Wasantha Bandara Ranagala – Australia

The triumvirate need no introduction to their competence to deliver goods. Goods they delivered in style against all odds. Peace vendors, political buccaneers, robber barons in the corporate jargon ably propped up by the international policeman US and the neo colonialist EU tried all their covert and overt schemes to stop the threesome on their arduous journey to the banks of Nandi Kadal where no general dared to go before. Stage one completed.

 From the outset since the obliteration of the terrorist scourge the natural human instinct of claiming the spoils of the success took precedence over the critical rebuilding of the lives of a generation that suffered untold grief. The gallivanting over the victory by coronation of the emperor has become the new theme song. Undoubtedly, MR deserves the right to claim the throne for liberating the nation from subjugation. Nonetheless, it’s altogether a different story when you sideline the soldier who put his life on the firing line in defending his nation. The justice not only should be done but also should be seen done.

 What General Fonseka said in his short speech at Washington Vihara is anything to go by he will never rock the boat. In the name of Sinhala nation, the good man he is, Fonseka will put an end to all the bickering of the traitors by breaking the silence so that we will have a sigh of relief.

 Dear General, future generations might forget the entire Rajapaksa Sahodara Samagama, but your name will go down the history as the selfless soldier who, not only liberated the nation but also preserved its survival at the cost of the glory he richly deserved.

Sri Lanka News

Ven Kataragama Siri Ratana stood in the sands, a lonely figure, holding in his hands the offerings we had made to him. Alone and vulnerable he has dug himself into this hostile territory in a small ‘sanghavasa’ (abode of bhikkus) to protect and preserve an ancient temple on the beaches in Pottuvil in Eastern Sri Lanka. It is a one man battle against heavy odds.

Pathetically isolated, incredibly neglected, the Ven Kataragama Siri Ratana, his robes blowing in the wind, stood there within what is known as the strict archaeological reserve of Moodu Maha Vihare at Pottuvil and watched our vehicle going out of sight.This is a story of courage, fearlessness and frustration. This is a Buddhist temple located in a predominantly Muslim area.

In recent years Moodu Maha Vihare has broken into the news , controversially no doubt, as marking the spot where the redoubtable Vihare Maha Devi was washed ashore, in her boat. She was the daughter of King Kelanitissa , who sacrificed herself to save her father’s people from the fury of the sea, says the legend. King Kavantissa married her and she became the mother of Dutugemunu one of Sri Lanka’s most heroic kings.

Moodu Maha Vihare is an ancient temple dating back to the 5th century, and it has to be protected as part of the Buddhist heritage in the east, which has come under obliteration in recent years.

The Ven Siri Ratana hails from Panchimaharamaya in Tissamaharama. It was his guru the Ven Tangalle Sri Sunanda Maha Nayake thera, Adhikarana Sanghanayake of the Southern province, who first studied the ‘Sannas patra’ (official document conferring authority) of the temple and traced the beginnings and history of the vihare. He came to this temple in the 1960s and built a small ‘avasa’ for bhikkus to live in.

Since then bhikkus have lived in this temple, but it was abandoned eventually due to the hostility of the environment, its isolation and the lack of Buddhist devotees who would help to sustain the vihare. As late as 1960 the whole temple complex was a mound buried under sand in an anonymous seascape.

Around this time the Archaeological department carried out excavations and unearthed three big statues, twelve tall pillars and several short stumps in a single grouping.Around the area are visible parts of pillars,walls, foundations steps buried under the sand. There is also an inscription which is almost totally effaced. This is all there is of this temple at present.

“I came here in 1996″, said the Ven Siri Ratana. “The ‘avasa’ was built of brick but I had to get it plastered and colour washed with the contributions I got from pilgrims. I also built two toilets for visitors”, he said.

The central Buddha statue could be about 10 feet tall and its head has been badly damaged. The head was stolen and the Ven Siri Ratana found that it was being used as a ‘liggala’ (stone for an open hearth). He rescued it and the head with the face partly obliterated has been put back on the body. The other two statues with their arms broken are believed to be those of the Bodhisatva Avilokiteswara and the goddess Tara Devi or of King Kavantissa and Vihare Maha Devi.They stand in mute determination amidst the ruined pillars and the fallen bit and pieces.

The Ven Siri Ratana leads a most incredible life of hardship and tribulation.The Buddha Sasana Ministry used to pay him Rs 500 a month some time ago.

Then it came down to Rs 300 and now it has stopped altogether. He lives alone, has to cook his own food most of the time, because the nearest Buddhist family lives about one and a half kilometers away. Pilgrims leave him food and dry rations.But food is the least of his worries, he says.

Pilgrims are few and far between for two reasons. There is no name board giving directions to visitors. The name board has been stolen.He has now got a donation to put up a name board and he hopes to do so. In addition the road leading to the temple has become narrower and narrower because encroachers are moving their fences further and further onto the road. As a result big buses carrying pilgrims are unable to drive upto the temple.

The temple is assailed not only by sea erosion by also by fast and furious human encroachment. The sea brings in loads of sand while the Muslim population of the vicinity is increasingly encroaching on temple land. Alas the Archaeological department does not do anything about it, even though in another part of the country a bhikku was arrested for digging a well and pits for toilets without the permission of the Archaeological department.

The Ven Siri Ratana explained the land problems of the temple property. According to the original ‘sannas’ the temple owned around 264 acres of land. It extended to the Arugambay road and the Arugambay lagoon, and went right upto Kodimarachchiya, where there is a mosque now.

In l965 according to a Gazette notification 30 acres, 3 roods and 2 perches were demarcated for the temple on the landside by the Archaeological department. People who had encroached were compensated and relocated.

But this was not for long. They came right back

If it was not so exasperating and unjust it could even be funny. In 1992 the temple was given electricity and three posts had to be put up for the connection. Now one post is in the garden of a private house enclosed by a wall.So what can a lone bhikku do?

What happened in 2002 was not only bizarre, but totally unfair by the temple and the Buddhist public of this country.The Archaeological department confined the strict reserve for the temple to six acres and the balance 25 acres (allocated according to the 1965 Gazette notification) was demarcated from the seaside, in fact a sea reservation- a sand dune which the sea is eating away.

The temple has been dispossessed of its lands, and encroachers are occupying temple lands on the landside The temple had 20 acres of coconut; it has six trees now. The rest are in the ownership of encroachers.

The bhikku has complained to the powers that be and to the police. But of no avail.On the day before our arrival another new fence has been moved into temple land and he had to complain to the police. He has been asked to come to the Akkarapattu police station for an inquiry. Another cadjan fence has been built bang up against an ancient foundation very close to the ‘avasa’.

Not least among the annoyances are the politicians who urge the Ven Siri Ratana to leave. How can you live here alone? This are our lands. Go away, he is told. But he has dug himself in and he is determined to stay. I am here to protect this temple, he says. But I need the support of the Buddhist public to rescue the temple from its present plight, he says.

He has the following suggestions to make for the survival of the temple. He says:We want the land excavated by the Archaeological department so that more of the remains will be unearthed.Name boards have to be put up giving directions to pilgrims and the roadway to the temple has to be widened so that buses can reach the temple.

A pilgrims rest with basic facilities must be built, says the bhikku, in addition to a wall on the seaside. A museum has to be built to house the artifacts which have been dug up. They are still in the house of the watcher, he says.We have had the road s blocked, bricks and other items carried away and the statues damaged. A moonstone has been spirited away and some items were found in a well, says the Ven Siri Ratana.

Five Bo saplings have been planted here and all of them have been destroyed. I have planted the sixth, he says.He has been going to the police often enough, walking one and half kilometers to the main road.Nothing fazes him. He is determined to stay and preserve this temple.

It is never safe to leave the temple. When he went to Tissamaharama for four days to attend the funeral of his guru, the temple was stripped and everything was stolen, including the doors, he says. He has since replaced the doors.There are so few Buddhists nearby that there is hardly anyone coming to the temple even on a poya day.The partially exposed parts seem to reveal that in the past there was a large temple complex here.

This temple should not be left to its fate, as the Archaeological department is doing. The Buddhist public should band together to save it from total destruction.

————–
If you wish to help in the restoration of the temple, please contact:

Ven Kataragama Siri Ratana Thera
Moodu Maha Vihare,
Pottuvil, Sri Lanka
The bhikku’s mobile telephone number is: 077 6158295

Media Release Ministry of Foreign Affairs Colombo

The Sri Lanka Embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia has informed this Ministry that they have confirmed from a reliable source the true identity of ‘Alex’, the spokesman of the suspected 255 illegal Sri Lankan migrants in Merak, Banten Province, Indonesia. Kulaendrarajah Sanjeev alias ‘Alex’ once belonged to ‘Kannan Gang’ involved in street fights and was deported from Canada in 2003, after being arrested for trouble making. His date of birth is 6th January 1982.

 ‘Alex’ had been involved in human smuggling for a long time and it is believed that his office is based in India. His brother who is now is Canada is also involved in human smuggling, and Canadian Mounted Police are after him.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Colombo
06 November 2009

Media Release Public Communications Division Ministry of Foreign Affairs Sri Lanka

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) announced this week that Sri Lanka has been admitted to the United Nations initiative on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries (REDD) Programme. Sri Lanka’s membership comes amid a call by Dr. Palitha Kohona, Sri Lanka’s Permanent Representative to the UN at the UN General Assembly’s Second Committee that “sufficient incentives must be provided to forest hosting countries to maintain them” and “to ascribe a carbon value to natural forests, enabling that carbon value to be traded in the global carbon market”.

 Along with Sri Lanka, Argentina, Cambodia, Ecuador and Nepal were accepted as new UN REDD partners, increasing the total membership to fourteen.

 The UN REDD was launched as a collaborative partnership between the Food & Agricultural Organisation (FAO), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the United Nations Development programme (UNDP). The UN REDD was designed to help countries combat climate change by reducing deforestation and investing in sustainable development.

 The programme aims at generating up to thirty billion US Dollars in annual funding from developed countries with already promising commitments from Denmark, Norway and Australia. More than thirty seven million Dollars REDD funding was approved last year for mitigation programmes in Panama, Tanzania, Congo and Viet Nam.

 Several multilateral agencies such as the World Bank and the Global Environment Facility (GEF) are collaborating on UN REDD with numerous other entities including the Secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, regional development banks, bilateral donors, research institutions and NGOs. 

 The significant flow of REDD funds has been described as a reward for the meaningful reduction of carbon emissions and in support of new, pro-poor development programmes, conservation of biodiversity and securing vital ecosystem services.  

 Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka to the United Nations
New York

 05^th November 2009

Media Release Public Communications Division Ministry of Foreign Affairs Sri Lanka

The High Commission of Sri Lanka in Pretoria in partnership with the Department of International Relations and Cooperation of South Africa, Sri Lanka Eye Donation Society and Pretoria Eye Institute, participated in a ceremony to officially hand over five corneas donated by the Sri Lankan Eye Donation Society to the Pretoria Eye Institute on 04th November 2009 at the Pretoria Eye Institute in Pretoria. Dr. H S Casim, Medical Director of Sri Lanka Eye Donation Society, and Mr. Janath Matara Arachchi participated in the event representing Eye Donation Society of Sri Lanka.

The Sri Lankan Eye Donation Society has regularly donated corneas to the Pretoria Eye Bank and this donation is considered a milestone in the growing relationship between the two institutions and the peoples of South Africa and Sri Lanka, as this particular donation will bring the figure to over 100 corneas donated from Sri Lanka to South Africa. It is estimated that there are more than three thousand South Africans who cannot complete their schooling or lose jobs while suffering from treatable corneal blindness. This donation is expected to make a significant difference in the lives of South African patients and would definitely enhance the existing good relations between the two countries and its people.

High Commission of Sri Lanka
Pretoria
South Africa

By Janaka Alahapperuma

Sri Lanka Air Force Museum ceremoniously re-launched by the President Mahinda Rajapaksa on 5th November at Ratmalana Air Force Base. It was originally established in 1993 with the intention of preserving SLAF history of aviation and also as a storage unit. Later it has been restructured as the Sri Lanka Air Force Museum. However it is the only museum dedicated to aviation and the history of Sri Lanka Air Force in the Island.

The new structure of the museum was re-launched under the guidance of Air Force chief Roshan Goonetileke. Now it has new exhibits, facilities and several hangers which house photo galleries, mini theaters and air craft of historical importance, equipment and war items used since 1951. Several vintage air craft, vehicles and equipments have been restored to operational condition. Among the new exhibits, LTTE’s Zlin 143 light air craft shot down by SLAF during the suicide air raid on Colombo and other LTTE ammunition silenced by SLAF are on display.

The museum is now opened to the public on all days from 9:00AM to 5:00PM other than Sunday, Monday, Public Holidays and Poya days. Reservation to visit the museum can me made online or through written communication.

President Rajapaksa met ex-Air Force Commanders at the museum and Air Chief Marshal Roshan Goonetileke presented a souvenir to the President. Defense Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Sectary to the President Lalith Weerathunga, and the Higher Rank Officers of the Air Force also graced the occasion.

By Walter Jayawardhana

Recalling the recent history, when the last war to eliminate the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and its leader Velupillai Prabhakaran was going on, General Sarath Fonseka called the then JVP parliamentarian Wimal Weerawansa over the phone, Weerwansa said yesterday.

That was the time there was a conspiracy to defeat the government in the parliament. General Sarath Fonseka reportedly told Weerawansa do not let the government fall; if that happened the war to destroy the LTTE will collapse, he alarmed. Weerawansa replied he would try to do something.

Weerawansa said, at that time he was the only parliamentarian General Fonseka called.

Wimal Weerawansa, now the leader of the National Freedom Front, was speaking in the Thulawa talk show by Sudharman Radaliyagoda of the state owned Independent Television Network (ITN) on Thursday.

Talking about the political gossip spread by certain websites Weerawansa said General Fonseka is one of the few modern heroes Sri Lanka produced and he did not think the General would never betray the country and would get into the trap of the reactionaries. Much of the stories spread cannot be believed. The Lankadeepa published a news item , Weerawansa said, that Ranil Wickramasinghe , the UNP leader spoke to Fonseka over the satellite phone on Fonseka’s alleged break with the government. If Wickramasinghe ever talked to Fonseka would he ever publicise that, Weerawansa queried. He said , the Lankadeepa published the story on the request of Ranil Wickramasinghe. Weerawansa said, the imperialistic reactionary forces wanted to create a Pilimathalawwa out of Fonseka. Pilimathalawwa did not get into history as a national hero but as a man who ate crumbs of the white man. Due to the split between Pilimathalawwa and King Rajasingha the Sinhale Kingdom collapsed and the white man won, a military feat impossible before this rift. He said Fonseka, a real hero of a historical war of liberation never would want to become that.

He said the very people who started praising Fonseka who said earlier that he was not even fit to be the Commander of the Salvation Army. One said any fool could go to war. Another one said instead of Kilinochchiya he was taking the army to medawachchiya. Ranil Wickramasinghe said Thoppigala which he helped capture was mere jungle.

Weerawansa said the recent pity shown for Fonseka by these reactionary forces reminds him of the pity shown by the foxes telling that the goat was getting wet in the rain.

By Walter Jayawardhana

Jude Theodore Katz of a District Court Manhattan New York refused to reduce the bail of US$ 100 million for alleged supporter of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam when his insider trading scam came up before him on Thursday.

“I see no reason to modify the bail since only $2.5 million had been paid in cash,” said Judge Katz.

But the judge eased his travel restrictions to travel within the United States of America.

The balance of the 100 million minuse 2.5 million has been paid by securities and properties. Rajaratnam lawyers argued that the bail should be modified to US $ 25 million.

Rajaratnam’s lead Attorney, John Dowd told the court that Raj Rajaratnam is a kindly character who had preserved the Galleon papers and had not frozen his assests after the arrest on October 16. But judge katz simply did not buy the arguments.

H. L. D. Mahindapala

Broadly speaking, the people who vent their opinions publicly can be divided into two categories: 1. those who know their subject and 2. those who think they know their subject.

Let the readers decide into which category Lynn Ockersz, the Deputy Editor of The Island, belongs after reading this response to his punditry about “nation-building”.(See his latest comments on “nation-building” in The Island –November 5, 2009)  

In it he moans: “Sri Lanka has failed abjectly in the all-important undertaking of nation-building or of evolving an equal polity where the communities of the country could coexist peacefully. The latter is what nation-building is all about.” The first thing to note is that there is nothing original about his accusations of blaming only the Sinhala leadership. He is merely repeating the usual “litany of complaints” (Radhika Coomaraswamy) of the Jaffna Tamils without taking into consideration the complex north-south forces that interacted and exacerbated the community relations. If his skills of analyzing the primary peninsular forces that aggravated north-south relations were as great as skills in parroting the same old yarns of mono-ethnic extremism spun by the Jaffna jingoists there would have been chance of him being rated as a reliable pundit. His tiresome accusations indicate that the propaganda pills popped into his mouth are coming out of ears.

Consider his outlandish statement on the minorities. He blandly utters the falsehood that the “minorities” (plural) could not co-exist peacefully with the majority. But the fact remains that only one community (singular) – namely the Jaffna jingoists — refused to co-exist peacefully and took up arms to establish a separate state. No other Tamil-speaking community joined them for the simple reason that their political goals and their self-interests did not coincide with that of the mono-ethnic extremists of the north. Even the Batticoloa Tamils who joined the Jaffna-led war declared in the Vadukoddai Resolution broke away and fought against them saying that the Jaffna hegemonists were discriminating against them. The Batticoloa Tamils have come back to the mainstream, showing a willingness to co-exist with the other communities despite the differences with the centre. Ockersz’s tendency to talk of minorities in the plural when only one minority community has deviated into violence is, no doubt, similar to that of the proverbial Sinhala ant who thinks that a trickle of urine is greater than Mahaveli flooding the sea.

Besides, those who know Sri Lankan history will concede that all the other Tamil-speaking communities decided to co-exist sharing the land within the democratic framework however imperfect it may be. Sadly, Ockersz’s distorts the truth by lumping all the Tamil-speaking communities in his fictitious ethnic basket to exaggerate his claim that all the Tamil-speaking communities have ganged up against the majority. The reality is different. If the minorities (plural) joined with the Jaffna jingoists the state would not have had a chance of combating the common front of the Tamil-speaking minorities. It is because the Tamil-speaking Muslims and the Tamil-speaking Indians refused to join in (1) the separatist claim and (2) the military solution pursued by the Jaffna jingoists that the state was able to defeat “the deadliest terrorists in the world”. (FBI report). 

Then he proceeds to blame the leadership of Sri Lanka for not producing “a Mahatma Gandhi or a Jawaharlal Nehru so far.” It is rather difficult to locate on which side of Rip Van Winkle’s bed he was sleeping when India was divided into two under the Gandhi-Nehruvian regime. And even after Gandhi and Nehru agreed to divide India on religious grounds the separatist tendencies continue to threaten India’s territorial integrity and sovereignty. The fact that the Gandhi-Nehruvian combination united India against the British imperialists does not mean that their image and leadership was valid in post-independence India. In any case, India was eventually forged into one geographical unit by the force of the Indian army invading Goa and Hydrebad and not on the non-violence of Gandhi. Besides, some Indian analysts blame Nehru for his romantic obsession with Kashmir as being the primary cause of instability on the north-west frontier. So how can Ockersz justify his spurious claim that the rebellions and the secessionist wars were due to the absence of Gandhis and Nehrus in Sri Lanka?

Ockersz then launches another broadside against the Sinhala leadership obviously because the Jaffna jingoists had made it a popular cry for likes of him to repeat it. He says, following the Vadukoddai vendors, the crushing of “the 30-year (??) LTTE-led separatist revolt …… (was) proof that nation-building never got off the ground in Sri Lanka.”

Going by his weird logic Indian nation-building too has not got off the ground because the Maoists are now presenting the greatest threat to India, as acknowledged by the Indian Prime Minister. The numerous uprisings in post-independence India, on ethnic, religious, political, linguistic, regional divisions must be because India has failed at nation-building, according to Ockersz. Perhaps, when he gets his balance right (hopefully in this birth!) he will realize that the greatest strength of the Indian democracy is the ability of its centre to hold the parts together sometimes with concessions and at other times with sheer force.

Let us skip his other punditry and consider what he considers to be one of his astoundingly original statements about “discriminatory legislation”. Blaming the parliamentary system he pontificates: “…….it essentially enabled the majority community to almost single-handedly manoeuvre the levers of state power and thereby stifle efforts at evolving the Lankan state in the direction of sufficiently empowering the country’s minorities. Besides, it was under the Parliamentary system that discriminatory legislation, such as the notorious Citizenship Acts of 1948 and the ‘Sinhala only’ Act of the mid fifties, were passed, for instance, which played a substantial role in precipitating the conflict.”

Briefly, let us take (1) “the notorious Citizenship Acts of 1948” and (2) the “Sinhala Only Act of mid fifties” which, he says, “played a substantial role in precipitating the conflict.”

Re.1: a) “The notorious Citizenship Act” was passed with the consent of the leader of the Jaffna Tamils, G. G. Ponnambalam, who was a Minister in the D. S. Senanayake Cabinet. So why blame the Sinhala majority? If it was okay for the then leadership of the Jaffna Tamils why shouldn’t it be okay for the rest? (b) Every independent nation (including India) exercised its right to define who its citizens were going to be in the post-colonial era and, according to Ockersz, Ceylon (as it was known then) should not have exercised that right to build the nation. (c) In contrast, in Uganda the Indians were beaten and kicked out by Idi Amin. In Sri Lanka they were eventually absorbed into the body politic. (d) In the Srima-Shastri Pact India accepted those who did not get citizenship under the Citizenship Act were Indian citizens. So what is the rationale for Ceylon to accept Indian citizens? (e) The Act did not deny citizenship to all Indian workers. Those Indians who could provide proof of being second generation Indians were entitled to citizenship. S. Thondaman, the leader of the Indian estate workers, campaigned to prevent these Indians from registering for citizenship and, when he realized his folly, he made a last-minute dash to apply for registration which was too late. But Ockersz believes that it was an act of the  majority discriminating against a minority, despite c and d and later JR’s decision to absorb all Indians as citizens.

Like all misguided pundits in the NGO circuit he conforms blindly to the myth that only the minority has rights and not the majority. The only duty, right and responsibility of the majority is to give in to the demands of a minority (e.g. the mono-ethnic extremists of Jaffna) at the expense of all other communities.

This becomes abundantly clear in 2: — the Sinhala Only Act of 1956 which, according to Ockersz, should not have been introduced because it “played a substantial role in precipitating the conflict.” Once again he is exhibiting his skills in mimicking the parrots of Jaffna. The underlying argument is that the ruling English language (known only to 6% of the population) should not have been replaced with the language of the people. Obviously, he is not aware that S. J. V. Chelvanayakam, father of Tamil separatism, “precipitated the conflict” first when he launched the Ilankai Thamil Arasu Kachchi (the Tamil State Party) in December 1949 – just one year after independence. He didn’t need the Sinhala Only Act to drive peninsular politics further into mono-ethnic extremism.

The language, though it was whipped up as an ethno-linguistic issue only by the Jaffna jingoists, it was primarily an issue shared commonly by the English-educated middle class in all communities. For instance, the Tamils that monopolized the jewelry business in Sea Street and the thousands of small shopkeepers in the Sinhala-dominated areas had no problem with the Sinhala language. At the non-professional lower levels and among the masses who lived with the Sinhalese in the south language was not an issue. It was an issue with the Jaffna middle class who were in the professions and those mainly in public service – the biggest growth industry at the time.

Ockersz who is wringing his hands about the state democracy in Sri Lanka should ask: How democratic was it to rule 94% of the population in an alien language? Didn’t the people of Sri Lanka have a right to be ruled in their own language? Is England ruled in Welsh? Is France ruled in English? In fact, in France the 13 million Occitanians are denied their language rights? In America the states are passing laws to make English the official language fearing the invasions of the Hispanics. 

Besides, S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike, one of the great Sinhala democratic liberals, passed the Tamil Language (Special Provisions) Act in 1959. He also declared that the status quo (English) will be preserved till December 1960.

In Parliament Prime Minister Bandaranaike, explained: “After December 1960 how will we deal with it? That is the question which has been often asked. Any Tamil gentleman must have the right to correspond in the Tamil language but the position of Sinhalese as the official language must be preserved. He can be sent a reply in the official language but for the convenience of the Tamil gentleman who may not know Sinhalese a copy of a Tamil translation or the substance of the reply will be attached to such letter. But as Sinhalese is also taught in Tamil schools we might quietly be able to drop the Tamil copy. What on earth is wrong with that? I cannot understand whether anything is wrong with that?”  — (Hansard August 5, 1956; Vol 31 col. 1971)

How much more liberal, fair and just can the Sinhalese be to the Tamils? Is this a denial of the rights of the Tamils? The irony, however, is that even to this day (53 years after the Sinhala Only Act), Sri Lanka is governed in English with a bit of Sinhala and Tamil thrown in. The legislature, the executive and the judiciary are still run at the highest levels in English. Perhaps, it’s time for Lynne to go back and study his recent history. He may then learn that it was the Sinhala youth who first took up arms on this issue of “kaduwa” (a weapon of the ruling class) long before the Tamils. Language was, therefore, not an ethnic issue but a class issue. Even the Westernized Sinhala middle class opposed and ridiculed Bandaranaike as an “opportunist” for granting their democratic and legal right to communicate in their mother tongue. They bitterly opposed the dethroning of English – their tool for hanging on to colonial powers and privileges.

The Marxists who initially opposed the Sinhala Only Act admitted later that it was introduced not to deny the Tamils their rights but to overthrow the ruling class armed with the English language. This is reason why the other Tamil-speaking communities did not agitate on the language issue because neither Indian workers in the estates nor the Muslim farmers and shopkeepers in the east and elsewhere were affected by it. It affected mainly the Sinhala and Tamil middle class in public service and professions.

It is a waste of time dealing with Ockersz’s other concoctions and inanities. The way forward for peaceful co-existence is to dispel the deliberate distortions peddled by the likes of Lynne Ockersz who can’t get their basic fact right.

Dr Sudath Gunasekara. President Senior Citizens Movement, Mahanuwara 2.11.2009.

Politically popular but utterly stale terms like political solution, devolution of power, minority aspirations and Sinhala Buddhist chauvinism and even independence of the press etc appears to have been eclipsed and temporally replaced by a newly invented political catch word; ‘Common Candidate’ over the past few days. Apart from querying why a common candidate against Mahinda Rajapaksa the question is also asked as to who this uncommon common candidate is. Two names have been mentioned in this regard. That is Sarath Fonseka, the CDS and Sarath Nanda De Silva the ex Chief Justice. But so far none of them have made any comment on this proposition. They remain uncommitted. Then who is this most uncommon common candidate? May be the UNF will take this wonderful political animal out of the hat very soon.

 In the first place let us find out as to why the opposition especially the UNP is looking for a common candidate to be fielded as the nominee of the so-called United National Front against MR. At first superficially as everybody understand, it is the inability to find a suitable man or even a woman within their fold including Ranil Wickramasinha, Hakeem and Mangala to give a contest to MR. This clearly shows the political bankruptcy of both UNP and its allies.

 Looking at the current popularity of MR and the past records of electoral defeat of Ranil it is obvious that Ranil cannot defeat the incumbent President unless he gets all the votes of minorities en masse and more particularly the Tamils in the North, East and the Estates. He also will not be accepted as the common candidate by JVP because they do not have any thing in common with the UNP other than the need to remove MR. As both the UNP and the JVP desperately want Mahinda Rajapaksa out they appear to have agreed on a complete outsider who could in their opinion poll more votes than Ranil. Both the UNP and the JVP wants the executive Presidency out. In my opinion, even though there are few problems with it like the Presidents immunity, its abolition is not a national priority.  People in this country are not concerned whether it is an Executive President or a Prime Minister who heads the government. What they want is efficient and good governance. Majority are also not concerned what party governs the country provided there is good governance and development in the country.

 In fact as I see it this is the time we need to have a stronger head of state than ever before. Had it not been for the Executive Presidency, I don’t think, a Prime Minister in Parliament would ever have been able to defeat the LTTE.  In this back drop why cant the opposition give up this power struggle and strengthen the Presidents hands to take the country forward instead of ‘sending him home’ as they say it . Why cant these politicians keep aside petty jealousies and parochial politics and accept the fact MR has done a job which no other Head of government could do during the last 30 years by defeating the LTTE? Why cant these people put the country before self if they really love the country and its people and think of a national effort (Government) instead of trying to throw the baby with the waters of the bath tub? It is a tragedy they don’t understand this simple logic. The reason as I see is we don’t have statesmen. We have only petty poli-ticks and poly-tricks. That is why the removal of the President and the executive Presidency has become the priority number one for them today.

 What they want is only to come to power and enjoy its benefits. I think it is high time the patriotic people of this country organize themselves to replace these power hungry self seeking misbehaved politicians with patriotic statesmen who will put the country and the people before their own self. At the moment removing MR and abolition of Executive Presidency are the common denominators on which they are working on an outsider. Anyone can form any kind of alliances. But they little realize that the people will naturally ask the question as to how they are going to form a government even if their Presidential candidate wins the elections. I don’t think even they themselves have given any serious thought to this problem. Of cause there is nothing surprising about it as none of these politicians have long term policies. They only engage in fire fighting just for the time being to come in to power. They may also know that even a common candidate cannot defeat MR. But by introducing a popular candidate than Ranil they may be harping on a possible reduction of the 50% + requirement for MR to be declared as the President elect. This in my opinion is only a political day dream. Because those who know the pulse of the people of this country know Mahinda Rajapaksa will definitely poll more than 50%+

 This is what an average man would normally think. But the more sophisticated will try to find a deeper reason or more reasons for that matter to explain as to why this unusual love for an outsider- as a Common Candidate has suddenly sprung up.

 As I see it the answer in any case can’t be that simple. There is I think a sinister foreign hand as well in this coup. It could be Blake, Soltz Heime or many more like that who wants Mahinda Rajapaksa out. There is also the local so-called professional reactionary group that wants MR out. There could be wheels within wheels in this conspiracy. They all hate MR as he is not amenable and also he represents the Sinhala Buddhist majority aspirations. He being a ‘non-Colombian’ and a champion of the rural masses is strongly disliked by the west as well as the Colombians. For the west he is a rebel in the South Asian region who should be got rid of as soon as possible in order to perpetuate their neo-colonial exploitation and consolidate their geo-political hegemony. That is why they are creating all these false allegations against him and his team who comprehensively defeated the LTTE terrorists. In short they are engaged in a pell-mell war to remove Mahinda Rajapaksa from his present position.

 Dragging Sarath Fonsekas and sarath Nanda de Silvas in to this picture is only a part of this conspiracy. I don’t think any one in this circle is serious about Fonseka or any other outsider for that matter. In my opinion this is only a big hype. I think it is a subtle way of trying to create a rift between the General and the President and thereby generate political confusion in the country. If they can introduce Fonseka definitely they can disrupt the Sinhala Buddhist electorate even if they fail to defeat Mahinda Rajapaksa then their sinister objectives of destabilizing this Island nation are fulfilled. For them the unity of Mahinda-Gota and Fonseka triumvirate is the biggest obstacle. But for the country it is a blessing.

 If they stand united like how they did in the war the country will go forward and the opposition will have to remain in opposition for many more moons to come. That is why they are desperate to destroy that alliance. They think their only job is to oppose and never to support for nation building.

 Regarding the candidature of the common candidate this is what I have to say. Sarath nanda de Silva is a free man as such he can come in at any time as the common candidate. But I don’t think he can make any impact that could threaten the position of MR. Even Ranil may be able to collect more votes than him. So you can conveniently forget about him in this tussle.

 With regard to the General it is different. The whole country knows his role in the war. People like him and they love him. But he is the incumbent Chief of Defense of Staff. One can argue he can resign and come. But it want be as simple as one would see. Because even if he opts to resign, which I have my great doubts, his resignation will be valid only if the President accept it. Even if the President accept the resignation it will be effective only from the date the President subscribe his signature to it. Suppose the President accept it wef a date after the day of nomination then what happen. He wants be able to give nominations. This will effectively close the door for him. I am sure Sarath Fonseka should know this situation better than any body else. I think he has been appointed as the CDS for a two year period.

 Secondly it was President Rajapaksa who hand picked him as the Army Commander at a time he had been earmarked to be retired. It was also the President who gave him power and all what he asked for to complete the job and subsequently appointed him as the Chief of Defense Staff.

 Thirdly the men who are trying to promote his candidature are the very people why ridiculed and despised him as a man who is not fit even to be the Head of the Salvation Army, Also they are the people who said he has gone only to Medawachchiya and Pamankada when Kilinochchiya and Alimankada were overrun by his cadre. Besides this the allegations brought against him by Mangala Samaraweera, I don’t think he has forgotten.

 Fourthly the General’s perception of the national problem and the solutions are closer to the President and they are diametrically opposed to the UNP and the other members of the new Alliance. Therefore it is easier for him to work with MR rather than anybody else.

 He also knows that the opposition wants him not because they like him but just because they think he will stand a better chance than Ranil and they are going to use him only as a bait to catch a big political whale. Even if he wins in three months time he will be a puppet in the hands of the new government performing only ceremonial functions.

 In this back drop unless the General is really mad I don’t think he will ever commit this political hara-kiri. For these reasons I don’t think Sarath Fonseka will ever come forward for this election. Apart from all this the way I have understood him and he being a proud product of Ananda College, I don’t think will ever be a victim of this treacherous conspiracy. I have never seen him or spoken to him. But what have observed he could never be a shaky and weak character to jump in to such hasty and foolish decisions.

 Now the much publicized alliance also has been formed. But it appears that the JVP is already out of it. The new Alliance called the United National Front comprises four main parties including the UNP, the SLMC, SLFP (Mahajana Wing) and the Democratic People’s Front. The other parties in the Alliance are the National Development Front, New Sihala Urumaya, Prajatantrawadi Janatha Peramuna, Ruhunu Janatha Party, Janawimukthi Sahayogitha Peramuna, Ape Jathika Peramuna and Eksath Janatha Sandhanaya.  Of the first four it is only the UNP that could be considered a political party. Both SLFP (MP) and DPF are confined to two men and SLMC also now has no wings to fly. The others are only known to themselves and the alliance. No body else know about them. So now you can see how grand this alliance is. Personally I don’t see any thing new about it. A closer look at it shows that it is only a mole out  of  a  hill, delivered after  months of  pain.

 In this backdrop who will be the Common candidate? I take a bet, finally, it will be again Ranil the same old elephant who will contest and create a new record in losing elections. Of cause there is a very big but in this assumption on which the government has to be extremely cautious. That is on what the Tamil minority is going to do at the election. What Thondaman is going to do and also how the North and East minorities will vote at the end are crucial. If they also stand with the government then the new Grand Alliance of the three musketeers Ranil-Mangala and Hakeem triumvirate, the UNF, can blissfully sleep in the opposition for another six years. On the other hand if the Tamil vote in the estates and the North and East go against the government the situation could be really dangerous for the incumbent President. Who knows what Ranil and the minorities have up in their sleeves?  They may already have had secret talks on this issue. This is usually how political drama takes place in this country. As such the final result of the Presidential Election will depend of which way the minority wind will blow. Therefore in this highly uncertain and unpredictable political gambling, my conviction, both in the interest of the country and the government is, the President should not go for a Presidential Election until 2011. Because if he loses not only he will be gone but all sacrifices and the victories we have won will be totally reversed overnight. I would like to remind them the old Sinhala adage Ate inna kurulla pandure inna dahadenata wada watinaw ( the bird in the hand is worth ten in the bush). On the other hand if he decides to stay till 2011, both he and the government will be safe. Winning 2010 April Parliamentary election with their own President in the seat of power will also be easier for the government than otherwise. Therefore what we should do now is to harness all power and resources to get the 2/3 in the Parliament so that the government will be able to take all necessary steps to bring about much needed constitutional changes to take the country forward.

 What ever said and done the minority factor is critical in the Presidential election. Thanks to Pirapaharan last time he dint allow them to vote. Had they voted the story of Sri Lanka would have already become the story of the EELAM. Therefore under this precarious situation if I were the President I would never go for Presidential election just now. I will wait till 2011 and do all what I could do to bring back peace, law and order, communal harmony and prosperity to this Island nation. Meanwhile I will clean up the political and administrative stables and accelerate development and try to first win the hearts of all three communities by converting this country to a model state where there will be only one nation, and one country. It would be pertinent to note here that even Rajasinha the 11 won the war against Portuguese on the advice given to him by an uneducated old woman in Marassana.

 If I could make a random list of people’s priorities the government should immediately attend to which it can address its mind during the next two years of Presidents office they could be listed as follows.

1. Abolition of the Provinces and Provincial Council system and consolidating a District based strong mechanism of governance.

2. Reducing the number of MPP in Parliament to 125 and the number of Ministers to 15  And reduce all their exorbitant privileges and install it as a service rather than a burden to the country.

3. Abolition of the PR system and going back to the firs past the post system so that every electorate will have an MP to represent them in Parliament and the election procedure  will be made less complicated

4. Draw up anew political map for Sri Lanka comprising three Ratasabhas making use of the time tested ancient Tunrata concept (that was the solid foundation of the Sinhale Kingdom from 327 BC to 1815 AD)so that ethnic and communal integration could be permanently established.

5 Make Sinhala the official Language with provision for Tamil to be used as a regional  language in Tamil majority areas in the north and the East and  English the link language with facilities to teach Sinhala, Tamil and English in all schools from grade two upwards.

6 Have one legal system for the whole country

7 Remove excessive powers of the President like his immunity and his powers pertaining to the appointment of Ministry Secretaries, Judges of the higher Courts  etc

8 Reactivate the PSC, JSC and Vest the appointment, placement, transfers and  disciplinary action etc in all top posts in Public Service, Judiciary and the Foreign Service including Ambassadors and High commissioners etc in them and free State Services from political meddling so that this country will have an independent effective and efficient State Service answerable to the people.

9. Lay down minimum qualifications for political positions. For eg. Education, Character,  Wealth and Residence within the electorate

10 Install meritocracy in the seats of government both political and public Service

12.Remove all waste, extra-vagane and corruption from public service.

13. Have a strict code of ethics for politicians as well as all public servants and make every one equal before the law.

14. Scrap all unnecessary departments and corporations and lay down targets for all  public servants and corporate sector employees.

15. Do away with the practice of appointment of defeated candidates to an public  position either within the country or outside.

16.Declare all lands above 5000 feet as reserved forests.

17 Inaugurate a vigorous programme of development through out the country such as  infrastructure, Agriculture, Industry , Commerce and Trade so that the living Std of the people will go up rapidly within the next two years.

18 Install discipline and order in all departments of public life.

19. Install the principles of Dasarajadharma in the seats of governance.

20 Make every body feel happy, free and contempt.

 Then go for elections assuming that even if I don’t win the elections I can go home happily by looking in retrospect at what I have done for the good of the country.

 Once again coming back to the common candidate factor I don’t think that issue will ever arise. Because as I see it, it is only a political hype invented by the reactionary forces, to confuse the government and the people. Some times I wonder whether they ever had any the idea on a common candidate at all for the Presidency. The fact Mano Ganesan the Colombo Tiger who has just picked up few communal Tamil votes from the whole of Colombo district at the 2004 general elections under the UNP symbol to qualify for a slot in the Parliament, who has earlier said that he will not support the Alliance if Sarath Fonseka is there as the common candidate has now joined the so-called Alliance of the ‘12 Kings’ clearly shows that the idea of the common candidate as well as Sarath Fonseka is only a well calculated conspiracy to create rifts between the President and the General confusion within the government ranks. They all knew and know that finally that uncommon common candidate will be none other than Ranil.

 This is why I say that Common Candidate issue is only a storm in a tea cup, a conspiracy hatched to create dissention among the government rank and file and divide the patriotic Sinhala Buddhist electorate as a last resort once again to take the country back.