Lahiru Pothmulla Courtesy The Daily Mirror

Visiting UN Expert Juan Pablo Bohoslavsky today expressed concerns over the Sri Lankan Government’s decision taken in May 2016 to increase the Value Added Tax (VAT) from 11 per cent to 15 per cent.

Juan Pablo Bohoslavsky, the UN Independent Expert on the Effects of Foreign Debt on Human Rights said, I am concerned by the significant raise of the VAT tax rate, climbing from 11 per cent to 15 per cent in 2016, since the cost of such tax is borne by the poorest part of the population. In fact, revenue collection through VAT has seen an acceleration to 56.5 per cent in 2017,” he said addressing a news briefing in Colombo.

He said recent reforms in Sri Lanka have resulted in rationalization in energy and farming subsidies, fuel price being now set with an automatic market-based mechanism and the price of electricity is about to be de-regulated along the same mechanism.

However, he said he was concerned about the impact of such measures on the livelihood of fisher, farmers and rural communities’ households.

It is my view that such cuts should at least be compensated through cash transfers targeting those in need and ensuring that they reach the beneficiary in a timely and efficient manner. Investments in the rural economy should be directed in supporting the livelihoods of these small-scale producers so they will be resilient against these subsidy reductions targeting those in need,” he said.

Sheain Fernandopulle Courtesy The Daily Mirror

The Government had to increase the prices of fuel due to its poor economic management, MP Bandula Gunawardana said today.

Addressing a news briefing, he said the incumbent Government did not have a long term economic policy in place.

There is a prevailing economic crisis caused due to the rupee depreciation,” Dr. Bandula said.

The Government has been unable to provide the advantage to the people in such a situation where the World Market price of fuel remains in a lower percentage than that in the precious regime,” Dr. Bandula said.

Although the World Market price remained in a higher percentage in our Government, we were able to keep the people unburdened. That is why I reiterate that this Government lacks a proper economic management,” he added.

Meanwhile, MP Sisira Jayakody said even though Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was boasting of the growth of the economy, they could not see any such growth.

The economic growth rate is diminishing compared to that in the previous Government. We were able to maintain a growth rate of six but now it has declined even below three,” MP Jayakody said.

He further said that Enterprise Sri Lanka would not become a helping hand for the poor but would make rich people richer.

Shehan Chamika Silva Courtesy The Daily Mirror

Filing a revision application in the Court of Appeal, President’s Counsel Romesh de Silva today said the order given by the Kurunegala High Court Judge remanding former Minister Johnston Fernando pending the conclusion of the trial was legally wrong.

President’s Counsel was of the view that the alleged High Court order was wrong on the face of it as the same court had previously enlarged Mr. Johnston Fernando (accused -petitioner) twice before and after the indictments.

According to the President’s Counsel, initially, the prosecution had filed a B report against three suspects namely Johnston Fernando, Mohammed Shakeer and Nalin Fernando over an alleged purchase of certain goods from Laksathosa Limited violating the Public Property Act in Kurunegala Magistrate’s Court.

However, later the Kurunegala Magistrate’s Court refused to grant bail as the law requires bail to be granted by a high court judge, unless for exceptional circumstances.

Then the suspects filed a revision bail application and were released on conditional bail.

Subsequently, the Attorney General indicted the suspects in High Court.

Mr. De Silva said that his client had pleaded not guilty for the charges and subsequently on the same date he was released on bail again by the same High Court without any objection of the State.

“The Kurunegala High Court Judge was then transfered and the case was taken up before a new Judge. When the trial was finally fixed to be heard daily, the new Judge ordered the suspect to be remanded till the conclusion of the trial proceedings, even though there was no request a to do so,”said Mr. De Silva.

According to the President’s Counsel, while remanding the suspect the Kurunegala Judge had said that it was the practice of the Court to do so. “Surely that cannot be the law which violates the Bail Act. What we have to understand is that bail is the rule, remand is the exception” Mr. De Silva said.

The petitioner has sought to issue notices to the respondent of the petition, to set aside the Kurunegala High Court order remanding him, pending the conclusion of the ongoing trial, and to make an interim order releasing him on bail.

The matter was taken up for inquiry before the Bench comprising Judge Achala Wengappully and Judge Janak de Silva.

Subsequently, the application was fixed for support tomorrow 1.30 p.m. by the Court of Appeal.

Sheain Fernandopulle Courtesy The Daily Mirror

The Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption which was established to inquire into corruption was full of corruption, United National Freedom Front Secretary Maithri Gunaratne charged.

The Director General and couple of Commissioners of the Commission are reported to have purchased three Mercedes Benz cars worth Rs. 4.5 million each on rent basis in such scenario where they have been provided with three luxury vehicles by the Commission. It is utterly misappropriation of public funds,” Gunaratne told a news briefing today.

The other funny thing is that although these three newly purchased cars are electric motor cars, it was reported that they still get the fuel allowance granted by the commission,” he said.

On the other hand, there is an official in the commission who frequently goes abroad in the first class or the business class. According to the information we gathered from an official of the commission, he goes overseas to buy sweets and other food items for his family members,” he added.

He said it was the funds of the people that were being used for these journeys.

Nevertheless, he said the Director General of the Commission used to spend funds between Rs. 6mn to Rs. 7mn to get his office cabin repaired.

Is this we should expect of a commission like this which has been placed to investigate corruption and bribery? They should set an example for others instead of involving in misappropriation of public finds,” he added.

Courtesy The Daily Mirror

The ‘rift’ between Minister Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka and Army Commander Mahesh Senanayaka escalated again with the Field Marshal drawing similarities between the Army Commander and Idi Amin because of their choice of ‘bald’ hairstyle.

The Army Commander acts with a distorted mind. He should know how to maintain his hair like a respected public officer. He is bald, like Idi Amin,” he told journalists after attending an event in Kelaniya on Monday.

The Field Marshal was responding to Army Chief Lieutenant General Senanayake’s statement on Sunday in which he said that no one could review the Army’s strength after having gone on retirement years ago.

Lieutenant General Senanayake said some retired military officers who have identified themselves as ‘War-Analysts’ had defined the Army’s right-sizing programme as s closure of camps.

Field Marshal Fonseka told journalists that the Army Commander was only a Brigadier when he was leading the war.

If he thinks he knows more than us, he is just sitting on his tail. He was appointed as the Army Commander not because of his talent, but because of other people’s mistakes,” he said.

Courtesy Adaderana

In an interview conducted by Nitin A. Gokhale, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe addresses the security aspects of the lease of Hambantota Port, Sri Lanka debt and his relationship with President Maithripala Sirisena.

At the interview conducted in Hanoi, where he attended the 3rd Indian Ocean Conference recently, Prime Minister reaffirmed the security of the region following the lease of Hambantota Port to China and stated that Sri Lankan territory will not be used for anything harmful to Indian security.

He says that, although the joint venture has a 70-year lease, the government can at any time terminate it, if the government thinks it has to be done.

Wickremesinghe also stated that there is not military dimension to the Colombo Port City funded by the Chinese government and spoke about collaborative projects with the Indian government such as the  liquefied natural gas plants, Trincomalee development and the oil tanks with the Mattala airport.

Interview also focused on the future plans for the Palaly airport where India assist to extend the runway.

Speaking on his relations with President Sirisena, Wickremesinghe stated that it’s the first time that two major rival parties have worked together, not just in Sri Lanka but also in the world.

The complete interview is a follows:

Q: We are meeting at Hanoi on the eve of the third Indian Ocean Conference. You’ve attended the previous two conferences too. What is your view on the importance of Indian Ocean and the new Indo-Pacific structure that is sought to be evolved now?

A: The strategic centre of geo-politics in the next few decades will certainly be the Indian Ocean, by around 2050. Therefore, Indian Ocean is important. Firstly, because of its population and economic growth, I think a fair number of wealthy nations by 2050 will be within this region. Take South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, and that’s a lot. Secondly, the volumes travelling through the Indian Ocean, east to west, will be far more and crucial. The fuel supplies to the whole of East Asia and to India will all go through this ocean, so it is becoming the centre. The Indo-Pacific is really extending the concept or the concerns of USA and others to cover the whole Indian Ocean. Actually these are all terminologies. The first South East Asia command was in Sri Lanka. It went all the way up to China, to Chongqing, at the Burma front and India. And then downwards to Indonesia, what’s called the Indo-Pacific under the South East Asia command and the Pacific was under the Americans. Subsequently, it has been the Indian Ocean littoral nations that have been there. We are Asian so we have a common identity, but I think the distinct nature of the Indian Ocean and the geo-politics of this ocean must function as it is and you can’t use the Pacific issues to cover the Indian Ocean issues. But together we can all work for a stable order and to ensure freedom of navigation.

Q: So, in that context, Sri Lanka is so well located and poised. How do you see Sri Lanka’s role in this evolving new center of gravity in world politics?

A: Well, we are a small nation but we are at the centre of the Indian Ocean. So navigation through Indian Ocean is critical to our economy. And we would like to ensure that the freedom of navigation is maintained in the Indian Ocean. Therefore, for us we thought we should try and get all the littoral states plus all the other stakeholders to come in and play this role. It is not the Indian Ocean itself, but I think we’ll also look at the choke points and work on it. As far as to get everyone down and to start talking and see where the consensus is and where you haven’t gotten a consensus and keep working at it. Our aim is to ensure that somehow the freedom of navigation is upheld in the Indian Ocean. As long as it’s done, we prosper.

Q: Right. So the Indian Ocean conference in that sense is a new initiative. It’s been three years now that I’ve seen you talking in all the three conferences, in fact hosted it last year in Colombo, for which I was also there. So, in that sense how important is this conference?

A: It’s continuing and it’s the first time that we are coming into South East Asia, into Vietnam, which is on one end of it, but that is also essential. In the old days the commerce passed through Vietnam and I think Mae Sot was the furthest Hindu kingdom that was there.

Q: That’s right. Let me come to your own domestic issues. The Hambantota Port has always been under some kind of constant scrutiny in the world media and otherwise. So what is the current status of that Port right now?

A: Hambantota harbour is a public-private partnership, the public part being the Sri Lanka Port Authority and the private part being China Merchant. As you know the story, this was built at that time and we were having difficulties without closing it up, unless some of us came. We firstly asked for two other Chinese firms but whoever offered, Chinese or non-Chinese, it was going to be for commercial shipping purpose. Security was going to be asked and that operate within it. So now they have come in, they have paid their stake and they are putting in some additional money to develop the port. The joint venture has a 70-year lease but the government can at any time terminate it, if the government thinks it has to be done. The security is in the hands of the Navy and the Southern command we shifted from Galle to Hambantota, Galle has limitations, only a large frigate could come in. The police will be there, the customs will be there and immigration will be there. We are starting a large industrial estate zone there of about 15,000 acres. We will give it out to developers who want to start special economic zones like in Bangladesh. And of course with your own Indian authorities, we are discussing another public-private partnership for the Hambantota airport, the Mattala airport. But nothing will be allowed to be used for military purposes, but commercially yes. We also told the Chinese, the Japanese and others that there was an understanding between India and us that Indian territory will not be used for anything harmful to our security. Similarly, Sri Lankan territory will not be used for anything harmful to Indian security. So we are functioning within that framework.

Q: Similarly, the Colombo port project had also raised some controversies. Initially, before you were elected to power, you had said that you will review it. So after the review you have allowed…

A: The port city project we found, that it had been given out on a free-hold basis and work had commenced, that they had filled up half of it. So we decide to make it into a lease hold and with certain powers with the Government of Sri Lanka. So it will be like a property development project. And as far as we’re concerned, we let it go ahead because we anyway couldn’t have a half complete land filled. Once we bring the financial city commission and the urban development authority, they will have the regulatory powers over the land there. But of course the China Harbour and its developers will be selling about 60 to 70 per cent of the land there. The remainder is in the name of the Government of Sri Lanka. That again is not a free-hold, they can only give a lease.

Q: And also there is no military dimension to it?

A: No military dimension to it, yes.

Q: How are you dealing with the debt trap that Sri Lanka is under with China? How are you dealing with that?

A: It’s an overall debt issue that we are involved in. With China, the port city is the investment and Hambantota has sort of sorted itself out with the payment, Mattala will also be resolved with the joint venture we are planning. There are Chinese loans on other projects, but more than that, now we have the International Sovereign bonds and that’s the biggest issue that we have here. So we have to find ways to stabilise so that our revenue is sufficient to certainly meet the debt servicing and to repay those installments but that loan is not enough. We now have to earn sufficient foreign exchange for our balance of payments and send our revenues up. We feel by about 2025 we should start that process of easing out the loan payments.

Q: Right. So in that context, sir, before you came to power with the previous government, India had this objection legally that you are allowing China free run. Now that you’ve done all this, how do you see the India-Sri Lanka relations under your government?

A: It is really improving. And we would like to see, India is getting involved in more projects here. We are getting India and Japan involved into LNG plants (liquefied natural gas plants). We are also discussing the Trincomalee development and the oil tanks with the Mattala airport. We are also working on the Palaly airport where India will help us to extend the runway. In fact, I am speaking to your minister about getting a flight in from South India to Palaly.

Q: That will be interesting. What about the Kankesanthurai harbour project?

A: That project is also going on. The Indian Government has agreed on that. I would like Palaly airport to become an international airport.

Q: Oh, you want flights from Palaly going international?

A: Yes I think we should get it from the region. We can initially do with India with what is there, because the IAF (Indian Air Force) used that during the IPKF days. Then we had to extend the runway where we can take 320s. So then not only India but even Malaysia and Singaporean airlines can also come there.

Q: You’ve laid special emphasis on development of the North under your government.

A: Yes we have and India is helping us with the Mannar-Trincomalee highway and the highway system there. Even houses for re-housing.

Q: Yes, the other day you inaugurated something there, some project.

A: Yes. I did one in the hill country, that is the villages for the people who work in the plantations, having them outside. In the future, as they are getting educated, it’s unlikely that they will continue to work in the plantations. That will be another problem for us but that’s a different subject.

Q: The other thing is regarding the fishermen’s issue with India and Tamil Nadu.

A: That is gradually getting sorted out. I think your government is also helping them to go into deep sea fishing, which is good. So I think that should sort itself out and maybe with more and more South Indian fishermen doing deep sea fishing, our people will also go there. Seas around Sri Lanka and India we are allowing foreign trawlers to come and take the catch and that’s something that should not happen.

Q: And how do you see BIMSTEC’s future?

A: BIMSTEC has to become more vigorous I feel and work along with ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) members there, especially Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore.

Q: It hasn’t really taken off so far.

A: It should do more yes.

Q: Let me turn to a little bit of your domestic politics sir. It’s been three and a half years since the new government came in, with a lot of hope. When you look back, or see now, there is a lot of uncertainty in the minds of the people because of the January results of the local body elections. Have you overcome that setback?

A: Well, that came at the most difficult time for us. We had a shortage of fertilisers, the prices were up and supply was disrupted because we had about five cultivation seasons in the drought. The tea area was affected by floods. Everything that could have gone wrong went wrong and if we would have postponed the elections, it would have been worse for us. But it also showed that we are a democratic nation and that we are willing to go through that. I told the country that we took tough decisions because the country needed it, not that we were suicidal, but that it had to be done and they would understand it, and that we are gradually picking up. There was a protest vote against us but I don’t think the former President and his group can capitalise on it as a positive vote when it comes to a game-changing election.

Q: That will anyway be next year right.

A: Yes, it’ll be next year. Basically the relationship between the communities has improved except for one unfortunate incident at Digana. Well, democracy is in place. Every media has been criticising me every day but no one has been taken away, no one is missing, no one complaining. The democratic system and the RTI (Right to information) Act is on. We have stabilised the economy. Now we have move forward. But India and all of us now are facing the present global economic situation and the strengthening of the dollar. But education and health indicators have gone up, we’ve spent a lot of money despite all our problems. Now we are coming with the rural infrastructure programme and the enterprise for small and medium. We are also coming up with incentives for investors. So let’s see. In five years we’ve done the correct thing.

Q: So you can build on that as you go along. And you mentioned very significantly the relationship between different communities. So, is the reconciliation well on track with the northern Tamils?

A: It’s back but the issue now is going to be the constitution, we can enact the constitution now. A draft has been given by panel of experts but I think we will have to decide in the next few weeks how we go forward.

Q: Right, and what about provincial elections?

A: That’s the next one. We are discussing what the system of election should be because people and all parties were unhappy with the report given by the delimitation committee. So that is the next round. I am trying to conclude that quickly, one way or another, the necessary laws are passed. Personally, I think it’s better to have the election early and finish it off, giving us the time to focus on national issues.

Q: Ok, which will give more powers to provinces or something of that sort?

A: It will protect the power of the provinces where the centre can’t just come and take it away. And there are some areas where they have agreed to increase the powers as well.

Q: I see. One final question, though you might not want to answer it. I read your media and they say that relations between you and the President are not very good and that somehow you are pulling in different directions. Is that true?

A: Relations between the President and me are good but it’s the first time that two major rival parties have worked together, not only in Sri Lanka but anywhere else. If BJP and Congress had worked together, would it have lasted?

Q: Never

A: That’s the answer to the question.

ආචාර්ය නාලක ගොඩහේවා උපුටාගැණීම  මව්බිම

රත්නපුරය – ධර්මප්‍රිය ලියනආරච්චි නිමල් බඳගිරිය උපුටාගැණීම  මව්බිම

යහපාලන ආණ්ඩුව බලයට පත් වුණේ ජනතාවට බොරු කියලා, බොරු පොරොන්දු දීලා මහින්ද බලයෙන් පහ කිරීමේ බටහිර බලවතුන්ගේ න්‍යායපත්‍රය හැරුණුවිට ආණ්ඩුවක් පිහිටුවා ඉදිරියට යෑමේ වැඩපිළිවෙළක් ඔවුන්ට තිබුණේ නැහැ. අද රට වැටී තිබෙන මේ අර්බුදකාරී තත්ත්වයෙන් ගොඩ ඒමේ අභියෝගය අපි භාරගන්නවා. එයට සැලැසුම් හා වැඩ කළ හැකි නායකයෙක් ඉන්නවා. වියත්මඟ සංවිධානය සමඟ එක්ව සකස් කළ ඒ වැඩපිළිවෙළ ජනතාව අතරට ගෙන යෑම ‘එළිය තුළින් සිදුවෙනවා’ යැයි හිටපු ආරක්ෂක ලේකම් ගෝඨාභය රාජපක්ෂ ගොඩකවෙලදී පැවැසුවේය.

ගෝඨාභය රාජපක්ෂ මහතා එසේ පැවැසුවේ හිටපු ජනාධිපති මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ යළි බලයට පත් කළ යුත්තේ මන්ද යන්න පැහැදිලි කිරීම සඳහා ඒකාබද්ධ විපක්ෂය ‘එළිය’ වැඩසටහන යටතේ දීපව්‍යාප්තව පවත්වාගෙන යන සම්මන්ත්‍රණ මාලාවේ රත්නපුර දිස්ත්‍රික් සම්මන්ත්‍රණය ගොඩකවෙල බ්ලූ සැෆයර් හෝටලයේ පැවැති ‘එළිය’ සම්මන්ත්‍රණයට සහභාගි වෙමිනි.

එහිදී හිටපු ආරක්ෂක ලේකම්වරයා මෙසේද කීය.

ලෝකයේ හැමතැනමත් අයුක්තිය සහ අසාධාරණය සිදුවෙනවා. එහෙත් එයට ඉඩදී සිටීම යුක්තිගරුක බුද්ධිමත් ජනතාවගේ යුතුකම හා වගකීම නෙවෙයි. අපේ රටෙත් සිදුවෙමින් පවතින්නෙ එයයි. පසුගිය 5 වැනිදා කොළඹට එක්වුණු මහා ජන ගඟ ඉටුකළේ අයුක්තියට අසාධාරණයට එරෙහි වුණු යුක්තිගරුක ජනතාවගේ වගකීම සහ යුතුකම ඉටුකිරීමේ තවත් පියවරක් තැබීමයි. ඔවුන් එදා කිව්වේ කරන්න බැරි නම් දාල යන්න. කරන්න පුළුවන් මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ වගේ නායකයෙක්ට රට දෙන්න කියන එකයි.

ඒත් මම දන්නෙ නැහැ බලෙන් බලයේ එල්ලී හිටින අගමැතිවරයාට ඒ දෙය තේරුණාද කියන එක.

මම හිතන්නෙ ජනාධිපතිවරයාට වගකීමක් තියෙනවා ඔහුට ඒ කරුණු පහදා දෙන්න. මේ රට වැටී තිබෙන තත්ත්වයෙන් ගොඩ ගන්න පුළුවන් කෙනකුට දෙන්න අඩුම වශයෙන් ඔහුවත් තේරුම් ගත යුතුයි.

අද වන විට බොහෝ ව්‍යාපාරිකයන් කියන දෙයක් තමයි මේ ආණ්ඩුව ගෙන යන ප්‍රතිපත්තිය තුළ තමන්ගෙ ව්‍යාපාර කඩා වැටිලා තිබෙන බව. ඒ වගේම රටේ ආරක්ෂාව, සදාචාරය විශාල වශයෙන් කඩා වැටෙමින් පිරිහෙමින් තිබෙනවා.

අපි යුතුකමක් හැටියට මේ තත්ත්වයට විසඳුම් සොයන්න මහින්ද ජනාධිපතිවරයාගේ නායකත්වයෙන් ඉදිරිපත් වුණා.

මේ ආණ්ඩුව බලයට පත් වුණේ බොරු විශාල සංඛ්‍යාවක් කියලයි. නොමඟ යවලයි. ඔවුන් බලයට පත්වුණත් ප්‍රතිපත්තියක් තිබුණෙ නැහැ. සූදානමක් තිබුණේ නැහැ. සුදුසු කණ්ඩායමක් ඔවුන්ට හිටියෙත් නැහැ. ඒ නිසයි අද මේ තත්ත්වයට පත්වෙලා තියෙන්නේ.
ඒත් අපිට ඒ වගේ ගැටලුවක් නැහැ. අපිට ඒ සඳහා ප්‍රතිපත්තියක් තියෙනවා.

වැඩපිළිවෙළක් තියෙනවා. ක්‍රියාත්මක කිරීමට හැකි කණ්ඩායමක් අපට ඉන්නවා. එදා අපි සකස් කරපු මහින්ද චින්තන වැඩපිළිවෙළ අපට තියෙනවා. අපි ඒක තවදුරටත් ක්‍රියාවට නංවනවා.

සමහරු අහනවා අපිට මේක කරන්න පුළුවන් දෙයක්ද කියලා. අපි ඒකට දෙන උත්තරේ තමයි එදා අපෙන් ඇහුව කාලයක් තිස්සෙ ඔඩුදුවලා තිබුණු යුද්ධය නිමා කරන්න පුළුවන්ද කියන එක. ඒ වෙලාවෙ ඒ අභියෝගය ජයගත්ත මට මේක ජයගන්න එක වැඩක් නෙවෙයි කියලා මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ ජනාධිපතිවරයා කිව්වා.

යුද්ධය නිම කළාටත් වඩා වැදගත් වෙන්නෙ. පශ්චාත් යුද සමයේ මේ රට සංවර්ධනය කරපු කාර්යයි. ඡන්දයක් තියල උතුරු පළාත් සභාව ස්ථාපනය කළා. සමහරු ඒකට විරුද්ධ වෙනවා ඇති. ආයුධ දැරූ කණ්ඩායම් නිරායුධ කළා. සාධාරණ ඡන්දයක් සඳහා ඔවුන්ව නිරායුධ කිරීම අවශ්‍ය වුණා.

අපි හැම ඡන්දයක්ම වෙලාවට තිබ්බා. අද ඒක වෙන්නෙ නැහැ. මොනවහරි කරල ඡන්ද කල් දමනවා. අපිට අවශ්‍යව තිබෙන්නෙ ජනතාවට මේ අවශ්‍යතා ලබාදීමයි.

අද රටට ව්‍යවසායකයන් ගෙනඑන්න පුළුවන් වාතාවරණයක් නැහැ. මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ මහතා එයට සුදුසු වාතාවරණයක් ඇති කළා. අද කොළඹ කොටුව ප්‍රදේශයේ ඉදිවෙමින් පවතින හැම ව්‍යාපෘතියක්ම ආරම්භ වුණේ මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ ජනාධිපතිවරයාගේ කාලයේ. එහෙත් ඒවා නිසි වෙලාවට නිම කරන්නට ලැබුණෙ නැහැ. මේ ආණ්ඩුව සිදු කළ අනිසි මැදිහත්වීම් නිසා ඒ අය අපිට ඒ බව කියනවා. ෂැංග්‍රිලා ව්‍යාපෘතිය ඒ වගෙයි.

නැවත වරක් මේ රට ගොඩනඟන්න නම් මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ වගේ නායකයකු රට භාරගත යුතුයි කියන එකයි අපි කියන්නේ. මේ ආණ්ඩුවේ හැම කෙනාම කතා කරන්නෙ රාජපක්ෂලාට ජම්පර් අන්දවන හැටි මිසක් රට කරවන හැටි නෙවෙයි.

පොලිස්පතිවරයාගේ හැසිරීම මට පුදුමයි. එයා නිල ඇඳුම ඇඳගෙන ජනාධිපතිවරයා ඉදිරියේ නටනවා. මෙහෙම පොලිස්පතිවරයෙක් තියාගෙන කොහොමද නීතිය ක්‍රියාත්මක කරන්නෙ.

දැන් ඉතාම භයානක ආණ්ඩුක්‍රම සංශෝධනයක් සිදුවෙමින් පවතිනවා. එහෙම ඉඩදිය යුතු නැහැ. ඒවා ඉතාම භයානකයි. ජනතාව දැනගත යුතුයි. ඒවා නවත්වන්න හැම උත්සාහයක්ම ගත යුතුයි. ඒකාබද්ධ විපක්ෂය එහි වගකීම අරගෙන තිබීම සතුටට කරුණක්.

රියර් අද්මිරාල් ආචාර්ය සරත් වීරසේකර

උතුරු පළාත් සභාවත් දැන් යමින් සිටින්නේ ඊළාම් රාජ්‍යයක් කරායි. මේ රජය බලයට පත් වුණේ 2015 පෙබරවාරි 8 වැනිදා. උතුරු පළාත් සභාව පෙබරවාරි 10 වැනිදා යෝජනාවක් සම්මත කරගන්නවා. ඒ යෝජනාවේ කියනවා සියලුම රජයන් දෙමළ ජනතාව සමූල ඝාතනය කළා. ආණ්ඩුව සැලැසුම් සහගතව දෙමළ ජනතාවට ලිංගික අතවර කළා.

සංස්කෘතිය සහ භාෂාව විකෘති කළා. හමුදාව දෙමළ කාන්තාවන්ට කඳවුරු තුළ ලිංගික හිංසා කළා කියලා කියනවා. මේ යෝජනා සම්මත කර ගැනීම තුළ සිදුවන්නේ වෙනම රාජ්‍යයක් කරා යෑමේ ජාත්‍යන්තර අවශ්‍යතා සම්මත කර ගැනීමයි. මේවා සිදුවෙද්දී මේ ආණ්ඩුව නිහඬයි.

ආචාර්ය නාලක ගොඩහේවා මහතා

මේ ආණ්ඩුව බලයට පත් වුණේ කිසිම ආර්ථික සැලැසුමක් නැතිව. කිසිම දෙයකට කිසිම සැලැසුමක් නැහැ. කළේ නිකම් කාලය නාස්ති කරපු එක විතරයි.

රත්නපුරය – ධර්මප්‍රිය ලියනආරච්චි
නිමල් බඳගිරිය

කේ.එස්. උදය කුමාර් උපුටාගැණීම  මව්බිම

ඉකුත් රජය සමයේ මැදමුලන ප්‍රදේශයේ ඩී.ඒ. රාජපක්‍ෂ අනුස්මරණ කෞතුකාගාරය ඉදිකිරීමේදී රුපියල් මිලියන 33ක රජයේ අරමුදල් සාවද්‍ය ලෙස පරිහරණය කළේ යැයි චෝදනා කරමින් හිටපු ආරක්‍ෂක ලේකම් ගෝඨාභය රජපක්‍ෂ මහතා ඇතුළු විත්තිකරුවන් 07 දෙනකුට එරෙහිව නීතිපතිවරයා විසින් ගොනුකර ඇති නඩුව විභාග කිරීම සඳහා අධිකරණයට බලයක් නොමැති බවට විරෝධතාවක් මතු කරන බව විත්තිකාර ගෝඨාභය රාජපක්‍ෂ මහතා වෙනුවෙන් පෙනී සිටි ජනාධිපති නීතිඥ රොමේෂ් ද සිල්වා මහතා ඊයේ (10දා) කොළඹ ත්‍රිපුද්ගල විශේෂ මහාධිකරණ විනිසුරු මඬුල්ල හමුවේ සඳහන් කළේය.
එම නඩුව ඊයේ සම්පත් අබේකෝන් (සභාපති), සම්පත් විජයරත්න සහ චම්පා ජානකී රාජරත්න යන මහත්ම මහත්මීන්ගෙන් සමන්විත ත්‍රිපුද්ගල විශේෂ මහාධිකරණ විනිසුරු මඬුල්ල හමුවේ කැඳවූ අවස්ථාවේදී ජනාධිපති නීතිඥ රොමේෂ් ද සිල්වා මහතා මෙම දැනුම්දීම කළේය.

අධිචෝදනා භාරදීමෙන් අනතුරුව විත්තිකාර ගෝඨාභය රාජපක්‍ෂ මහතා වෙනුවෙන් පෙනී සිටි ජනාධිපති නීතිඥ රොමේෂ් ද සිල්වා මහතා ඉල්ලීමක් කරමින් ඇප පනතේ 07 වැනි වගන්තිය ප්‍රකාරව තම සේවාදායකයා ඕනෑම අවස්ථාවක අධිකරණය හමුවේ පෙනී සිටීමේ කොන්දේසිය මත මුදාහරින්නැයි ඉල්ලීම් කළේය.

ඊට ප්‍රතිචාර දක්වමින් පැමිණිල්ල වෙනුවෙන් පෙනී සිටි රජයේ නියෝජ්‍ය සොලිසිටර් ජනරාල් දිලීප පීරිස් මහතා විත්තිකරුවන්ට මේ වන විට චෝදනා පත්‍ර භාරදී ඇති හෙයින් ඔවුන් සුදුසු කොන්දේසි සහිත ඇපයක් මත මුදාහරින්නැයි ඉල්ලා සිටියේය.

මේ අනුව එක් එක් විත්තිකරු රුපියල් ලක්‍ෂයක් මුදල් ඇප සහ රුපියල් ලක්‍ෂ 10ක් බැගින් වූ පෞද්ගලික ඇප දෙකක් මත මුදාහැරීමට නියෝග කෙරුණු අතර, විත්තිකරුවන්ගේ ඇඟිලි සලකුණු ලබාගෙන වාර්තාවක් කැඳවන ලෙසටද නියම කළේය.

විත්තිකරුවන්ගේ විදේශ ගමන් තහනම් කෙරුණු අතර ඔවුන්ගේ විදේශ ගමන් බලපත්‍ර අධිකරණයට භාරදිය යුතු බවට නියම කළ විනිසුරුවරු අධිකරණයේ අවසර ලබාගැනීමෙන් පසුව විත්තිකරුවන්ට විදේශගතවීමට හැකියාව පවතින බවද සඳහන් කළහ.
මෙම නඩුවට අදාළ ලේඛන සියල්ල විත්ති පාර්ශ්වය වෙත ලබාදීමට පියවර ගන්නැයි නීතිපතිවරයාට නියම කළ විනිසුරුවරු නඩුව නැවත ඔක්තෝබර් මස 09 වැනිදා දක්වා කල් තැබූහ. නඩුවට අදාළ ලේඛන විත්ති පාර්ශ්වය වෙත සම්පූර්ණයෙන් ලැබී තිබේද? යන්න ගැන එදින පරීක්‍ෂා කිරීමෙන් අනතුරුව නඩුවට අදාළව විත්තිය විසින් ඉදිරිපත් කළ මූලික විරෝධතාව පිළිබඳ කරුණු විමසන බවද විනිසුරුවරු සිය නියෝගයේ සඳහන් කළහ.

මෙම නඩුව ඊයේ පෙරවරුවේ කැඳවූ අවස්ථාවේදී පැමිණිල්ල මෙහෙයවන නීතිපතිවරයා වෙනුවෙන් කිසිදු රජයේ නීතිඥවරයෙක් අධිකරණය හමුවේ පෙනී නොසිටියේය.
එම අවස්ථාවේදී විත්තිකාර ගෝඨාභය රාජපක්‍ෂ මහතා වෙනුවෙන් පෙනී සිටි ජනාධිපති නීතිඥ ද සිල්වා මහතා අධිකරණය හමුවේ ඉල්ලීමක් කරමින් පැමිණිල්ල වෙනුවෙන් කිසිදු නීතිඥවරයකු පෙනී නොසිටින හෙයින් තම සේවාදායකයා ඇතුළු විත්තිකරුවන් මුදාහරින ලෙස ඉල්ලා සිටියේය.

ඊට ප්‍රතිචාර දක්වමින් සභාපති විනිසුරු සම්පත් අබේකෝන් මහතා අධිකරණය හමුවේ කියා සිටියේ මෙය අපරාධ නඩු කටයුත්තක් බැවින් එවැනි නියෝගයක් කළ නොහැකි බවයි.

විනාඩි කිහිපයකින් අනතුරුව පැමිණිල්ල වෙනුවෙන් පෙනී සිටින නියෝජ්‍ය සොලිසිටර් ජනරාල් දිලීප පීරිස් සහ රජයේ නීතිඥ උදාර කරුණාතිලක යන නීතිඥවරු අධිකරණය හමුවේ පෙනී සිටියහ.

මෙහිදී සභාපති විනිසුරු සම්පත් අබේකෝන් මහතා රජයේ නීතිඥවරුන්ට දන්වා සිටියේ මෙම අධිකරණයේ නඩු විමසීම් කටයුතු පෙරවරු 9.30ට ආරම්භ කරන හෙයින් ඒ සම්බන්ධයෙන් සැලකිලිමත් වන ලෙසයි.

මෙම විත්තිකරුවන් ඇප මත මුදාහැරීම සම්බන්ධයෙන් තමන්ගේ විරුද්ධත්වයක් නොමැති බවට රජයේ පාර්ශ්වය දැනුවත් කිරීමෙන් අනතුරුව ඇප නියෝගය ප්‍රකාශයට පත් කරමින් සභාපති විනිසුරු සම්පත් අබේකෝන් මහතා සඳහන් කර සිටියේ මෙම විත්තිකරුවන්ට ඇප දීම සඳහා නීතිමය වශයෙන් කිසිදු බාධාවක් නොමැති බවයි.

ඒ අනුව ඇප නියෝගය ප්‍රකාශයට පත් කරන බව සඳහන් කළ විනිසුරුවරු මෙම විත්තිකරුවන් රජයේ ඉහළ නිලතල දැරූ පුද්ගලයන් හෙයින් ඇප කොන්දේසි පිළිපදිමින් නඩු විභාගවලට පෙනී සිටිනු ඇතැයි අධිකරණය අපේක්‍ෂා කරන බවද සඳහන් කළහ.

2013 වසරේ සැප්තැම්බර් මස 03 වැනිදා සහ 2015 වසරේ පෙබරවාරි මස 02 වැනිදා දක්වා කාල සීමාව තුළ මැදමුලන ඩී.ඒ. රාජපක්‍ෂ අනුස්මරණ කෞතුකාගාරය ඉදිකිරීමේදී ශ්‍රී ලංකා ඉඩම් ගොඩකිරීමේ හා සංවර්ධනය කිරීමේ සංස්ථාවට අයත් රුපියල් මිලියන 33.9ක මුදලක් සාවද්‍ය ලෙස පරිහරණය කළේ යැයි චෝදනා කරමින් හිටපු ආරක්‍ෂක ලේකම් ඇතුළු විත්තිකරුවන් හත්දෙනකුට එරෙහිව නීතිපතිවරයා මෙම නඩුව ගොනුකර තිබේ.

මෙම නඩුවේ සෙසු විත්තිකරුවන් ලෙස ඉඩම් ගොඩකිරීමේ හා සංවර්ධනය කිරීමේ සංස්ථාවේ හිටපු සභාපති ලියනාරච්චිගේ ප්‍රසාද් හර්ෂාන් ද සිල්වා, එහි සාමාන්‍යාධිකාරි භද්‍රා උදුලාවතී කමලදාස, එම සංස්ථාවේ අධ්‍යක්‍ෂ මණ්ඩල සාමාජිකයන් වන සුදම්මික කේමින්ද ආටිගල, සමන් කුමාර ගලප්පත්ති, මහින්ද සාලිය, ශ්‍රී මති මල්ලිකා කුමාරි සේනාධීර යන අය නම් කර තිබේ. මෙම නඩුවේ විත්තිකාර ගෝඨාභය රාජපක්‍ෂ මහතා වෙනුවෙන් සුගත් කල්දේරා, සම්පත් මෙන්ඩිස්. මංජුල සුගතපාල, රුවන්ත කුරේ, හරින් ද මෙල් යන නීතිඥවරුන් සමඟ ජනාධිපති නීතිඥ අලි සබ්රි මහතා හා ජනාධිපති නීතිඥ රොමේෂ් ද සිල්වා යන මහත්වරු පෙනී සිටිති.

පැමිණිල්ල වෙනුවෙන් රජයේ නීතිඥ උදාර කරුණාතිලක මහතා සමඟ රජයේ නියෝජ්‍ය සොලිසිටර් ජනරාල් දිලීප පීරිස් මහතා පෙනී සිටිති.

ජනබලයෙන් වුණේ කුමක්ද සහ ඒ සම්බන්ධයෙන් නැගෙන චෝදනා පිළිබඳව එ.ජ.නි.ස පාර්ලිමේන්තු මන්ත්‍රී ඩලස් අලහප්පෙරුම මහතා සමග කළ සාකච්ඡාවකි මේ.

උපුටාගැණීම අද දෙරණ

ඉඩම් ප්‍රතිසංස්කරණ කොමිසන් සභාව සන්තකයේ තිබී එක්සත් ජාතික පක්ෂයේ හිටපු කැබිනට් අමාත්‍යවරයකුට කෘෂිකාර්මික කටයුතු සඳහා පවරා තිබූ ඉඩමක් ඔහු අවභාවිත කර ඇති බව උකුස්සාට අනාවරණය විය.

ඒ අනූව කළ සොයාබැලීමේදී උකුස්සා අනාවරණය කර ගත්තේ අදාල හිටපු අමාත්‍යවරයා එම ඉඩම කැබලි කර විකුණා ඇති බවයි.‍

හෝමාගමට ආසන්න බොරකැටිය හොරගල නැමැති ප්‍රදේශයේ පිහිටි අක්කර පහකට වැඩි භූමි ප්‍රමාණයකින් යුත් මේ ඉඩම,පුද්ගලික සමාගමක් මේ දිනවල විකිණීමට සූදානම් කර ඇති ආකාරය අපට දක්නට ලැබිණි.

අදාළ ආයතනය වෙළඳ දැන්වීම් පුවරුපවා එහි ප්‍රදර්ශනය කර තිබේ.

මෙහි ඇතැම් ඉඩම් කැබලි විකුණා ඇති බවට දැක්වෙන පුවරුද මෙහිදී උකුස්සාට දැකගත හැකි විය.

කෙසේ වෙතත් අදාළ ඉඩම නීතිවි රෝධීව අලෙවි කෙරෙන බවට ලද තොරතුරකට අනුව උකුස්සා ඒ සම්බන්ධයෙන් සොයා බැලීය.

එහිදී අනාවරණ වූණේ ඉඩම් ප්‍රතිසංස්කරණ කොමිෂන් සභාවට අයත් බව පැවසෙන මේ ඉඩම 1984 වර්ෂයේදී එවක කැබිනට් අමාත්‍ය ධුරයක් දැරූ එක්සත් ජාතික පක්ෂයේ අමාත්‍යවරයකුට පවරා ඇති බවයි.

ඒ කෘෂිකාර්මික කටයුතු සඳහා පමණක් භාවිත කිරීමේ නීතිමය බැදීමක් යටතේයි.

කෙසේ වෙතත් අදාල හිටපු කැබිනට් අමාත්‍යවරයා මෙම ඉඩම,එම ඉඩම් විකුණන පුද්ගලික සමාගම වෙත සින්නක්කරව ලබා දී ඇති බවයි උකුස්සා අදාල පුද්ගලික සමාගමේ නිලධාරීනියකගෙන් කළ විමසීමෙකදී ඇය පැවසුවේය.

ඒ අනූව තොරතුරු තහවුරු කර ගත් උකුස්සා මෙහි සත්‍ය අසත්‍යතාව ඉඩම් ප්‍රතිසංස්කරණ කොමිෂන් සභාවේ අධ්‍යක්ෂ පත්මසිරි ලියනගේ මහතාගෙන් විමසා සිටියේය.

මෙවැනි පසුබිමක එක්සත් ජාතික පක්ෂයේ හිටපු කැබිනට් ආමාත්‍යවරයා මෙම ඉඩම සින්නක්කරව විකුණනු ලැබුවේ කෙලෙසද යන්න පිළිබඳව පවතින්නේ ගැටලුකාරී තත්ත්වයක්.

මේ පිළිබඳව සොයාබලා කටයුතු කිරීම ඊට වගකිවයුතු බලධාරීන්ගේ වගකීමක්.

උපුටාගැණීම අද දෙරණ

නේපාලයේ සිට ශ්‍රී ලංකන් ගුවන් සමාගමට අයත් යානයකින් ජනාධිපති මෛත්‍රීපාල සිරිසේන මහතා පැමිණෙන අවස්ථාවකදී ආහාරයට ගත නොහැකි කජු තමාට පිළිගැන්වූ බව ජනාධිපතිවරයා චෝදනා කරයි.

ජනාධිපති මෛතී‍්‍රපාල සිරිසේන මැතිතුමා මේ බව ප‍්‍රකාශ කළේ ඊයේ(10) පෙරවරුවේ හම්බන්තොට මාගම්පුර රුහුණු ජාත්‍යන්තර සම්මන්ත‍්‍රණ ශාලාවේ දී හම්බන්තොට ගොවි ජනතාව සමඟ පැවති හමුවකදී ය.

රට තුළ වගා කළ හැකි ආහාර භෝග විවිධ ජාවාරම්කරුවන්ට අවශ්‍ය ලෙස පාරිභෝගික වාර්තා ඉදිරියට දමමින් පිටරටින් ගෙන්වීම වහාම නතර කිරීමේ විධිමත් වැඩපිළිවෙළක් පිළිබඳ බලධාරින්ගේ අවධානය යොමු විය යුතු බව ජනාධිපතිතුමා සඳහන් කළේය.

මෙහිදී වැඩිදුරටත් අදහස් දැක්වු ජනාධිපතිවරයා මෙසේ පැවසීය.

දැන් මම ගිය සතියේ නේපාලයේ ඉදලා ඉන්දියාවේ ඉදලා ලංකාවට ආවේ ශ්‍රී ලංකන් ගුවන් සේවයේ එද්දි දුන්නා කජු වගයක් කන්න. 

වාඩිවෙලා ඉන්න කොට දෙනවනේ එක එක ඒවා කන්න. කජු පීරිසියක් ගෙනත් දුන්නා.බල්ලෙක්ට කන්න බෑ මිනිහෙකුට තියා.

කවුද මේවා අනුමත කරන්නේ, ශ්‍රී ලංකන් ගුවන් සේවය ගේන මිනිහෙකුට තියා සතෙකුට කන්න බැරි කජු කවුද අත්සන් කරලා අනුමත කරන්නේ.

මේ රටේ වගා කරන්න පුළුවන් දේවල් එක එක ඡාවාරම්කරුවන්ට ඕන විදියට  පාරිභෝගිකයාගේ තත්ත්වය පිළිබඳ වාර්තාව මේ ගෙන එක නවත්වන්න ඕනේ.

BY EDWARD THEOPHILUS

Political and economic issues are common facets in any country in the modern world.  It is apparent that people in any democratic country use to cry for quick solutions to political, economic, social and cultural predicaments, but they also know that it is highly unlikely finding active solutions for problems as quick as possible. People of Sri Lanka should face the problems and need gradually find the way to get out of problems using intuitive techniques rather than relegating to an insecure risky situation.  Early 1980s, Sri Lanka faced to the most vicious problem of terrorism and different governments attempted to find a solution to the problem listening to international advocates and the elected Rajapaksa regime in 2005 found a long-lasting solution. When the same regime was attempting to identify right solutions for economic and social problems the yahapalana government elected unexpectedly in 2015 and beguiled people about unknown heaven and now information in Sri Lanka bring round that known devil was better for solving political and economic issues than the unknown angels of the yahapalana regime.

The campaign for political changes of Yahapalana regime aimed at a vital issue to constitute a good governance system in the country that could eliminate corruptions with a view to creating a procedural superiority in relation to public management arena. It has been critical issue in country for more five decades, which needed agreement from all political parties by all party conference despite a hidden conspiracy against China.  In fact, the aim of changes had a good element that people of the country has been expecting since independence in 1948, but it was not creating colonial retapes against the development needs and taking revenges from only the Rajapaksa regime.  However, the expected changes did not convince to people at least two three years before the presidential election in 2015 to attract the wider support of the community and critically evaluate the background of the jockeys of the yahapalana movement. The practical results showed that the policies of Yahapalanaya were contradictory to the good governance concept of the United Nations and the motivation of changes secretly focused to a regime change specially to take revenge from Mr Mahinda Rajapaksa for unknown reasons.  In fact, common people of the country did not expect hidden motives and strategies when changing the regime in 2015.  The leadership of the regime changing movement was secretly motivated by offering bribery style of incentives by certain countries, which were directly against the United Nations Policies. The transparency of the regime changing movement was a necessary precondition for the understanding of common people.

After the beginning of changes with the presidential election in 2015, manipulators of the good governance have found faults with the leader of the yahapalana president as he openly violated democratic traditions and rules of good governance, which were fundamentally accepted principles of Western democratic society.  This violation incurred before electing the yahapalana regime in 2015 and people in all over the world disappointed with actions of the Yahapalana leader. People were also disappointed with the use of power by the president of Sri Lanka as his rulings were directly against democratic rules and now Western democratic advocates can’t use Sri Lanka as an antecedent example for the establishment of good governance and for the future plans for regime changes in the world.

The concept of regime change had been used by Soviet Regime in many Asian, African and Latin American countries using different techniques, and American and Europe camp used by democratic way using elections or justifying military dictatorships.  It is assumable that China and India too have used this method when there will be ruling regimes in neighbouring countries against their economic and social plans.  That is why many people suspect about the regime of Imran Khan.

Although it is quite difficult to successfully implement good governance, there are many positive features and is an excellent concept for administration in any country especially for Asian, African, Latin American countries, which are obviously involved in corrupt practices.  At the beginning, advocates of good governance in Sri Lanka did not know about the leader they selected and the leader did not know about personnel, who were surrounding him. The leader was purely motivated by the reason that he was not given the prime minister post in the Rajapaksa regime.   The nomination paper of Mr Sirisena for the presidential election was signed by an unknown person and later he was arrested for an offence of cheating a Taiwan bank. The Central Bank Bond scam happened soon after the election of Mr Sirisena as executive President. The Prime Minister and the members of the cabinet were changed overnight without an election using the presidential power, which was the most rated concept of yahapalana advocates. That is how the yahapalanaya began and the method of beginning good governances clearly showed that it has broken the principles of good governance.

After a year of the beginning of yapalana changes, it seemed that the participated political parties and the members of the civil society organizations perceived many faults with the leaders of previous Rajapaksa regime without convincing evidence, based on gossips and people disappointed with the answers of the government for various corruptions that believed to be committed by the members and the administrators of the previous regime. Many cases were recently analysed by C.A Chnadraprema showed that Yahapalana regime attempted to mislead people using the administrative discretion as criminal cases, despite the administrative legal precedent as Lord Green MR explained in a judgement of British Supreme Court.  A significant principle of Criminal law, Mens Rea is not provable in many cases but they treated as criminal cases. The establishment special high courts against democratic traditions and appointment of selected judges and transferring cases to the courts established for special purposes with recommendations of cabinet members of yahapalana regime contrary to the accepted judicial procedures in the country since colonial era halcyon that yahapalana regime sticked to a dictatorship than good governance principles.

General public in Sri Lanka feels that yahapalana politicians have misunderstood reforms expected by voters or they have willingly concealed reform agenda for bluffing Western countries.  Some academics believe that certain powerful politicians of yahapalana regime have misconceived the expected changes interpreting the mandate received in 2015, was to take revenge from Rajayapaksa family.  The rallying voters in meetings participated by Mr Rajapaksa in local government election in 2018 also gave a clear message that voters in 2015 elections did not expect to take revenge from Mr Rajapaksa or disable his ability or prospect of future leadership and his services to the country by giving severe punishments to him.  The looking for dead rats in public offices through appointed presidential commissions, would not find concrete evidence for litigating the past regime for punishments as the director general of Bribery and Corruption Commission recently stated that commission finding may not be concrete evidence that warrant to litigation of public servants and punish them and the commission inquiry might be show off to public that the government is acting for yahapalana promises. Certain members of parliament who spoke in political platform of yahapalana in 2015 have disappointed and although they were in political platforms and became members of the United National Party, the party leadership and the big hands of the government don’t listen to them and they have become a rubber stamp of UNP.

As soon as the yahapalana office assumed duties they have done serious mistakes which were badly affected the economy especially for uncontrollable inflation, depreciating Sri Lanka’s currency unit, economic growth, unemployment and many areas.  At that time the leaders of good governance did not expect immediate consequences believing that economic conditions of the country would be changed, but after three and a half years in the power, many advocates of good governance have realized what went wrong and many attempts to get away from the concept of yahapalana.

After one year of the appointment of yahapalana government, a news briefing of educated Buddhist clergies in Colombo highlighted several vital issues, which were believed to be currently dominating in the country.  They could be succinctly indicated that (a) the plan to abolish the unitary status of the country through the proposed constitutional reforms, which suggest to convert Sri Lanka to a secular state abolishing the prominence status to Buddhism (b) the undermining of the national security of the country giving for an international pressure of India and Western block, (c) Securing conventional agriculture and plantation industry based economic sector. (d) reduction of lawful right of trade unions and (e) conspiracy against the national unity of the country.  Any analyst with a broader knowledge and background of Sri Lanka could look at these issues from different point of views and the current developments in the country display that people have no trust on the regime change and people want to re-elect the Rajapaksa regime. After three and half years of administration, no issue has been resolved by the yahapalana regime.

These issues are inherent problems of the country since the era of colonial administration and the issues originated as a repercussion of the actions of colonial rulers without listening to majority Sinhala aspiration. Everybody must honestly admit the highlighted above issues by educated Buddhist clergies were far-reaching and the yahapalana government should have understood that they need sustainable solutions within a democratic framework, consistent with the expectation of Sinhala majority, which represents 76% of current population of the country. The real situation in Sri Lanka is that if Sinhala people are united they can establish a regime without any support from the minority, which represents only 24% of votes in the country.  However, the hidden objective of the yahapalana regime was to divide Sinhala majority and tract 50% of minority votes and establish a shaky regime, which cannot find sustainable solution to the underpinning political, economic and social problems of the country.

When it looks on these issues except the trade union related issue, it is quite significance to read the forward of JR Jayewardene of Sri Lanka, a political biography written by KM de Siva and Howard Wriggins.  From these two authors, who wrote the forward to the book was unknown, but assumes that Prof KM de Silva might have written it, as he was a great scholar in relation to historical issues of Sri Lanka.  The forward of the book must be read by all politicians and administrators.

C. Wijeyawickrema, LL.B., Ph.D.

(This is an essay written by me after MaithripalaS won the EP election. I found it printed in the Sinhala.net (Feb 25, 2015). It becomes relevant again with Dr. Anuruddha Padeniya’s plan to develop a directory” of traitors in (of) Sri Lanka. His idea generated lot of anger from NGO and new Marxist anti-Sinhala Buddhist agents. I suppose that war heroes Sarath Weerasekera and Kamal Gunaratna are also preparing such lists so that like in the American elections, such people can be exposed to the voters at future election.  I consider as a political traitor, any Sinhala person who supports directly or indirectly, knowingly or unknowingly the conspiracy/plan (1) to demolish the Sinhala Buddhist foundation of this island and (2) to balkanize the island to eliminate the Sinhala Buddhist civilizational heritage. These persons must be identified using objective criteria so that the target persons also get an opportunity to show why they should not be in the list. Obviously, bribe-takers at any level or corrupt government or private company servants also become traitors if the offence has national level adverse impact such as the day time robbery of the Central Bank or Indian and Singapore selling deals.

I used 6 yardsticks then, and obviously, more and better factors must be added. I was wrong completely in my placement of Maithripala as a neutral person in the list, and I hope readers will help to develop a new updated list and publish it on the Lankaweb or send the information to Dr. Padeniya for his project. This is some help we can give in a scary situation the country’s fate is hanging on.)

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No shame, no fear (හිරි-ඔත්තප්ප)

Politicians are a corrupt lot in India, USA, UK, EU or in Sri Lanka. But the worst kind of cheaters is found in Sri Lanka because here one can escape easily even if caught red-handed. Double game is so open here. As ‘not promised,’ of the 43 UNP MPs, 41 are ministers of some sort! As ‘not promised,’ Ravi Karunanayaka, an ardent Catholic, goes to worship God Kataragama, in a government helicopter. He was once a chief dayaka of the Kotte Raja Maha Viharaya. Look at the picture of PM Ranil with President MS at the root of the Sri Maha Bodhi. It was as if MS ordered him to appear there with him in a worshipping posture, because previously a lady pupil (Sharmine Serasinha) of the late Ven. Piyadassi, questioned MS, via the anti-Sinhala Buddhist website Colombo Telegraph, why he was worshipping a tree! Ranil did not know even how to pretend! While silent on Udayan, he is angry with Sinhala newspapers Divaina and Rivira!

The politicians in Sri Lanka have no shame, no fear. From JRJ, RP, CBK, RW to MR were all a corrupt lot, and we must expose them for the public good. It is a tragedy for the Sinhalayas, especially the Sinhala Buddhists. I consider Ranil, CBK and MR as dishonest politicians along with a long list of other names (Rajiva Wijesinha is an exception in this regard), not interested in serving or saving the country. Therefore, at the next parliamentary election, these rotten eggs should not be allowed to deceive people, because those who have no fear or shame (හිරි-ඔත්තප්ප) can do anything to save their skin in Sri Lanka’s dirty political waters.

Remove 13-A

Removing 13-A and replacing it with the Jana Sabhas must be the key election issue at the next parliamentary election (to be held under the new electoral system), and I have prepared a checklist to test the behavior of a selected set of talking politicians who are all (except MS who has no more political ambitions) in the game for selfish reasons. A few non-political names are also added because of their public stand on public issues. The table of checklist can have any number of columns added to it, but I decided to limit it to 13-A related items because 13-A is the beginning of the end of the Sinhala Buddhist heritage in Sri Lanka.

Three danger bells

There are three problems that Sri Lanka is facing today which have international connections. They are: (1) Christianization of Asia project of the Pope and the World Church Org. This we have in Sri Lanka as unethical religious conversion of Buddhists and Hindus; (2) Islam fundamentalism of Taliban, Wahhabism, Shari fighters of the ISIS type. This we have as Muslim pockets of inclusive zones with a right to have five wives; and (3) World Tamil movement to have a Tamil country with an UNO flag encompassing the British Madras Province. This we have since 1924 as Tamil separatism which was rejected by the Donoughmore and Soulbury Commissions in 1929 and 1946.

Economic and Moral decline

In addition, Sri Lanka faces the old colonial problem of widening economic disparity between the rich and the poor and spatial inequality due to socio-economic gap between Colombo versus villages. Nobodies becoming Somebodies is happening so fast since 1978 and since 2005, but the people are living on the borderline of food or starvation and health.

Since 1971 with JVP introducing the new method of political killings, and after 1978 JRJ’s open economy, the moral degradation is such that children are willing to sell parents or parents are willing to sell their children for a quick buck. The moral decline is frightening. Parents teach children to lie to get school admissions!

These five different trends are interlinked, and the group of people adversely affected by them predominantly, is the Sinhala people, especially the Sinhala Buddhists.

American-Chinese power struggle in the Indian Ocean

Perhaps, the most important geopolitical variable affecting Sri Lanka is the American attempt to block Chinese expansion in Africa and in the Indian Ocean. Sri Lanka is no more a sovereign country after the 1987 Rajiv-JRJ agreement limiting any local action affecting India. If oil is found in the Mannar Basin, American interests will go beyond Sri Lankan ports. Sri Lanka is not a sovereign state, when one thinks of the American and UK embassy interferences in the North and East civilian affairs, or direct dealings on a daily basis between TNA and Indian embassy office located in Jaffna. There was no foreign coup with regard to the presidential election date as it was an astrology-based, decision taken solely by MR. But, the American CIA and Indian RAW must be playing cat and mouse games all over Sri Lanka day and night. For 100,000 US dollars or a scholarship to a son or daughter to go to a US university who will not betray rules, regulations or principles!

Sinhala Buddhist orphans

What Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) revealed was that all the Sinhala MPs are competing to fight for minority rights and non to look after the Sinhala Buddhists! This is in addition to the Tamil, Muslim or Christian MPs to fight for their own rights, and get laws passed slowly and secretly. For example, UNP cabinet minister Eran Wicramaratne is a pastor in charge of the Assembly of God Church organization accused of engaged in unethical conversions. Not a single colonial law passed adversely affecting the Sinhala Buddhists were removed or modified by the so-called Sinhala Buddhist PMs or Presidents! Even the Kuragala ancient pre-Christian era Buddhist ruins could not be protected under the colonial Preservation of Antiquities Act, because MR stopped it to please a Muslim group. In other countries, this is an offence to impeach or send a president to jail.

Who is seeking Sinhala Buddhist vote?

The table below tells an interesting story. Imagine if we add other columns to show bank accounts, sudden wealth, nepotism, relatives in PCs etc. The table is a checklist, prepared with the information I believe as correct, which could help one in understanding why or why not a particular politician (MPs, PC members, PS members) support or oppose 13-A.  For a Christian, generally, Sri Lanka history begins in 1505, and most politicians at the national scene has a close Christian connection, even if he or she openly profess to be a Buddhist or a Donoughmore Buddihist. Some are Marxists who have no religion until they become very old. Some do not believe Sri Lanka is the country of the Sinhalese (Sinhale not Ceylon), with minority rights protected. The opposition to BBS is a clear indication of an anti-Sinhala Buddhist mind, when that opposition is linked with any or all of C2-C7.  C6 & C7 are in red as most critical characteristics in abolishing 13-A. One important secondary issue is that because MR was a supporter of 13-A, all those who want him back in politics must be presumed as 13-A supporters. Hence the question marks against their names in columns 6 & 7.

It is a blessing that MS is free of any doubt indicated by a question mark.  He has a clean slate so far. He is the only true commoner to become EP. Not a son of an MP or a Colombo black-white. Not even a Thurstan or Ananda college admission; a dry zone colonist farmer’s son. He became EP under most extraordinary circumstances and he is in a position to bring poor Sinhala people of UNP and SLFP under his guidance. This may not be the wish of UNP or SLFP politicians. But by following the Buddhist Middle Path, by balancing the reasonable demands of minorities with the recognition and remediation of historical injustices done to the Sinhala Buddhists, he could prove that he received training for 47 years for the task of rescuing Sri Lanka.

Table- explanation of columns

C = Christian /B=Buddhist                                          C2= Interfaith believer (I)

C3 = Does not believe in a Sinhale                                            C4= said this war is not winnable

C5= supported federal packages                              C6= supported 13-A plus

C7= supported 13-A minus                                          C8= opposed BBS

Never before has Ranil’s political acumen been put to the wire. For 22 plus years he has managed to bluff his way riding on the West’s media campaign strategists that have backed him throughout & projected him as a Mr. Visionary, a façade easily sold to a gullible green vote base. This has enabled him to weather close to 30 election losses and yet remain UNP leader since 1994 happily dishing out vision statements & promising restructuring of the UNP. Thus, UNPers have been suffering the balagiri doshaya (not today tomorrow) syndrome since 1994. It has come to a point where many are now questioning whether the UNP seriously has any alternative leaders that they continue to hero-worship just one man since 1994. UNP voters love to question why other leaders do not retire after an election defeat but think that question is not applicable to the UNP leader, nevertheless a large number is now waking up.

Ranil Wickremasinghe may by another yankee poodle but he is also well tuned into ground realities though he is clueless & care’s less about the needs or demands of people at grass root levels (even those in his own party). But he is concerned that UNP does not end up a dead party like the JVP.

It is baffling that at provincial and district levels UNP has managed to maintain its vote base in rural Sri Lanka though statistics show these numbers are slowly declining. UNP has generally been a class-based party. Many of its traditional supporters have been supporters from generation to generation while others have presumed that being a UNPer placed them in an upper class pedestal with the notion that they aligned to liberal & westernized thinking & habits.

Many of these did not stop to think how much these notions would impede on the cultural & historical heritage of Sri Lanka, while for many others history & heritage were not important. This helped UNP leadership & their campaign strategists to present a notion that winning the international community was far more important & Sri Lanka stood to gain than preserving and protecting the national heritage. Little did they realize that every nook & corner that we were to gain the so-called International Community support meant compromising the national security, territorial integrity & sovereignty of Sri Lanka. Unfortunately, many of these die-hard supporters are clueless of the damage the West has done since colonial times carried forward to the neo-liberal & neo-colonial policies pushed through local poodles.

A hallmark of UNP rule has been its ability to woo the minorities both Tamil & Muslim inspite of the hard facts that point to UNP following western colonial divide & rule strategies. It is baffling how inspite of UNP burning the Jaffna library being instrumental in July 1983 riots, causing ethnic tensions through various false flag operations, killing anti-LTTE informants most of whom have been Tamils or Malays (Millennium City) the majority of the minorities have remained loyal to UNP & without batting an eyelid gone & voted for the UNP completely ignoring or being bothered about the policy blunders its leadership have made to the detriment of the country’s welfare.

Ranil’s association with Right-Wing Christian think tanks like International Democratic Union & secret societies like Mont Perelin Society have not helped his at home image either.

Nevertheless they say you can fool some people all of the time but not all of the people all of the time and the manner that a well-planned regime change finally succeeded to place Ranil in power was to the advantage of those who funded & operated the regime change but not to those who actually went out & voted, they are now beginning to open their eyes to the realities that they did not get an uncorrupt rule – their cost of living did not reduce – the transparency that Ranil promised did not happen – that justice that was preached is looking ridiculous when none of UNP illegalities are even getting their day in court with rising number of people now questioning even the judges & magistrates rulings.

You can have the entire international community singing hosannas and issuing statements even going so far as to statistically doctor surveys to project Ranil is popular and the king of democracy but all that cannot feed mouths, all that cannot hide that the rupee against the dollar which was Rs.131 in Rajapakse time is now Rs.163 and one by one the lies that were drummed to bring the regime change is now being digested with anger by the people. Of course this does not include the ultra-rich inner circle of UNP elite who have landed themselves big deals & commissions & who’s extended families will continue to fund the efforts to maintain Ranil in power.

But then is there really an alternative. Some say there is Sajith, but other than becoming a voice headache where is the substance or vision that he has articulated to match the drafts prepared by the western supporters of Ranil? Some say Karu – but with Ranil claiming to hand over leadership in 2030, we wonder whether Karu would be around! There is another figure looming – Karu’s son-in-law Navin, but he has shown nothing of substance that could woo the island voters, then there is Ruwan who looks to be the better bet … but with the possibility of 2030 become 2050 even … all these aspirants can only bite their nails waiting!

It is without a doubt that Sri Lanka needs a powerful mainstream party and everyone agrees that the manner that the UNP is being led is unlikely to result in the bloc vote that it has commanded over the years. A party must stand for a powerful slogan & be country-centric in its objectives & vision, no one wants a party that comes to power to facilitate the objectives of foreign agendas and no party can sustain its existence if it lacks cultural values that are engraved in the country’s history.

D S Senanayake the first Prime Minister afterall was a proud Buddhist & worshipped his mother before leaving home as was a Buddhist custom. D S also donated most of his ancestral lands to the Buddha Sasana. When his son Dudley was born 25 acres of land was immediately donated to the Botale temple. Likewise immediately after becoming the PM of Ceylon the first thing he did was to visit the Polwatte temple in Kolpetty & worship the Buddha. DS was also clear that Buddhism had to be given the foremost place & that it was the duty of the state to protect & foster the Buddha Sasana while assuring the freedom to practice other faiths.

http://www.dailynews.lk/2018/03/22/features/146207/ds-senanayake-and-his-commitment-buddhism

All these clearly defined policies were changed after JR and Ranil took over power of the UNP. JRJ held power over UNP for 11 years while Ranil remains leader for 22 years and counting. Of the 72 years of the UNP, JR & Ranil has held forte for 33 years and it is the later part of this rule that has reduced the stature of the UNP.

With the reign of JRJ marked the burning of the Jaffna library, the July 1983 riots, the closure of military bases in the North set up by Mrs. Bandaranaike to address illegal immigrants from India, the political system became manipulated to create an all-powerful executive presidency, elections were marred by voter intimidation, vote rigging, ballot box stuffing & even impersonations which continued under Premadasa rule, the underworld emerged with nefarious characters given arms & functioning as body guards of the politicians, mob rule meant political victimization & attacks against political opponents. Neoliberals entered and Sri Lankan citizens were turned into laborers with women sent to the middle east as domestics or working in garment factories under poor working conditions. Then came nephew after a series of assassinations of UNP leaders left only one left to take over. With West’s connections to LTTE & open support to the UNP present leader, an unanswered question is whether there is a link to why his life was never at risk of LTTE gun.

Ranil has weathered many a storm – Batalanda torture chambers, preference to his school mates, LH plantation, name linked to Gamini Dissanayake’s death, 2002 CFA agreement, Millennium City exposure, to the co-sponsoring of a legally questionable UNHRC Resolution that accepts the national army committed war crimes, agrees to a tribunal and agrees to draft a new constitution.

Never has PM Ranil thought of asking why the UN or foreign envoys should insist on a new constitution and such a demand is a direct interference into the internal affairs of a sovereign state. Moreover, many have clearly presented valid points to the illegalities of the UNHRC resolutions, the bias of the UN, the violations of its own charter & the influence that LTTE bloody money is making with the manner they have been able to buy over even foreign parliamentarians, UN officials & even renowned lawyers who are working for the LTTE on retainer fees.

Many in the UNP who are privy to these valid arguments are themselves asking what the UNP leader is doing by agreeing to divide a small island into asymmetrical federal units to the whining of a Northern Chief Minister whose racism has been quite disgusting and who represents a party that is still uninvestigated for LTTE links.

These are questions that the UNP electorates are now beginning to ask as even the Maha Sangha has clearly and explicitly voiced their concerns against a new constitution or even any amendments. These will definitely impact on the UNP voter and even the minorities many of whom are also waking up to ground realities.

The Tamils have voted UNP but they have never trusted Ranil – at least Prabakaran did not. This is possibly one reason why he decided to ensure Ranil lost the election in 2005. With West’s links to LTTE, Prabakaran would have realized that his powers would be clipped or controlled by the West, something he was not prepared to allow and a factor that played a role in going against the Indians too. As for the Muslims, though a majority of them remain loyal to the UNP with the economic situation bleak and because they are most affected it is unlikely that they will vote UNP when they would consider their purse & pockets more valuable than keeping Ranil in power. In short, minorities have not been provided anything though the leaders of these minorities are enjoying more than they should & not sharing with their own people. The outcome of that can be seen at the next election, if we are lucky to have one.

Ranil has much to ponder about. Will he go gun-ho with the demands of the West & LTTE in pushing the 20a, passing a new constitution & then knowing the outcome take the next plane out of the island never to return or will he stall the process because he knows that he will forever be cursed for the damage he would singlehandedly be responsible for if Sri Lanka is divided & in no time the North & East declares an independent state an outcome that has been openly prophesized which the citizens are well aware of.

Whatever dilemma Ranil suffers, he & his party are putting the entire country at great risk.

Shenali D Waduge

Source: BBC -Agencies

Sri Lanka’s national airline has been rebuked by President Maithripala Sirisena over some cashew nuts which had been served to him, reports foreign media.

President Maithripala Sirisena has complained that, during a recent trip with Sri Lankan Airlines, he was treated to some cashews which were not fit for human consumption.

In fact, the irate leader added, they were not even suitable for dogs.

The airline, which has at least $1bn of debt, has yet to comment on Mr Sirisena’s outburst.

The airline has been dogged by allegations of corruption in recent years, and is currently under investigation by a special presidential commission of inquiry.

However, exactly what was so offensive about the nuts is unclear.

Speaking at a farmers’ event in southern Sri Lanka on Monday, Mr Sirisena said the offending products were served to him during a flight from the Nepalese capital Kathmandu to Colombo, Sri Lanka, last week.

When I returned from Nepal, they served some cashew nuts on the plane [that], let alone humans, even dogs can’t eat, who approves these things?” he told a group of farmers in Southern Sri Lanka.

Who approved the cashew? Who is responsible for this?”

This is not the first time a packet of nuts on a plane has made headlines.

Four years ago, a Korean Air executive made a plane turn back to the gate after an air stewardess attempted to serve her a packet of macadamia nuts in a packet rather than on a plate.

Heather Cho, the daughter of company boss Cho Yang-ho, was later convicted of violating plane safety, spending a number of months in jail before being freed to serve a suspended sentence on appeal.

අරවින්ද අතුකෝරල  උපුටා ගැන්ම  lanka C news

පිිවිතුරු හෙළ උරුමය පක්‍ෂ මූලස්ථානයේදී පැවති මාධ්‍ය හමුවේ දී එම පක්ෂ නායක උදය ගම්මන්පිල මහතා මෙම අදහස් පල කලේය.

වස යෙදූ කිරි පැකට් උද්ඝෝෂකයින්ට බෙදීම මෙරට දේශපාලන ඉතිහාසයේ සිදු වුණු තිරිසන්ම කාරණය විධියටයි අපි දකින්නේ. ශ්‍රි ලංකා ඉතිහාසයේ පළමුවතාවටයි මෙය සිදුවන්නේ. ලෝකයේ බිහි වුණු ම්ලේච්ඡතම ත්‍රස්තවාදි සංවිධානය ලෙස සැලකුණේ කොටි සංවිධානයයි.  නමුත් කවදාවත් කොටි සංවිධානයවත් මෙවැනි දෙයක් කලේ නෑ.  කොටින් මාවිල් ආරු සොරොව්ව වහලා ජනතාවට වතුර නැති කළ බව ඇත්තයි.  නමුත් කොටි වැව් ජලයට වස මුසු කරලා සිංහල ජනතාව මරා දාන්න කටයුතු කලේ නෑ.  ඒ නිසා එක්සත් ජාතික පක්ෂය ම්ලේච්ඡත්වයෙන් කොටි සංවිධානයටත් වඩා පහත් තැනකට වැටිලා කියන එක ඉතාම කණගාටුවෙන් වුණත් කියන්න ඕනෑ.  මේ ආණ්ඩුවේ සමහර මැති ඇමතිවරුන්ගේ අමන හැසීරීම නිසා ගම් වල ඉන්න වැදගත් එක්සත් ජාතික පාක්ෂිකයෙකුට පාරට බහින්න බැරි තත්වයක් ඇති වී තිබෙන බව කියන්න ඕනෑ. මම හිතන්නේ නෑ ශිෂ්ඨත්වය හඳුනන කිසිම කෙනෙක් මෙය  අනුමත කරයි කියලා.

මෙතෙක් එජාපයට ඇඟිල්ල දිගු කරන්න අපට තිබුණේ වක්‍ර සාක්ෂි පමණයි.  පළමු කාරණය තමන් උද්ඝෝෂකයින් කෑම බීම ලබා දෙන බවට ආණ්ඩුවේ මැති ඇමතිවරුන් පාර්ලිමේන්තුවේ කළ ප්‍රකාශ.  දෙවැනි සාක්ෂිය වන්නේ කිරි පැකට් බීලා පිරිසක් අසනීප වුණා කියන කාරණය අපටත් කලින් මුජිබර් රහුමාන් මන්ත්‍රිතුමා දන්නේ කොහොමද?  ඕකට තමයි හොරාට කලින් කෙහෙල් කැන වැට පනිනවා කියන්නේ.

දැන් අපට ඊටත් වඩා ප්‍රබල සාක්ෂි ලැබී තිබෙනවා.  මෙම කිරි පැකට් ප්‍රවාහනය කිරීම සඳහා භාවිතා කළ එක් වෑන් රථයක් ජාතික ලොතරැයි මණ්ඩලයට අයත් බවට ලොතරැයි මණ්ඩලයෙන්ම අපට සාක්ෂි ලැබී තිබෙනවා.  එන්ඩි 3094 ලියාපදිංචි අංකය දරණ ලොතරැයි මණ්ඩලයෙ වෑන් රථය එදා දවසේ ක්‍රියාකාරි අධ්‍යක්ෂගේ රාජකාරි සඳහා මුදා හැරිය බවට ධාවන සටහන් අනුව පේනවා.  මේ වාහනේ ධාවන සටහන් අනුව එය සිරිකොතට ගිහින් කිරි පැකට් පටවා ගෙන ඇවිත් උද්ඝෝෂණය පැවැති ස්ථාන කරා පැමිණි බව ඔප්පු වෙනවා.  මෙම වෑන් රථය තුල කිරි හැලිලා ඉතිරිලා තිබුණ බවට මේ වීඩියෝ පටයෙන් පෙනී යනවා. අද ඒ වාහනය සර්විස් කරන්න යැවූ බවටත් අපට තොරතුරක් තිබෙනවා. 2018 සැප්තැම්බර් මස 05 වෙනි දා රියදුරා විසින් තබලා තියෙන ධාවන සටහන් එදා උදෑසන සිරිකොතට ගිහින් තියෙනවා මේ රියදුරා කියන විදිහට එදා උදෑසන 8.45 සිට රාත්‍රී 8.45 දක්වා ක්‍රියාකාරි අධ්‍යක්ෂකවරයාගේ රාජකාරි වලට මුදා හැරියා කියලා. ක්‍රියාකාරි අධ්‍යක්ෂකවරයාට වහනයක් වෙන් කරලා තියෙනවා ලොතරැයි මණ්ඩලයෙන්. සුපෝකබෝගී වහනයක් වෙන් කරලා තිබිය දී ඇයි ඔහුට මෙම වාහනය මුදා හැරියේ. එකෙන් උදේම සිරිකොතට ගිය බවට රියදුරාම සටහන් තබලා තියෙනවා. මේ වැන් රථයේ කිරි තිබිලා ඉහිරුණු දර්ශන මෙම විඩීයෝ පටයේ තියෙනවා.    පොලීසිය මේ පිළිබඳ වහාම අවධානය යොමු කරාවි කියලා අපි බලාපොරොත්තු වෙනවා.

ආණ්ඩුවේ මෙයට ඇති සම්බන්ධය හෙළි කරගත හැකි තවත් එක් කාරණයක් වන්නේ නීතිය නමන කුප්‍රකට පොලිස්පති පූජිත ජයසුන්දර මහතා තවම මේ ගැන සොයන්න කිසිම කටයුත්තක් කරල නෑ. වෙනදනම් ගනු කඩුව එනු සටනට කියලා මෙවැනි අමානුෂීය දේවල් පොලිසිය කරන්න දෙන්නේ නෑ කියමින් මේ අපේ මව්බිම මෙතරම් පහත් තත්වෙට වැටිලා ද කියලා මාධ්‍ය ඉදිරියේ කඳුළු සලන පොලිස්පති මේ සම්බන්ධයෙන් දැඩි නිහඬතාවයෙන් පෙන්නුම් කරන්නේ ඔහුට නීතිය නමා ගැනීමට උවමනාවක් තිබෙන බවයි.

lanka C news

වසර හතළිහක් හමුදාවේ සේවය කළ හමුදාපතිවරයෙකුට යුද්ධය තිබියදී රටේ තත්ත්වය තේරුම්ගත හැකි වූයේ නම් යුද්ධය නැති අවස්ථාවේ රටේ තත්ත්වය තේරුම් ගත නොහැකි යයි වත්මන් හමුදාපතිවරයා සිතන්නේ නම් ඔහු වල්ගය පාගාගෙන ඇතැයි හිටපු හමුදාපති වත්මන් කැබිනට් අමාත්‍ය ෆීල්ඩ් මාෂල් සරත් ෆොන්සේකා මහතා පවසයි.

වත්මන් හමුදාපතිවරයා අදාළ බලධාරීන්ට සත්‍ය තත්ත්වය තේරුම් කර නොදෙන්නේ යැයිද චෝදනා කරන සරත් ෆොන්සේකා මහතා අද වන විට බල ඇණි 33ක් වසා දමන්නැයි හමුදාපති වරයා නියෝග කර ඇතැයි ද සදහන් කරයි.

වත්මන් හමුදාපතිවරයා යුද්ධය කාලයේ කොළඹ හමුදා මූලස්ථානයට වී වී ෆයිල් ගොඩක් බාරව සිටියකු පමණක් බවත් හමුදාපති බවට පත් වූයේ ඔහු දක්ෂ කමක් නිසා නොව ඔහුට කලින් සිටි නිලධාරීන් සිව් දෙනෙකු විසින් කරන ලද වැරදි කටයුතු හේතුවෙන් බව ද ෆොන්සේකා මහතා සදහන් කරයි.

වත්මන් හමුදාපතිවරයා තට්ටේ ගාගෙන ‘ඉඩි අමීන්’ වගේ සිටින බවත් එවන් හමුදාපතිවරුන් ලෝකේ කොහේවත් තමන් දැන නැතැයිද ඔහු කියා සිටී.

වත්මන් හමුදාපතිවරයා සියලු දේ අවතක්සේරු කර තමන් සියල්ල දන්නේ යැයි කල්පනා කර හිතුමතේට වැඩ කරන බවටද පවසන ෆොන්සේකා මහතා වැඩ කරන්නේ විකෘති මනසකින් යැයි ද කියා සිටියේ ය.

ෆොන්සේකා මහතා මෙම අදහස් පළ කලේ මාධ්‍යවේදීන් විසින් කරන ලද ප්‍රශ්න කිරීමක දී ය.

By Rajitha Jagoda Arachchi/The Sunday Observer

KAMALIKA PIERIS

This essay presents, as an annexure, several projects which have been commented on, during the ‘Yahapalana wake up call’. Critics are using Yahapalana rule to give vent to certain economic resentments.

Samantha Kumarasinghe of Nature’s Secrets stated that an agreement was entered into in the 1980s with a Singaporean Company to mill wheat imported into Sri Lanka for 30 years on a ‘build operate and transfer’ basis but that in 2001, the President sold the business that was to come into the hands of the government in 2007, for 60 million USD. (I think he is referring to Prima.) The turnover of that enterprise since then had been well in excess of eight billion USD. Abuses like this happened due to the lack of a national policy on trade and investment, he said.

Kumarasinghe said that likewise fuel distribution rights were given to an Indian company for 75 million USD simply to import fuel and to distribute it without even refining it in Sri Lanka. He is speaking of Lanka IOC.

The UNP government of 2001—2004 sold a part of the petroleum retailing business to the Indian Oil Company in 2002, giving the advantage to India and not  Sri Lanka, said the  Joint Opposition of Parliament in 2016. The state owned Indian Oil Corporation is a Fortune 500 company and is India’s largest oil company. For a paltry amount of money the Lanka Indian Oil Company was given the right to import and distribute fuel in Sri Lanka and repatriate profits, complained critics. Only USD 40 million has come in, though 70 million was promised. IOC was selected by a cabinet paper   without any competitive bidding. This ended the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation’s petroleum monopoly.

Lanka IOC obtained about 25% of the petroleum distribution and 33 % of the Petroleum storage terminal Ltd, which contained the CPC pipeline network. LIOC now owns 189 filling stations in the country and is now making huge profits. Sales from 2002-2013 is approx USD 3.6 billion. There was absolutely nothing in terms of technology transfer or employment generation that Sri Lanka got from this ‘foreign investment’. All that has happened is that profits that would have gone to the CPC is now going to the LIOC instead, said critics.

Lanka IOC says it had helped improve the petroleum service. When we invested in Sri Lanka, fuel was pumped in petrol sheds which were dilapidated and we introduced petrol stations which offered multiple services. This changed the entire concept of petrol pumping business. We are happy that our ‘brother’ Ceylon Petroleum Corporation too followed us and today Sri Lanka has fuel stations of international level.

Lanka IOC   stated in 2018 that the retail fuel business was no longer profitable, and they have gone for lubricants. We have now moved up to the number two position in Sri Lanka’s lubricant market.” We observed how Sri Lankan consumers changed their vehicles and purchased the latest models in the international market. This gave us the opportunity to introduce several new Petro Chemicals and new types of fuel to the local market which has become very popular in the island.

The Sapugaskanda Oil Refinery Expansion Project   came naturally under discussion, thereafter.  The oil industry makes up a huge percentage of the country’s economy, therefore investments in the sole petroleum refinery of the country are important, reported Ceylon Today in 2016.  The trade unions and CPC engineers drew attention to the need to immediately modernize the petroleum refinery in Sapugaskanda.  This refinery,  built in 1969 has helped Sri Lanka save a massive amount of foreign exchange  and has contributed a large amount of revenue to the state, they said.

Sapugaskanda Refinery Expansion project is a very important investment for the future, said Ceylon Today. The new refinery must be vested solely in the CPC.  The capacity of the Sapugaskanda refinery must be increased to between 100,000 to 150,000 barrels, from its current production capacity of 50,000 barrels per day. Fuel refined in Sapugaskanda can be stored in the Trincomalee oil tank farm. Additional profits can be made from bunkering.

The estimate for the Sapugaskanda Refinery Expansion project is 1.8 billion US dollars. ‘We can do it,’ said CPC Chairman. ‘We can pay back that amount within five years .We can earn a profit of 350 to 400 million US dollars annually after modernization.’  Several countries had been keen to collaborate in this venture  PFN Iran, an Iranian company made the best offer.  It was a highly attractive offer with very favorable terms. The loan is interest free, repayable in 20 years. The only condition PFN Iran stipulated was that the CPC buys all of its crude oil requirements from Iran for 20 years.  Iran has been one of the major crude oil suppliers to the CPC for many years.

The offer has been on the table since last July, said informants, in December 2016. However, the Cabinet had handed the matter over to the   National Economic Council set up by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe. which in turn had appointed a high powered committee comprising the Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, Secretaries to the Ministries of Finance and Petroleum and Petroleum Gas, President’s economic affairs adviser Sarath Rajapatirana and W.P.B. Weragoda of the Ministry of Finance  to submit recommendations,

Ceylon Today reported that vested interests, including ministers, were obstructing the PFN Iran proposal. They opposed the proposal from Iran saying it is that it is difficult to deal with Iran due to US economic sanctions. But US sanctions on Iran have been revoked, observed Ceylon Today. The Yahapalana government is letting the oil refinery die a natural death instead of upgrading it from its current production capacity of 50,000 barrels per day, reported the media in November 2017.

During the discussion on Sapugaskanda, another issue came up. ‘.Unqualified people were appointed to important departments to handle fuel procurement and storage,’ said an energy expert who worked for three decades at the Sapugaskanda Oil Refinery. These positions are filled by political cronies who have no knowledge or expertise in petroleum. They often find themselves out of their depth when a crisis occurs.’

The September 2017 crisis is a clear indication that the CPC’s senior management had no proper knowledge of the oil market,” he stressed. When we have a fuel crisis such as the one in September, we need a qualified team of experts to manage the crisis. They could have floated spot tenders and obtained petrol from suppliers in places like Singapore or nearby countries. But that can’t be done without a proper knowledge of the subject, he concluded.”

Attention next moved to the Trincomalee oil tank farm. The Petroleum trade unions used the Yahapalana wake up call, to air their pent up resentment about the Trincomalee oil tank farm. The CPC trade unions urged the government to take over the Trincomalee Tank Farm at China Bay. This is our fount of wealth, they said.  They blamed successive Sri Lankan regimes for failing to put the Trincomalee tank farm to good use.

Apologists explained that Ceylon Petroleum Corporation had found in 2003 that it could not repair the Trincomalee oil tank farm. Indian companies expressed their willingness to do that. If Indian companies had not agreed, the country would have found some other international companies for the task, said the apologists.  This was brushed aside.

Developing 100 tanks and clearing the 850 Acres of land and pipe line and the Oil Jetty in Trincomalee harbour should be done by Sri Lanka government, said Captain Ranjith Weerasinghe. It does not cost a lot to upgrade the tanks and clear the land.    If the government cannot afford even that kind of investment, there are enough local companies who can do that and run the tank farm so that there is no need to give it to foreign countries.

Trincomalee harbour, tanks and land are already ours, without a cent of debt to any one, continued Weerasinghe. Why invite another country like India to jointly develop it. Why should Trincomalee tanks be jointly developed with India or any other country? Trincomalee Tank farm with 100 tanks in 850 acres of land need not be given to any country or any foreign company. Sri Lanka can earn huge revenue from its oil tanks alone., why sell to India?  We must make full use of our own asset for the country’s benefit, said Weerasinghe.

Get the LIOC out first  and take possession of all 102 tanks, the pipeline & oil jetty and land, vested clearly in the Government, Weerasinghe urged. There are viable alternatives either as a sole government project or local private public partnership project. There is ready business available  Business that can be developed to attract other oil traders in the region without having to give out on lease agreements.

Tanks can be hired out on a daily rate “per CBM per day”, for storage for anyone who wants to hire them for crude oil, heavy fuel oil, intermediate fuel oil, refined products such as diesel, petrol, kerosene, aviation fuel , using dedicated tanks and separate pipelines to the jetty. Foreign companies can use the tanks for short term and long term storage of petroleum oil, so that there is no question of long term leasing it out to anybody. Tanks can also be hired “per MT per day” basis and can earn 100 times more than what the current lease with India gives. Even if we don’t have any business for these tanks, let them be as they are. Why you want to give it to another country, concluded Weerasinghe.

Attention then turned to Ports and Shipping. At a CASA seminar in 2018 Capt. Ranjith Weerasinghe highlighted three landmark events in maritime history of Sri Lanka. They were, embarking on state owned ship ownership and operation through the establishment of the Ceylon Shipping Corporation in 1971, facilitating Sri Lankan ship operations internationally through the enactment of the Merchant Shipping Act, and forming Sri Lanka Ports Authority. Admiral Jayanath Colombage said he said that the two ships bought by Ceylon Shipping Corporation Limited (1992) had full time business and was training close to 50 Sri Lankan seafarers.

However, the Merchant Shipping Act and the Sri Lanka Ports Authority has not undergone the necessary changes thereafter. In addition, the SLPA needed to convert to a more commercial entity. SLPA cannot be the landlord, terminal operator and regulator at the same time,”Capt. Weerasinghe recommended a totally new parliamentary enactment to encompass the entire shipping, maritime and logistics activities, set within a maritime development project which should be promoted, facilitated, and regulated by an apex body named Sri Lanka Maritime Authority.

There was considerable discussion on the status of the ports of Sri Lanka. These ports were a national asset. Due to Sri Lanka’s geographic location, there is massive potential, in its ports said analysts.  Sri Lanka ports can be used for    wide range of services. Therefore, Sri Lanka needs a national policy on port development  and port management, said specialists speaking at an OPA (Organisation of Professional Associations) seminar on the subject.

The Yahapalana government and the Ports Authority engineers have opposing views on developing ports.   Engineers Association of Sri Lanka Ports Authority (EASLPA) said  in 2017 that Hambantota port and the proposed industrial zone and the East Container Terminal (ECT) of the Colombo port, are money spinning assets owned by the SLPA but the government is trying to sell them. The SLPA can work the Hambantota port and the ECT, said the SLPA chairman, Ranatunga   adding I’m confident.  I have done business around the world. The EASLPA and the port trade unions said they have a systematic plan that could be used to make the Colombo Port into a profitable organization without going for privatization.

ECT is the only terminal which has a depth of 18 meters and can handle mega-vessels carrying over 12,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs). It is a deep water terminal to which deep draughts ships can enter. Engineers Association of Sri Lanka Ports Authority EASLPA, claim the terminal could be easily turned into a profitable one with just about US$ 70 million investments on machinery. Once the machinery is installed, the terminal would make a huge profit. It has been estimated that the process of installing the machinery, including the importing of them, would take around 11 months. From the 12th month on wards, the terminal would make profits. It was planned to have the equipment ready at the ECT terminal and commence work by March 2017.

SLPA had submitted two cabinet papers on ECT. Private local banks had offered to provide the funding  but the government was not interested in either. Cabinet Committee on Economic Management (CCEM) ‘has complicated things by introducing conditions to suit a single port operator.’ Yahapalana government is working with foreign private investors on the commercial development of Sri Lanka‘s sea ports. Yahapalana government thinks that unless the terminal is privatized this cannot be operated efficiently, said critics.

It is alleged that Sri Lanka is going to give the fifth container terminal at Colombo port, the Eastern terminal, to India. It is to be sold by auction, without considering the agitation of harbor employees.  The Eastern terminal is the only part of the port that is still owned by Sri Lanka. The other terminals   were sold or privatized. But the maintenance or roads, providing infrastructure facilities such as electricity and water providing security maintenance are all performed by the Ports authority for the private companies which have got hold of the terminals, observed critics.

The port employees  set up a Ports Protection Union Front (PPUF) in 2017,  against the sale of the Eastern Terminal to a foreign company,” The All Ceylon Port General Employees’ Union said the Ports Authority earned a considerable revenue today The Eastern Terminal  was the biggest terminal of the Colombo Port.  Selling it to a foreign company would decrease the revenue and put the jobs of its employees at risk.  The government should hold the major share in the Eastern Container Terminal.

The engineers warned that SLPA would lose all business within a matter of five years if the government gave ECT to a private party because such action will risk SLPA losing the shipping lines that currently uses its terminals.  Therefore what is required is to turn the ECT into a terminal which handles bulk cargo for larger vessels under SLPA by procuring the required machinery and equipment,” the EASLPA said.  ( CONCLUDED)

Dr Sarath Obeysekera

How  Sri Lankan Industry can benefit

By Sandun Jayawardena

A Danish wind turbine manufacturer has won a tender to build the 100 MegaWatt wind farm in Mannar but the project is held up by delays at Cabinet level.
The Ceylon Electricity Board Engineers’ Union (CEBEU) has now urged Cabinet to speed up approval of the US$ 140 million (Rs 22,68 billion) project which Vestas Asia Pacific A/S, Denmark, secured, following evaluation of international competitive bids. The venture is expected to be completed by May 2020.Approval of the Standing Cabinet Appointed Procurement Committee (SCAPC) and the Asian Development Bank, which is providing funds under a concessionary loan, has already been approved, but Cabinet approval is still pending. Electricity from this project can be generated at less than US 5 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh). This is just below Rs 8 per kWh at prevailing exchange rates, CEBEU Committee Member Athula Wanniarachchi said.

Construction of Wind Farm would be greatly influenced by climate conditions in Mannar, Mr Wanniarachchi warned. Therefore, timely awarding of the contract is crucial, to complete the project by the May 2020 deadline, as wind turbines need to be hoisted prior to the onset of the South-West monsoon. If there is a considerable delay in commencing project activities, they may end up having to hoist up the turbines during strong monsoonal winds, which may not be feasible,” he observed.In such a scenario, the CEB estimates that, completion of the project may have to be pushed back to the first quarter of 2021. This would mean the plant would lose out on generating 280 million kWh of electricity, from a South-West monsoonal season. The CEBEU has urged the Cabinet to approve the project, so that, the contract can be awarded by next month.

UK government moots infrastructure projects are mooted not because state has an overflowing coffers but to generate employment, jobs for Consultants, and project manager’s .Such mega projects creates indirect income to the local population and small time entrepreneurs to start businesses in project areas.

Project like Cross Rail construction is carried out by many UK companies with assistance from other foreign companies.

Construction of the Elizabeth line is now in its final stages. Testing of new trains and infrastructure is underway and continues alongside the remaining fit-out of the station

https://www.kingscross.co.uk/media/Construction-Newsletter-Summer_2013_150.pdf

TEN NEW STATIONS IN CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST LONDON

The Crossrail project is delivering new stations at Paddington, Bond Street, Tottenham Court Road, Farringdon, Liverpool Street, Whitechapel, Canary Wharf, Custom House, Woolwich and Abbey Wood.

Each of the ten new stations will have its own, distinct character, conceived by different architects, which reflect the environment and heritage of the local area. However, at platform level, common design components such as seating, signage and full-height platform screen doors will create a consistent and familiar feel to the rest of the TfL network.

In Sri Lanka most of the mega projects are taken by either Korean or Chinese Companies or in the case of Wind Farm Project, Danish Company may fabricate the units and install themselves without even requesting local companies to quote.

When I was in Project Management Team of construction of 125000 Barrel second space of Reliance Petroleum project ,Indian owners have insisted that most of the equipment should be purchased in India and construction contracts should be given to local companies .Large Korean Companies got involved only when such expertise is not available in the country .

In Sri Lanka certain mega projects like ,Arruwakkaru Garbage  Project,Colombo Storm Water Tunnel Project ,Mono Rail project are given to Chinese and Korean Companies where contribution by local companies are min minimum ,

State agencies who prepare tender documents include such clauses so that local companies cannot be qualified .Argument put forward by the Consultants is that under ADB or World Bank funding they cannot change tender conditions !

Even upcoming small and medium time contractors are disqualified in taking part due to stringent requirement that they should have CIDA (ICTAD) higher level registration

It is high time that Government imposes conditions to all state agencies that certain percentage of the mega contracts should be given to Local Contractors or Consortiums.

In the case of Wind Farm Project, Steel or Concrete columns can be build be Local companies, Local Consultants should be integrated into the project management Team.

CEB Engineering Union dominated by only electrical engineers do not give and chance to Mechanical Engineers in the organization. Various failures and defects of Norrochcholai Power Plant have been surfaced because CEB did not get services of Mechanical Engineers and Marine Engineers.

CEB permitted Chinese to supply two 5000 ton Dump Barges with Two independent tugs to transport coal powder from large bulk carrier to shore .These units were used few time as CEB found that they cannot be used due to difficulty in Manoeuvring .If Marine Engineers were consulted, the location of the unloading pier would have been built in Deeper part of the sea with a break water, and barges could have been self-propelled.

Promotions in CEB for mechanical engineers is held up because CEB Electrical Engineers Mafia blocks them.

Minister in charge of Power being a highly educated person should ensure that CEB deploys local consultants and companies to provide technical advice or execute part of the Wind Farm Project to benefit Sri Lankan Economy

Dr Sarath Obeysekera

පුත්තලම, අරුවක්කාලු සනීපාරක්ෂක කසළ රඳවනය ඉදිකිරීමේ ව්‍යාපෘතියට අදාළ අපද්‍රව්‍ය මුදාහැරීම සඳහා කලපු ප්‍රදේශයට කාණුවක් කපා ඇති බවට පළවන මාධ්‍ය වාර්තා සම්පූර්ණයෙන් අසත්‍ය බවට මහා නගර හා බස්නාහිර සංවර්ධන අමාත්‍යාංශය අවධාරණය කරයි.

When such megaprojects and planned authorities should ensure to hold multiple meetings in the project area with stake holder participation to explain the Engineering and Environment aspects of the project .SLLRDC which is playing a major role in execution of these projects should know better. During the planning stages of 4 billion Rs Canal Rehabilitation Project and the Muthurajawela Reclamation Project, many meeting were held to explain details of the project with participation of MPs of the government of opposition .members of local authorities NGO representatives etc. ,

Many arguments were placed in these forums and answers were given to pacify the people who had various negative views.

During the execution of the projects there were hardly any protest.

Megaplolis Ministry should have requested counterpart funds to perform such operation and social impact specialist, environment specialist should work hand in hand and conduct these workshops regularly

Can anyone tell whether the purpose of digging a gutter/canal towards the lagoon was evert discussed with the people in the area so that any doubts created among them eliminated beforehand?

Next step of the Garbage Project will be to build a collecting and dispatching station on Peliyagoda where garbage will be loaded to be transported to Aruwakkalu

I will not be surprised if the people in the area including the Dutugamunu of Kelaniya and the Field Marshal start creating problems unless Megapolis holds many meetings to explain and give maximum publicity about the positive aspects of the project .

හිටපු අගවිනිසුරු සරත් එන්. සිල්වා

ජනතා මුදල් සොරා කෑ පුද්ගලයන් අල්ලා පර සක්වල ගසන බවට වහසි බස් දොඩමින් බලයට පත් ආණ්ඩුව වසර තුනකින් පසුව හදිසියේම ත්‍රිපුද්ගල විශේෂ මහාධිකරණ ස්ථාපිත කොට දූෂණ, වංචා පිළිබඳ නඩු විභාග පැවැත්වීමට සූදානම් වේ. එම විශේෂ අධිකරණය පළමුවරට මේ මස 24 දින රැස්වීමට නියමිතය. බැලු බැල්මට මෙය ජනතා හිතවාදී, නීතියට අදාළ නෛතික ක්‍රියාමාර්ගයක් සේ පෙනී ගිය ද, මෙය ද ඡන්ද විමසීම් ඉලක්ක කොට සිදු කිරීමට යන තවත් එක් දේශපාලන පලිගැනීමක් බව පැහැදිලිය. එහි ඇති පලිගැනීමේ ස්වභාවය යටපත් කිරීම සඳහා මෙය විධිමත් නෛතික ක්‍රියාමාර්ගයක් සේ පෙන්වීමට උත්සාහ කළ ද ඇත්ත වශයෙන්ම මෙම විශේෂ මහාධිකරණ පිහිටුවීම ද මෙම ආණ්ඩුව පත්වූ දා සිට අනුගමනය කරන නීති විරෝධී ක්‍රියාදාමයේ තවත් පියවරක් පමණකි.

චෝදනාවක් විභාග කිරීමේ සාමාන්‍ය ක්‍රමය වන්නේ පොලිස් ස්ථානයක් වෙත කරනු ලැබූ පැමිණිල්ලක් සම්බන්ධයෙන් පහළ උසාවියකින් කරනු ලබන මූලික විභාගයක් පැවැත්වීමය. ඉහළ උසාවියකට අදාළ පරීක‍ෂණය යොමු කෙරෙන්නේ ඉන් පසුවය. එය අපගේ අපරාධ නඩු විධාන සංග්‍රහයේ පැහැදිලිව දක්වා ඇති අතර මෙම ක්‍රමය ජාත්‍යන්තරව පිළිගත් නියමයන්ට අනුව සකස් කොට ඇත්තේ චූදිතයන්ගේ මූලික අයිතීන් ආරක‍ෂා වන පරිද්දෙනි.

කෙසේ වෙතත් චෝදනාවේ බරපතළකම අනුව ත්‍රිපුද්ගල විනිසුරු මඩුල්ලක් යටතේ විභාගයක් පැවැත්වීමට නෛතික ප්‍රතිපාදන අපගේ පවත්නා නීතියේ තිබේ. ඒ සඳහා විශේෂ මහාධිකරණ පත් කිරීමේ අවශ්‍යතාවක් නැත. පවත්නා නීතිය යටතේ එලෙස ති්‍රපුද්ගල විනිසුරු මඩුල්ලක් යටතේ විභාග වූ නඩු ලෙස ක්‍රිෂාන්ති කුමාරස්වාමි ඝාතන නඩුව, රීටා ජෝන් නඩුව සඳහන් කළ හැකිය. අවසන් වතාවට මෑතක දී පැවැති එවන් නඩු විභාගයක් වන්නේ භාරත ප්‍රේමචන්ද්‍ර ඝාතන නඩුවයි.

මෙහිදී සිදුවන්නේ අදාළ නඩු විභාගය සඳහා ත්‍රිපුද්ගල විනිසුරු මඩුල්ලක් පත් කරන ලෙස නීතිපතිවරයා, අගවිනිසුරුගෙන් ඉල්ලා සිටීමෙන් පසු අගවිනිසුරු විසින් ඒ සඳහා අවශ්‍ය පියවර ගැනීමය. එලෙස ත්‍රිපුද්ගල විනිසුරු මඩුල්ලක් නඩු විභාගයකින් පසු දෙන තීන්දුවට එරෙහිව හිමි වන්නේ එක් අභියාචනා අවස්ථාවක් වන අතර එය විභාග කෙරෙන්නේ ශ්‍රේෂ්ඨාධිකරණයේ පංච පුද්ගල විනිසුරු මඩුල්ලක් ඉදිරියේය.

සුවිශේෂී හෝ ඉක්මණින් විභාග කොට අවසන් කළ යුතු නඩු විභාග සම්බන්ධයෙන් අපගේ නීතියේ එවන් ප්‍රතිපාදන තිබිය දී විශේෂ මහාධිකරණ පිහිටුවීමට ආණ්ඩුව තීරණය කරන්නේ දේශපාලන පලිගැනීමේ හා වාසි ලබා ගැනීමේ අරමුණෙන් බව පැහැදිලිය.
මේ විශේෂ මහාධිකරණ මඟින් නඩු විසඳීමට යන්නේ මේ පිළිගත් නීත්‍යානුකූල ක්‍රමයට නොව ඊට පිටින් නීත්‍යානුකූල නොවෙන ක්‍රමයකටය. මෙම විශේෂ මහාධිකරණ සඳහා නඩු යොමු කෙරෙන්නේ පොලිස් මූල්‍ය අපරාධ කොට්ඨාසය නම් නීති විරෝධී පොලිස් ඒකකය විසින් සිදු වු කළ පරීක‍ෂණ පදනම් කර ගෙනය.

මෙම පොලිස් මුල්‍ය අපරාධ කොට්ඨාසය නීති්‍යානුකූල නොවෙන ආයතනයක් බව මම මීට පෙරද ස`දහන් කොට ඇත්තෙමි.
පොලිස්පතිවරයා එය පිහිටුවා ඇත්තේ පොලිස් ආඥා පනතේ 55 වැනි වගන්තිය යටතේය. පොලිස් ආඥා පනතේ 55 වැනි වගන්තිය යනු පොලිස් නිවාස ශ්‍රේණිගත කිරීම සම්බන්ධයෙන් ඇති වගන්තියයි. නීතිපතිවරයා විශේෂ මහාධිකරණ හමුවේ චූදිතයන්ට අධි චෝදනා ගොනු කරන්නේ මෙම නීති විරෝධී පොලිස් ඒකකයේ පරීක‍ෂණ මත පදනම්වය. මෙම විශේෂ මහාධිකරණවල විභාග කළ යුතු නඩු මොනවා දැයි යන්න තීරණය කරන්නේ ද දේශපාලන වාසි ලබා ගත හැකි අනුපිළිවෙළට බව පෙනේ.

එහෙත් අගවිනිසුරුවරයා අනුමත කොට ඇත්තේ විශේෂ මහාධිකරණයෙන් විභාග කිරීමට අපේක‍ෂා කරන නඩු කිහිපයක් යොමු කළ විට අගවිනිසුරු විසින් ඉන් විභාග කළ යුතු නඩුව තීරණය කිරීමේ ක්‍රමයකි. නමුත් එලෙස නඩු කිහිපයක් යොමු කිරීමක් සිදුව නොමැති අතර ඔවුන් විසින් තෝරාගත් නඩුවක් විභාග කිරීමට දින නියම කොට තිබේ.

මේ සියල්ල සිදුවන්නේ අගමැති රනිල් වික්‍රමසිංහගේ සූක‍ෂම වැඩපිළිවෙළකට අනුවය. ඔහු මුලින්ම පොලිස් මූල්‍ය අපරාධ කොට්ඨාසය ඇති කළේය. එයට පැමිණිලි ඉදිරිපත් කරන්නේ ඔහුගේ අනුග්‍රහය යටතේ ඇති කමිටුවකිනි. නමුත් ඒ කමිටුව කිසිදිනෙක රැස්වී නැත. ඒ අනුව පැහැදිලි වන්නේ මෙතෙක් එෆ්සීඅයිඩී යට පැමිණිලි ඉදිරිපත්ව ඇත්තේ අග්‍රාමාත්‍යවරයාගේ අවශ්‍යතාවට බවය. එකී පැමිණිලි සම්බන්ධයෙන් මූල්‍ය අපරාධ කොට්ඨාසය නීති විරෝධී විමර්ශනයක් සිදු කිරීමෙන් පසු එකී විමර්ශන වාර්තා නීතිපතිවරයාට යොමු කෙරේ. නීතිපතිවරයා ඒවා විශේෂ මහාධිකරණයට යොමු කරනු ලබයි. අගමැතිවරයාගේ නීති්‍යානුකූල නොවන සූක‍ෂම වැඩපිළිවෙළ සිදුවන්නේ මේ අන්දමටය. මේ කරුණු අනුව පෙනී යන්නේ මේ විශේෂ මහාධිකරණ අහම්බයක්, හදිසියේ ඇති කෙරුණු එකක්වත් නොව ඔවුන්ගේ සැලසුමේම කොටසක් බවය. ඒ සැලසුම පටන් ගත්තේ පොලිස් මූල්‍ය අපරාධ කොට්ඨාස පිහිටුවමිනි.

මේ ආකාරයට නීතියේ ආධිපත්‍ය කෙලෙසූ ආණ්ඩුවක් බි්‍රතාන්‍ය පාලනය යටතේවත් තිබී නැත. නමුත් මේ අය බලයට පත් වූයේ නීතියේ ආධිපත්‍ය ඇති කරන බවත්, ආරක‍ෂා කරන බවත් පවසමිනි. ඇත්ත වශයෙන්ම, මේ ආණ්ඩුව පත් වෙන විට නීතියේ ආධිපත්‍යට හානියක් වී තිබුණේ නැත. බලයට පැමිණි දවසේ සිටම නීතියේ ආධිපත්‍ය විනාශ කරමින් සිටින්නේ මේ ආණ්ඩුව විසිනි.

නීතියේ ආධිපත්‍යයේ මූලික ගුණාංගයක් වන්නේ බලය ඛෙදීමය. එනම් විධායකය, ව්‍යවස්ථාදායකය හා අධිකරණය අතර බලතල ඛෙදීමය. ජනතා පරමාධිපත්‍ය පවතින්නේ ඒ මතය. පාලකයන් කරනු ලබන්නේ ජනතාව වෙනුවෙන් ජනතා පරමාධිපත්‍ය ක්‍රියාවට නැංවීමය.

යහපාලන ආණ්ඩුව පත් වන විට අප රටේ මෙම පදනමට කිසිදු හානියක් සිදුවී තිබුණේ නැත. මහින්ද රාජපක‍ෂ මහතාගේ පාලනයේ මුල් වසර 05 තුළ මම මෙරට අගවිනිසුරු ලෙස කටයුතු කළෙමි. ඒ කාලයේ මවිසින් දුන් තීන්දු තීරණ සම්බන්ධයෙන් මට කිසිදු බලපෑමක් එල්ල වී නැත.

යහපාලන ආණ්ඩුව පත්වූ දා සිටම නීතියේ ආධිපත්‍ය කෙලෙසු ආකාරය මා මීට පෙර ද විස්තර කර ඇත. මෛත්‍රිපාල සිරිසේන මහතා ජනාධිපති ලෙස පත් වූ වහාම එවකට පාර්ලිමේන්තුවේ බහුතරය තිබූ අගමැතිවරයා ඉවත් කිරීමක් හෝ නොකර සුළුතරයක් තිබූ රනිල් වික්‍රමසිංහ මහතා අගමැති ලෙස පත් කළේය.

ඉන් පසු රනිල් වික්‍රමසිංහ මහතාට බහුතරය ලබා දුන්නේද ජනාධිපතිවරයා විසිනි. එය ජනාධිපතිවරයකු නොකළ යුතු කාර්යයකි.
මහින්ද රාජපක‍ෂ ආණ්ඩුව අගවිනිසුරු ශිරාණි බණ්ඩාරනායක ඉවත් කරනු ලැබුවේ ඒ සඳහා වූ පිළිගත් ක්‍රමවේදයට අනුවය. ඇය ඉවත් කිරීම සඳහා මෛත්‍රිපාල සිරිසේන මහතා ද පාර්ලිමේන්තුවේදී ඡන්දය ලබා දුන්නේය. ශිරාණි බණ්ඩාරනායක ඉවත් කිරීම විවේචනය කරන වත්මන් පාලකයන් අගවිනිසුරු මොහාන් පීරිස් මහතා ඉවත් කළේ කෙසේද?

තමන් අග විනිසුරු ධුරයෙන් ඉවත් කර ඇති බව මොහාන් පීරිස් මහතා පළමුවෙන් දැන ගත්තේ රූපවාහිනි ප්‍රවෘත්ති මඟිනි. ඔහු ඉවත් කිරීමට කිසිදු පරීක‍ෂණයක්, දෝෂාභියෝගයක් පැවතියේ නැත. ඔහුව ඉවත් කර ඇත්තේ ජනාධිපතිවරයා යැවූ ලිපියක් මඟිනි. මොහාන් පීරිස් මහතාගේ පත් කිරීම බලශ=න්‍ය (භමකක ්බා ඪදසා) යනුවෙන් එහි දක්වා තිබිණි. මෙම ලිපිය ද නීති විරෝධීය. බලශ=න්‍ය යන ප්‍රකාශය කළ හැක්කේ අධිකරණයට පමණි. එය අධිකරණ බලයකි.

වර්තමානයේ කටයුතු සිදු වන ආකාරය ගත් විට උසාවියේ ක්‍රියාකලාපය ගැනත් විශාල ප්‍රශ්නයක් තිබේ. පොලිස් මූල්‍ය අපරාධ කොට්ඨාසයට එරෙහිව පූජ්‍ය ඇල්ලේ ගුණවංශ හිමියනුත්, මහාචාර්ය කාලෝ ෆොන්සේකාත් අභියාචනාධිකරණය හමුවේ නඩු පවරා ඇතත් තවමත් තීන්දුවක් ප්‍රකාශ කොට නැත.

එෆ්.සී.අයි.ඩී. එක සුපුරුදු විදියට තම කාර්යයන් කර ගෙන යමින් සිටී. පළාත් පාලන ඡන්දය වසර දෙකක් කල් දැමීමට එරෙහිව පැවරූ නඩුවල තීන්දු ද මෙතෙක් ලබා දී නැත. ජන බලය නිසා ආණ්ඩුවට පළාත් පාලන ඡන්දය තැබීමට සිදු වූ නමුත් නඩුවල තීන්දු දී නැත.
මේ වන විට ආණ්ඩුව පළාත් සභා ඡන්දය ද කල් දමමින් සිටී. ඒ සඳහා ක්‍රම පාදා ගත්තේ කෙසේ ද යන්න හැමදෙනාම දන්නා කාරණයකි. පළාත් සභා ඡන්දය කල් දැමීමට අවශ්‍ය නිසා සියලු පළාත් සභා ඡන්ද එක දිනයක පවත්වන්නට ආණAඩුව මුලින්ම යෝජනා කළේය. නමුත් ශ්‍රේෂ්ඨාධිකරණයේ තීරණය වුයේ එසේ කිරීමට ජනමත විචාරණයක් පැවැත් විය යුතු බවය. ඉන් පසු කාන්තා නියෝජනයට මුවා වී කාරක සභා අවස්ථාවේ පිටු 20ක පනතක් ගෙන ඒමට ආණ්ඩුව පියවර ගත්තේය. ජනමත විචාරණයකින් කර ගත යුතු ඡන්ද කල් දමා ගැනීම ඒ හරහා ඉටු කරගෙන තිබේ.

මේ නීති විරෝධී තත්ත්වයට එරෙහිව මම අධිකරණය හමුවට ගියෙමි. දින දෙකක් තර්ක කොට දින තුනක් පිටු 20ක ලිඛිත දේශන ඉදිරිපත් කළෙමි. අවසානයේ මාස 07කට පස්සේ පසුගිය ජුනි මාසයේ මගේ අයැදුම්පත ප්‍රතිෙක‍ෂ්ප කෙරුණේ කිසිදු හේතු දැක්වීමකින් තොරවය. නඩුව පවත්වා ගෙන යන්නට අවසර දීමට කිසිම පදනමක් දක්නට නැත යන්න අධිකරණයේ අදහස වී තිබුණි. ඒ බව කියන්නේ ද මාස 07කට පසුවය. අගවිනිසුරු මේ තීන්දුවට විරුද්ධව තීරණයක පසුවිය. ඛෙදුණු තීන්දුවක් වුවත්, දෙපැත්තෙන් එක පැත්තකින්වත් භේතු ඉදිරිපත් කොට නැත.

මෛත්‍රිපාල සිරිසේන ජනාධිපතිවරයා දැන් සූදානම් වෙන්නේ යළිත් වරක් ජනාධිපතිවරණයට තරග කිරීමටය. ඔහු පළාත් සභා ඡන්දය කල් දැමීම සිදුවන්නේ ඒ සැලසුමට අනුවය. සම්පන්දන් මහතාව තවදුරටත් විපක‍ෂනායක ධුරයේ රඳවා ගැනීම අවශ්‍ය වන්නේ ද එනිසාය. ජනාධිපතිවරණයට අගමැති තෝරන්නට පුළුවන් වුවද විපක‍ෂනායක තේරීමට නොහැක. මෙතැනදීත් ජනාධිපතිවරයාගේ ගණිතය ගැන දෝෂය පැහැදිලි වේ. 70 සහ 16 අතරින් වැඩි අගය කුමක් ද යන්න තෝරා ගැනීමට ජනාධිපතිවරයාට හැකියාවක් නැත. ඔහු 2015 දී අගමැතිවරයා පත් කළේ ද මේ අන්දමටය.

20 වැනි සංශෝධනයත් නව ආණ්ඩුක්‍රම ව්‍යවස්ථා සංශෝධනයත් කියන දෙකම එකම තැනකින් ආරම්භ වී ඇති බව පැහැදිලිය. සුළු වෙනස්කම් ඇතත් වගන්ති සංසන්දනය කළ විට ඒ බව පැහැදිලිවේ. නමුත් මේ අවස්ථාවේ නව ආණ්ඩු ක්‍රම ව්‍යවස්ථාවක් ගෙන ඒමට ආණ්ඩුව කටයුතු නොකරන බව ස්ථීරය. එවැන්නක් ගෙන එන බව කියන්නේ දෙමළ ජනතාව රැවටීමට පමණකි. කිසිදු ආණ්ඩුවක් තමන්ගේ පාලනයේ අවසන් භාගයේ ව්‍යවස්ථා ගෙනැවිත් නැත. එවැන්නක් සාර්ථක වන්නේ ද නැත.

සිරිමාවෝ මැතිනිය 1970දී ව්‍යවස්ථාව ගෙන ආවේ ද ෙජ්.ආර්. 1978දී ව්‍යවස්ථාව ගෙන ආවේ ද බලයට පැමිණි ගමන්ය. චන්ද්‍රිකා සිය පළමු පාලන සමයේ අවසන් භාගයේ ගෙන ආ නව ව්‍යවස්ථාව සාර්ථක වූයේ නැත. එක්සත් ජාතික පක‍ෂය පාර්ලිමේන්තුව තුළදීම එයට ගිනි තැබුවේය.

සියලු තත්ත්වයන් සලකා බැලුවිට පෙනී යන්නේ ජනාධිපතිවරයා ඉක්මන් ජනාධිපතිවරණයකට සූදානම් වන බවය. නමුත් ආණ්ඩුවට තරගයක් දෙන්නට සිටින රාජපක‍ෂ කඳවුර තවමත් එවැන්නකට සූදානම් බවක් පෙනෙන්නට නැත. එම කඳවුරේ ජනාධිපති අපේක‍ෂකයා විය හැකි යැයි කියන ගෝඨාභය රාජපක‍ෂ මහතා තවමත් ජනාධිපතිවරණයට තරග කිරීමට තමන්ගේ ඇති නුසුදුසුකම් ඉවත්කරගෙන නැත. ඒ තවමත් ඔහු අපේක‍ෂකයා ලෙස නම් කර නැති නිසා විය හැකිය. මහින්ද රාජපක‍ෂ මහතා කළ යුතු වන්නේ තමන්ගේ පිලේ අපේක‍ෂකයා නම් කර ඔහු ජනාධිපතිවරණයට සූදානම් කරවීමය. එය ප්‍රමාද වන තරමට වාසිය ආණ්ඩුව පැත්තට බැර වන බව අවසන් වශයෙන් කිව යුතුය.

Editorial Monday 10th September, 2018 Courtesy The Island

September 9, 2018, 9:45 pm
President Maithripala Sirisena has come to terms with reality. He has gone on record as saying that the head of the next government will be the Prime Minister, according to the 19th Amendment to the Constitution. Speaking at a public event in Nivitigala, on Saturday, he said the onus was on the people to elect a clean person as the next Prime Minister.

The President has got it right at last, but stopped short of referring to his own position vis-à-vis that of the Prime Minister. He has apparently sought not to attract public attention to his predicament as a lame duck President with reduced powers. In reality, the position of the Prime Minister is already much stronger than the President’s.

The 19th Amendment having taken full effect, the President’s statement is tantamount to an admission that he is only playing second fiddle to the PM. An argument was once peddled, in some quarters, that some provisions of the 19th Amendment did not apply to the incumbent President. But, it was proved wrong by the Supreme Court opinion on the length of his term.

The President is at the mercy of the UNP, which keeps undermining his position in the government without clashing with him openly. The UNP is comporting itself with a great deal of restraint as it wants the present government to continue till the next national level election. There is absolutely nothing the President can do if the UNP refuses to co-operate with him. He is dependent on the goodwill of the UNP and the PM to prevent himself from being treated as a figurehead. This fact became evident when he intervened to stop a fuel price increase and grant railway workers a pay hike. Having failed to have his directives implemented, he fell in line to avoid a confrontation with the UNP-controlled Finance Ministry. He also failed to save his loyalists who sought to oust the PM and lost their ministerial posts.

When the Joint Opposition made quite a stir, the other day, by claiming that the 19th Amendment did not debar former President Mahinda Rajapaksa from seeking a third term, we questioned its wisdom of trying to make him President again. We argued, quoting constitutional experts, that the executive presidency was no better than a titular post and anyone desirous of savouring powers should try to secure the post of the Prime Minister.

What’s up the President’s sleeve? The SLFP says Sirisena will be its presidential candidate. Is it that he is now willing to settle for the ‘titular’ presidency and help someone else secure premiership in return for the latter’s support for him at the next presidential election. In 2015, he got elected, promising to abolish the executive presidency. Now, the presidency is without most of the executive powers or, in other words, as good as abolished. He can claim that his promise has been fulfilled! Those who are lambasting him for having reneged on his pledge to the late Ven. Maduluwawe Sobitha Thera and demand that the presidency be done away with should ask themselves whether the game is worth the candle. The President’s statement at issue has come in the wake of the tabling of the 20th Amendment by the JVP, in Parliament. One may ask what powers the JVP wants removed from the presidency and vested in the post of Prime Minister, which is already the stronger of the two.

The wisdom of those who are striving to make former Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa the next President also stands questioned. Do they want Gotabaya to be under the next Prime Minister whoever it may be?

As for President Sirisena’s call for the country to elect as the next PM a person who is above board, people will have to start walking the streets, in daylight, holding lighted lamps and searching for an honest politician.

By Ajith Nivard Cabraal, Former Governor, Central Bank of Sri Lanka

September 9, 2018, 9:42 pm

Governor of the Central Bank Dr. Indrajith Coomaraswamy has, recently, stated that the Central Bank is to soon raise USD 250 million through the issuance of Panda Bonds. Such funds would be in addition to the Syndicated Loan of USD 1,000 million that it has already raised recently through the China Development Bank.

Sri Lanka’s public debt was at a value of LKR 7,391 billion as at end 2014. Of it, the loans from China amounted to approximately LKR 585 billion (USD 4.5 billion), or 8% of the total. At the same time, the Debt to GDP was at a manageable 71%, (down from 91% in 2005) and the interest cost in 2014 was LKR 443 billion or 4.2% of GDP.

Sri Lanka’s debt related relevant data, as at the end of 2014, would confirm that there was no truth whatsoever in the suggestion that Sri Lanka was in any ‘Debt Trap’ at that time:

* Debt to GDP ratio: 71% (down from 91% in 2005)

* Total Debt – LKR 7,391 billion; of which, External Debt – LKR 3,113 billion: Domestic Debt – LKR 4,278 billion

* External Debt to GDP: 30.0% (down from 39.0% in 2005)

* Domestic Debt to GDP: 41.3% (down from 51.6% in 2005)

* Average time to Maturity of Domestic Public Debt: 5 years and 8 months (up sharply from 2 years 5 months years in 2005)

* Total Chinese Debt, mainly Project-related: USD 4.5 billion

* Percentage of Chinese Debt out of Total Debt: 8%

* Total International Sovereign Bonds outstanding: USD 5.5 billion

* Percentage of ISBs, mainly held by US and Western Investors out of Total Debt: 10%

However, by end July 2018, Sri Lanka’s Public Debt had zoomed to around LKR 11,971 billion (Please see Computation 1); a staggering increase of 59% in just three and half years, while the interest cost for 2018 is estimated at LKR 820 billion, or nearly double that of the 2014 interest cost. The Debt to GDP ratio as at 31st July 2018 has also reached an alarming level of 87.0%. (Please see Computation 2).

Further, according to the publicly available information, the government’s total external debt had also since increased by a massive 33%: from USD 23.7 billion at end 2014 to at least USD 35.4 billion by July 2018, of which, International Sovereign Bonds which are mainly held by US and Western investors, now account for about USD 11.6 billion.

This debt escalation has taken place in an economy that has recorded a serious declining GDP growth rate; from a healthy average of 6.4% from 2010 to 2014 to a dismal 3.1% in 2017. The GDP growth rate for the first half of 2018 has also not shown any signs of recovery, and key sectors such as construction have experienced significant negative growth. Accordingly, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka has reduced its 2018 GDP growth projections to under 4% though most analysts now expect it to be considerably less than 3%.

In the meantime, the country’s external trade deficit has ballooned substantially from USD 8,287 million in 2014 to USD million 9,619 in 2017. The Central Bank’s press release on 27th August 2018 reported that the trade deficit for the first half of 2018 had widened to USD 5,709 million as against USD 4,751 million in the first half of 2017, reflecting the continued worsening of the trade deficit owing to sluggish growth in exports and double digit increase in imports. On that basis, the trade deficit is likely to reach a massive USD 11,000 million this year. Workers’ remittances too, which has been a major source of financing the current account deficit of the balance of payments has recorded only a sluggish increase of 0.9 percent.

In financing the current account deficit in 2018, the government is reported to have so far raised a sizeable USD 3,838 million, of which USD 2,500 million has been from International Sovereign Bonds, USD 1,000 million has been from a China Development Bank Syndicated Loan, and further Forex loans of USD 338 million. But, sadly there has been no noticeable foreign direct investment this year, other than the final tranche of the one-off sales proceeds relating to the alienation of the Hambantota Port to China. Incidentally, the debt incurred by Sri Lanka for the construction of the Hambantota Port was USD 1,322 million (or about LKR 158 billion), and such Debt was only about 2.1% of the Total Debt of Sri Lanka as at the end of 2014. Hence, by no stretch of imagination could it also be claimed that the Sri Lankan government was in a “Debt Trap” due to the Hambantota Port loan.

The level of gross official reserve assets of the country has also declined to USD 8.4 billion at end July 2018 from USD 9.3 billion by end June 2018. At the same time, the short term net drain on foreign currency assets between September and December, are also expected to be as high as USD 7.7 billion. In fact, considering the erosion in the balance of payments surplus in the first half of 2018 and the likely strain on the trade deficit and lower remittances inflows, the external reserve assets are likely to erode even further.

Reflecting these weaknesses, the LKR has rapidly depreciated by more than 5% this year to 163.00 per US Dollar, from a value of around 131.00 at the end of 2014: an unprecedented depreciation of about Rs.32 per USD in just three and half years.

Adding to these woes, the exchange rate is likely to face even more pressure in the background of the crisis in Iran and Turkey, the fall in Sri Lanka’s debt-financed reserve assets, the Government Securities market mass-scale foreign investor exodus, and the wide-spread Equity sales by foreigners in the Colombo Stock Exchange. Further, the massive depreciation of the currency is now placing a very heavy burden on the national budget due to the sharply rising debt servicing cost and is likely to well exceed the budgeted interest cost of Rs.820 billion, by a considerable margin.

As a result of these looming financial uncertainties, Moody’s have already warned of the acute financial risks in Sri Lanka, including the growing risks in the country’s banking and financial system, which is suffering from a high level of non-performing loans. Bloomberg too has ranked Sri Lanka among the highest risk countries for investors in early January 2018.

It is now clearly evident there has been a serious deterioration of the Debt Dynamics of Sri Lanka over the past 3 ½ years. It is also clear that such outcome is primarily due to the present Government’s unsound economic management, reckless borrowing, imposition of unbearable taxes and severe discouragement of investors. Consequently, the Sri Lankan Government’s debt situation has now reached a precarious and dangerous level.

Against that background, if the government were to borrow further by issuing more Forex debt in the form of Panda Bonds, it would lead to more reckless spending by the government and precipitate a possible debt default. Accordingly, as a former Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka for nearly 9 years, when the Sri Lanka Economy grew from USD 24 billion to USD 79 billion. I urge the government not to increase its Forex borrowing any further, as that would expose Sri Lanka to Debt levels beyond the current Debt to GDP level of nearly 87.0% (Please see Computation 2), and pave the way for Sri Lanka to be firmly entrenched in the category of Highly Indebted Countries.

 Courtesy The  Hindu

Former Sri Lankan President seems to be warming to India.