි වේ. සරභ මිග ජාතකයේදී මෙය දේශනා කරනුයේ රජු මුවා පසුපස එලවාගෙන ගොස් අනපේක්ෂිත ලෙස වළකට වැටුණු සිද්ධිය අරබයාය. එහිදී “අචින්තිතම්පි” යන්නෙන් අදහස් කළේ රජු තමා වළක වැටෙතැයි නොසිතූ බවත්, මුවා අල්ලා ගැනීමට සිතූ අදහස ඉටු නොවූ බවත්ය. එය එම පුද්ගලයාට අදාළ විශේෂ සිදුවීමක් විග්‍රහ කිරීමකි. නමුත් වඩාත් වැදගත් වන්නේ මහා ජනක ජාතකයේ එන විග්‍රහයයි. එහි පැහැදිලිව දක්වන්නේ හුදෙක් සම්පත් හෝ ජයග්‍රහණ “සිතූ පමණින්” (න හි චින්තාමයා භොගා) නොලැබෙන බවයි. යමක් ලබා ගැනීමට නම් අනිවාර්යයෙන්ම “වීර්යය” තිබිය යුතුය. මහා ජනක කුමරු සිතුවේ යුද්ධ කොට රාජ්‍යය ගැනීමට වුවත්, ඔහුගේ අප්‍රතිහත වීර්යය නිසා යුද්ධයකින් තොරවම රාජ්‍යය ලැබුණි. එනම් වීර්යවන්තයාට තමන් සිතුවාටත් වඩා යහපත් ප්‍රතිඵල අත්කර ගත හැකි බව මිස, සිතන කිසිවක් සිදු නොවන බව ඉන් නොකියැවේ.

අවසාන වශයෙන්, මෙම ගාථා පාඨයේ සැබෑ බෞද්ධ ඉගැන්වීම වන්නේ ප්‍රාර්ථනාව හෝ සිතුවිල්ල පමණක් ප්‍රමාණවත් නොවන බවත්, එය යථාර්ථයක් කර ගැනීමට වීර්යය අත්‍යවශ්‍ය බවත්ය. “භාවනානුයුක්ත සූත්‍රයේ” සඳහන් පරිදි කිකිළියක් බිත්තර දමා ඒවා රකිමින් වීර්යය නොකර, පැටවුන් එනු ඇතැයි හුදෙක් සිතා සිටීමෙන් ඵලක් නැත. නමුත් යමෙක් නිවැරදිව වීර්යය කරන්නේ නම්, ඔහුට සිතන දේ සාක්ෂාත් කර ගැනීමටත්, ඇතැම් විට ඊටත් වඩා ඉහළ ප්‍රතිඵල ලබා ගැනීමටත් හැකියාව ලැබේ. එබැවින් වර්තමානයේ ප්‍රචලිත “කත්නෝරු බණ” වැනි විකෘති අර්ථකථන පසුපස නොයා, ධර්මයේ සඳහන් සැබෑ අර්ථය වන “වීර්යයේ වැදගත්කම” වටහා ගැනීම බෞද්ධයාගේ වගකීමකි. බුදු වදන් විලාසිතාවක් හෝ ට්‍රෙන්ඩ් එකක් කර නොගෙන, එහි ප්‍රායෝගික අරුත දිවි පෙවෙතට ගලපා ගැනීම තුළින් පමණක් සිතන පතන සම්පත් උදා කර ගත හැකි වනු ඇත.

Courtesy Daily Mirror

The unsavoury experience the writer had in this restaurant is not simply about the cost of a meal. It highlights a worrying trend in some tourist areas where foreign currency practices appear to be quietly normalised, even for everyday domestic transactions 

• A late lunch near a seaside restaurant in Midigama turns out to be a disaster 
• It was only after we had finished our meal that we were informed that payment could not be made in Sri Lankan Rupees
• Businesses aren’t permitted to compel customers to pay in foreign currency for domestic services, when prices are displayed in rupees

When Sri Lankans are required to pay in foreign currency at local establishments, they are effectively treated as outsiders in their own economy

By Giselle Gunewardene 

I went to Paradise Cove in Midigama for a late lunch with three friends on December 26, 2025, expecting nothing more than a relaxed meal by the sea. Instead, the experience left me unsettled and questioning how such practices can take place in Sri Lanka without scrutiny

At the entrance and near the counter, notices were clearly displayed stating that cash payments were not accepted and that only card payments were allowed. While inconvenient, this alone did not seem unusual. What was not disclosed anywhere, either on the notices or verbally, was that card payments would be processed only in a foreign currency.

The menu presented to us listed all prices in Sri Lankan Rupees. There was no mention that payment in local currency would not be accepted, nor any indication that a foreign currency would be used at the point of billing. Based on the information provided, there was no reason to assume that a meal ordered and priced in rupees would ultimately have to be paid for in anything else.

It was only after we had finished our meal that we were informed that payment could not be made in Sri Lankan Rupees and that the card machine would charge us in Euros. With no cash option and no local currency option available, we were left with no practical choice but to proceed with the transaction as instructed.

The final bill for our table of four came to €150.70.

This is where the issue becomes more serious. Under Sri Lankan law, the Sri Lankan Rupee is the sole legal tender for domestic commercial transactions. Restaurants and cafés operating within the country are required to charge and settle bills in local currency. Charging customers in foreign currency is permitted only in very limited and specifically authorised circumstances.

The Central Bank of Sri Lanka regulates all foreign exchange transactions in the country. Businesses are not legally permitted to compel customers to pay in foreign currency for domestic services, particularly when prices are displayed in rupees. Refusing local currency while insisting on settlement in Euros directly undermines the legal status of the national currency.

Beyond the legal aspect, the experience also raises fundamental consumer protection concerns. Key information about payment terms was disclosed only after the service had been consumed. At that point, refusal was no longer a realistic option. There was no transparency about the exchange rate applied, and no opportunity for informed consent before ordering.

This experience is not simply about the cost of a meal. It highlights a worrying trend in some tourist areas where foreign currency practices appear to be quietly normalised, even for everyday domestic transactions. When Sri Lankans are required to pay in foreign currency at local establishments, they are effectively treated as outsiders in their own economy.

Tourism is vital to towns like Midigama, but it cannot come at the cost of disregarding national law and basic consumer rights. Transparency, lawful billing practices and respect for the Sri Lankan Rupee are not optional. They are obligations.

What happened at Paradise Cove Medigama on 26 December 2025 deserves attention, not just as a single incident, but as part of a larger issue that calls for clearer enforcement and greater accountability.

Several attempts made by the Daily Mirror to contact Paradise Cove via calls, WhatsApp and email proved futile. 

Courtesy Daily Mirror

Colombo, Dec. 29 (Daily Mirror) – Foreign Affairs Minister Vijitha Herath has proposed that China support the installation of electric vehicle (EV) charging stations across Sri Lanka as a donation, in line with the country’s plans to import electric vehicles in large numbers, including from China.

The Minister said the initiative would be crucial as the government is also planning to introduce more electric buses in the future. He made these remarks during a meeting with Chinese Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Qi Zhenhong, held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs this morning (29).

Ambassador Qi Zhenhong responded positively to the proposal and agreed to convey it to the Chinese government for consideration.

During the meeting, Minister Herath also requested urgent Chinese assistance for the reconstruction of railway lines and bridges damaged by the ongoing flood situation in the country. The Ambassador agreed to immediately draw the attention of the Chinese government to the request.

Meanwhile, Ambassador Qi Zhenhong said he hopes to assess the damage caused by Cyclone Ditva and discuss possible avenues of assistance with the Chinese government, covering all necessary sectors.

උපුටා ගැන්ම ලංකා සී නිව්ස්

ඇල්ල ඇතුළු දිවයිනේ විවිධ සංචාරක කලාපවල සේවය කරන ස්වාධීන රියදුරන්ට එල්ල වන බිය ගැන්වීම් සහ නීතිවිරෝධී බාධා කිරීම් සම්බන්ධයෙන් PickMe සමාගම පොලිස්පතිවරයා වෙත ලිඛිතව සිය කනස්සල්ල පළ කර තිබේ.

ඩිජිටල් මොබිලිටි සොලියුෂන්ස් ලංකා පීඑල්සී (Digital Mobility Solutions Lanka PLC) ආයතනය පෙන්වා දෙන්නේ, ජංගම යෙදුම් හරහා ප්‍රවාහන සේවා සපයන රියදුරන් පිරිසක් මෑත කාලීනව පහරදීම්, දේපළ හානි සහ මාර්ග අවහිර කිරීම් වැනි සිදුවීම්වලට මුහුණ දී ඇති බවයි. මෙවැනි ඇතැම් ප්‍රචණ්ඩකාරී සිදුවීම් සමාජ මාධ්‍ය ජාලා ඔස්සේ ද ප්‍රසිද්ධියට පත්ව තිබුණි.

පොදු මාර්ගවල කිසිදු පුද්ගලයෙකුට හෝ කණ්ඩායමකට “සීමිත ප්‍රවේශ කලාප” (Exclusive Zones) ප්‍රකාශයට පත් කිරීමට නීත්‍යානුකූල බලයක් නොමැති බව පික්මී සමාගම මෙහිදී අවධාරණය කරයි. මෙවැනි අත්තනෝමතික ක්‍රියා මගින් මහජන සාමය සහ මගී සුරක්ෂිතතාව බිඳවැටෙනවා පමණක් නොව, ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ සංචාරක ප්‍රතිරූපයට ද බරපතළ හානියක් සිදුවන බව එම සමාගම පෙන්වා දෙයි.

මෙම තත්ත්වය පාලනය කිරීම සඳහා පොලිස් දෙපාර්තමේන්තුව මගින් පැහැදිලි උපදෙස් මාලාවක් නිකුත් කරන ලෙසත්, සංවිධානාත්මක බිය ගැන්වීම් සම්බන්ධයෙන් කිසිදු දිවයින පුරා ස්ථාවර ලෙස නීතිය ක්‍රියාත්මක කරන ලෙසත් එම සමාගම පොලිස්පතිවරයාගෙන් වැඩිදුරටත් ඉල්ලා සිටී.

Courtesy Hiru News

A fundamental rights petition will be filed in the Supreme Court by January 15 regarding the failure to issue timely public warnings for Cyclone “Ditwah”.

The Independent Lawyers Association, representing the Joint Opposition, alleges that responsible state agencies acted without accountability by withholding vital safety signals.

Convener Dinesh Vidanapathirana notes that the state remains responsible for the extensive loss of life and property damage caused by this lack of preparation.

The legal team plans to utilise previous judicial precedents, such as the 2019 Easter Sunday bombing verdict and the ruling on the national economic crisis, to prove state negligence.

Respondents in the case include the Secretary to the President, the Directors General of the Meteorology and Irrigation departments, and relevant Ministry Secretaries.

The association intends to call a relative of a deceased victim, a religious leader, and a businessman as witnesses.

Courtesy Hiru News

Displaced villagers from the Kotmale East region gathered at the Kotmale Divisional Secretariat today (29) to protest the non-payment of promised relief funds and the Rs. 25,000 allowance for house cleaning.

A tense situation arose between the residents and government officials during the visit. Ven. Kalugala Kashyapa Thera, the Chief Incumbent of Karagasthalawa Sugatharama Temple, joined the villagers in stating that the government allowance intended for cleaning flood-affected homes remains unpaid.

The residents further alleged that Grama Niladhari officers in the landslide-prone Kotmale East area failed to visit their divisions for over a month.

The protestors pointed out that despite presidential circulars mandating swift relief, the conduct of officers attached to the Kotmale Divisional Secretariat remains extremely slow.

As the Divisional Secretary was absent, the group met with Assistant Divisional Secretary Thivanka Dasanayake.

He assured the residents that any unintentional errors or delays by the staff would be investigated and rectified immediately. Meanwhile, Ven. Kashyapa Thera noted that the temple continues to function as a camp for the displaced persons who cannot yet return to their homes.

e-Con e-News

blog: https://eesrilanka.wordpress.com

‘Before you study the economics, study the economists!’

e-Con e-News 21-26 December 2025

The higher the bishop, the more surprising the confession. But just as bishops’ earthly bodies come layered in vestments, in surplices & cassocks, in sparkling imported rags, so do their words. Their pronouncements, their ‘orations’, come garbed and garbled in metaphor, in analogy, in metonymy, in allegory & euphemism. Hence the earthly art of the exegesis, the line-by-line parsing (deconstruction?) of what was said, may have been said, may not have been said, what cannot be said & yet was meant to be said: By the gods, by the laity & their earthly interpreters, and printers (thanks to the Chinese for paper & print), all demand close survey. Here then is the Bishop of Colombo:

‘Nations in economic crises are nevertheless compelled

to turn to global organisations like the IMF for direction

& reconstruction. Since most who have been there,

seldom stand on their own feet, wise national carers

may not approach the negotiating table, uncritically.

The suspicion, that such organisations eventually ‘grow’

ailing nations into feeder forces for empire economics,

is not unfounded. The recent cyclone gave us a nasty taste

of these realities. Repeatedly declared a natural disaster,

this is not the whole truth. Empire economics which

indiscriminately vandalise our earth, had already set

the stage for the ravage of our land & the loss of

loved ones & possessions. As always, those affected

first & most, were the least among us.’ – Bishop

Duleep de Chickera (ee Economists, Anglican

Bishop Criticizes IMF & Plantations)

*

The bishop’s word carry not just the weight of the local church. The bishop of Colombo (apparently, a designation for life) belongs to the Church of Ceylon. The Church of Ceylon covers all of Sri Lanka’s provinces except Jaffna, which curiously belongs to the church of the ‘South India diocese for northern Sri Lanka’. Yet all these Anglicans come under the ‘extraprovincial jurisdiction’ of England’s Archbishop of Canterbury. Though the real head of the Anglican Church is the King of England. The English king is not just the head of this broad church, it is also the commander of the military forces of the English. Their churches there are now empty shells, and their highfaluting ideals carry no heft, but the English military still gets up to all sorts of mischief.

     The bishop’s words were published in this week’s Financial Times (FT) to greet Christmas day (a season of happy tree-slaughtering, about which dollar-ed tree huggers like the Wildlife & Nature Protection Society – WNPS – keep as silent as night). The FT is part of the Wijeya Group, belonging to the Wijewardene clan. This includes perpetual presidential aspirant Ranil Wickremesinghe. And all of them are ardent disciples of the ‘English empire’, including its latest avatara, the white settler state of the USA. The Wijeya Group has ‘ink in their veins’, publishing the most popular private rags in the country. So what does the Bishop exactly mean, & what on earth is ‘empire’? Is the Bishop too coy to call it imperialist?And why so late in the day or month? Surely, the English armed forces & their military industrial backers would not place their boots where the bishop’s mouth is?

‘Empire economics which indiscriminately vandalise our earth,

had already set the stage for the ravage of our land

& the loss of loved ones & possessions’

Does ‘Empire economics’ mean capitalism, England’s premier product, sold most expensively to all the world? And by capitalism, does the bishop mean modern machine-making industrialization? No, that import never arrived. Was dead on arrival. What arrived was its stunted caricature, of a merchant-&-money-lender-dominated import-export mechanism, called the plantation system. Dominated at first by ‘agency houses’, which had been allowed to take over the ‘private trade’ of the English East India Company (EIC), they heralded (overtaking the English chattel slavery of the 17-19^thC in Africa & the Americas of the English West India Co.) the greatest commerce of the 19^thC: opium (grown in India & imposed on China). The English trade in plantation products would soon come to be dominated by their premier multinational corporations (MNCs), the Standard Chartered Bank, Hongkong & Shanghai Bank, Peninsular & Orient (P&O) Steam Navigation Company, Unilever, Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI aka CIC here), and British American Tobacco (BAT aka CTC here), quarterbacked by the Bank of England.

     After the great English genocides here (in 1818, 1848), one of the greatest scandals – a tale untold of the 19^th century in Ceylon – was the robbery of the Buddhist Temple lands, then the largest landowners in the country. So how did the Anglican Church come to be the greatest landowners (per Anglican) in the country, with the Catholic Church running a close second? (The early imposition of the plantation system, and the role of the Anglican church in it, is recalled in the chronological notes at the end of this introduction).

*

• The plantation traders, driven by the MNCs (Unilever in particular), know exactly what the byzantine verbal somersaults of the bishop means. Perhaps the bishop, too, was moved by the visiting Indian External Affairs Minister’s concern for his countrymen in the hills (see ee Sovereignty). At first, Unilever’s mouthpiece, the Planters Association was in blasé denial: ‘Sri Lanka’s tea industry not impacted by Ditwah.’ So declared, on 08 December, the Colombo Tea Traders’ Association, which includes The Planters’ Association of Ceylon, Sri Lanka Tea Factory Owners’ Association, Colombo Brokers Association, Tea Exporters’ Association, Sri Lanka Federation of Tea Smallholdings Development Societies, and Tea Small Holding Development Authority.

     Others, however, reported differently; ee Quotes (20 Dec) noted: ‘Planters High & Dry, Workers Wet & Swept’, adding:

‘Recent floods & landslides in Sri Lanka’s hill country

didn’t strike at random. Estate infrastructure largely

remains intact. Homes of low-income workers, factory

labourers & informal settlers were swept away. You might

say it’s bad luck. But it’s not… Historically, plantation estates

were planned to protect capital. Factories & key buildings

were placed on well-drained ground. Worker housing was pushed

downslope into valleys & marginal land where water accumulates.

This wasn’t a secret plan. It was a system where labour safety

mattered less than asset protection.’ (Shanika Somatilake, FB)

So this week we suddenly hear differently. The Planters’ Association went from claiming there were no problems in the ‘tea’ country, to belatedly admitting that workers were affected, perhaps after, the Sri Lanka’s President met a Colombo Tamil politician who claims to represent Upcountry workers, and the Indian government’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met ‘Malaiyaham leaders’:

‘Regional Plantation Companies (RPC) moved swiftly

to safeguard estate workers & surrounding communities

following Cyclone Ditwah, activating emergency protocols,

relocating families from high-risk areas, and restoring basic

services in coordination with State authorities.’ (see ee Workers,

Planters’ Association of Ceylon says plantations stabilised)

*

‘Reforest & rehabilitate riverbanks along 24km

bordering the Kelani River at Dickoya Estate &

Mahaweli River’s Hatton Oya tributary spanning

Abbotsleigh, Strathdon, Shannon, & Carolina estates’

(see ee Agriculture, Hatton Plantations & WNPS

PLANT Launch 2 km Riparian Forest Corridor)

And behold there was belated & abstract recognition, reported in the passive voice, as if nature (or the perennial bugaboo, climate change, global warming, etc.) is to blame:

‘Erratic rainfall in highland estates has led to soil erosion,

damage to estate roads & factory infrastructure, and reduced

soil moisture, while southern low-country estates have

experienced heat stress among workers, flash floods

& heightened risks of vector-borne diseases.’ (see ee Agriculture,

UN Global Compact Network appoints Talawakelle Tea Estates

as Climate Emergency Task Force Patron)

Others sought to blame the much-abused Mahaweli river, happily ignoring the English destruction of the waterways to further their colonial project of invading the country, massacring the Sinhala people of the lands high & low, and imposing a destructive plantation system, causing daily erosion:

‘Concerns over the Faculty’s location within the flood plains

of the Mahaweli River are not new’ (ee Agriculture, Worst

flooding since setting up Veterinary Medicine & Animal Science

Faculty at Peradeniya raises concerns over food security:

SL Veterinary Association/SLVA).

Now what are we to do with ‘Sir’ Ivor Jennings, who is hallowed so for setting up the university and intruding on such salubrious surrounds? And that statue? Is it still erect and dry? Then there is the infamous ‘telescoped’ Mahaveli scheme, promoted by the World Bank: 

‘To deal with the restoration of the damaged infrastructure

in multiple watershed areas, the government may want to

revisit the Accelerated Mahaweli Scheme… The genesis

and implementation of that scheme involved as many flaws

as it produced benefits, but what might be relevant here is

to approach the different countries who were involved in

funding & building the different Mahaweli headworks

& downstream projects. Australia, England, Canada, Italy,

Japan, Sweden, Germany’ (see ee Agriculture,

Flaws of the Accelerated Mahaweli Scheme).

One reason for the partial admission of the destruction is to prevent any state-led plans to protect the hills from even more private intrusion. Some even blamed the government:

‘Most large & destructive landslides in Sri Lanka do not originate

within private homesteads, but in government-owned forest reserves

located on steep upper-catchment slopes’ (see ee Agriculture,

Mitigating landslides in the upper catchments).

*

‘A blanket removal policy would directly impact tea industry,

hospitality sector, and other hill country-based economic activities,

triggering serious disruptions to employment & revenue generation’

(see ee Agriculture, 5,000ft Demolition Plan

Could Cripple Hill-Country Economy)

Then there was also the usual promise to upgrade the skills of the plantation workers, without mentioning the need for mechanization (practiced in Russia & Japan, where the old cars of tea workers are exported to Sri Lanka, for our ‘executives’ to drive):

‘Achieving a 4% GDP contribution from plantations

requires making modern HRM [Human Resources

Management] practices mandatory across the sector,

replacing outdated labour systems’ (ee Agriculture, Rethinking

climate prediction, disasters, & plantation economics in SL).

Indeed, the ways in which plantation workers (& not just tea, but rubber too) are treated, should be rated as yet another colonially induced national scandal. Tea workers (mostly but not only Tamil) have been treated as a political football, by English-dominated tea traders, by the Indian ruling class, who seek to treat them as a 5th column for their impending invasion of the country, by the local oligarchs who play on these fears, and those wounded Eelamists, who seek to play Indian workers against Sinhala peasants, and light a fire beyond their frontlines.

     Meanwhile, not an electronic byte flies by, without the private banks & companies claiming that they are frontliners in protecting the environment:

‘From corporate greenwashing to philanthropic initiatives

that ignore structural injustices, these frameworks rarely

account for the true costs of economic growth – particularly

for children & communities facing systemic disadvantage’

(see ee Finance, Equitywashing & Hidden Costs of Sustainability).

*

• Uprooting Tea Bushes & Throwing them into the Sea – So the elephant in the room, the silent tornado in the teacup is the destructive economic (let alone ecological) role played by the English import-export plantation system: the subject & object of SBD de Silva’s classic dissertation, The Political Economy of Underdevelopment (the raison d’etre of this blog). There was a time when the JVP promised to uproot the tea bushes and throw them into the ocean. This may be another canard, however. But, did the sentiments behind such a proposition have to do with the plantation economy’s premiere role in preventing the genesis of a modern industrial economy, and diminishing the status of all workers?

     A deluge of advice has followed the mountains of mud unleashed. We see no use in adding to the sludge, except to say, that the same criminals who have hijacked the economy will continue their dance as they have done for the last many centuries, until and unless… And this brings us back to the rest of the bishop’s convoluted message:

Nations in economic crises are nevertheless compelled

to turn to global organisations like the IMF…

The suspicion, that such organisations eventually ‘grow’

ailing nations into feeder forces for empire economics,

is not unfounded…

*

Now, again, the Bishop – schooled at Royal College, Colombo, & Oxford, England (2 institutions that have done great damage to this country), has to resort to the dastardly passive voice – ‘Nations… are compelled.’ By whom & by what?, the precious prelate cannot utter. Though he is right about their loan-sharking propensities…

*

‘There is in capitalism an immanent tendency to stifle,

suffocate & push back the full realization of the

developmental potential of rival capitalisms’

SBD de Silva (see ee Focus)

*

This week saw the IMF promise ‘emergency’ funding to the country, which the USA’s own dollared thinktanks and scholars (see ee Quotes, Sharking) warned would plunge the country into deeper debt. The week also saw 121 foreign ‘economists & academics’ (see ee Focus) call for ’significant debt cancellation – with no punitive conditions – to free up fiscal space for disaster recovery, social protection, reconstruction & development’.

     Now the reason we call them ‘foreign’ is not just about their domicile but also their epistemological & ontological positioning (EOPS!). It is their failure to understand 2 fundamental tenets. The IMF is based & is run by & for the US government. The USA as the premier capitalist state & principle conductor of that murderous orchestra, we tag ‘The Concert of Whiteness’ (including ‘honorary whites’ like Japan et al), like the other imperialists before them, would never allow the country to develop its own economy. All attempts at moral suasion (as daily ‘casters as the Sachses & Meersheimers, promoted by so-called social media, purport to do), will fail. Those who whinge about the ravages of microfinance, fail to point out that these financial institutions (& related envoy) are backed by foreign exporters’ associations, which themselves are front for their industries who wish to push their products on our countries.

*

• So why has capitalism been able to prevent industrialization in Sri Lanka, as a non-settler colony? And how were settler colonial countries[ like South Africa, the US, and Canada able to industrialize? Capital seeks to oust rival businessmen, recorded SBD de Silva, which he called:

‘The very basis of the central contradiction in capitalism arising

from the appropriation of surplus value by fewer & fewer

capitalists while the production process is increasingly socialized’.

ee Focus continues SBD de Silva’s Chapter 5 from his classic The Political Economy of Underdevelopment. Here he recorded how, as in the USA (1776), South Africa (1899) and Rhodesia (1968):

‘The most difficult struggles of the imperialist countries

since the 18^th century had… been with… their own settlers.‘

He pointed out that there were, as in Sri Lanka:

‘Conflicts between the mother country & expatriate investors

in the nonsettler colonies [but they] were not serious – these investors

had their permanent interests in the metropolis & were

a segment of the metropolitan bourgeoisie.’

*

The USA, England & the EU are again promoting fascism and rearming their proxy-tutes. They are attacking rival ships in a shadow & not-so-shadow war, including off Sri Lanka. Fascism was first tried & tested in the ‘normal’ course of colonial expansion in Asia, Africa & the Americas. Joseph Kennedy, the Irish kassipu-dealer who made his mints during the so-called prohibition era, as US Ambassador to England, 1938-40, ran to President Franklin Roosevelt, breathlessly declaring: ‘Fascism is the cure of Communism’. So would the USA listen to these 121 ‘economists’? If they really feel injured by what they say, the US may deport these ‘aliens’, many of whom are living on their soil, uttering fatuities.

     Would a Lenin be moved to describe these 120 economists as ‘sniveling liberals’ who want all the good things in life (& not just for themselves, for us too) yet offer panadols & palliatives, and yet do not mention the need & a plan for modern industrialization (which alone can assure food & health security). Nor do they point out how the IMF program is mainly fixed on preventing investment in modern industrialization? Nor do they offer a program & plan or describe the diversion, isolation, vituperation, sabotage, incarceration, torture, and assassination of progressive forces, especially those strains that call for modern industrialization.

     This last week’s paeans to 90 years of Samasamajism, failed (with the exception of the Communist Party of SL) to recall the attempts (albeit inadequate) to industrialize the country. Do they call for a proletarian party that could counter the ‘White Russians’ (counter-revolutionary forces) and build a bridge to a transitional program (NEP), i.e., a narrow yet sturdy steel stairway to heaven? Would a Stalin direct them to a sobering Siberia to build the Arctic railroad to urgently link Northeast & Northwest Asia? Would a Mao direct them to the villages to build rural industries, and show them how to wash their brains of such bourgeois dreams?

*

‘The cheque that made the difference – One donor sent

a cheque for Rs1,000 to the UN Resident Coordinator

Marc-Andre Franche. Touched by the gesture, he shared

a photo of the cheque on his X handle with the words,

‘Received this contribution from a private citizen for relief

to victims of #CycloneDitwah. I remain in awe of the

extraordinary solidarity between Sri Lankans. Sri Lanka

shines in times of crisis, & @UNSriLanka & the international

community is here to accompany & stand together.’

(see ee Industry, Starlink to DMC’s rescue)

*

‘The question is why the UN is setting up

a parallel funding channel at all’ (see ee Focus)

*

• ee Focus also reproduces an interesting take on the game the white underlings of the United Nations (especially the ‘Concert of Whiteness’) are playing to undermine the role of a state (whose present government is bending backwards to appease them) in disbursing aid for reconstruction. Such a hijacking also took place after the 2004 tsunami, we learn.

‘One explanation lies in the UN’s own financial distress.

Its global budget is under unprecedented strain, weakened

by chronic nonpayment from major contributors.’

The author of the criticism takes on the voice of a whining schoolboy who, after passing every examination and dutifully followed the rules, is ignored for school ‘colors’. As evident in the UN agent Franche’s patronizing drooling above, the anonymous author does not seem to understand: their aim is to dismantle the state and only have it serve imperialist needs.

*

• Born-again USAID – Contrary to the claims of certain eager though mercantile nationalists, that the USA is dismantling USAID and its more craven machinations, it turns out that they are simply ‘streamlining’ the process to align more sharply with their more urgent imperialist objectives. It is therefore instructive to learn that the USA is once again signaling the replacement of their current always-leaving never going-envoy Julie Chung. Chung was sent to put a wrinkled yellow mask on their attempt to overthrow (& possibly assassinate) a popularly elected nationalist (tho still seeped in mercantilism) President. She has so far failed to accomplish the latter. However, it is her predecessors, Robert O Blake (2006-9), Patricia Butenis (2009-12), Michelle Sison (2012-14), Andrew Mann (2014-15), Atul Keshap (Aug 2015-18 July), and Alaina Teplitz (2018-21), who oversaw the undermining of a terrorism-defeating ruler (even as the world’s leading terrorists remain at large), the bribing of the 2015 elections, foreign currency deregulation and the ISB binge, all of whom accelerated the process of destabilization already in motion…

*

‘The Pentagon’s collaboration with Hollywood – documented

in more than 2,500 productions – ensures that people in the

US learn history through films like Saving Private Ryan (1998)

rather than through scholarship (Pentagon operates Hollywood’s

largest film subsidy program – providing free equipment, locations

& personnel in exchange for script approval rights & an ‘accuracy’

review. More than 2,500 productions have been shaped by this process.

US people learn history through Pentagon edits.’ (see ee Focus)

This ee Focus continues Roy Singham’s breathtaking and meticulous recounting of Victory in the World Anti-Fascist War (WAFW). Here we learn how Hollywood has steadfastly ignored the USSR’s & China’s huge sacrifices, while promoting ‘D-Day’ myths. They also ignore how the same corporations that had once done business with Hitler & Hirohito came to profit from containing socialism. The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) pumped tens of millions of dollars to secretly fund intellectual warfare against Communists: publishing over 20 magazines & organizing conferences globally. He shows how the FBI systematically spied on professors, and military contracts dominated university operating budgets…

*

‘New York is the most expensive city to live in the world.

For working class New Yorkers, whose inexhaustible

productivity throws off that tremendous energy that defines

 the aura of the city, New York is often a nightmare.’

(see ee Workers, Mamdani for Masses or Masses for Mamdani?)

We finally come to end of Gustavus Myers’ History of Tammany Hall, the secretive political machinery that ruled New York (and still does in other guises). In this, his last chapter (1914-17), Myers takes an abrupt U-turn after 35 chapters of vehement & detailed opposition to a corrupt coterie, and begins to praise New York’s ruling class. What happened turns out to be what exactly has been taking place today with so-called intellectuals (including the darker ones) in the white world, who have become ardent critics of socialist countries (China, Cuba, etc) as well as opponent of those countries that do not toe the imperialist line (Russia, Iran). They have been bribed as well as (their tenures & visas) threatened. As Canadian Communist Stanley Ryerson notes in his introduction to Myer’s History of Canadian Wealth Canadian Wealth (a seminal introduction to Canada’s settler ruling classes): 1914 was ‘to mark the limit of Myers’ political & intellectual advance. His radicalism faded in the face of the imperial onslaught of the world war years.

     After 1914 he appears to have shrunk not only from any further deepening of his theoretical conceptions, but even from the position he had reached. WW1 thus led to a basic reversal of direction, including a break with the Socialist party. Most of the muckrakers: ‘fell short of completing their work. They retreated in the face of organized business’s attacks, and they broke down completely in their first experience of international affairs’ (Lewis Filler). It was ‘the debacle.’ In 1914, the world war stopped Myers’s theoretical development towards Marxism in its tracks. The liberalism that had been his initial starting point, that he never wholly abandoned, now reasserted itself. He was not the only Socialist for whom, in those years, advance became retreat…

     Myers, who served on government information & shipping boards in the war years, was to produce, in his 1925 History of American Idealism, what amounts to an unabashed apologia for US imperialism: the Spanish-American war, Panama, the Philippines are dealt with in a chapter entitled ‘Liberty for Other Lands’! Further on one reads: ‘In the proclamation of the Monroe Doctrine and in the Spanish-American War the world saw 2 great examples of America’s transcending localities and boundaries and unselfishly acting for the well-being & interest of other peoples. In the World War this concern for humanity was extended to cover every continent.’ Myers’s later works, on hereditary fortunes and on bigotry, are those of a cautious liberal reformer. He died in New York City on December 7, 1942…’

*

Notes on 1823-40 SL Plantation History:

• 1823 – Jan 31: George IV-in-Council issued an Order on for the ‘trade of Ceylon’. English wool, cotton, iron & steel goods to be imported to Ceylon by English or foreign ships. The import duty increased by 50% unless the foreign country allowed Ceylonese goods in English ships at the same tariff as its own shipping. Competing foreign goods would be confiscated. Ceylonese exports loaded to foreign ships would be charged ‘8% ad valorem’ more than the duty charged to English ships, unless reciprocity was permitted. Feb 9: After an earthquake occurred near Mahara, northeast of Colombo, the English received reports of unrest in Nuvarakalaviya & Hevaheta, led by Bhikku Ratmale Unanse. March 5: Governor Brownrigg wrote Earl Grey, Colonial Secretary, and promised to ‘suppress rebellion with promptitude & economy’. Brownrigg blamed 6 or 7 lower-class chiefs, who ‘had not submitted’ in 1818. The English sent Malay troops from Kurunegala & Trincomalee to Nuvarakalaviya. Heroic Bhikku Ratmale Unanse was arrested. The English stationed African soldiers at Anuradhapura. May: Another report on attempts at insurrection by chief (Kosvatte Raterala) & 3 Bhikkus led by Kahavatte Unanse in Matale, trying to install a new king, Kritsna Retty. 5 Aug: Kahavatte Unanse & Kosvatte Raterala executed. 13 other chiefs exiled to Mauritius. All lands & goods were confiscated. They removed the yellow robes of the priest before they hanged him, to ostensibly prevent ‘disgrace to the religion’. Oct: The English still sensed ‘evil designs’ in Nuvarakalaviya. Dec 9: The Kandy Road Tunnel was completed.

     • Colonel Henry C Byrde made Commandant of Kandy. His brother George Bird set up in Sinnapittia, Gampola. 1834 – Col Byrde’s son Lt Colonel HC Byrde of the Ceylon Rifle Regiment set up one of the first agency houses in Kandy. Land Robbery: Col Byrde grabbed 200 acres in Gampola; Edward Barnes (Colonial Governor, 1824), 100 acres in Kandy; Governor Mackenzie took 2,144 acres. 1823-32: ~13,000acres given away to ‘prospective planters’. The English commander of the armed forces, Anglican archbishop, government agent (GA George Turnour, who with a local tavern rentier translated a highly excised 5^thC chronicle, The Mahavamsa) all joined the ‘coffee set’ (1827: 1.8mn pounds of coffee exported).

• 1840 –English slaver Robert Boyd Tytler arrived in Lanka bringing his ‘expertise’ in the ‘West India System’ of coffee planting in Jamaica. He brought a copy of PJ Laborie’s Coffee Planter of Santo Domingo (1798) which became the authority on ‘plantation development’, excerpting extracts from it in the Ceylon Miscellany Vol2 (1842) without changing the word ‘negro’. Laborie wrote: ‘Punishments must be certain, immediately inflicted, proportionable to the fault, and never excessive. Racks, tortures, mayhems, mutilations, and 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.’

     • Thomas Skinner wrote to governor about demand for land, ‘the fevered cry is ‘where shall I go for land’.’ He recommended 200,000-300,000 acres of ‘the finest forest-land in Ceylon within the wilderness of the peak’. ‘How are we to get at it?’ – Maskeliya, Dimbulla, & Dikoya…(excerpts from Krisantha Sri Bhaggiyadatta’s Very Personal Ingrisi History of the World) 

*

________

Contents:

Anglican Bishop Nails the Tea Plantations for the Floods

Dr Sarath Obeysekera

https://www.gossiplankanews.com/2025/12/rethinking-the-colombo-north-port-project-after-the-kelani-floods.html?m=1

https://www.facebook.com/share/1BfqcMbNgW/?mibextid=

Dear Sir / Madam,

During my tenure at SLLRDC, and subsequently while serving in senior professional and advisory capacities related to port and shipyard development, I repeatedly expressed serious concerns regarding the adequacy of the Kelani River outfall and associated drainage infrastructure in Northern Colombo.

Specifically, I wish to place on record the following:

1. Kelani River Outfall Capacity

The present Kelani River outfall is hydraulically inadequate to safely discharge peak flood flows. This limitation has long been evident, particularly during high tide conditions, resulting in backwater effects and prolonged flooding upstream.

2. Northern Colombo Outfall via Bloemendahl Tunnel

There exists an additional major outfall from Colombo North passing through the Bloemendahl tunnel beneath the Ceylon Fisheries Corporation premises. This outfall further constrains discharge during flood events and requires urgent reassessment within an integrated flood-management framework.

3. Modera Shipyard and Institutional Decisions

When the Port of Colombo engaged AECOM and visited my shipyard, there were attempts to threaten acquisition of the Modera Shipyard. At that time, I formally objected, warning that the land in question plays a critical role in flood conveyance and coastal hydraulics.

Subsequently, the Ceylon Fisheries Harbour Corporation proceeded with eviction, despite these technical warnings.

4. Warnings as Port Chairman (Short Stint)

Even during my brief tenure as Chairman of the Port, I reiterated that ignoring river hydraulics and flood paths in favour of isolated port expansion would result in severe consequences for Northern Colombo.

5. Recent Flooding – Validation of These Concerns

The recent flooding at Nagalagam Street, where water levels remained stagnant for prolonged periods, has now conclusively proven these warnings. The issue is not rainfall alone, but restricted outfall capacity and poor flood evacuation.

Key Recommendation

Rather than prioritising construction of a North Port at this stage, I strongly advise the Government to:

• Acquire and reserve the core island and adjacent lands on the northern side of the Kelani River outfall
• Substantially widen and re-engineer the Kelani outfall, including tidal control and sediment management
• Develop an integrated Kelani–Colombo North flood discharge master plan, coordinated across Ports, Irrigation, Urban Development, and Fisheries authorities

This intervention will provide long-term flood protection to Colombo North, safeguard national infrastructure, and prevent recurrent economic losses far exceeding the cost of land acquisition and hydraulic improvement.

I respectfully urge the Government to treat this as a matter of national importance and to act decisively, learning from recent events rather than reacting to future disasters.

Regards

Dr Sarath Obeysekera

Dr Sarath Obeysekera

To 
Honorable minister 
Urban Canal Passenger Transport Pilot Project – Colombo & Suburbs
(Public–Private Partnership / BOT Model)

Proponent:
Dr. Sarath Obeysekera
Marine Engineer & Shipbuilding Specialist
Sri Lanka

1. Background & Rationale

The Colombo Metropolitan Region continues to face severe road congestion, rising fuel import costs, and increasing carbon emissions, despite major investments in road and rail infrastructure. At the same time, Colombo and its suburbs possess an underutilised network of canals, lakes, and waterways originally developed for flood control and drainage.

Urban water-based passenger transport presents a low-cost, low-emission, and rapidly deployable mobility solution that complements existing road and rail systems without requiring land acquisition.

Previous attempts to introduce canal transport did not progress beyond concept stage due to institutional fragmentation and procedural delays, rather than technical or economic infeasibility.

This proposal introduces a clearly defined, pilot-scale, PPP-based implementation model designed to overcome those limitations.

2. Project Objective

To implement a Phase 1 Urban Canal Passenger Transport Pilot Project in the Colombo Metropolitan Area within 12–18 months, using a Public–Private Partnership (PPP/BOT) model with no upfront Treasury funding, demonstrating technical, financial, and operational viability for future scaling.

3. Project Concept (Phase 1 – Pilot)

• Route length: Approx. 5–8 km (Beira Lake / Diyawanna / selected canal corridor)
• Service type: Scheduled passenger water transport
• Fleet:
  • 10–15 low-draft passenger vessels
  • Capacity: 20–30 passengers per vessel
  • Electric or hybrid propulsion
  • Locally designed and constructed in Sri Lanka
• Speed: 10–12 knots (low wash, environmentally safe)
• Stations: Simple modular pontoons integrated with existing urban nodes

The pilot is deliberately sized to ensure fast approval, fast delivery, and visible results.

4 Implementation & Governance Model

A Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) will be established under a BOT / BOOT framework.

Roles:

• Private Partner (SPV):
  • Vessel design & construction
  • Operations & maintenance
  • Fare collection and service management
• Government / Public Agencies:
  • Canal access and regulatory approvals
  • Integration with urban transport planning
  • Oversight and performance monitoring

This model avoids day-to-day bureaucratic control while ensuring public accountability.

5. Financial Overview (Indicative)

• Capital expenditure: Funded by private sector / consortium
• Operating costs: Covered through fare revenue and ancillary income
• Government funding:
  • No upfront capital contribution
  • Possible viability support only if required after pilot evaluation
• Future funding eligibility:
  • Climate finance facilities
  • Multilateral urban mobility grants
  • Carbon credit mechanisms

6. Key National Benefits

• Immediate reduction in road congestion
• Lower fuel consumption and foreign exchange outflow
• Climate-resilient transport option
• Revitalisation of urban waterways
• Local shipbuilding and marine industry development
• Scalable model applicable to other cities (Negombo, Galle, Kandy lake zone)

7. Approvals Requested

1. In-principle approval for Phase 1 Pilot Project
2. Approval to proceed under PPP / BOT framework
3. Nomination of a single coordinating authority for fast-track clearances
4. Permission to establish the SPV

8. Conclusion

This proposal offers a practical, implementable, and financially disciplined solution to Colombo’s urban mobility challenges. It is designed as a pilot-first project, focused on delivery rather than prolonged study, and aligns with national priorities on economic efficiency, climate resilience, and private sector participation.

Regards

Dr Sarath Obeysekera

Dr Sarath Obeysekera

I  remember former Minister of Urban Development who frequently spoke to Advocata and other policy forums about modern urban transport concepts—especially:

• Canal / inland water transport
• Monorail system

He was Minister of Megapolis & Western Development (2015–2019) and 

Previously Minister of Urban Development, Water Supply & Drainage

• He was a regular speaker at Advocata, CCC, and policy think-tank and Strong promoter of:
•  

• Western Region Megapolis plan
• Canal-based passenger transport (Beira Lake, Diyawanna, Kelani canals)
• Monorail / LRT concepts
• He actively invited private sector proposals

Why my  canal transport proposal which was submitted from our shipyard failed 

Because  

1. Retired state officers were appointed as project heads
   • Highly procedural
   • Risk-averse
   • Slow decision-making
2. No empowered Project Delivery Unit (PDU)
   • Files moved ministry → authority → treasury → line agencies
3. Conflict between vision and bureaucracy
   • Minister had ideas
   • Implementation was controlled by old administrative culture
4. Private sector marine expertise undervalued
   • Especially practical shipyard-based solutions like yours

In fact, many canal transport pilot projects were announced but never scaled, precisely because:

• No PPP framework
• No single accountable authority

From a technical standpoint, canal transport in Colombo is:

• Energy efficient
• Low land acquisition
• Ideal for ageing population and tourists
• Compatible with hybrid/electric boats (which you already understand well)

The failure was institutional, not technical.

Regards

Dr Sarath Obeysekera

Ahmadi News

On 28 December 2025, Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, Khalifatul Masih V^aa arrived at the Masroor Hall shortly after 10:30 am for the concluding session of Jalsa Salana Qadian 2025 from Islamabad, Tilford, UK.

After conveying salaam to those present as well as to viewers connected through MTA, Hazrat Amirul Momineen^aa invited Nooruddin Nasir Sahib to recite a portion of the Holy Quran (Surah al-Hashr, Ch.59: V.19-25). Mansoor Ahmad Mansoor Sahib read out its Urdu translation. An Urdu poem written by the Promised Messiah^as was then presented by Khalid Waleed Sahib.

Thereafter, Huzoor^aa took to the podium to deliver the concluding address. After tashahhud, ta‘awwuz and the recitation of Surah al-Fatihah, Hazrat Amirul Momineen^aa began his address. A brief summary is presented below:

The Promised Messiah^as said: 

Do not consider this Jalsa to be equivalent to any ordinary worldly gathering. The fact of the matter is that it is founded upon the pure support of truth and the propagation of Islam. The foundation stone of this Jamaat has been laid by Allah the Almighty Himself, and nations have been readied that will soon come to join its fold.” (Majmu‘ah-e-Ishtiharat [2019], Vol. 1, p. 361)

Huzoor^aa said that today, we are witnessing that Jalsa Salana gatherings are being held across the world, and just as the Promised Messiah^as had foretold, nations are becoming part of these assemblies. The town of Qadian, once unknown to the world, has now become a focal point of global attention. According to the latest information, the current Jalsa includes representation from 37 countries, comprising participants from diverse regions and nations.

For Full Story
A renewed call to fulfil the conditions of bai‘at: Huzoor delivers the concluding address of Jalsa Salana Qadian 2025

Courtesy Daily Mirror

Colombo, Dec. 27 (Daily Mirror)- Former Minister Douglas Devananda, who was arrested in connection with an investigation into a missing firearm, has been detained under a 72-hour detention order for further questioning.

Police said he was detained in terms of the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA).

Devananda was arrested yesterday in connection with the recovery of a weapon during the interrogation of organised criminal Makandure Madush in 2019.

Subsequent investigations revealed that the firearm had been issued by the Sri Lanka Army to Devananda for his personal security in 2001.

D.B.S.Jeyaraj Courtesy The Daily Mirror

Devananda’s arrest is connected to an on-going investigation into the alleged transfer of a firearm to an organised gang criminal

A pistol issued to Devananda had later been found in the possession of underworld gang leader and drug lord ‘Makandure Madush’

Eelam People’s Democratic Party (EPDP) Chief and Secretary-General, Douglas Devananda became the latest political leader to be arrested in Sri Lanka. The former Jaffna district MP and ex-cabinet minister was arrested by the Police on December 26 (Friday) in Colombo. The ex-minister was initially detained under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) by the CID and on Sunday he was remanded until January 9, 2026, by the Gampaha Magistrate. 

 The acting Police Media Spokesman, ASP Minura Senarath told this newspapers that the arrest was connected to an on-going investigation into the alleged transfer of a firearm to an organised gang criminal. It is alleged that a pistol issued to Devananda had later been found in the possession of underworld gang leader and drug lord ‘Makandure Madush’.

The arrest and detention of former Jaffna district MP and present Leader of EPDP Douglas Devananda has been welcomed by people supportive or sympathetic to the LTTE

Devananda was summoned by the Police Criminal Investigation department (CID) to record a statement concerning details of firearms issued to him by the Defence Ministry for his protection during the years of war between the Sri Lankan Armed forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Devananda was supportive of the Government and the EPDP under his leadership cooperated with the armed forces in a para-military capacity. The LTTE then branded Devananda as a traitor and made several attempts to kill him.

According to informed Tamil sources Devananda had been asked to present himself on December 26 to record a statement concerning firearms issued to him years ago. The ex-minister travelled down to Colombo from Jaffna and presented himself to the CID on Friday. He didn’t suspect that he would be arrested.

Weliweriya

Devananda was quizzed by Police officers attached to the Homicide and Organized Crime Investigation unit of the CID. He was told that a 9 mm handgun had been recovered in a shrub jungle area near a culvert in the Weliweriya area of Gampaha district in the year 2019. The Police had found the concealed weapon due to information supplied by drug kingpin Makandure Madush who was later killed in 2020 under suspicious circumstances.Some months ago the Police launched an intensive, wide-ranging investigation into organised crime and the narcotics trade. It is well known that President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has declared war on the use and trade of narcotics. The JVP led NPP Government headed by the president is fully committed to the elimination of the drug menace. 

When the files concerning slain drug lord Madush were re-activated in this regard, it was discovered that the firearm found in Weliweriya bore the serial number of a handgun given to Douglas Devananda in 2001 by the Defence Ministry. Police had then wanted to find out how a gun given officially to Devananda in 2001 went into the possession” of the drug kingpin Makandure Madush.

Devananda was summoned to record a statement clarifying how the weapon given to him had got into the hands of Madush. Devananda however hadn’t been able to provide a satisfactory explanation when being questioned, according to the Police. As a result, the CID arrested him and detained him for 72 hours under a PTA order. He is likely to be produced in courts on Tuesday (Dec 30).

Firearms

According to informed Tamil circles close to Devananda, the EPDP leader had received the 9mm pistol in July 2000 and not 2001. It was part of a mini-arsenal provided to the EPDP for protection against the LTTE. The cache consisted of thirteen T-56 assault rifles and six 9 mm pistols. Subsequently the EPDP had been asked to hand over the firearms issued to them twice. 

The first occasion was after the 2002 ceasefire facilitated by Norway. The EPDP reportedly returned their firearms to the Defence ministry. As a result several unarmed EPDP cadres were gunned down by the LTTE during the ceasefire period. The EPDP got firearms after the ceasefire ended and war erupted again.

The second occasion was after the war ended conclusively following the military defeat of the LTTE in May 2009. The EPDP had returned the arms on a staggered basis to the defence ministry. The firearm in question had also been returned to the Defence Ministry. If the gun was really in Madush’s possession, then it was more likely that the lapse” was by the defence sector” and not the EPDP opined informed Tamil sources.

Tamil Statement

According to these Tamil circles close to the EPDP, former minister Devananda had clearly furnished details of the various arms given to the EPDP by the Defence Ministry. Devananda however had insisted during the interrogation that his statement should be recorded in Tamil. He had pointed out that Tamil was his mother tongue and also an official language. Therefore he was entitled to have his statement recorded in Tamil as his Constitutional right. The CID officers who quizzed Devananda were unable to record the statement in Tamil. It is expected that the 72-hour detention order would enable the statement to be recorded in Tamil.

Makandure Madush

Samarasingha Arachchige Madush Lakshitha alias Makandure Madush was an underworld gangster and drug lord who was very powerful and politically influential. He relocated to Dubai in 2006 and operated his drug network from there. He was arrested in February 2019 for a drug offence and was deported to Sri Lanka in May 2019. Madush allegedly provided much information regarding his illegal activities and connections to the Police. He is said to have implicated over 80 persons in this regard including top politicians, senior Govt officials and high-ranking Police officers. 

In October 2020, Madush was reportedly taken by the Police to a housing scheme in Maligawatte to uncover stashed heroin. According to the ‘official’ version released by the Police, Madush was fired upon by two unknown persons. There was a fire fight when Police retaliated. Madush was allegedly caught in the crossfire and killed. This Police story was disbelieved by many.

It is indeed strange that the Police reactivating inquiries into Madush’s activities should probe the pistol given to Devananda instead of so many other grave matters concerning Madush and possibly incriminate people in powerful positions. Compared to the scale and scope of the drug lord’s illegal activities, the ‘Devananda pistol matter’ seems rather insignificant.

Tigerish elements

The arrest and detention of Devananda has been welcomed by people supportive or sympathetic to the LTTE. Tigerish elements and fellow travellers are flooding social media with anti-Douglas posts and comments. Some You Tubers seem confident that this is the end of Douglas and that the EPDP chief would be behind bars for a long time. Tiger and pro-tiger elements hate Douglas Devananda because he defied the LTTE and fought against them alongside the armed forces. Hence they are agog with joy over Devananda’s present predicament. They are delighted that people like Pillaiyaan and Devananda who fought with the Army against the LTTE are now being arrested and detained.Who then is Devananda and what is the role he played in Sri Lanka’s recent history? I have written about him before and will try to answer the question raised with the aid of earlier writings.

Defiance of Tigers

Kathiravelu Nythiananda Douglas Devananda is in a sense a very unique personality. Douglas displayed a high degree of consistency in opposing the LTTE in the past. In those days the LTTE claimed to be the sole representative of the Sri Lankan Tamils and Devananda tried to counter that claim by projecting the EPDP as the sole alternative in defiance of the tigers.

Douglas had to pay a high price for his bold stance; the LTTE killed numerous comrades and cadres, including his own brother. Furthermore multiple attempts were made on his life. Devananda is the only person who has survived several different assassination attempts by the LTTE. Among these are a full-scale attack with SMGs, grenades and RPGs on his former residence in Colombo 5, a brutal assault by LTTE prisoners in Kalutara jail and two attempts by women suicide bombers  at his former  ministry in Colombo 3.

Athiaddyk Kuthiyan”

Devananda’s rise to power and office is a fascinating tale. His family hailed originally from Chunnakam, but later moved to Athiaddy in Jaffna town. The LTTE’s poet laureate” Puthuvai Ratnadurai referred to Douglas in his poems as Athiaddy Kuthiyan” (hunk of Athiaddy) Devananda’s father Kathiravelu was a Clerk at the Inland Revenue Department and later became a Staff Officer of the Petroleum Corporation. His mother Maheswary taught at Jaffna Central College. 

Devananda’s paternal uncle was the well-known trade unionist and activist K.C. Nythiananda. Devananda spent many years with Nythiananda at 17 Frances Road in Colombo 6. The bachelor Nythiananda virtually adopted Devananda who studied at Colombo Hindu College then. Earlier he was at Jaffna Central College. Devananda was no academic bright light, but learned rudimentary politics from his uncle. Devananda went on to include both Nythiananda’s name and his nom de guerre in the militant movement, Douglas,” as part of his official name later.

The seventies of the 20th Century was a period of political ferment for the Tamils. The old left lost its lustre because of its political cohabitation with the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP). Leftist stalwarts like Nythiananda metamorphosed into Tamil nationalists. The Tamil youth too were getting radicalised. Secession and armed struggle to achieve it was the credo of the youth. 

EPRLF

Devananda also was not immune to these currents. He joined the Eelam Revolutionary Organization of Students(EROS) and, thanks to his  erstwhile Trotskyite  mentor, Eliathamby Ratnasabapathy, went to Lebanon and obtained military training with the Palestinians.  Devananda acquired the nom de guerre Douglas then. After returning from the Middle East, Devananda along with K. Pathmanabha and others broke away from the EROS and formed its off-shoot the General Union of Students (GUES) followed by the Eelam People’s Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF).

Devananda’s indulgence in pre-1983 militancy was short-lived. He led a not-so-successful robbery of the Thirukkovil Bank in the Amparai District, but was caught in Akkaraippattru when fleeing. Jailed at Welikada, Devananda like Panagoda Maheswaran and others fought tooth and nail to escape death at the hands of Sinhala convicts in July 1983.

PLA Commander

Transferred to Batticaloa, Devananda played a crucial role in engineering the breakout from within. Escaping to India, he underwent Indian arms training too and then formed the Military Wing of the EPRLF the People’s Liberation Army (PLA). Douglas was the first PLA Commander.

The PLA’s military track record wasn’t very impressive and its most ambitious project, the 1985 attack under Douglas’s command on the Navy installation at Karainagar, was a disaster. Douglas lost his sister Madhivadani alias Shobha (the first woman cadre to die in combat) as well as his second-in-command Sinnavan among other casualties in the abortive attempt.

Soon sharp differences arose between Devananda the Military Chief and Pathmanabha the Political Commissar of the EPRLF. The movement in practical terms was vertically split. The EPRLF politburo removed Devananda from his post and appointed Gaffoor as Military Commander.

Choolaimedhu

This resulted in Devananda travelling in late 1986 to Chennai (then Madras) to meet Pathmanabha and resolve matters. While Douglas was staying at Choolaimedhu in Chennai, there arose an unsavoury incident where a mob was instigated by interested parties into attacking the EPRLF-backed office, the Eelam People’s Information Centre (EPIC). The EPRLF fired at the mob and an Indian Tamil lawyer was killed. Though not directly involved, Devananda was arrested. Under these circumstances the EPRLF rupture became permanent.

ENDLF

After his release on bail, Devananda’s faction and a PLOTE dissident faction led by Thangarajah alias Paranthan Rajan came together and formed the Eelam National Democratic Liberation Front (ENDLF). The Indo-Lanka accord and its aftermath led to this front collapsing. Devananda took up a firm Tamil nationalist stance and condemned New Delhi. Devananda’s position on the Indo-Lanka Accord was very much akin to that of the LTTE then. This assertion of Independence cost Devananda greatly as the pro-Indian Paranthan Rajan ingratiated himself with New Delhi at Devananda’s expense. A friendless Devananda and cadres were left to fend for their own.

EPDP

This phase was perhaps the nadir of Devananda’s politico-military fortunes. He formed the Eelam People’s Democratic Party (EPDP) in Madras, but found himself pathetically short of funds. The EPDP situation then was pitiful. The desperate EPDP was compelled to engage in extortion and kidnapping of Sri Lankan Tamils in Madras to extract money. Devananda was arrested on a kidnapping charge and tasted prison life again. This episode earned him the negative sobriquet ‘Pillaipidikaran’ (Kidnapper) among Tamil circles. After securing a temporary release from prison, Devananda jumped bail and returned to Sri Lanka where he soon dialogued with intelligence officials and struck a deal with Ranjan Wijeratne.

Ranjan Wijeratne

Devananda met with Ranjan Wijeratne, then Deputy Defence Minister under President Ranasinghe Premadasa, for a confidential discussion. Devananda made an offer that the unconventionally dynamic Wijeratne could not refuse. Devananda was prepared to place at the Government’s command the full cooperation and unstinted support of his newly-formed organisation in return for protection and support.

The offer was path-breaking at that time as no Tamil militant organisation had until then come forward to help the main ‘enemy’ directly. An uneasy truce between the Sri Lankan Government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) was in force then. Devananda however could prove useful if war broke out in the future. It was advantageous to Colombo then to procure the services of Devananda. 

Preliminary arrangements were made. The agreement arrived at with the Government then was like manna from heaven to Devananda. It was only some weeks before that he had arrived in Colombo with two comrades from Chennai (then Madras). His political fortunes were at a low ebb. The offer to help the Government was born through desperation. The bold gamble worked and then bloomed successfully after war broke out with the Tigers.

Over 300 cadres

With war erupting in June 1990 between the Government and the Tigers. Devananda was in business. EPDP cadres scattered in several parts of India and Sri Lanka began to converge in Colombo. Devananda also went in for new recruits and dissidents from other groups. Soon he had more than 300 cadres at his disposal. Apart from outright block grants of money by the State, arrangements were also made to pay monthly allowances per cadre. The EPDP also engaged in propaganda for the State in both the print and electronic media. 

Devananda was criticised severely then for betraying the Tamil cause and openly collaborating with the enemy. Devananda however maintained some form of independence and autonomous action from the start. It is to Devananda’s credit that he did not let the EPDP deteriorate- devoid of political content- into a stark mercenary outfit alone.

As war progressed, the LTTE withdrew from the islands off the northern peninsula. This was Devananda’s opportunity. Devananda and his boys arrived with food and provisions by sea and set foot after many years in the north. The islands were entrusted to the EPDP’s care by the then UNP Government. This helped the EPDP to establish a strong presence in areas coming under the Kayts constituency.

Life thereafter was on the ascendant for Devananda. Utilising the control he had over the offshore islands, Devananda began transporting seafood to Colombo. A lucrative trade in dried fish was established. The transport of goods to and from the islands were another source of revenue. 

Entered Parliament

He next moved into the Parliamentary arena, fielding an Independent list of EPDP and UNP candidates in 1994. The captive voters of the offshore islands ‘cast’ their votes overwhelmingly for Devananda. Since the bulk of Jaffna voters were under LTTE control and therefore could not vote, the EPDP list with about 10,000 votes went on to gain nine seats. Devananda entered Parliament. Thereafter he was elected MP from Jaffna in every election until 2024. He switched sides from the UNP to the SLFP and then to the SLPP.

Devananda has represented Jaffna for 30 years at a stretch in Parliament from 1994 to 2024. He also served as a cabinet minister for 18 years in the years 2000 -2002, 2004-2010, 2010- 2015 and 2019-2024. No Sri Lankan Tamil politician possesses such a record. The unexpected victory of the JVP led NPP in the north in 2024 resulted in Devananda becoming a political casualty. Now he has been arrested and detained. What next for Devananda?

(D.B.S.Jeyaraj can be reached at dbsjeyaraj@yahoo.com)

by Garvin Karunaratne, GA Matara half a century ago

Our country, Sri Lanka has had a long history of development programs to provide for low income and incomeless people. The best method of finding incomes for the low waged is by getting them on the ladder to attend to some task which helps them creating incomes and also make the country obviate imports.

The other day I was at Nawala going from shop to shop searching for a step ladder made in Sri Lanka and I could not find any. The shops were full of step ladders of all sizes, but they were all imported from countries like Singapore and Malaysia.

To make a step ladder is an easy task and if we cannot have a plan to make all our step ladders, we are really nuts.

Perhaps we are the only country in the entire world that does not make its own bicycles.

It has so happened that I have been in the forefront of making things in Sri Lanka, I served in the Administrative Service for some seventeen years till 1973..

It may be a good idea for our new leaders to decide that we will not import what we can make in our country. This will save a great deal of foreign exchange.

We can start with step ladders, ladders of all sorts. Stop all imports. There will be a scarcity initially for a few weeks, but we can get activated. Every Divisional Secretary will be charged with implementing one employment creation industry.

My mind travels in nostalgia to an incident that did happen when I served as Deputy Director of Small Industries way back in 1970. Then I happened to be in charge of making allocations of foreign exchange to small industrialists. Kariyawasam the Member of Parliament for Elpitiya met me with a young lad and requested me to give him an allocation of foreign exchange to import small mirrors to enable him to make mirrors for motor vehicles. I immediately called one of my inspectors and told him to inspect and make a recommendation. My inspector fixed up a date for inspection. A few days later the inspector told me that he went to Elpitiya and found that the youth had no factory or even a smithy where he said he made the metal portion of car mirrors. It was a total scam he said. I called Kariyawasam and gave him a piece of my mind for recommending the youth.

Kariyawasam was adamant that the youth was a real worker, who would not feign. The assuarance ended by my fixing an appointment to meet the youth and inspect for myself. Kariyawasam told me to meet the youth near the lorry garage of the Cooperative Union. I was there in time and met the youth carrying a bag of metal on his shoulder. It was really a very heavy bag. I asked the youth to take me to his smithy where he made the metal pieces to fit the mirrors and he walked with me to the garage where the Cooperative Union lorries were generally parked. He laid down his heavy bag full of metal pieces, sat down in a corner, pulled out his metal pieces and as I watched he fitted a jig that was around eighteen inches tall and wide. The jig looked firm. Then he said that he will have to wait till a coop lorry comes in and he can borrow their jack. I yet could not understand what he was going to do, but I was patient as he talked sense and assured me of his intentions. A lorry came in. He looked at the driver and said that the driver would not part with his jack. We waited. Another lorry came in and he ran to the driver and borrowed his jack. He sat down and cut pieces of metal to size, placed it on the jig and using the lorry jack pressed the pieces to shape again and again shoving them in at various angles. . In a few minutes he came up with a metal piece that would take in a mirror. He again sat down and with a file, shore off extra edges and got a metal piece that resembled the metal receptacle of a car mirror. He sat down again and used the file to give it more shape. It was really a marvel- a workman who really did perform something I could never imagine he could. I told him to come to my office the next day when I gave him an allocation to import small mirrors. I rang Kariyawasam and thanked him.

This true story tells us that we can make anything out of metal.

What we have to do is simple,. Stop the import of everything we can make. It is only the present Government of Anura Kumara that can even think of making that decision. If he dares I will be there to ensure a success.

In my days around half a century ago I was charged with creating employment. I was the GA at Matara. I took over the school science lab of Rahula College after school closes and for three months in the evenings experimented on making a crayon. My Planning Officer was a graduate in chemistry and he was my leader. And in two months time we made crayons that bent and were not suitable. My Planning Officer took it to the Chemistry Department of the University of Colombo where he had graduated a year ago in Chemistry to seek expertise but the dons were too busy teaching and chased him away. He lingered for three days beseeching help again and again and came back down hearted, a lost soul. We were not going to take it lying down. We restarted our experiments and I too made it a point to join our officers every evening after work- we laboured till midnight every working day. . In a month of evening experiments we were lucky to find the method of making a sound crayon.

I then decided that it should be a cooperative and collared Sumanapala Dahanayake, the MP for Deniyaya who was the President of the Morawak Korale Coop Union. My officers around ten of them made a home at Morawaka for two weeks when we with Morawaka youths made crayons to fill two rooms, working day and night with Sumane, all of us breaking rest all night., We then got labels printed and pasted , packets were printed and a saleable CoopCrayon emerged.

This was all done by me and I had no Ministry approval. I dared because I knew Dr NM the Finance Minister and I was certain of his support if I was questioned. Sumane and I decided to obtain approval in a peculiar manner. We took the crayons and showed them to the Minister for Industries, Mr Subasinghe who was mesmerized and agreed to open sales. Both of us rushed back to Morawaka and made arrangements for a public meeting adorned by the attendance of the Minister Subasinghe from whose hands the first sale was done. It was easy to market the crayons. The industry was a success.

We had to buy dyes in the open market and that was at black market prices. We were refused an allocation of foreign exchange for importing it by the Small Industries Department. An year earlier I was in that Department and I had the power then to offer an allocation of forex for any industry. Sumane and I then approached the Minister for Imports Mr Illangaratne who started scribbling with the crayons and ordered the Controller of Imports to give us an allocation to import dyes and also ordered that no imports of crayons should be allowed.

Coop Crayon was sold island wide ftrom 1971 to 1973 when the IMF ordered that all production units should be stopped if they were to offer financial assistance and President Jayawardena caved in.

The stalwart officers were my Planning Officer Vetus Fernando and District Land Officer Chandra Silva. The latter has left this World and must be looking at us from somewhere amused at how we now import crayons. However Vetus is somewhere around and if our Government wants this is a task that can be done. Mind you around fifty youths were making crayons day and night from 1971 to 1977 and

Coop lorries moving them in entire Sri Lanka.

This true story may perhaps move our new saviour Anura Kumara Dissanayake to a process of making all we import thereby creating jobs and alleviating poverty.

Once, way back in 1982 I was the Commonwealth Fund Advisor to the Ministry of Youth in Bangladesh. Then General Ershard took over Bangladesh in one night. Then Air Vice Marshal Aminul Islam the Minister of Laboutr wanted to abolish the Ministry of Sports where I worked as a Consultant, but he wanted my opinion. I suggested that instead of abolishing the Ministry of Sports he should charge the Ministry of Youth to create youth entrepreneurs. The Secretary to the Treasury, the highest official in Bangladesh objected quoting the fact that a United Nations Programme of Creating Employment at Tangail, Bangladesh miserably failed. I argued with him for two hours, with the Hon Minister a silent listener. Finally the Minister stopped us arguing and ordered me to create a self-employment programme. That programme has grown to make over three million youth entrepreneurs and is a coveted continuing development programme today.

Finally I can assure that a Programme of Enterprise Creation can be implemented in every Divisional Secretary area, making items we import. That will help the economy immensely by avoiding imports and creating employment for thousands.

Garvin Karunaratne, Ph,D. Michigan State University

former Government Agent Matara 1971-73

Commonwealth Fund Advisor to the Ministry of Youth Bangladesh 1983-84

Rajagiriya, Colombo 27 th December 2025

garvin_karunaratne@hotmail.com

Courtesy Adaderana

The Frontline Socialist Party (FSP) has called on the government to issue a clear and direct statement regarding the economic damage caused by Cyclone ‘Ditwah’.

The party emphasized that the government should give serious consideration to a recent statement issued by a group of leading international economic experts outlining recommended measures for Sri Lanka’s economic recovery in the aftermath of the cyclone-induced destruction.

According to the FSP, a group of 121 globally renowned economists, including Nobel Prize laureate Joseph Stiglitz, recently released a joint statement urging the temporary suspension of Sri Lanka’s external debt repayments in view of the severe damage caused by Cyclone ‘Ditwah’.

The experts noted that Sri Lanka has already secured an additional loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to address urgent needs arising from the crisis and is likely to require further borrowing in the future. 

In this context, they have called for an immediate suspension of Sri Lanka’s external sovereign debt repayments, along with the initiation of a new debt restructuring process aimed at restoring long-term debt sustainability under the prevailing conditions.

Commenting on the matter, Frontline Socialist Party member Duminda Nagamuwa stated that the government must pay closer attention to the recommendations put forward by the international experts.

He noted that the public statement issued by the 121 economists clearly warns that Sri Lanka will face difficulties in servicing its debt in the coming period. 

He further stated that the experts have urged the IMF to grant a debt payment suspension and to reconsider the existing debt agreements. 

He further stated, If the government is unwilling to accept what we have been saying domestically, it should at least consider what the world’s most influential economic experts have emphasized.”