By Engr. Kanthar Balanathan DipEE (UK), GradCert (RelEng-Monash), DipBus&Adm (Finance-Massey), C.Eng., MIEE, Former Director of Power Engineering Solutions Pty Ltd, Consulting Electrical EngineersLeading Engineer of the World 2006, UK Authority Award

1. General

This article is written not to scorn Tamils, but to think and educate themselves about their shortfall and correct themselves rather than insulting others. Tamils shall not think that Hinduism is the greatest religion in the world because Hindus celebrate the murders of opponents by their gods. Hindus have a mindset of imaginary thinking of events, actions, and programs. E.g., Deepavali. Most Tamils lack in mannerisms, and courtesy, have a very rude behavioural pattern and have a megalomaniac attitude.  While talking to others Tamils always try to take a short path with lies to hurt their opponents, in general, Tamils always tell lies. I am a Tamil born in the North; however, I grew up in the South and worked in various countries. Me being growing up in the South gave me a clear picture and knowledge of the behavioural pattern of Sinhalese and Tamils. In India and the North, milk is used to wash the deity/statue and the waste runs down the drain. While there are people with kids who need milk and in India people and children die starving for milk. In general, the Sinhalese citizens in Sri Lanka are kind, polite and friendly compared to the Tamils and are judged better than the Tamils.

2    General Religious Culture of Tamils

Tamils are more concerned about the caste of their people, and they restricted low-caste people to enter temples because of the cleanliness of the low-caste people. It was not the practice of the low-caste people to walk around with unclean bodies. The elites made sure with the power held by them that the low-caste people were not paid adequately, and the poverty made the people slightly unclean. They made sure that the products were sold at low prices as they decided the prices. Fish in the UK is sold at a very high price, however in Jaffna they were sold at a very low price making sure that the fisherman does not become rich.

When the elite goons go to temples, they wear/apply sandalwood paste to their body. Why is that? Because their body is full of filth and smell and to prevent their dirty smell, they apply the sandalwood paste to hide the dirty smell. However, they spread that sandalwood is god’s creation and must wear in temples. Even the granite stone god’s body they bathe with milk and apply sandalwood paste. The poor cannot buy sandalwood paste. Hence the difference.

The elites do not sensibly ask the question as to why they have several gods and why they have weapons in their hands. Gods can get weapons immediately when they want. The purpose is to KILL the opponent.  Therefore Hinduism is Killing profess.

BUUDHHISM advocates, practices, worships, peace and professes intelligence and magnanimity.

It is a challenge that any Tamil can come to a platform and enter into a debate.

In Australia and other countries Tamils immediately build temples and a medical doctor is elected President of the temple.  Does this mean that the medical doctor is incompetent to practice as a medical doctor? Tamils have a weak mentality that only doctors can be presidents and advocates can be elected to parliament. Finally, bribery and corruption infiltrate the organisation. This indicates Tamil’s mental inability to understand human effectiveness and efficiency.

I have in an earlier article stated how the Hindu temples conduct poojas. It is like a war zone. However, you walk into a Buddhist shrine, the shrine is peaceful. This is what a Buddhist priest taught King ASOKA of Kalinga.

Tamil worshippers even in a Hindu temple fight, argue and attempt murder in Jaffna. However, never in a Buddhist Shrine room. Tamils should think, understand, and learn how to live from the Sinhala Buddhists. Buddhism is practised by over several billion people in the world.

In India, Hindus fight over caste, gods, and wealth. And competition over whose temple tower is the highest. History states Raja Rajan Cholan built the Thanjavur temple tower to a height of 216 feet. Do people realise how many human lives would have been sacrificed during the tower job?

• Cleanliness of Tamils and Sinhalese in Eating Houses

• Eating Houses/Places

Take for example an eating hotel in Colombo: 1960: Luxmi Villas and Pillaiyar Villas in front of Pettah Railway Station.

I am relating this to the 60s. The serving waiter/bearer in a Tamil eating place, in general, does not wear any shirt, except wears a shorts or sarong. Bear body and use hands to serve. They have banana leaves to serve food. Serve with unclean hands. The way the customers wash their hands and mouths is abysmal.

If we walk into a Sinhalese hotel; food is served in a tray full of dishes and a plate to eat. Finally, to wash they serve a bowl full of water. The hotel and service are quite clean.  The servers wear the uniform given by the hotel/eating house. The cost is a little higher than the so-called Dosai Kades”.

The author preferred to eat in Sinhala eating houses always in Colombo and other towns.

The current trend in 2020/2023 in Jaffna eating houses is that food has worms, cockroaches, and other flying insects. What could be the reason for this? During the power cuts period and power cost, Tamils may not use lights but lanterns, which may not give proper lux. Insects flying may drop into the pots and the cooks may not worry about the migration.

Tamils are worried about caste; however, these comedians must concentrate to educate their people with appropriate good hygienic culture. The Jaffna Municipal Council Health Inspectors must visit and arrest people who do not obey the law.  That’s what the MCs are for. Not to advocate for Tamil Eelam and Power sharing”

What happened to me: In Australia, two of the Tamil spice shops had Soya meat. When I looked at the expiry date, the packets had expired the year before. When I told the shopkeeper, his answer was: We cooked the same soya meat this weak end and it was good and tasty”. What could I say to this fool? I just walked out, and I never visited the shop ever again. In the third shop, when I pointed out an expired product, they changed it. It runs in the blood of Tamils to cheat others. Today Tamil organisations are swindling millions of dollars from poor workers. Tamils do not believe in Expiry dates.

I stayed at the Hartley Hostel in 1960. The hostel was poorly managed and run. Water had to be fetched from the well for washing, toilet etc. The food was cooked by Theevu Pandarams. Very poor quality. They used American white flour for pittus and string hoppers. When this is made into a ball, it can hurt people. The dirtiest hostel in SL. Hundreds of students are bulked onto the two floors. It has been the worst hostel I have lived in anywhere in SL or elsewhere. There was only one bucket toilet at the college where over 500 students studied.

I lived in a hostel in Colombo run by the Sinhala people. I would rank the hostel as excellent.

Tamils could not even run the Northern Provincial Council. My view is that Tamils can never manage their affairs but need a walking stick. The worst dirtiest race in the world.

Whatever, Tamils should learn from the Sinhalese people about culture, living, hygiene, motivation, creativity, etc.

The following politicians should leave politics for the betterment of Sri Lanka.

Sambanthar, Mavai, Adaikkalanathan, GG Ponnambalam, Siththathar, Sritharan, selva rajah Gajendran, MA Sumanthiran, Sivajilingham, CV Wigneswaran, the Rajapaksas, Premadasa, and possibly the entire TNA clowns. They should pave the way for the young University crowd to enter politics. Young politicians like Douglas Devananda, Angajan, and Manivannan should lead politics.

The old fools have led the country to bankruptcy.

Tamils should eliminate the dowry system because the dowry system and caste differences make them corrupt and lazy. If the country needs to be technologically advanced, then all people must be equal, and people shall respect the technology and the person’s technical/professional capability.

Recently a clown Ramaraj Veerahia from TGTE attempted to talk to the President Hon MR. RW in broken English. What type of guts has this fool got to rub shoulders with the President of a Republic about Genocide”? How long are they going to bark on Genocide”? This is typical Tamil mentality. What is the highest level of education of this fool who lives in London? What was his objective for this meeting? These are the type of Fools who mess up the Sri Lankan culture and peace.

For any person who starts to work in an organisation, the first thing people want to know is about his caste. The worst culture within the Tamil race.

Today Tamils are all over the planet. All that they want is to hurt and destroy Sri Lanka.

Hon Mr Ranil Wickramasinghe shall be elected as the president again with good young politicians in parliament if people want Sri Lanka to prosper and grow economically and technologically. Dr Nandalal Weerasinghe shall continue as the governor of the CB as he is doing a great job to save Sri Lanka. Rear Admiral Sarath Weerasekara should be elected again and given a portfolio to contribute to SL’s growth.

The Rear Admiral shall promote innovation, creativity, motivation, and flexibility to the industrial workers within his ministry. The Rear Admiral has lots of energy and wisdom to manage an important portfolio.

Tamils shall forget about PCs and Tamil Eelam, but join hands with the Sinhalese to be allocated portfolios to build SL. There shall be only one race in SL and that is Sinhalese Buddhist. This is good for Sri Lankan citizens and Tamils all over the world.

Ministry of Defence  – Media Centre

Her Excellency R. Demet Sekercioglu, Ambassador of Turkey for Sri Lanka, made a courtesy call on Acting Minister of Defence Hon. Premitha Bandara Tennakoon at the State Ministry of Defence today (Jul 21).

Minister Tennakoon held a cordial discussion with the Ambassador following a warm reception at his office.

Matters of bilateral importance and mutual relevance were discussed during the meeting held between Minister Tennakoon and H.E. Sekercioglu.

During the occasion, the Minister presented a memento to the Turkish Ambassador to mark the occasion.

Deputy Chief of Staff Navy and Director General – Operations Rear Admiral Pradeep Rathnayake was also present at the occasion.

වෛද්‍ය තිලක පද්මා සුබසිංහ අනුස්මරණ නීති අධ්‍යාපන වැඩසටහන

ආයුර්වේද සංශෝධන පනත් කෙටුම්පත සුසිල් ප්‍රේම්ජයන්ත ඇමතිවරයා විසින් 2023 ජූලි 05 වැනි දින පාර්ලිමේන්තුවේ පළමුවර කියවා ඇත.

එයට එරෙහිව ආණ්ඩුක්‍රම ව්‍යවස්ථාව උල්ලංඝනය කරන්නේය පදනමින් මත්තෙගොඩ රෝපා ආයුර්වේද රෝහලේ වෛද්‍ය බී. ඒ. රත්නපාල මහතා නීතීඥ අරුණ උණවටුන මහතා මගින් SC/SD/22/23 අංක යටතේ ආණ්ඩුක්‍රම ව්‍යවස්ථාවේ 121 ව්‍යවස්ථාව යටතේ පෙත්සමක්
ඉදිරිපත් කර ඇත.

පළාත් සභා ලැයිස්තුව යටතේ ඇති ආයුර්වේදය අදාල කාරණා සම්බන්ධයෙන් යෝජිත ආයුර්වේද පනත් සංශෝධනය පළාත් සභා නොවිමසා ගෙනවිත් ඇති බව ඇතුලු කාරණා එකී පෙත්සම මගින් ආණ්ඩුක්‍රම ව්‍යවස්ථාව උල්ලංඝනය කිරීම සම්බන්ධයෙන් දක්වා ඇත.

සෙවනගල ප්‍රදේශයේ වෛද්‍යවරයෙකු වන කමල් බන්දුල වීරප්පෙරුම සහ මුල්ලේරියාව නව නගරයේ වෛද්‍යවරයෙකු වන වොෂින්ටන් ගල්හේනගේ නානායක්කාර යන අයද වෛද්‍ය රත්නපාල මහතාගේ පෙත්සම වැනිම පෙත්සමක නීතීඥ අරුණ ලක්සිරි උණවටුන මහතා මගින් ගොනු කර ඇත.

2023 ජූලි 19 වැනි දින ඒ සම්බන්ධයෙන් වැරදි කරුණු ඇතුළත් ප්‍රවෘත්තියක් දිවයින පුවත්පතේ පළ වී ඇත. එකී ප්‍රවෘත්තිය පහත පළ වේ.

එකී වැරදි ප්‍රවෘත්තිය හේතුවෙන් නීතීඥ අරුණ ලක්සිරි උණවටුන මහතාට සිය නඩුවෙන් ඉවත්වන ලෙස වෛද්‍ය රත්නපාල මහතා විසින් නීතීඥ අරුණ ලක්සිරි උණවටුන මහතාට දැනුම් දී ඇත.

එකී ප්‍රවෘත්තිය නිවැරදි කරමින් 2023.07.20 දින දිවයින පුවත්පත විසින් නිවැරදි කිරීමක්ද පළකර ඇත. එකී නිවැරදි කිරීම කළ ප්‍රවෘත්තිය පහත දැක්වේ.

ආයුර්වේද පනත සංශෝධනයට එරෙහිව මුල්ම පෙත්සම ඉදිරිපත් කළ වෛද්‍ය බී.ඒ. රත්නපාල මහතාගේ නීතීඥවරයා වූ නීතීඥ අරුණ ලක්සිරි උණවටුන මහතා මෙකී කරුණු ශ්‍රේෂ්ඨාධිකරණයට ඉදිරිපත්කර එකී නඩුවෙන් ඉවත්වීමට අවසර ඉල්ලා ඇති අතර නීතිපතිවරයාටත්, වෛද්‍ය රත්නපාල මහතාටත් එහි පිටපත් ලබා දී ඇත.

http://neethiyalk.blogspot.com/2023/07/blog-post.html?m=1

“නීතියේ සිංහල නුගමුල”
ෆීනික්ස් නීති සාර සංග්‍රහය (2023 ජූලි)
වෛද්‍ය තිලක පද්මා සුබසිංහ අනුස්මරණ නීති අධ්‍යාපන වැඩසටහන

Courtesy Adaderana

During his inaugural visit to India after assuming office, President Ranil Wickremesinghe commended the neighbouring nation’s unwavering support and solidarity during Sri Lanka’s recent economic crisis.

Addressing a joint press briefing, he expressed his sincere gratitude to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the government and people of India for their continued support during Sri Lanka’s most difficult times in recent history.

Meanwhile, President Wickremesinghe also praised the impressive economic, infrastructure, and technological advancements made under Prime Minister Modi’s leadership. 

He emphasised that India’s growth would have positive impacts on both, the neighbouring countries and the Indian Ocean region.

Reaffirming his dedication to achieving economic revival, sustainable development and justice for all in Sri Lanka, President Wickremesinghe engaged in discussions about a comprehensive plan for reconciliation and power-sharing, and thereby extended an invitation to all party leaders to reach a consensus. 

In response, Prime Minister Modi expressed his support and goodwill towards these initiatives.

President Wickremesinghe also asserted that Sri Lanka is steadfastly pursuing economic reforms, which are already showing positive results in stabilizing the country. 

He further noted that the measures taken have led to a resurgence of confidence both within the nation and from external observers in the progress of Sri Lanka

Highlighting the mutual agreement between India and Sri Lanka on a Joint Vision for their economic partnership, focusing on improved connectivity, the Head of State acknowledged the deep historical and cultural connections between the two nations, emphasizing that this presents an ideal opportunity for further enhancing connectivity in the future.

The President also noted that while ferry services between Talaimannar-Rameswaram and Nagapattinam-Kankesanthurai will add more impetus to sea travel between India and Sri Lanka, other forms of connectivity between the two countries are being examined, as it could become a further catalyst to boost economic growth.

Following is the statement delivered by President Ranil Wickremesinghe during the official visit to India;

I am honoured to be in New Delhi at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This is my first visit to India since assuming office as President last year and it is a visit to which myself and my government attach the highest importance.

I thank the PM Modi and the Government of India for the hospitality extended to me and to my delegation.

This morning PM Modi and I had the occasion to review at length recent developments in our countries as well as in our bilateral relations. I have congratulated PM Modi on the great strides India continues to make under his leadership in economic, infrastructure and technological progress in ensuring growth and prosperity for the people of India. 

We believe that India’s growth will be beneficial to the neighbourhood and Indian Ocean region.

I have also apprised with Prime Minister Modi of the extraordinary challenges that Sri Lanka had experienced in economic, social and political terms in the past year, and of the reform measures I have spearheaded on a number of fronts, in overcoming these challenges.

I have conveyed to PM Modi and to the government and people of India our profound appreciation for the solidarity and support rendered to Sri Lanka in what was undoubtedly the most challenging period in our recent history.

Friends,

In reviewing recent developments in Sri Lanka, I shared with Prime Minister Modi my commitment to bring about economic recovery leading to sustainable and stable growth with justice and equity which will benefit all segments of Sri Lankan society in all parts of the country.

In moving forward, I have explained that I have set Sri Lanka firmly on a path of economic reform and that Sri Lanka is already witnessing the stabilizing outcomes of these measures and the revival of confidence internally and externally in the progress of the country.

I also shared with him the comprehensive proposal I presented this week for furthering reconciliation, power sharing through devolution and the multiple elements of the Northern development plan. 

I have invited all party leaders in Parliament to work towards consensus and national unity on these measures. Thereafter the Government will place the relevant legislation before Parliament.

Prime Minister Modi has expressed his solidarity and goodwill in these endeavours.

Friends,

We now need to put our economy on a growth path bringing greater revenue for the country, which requires enhanced investment in all parts of the country.

As a supportive and solid foundation for the realization of these objectives, we have agreed on a Joint Vision of the future India -Sri Lanka economic partnership through enhanced connectivity.

Today, in this 75th year of our bilateral diplomatic relations, our Vision will propel us towards a more secure future through mutually beneficial interactions, to bring tangible benefits and greater opportunities for our future generations in the coming decades.

The foundations of our joint vision of greater future connectivity have already been laid through millennia-old civilizational, cultural, human and commercial interactions between our two countries.

The thread of connectivity is woven through our history.

In our view, the present time is a most opportune moment to embark on such a vision for the future.

We recognized that modern-day connectivity plays a crucial role in realizing our vision of economic partnership. 

The recent recommencement of Chennai and Jaffna air services is an important step towards air connectivity. We believe that expansion of aviation connectivity to other destinations and further development of Palaly airport will complement this initiative. 

Ferry services between Talaimannar-Rameswaram and Nagapattinam-Kankesanthurai will add more impetus to sea travel between the two countries. Examining other forms of connectivity between Sri Lanka and India could become a further catalyst to boost economic growth.

We agreed that the Economic and Technology Cooperation Agreement between Sri Lanka and India is critical to enhance bilateral trade and investment in new and priority areas. Sri Lanka is pleased to welcome Indian assistance in digital tech driven service delivery and citizen centric services.

We agreed that enhanced connectivity will also a play a crucial role in strengthening our cooperation in tourism, people-to-people exchanges and cultural relations. 

The tourism industry in Sri Lanka is poised to reap the benefits of the post-pandemic world and India is currently the top market for inbound tourism for Sri Lanka. Enabling UPI based digital payments in Sri Lanka would immensely facilitate further growth in this and other sectors.

In keeping with Sri Lanka’s national priorities and global commitments towards a greener economy, and also to ensure energy security, Sri Lanka sees valuable opportunities in partnering with India in green and renewable energy development. In this context, I am pleased to note the conclusion of the Memorandum of Understanding for Cooperation in the field of Renewable Energy. 

Establishing the high-capacity power grid interconnection between Sri Lanka and India would enable two-way electricity trade between the two countries.

The development of Trincomalee as an energy hub with the support of India is a crucial step towards Sri Lanka’s goal to elevate Trincomalee as a hub for industry and other economic activities. 

Prime Minister Modi and I believe that the construction of a multi-product petroleum pipeline from Southern part of India to Sri Lanka will ensure an affordable and reliable supply of energy resources to Sri Lanka.

We also discussed how to improve our cooperation in the dairy and animal husbandry sectors to realize our common interest in achieving greater socio-economic development, and enhance the nutrition status of our people.

Cooperation in the education sector is one of the key elements in our bilateral relationship. We believe that establishing new higher education institutes with the assistance from India is important. 

This will contribute towards upgrading the knowledge and skills of our youth and include them in the nation’s development drive.

I believe that my visit to India has provided an opportunity to review our bilateral relationship, leverage the strength of geographical and civilizational links, and reinforce trust and confidence for our future prosperity in the modern world. 

I am confident that the discussions we had today will lay the foundation for the next 25 years of Indo-Lanka relations and contribute to my vision for sustainable growth national unity and reconciliation for all segments of the people of Sri Lanka and for a prosperous and secure future for the people of India and Sri Lanka.”

Courtesy Adaderana

The central bank (CBSL) governor says Sri Lanka will have to go through another Domestic Debt Optimization (DDO) strategy if the targets of the current plan are not achieved.

Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe also noted that the DDO strategy announced by the government is strong enough to restore the country’s debt sustainability.

He made these remarks during the CEO Forum 2023 organized by the Chartered Financial Analysts of Sri Lanka on Friday (July 21) in Colombo.

Addressing concerns about a second DDO strategy, the central bank governor said if the country deviates from the current path, there could be another domestic debt optimization as well as another default and bankruptcy.

We don’t need another DDO because this DDO is quite strong enough and consistent with the targets to restore debt sustainability,” he said adding that the fiscal policy, structural reforms and the growth path should move in conjunction with the domestic debt optimization plan.

Dr. Weerasinghe said the Sri Lankan economy has the potential to overperform with growth levels of 4% – 5%, adding that it would will help restore country’s debt sustainability in five  years without waiting until 2032.

The central bank governor is also confident that Sri Lanka will see single-digit inflation by the end of this month

Courtesy Adaderana

India and Sri Lanka have decided to cooperate towards the establishment of a multi-product petroleum pipeline from the southern part of India to Sri Lanka, in a bid to ensure an affordable and reliable supply of energy resources to Sri Lanka.

President Ranil Wickremesinghe, on Friday (21 July), held bilateral talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Hyderabad House in New Delhi, during which a wide range of issues was discussed.

Sri Lanka and India also signed five key Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) on (1) animal husbandry and dairying, (2) cooperation in the field of renewable energy, (3) cooperation for economic development projects in Trincomalee District, (4) Unified Payments Interface (UPI) acceptance in Sri Lanka, and (5) energy permit for Sampur Solar Power Project.

The signed agreements were exchanged in the presence of the Indian PM and the Sri Lankan President.

Accordingly, it was also decided to undertake mutually agreed joint exploration and production of hydrocarbons in Sri Lanka’s offshore basins with an aim to develop Sri Lanka’s upstream petroleum sector.

Meanwhile, in a bid to not only bring down the costs of electricity in Sri Lanka, but also to help create a valuable and dependable source of foreign exchange for the island, the establishment of a high-capacity power grid interconnection between India and Sri Lanka to enable bidirectional electricity trade between Sri Lanka and other regional countries, including the BBIN countries, was discussed.

Speaking with regards to maritime and air relations between the two nations, cooperation towards the development of ports and logistics infrastructure at Colombo, Trincomalee and Kankesanthurai was discussed, with an aim to consolidate regional logistics and shipping, as per mutual understanding.

The resumption of passenger ferry services between Nagapattinam in India and Kankesanthurai in Sri Lanka and Rameshwaram and Talaimannar, and other mutually agreed places, was alos discussed.

When considering the matter of trade and financial connectivity between the two nations, it was agreed to facilitate investments from India in the divestment of Sri Lankan State-owned Enterprises (SOEs), and also in manufacturing and economic zones in various sectors.

The two leaders also discussed people-to-people connectivity between the two nations, and agreed to establish land connectivity between Sri Lanka and India for developing land access to the ports of Trincomalee and Colombo, which would thereby propel economic growth and prosperity in both countries.

Thus both, Prime Minister Modi and President Wickremesinghe directed the respective officials concerned to expedite the realisation of this shared vision.

Courtesy Adaderana

Sri Lanka inflation, based on National Consumer Price Index (NCPI), for June 2023 has been recorded at 10.8%, as measured by the year-on-year change.

According to the latest report published by the Department of Census and Statistics (DCS), this is a slight drop in comparison to the headline inflation of 22.1% recorded in May 2023.

The contributions to the NCPI on a month-on-month basis (June 2023 as opposed to May 2023) were by the increases in food items of 0.44% and decreases in non-food items of 0.3% respectively.

The DCS report further said that in comparison to June 2022, the recorded inflation for the month of June 2023 was mainly due to the higher price levels prevailed in both food and non-food groups.

However, on a monthly basis, the year-on-year inflation of the food group has dropped to 2.5% in June 2023 from 15.8% in May 2023.

Meanwhile, the year-on-year inflation of the non-food group decreased to 18.3% in June 2023 from 27.6% in May 2023.

The contribution of food commodities to inflation on a year-on-year basis was 1.21% in June 2023 compared to the month of June 2022.

Courtesy Adaderana

India expects Sri Lanka to implement the 13th Amendment and ensure a life of dignity and respect” for its Tamil population, said Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday (July 21).

Welcoming Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe to India, Mr. Modi informed that both sides have held talks on a number of infrastructure projects that can ensure greater connectivity between the two countries and announced a development assistance package for the Tamils of Indian origin who are marking 200th anniversary of their arrival into the island nation.

President Wickremesinghe expressed his government’s profound appreciation” for the support that India extended to Sri Lanka over the last year which he described as the most challenging period in Sri Lanka’s modern history”.

We took up the issue of reconstruction and reconciliation in Sri Lanka. President Wickremesinghe presented his inclusive point of view to me. We hope that Sri Lanka’s government will fulfil the aspirations of the Tamil people. We expect that Colombo will take forward the process of reconstruction for ensuring equality, justice and peace. We hope that Sri Lanka will fulfil its commitment to implement the 13th Amendment and to hold provincial elections,” said PM Modi delivering his remarks in Hindi. 

PM Modi and President Wickremesinghe spoke at the end of bilateral talks held at the Hyderabad House where the two sides exchanged documents on cooperation in the field of animal husbandry, renewable energy, development projects in Trincomalee district in eastern Sri Lanka, and online payment services between the two sides.

The 13th Amendment is a three-decade-old Sri Lankan legislation that pledged devolution of power to the nine provinces which is yet to be fulfilled. Two days before the arrival of President Wickremesinghe to India, the issue came to the centre stage after the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) categorically rejected” the promise of the present government to implement the amendment sans police powers. The TNA has described the move as another hollow promise” by the Wickremesinghe-led government. 

We hope Sri Lanka’s government will ensure a life of respect and dignity for the Tamil people of the country,” said PM Modi reminding that the community of Indian origin Tamils are marking the 200th anniversary of their arrival in Sri Lanka this year which is also the 75th anniversary of India-Sri Lanka diplomatic ties. 

PM Modi announced a package of INR 75 crores for various development projects in the northern and eastern part of Sri Lanka. PM Modi noted the financial difficulty that Sri Lanka has been facing since last summer when the country was brought to a standstill by an unprecedented energy crisis which was accompanied by high inflation and near depletion of its foreign currency reserve.

PM Modi said security and development of Sri Lanka are connected to each other. We should work together while recognising each other’s security and developmental needs,” said PM Modi. 

The two sides adopted a vision document to enhance maritime, energy and people-to-people connectivity. Mr. Modi announced that a passenger ferry service will be launched soon to connect Tamil Nadu’s Nagapattinam and northern Sri Lanka’s Kankesanthurai. We have decided to fast-track the work of connecting the electricity grids of both countries,” announced PM Modi.

He announced feasibility studies for building a land bridge” as well as for a petroleum pipeline. Mr Modi informed that the two sides discussed the issue of fishermen and urged the matter should be viewed through a humanitarian perspective”.

Conveying his commitment to the development of Sri Lanka, President Wickremesinghe said that his plan will benefit all segments of Sri Lankan society” and added, I have set Sri Lanka firmly on the path of economic reform and that Sri Lanka is already witnessing the stabilising outcomes of these measures and the revival of confidence internally and externally in the progress of the country.”

Mr. Wickremesinghe said he has invited leaders of all political parties to come forward to work towards consensus”. The visiting President said Sri Lanka is focused on an economic growth path. He welcomed the Chennai-Jaffna air connectivity.

Source: The Hindu

Insight By Sunil Kumar

The events of the not too distant past relative to regime change seems to be of little or no  avail relative to Law Enforcement when it comes to the circumstances which forced then-President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to flee the country. Rajapaksa, long implicated in corruption and draconian measures when he was defense secretary, is also purported to have presided over an economic catastrophe amid allegations of widespread corruption with impunity and the Rajapaksas collectively over periods of political power are accused of bringing the country to her knees economically which appears to have been at least partially set right by present President Ranil Wickremasinghe for which there is much to be thankful for.

However a year later a recent media report suggests that  ” despite some superficial changes, there is no sustained improvement in the country’s economic situation as well as law enforcement that impinges many people’s human rights. The acute shortage of fuel that was the most visible feature of the economic crisis has eased. But more than six million people – nearly 30 percent of the population – are food-insecure and require humanitarian assistance and issues of law enforcement excessively applied in certain parts of the country causing some turmoil which suggest careful addressing by the present administration towards restitution relative to accuracy and verification.

A curious reality has presented itself where the new president, Ranil Wickremesinghe is accused of using the police and military to crack down on protests by some disgruntled citizens which brings to bear many unanswered questions about justification. While the previous government had announced a moratorium on the use of the draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act, to the contrary the present administration is alleged to be using the law to detain student protest leaders and curb unrest which appears to be gathering storm clouds on the horizon where the now dormant Aragalaya is said to be mulling their next moved based on related realities which if accurate does not augur well and cautionary measures by the Administratioin in all probabilities is well advised.

There are talks being conducted presently about variations to the Prevention of Terrorism Act and its replacement which could be purposeful towards a viable change in the country’s climate towards unrest and perhaps a welcome one.

Furthermore a revised counter terrorism law proposed by the new administration which would have handed sweeping powers to the police, the military, and the president and created a set of new speech-related offenses has been put on hold where the administration was forced to pause the legislation amid widespread outrage, but the news is that authorities are nevertheless using other laws to clamp down on free speech which could once again throw the Nation into unnecessary turmoil considering the recent past.

Democracy and the freedom of expression which go hand in hand cannot be compromised towards the continuity of an Administration which has done well towards the recovery of the country where its leaders need to consider the importance of the related freedoms that have resulted in the restoration of a normal order which Sri Lanka is veritably enjoying today that should never be put into jeopardy based on infertile insecurities if they exist and the power of the armed forces to fortify them.

The media report referred to previously also alludes to ” The government also continuing to pursue abusive policies against minorities, such as ‘land grabs’ in the North and East, targeting Tamil and Muslim-owned land, including places of worship, on a variety of pretexts” which if verifiable and accurate needs to be seriously looked into towards restitution and correction as once again there appears to be inalienable democratic rights of citizens being impeded although these accusations may not necessarily bear accuracy relative to the true policies of the President known to have a compassionate view on such matters and someone who acts in conventional wisdom in a professional manner.

Sri Lanka remains tentatively in an economic and cost of living crisis affecting many people  especially the impoverished and the high crimes and misdemeanors in the country rife and excessive  where until complete resolution the Administration needs to recognize that upholding rights and pursuing accountability for grave crimes too is essential towards addressing the country’s problems albeit strong arm tactics never the solution .

Anup Sinha

The United States is often referred to as the ‘champion of democracy and human rights’. But over the past two decades, as it has transformed into a multicultural society, the United States has faced numerous domestic human rights problems, including institutionalized racism, hate crimes, and extrajudicial killings by criminals and law enforcement.

Numerous statistics show an alarming increase in gun-related violence, including extrajudicial executions and hate crimes, as well as systematic violations of human rights. Hate crimes, extrajudicial killings, and police violence are daily problems in American society. Additionally, the government is failing to introduce or formulate effective policies. There is a pervasive culture of impunity for extrajudicial killings. The ‘champion’ is seen struggling at home lately.

The concerns of the US and its Western allies about global human rights are well known. The United States has recently raised concerns about human rights, extrajudicial killings and political disappearances in Bangladesh. Among these, it is important to keep the news of the US house. A Bangladeshi man was shot dead by miscreants in the Missouri state of United States of America (USA) early Wednesday.  This is not the first-time armed men have attacked the United States.  The incident took place at 3:30am (Bangladesh time) and it is believed that the motive behind the crime was to rob the victim’s car and cash. The deceased was identified as Romim Uddin Ahmed, aged 22, originally from the Mirsarai upazila in Chittagong district.

According to media report, Romim was working at the gas station when a group of miscreants tried to break into his parked car.  When Romim intervened, a gunman targeted him and fired. He was later taken to the hospital by the police, where he was declared dead, he said. The police are currently looking for a 19-year-old suspect named Jatavian Scott in connection with the incident, he added. However, Romim Uddin Ahmed can be represented as a symbol of the sufferers of the US dire law and security situation disorder.  

Earlier in this year, a young man from the Bangladeshi community, Arif Saeed Faisal living abroad was shot dead by the police in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Then, many termed the death of Faisal, the family’s only child, as a ‘racist act by white police officers’.

On May 24 last year, blood was shed once again in the United States. An 18-year-old named Salvador Ramos killed 19 children and two teachers. After the incident at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, Border Patrol agents shot and killed the teenager before police arrived. In other words, another extrajudicial killing took place. A gunman has been shot dead by police near a school in Toronto, Canada, shortly after a shooting at an elementary school in Texas. These are examples of extrajudicial executions that have taken place in the United States and Canada. Both countries are known in the world for their advanced human rights laws.

Such incidents often occur in the United States. Ten people were killed in a shooting at a superstore in Buffalo, New York in May last year, the BBC and AFP reported. In 2012, a gunman opened fire at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut, killing 20 children and six others. Last year, there were 26 such shootings in the United States. In 2020, shootings will surpass road accidents as the leading cause of death for children and teenagers.

According to the Washington Post, an average of 1,000 people is killed by the police in the United States every year. In 2022 alone, the number of police killings in the United States was 1,944, which is one of the top 10 countries in the world. In addition, according to the police violence report, the number of people killed by the police in the United States in 2020 is 1 thousand 124. However, only 16 officers have been registered in the case of these murders. The US think tank ‘Mapping Police’ has shown in a report that international human rights law includes obligations to investigate, prosecute and provide reparations in cases of unlawful use of force by state agencies. But from 2013 to 2020, nearly 99 percent of the killings committed by the police were not held accountable.

This US concern about human rights and democracy is certainly positive for the consolidation of human rights of people in third world countries. But is there a chance to see this struggle of the United States in the establishment of democracy and human rights from a neutral point of view? On the opposite side of the headache of the United States in protecting human rights, the United States has its own interests and various strategies to fulfill them.

For decades, the US has killed thousands of civilians in bloody wars in Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan to fight terrorism, protect human rights and establish democracy. In addition, there are numerous accusations against the US of white supremacy, gun violence and serious human rights violations.

For years, the United States has waged wars in various countries around the world in the name of fighting terrorism. It has killed more civilians than counter-terrorism, increased the number of refugees, created new factions and continued civil war for years. According to Brown University’s Cost of War Project’s ground-breaking report, the US has spent an estimated eight trillion dollars on the ‘War on Terror’ project, killing more than 900,000 people and displacing millions. The enormous burden imposed on people’s lives and economy has led to the creation of new militant organizations every year, in addition to the reorganization of various armed organizations, including Al-Qaeda, Islamic State, Taliban, instead of eradicating terrorism. In the name of national security and the war on terror, the United States has spread a web of global human rights abuses for decades.

The United States continues to kill suspected terrorists in these countries, including Yemen and Somalia, many of them through drone strikes. On September 30, 2011, an Obama-ordered drone strike in Yemen killed radical religious leader and al-Qaeda propagandist Anwar al-Awlaki. The man was the first US citizen to be the victim of ‘target killing’ in US drone strikes. That day the man was ‘extrajudicially killed’ in defiance of all constitutional processes. At least 10 civilians, including women and children, were killed in a drone attack in Kabul in September 2021. From 2010 to 2020, drone strikes in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia have killed at least 16,000 people, including more than 2,000 civilians.

Racial and racial discrimination is an inherent feature of American society. Black citizens in the country have been victims of terrible discrimination for a long time. Black African Americans are killed by police at more than twice the rate of white Americans, according to the Washington Post. However, the number of blacks in the United States is less than 14 percent of the total population. The United Nations cited it as an ‘example of slavery and racial segregation’.

The United States has always been vocal about free press and freedom of expression. But everyone knows about the cruel fate of Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks in the country. The US crackdown on Assange has hampered free journalism and the free flow of information there.

The killing of Bangladeshi Ramim and Faisal by police after the suffocation of black man George Floyd—sets a precedent for extrajudicial killings and human rights violations in the United States. The time has come for the United States to focus on improving its own internal law and order rather than worrying about the protection of democracy and human rights in other countries.

Any extrajudicial execution is wrong. Such extrajudicial killings occur in many countries. But the US lacks the courage to take such steps there. It is right to argue that countries like the US or Canada should now examine themselves in the light of recent events. It is past time to change the lens through which they see the human rights situation in Bangladesh. When the United States itself violates human rights, it loses its ability to supervise others in the same way.

Anup Sinha is a researcher and freelance columnist specializing in South Asian Affairs with a particular focus on the Rohingya issue, India-Bangladesh relations, water sharing, etc. He has an MSS degree in International Relations from the University of Dhaka.

Pathik Hasan  Dhaka based security and strategic affairs analyst

Foreign diplomats become active when the election time approaches. Their activity becomes like a political party. While the ruling party protested this breach of etiquette, the opposition parties rightly took their word for it. Sometimes prompting them to be more active. They are also seen going to the embassy and paying some things.

Analysts say that according to the Vienna Convention friendly relations are developed between different countries by following certain rules. which is universal. But various influential countries ignore these rules. The activities of the diplomats of these countries involve interference in the internal affairs of a country. It is a question to the activist diplomats – people are being killed in America every now and then. Do they ever make statements? Has the United Nations ever issued a statement? Why do people die in America? A Bangladeshi boy named Faisal was killed in Cambridge, did they say how far the boy’s investigation has gone? Or have the ambassadors teamed up to make a statement? Why don’t you ask them?’

Diplomats in Bangladesh are not paying attention to the Vienna Convention

The activities being carried out by the diplomats of different countries in Bangladesh do not fall under the Vienna Convention. Their activities are not within the Vienna Convention. They do not follow any convention in their activities in Bangladesh. There is an embassy of Bangladesh where the movement is going on in France. But they did not make any statement. I don’t understand one thing, how many people have lost their lives, how many people have been arrested, what is the dire situation, there is no statement from any embassy. We have never made any statement on their internal affairs. Even the US and European embassies have not made any statement on the French incident.

But why this is happening in the case of Bangladesh, we dance on their (foreign diplomats) heads. It is our fault that they dare to do these things. for us We have destroyed our own self-respect. They have no personality. Politicians have destroyed the dignity of our country. We felt extremely bad after seeing these things and “How dare they do these things?” They make statements as if our country runs under them. Today, if we were a strong country like the United States, they would not have dared to do these things. The activities of foreign diplomats in Bangladesh are clearly a violation of the Vienna Convention. Diplomats have no place for activism. In any country in the world, they cannot and do not use it like this. Maybe they do in Africa, I don’t know for sure. Earlier they colonized there, plundered. White Europeans looted Africa. Even if they cannot loot now, they want to show that they are better than us. what foreign diplomats are doing or saying here, they should not. We are very cautious and DIPLOMATS have not taken inconsideration OF MORAL OBLIGATION OF MAINTING THE POLICY oof ‘noninterference’ And this is the primary mistake. They should not be allowed to do this.

What the Vienna Convention says

But not only the last election, but foreign diplomats are seen to be active when there is a political crisis in Bangladesh. The government party did not pay much attention to these activities. But the opposition has always been supportive. Section 1 of Article 41 of the Vienna Convention states that persons who enjoy diplomatic status and privileges in another country shall be bound by the laws and policies of that country. Besides, they cannot interfere in any internal affairs of that country.

This section has two more sub-sections. For example, it is stated in subsection number two of the article, all types of office work of diplomats, which the sending country will assign to the diplomatic mission, must be done through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the receiving country or related ministries. And in subsection number three, diplomats cannot use the premises of their mission office for any purpose not related to their activities. The agreement further states that diplomatic relations shall be based on mutual consent between the countries. In addition, one of the most important clauses of the Vienna Convention, or Article 9, states that any country can declare a diplomat of another country employed in that country as ‘persona non grata’ or inadmissible without giving any reason. The diplomat can be declared inadmissible before he reaches the country concerned. Any person serving in a country’s diplomatic mission, including the head of that mission, can be declared inadmissible. In this case, the sending country will either dismiss or withdraw the appointed diplomat. If the country fails to withdraw its diplomat in due time, the receiving country can deny the diplomat its special status and security.

Romim Uddin Ahmed and Faisal’s assassination and the politics of human rights

In the early hours of Wednesday, criminals in the Missouri state of the United States of America (USA) shot and killed Romim Uddin Ahmed, a Bangladeshi man. On December 4, Bangladeshi student Syed Faisal Arif was shot dead by the police in Boston, USA. In this incident, new questions have been raised about the country’s human rights situation. In the country which is concerned about the human rights of different countries of the world, and imposes various restrictions as a punishment, innocent people are being killed by the police in that country; But there is no trial for him. Every year in the United States, an average of 1,000 people lose their lives at the hands of the police.” This is Washington Post news, not mine. So, when their own country is in such a situation, how can they say that Bangladesh does not have human rights. why the number of police brutality in Bangladesh is so high, it is not even close to it. Just one or two makes a big stir. But every year in the United States, thousands of people are victims of gun violence. because there are not so many barriers to obtaining a gun permit in the US, people are easily killed there. Recently, a six-year-old child shot and killed a teacher. 98.1 percent of those killed by the police in the country do not face any trial. No one has to stand in court for this. Apart from the number of people who are dying on average, thousands of people are being murdered and murdered.

‘Would the United States allow meddling in internal affairs?’

No country in the world is completely accurate. But will the United States allow diplomats from other countries to comment on their internal affairs?’. diplomats are able to speak because of this; As they are being given a platform. They are holding a press conference of their own accord, not like that. They are speaking because they are given the opportunity. It may also be that the politics of this division serves their interests. the opposition party also went to the elections with the blessings of foreigners. So, their interference has increased unexpectedly. We saw in 2018 when Barnicutt said, BNP should participate in elections without a caretaker government; Then BNP went to the election. The issue of political fuel in the unethical speech of the diplomats cannot be completely ruled out. But a diplomat has to carry out his activities outside the country according to the Vienna Convention even if he has political motivation. We invite them to different places, when they meet the leaders of the government and opposition parties, it is also promoted. Our people are more interested in this campaign than diplomats. For these reasons, we ourselves cannot avoid responsibility. when diplomats work in different countries, they work silently. when they (diplomats) meet a political leader in different countries, it is not publicized. Because it is their routine work. But we bring them into the campaign for our own sake. when ambassadors meet political leaders in India, there is no news. we think that diplomats should comment more consciously when there are questions about the internal affairs of other countries.

විදෙස් බලය සංවිධානයෙන් නිවේදනයක් 

උතුර සහ දකුණ අතර පවතින දුරස්ථභාවය නැති කිරීම සදහා විදේශ රැකියා ක්ෂේත්‍රය ඇතුළු සියලුම ක්ෂේත්‍රයන් ඩිජිටල්කරණයට ලක් කළ යුතු බවට අමාත්‍ය මනුෂ නානායක්කාර යාපනයට ගොස් කළ ප්‍රකාශය අගය කැන නමුත්, ඩිජිටල්කරණ ක්‍රියාවලිය ප්‍රායෝගිකව ක්‍රියාත්මක කිරීමට කිසිදු පියවරක් නොගැනීම කණගාටුවට කරුණක් බව විදෙස් බලය සංවිධානය අවධාරණය කරයි.

විදෙස් බලය සංවිධානයේ කැදවුම්කරු ජනක බලල්ල මහතා මාධ්‍යයට ප්‍රකාශයක් ලබාදෙමින් මේ බව සදහන් කර තිබේ.

වැඩිදුරටත් අදහස් දක්වන ඒ මහතා මෙසේද ප්‍රකාශ කර සිටී.

විදේශ රැකියා ක්ෂේත්‍රයේ පවතින ජාවාරම් වලක්වන්න, මේ ක්ෂේත්‍රයේ කටයුතු ඩිජිටල්කරණයට ලක් කරන්න කියලා අපි මාස ගණනාවක් තිස්සේ ඉල්ලා සිටිනවා. අපි දිගින් දිගටම කරන බලපෑම නිසාදෝ ඇමැතිවරයා යාපනයට ගිහින් උතුර දකුණ අතර තියෙන දුරස්ථභාවය අඩු කරන්න විදේශ රැකියා ක්ෂේත්‍රය ඇතුළු සියලුම ක්ෂේත්‍රයන් ඩිජිටල්කරණයට ලක් කරනවා කියලා තියෙනවා

ආණ්ඩුව පැත්තෙනුත් මේ වන විට ඩිජිටල්කරණ ක්‍රියාවලිය වේගවත් කිරීම සදහා වැඩපිළිවෙලක් ක්‍රියාත්මක කිරීමට අදහස් කරන බව ප්‍රකාශ කර තිනෙවා. ඒක හොද තත්වයක්. හැබැයි අපිට ඒ ප්‍රකාශ දිහා බලාගෙන සතුටු වෙන්න බැහැ. මොකද මේවා ප්‍රායෝගිකව ක්‍රියාත්මක කරන්න වැඩපිළිවෙලක් අවශ්‍ය වෙනවා. ඒ වැඩපිළිවෙල ආරමභ කරන්නේ නැතිව, නිකම් වචනවලට පමණක් මේවා සීමා කිරීමෙන් කිසිම අයෙක්ට සෙතක් වෙන්නේ නෑ. අන්තිමේදී අපි හැමෝම රැවටීමට ලක්වීම පමණයි සිදුවන්නේ. මේ නිසා තමයි අපි දිගින් දිගටම ඉල්ලන්නේ මේ විදේශ රැකියා ක්ෂේත්‍රය ඩිජිටල්කරණයට ලක් කිරීම සදහා ප්‍රායෝගික වැඩපිලිවෙලක් ක්‍රියාත්මක කරන්න කියලා.

මේ වෙලාවේ මිනිස් ජාවාරම්වලට සම්බන්ධ පුද්ගලයින් කලබල වෙලා තියෙනවා. විදේශ රැකියා ක්ෂේත්‍රය ඩිජිටල්කරණයට ලක් කරන්න කියලා අපි දිගින් දිගටම කරන බලපෑම සමහරුන්ට හිසරදයක් බවට පත්වෙලා තියෙන්නේ. මොකද මේ ක්ෂේත්‍රය ඩිජිටල්කරණයට ලක් කළොත් ජාවරම්කරුවන්ට යන එන මං නැතිවෙනවා. ඒ නිසාද කොහෙද අපිටත් නොයෙක් චෝදනා කරන්න සමහරු අසාර්ථක උත්සාහයන්වල නිරතවෙනවා

මොනවා වුනත් විදේශ රැකියා ක්ෂේත්‍රය ඩිජිටල්කරණයට ලක් කරන්න කියන බලපෑම අපි අඛණ්ඩව සිදු කරනවා. අපි ජාවාරම්කරුවන්ටවත්, ආණ්ඩුවේ මර්දන හස්තයන්ටවත් බය නෑ. ඒ නිසා විදේශ රැකියා ක්ෂේත්‍රය ඩිජිටල්කරණයට ලක් කරන තෙක් අපි අපේ බලපෑම අඛණ්ඩව කරගෙන යනවා. 

Dr. Ibrahim Islam

Violence, hatred, division – these are unpleasant words. Its meaning can be found in the dictionary. Synonyms of those words can be found in the dictionaries of other languages of the world. The meaning of those words is the same in the dictionary of all languages of the world. When students and teachers go to the interpretation of those words, they realize that there should not be an environment of violence, hatred and division in human society. But the question is, should we all be involved in action? The atmosphere of hatred and division can still be observed in the world because of the absence. Due to such an environment, not only poor countries but also developed countries are getting polluted. Society with few people, country with many people. That is to say, if people are not free from the smallness of hatred and division, how will the society and the country be suitable for people to live in? We know that politicians are very influential among people. But if the politicians for the sake of power incite hatred and division among the people, then where will the situation stand? Society and the country will be suitable for people to live? In the machinations of unscrupulous politicians, minorities are persecuted due to differences in language, caste or religion. A similar phenomenon can be observed in our neighboring country India. The architects of the country wanted to build India as a democratic and secular state. For this reason, the constitution of the country of many religions, castes and languages has spoken about the philosophy of unity in diversity. But now a different picture is being observed under BJP rule. The politics of hate and division are now being given priority. As a result, the plight of minorities is now in India.

In Assam, India, some complaints have been lodged against the Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sharma for making ‘hateful’ statements against Bengali-speaking Muslims. On Monday July 17, the first-line opposition parties of Assam made those allegations. However, Congress has not yet opened its mouth on this. Note that the Muslims of Assam are referred to as ‘Miya’ in contempt. Chief Minister Vishwasharma ‘Miya’ issued a statement last week blaming the monopoly of farmers and traders for the rise in prices of vegetables. Vishwa Sharma urged the youth to engage in agriculture and other commercial activities by dismissing the ‘Miya’ Muslims. Minority organization ‘Assam Minority Struggle Parishad’ filed the first complaint against the Chief Minister in Central Assam’s Nagaon Sadar Police Station. He was accused of creating discord and enmity between the ‘Miya’ and Assamese communities. Independent member of Assam Rajya Sabha Ajit Kumar Bhuiyan also filed a complaint against the Chief Minister at Dispur police station. In the complaint, he said, the Chief Minister has spread tension in the society by targeting a particular community. He also demanded the arrest of the Chief Minister citing specific laws of the Supreme Court to prevent such communal speech and tension. Meanwhile, the Assam State Committee of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPIM) has lodged a complaint against the Chief Minister with the Latasil police station in the capital Guwahati. The party’s state secretary Suprakash Talukder and central committee member Isfakur Rahman complained. The two Left leaders alleged that the Chief Minister had made communal and hate speech aimed at creating division and tension between the Hindu and Muslim communities. Besides, the Assam branch of Trinamool Congress has written to the Chief Justice about this. Trinamool Congress State President Ripun Borar said the Chief Minister’s statement about the ‘Miya’ community shows that the failure to stop the rise in the price of essential commodities in Assam and the attempt to blame the Muslim community and dismiss the Assamese youth for it proves that the BJP and its leaders are completely dependent on the politics of division. It should be noted that Mehbub Mufti, the leader of the Democratic Party, gave his first speech on Sunday opposing the comments of the Chief Minister of Assam about Muslims. Hyderabad lawmaker Asaduddin Wai also expressed anger at Biswa Sharma’s statement. Some leaders of India’s opposition parties even complained against Biswa Sharma’s communal and hate speech. Now it remains to be seen how much it can be remedied.

Sectarianism and hate speech are emerging as a major crisis for India. The Muslim community has largely been excluded from the cattle trade in India’s Uttar Pradesh and the family leather trade in the state’s Kanpur district. Many of them came to West Bengal and started business. But this is the first time that the Chief Minister of an East Indian state has announced an ‘economic boycott’. Observers believe that the business and life of the minority Muslim community may be affected after such an announcement by Bish Sharma. Realizing how damaging the politics of communal hatred and division can be to the minority citizens of a country. Such a picture of a supposedly large democratic and secular state like India tells us how far people are still from humane society! Being a ‘real man’ has become the greatest task for the human race in the current civilization. But the big people of big countries are now busy building big weapons. Where do they have time to think about being human?

Courtesy The Daily Mirror

The suspect Roshan Dissanayaka was produced before the Naula (Paldeniya) Magistrate’s Court on charges of threatening a Member of Parliament, breaching Parliamentary privileges and criminal intimidation.

Senior State Counsel Shaminda Wickrema appearing for the prosecution submitted to Court that the suspect had sent threatening messages to the mobile phone of State Minister Pramitha Bandara Tennakoon on May 10, 2022, immediately after the death of MP Amarakeerthi Athukorala and his security officer and the aftermath of the 9th of May when the State Minister’s house had already been burned to the ground. He further said the suspect had also posted threatening facebook posts even after his statement was recorded by police.

The Senior State Counsel further submitted that the constitutional right to freedom of speech does not extend to illegal conduct and objected to granting bail to the suspect. He further argued that the suspect had violated all four conditions set out in the Bail Act. He argued that breach of Parliamentary privileges could also be tried in parallel by the Supreme Court.

Defence Counsel who appeared on behalf of the suspect argued that the incident happened over a dispute between the Minister and the suspect and that the suspect was not part of the Aragalaya.

After considering the submissions made by the both parties, Magistrate Nishadi Chandrawansa refused to grant bail to the suspect and remanded him till August 3.

Senior State Counsel Shaminda Wickrema appeared for the prosecution.

Attorney-at-law Indika Senevirathna appeared for the suspect. (Lakmal Sooriyagoda)

Courtesy Adaderana

Restrictions imposed on imported goods will be further relaxed later today (July 20), State Minister of Finance Ranjith Siyambalapitiya says.

Thereby, import restrictions on 328 more items will be eased.

The lawmaker said the gazette notification announcing the import restriction relaxation would be published tonight.

The announcement comes a month after the government relaxed import restrictions on 300 other items including electronic equipment, sanitaryware and food items with effect from June 09.

However, import restrictions on vehicles are unlikely to be lifted anytime soon. Speaking on the matter last month, Siyambalapitiya had said vehicle imports could not be allowed yet under the existing economic conditions.

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka Customs recently raised concerns with the Sectoral Oversight Committee (SOC) on National Economic & Physical Plans about reaching its target revenue as the task would prove difficult as long as the import restrictions on vehicles are in place.

Courtesy Adaderana

The Spokesman for India’s Ministry of External Affairs, Arindam Bagchi, has revealed India’s willingness to further expand financial economic relations between Sri Lanka and India.

Speaking on President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s visit to India, Bagchi said We would like to steepen this financial economic connection, but I think it’ll be premature for me to say when the visit is tomorrow”.

Bagchi made these remarks while commenting on trading in national currencies between India and Sri Lanka at a media briefing held on Thursday (20 July), and commended the fact that Sri Lanka has already notified the Indian Rupee as a designated foreign currency in its system.

The Ministry Spokesman noted, however, that how India, as a nation, deals with the concerned matter in the future, and how they take it forward, depends on those involved in India’s private and trade sectors.

In terms of trading in national currencies, Sri Lanka has already notified Indian Rupee as a designated foreign currency in their system. How we take that forward depends on our private sector and people who engage in the trade sector. We would like to of course steepen this kind of financially economic connections, but I think it’ll be premature for me to say when the visit is tomorrow”.

Courtesy Adaderana

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) will conduct training programmes for 300 Agriculture Extension Officers in Sri Lanka under an European Union (EU) funded project in order to boost Sri Lanka’s rice sector, the FAO announced.

The programme comes as part of an innovative project titled RiceUP, launched by the FAO in collaboration with the Department of Agriculture and Mahaweli Authority in Sri Lanka (MASL), with funding of €4 million from the European Union (EU).

The project aims at addressing the threat to food security caused by two consecutive seasons of poor harvests in 2021-2022. With a nearly 40% drop in paddy production in 2022, Sri Lanka’s rice ecosystem is vulnerable and requires immediate attention, the FAO mentioned.

Accordingly, the FAO and its partners will conduct training programmes for Agriculture Extension Officers (AEOs) on Integrated Plant Nutrient Management (IPNM) in four districts: Ampara, Badulla, Hambantota, and Polonnaruwa. 

The training will equip them with the necessary skills and knowledge to guide paddy farmers on soil management and the optimal use of organic and chemical fertilizers to enhance crop yield while reducing chemical dependency.

The initial training session for Agriculture Extension Officers (AEOs) on IPNM practices was launched today (20), at the Rice Research and Development Institute in Batalagoda, according to the FAO.

This session marks the beginning of a series of five training programs, aiming to train a total of 300 AEOs from the selected districts. The Training Manual, developed collaboratively with international and national consultants, the Department of Agriculture, MASL, and the University of Peradeniya will serve as the cornerstone of these training sessions.

IPNM is a sustainable land management practice that ensures soil quality, prevents degradation, and maximizes crop productivity while safeguarding the environment, it added, highlighting that the FAO’s induction of IPNM, coupled with the provision of urea fertilizer to smallholder farmers in selected districts, is a response to the challenges faced by farmers in accessing essential fertilizers and maintaining food security.
 
By adopting IPNM and accessing urea fertilizer, smallholder paddy farmers can reduce costs and improve productivity, leading to better profitability and resilience to future shocks”, it said.

Through the implementation of sustainable farming practices, including the safe and efficient use of fertilizer and quality seed, RiceUP aims to enhance productivity, food security, and livelihoods in Sri Lanka’s paddy farming sector, according to the FAO.

Furthermore, FAO remains dedicated to ensuring the long-term sustainability and resilience of Sri Lanka’s agriculture sector together with its partners, it added.

KAMALIKA PIERIS

Tamil Seperatist Movement alleges that    there was an ancient kovil at Kurundi called Kurundumale Aadi Sivan Aiyanar Kovil.  Tamil Separatist Movement complained    on 1 July 2021, that they found the lingam   missing from the site and that a trident  had been damaged.Sivan Aiyanar Kovil Society Chief Weerasingham Kaleichelwan, told the newspaper, The Morning on 26.6.2022 that villagers had long worshipped at this kovil but they were not allowed to enter the site after the war ended.

In the same month TNA MP Sumanthiran filed a fundamental rights petition in Supreme Court saying that the Tamil devotes had been prevented from worshiping at the kovil and also that damage had been done to the kovil. A trident had been broken and thrown away.   

Santhabodhi was asked, was there any such kovil. This is a new story, he replied, but   the pilimage has been turned into a kovil.  When conservation started at Kurundi    TNA had held a puja at Kurundi and sent   photos to the media, pretending that they were old photographs.

 During the excavation an exquisitely carved octagonal Yupa Gala, the central pillar of the early stupas, was found. Tamil politicians had leapt on this discovery stating that a Siva Linga had been found at the Kurundumale site. Yupa Gal are found all over the country, they are well known, observed the amused Ven. Santhabodhi.The Tamil Separatist Movement   had also attempted to build another kovil near Kurundi in 1981.

The tussle between the Tamil Separatist Movement and the Kurundi Buddhist Movement is continuing. The attempt to enshrine relics at Kurundi in June 2023 was blocked by Tamil disruptors. The Buddhist group are seen on camera, passively standing by.  They did not proceed with the ceremony, probably because they needed a tranquil atmosphere for enshrining relics.  But it looked like a defeat for the Buddhists.

Realizing this, Pivithuru Hela Urumaya announced that a 50-member group led by its leader Udaya Gammanpila would visit the Kurundi temple. they would also visit Nedunkerni viharaya, also targeted .Shanthibodhi thera had come under tremendous pressure  after the utterances of the Presidnet. On 21.6.2023, they went to Kurundi in a large group, accompanied by the Maha Sangha. They circled the stupa, carrying flowers, chanting pirit and looking purposeful.

The Tamil Separatist Movement remained undeterred. They knew they had the President on their side. On July 7, 2023 Viharadhipathi Santhabodhi   was informed that Tamil MPs   planned to celebrate Pongal   at Kurundi.  He informed the police.  Police had asked for an order from the Magistrate to stop this. Magistrate refused.

MPs Selvarajah Gajendran and Dharmalingam Siddharthan with a large group went to Kurundi on     14.7.2023 and started pongal preparations. The police intervened and stopped the puja. The   Hindu group turned aggressive and threatened the police, who remained firm. The Hindu   group chanted prayers, smashed many coconuts, offered flowers and left.

Santhabodhi sees the Tamil opposition to Kurundi as a part of the Eelam strategy. Their interest in Kurundi is political. He stated that not only the MPs, but the Tamil officials in the area are also working toward Eelam.  At the start the villagers were friendly and sociable with us later the Tamil politicians turned them against us.  Unlike the Sinhala public, the Tamil public is very, very   scared of the Tamil officials and   politicians. They never oppose them. They obey them implicitly.

The villagers living around Kurundi are not against Kurundi conservation,  said Santhabodhi. We have no problem with the villagers.I can definitely say that we have had no clash with the villagers. They come to Kurundi. They provide   Gokkola and plantain leaves for our functions. They know a little Sinhala.  Villagers respect Buddhism.     Before there war there has been a monk resident at Kurundi .They have given Dana to him.

Government officials, army and police working in Mullativu, come to Kurundi when they are free and have a bath and a chat. Tamil boys also come. We all meet at Kurundi, said Santhabodhi.   But after Tamil Separatist Movement   came on the scene, things changed.

The pro-Tamil anti Kurundi cause   was supported in Colombo too. Spectator” writing in Talk at the café” in Sunday Times, ridiculedSarath Weerasekera. He reported that Sarath Weerasekera and a group of his supporters had      attempted to intrude into the   inquiry held by the Mullativu Magistrate at the Kurundi site. Sarath attempted to make representations   .The judge refused to accept his representation, pointing out that it was a judicial inquiry. Sarath and his group then left the scene, said Spectator.

The Bar Association of Sri Lanka also publicly criticized Sarath Weerasekera on the Kurundi matter. The BASL said in a media statement, that the statement made by MP Sarath Weerasekera in Parliament, on 07 July 2023 on the Kurundi matter was an unfounded, brazen attack on the judiciary.

The Buddhist Lawyers Association, after some delay, came to the support of Weerasekera .they issued a statement saying we note with disgust that the BASL was prompt in issuing a statement with regard to a speech made by Parliamentarian Sarath Weerasekera, calling it a brazen attack on the judiciary, when he was expressing his views on Kurundi Vihara.

BASL did not respond in the same manner when MP Sumanthiran, speaking during the debate on the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution Bill in the Parliament, had stated: It’s not only the parliament that swings like a pendulum, so does the Supreme Court.  Change that Supreme Court also. Ask them to go home.”  The BASL did not complain about this said the Buddhist lawyers.  

 Sarath Weerasekera also responded. He rejected the allegation that his speech in Parliament on 07 July was a brazen attack on the judiciary. I know how to conduct myself in Parliament, he said. I think your press release was to show your solidarity with the lawyers in Mullativu. Why didn’t BASL issue a statement condemning TNA MP Sumanthiran when he in parliament, accused the Supreme Court of swinging like a pendulum, continued Sarath.

UN special rapporteur Monica Pinto submitted a paper on Sri Lankan judiciary to the UNHRC where she leveled many charges at the judiciary. The BASL has not made any statement against this derogatory report.  BASL should visit the North and observe how the Buddhist ruins are destroyed and Chaithyas razed to the ground. The archaeological officers are threatened with death. Court cases filed, with the help of Mullativu lawyers to delay renovations and then destroy what has been already done, concluded Sarath.   (Continued)

Sasanka De Silva Pannipitiya

I believe I’m alone in receiving unsolicited electronic mail and text communications often.

Despite internet service providers’ best efforts to keep spammers out of their customers’ accounts, some unscrupulous people manage to slip through the cracks.

On this basis, internet service providers’ efforts should be lauded.

On the same point, despite the users’ protests and dismay, mobile telephone service providers use the facility to increase income in their coffers while being a pain to the customers.

And the authorities’ failure to take steps to prevent subscribers from receiving unsolicited short messages is perplexing.

I’m sure many people, like me, keep their phones on 24 hours a day, seven days a week for numerous reasons, but not necessarily to get unsolicited texts at an obscene hour.

As a result, I believe that the government must investigate this matter thoroughly to find a solution to the problem of mobile phone service companies spamming their clients without their consent while profiting from it.

One reasonable solution to this problem would be to require mobile phone service providers to share their profits with their consumers, as many social media companies do these days.

Each time an If an unwanted short message is received, his or her account will be credited with a particular amount of credit, either based on the number of characters in the message or a flat but reasonable credit amount.

Many other parts of the world already have such regulatory structures in place, so why not Sri Lanka, too?

Sasanka De Silva

Pannipitiya.

MOD  Media Centre

Deputy High Commissioner of the Indian High Commission in Colombo Vinod Kurian Jacob paid a farewell call on the State Minister of Defence, Hon. Pramitha Bandara Thennakoon at the State Minister’s Office today (Jul 18).

The State Minister extended a warm welcome to the Indian Deputy High Commissioner and later had a cordial discussion with him.

The outgoing Indian diplomat conveyed his gratitude to the State Minister for his cooperation and assistance in maintaining the existing cordial bilateral military diplomacy.

During the occasion, State Minister presented a memento to the outgoing Deputy High Commissioner of India.

Assistant Defence Advisor of the Indian HC Lt. Col. Puneet Sushil was also present at the occasion.

Manusha Media

විදේශ රැකියා සදහා පිටත්වීටම අපේක්ෂිත ශ්‍රමිකයින්ගේ සුදුසුකම්, රැකියා අවස්ථාවන් එකිනෙකට සම්බන්ධ කරනු ලබන අන්තර්ජාලය පදනම් කරගත් වැඩසටහනක්  (IGRS) සංක්‍රමණය පිළිබද ජාත්‍යන්තර ආයතනයේ සහාය ඇතිව ආරම්භ කරනු ලැබූ අතර කම්කරු හා විදේශ රැකියා අමාත්‍ය මනුෂ නානායක්කාර මහතා සහ සංක්‍රමණය පිළිබද ජාත්‍යන්තර ආයතනයේ ආසියානු පැසිපික් කලාපීය අධ්‍යක්ෂ Sarah Lou Arriola අතින් එම වැඩසටහන යාපනය මුට්‍රවේලි ක්‍රීඩාංගනයේදී පැවති ග්ලෝකල් ෆෙයාර් 2023 දී එය එළි දක්වනු ලැබීය
කම්කරු හා විදේශ රැකියා අමාත්‍යාංශය, ශ්‍රී ලංකා විදේශ සේවා නියුක්ති කාර්යාංශය සහ සංක්‍රමණය පිළිබද ජාත්‍යන්තර ආයතනය එක්ව අන්තර්ජාලය පදනම් කරගත් මෙ වැඩසටහන සකස් කර තිබේ.

මෙම වැඩසටහන අනුව විදේශ රැකියා සදහා පිටත්ව යාමට අපේක්ෂිත ශ්‍රමිකියන්ගේ සුදුසුකම් සහ විදේශ රැකියා අවස්ථාවන් සදහා අවශ්‍ය කරනු ලබන සුදුසුකම් සමපාත කිරීමට කටයුතු කරනු ලබන අතර, රැකියාවක් සදහා අවශ්‍ය සුදුසුකම් සම්පූර්ණ කර නොමැති රැකියා අපේක්ෂිතයින් වෘත්තීය පුහුණු ආයතනවලට යොමු කිරීමට අවශ්‍ය පියවර ගැනීමටද නියමිතය.

ලෝකයේ වැඩිම ශ්‍රමික ඉල්ලුමක් සහිත ක්ෂේත්‍ර විස්සක් මූලික අදියරේදී මේ යටතට ඇතුළත් කරනු ලැබ ඇත. ඒ අතරම පළමු අදියරේදී විදේශ රැකියා අපේක්ෂිත රාජ්‍ය අංශයේ සේවකයින්ට රැකියාවක් සදහා අවශ්‍ය කරනු ලබන සුදුසුකම් සම්පූර්ණ කරගැනීමට අවශ්‍ය මගපෙන්වීම ලබාදීමට නියමිතය.

මෙම වැඩසටහන ජනගත කිරීමේ අවස්ථාවට සංක්‍රමණය පිළිබද ජාත්‍යන්තර ආයතනයේ මෙරට ප්‍රධානී සරත් දාස් මහතාද එක්ව සිටියේය.

Courtesy NewsIn.Asia

Dhaka, July 12: Bangladesh is not in a Chinese debt trap, says its  Foreign Minister A.K.Abdul Momen. In an article in Daily Sun, Momen said that the single-biggest bilateral lender is Japan.

Unfortunately, there is a wrong perception among few US lawmakers and officials regarding Bangladesh. They believe that Bangladesh is moving towards the Chinese debt-trap as a few Chinese companies are engaged in constructing a few mega projects in Bangladesh. Since the Chinese companies were lowest in price in submitting international public tenders, they got the job. For example, they got the job of constructing the railway line over the Padma Bridge. Bangladesh government is constructing it with its own money, but engaged a Chinese company to do the job,” Momen said.

The same is the case with the Bangabandhu Tunnel in Chittagong. Unfortunately, nobody mentions about Japan, South Korea or India who are also involved in constructing projects in Bangladesh. Japan is constructing the 3^rd terminal of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka and also the Dhaka Metro Rail Project plus constructing a few dedicated highways and byways.”

Till to-date, as a single country, Bangladesh borrowed maximum loans from the international agencies like the World Bank, ADB, IMF etc. amounting to 61%. It borrowed 17% from a single country and it is Japan. In fact, the total loan received from China is around 4.0 billion, which is less than 1% of its GDP.”

Till today American investment in Bangladesh is the highest and it is around 21%, followed by Japan, South Korea, UK, Singapore, Hong Kong and Malaysia. Recently many more countries showed interest in investing in Bangladesh and among them Saudi Arabia, UAE, India, Qatar, Australia and China are major ones.”

Foreign Policy

On foreign policy Momen said: A few countries namely the USA, India, Japan, Australia and EU countries are trying to contain the rise and spread of China. Bangladesh is very strategically located, in between China and India, and it maintains a very balanced and non-aligned foreign policy. The cardinal principle of its foreign policy is friendship to all, malice towards none”, and that  was laid down by Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.”

Recently Bangladesh announced its Indo-Pacific Outlook in which it proposes to have open, free, secure, inclusive, and rules-based navigation for all. Both India and Japan have similar views.”

Non-Communal

Bangladesh maintains absolute religious harmony and tolerance, and it has thousands of media, and its press is very vibrant and free,” the Foreign Minister said.

The population size of Bangladesh is half of that of USA, yet it has almost equal number of dailies in Bangladesh, and its media and social media are hyperactive. Bangladesh is the most densely populated country in the world (3,300 people per square miles) and is a Least Developed (LDC) country; yet its labor force maintains a comfortable life, much better vis-à-vis that of other LDCs.”

Human Rights

On human rights, he said: When the UN Special Rapporteur reported that few NGOs of Bangladesh claimed that 76 people were kidnapped or subjected to enforced disappearance in Bangladesh. The government took it seriously. On investigation it was found that out of these 76 persons, 8 are living in their own homes with their families, two are Indian nationals living in their own country, and 28 are absconding from justice. Unfortunately, police don’t have any complaints from the rest of 38 persons. Neither the Civil Society nor the Human Rights organizations could provide any information about the rest.”

When their contacts of the family members were asked to submit more detail information, they failed to do it. Instead, they claimed that the government is harassing them. Therefore, police have stopped going to their homes, and instead, it sent them letters with a request to submit more details about their whereabouts at the time of missing.”

It is reported that many may leave their homes or family due to family squabbles, few may be for financial and work pressures, joblessness, etc. Bangladesh government does not like to see any of its citizens to be missing or killed extra judicially.”

Killings in the US

Alluding to conditions in the US, Momen said: It is unfortunate that each year almost a thousand people are killed in USA without due process of law by security personnel in their line of duty. No one in the USA would like to see gun violence in schools, malls, clubs, parks or open spaces; yet it happens. Similarly, no one in Bangladesh wants to see any of its citizens getting kidnapped, yet it happens. Whenever such happens, government immediately takes all necessary corrective measures.”

Free and Fair Elections  

Assuring free and fair parliamentary elections, he said: The current government of Sheikh Hasina is the crusader of democracy, human rights and justice. In 1971, when majority party of Pakistan was denied to form the government, the Bangladeshi people sacrificed 3 million lives to uphold democracy, justice, and Human Rights.”

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the Father of the Nation suffered imprisonment intermittently over 14 years to establish democracy, people’s right to vote, right to food and shelter, and he spearheaded a campaign against corruption, extremism, and terrorism. Following the footsteps of her father, Sheikh Hasina has also suffered pains to establish right to vote, right to food and shelter, right to freedom of Press and media. In fact, she is currently the only head of the government in the world who suffered so much to establish democracy, Human Rights and Justice. She lost her entire family, her father, her mother, her 3 brothers, including a 10-year old brother; totalling 18 members were assassinated mercilessly in a military quo in 1975.”

It is Sheikh Hasina who endured prison, harassment and deprivation to restore multiparty democracy in Bangladesh. Democracy is in her blood and in the vein of her party, the largest party of Bangladesh – the Bangladesh Awami League (AL). The AL is always voted to power with people’s mandate, not through backdoor like few other parties of Bangladesh.”

She is committed to a free and fair” election and in order to have a free and fair election, she has instituted (1) biometric photo voter ID (to avoid fake votes), (2) transparent ballot boxes so that no one can stuff ballots before the voting starts, and (3) she established a very powerful, and highly independent Bangladesh Election Commission. It has broad power and it is responsible to conduct elections without favor or fear. They have the authority to suspend, transfer or terminate any officials both civilian and security if they find any interference or partisanship. More importantly, they have the power to cancel election in any centre if they are convinced that fraud or muscle power is used and vote rigging occurred.”

Over the last 15 years, AL conducted thousands of elections and except a microscopic few, by and large, elections were free and fair. Only recently, Mayoral elections in five cities were conducted and each of these elections was free, fair and even non-violent. The Election Commission deserves thanks for a splendid job. However, it is a fact that even if the Election Commission, or the government of Bangladesh are committed for a free, fair, and non-violent election, without sincere commitment of all political parties, one cannot guarantee a non-violent election in Bangladesh.”

If the opposition parties like the BNP or the Jamaat boycott the election, or burn down the election centers, ransack the ballot boxes, create roadblocks to voters, burn-down public and private buses, trains, boats, vehicles as they did in 2014 and 2018, you cannot expect a non-violent election.”

Therefore, it is imperative that all parties participate and sincerely commit for a free, fair and non-violent election.”

Relations with US

Despite ups and downs, Momen was happy with Bangla-US relations.

Over the last 52 years, the relationship between USA and Bangladesh has been great and during the last year, both President Biden and Secretary Blinken wanted to strengthen it further. No wonder, the US administration has been sending one after another teams to Bangladesh to explore ways of strengthening our relationship.”

Currently Bangladesh and USA are working together in collaboration and partnership on a number of multifaceted issues such as climate change, Rohingya issue, women’s empowerment, UN peacekeeping, health and labor issues, trade and investment, energy and renewable energy sector, economic development, people’s empowerment, education, skill training and digital innovations. In addition, USA is engaged with us to help improve the democratic process, rule of law, freedom of press and media, etc.”

Bangladesh is also trying to establish rule of law, that is, no one is above law and it abrogated the infamous ‘’indemnity laws” in order to strengthen ‘rule of law’ and good governance; it requested the US government to handover fugitive killer of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Mr. Rashed Chowdhury to Bangladesh. Since USA is committed to rule law, hopefully they will prove their commitment by deporting him to Bangladesh soon,” Momen said.

 Lanka Lead News

පසුගියදා වන සංරක්ෂණ දෙපාර්තුමේන්තුව, මහවැලිය සහ පුරාවිද්‍යා දෙපාර්තුමෙන්තු විසින් මායිම් යොදා වෙන් කර තිබූ මුලතිව් දිස්ත්‍රික්කයේ රක්ෂිත වනාන්තර ඉඩම් අක්කර 29,000ක් ඔවුන්ගේ භාරයෙන් නිදහස් කොට දෙමළ ජනතාව වෙත පවරන ලෙස ජනාධිපති ලේකම් කාර්යාලය විසින් දැනුම්දී ඇති බවත්, ඊයේ දිනයේ (18) දෙමළ සන්ධානයේ ජාතිවාදී දේශපාලනික අරමුණු ඉටුකිරීම උදෙසා වත්මන් ජනාධිපතිවරයා (පොලිස් බලතල පමණක් රහිතව) 13 වන ආණ්ඩුක්‍රම ව්‍යවස්ථා සංශෝධනය බලාත්මක කරමින් උතුරු නැගෙනහිර පළාත්වල ඉඩම් බලතල ලබා දීමට සුදානම් වෙමින් සිටින බවත් පවසමින් හිටපු නැගෙනහිර පළාත් ආණ්ඩුකාර අනුරාධා යහම්පත් මහත්මිය මාධ්‍ය නිවේදනයක් යොමුකර තිබේ.

මෙවන් තත්වයක් යටතේ, ඊට සම්පුර්ණයෙන්ම පරස්පර විරෝධී ක්‍රියා පිළිවෙතක් අනුගමනය කරමින් වසර ගණනාවක් පුරාවට මඩකලපු දිස්ත්‍රික්කයේ මෙම ප්‍රදේශවල පාරම්පරිකව වගා කටයුතු සිදුකල සිංහල ගොවිජනතාව එළවා දමා ජාතිවාදී පටු අරමුණු මුල් කරගනිමින්, දෙස්/ විදෙස් ආයෝජනයැයි පවසමින් අක්කර දහස් ගණනින් උතුරු නැගෙනහිර මහවැලි ඉඩම් වලින් සිංහල ගොවීන් පමණක් ඉවත් කිරීම හරහා රටේ ඒකීයභාවය අභියෝගයට ලක්කිරීම තරයේ හෙළාදකින බවත් ඇය සඳහන් කරයි.

අදාළ මාධ්‍ය නිවේදනය පහළින්…

Courtesy The Daily Mirror

Refuting claims that nuts and bolts worth millions of rupees had been removed and stolen from the New Kelani Bridge, Transport Minister Bandula Gunawardane said these nuts and bolts cannot be removed so easily as special tools are needed to do so.

The Minister told Parliament that no nuts and bolts had been removed from the bridge and that only the relevant engineering companies were in possession of the special tools required to remove them.

Responding to a question by MP Dayasiri Jayasekara, he said only some GI pipes PVC pipes of the drainage system, some parts of the air conditioning system of the communication room connected to the bridge and colour bulbs fixed along the bridge have been stolen.

The Minister said the total value of the stolen items from the bridge was Rs. 5.9 million. 

He said Rs. 294.4 million worth of items such as brass wire, GI pipes and lamp posts of the Colombo Katunayake Expressway had been stolen.

He said brass wires of the electric cable system of the Katunayake Expressway had been stolen during the power crisis and Covid-19 lockdown period between September, 2021 and July 2023.(Ajith Siriwardana and Yohan Perera)

Courtesy Hiru News

Sri Lanka’s forthcoming review of the USD 3 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout package “should go through” given the falling inflation, appreciation of the rupee and build-up of foreign reserves says Prof. Krishnamurthy Subramanian, representative at the IMF Executive Board for Sri Lanka, India, Bangladesh and Bhutan.

Sri Lanka stands a strong chance of passing the first review of its $3 billion bailout given falling interest rates and a build-up of foreign reserves, according to the nation’s representative on the International Monetary Fund executive board.

Sri Lanka’s efforts to achieve debt sustainability in line with IMF stipulations are also progressing smoothly, said Krishnamurthy Subramanian, who also represents India, Bangladesh and Bhutan.

IMF officials will visit Sri Lanka in September to take stock of the situation, added Subramanian, one of 24 executive directors on the board.

Loan disbursement decisions like the upcoming one for Sri Lanka require a majority of voting shares at the board, a governing body for the IMF that tries to operate by consensus. Subramanian made clear that his views are his own, and that he couldn’t speak for the overall view of the board.

Courtesy Adaderana

Sri Lanka stands a strong chance of passing the first review of its $3 billion bailout given falling interest rates and a build-up of foreign reserves, according to the nation’s representative on the International Monetary Fund executive board.

The South Asian country’s efforts to achieve debt sustainability in line with IMF stipulations are also progressing smoothly, said Krishnamurthy Subramanian, who also represents India, Bangladesh and Bhutan. IMF officials will visit Sri Lanka in September to take stock of the situation,” added Subramanian, one of 24 executive directors on the board.

Loan disbursement decisions like the upcoming one for Sri Lanka require a majority of voting shares at the board, a governing body for the IMF that tries to operate by consensus. Subramanian made clear that his views are his own, and that he couldn’t speak for the overall view of the board.

Source – Bloomberg

-Agencies

Courtesy Adaderana

The European Commission has suggested that the current GSP+ (Generalised Scheme of Preferences Plus) scheme be extended by 04 years, amidst the ongoing negotiations for the EU’s new GSP+ arrangement.

Taking to Twitter, the Delegation of European Union (EU) to Sri Lanka has mentioned that as one of Sri Lanka’s largest trading partners with nearly EUR 3.2 billion worth of Sri Lankan exports to the European Union in 2022 alone, it recognises the importance of GSP+ scheme for Sri Lankan exporters.

Accordingly, the European Commission has proposed a 4-year extension to the current scheme to be in effect until 31 Dec 2027.

As negotiations for our new GSP+ arrangement are still ongoing between the EU’s co-legislators, the European Commission has proposed a 4-year extension to the current scheme until 31 Dec 2027 so that countries like Sri Lanka don’t lose their preferential access in the interim”, the EU delegation tweeted.

Furthermore, the EU delegation noted that for Sri Lanka, the GSP+ extension proposal means that, for now, nothing changes, and that it will provide the same access to European Union’s market and the same obligation to comply with the 27 international conventions, which are key to ensuring that the country’s economic recovery is not just fast, but also fair, just, and green.

Courtesy Adaderana

The Anti-Corruption Bill was passed in Parliament on Wednesday (19 July) with amendments. The Bill which was presented before the House on 06 July, was passed in Parliament this morning without a vote.

The Bill was presented before the Parliament, with amendments, today, for the Committee Stage. Amendments proposed by the Minister and certain amendments proposed the opposition incorporated during the Committee Stage of the Bill today.

The Second Reading debate of this Bill, which was presented to the Parliament on 27th April 2023 by the Minister of Justice, Prisons Affairs and Constitutional Reforms Dr. Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe, was held on 21st June and 6th July.

The Bill was surrounded by much controversy, however, as several parties, including Transparency International Sri Lanka (TISL), had highlighted key concerns within the clauses of the Bill, stating that certain provision of the Bill in question are ‘unconstitutional’.

Filing a petition in this regard, TISL challenged 37 clauses of the Anti-Corruption Bill in total, including clauses 28(3), 161 and 119, stating that they were disproportionate and could have a chilling effect on whistleblowing, the right to information and the freedom of expression, and could affect the concepts of transparency and accountability.  

Meanwhile, the Women Parliamentarians’ Caucus (WPC) also submitted proposals to amend the Anti-Corruption Bill.

The Supreme Court had also determined that certain clauses of the Bill were inconsistent with the Constitution and therefore should be tabled after amendments.

Delivering the Supreme Court determination, however, Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena stated that the said inconsistencies cease, if the amendments, as set out in the determination of the Supreme Court, are made to the Bill.

The Additional Solicitor General also informed the Supreme Court that amendments to clauses 8 (3), 136, 141, 142 and 156 of the Bill, as set out in the determination, would be made in a bid to address several concerns raised by the petitioners.

The determination of the Supreme Court was then printed in the Hansard report of the parliamentary proceedings on 06 June.

Shenali D Waduge

Rajavarothiam Sampanthan is a Vellala MP and the oldest MP in Sri Lanka’s Parliament. There are not many nonagenarian MPs but Sampanthan is likely to take his Eelam dream to his grave & beyond coupled with the hate, racism, vengeance & revenge that will follow him for many births. Having lived through insurrections, terror, watched his fellow comrades gunned down by those he referred to as sole representative”, Sampanthan chooses not to retire but to drum lies and racism. No wonder the youth continue to go astray when the leaders are taking them astray.

Born : 5 February 1933 (turned 90 years)

Father Superintendent of Stores at the Gal Oya Project

Education: St. Patricks College, Jaffna, St. Anne’s College Kurunegala, St. Josephs College, Trincomalee, St. Sebastians College, Moratuwa

Profession: Lawyer graduating from Ceylon Law College & began practice in Trincomalee

Marriage: Leeladevi (daughter P. K. Rudra)

Children: 2 sons (Sanjeevan & Senthuran & daughter Krishanthini

Leader of : Tamil National Alliance since 2001

MP since 2001

MP from 1977 – 1983

MP from 1997 – 2000

Leader of the Opposition : Sept 2015-Dec2018 (controversial appointment)

Political Career

• Joined ITAK in 1956 (7 years after ITAK formed in 1949 – Sampanthan was 23years)
• Offered ITAK nomination in 1963 & 1970 – but Sampanthan declined
• ITAK, ACTC, CWC formed Tamil United Front and renamed it TULF on 14 May 1972 (days before Republican Constitution on 22 May 1972)
• Sampanthan was TULF joint treasurer, Vice President & General Secretary.
• 1977 General Election – Sampanthan was TULF candidate in Trincomalee & won
• July 1983 Sampanthan & TULF MPs boycotted Parliament & refused to take oath of allegiance & denounce separatism as per 6^th amendment
• Sept 1983 Sampantha & TULF MPs lost their seats in Parliament due to 3 months absence
• 1989 General Elections – Sampanthan was ENDLF/EPRLF/TELO/TULF alliance candidate for Trincomalee – alliance did not win a single seat in Trincomalee
• 1994 General Elections – Sampanthan contested under TULF in Trincomalee but failed to win seat
• 1997 entered Parliament as a result of assassination of A. Thangathurai on 5 July 1997.
• 2000 General Election – Sampanthan contested under TULF in Trincomalee but failed to win a seat.
• 20 Oct 2001 – ACTC, EPRLF, TELO & TULF formed Tamil National Alliance – Sampanthan made leader of TNA (at 68 years) contested & entered Parliament
• 2001 onwards TNA was pro-LTTE with election manifesto declaring LTTE to be the ‘sole representative of the Tamil people’. – this stand resulted in TULF leader V Anandasangaree leaving TNA alliance with some members of TULF https://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=6844 LTTE-TNA decide to work united”-Sampanthan
• 2004 TULF distanced itself from TNA due to pro-LTTE stand – this resulted in ITAK re-emerging as a political party with Sampanthan leading ITAK & TNA
• Sampanthan re-entered Parliament in 2004, 2010, 2015 & 2020.
• 2010 Presidential Elections – India ordered TNA to back Sarath Fonseka for Presidenthttps://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/wikileaks-sampanthan-fonseka-secret-pact-revealed/

• 2015 Presidential Elections – TNA backed Maithripala Sirisena as President
• With just 16 seats in Parliament to the shock of all TNA was announced Main Opposition in a 225 seat Parliament & Sampanthan named Leader of the Opposition. Amirthalingam became Leader of the Opposition in 1988.

The high number of seats is attributed to the unfair & disproportionate representation given to the North which must be corrected. The contestants hardly get any votes but end up in Parliament due to the proportional representation system. The years where TNA has direct LTTE support have given large representation to Parliament while 2015 is due to TNA role in the regime change.

2014 – ITAK Central Committee on 26 Jan 2014 in Trincomalee under ITAK chairmanship /Presidency of Sampanthan commended attendees for victory at the PC elections & unanimously resolved 6 issues related to the North & East Sri Lanka.

1. LAND – claiming displaced were not settled on lands in Vallikamam, Jaffna & Sampur in Trinco
2. MISSING PERSONS – fate of persons no addressed
3. MILITARY PRESENCE – adverse impact on lives of Tamil civilians (is the military good enough to rescue them & build them homes & toilets & did Tamils have free movement under LTTE)
4. INDEPENDENT & IMPARTIAL INVESTIGATION ON HUMAN RIGHTS & INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN LAWS RESULTING IN OVER 40,000 civilian deaths (action should have been taken against this allegation sans any evidence)
5. COMMITMENT BY GOSL TO TNA – implementation of 13A
6. FUNCTIONING OF NPC – while ITAK accuses the Centre the reality is that the funds requested by the NPC has never been spent on the Tamil people by the provincial council due to caste differences

Exactly what did TNA do when LTTE was carting 300,000 Tamils with them to keep as hostages/human shields? Did TNA issue a single statement to free them? Did TNA raise a single penny to send them food?

Jan 2023 – Talks between TNA initiated by President Ranil following all party conference on 13 Dec 2022 with 3 point plan

1. Release of political prisoners (LTTE), release of private lands in NE, enforced disappearances & missing persons
2. Full implementation of 13A (though even LTTE was against it)
3. Constitutional reform for power sharing (TNA has hardly 350,000 votes & just 10 seats)

It was a consequence of this meeting that President Ranil attending Thai Pongal celebrations in Jaffna on 15 Jan 2023 declared he would implement 13A in the near future.

ITAK election history

1. 1952 General Elections – ITAK won 1.9% & 2 seats out of 95. ACTC won 4 seats.
2. 1956 General Elections – ITAK won 5.3% & 10 seats out of 95. ACTC won 1 seat.

ITAK was blamed for 1958 riots & banned briefly

ITAK accepted 1958 Tamil Language (Special Provisions) Act in accordance with BC Pact.

• 1960 General Elections (July) – ITAK won 7% & 16 seats out of 151 Parliament
• 1965 General Elections – ITAK won 5.3% & 14 seats out of 151 Parliament
• 1970 General Elections – ITAK won 4.92% & 13 seats out of 151 Parliament
• 1977 General Elections – TULF won 6.4% & 18 seats out of 168 Parliament (14 seats in North)

TNA & pro-LTTE have won the Gobbelsian propaganda campaign using the ‘victim’ card. The GoSL apparatus has failed for lack of will to use the truth at all levels. Tamil leaders were never afraid to lie while Sinhala leaders were always afraid to tell the truth & challenge the lies. As a result the international community are ready to accept” the lies as it falls within their geopolitical strategy. Confounding matters is when Sinhalese are also joining the lying brigade.

Prabakaran was not even born when Tamil leaders made racist demands & formed ethno-religious political parties aspiring to create a separate state (50-50 / ITAK in 1949) Prabakaran was just a 2 year old when the Official Language Act was passed in 1956. Prabakaran was only a 5year old when SWRD was assassinated in 1959. Prabakaran was hardly of an age to know the disproportionate number of positions held by Tamils due to the education & employment biases of the colonial rulers.

Sampanthan screams victimization” while he lives in a house paid for by majority Sinhalese taxpayers, surrounded by Sinhalese bodyguards and living in Sinhala areas when he should be living in Trincomalee.

The Sampanthan that screams victimization” has done nothing against caste victimization by his own people where even entering a Hindu temple has been taboo. Name a single TNA leader who has said a word against CASTE DISCRIMINATION AMONGST TAMILS an inhumane trait in 21^st century. Thesalamai law itself is a discrimination against Tamils. When the Social Disabilities Act was passed in 1957 Tamil leaders even travelled to London to oppose allowing low caste Tamils to enter school. If the Language Act was considered worse, why didn’t they travel to London against the language issue.

The Tamil problem is not with the Sinhalese it is amongst themselves. It is a Vellala vs Non-Vellala problem. The Thesavalamai law is for Malabar (Indian) Vellalars & not applicable to all Tamils. Vellala Tamil leaders even appealed to the British to codify caste system. It was this Vellala high caste/class that declared Vadukoddai Resolution in 1976 calling for youth to take up arms to create a separate state. Was the call to arms serving a dual purpose? The majority of armed militant youths were low caste & who perished for a cause they would have been anyway slaves of. The living former LTTE have found out too late that the caste factor will never place them on par with the Vellala’s whether they won or lost the separatist war. The war against the Vellala caste is what the UN is now toying with probably to hand over the baton away from Vellala’s to the low caste who are mostly now under control of the Church. See how artfully the conflict has played with people’s lives.

Sampanthan is a Dravidian Vellala. He does not voice a word against Indian-imported caste system. While he takes pains to howl ‘discrimination by Sinhalese’ he conveniently ignores the oppression, suppression and persecution suffered by Tamils by Tamils. Does Sampanthan bring the caste issue to the attention of the international community? No, neither does any of the other Dravida Vellalas.

Sri Lanka became a republic in 1972 – LTTE was running a defacto state since 1983 till 2009 (37 years of becoming a republic – 26 years LTTE ruled its own people) So what relief did LTTE provide Tamils in an area where there were no Sinhalese? Those who travelled to the North after the war would have seen the pitiful state of the people & what North looks like today after the development undertaken by the Government that eliminated the LTTE. While Tamils that lived amongst LTTE had no freedom or rights, Tamils who were living amongst the Sinhalese grew from strength to strength, studied got employed, bought land in the South & even travelled overseas. The best example is Wigneswaran – went to Royal College, lived in Colombo, became a Supreme Court judge and then went to the North only after 70 plus years to continue to racist Goebbels lies.

Sampanthan’s ITAK 14^th Convention speech in May 2012 exposes who Sampanthan is & how he thinks

Shenali D Waduge

By Dr Tilak S. Fernando

Since Sri Wickremara Ranasinghe became King of Senkadagala (Kandy), many conflicts existed between the elite and society. When it became so aggressive to take revenge in April 1802, there was an incident in British-occupied Puttalam, where a Muslim group was battered, and their belongings were seized with the help of Pilimathala Chief Adikam using Ceylonese lots.

During the 18^th Century, the British Indian Trading Company owned many parts of India. Meantime, The United States of America had a battle with the British. Simultaneously, the Dutch were fighting for their independence against the British.

On January 05, 1782, Under Admiral Sir Edmond Fuse of the Navy sent a contingent and a walking platoon, to the up-county, with the help of Commander Lord Hector Senadipathy (Admiral), who held the position of the Governor of Madras. During this struggle, the Dutch had neglected entirely the Northern coastal area, which made the British quickly occupy Trincomalee. As things were happening smoothly, the British decided, with the blessings of Lord McCarthy Hugh Boyed, to send an Ambassadoup-country to meet up with the King and to come to an agreement with the King. But Hugh Boyed had had to leave Kandy as a disappointed man. Meanwhile, a French Admiral, Belly de Supfriend, recovered Trincomalee with a contingent of Naval Officers.

1787 Paris Agreement

In 1787 according to Paris Agreement, the British, French, and Dutch agreed to hand over Trincomalee to the three countries. In 1794, with special permission from the Dutch, a peoples’ government was established, resulting in the chase of King William, who returned to England. Meanwhile, the British cunningly sent a notice to the Management Committee of the Dutch (but not to King William), stating that they requested to hand over Colombo and other parts to the British rulership. The letter said the British would forcefully take over the areas even if the Dutch Committee did not accept it. After a while, the Dutch Committee decided to hand over Colombo Fort etc. In August 1795, two British higher-ups from the British Army, Peter Rayner and George Stuart, arrived in Ceylon and issued a notice to the authorities of the Dutch in this respect. As a result, the Dutch left within half an hour of the notice of the Colombo Fort. Accordingly, the British occupied the following areas on the dates mentioned on the following dates: September 18, Batticaloa, September 27, Point Pedro, September 28, Jaffna,1^st of October, Mullaitivu, October 05, Mannar and November 13, Kalpitiya.

On February 16 1796, an agreement between the British and the Dutch allowed the Dutch to give leave to live in Ceylon for 18 months so that   Dutch officials would hand over debts and accept the Dutch currency. It would enable peacefully coming to a settlement and handing over to a Dutch Indian company in Ceylon owned all lands to be acquired by the Indian company in Ceylon. Because of the war in Europe, the British firms knew that acquired lands had to be returned to the Dutch after the war. Therefore, they were aware of the welfare of the landowners.

By this time, as the Indian Trading company were doing well in Madras, they attempted to introduce the same technique in Ceylon. The Vidanes objected to this. Therefore, the British sacked all of them and appointed Tamil officers from Madras. Officials from Madras were rude to the public. Indian British Company introduced a ‘tax auction’ procedure. Accordingly, the collection of tax was auctioned was held. In 1796, from September 01 introduced, a new tax on a coconut tree known as the ‘Panama’, and the new tax should be paid in coins. The coconut estate owners were astonished that even those coconut trees which did not bear any coconuts had to pay this new tax. In 1800, April Governor North introduced a new ornamental tax. It meant those who wore (both Men & women) who wore expensive Gold, Silver or Gem studded rings or pendants had to pay this new tax. Men had to pay $1/- and women had to pay ½ a dollar. In 1799 by mining pearls, the Ceylon government received 3800 sovereigns. Later they divided Mannar, Trincomalee – Batticaloa and Mullaitivu into one section and Mannar into another section and Jaffna into a different area and Chilaw and Colombo into another area. The British set up offices in each area under the Kacheri.

Succeeding from Governor North, a New Governor, Maitland, aimed to improve people’s cost of living, camaraderie, and governing style. His first aim was to ensure every farmer got a plot of land for cultivation. Secondly, he realised that a set of civil servants are required to run the governance efficiently, and he increased their salaries and made a three-tier programme for promotions. Thirdly, he attempted to get close to the people by enquiring about their welfare and requesting regular reports. After reading the reports, he ordered villagers and farmers about their economic situations. To curb corrupt practices in his governance, Governor Maitland ensured that his approval was obtained before every payment was made. 

In 1802, all areas of Ceylon’s English Oriental Company, which owned lands, were taken over by British Governance. For purposes of governance, the areas that belonged to the British were divided into various regions. For each area, a cashier (British Civil Servant) was appointed. These appointees were those in charge of Korale as Athukorala, and civil servants who were in order of the villagers were called Vidane.

Meanwhile, for ease and peacefully for trading purposes, the British attempted to agree with the up-country regime, but in 1762, before the Dutch occupied the coastal area, an Englishman called Phybus arrived as a missionary tried to meet up with the King for an agreement as follows:

• They sought permission in Chilaw or Batticaloa coastal area to have Janapadaya (people set feet and settled down) in Ceylon’s English Oriental Company’s territory.
• To sell Cinnamon at the rate sold to the Dutch to the British.
• To sell erca-nuts and peppercorns only to Britain only.
• Produce from other areas to deal with the British only.
• To companies on the Island, only British Law is applicable.
• When necessary British soldiers be applied, and the expenses incurred in such operations, the King has to bear the costs.
• As it was expensive to build a fort & maintain a platoon, the King should hand over some areas to the British

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Courtesy: The writer translated into English from the text of the late Prasad Milinda Siriwardena, Ceylon Economic Analysis between BC 543 to 1832. Only relevant parts were taken into consideration.