CHATURANGA PRADEEP SAMARAWICKRAMA  Courtesy The Daily Mirror

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Mannar has been chosen as the site for the largest wind power project in South Asia

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A large wind power project, built by the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) and India’s Adani Group, has disturbed the island’s natural balanceWhile the project aims to produce clean energy, it has caused severe floodingPoor planning has blocked the natural water flow, leading to disastrous effects for both people and wildlifeAccording to environmental reports, 20 more wind power plants are planned in addition to the 30 already built near TalaimannarLocal government officials claim they are unaware of the problem, and past governments have ignored complaints about the wind power project

Every year, as winter arrives, thousands of migratory birds fly south in search of food and water. Many of them find a temporary home on Mannar Island, Sri Lanka’s largest island. This special place welcomes birds from over 30 countries, offering wetlands where they can rest, feed, and breed for nearly six months before returning home. Mannar is an important stop on the Central Asian Flyway, a major migration route for birds.

 Letters sent to officials

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However, this fragile environment is now in danger. A large wind power project, built by the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) and India’s Adani Group, has disturbed the island’s natural balance. While the project aims to produce clean energy, it has caused severe flooding. Many homes and fishing areas have been damaged, and some parts of the island have turned into marshland. Additionally, large-scale limonite mining is further harming the land.

Local community faces struggles

Even animals in the area are affected by flooding

Mannar’s 70,000 residents, mainly fisher folk and farmers, are struggling to cope with these changes. When Sri Lanka’s largest wind farm was built in 2020 along a crucial bird migration route, the local people strongly opposed it. However, they did not expect the long-term damage it would cause to their land and way of life.

A media team and members of the Center for Environmental Justice (CEJ) recently visited Mannar to assess the damage. They met with the Mannar Citizens’ Committee (MCC), led by President Fr. S. Marcus, who shared his concerns. Reports from the Mannar District Secretariat and the Disaster Management Centre warn that if flooding continues due to wind turbines, new roads and a railway line, the island may become uninhabitable in the near future. Poor planning has blocked the natural water flow, leading to disastrous effects for both people and wildlife.

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Even though heavy rains have been received in areas such as Thevipuram, Puthukk udiyiruppu and up to Talaimannar, such flooding has never been experienced before. Three to four years after the commencement of wind power plants and illegal mineral sand mining projects, flooding in the Mannar district has increased”

– Mawlavi Azim, President All Ceylon Jamiyyathul Ulama

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MCC Vice President and President of All Ceylon Jamiyyathul Ulama Mawlavi Azim claimed that most of the government institutions are located in Mannar Island. Even though heavy rains have been received in areas such as Thevipuram, Puthukkudiyiruppu and up to Talaimannar, such flooding has never been experienced before. Three to four years after the commencement of wind power plants and illegal mineral sand mining projects, flooding in the Mannar district has increased,” said Azim. He added that previously, several natural waterways allowed rainwater to flow into the sea. However, after the implementation of these projects, the construction of roads blocked these natural waterways. As a result, rainwater has no proper outlet to the sea, leading to persistent flooding, with water remaining for more than six months, according to Azim. Due to floods, the small and medium-scale agriculture lands with crops have been destroyed. He said that large-scale illegal limonite sand mining will make the island unsuitable for habitation. With Mannar Island’s growing population, there will not be enough land for people to live on. Companies have exploited the poverty of innocent locals by purchasing their land for minimal amounts of money. 

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Many families have already left for India due to the difficult living conditions. If all the planned wind turbines and mining projects are completed, there may not be enough land left for Mannar’s people to continue living”

– M.Lakshi Kurushanthan, Mannar Women’s Development Federation President

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Many people in Mannar traditionally earn a living by making handicrafts and food products using palmyra trees. However, due to these developments, the density of palmyra trees is looking bleak and also threatening their livelihoods.

People affected by the wing power projects express their views

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Reports from the Mannar District Secretariat and the Disaster Management Centre warn that if flooding continues due to wind turbines, new roads and a railway line, the island may become uninhabitable in the near future

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Future plans raise more concerns

According to environmental reports, 20 more wind power plants are planned in addition to the 30 already built near Talaimannar. There were also plans for 56 large-scale wind power plants under Adani Group, but the Indian multinational conglomerate has pulled out of this project. This project was expected to generate 250 megawatts of electricity. CEJ strongly opposed the Adani project and even filed a court case to stop the construction of these wind power plants. 

Besides wind power, other industries are causing harm to Mannar. For over a decade, an Australian company has been mining heavy mineral sands, as Mannar Island has the world’s fourth-largest limonite deposit. However, this project has seen little success. Another company from India has also completed mineral exploration in Pesalai, where the Thambapavani Wind Farm is located. Due to new mining policies, companies are now allowed to export one-third of the mined sand within the first two years.

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Fishing and farming were their main sources of income, but after the construction of 30 wind turbines, the surrounding land was filled with clay to build roads. This has prevented floodwaters from draining into the sea, causing villages to remain underwater for over six months”

– Fr. S. Marcus, President Mannar Citizens’ Committee

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Some of these companies have already made deals with local residents to buy land, and they have even hired former armed forces personnel to pressure poor residents into selling their properties.

Threat to livelihoods and environment

Fr. Marcus emphasised that the wind power project has severely affected the lives of Mannar’s people. Fishing and farming were their main sources of income, but after the construction of 30 wind turbines, the surrounding land was filled with clay to build roads. This has prevented floodwaters from draining into the sea, causing villages to remain underwater for over six months.

Flooding has made basic living conditions worse. Many families don’t have access to clean drinking water and ater has become contaminated with floodwater and sludge. The toilet pits have overflowed, further polluting the underground water supply. As a result, people are suffering from waterborne diseases. Many families now have to buy bottled water, costing them over Rs. 6,000 per month, which they can barely afford,” Fr. Marcus said.

Fr. Marcus said that despite sending letters to government officials, including the President, there has been little action taken to resolve these issues. Local government officials claim that they are unaware of the problem, and past governments have ignored complaints about the wind power project.

At the time the complaints were made, Adani Group denied reports that its 484 MW wind power projects in Mannar and Pooneryn were canceled as speculated and added that the Sri Lankan government was simply reevaluating the tariff rates.

Fight against further construction

Fr. Marcus said that while they aren’t against generating electricity, the location chosen for the wind power plants is unsuitable. He stressed that the project should have been carried out in an area where it would not harm people or the environment.

Mannar has been chosen as the site for the largest wind power project in South Asia. However, there are fears that the construction of large turbine foundations could destabilise the island’s soft underground plates, making it vulnerable to natural disasters like tsunamis.

Government officials say that they need scientific proof before they can take action. This has left the people of Mannar struggling to find a way to present their case scientifically.

A divided land and rising tensions

Fr. Marcus also expressed concerns that Mannar, historically home to both Sinhalese and Tamils, is being unfairly targeted for destructive projects. He thanked the CEJ for raising awareness about these issues beyond the island.

He emphasised that while they support clean energy, they will fight to stop any further wind power projects in Mannar. He also urged the authorities to relocate the project to another district where it would not harm local communities.

Government response and community efforts

Mannar District Secretary K. Kanageswaran explained that the Thambapavani Wind Power Project by CEB and the proposed Adani project were approved by the Sri Lankan Cabinet. As a government official, I do not have the authority to oppose this decision. A district coordinating meeting was held recently to discuss the issue, and they plan to take their concerns to the President,” said Kanageswaran.

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As a government official, I do not have the authority to oppose this decision. A district coordinating meeting was held recently to discuss the issue, and they plan to take their concerns to the President”

– K. Kanageswaran, Mannar District Secretary

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Due to poor planning, flooding has become a severe problem. People in Mannar warn that they will not allow similar wind power projects to be built in the future. Letters of protest, petitions, and complaints have been sent to the previous government and the CEB, but the situation has not changed. Now, local leaders hope to bring the issue to President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and request that the project be moved to other areas such as Musali, Nanaddan or Mandaitivu.

Mannar is a low-lying island, with two-thirds of its land below sea level. Large-scale projects like wind farms and sand mining could make the land even more unstable and unsuitable for living.

Mannar Citizens’ Committee (MCC) sit for a meeting to address the issues caused by proposed wind power projects

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Social and economic impacts

Sivaharan, a member of the Federation of Community-Based Organizations, warned that three foreign companies have already started surveying for titanium sand mining and have identified over 5,000 sites. Their environmental impact reports claim the area is safe for mining, but the people of Mannar strongly disagree.

Mannar Women’s Development Federation President M. Lakshi Kurushanthan said that after the wind power project, their cultural heritage has been violated. She criticized the government for not consulting the local people before implementing these projects.

Many families have already left for India due to the difficult living conditions. If all the planned wind turbines and mining projects are completed, there may not be enough land left for Mannar’s people to continue living. Drug addiction, family disputes, and economic struggles have increased as a result of the loss of livelihoods,” said Kurushanthan.

She said that women, in particular, are facing hardships, including a lack of clean water and hygiene products. Many families are forced to live in temporary camps due to flooding, and the situation is becoming unbearable.

Mannar’s people are calling for urgent action. They demand proper environmental protection measures and request that these projects be moved to a location where they do not threaten lives and livelihoods.

Adani Group pulls out, respects Sri Lanka’s sovereign rightsFollowing long discussions with the CEB and the Ministry officials, on Wednesday (February 12), Adani Group had decided to withdraw from the project. The project involved setting up of 484 MW renewable energy wind farms in Mannar and Pooneryn, along with a new transmission system and expanding the 220 KV and 400 KV transmission network to deliver electricity to the southern part of Sri Lanka.In a statement, Adani Group said that the decision to pull out of the project was made after careful consideration by the company’s Board. The company also emphasised its full respect for Sri Lanka’s sovereign rights.As we step away, we want to reaffirm that we are always open to working with the Sri Lankan Government on future development projects if they ever wish to involve Adani Group,” the statement added.

 KURULU KOOJANA KARIYAKARAWANA  Courtesy The Daily Mirror

Colombo, February 14 (Daily Mirror) – Social activist groups lobbying for LGBTIQ rights yesterday urged the new government to make necessary legal reforms to decriminalize same-sex relationships between consenting adult women in Sri Lanka, as stated by the NPP policies to improve welfare of the LGBTIQ community.

In 2022, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) of the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (UN OHCHR) stated that the criminalization of same-sex relationships between consenting adult Sri Lankan women violated the CEDAW treaty. The Government of Sri Lanka was urged to make the necessary legal reforms.

Independent lobby group for LGBTIQ community Equal Ground issuing a statement said the original case, which was put forward by Rosanna Flamer-Caldera, Executive Director of Equal Ground, supported by Human Dignity Trust, set a major legal precedent stating that the criminalization of lesbian and bisexual women violates the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.

However, at present neither the required amendments have occurred nor has Ms. Flamer-Caldera been compensated. Despite the change of government and with the new government stating in their policies their intent to improve the welfare of the LGBTIQ community, reforms are yet to be seen.

Furthermore, in September 2023 written replies to the List of Issues, the GoSL claimed (at para 135) that Legal gender recognition could be obtained by transgender persons in 3-5 days per existing regulations.” However, the reality is contrastingly different to their claims. As per the circular issued by the Ministry of Health, the Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC) will be issued by a psychiatrist.

This evaluation process differs for each psychiatrist, at times the process would take months to complete. This directly hinders transgender persons from changing their legal documents such as the National Identity Card as the GRC is required for them to change all legal documents.

Stark contrasts exist between what has been either claimed or promised by the Sri Lankan state versus the current realities. We urge the GoSL to promptly and fully comply with the recommendations made by the CEDAW Committee in the name of good governance, the statement read.

Courtesy Adaderana

Courtesy Adaderana

Adani Green Energy, part of Indian billionaire Gautam Adani’s Adani Group, has decided to withdraw from its wind energy project in Mannar, Sri Lanka.

Despite obtaining most approvals, the company cited delays, including unresolved environmental clearance and an ongoing Supreme Court case as reasons for the withdrawal.

The company has informed Sri Lanka’s Board of Investment (BOI) of its decision to respectfully withdraw” while remaining open to future projects. 

A new committee is set to renegotiate terms, but official statements from both Adani Group and Sri Lankan authorities are still pending.

Adani Green Energy Limited (AGEL) has officially withdrawn from its proposed $1 billion renewable wind farm and transmission project in Sri Lanka, citing prolonged discussions and new government renegotiation efforts, Indian media reported today.

In a letter to the Board of Investment of Sri Lanka, Adani Green confirmed that after two years of negotiations with the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) and government departments, and after 14 rounds of discussions, the company had secured most approvals. However, with a new Cabinet-appointed negotiations committee (CANC) and Project Committee (PC) being constituted to renegotiate the proposal, AGEL has decided to step away from the project.

The project aimed to establish 484 MW wind farms in Mannar and Pooneryn, alongside a 220 KV and 400 KV transmission network expansion to support Sri Lanka’s energy infrastructure. The company had already spent $5 million on pre-development activities and had made progress on clearances and land acquisitions. However, unresolved environmental approvals in Mannar and an ongoing Supreme Court case further delayed the project.

While withdrawing from this investment, Adani Green reaffirmed its willingness to consider future opportunities in Sri Lanka should the government invite the group for any new projects.

This marks a significant shift in Sri Lanka’s renewable energy landscape, as the country continues its search for sustainable energy solutions amid increasing power demands.

Sri Lanka AGEL Letter to BOI by Adaderana Online on Scribdhttps://www.scribd.com/embeds/827547344/content?start_page=1&view_mode=scroll&access_key=key-xrNuAtoL5tZYwfoWCXnn

Media Statement on Sri Lanka Projects by AGEL by Adaderana Online on Scribdhttps://www.scribd.com/embeds/827547342/content?start_page=1&view_mode=scroll&access_key=key-3jFYCxu4BipNYBVyApVP

Courtesy Adaderana

A preliminary discussion on the final phase of drafting the Budget 2025, which is scheduled to be presented to Parliament on February 17, was held this afternoon (13) at the Presidential Secretariat under the leadership of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, according to the President’s Media Division (PMD).

The discussion was attended by Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Land and Irrigation K.D. Lalkantha,  Minister of Trade, Commerce, Food Security and Co-operative Development, Wasantha Samarasinghe, Minister of Labour and Deputy Minister of Economic Development Dr. Anil Jayanta Fernando, Secretary to the President Dr. Nandika Sanath Kumanayake, Secretary to the Ministry of Finance Mahinda Siriwardana, along with several senior government officials.

–PMD

Courtesy Hiru News

The Attorney General has informed the Mount Lavinia Magistrate’s Court that his recent recommendation regarding the suspects in the murder of journalist Lasantha Wickrematunge will be temporarily suspended.

Previously, the AG had advised the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) on the possible release of three suspects, including former Army Intelligence officer Prem Ananda Udalagama, former Mount Lavinia Crime Branch OIC Tissasiri Sugathapala, and former DIG Prasanna Nanayakkara. The recommendation, conveyed to the CID Director on January 27, had sparked controversy.

However, the AG has now informed the court to put the recommendation on hold, clarifying that the release of the suspects does not rule out the possibility of filing criminal charges if new evidence emerges.

Borella Handiya

Sasanka De Silva Pannipitiya

A recent island-wide power outage that lasted for several hours has sparked concerns over the country’s national security and the reliability of its power grid. The incident, which was initially attributed to a lone monkey invading a substation in the Panadura area, has raised more questions than answers.

The Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) has offered a different explanation, citing the integration of solar power installations on rooftops into the main grid as the cause of the outage. According to the CEB, the unpredictable nature of renewable energy production, which can vary depending on weather and time, makes it challenging to control the grid.

However, this explanation has raised several questions. If the CEB is unable to control the grid due to the integration of renewable energy sources, why did they recommend these options in the first place? Moreover, it is unclear why the country’s power grid is unable to accommodate the variability of renewable energy production when other countries seem to be able to do so without major disruptions.

Another issue that has been highlighted is the CEB’s reluctance to allow owners of rooftop solar installations to have their own energy storage devices. This has led to speculation that the real reason for the outage may be more complex and nuanced than initially reported.

The recent brain drain of qualified personnel from the country’s energy sector has also been cited as a possible contributing factor to the outage. The lack of expertise and resources may have hindered the CEB’s ability to monitor and control the grid effectively.

The citizens of this country deserve answers and assurance that the power grid is secure and reliable. The government should conduct a thorough investigation into the incident, and the panel should comprise of real experts in the field, rather than individuals with dubious credentials.

Ultimately, the incident highlights the need for a comprehensive review of the country’s energy infrastructure and policies. The integration of renewable energy sources into the grid is a positive step towards reducing the country’s carbon footprint, but it requires careful planning, monitoring, and management to ensure a reliable and secure power supply.

The government and the CEB must work together to address the concerns raised by the recent power outage and take concrete steps to prevent such incidents in the future. This includes investing in grid modernization, enhancing energy storage capabilities, and developing strategies to mitigate the variability of renewable energy production.

By taking a proactive and transparent approach to addressing these issues, the government can restore public confidence in the power grid and ensure a reliable and secure energy supply for the country’s citizens.

Sasanka De Silva

Pannipitiya.

Courtesy The Daily Mirror

The Legal Officer’s Association of the Attorney General’s Department firmly asserted that the Attorney General and officials involved in the relevant decision-making process have exercised their independent professional judgment in line with the esteemed traditions of the Attorney General’s Department regarding recent recommendations to discharge the three suspects in a case.  

The Association unequivocally declares that it will not hesitate to defend the Attorney General against any attempts to remove him from office.  
Acting Secretary of the Legal Officers’ Association Tashya Gajanayake issuing a statement also stated:  
The Legal Officers’ Association of the Attorney General’s Department expressed its deep concern over certain recent factually incorrect and misleading statements circulating in the media relating to the advice dated 27th January 2025 issued by the Hon. Attorney General.   The Association notes that the relevant procedures and practices in the Attorney General’s Department have been strictly complied with in the matters relating to the said advice. The relevant officers concerned had considered all the material facts and the law and had duly made their recommendations to discharge the three suspects who were the subject matter of the said advice. The Hon. Attorney General, after considering the same had agreed with the recommendations and thereafter proceeded to issue the relevant advice.   Taking decisions to forward indictments and discharge suspects, based on the material available, with dispassionate disregard to the political repercussions or public approval or disapproval of such decisions, is the hallmark of an independent Attorney General’s Department.   The Association expresses its utmost confidence in the Hon. Attorney General, his decisions and in the officers involved in the relevant decision making process, and notes that they have done so exercising their independent professional judgment in accordance with the highest traditions of the Attorney General’s Department.   The Legal Officer’s Association emphatically wishes to state that they would not be hesitant to stand up and defeat any attempt to remove the Hon. Attorney General from his office.”

Headline News

Iraj Show

3 Minutes – SEPAL AMARASINGHE

Dilrook Kannangara

All of Sri Lanka’s miseries and problems boil down to its multiethnic nature which has led to conflicting policy priorities. One avenue of approach which may benefit one group, is not very beneficial to the other two groups. As a result, Sri Lanka is stuck in this trijunction unable to move. This is why the NPP regime despite 159 seats in parliament and the executive president is unable to make any real change. It is safe to just sit in the middle of the trijunction than move in any single direction and hurt the aspirations or sentiments of one or more tribe.

Don’t be misled by transactional issues and basic human needs like food, gas, fuel and the like. A nation that truly develops has far better things to consider and accomplish than daily living needs. Though daily struggles unify people of all ethnic groups, national issues and the direction the nation should take that divides them.

In the past there were five (5) instances when the ruling party had 2/3 majority to make radical changes. Some regimes with 2/3 parliamentary power did make far reaching changes that benefitted the country at that time. These include SWRD, Sirima (1970-77), JR, Mahinda and Gota. However, almost the entirety of their 2/3 was made up of Sinhala MPs and very few minority MPs who were either appointed to parliament by the national list or who had no other avenue of survival. 

It was easy to make radical changes and follow a determined pathway. Though it had challenges, the nation mostly benefited, faced war and won and remained financially afloat (except the one headed by Gota).

However, the NPP regime has elected MPs from every district and a sizable number of minority MPs. Excluding minority MPs, the NPP regime has less than 140 seats. 

Given parliamentary hostility and fragmentation, other party MPs are not going to support their moves.

This is the fate of the party that won the north and the south, the east and the west and the centre of the country and unified it for the first time in election history. It is not the fault of the NPP. It is the very nature of multiethnic Sri Lanka which will be stuck in this multiethnic rut forever.

When other Asian nations like Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, Maldives, Vietnam and other mono-ethnic nations advance rapidly, Sri Lanka and multi-ethnic nations are stuck in a rut. Singapore is a rare exception and without compulsory military service imposed on every 18-year-old, no country can become the next Singapore though some Sri Lankans dream of Singapore’s riches without suffering the pain it goes through to achieve those riches. India is a divided nation from what was once a larger nation which included Pakistan and Bangladesh. Had British India remained one large and far more diverse nation with Pakistan and Bangladesh post-Independence, it too would have been bogged down in the same rut Sri Lanka is in.

Asanga Abeyagoonasekera Executive Director, South Asia Foresight Network (SAFN)

Bangkok, Thailand (February 11th, 2025) – The South Asia Foresight Network (SAFN), based in Washington, DC, and the Nation-Building International Institute (NBII) in Thailand have entered into a historic Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to foster research collaboration and academic exchange on 7^thFebruary 2025 in Thailand. This landmark partnership will drive joint research initiatives across Thailand and Southeast Asia, with SAFN focusing on foreign policy, security, and futures research in the region.

Thailand, as ASEAN’s second-largest economy, stands at a crucial geopolitical crossroads. This partnership will create new opportunities to develop high-impact research that strengthens regional cooperation between South and Southeast Asia.” 

Speaking on the significance of this collaboration, Prof. Kriengsak Chareonwongsak, Chairman of NBII, stated: Thailand, as ASEAN’s second-largest economy, stands at a crucial geopolitical crossroads. This partnership will create new opportunities to develop high-impact research that strengthens regional cooperation between South and Southeast Asia.” The agreement comes at a pivotal moment, as the region faces rising geopolitical competition among major powers. The collaboration will provide a platform for scholars, policymakers, and researchers to engage in cutting-edge studies on economic development, security and foreign policy dynamics, contributing to informed decision-making in the region.

Thailand’s civilizational ties, rooted in its rich Buddhist heritage, naturally connect it with nations such as Sri Lanka. This MOU opens new pathways for researchers to foster synergies between South Asia and Southeast Asia, deepening regional cooperation.”

Asanga Abeyagoonasekera, Executive Director of SAFN, underscored Thailand’s evolving diplomatic role, referencing Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra’s ongoing visit to China as an example of pragmatic foreign policy. He noted similarities with Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s recent engagement in China, emphasizing Thailand’s growing importance in shaping regional diplomacy. Thailand’s civilizational ties, rooted in its rich Buddhist heritage, naturally connect it with nations such as Sri Lanka. This MOU opens new pathways for researchers to foster synergies between South Asia and Southeast Asia, deepening regional cooperation.”

During the signing ceremony, Asanga Abeyagoonasekera was honored for his contributions to geopolitics and international relations. He was appointed as a Fellow at NBII and an Expert Committee Member of the International Relations Institute (IRI) in Thailand. Additionally, he was invited to serve on the Editorial Board of several prestigious academic journals, including: Journal of Social Science Research and Innovation (SSRI); Journal of Future Studies for Development (JFSD); Journal of Nation-Building Research (JNBR)

This collaboration marks a new chapter in regional research excellence, strengthening policy engagement and fostering deeper academic exchange between South Asia and Southeast Asia.

For more information, please visit www.southasiaforesight.org.

 lanka C news

ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ ජනමතය විකෘති කිරීම සඳහා යූ.එස්. එයිඩ් ආයතනයෙන් ඩොලර් මිලියන 7.9ක් ලබාගත් මාධ්‍ය ආයතන, මාධ්‍යවේදින් හා දේශපාලඥයන් පිළිබඳව පරීක්ෂණයක් පැවැත්වීමට ජනාධිපති අනුර කුමාර දිසානායක මහතාට හෝ ආණ්ඩුවට කොන්ද පණ නැත්නම් විපක්ෂයේ කොන්ද පණ තිබෙන එක් මන්ත්‍රීවරයකු හෝ සිටී නම් පාර්ලිමේන්තු තේරීම් කාරක සභාවක් යෝජනා කරමින් මේ පිළිබඳ විමර්ශනය කොට රටේ ජනතාවට මාස තුනක් ඇතුළත වාර්තාවක් නිකුත් කරන්නැයි ජාතික නිදහස් පෙරමුණේ නායක විමල් වීරවංශ මහතා අභියෝග කළේය.

බත්තරමුල්ලේ පිහිටි ජාතික නිදහස් පෙරමුණ නව මූලස්ථානයේ පැවැති මාධ්‍ය හමුවකට එක්වෙමින් විමල් වීරවංශ මහතා  මේ බව පැවසීය.

මේ රටේ සංස්කෘතික පදනම විනාශ කරන්න දේශපාලන නායකයොත් මිලදී අරගෙන තියෙනවා. දේශපාලන නායිකාවනුත් මිලදී අරගෙන තියෙනවා. අපි ඒවා ඉදිරියේ දී නම් පිටින් අනාවරණය කරනවා යැයි ද ඊට කලින් පාර්ලිමේන්තු තේරිම්කාරක සභාවක් පත් කරලා පුළුවන්නම් වාර්තාවක් ඉදිරිපත් කරන්න යැයි අභියෝග කරනවා යැයි විමල් වීරවංශ මහතා කියා සිටියේය.

විමල් වීරවංශ මහතා මෙසේ ද කීවේය.

බටහිර බලය සහ ලංකාවේ ඉරණම කියන පොත මා විසින් රචනා කරලා දේශ හිතෛෂී ජාතික ව්‍යාපාරය විදියට අපි මීට අවුරුදු 10-15කට කලින් එළි දක්වපු පොතක්. මේ කෘතියෙ වගේම 9 සැඟවුණු කතාව කෘතියේ අපි මේ කියන සඳහන් කරලා තියෙනවා.

ඉලෝන් මස්ක් එක අවස්ථාවක කියනවා යූ.එස් එයිඩ් ත්‍රස්තවාදී සංවිධානයක් කියලා. ඔහු අනාවරණය කරපු ආකාරයට ඩොලර් මිලියන 7.9ක් නැතිනම් දළ වශයෙන් රුපියල් කෝටි 240 විතර ලංකාවේ මාධ්‍යෙවේදීන්ට වැය කරලා තියෙන්නෙ ස්ත්‍රී පුරුෂ දෙපාර්ශවය වෙනුවට පොදු වචන මාලාවක් උගන්වන්න. ඒ කියන්නෙ ඒ අයට කියනවා නෝනාවරුනි මහත්වරුනි කියලා සභාව අමතන්න එපා කියලා.

මිත්‍රවරුනි කියලා අර සමහරු සභාව අමතන්නෙ මේ උපදෙස් අනුවද දන්නෙ නැහැ. ඒ කියන්නෙ ස්ත්‍රී පුරුෂ වෙනසක් ආමන්ත්‍රණයෙදි පෙන්වන්න එපා කියලා මේ යූ.එස් එයිඩ් එක වියදම් කරලා මේ රටේ මාධ්‍යවේදීන්ට උගන්වනවා. ඒ වගේම ලිංග විපර්යාස දිරිගැන්වීම සඳහා කරුණු උගන්වලා තියෙනවා. පාර්ලිමේන්තුවෙත් ඇතැම් මන්ත්‍රීවරු මීට අදාළ පනත් සංශෝධන ගෙනාවා. දැනගන්න තියෙන විදියට යූ.එස් එයිඩ් එක අර මුදල්වලින් මේ අයවත් සංතර්පනය කරලා තියෙනවා.

ඩොනල් ට්‍රම්ප් හා ඉලෝන් මස්ක් අනාවරණය කරන විධියට යූ.එස් එයිඩ්, එන්.ඊ.ඩී සහ සී.අයි.ඒ අනුශාංගික ආයතනවල රෙද්ද ගැලවිලා තියෙනවා. ඒවායින් යැපුණු දේශීය ඒජන්තයො නහයෙන් අඞන්න පටන්ගෙන තියෙනවා. එක්කෙනෙක් තමයි පාක්‍යසෝති සරනමුත්තු මහත්මයා. මෙතුමා කියනවා මේක ඛේදවාචකයක් කියලා. ටික කාලයක් හරි මේක හම්බනොවී තියෙන එක පාක්‍යසෝති සරනමුත්තුලගෙ කොන්ත්‍රාක් ඉටුකරගන්න බැරි වෙන එකට ඛේදවාචකයක්. එගොල්ලො සාමය ගැන කතා කළේ.ගැටුම් නිරාකරණය ගැන කතා කළේ.සංහිඳියාව ගැන කතා කළේ, ස්ත්‍රී පුරුෂ සමානාත්මතාව ගැන කතා කළේ, මේ ඩොලර්වලින් යැපෙන මාර්ගය විදියටයි. ඒක තමයි ඔවුන්ගෙ ජීවනෝපාය.

මේ වැඩේ මෙහේ ගෝඩ් පාදර්ස්ලා දෙන්නෙක් ඉන්නවා. එක් කෙනෙක් තමයි පාක්‍යසෝති සරනමුත්තු ඇතුළු එන්.ජී.ඕ තන්ත්‍රය, අනෙක් එක්කෙනා තමයි ජෙහාන් පෙරේරා. ජෙහාන් කියනවා කිසිදු පූර්ව දැනුම්දීමකින් තොරවලු මේ අරමුදල් ලබා දෙන එක නතර කරලා තියෙන්නෙ. එහෙම කියලා නාහෙන් අඩනවා. කෙදිරිගානවා. අනුර දිසානායක වචනයෙන් කියනවා නම් කෙඳිරිගානවා. අපට පව් කියලා හිතෙනවා. ඔය ජෙහාන්ලා සාම මණ්ඩලේද මොකද්ද එකක් හදාගෙන එල්.ටී.ටී.ඊ ය තියෙන කාලයේ එල්.ටී.ටී.ඊ යට සුදුහුණු ගාමින් සිංහල ජාතිවාදය, සිංහල බෞද්ධ ජාතිවාදය කියමින් සිංහල සමාජයට ගැරහුවා. විවිද පුවත්පත්වලට ඒ මත වාදය කියලා ලිපි ලිවුවා. එහෙම කරමින් විවිද ක්‍රියාකාරකම්වල නිරතවුණේ මේ යූ.එස් එයිඩ් සල්ලි වලින් බව බොහොම පැහැදිලියි. ඒවා නතර උන ගමන් කියනවා. අනේ අපට ට්‍රම්ප් මහත්මයා ඔයා අපට කලින් පොඩ්ඩක් කියන්න තිබුනනෙ කියලා. වෙන රස්සාවක් හොයාගන්න කියලා.

පාක්‍යසෝති කියනවා මේක ඛේදවාචකයක් කියලා. ඒ මගින් පේනවා මේ අරමුදල්වලින් යැපිච්ච, ඒ අරමුදල්වලින් පෙන්වන මත නිෂ්පාදනය කරපු, ඒවා අනුව මේ රටේ ජන මනස හදන්න ක්‍රියාත්මක වෙච්ච විවිද ගොබිලො අද නහයෙන් අඩන්න පටන්ගෙන තියෙනවා. ජනාධිපති අනුරට අනුව අද කෙඳිරිගාන්න පටන්ගෙන තියෙනවා.

දැන් තමුන්නාන්සෙලාට පේනවා මේ අය ප්‍රධාන වශයෙන්ම ප්‍රවර්ධනය කෙරුව එක ක්ෂේත්‍රයක් තමයි එල්.ජී.බී.ටී.කිවු කියන්නෙ. ඒ කියන්නෙ සංක්‍රාන්තික ලිංගිකයන්ගෙ කතාව. ඉලෝන් මස්ක් ගත්ත්ත් එයාගේ පුතා කුඩා දරුවෙක්. ඉලොන් මස්ක්ගෙ පුතාවත් ලිංග විපර්යාසයකට ලක් කරලා තියෙනවා. එල්.ජී.බී.ටී.කිවු ප්‍රමෝට් කරන්න ලංකාවේ කිසිම දේශපාලන පක්ෂයක් කටයුතු කළේ නැහැ. අඩුම ගණනේ රනිල් වික්‍රමසිංහ මහත්මයාගේ එක්සත් ජාතික පක්ෂයවත් විවෘතව ඒක කළේ නැහැ.

සරදම කියන්නෙ ලංකාවේ එකම දේශපාලන පක්ෂයක් ඒක එළිපිට ප්‍රවර්ධනය කරලා තියෙනවා ඒ තමයි නිදහසේ අභිමානී පා ගමන 2023. මේ ජනතා විමුක්ති පෙරමුණේ සමාජවාදී තරුණ සංගමය. එල්.ජී.බී.ටී.කිවු කට්ටියගෙ දේදුණු වර්ණ කොඩියත් මේකේ තියෙනවා. ඒ පෙළපාලිය තමයි මේ අය උත්කර්ෂවත් තත්ත්වය නංවන්නෙ. ආදරයේ ප්‍රේමනීය පා ගමන කියලා තමයි මේ අය මේකට කිවුවේ. එල්.ජී.බී.ටී.කිවු ප්‍රවර්ධනය කරන්නෙ ඇයි. අමෙරිකාවේ තියෙනවා ඩීප් ස්ටේට් එකක්. රුසියාවෙන් හරෙන් මෙහෙන් නෙමෙයි වැඩිම හානිය වෙලා තියෙන්නෙ මේ ඩීප් ස්ටේට් එකෙන් කියලා ට්‍රම්ප් ජනාධිපතිවරයා වරක් ප්‍රකාශ කළා. මේකේ කොටසක් තමයි ඔය සී.අයි.ඒ, යූ.එස් එයිඩි සහ එන්.ඊ.ඩී ආදි වශයෙන් තියෙන ආයතන. යූ.එස් එයිඩ් කියන්නෙ මෘදු ආයතනයක්. සංවර්ධනය මුවාවෙන් පෙනී සිටින ආයතනයක්. හැබැයි එන්.ඊ.ඩී කියන්නෙ රෙජීම් චේන්ජ් සඳහා කෙළින්ම වැඩ කරන ආයතනයක්.

යූ.එස්.එයිඩ් එක අධිකරණ ක්ෂේත්‍රයට අරමුදල් සම්පාදනය කරනවා. අපේ රට ඇතුළු රටවල විනිසුරුවන් විදේශ සංචාර සඳහා අරගෙන යනවා.ඒවායේ දී බලපෑම් කරන්න පුළුවන් ශක්තියක් ඔවුන් ගොඩනගාගෙන තියෙනවා. විශේෂයෙන් තුන්වැනි ලෝකයේ රටවලට මේ බලපෑම තියෙනවා.

මේ විදියට ඒ රාජ්‍යන්වල එන පාලන තන්ත්‍රය අමෙරිකා විදේශ ප්‍රතිපත්තියට එකඟ පාලනයක් නෙමෙයි නම් ඒවා පරාජයට පත්කරන්න ඕන කරන මුදල් සම්පාදනය කරන්න. යූ ටියුබස්ලාට වෙන්න පුළුවන්. සෝෂල් මීඩියා ප්ලැට්පොම්වලට වෙන්න පුළුවන්. දිලෙන තරුවලට වෙන්න පුළුවන්. ඇක්ටලාට බැක්ටලාට වෙන්න පුළුවන්. නූතන විහාරමහා දේවිලාට වෙන්න පුළුවන්. මේ ගොල්ලොන්ට සල්ලි පොම්ප කරලා මේ අයගෙන් මතයක් පෝෂණය කරනවා.

දේශපාලඥයොත් මේ ලැයිස්තුවේ ඉන්නවා. අපට ආරංචි හැටියට මේ ආණ්ඩුවේ එක් කෙනෙකුත් යූ.එස් එයිඩ් සල්ලි ගන්න ලැයිස්තුවේ ඉන්නවා. ඒ අය එළියට ඇවිත් අභියෝග කළොත් අපට පුළුවන් කියන්න කවුද කියලා.

දැන් බලන්න මේ අග්‍රාමාත්‍යතුමිය හරිනි. අගමැති වෙන්න කලින් 2015 වෙනකම් හරිනි අමරසූරිය වැඩ කළේ පාක්‍යසෝති සරණමුත්තුගෙ ආයතනයේ. වුමන් ඉන් නීඩ් විත් ෆයිනෑසියල් සපෝට් විත් යූ.එස් එයිඩි ලෝන්ච් අගේන්ස් විත් වයලන්ට්. වුමන්ස් ඉන් තර්ටි ඉයර්ස් වින්. මේ තියෙන්නෙ එතුමිය තමයි ප්‍රධාන ආරාධිත අමුත්තා. මේකට ෆන්ඩ් දෙන්නෙ යූ.එස්.එයිඩි.ඉලෝන් මස්ක් කියන්නෙ යූ.එස් එයිඩ් කියන්නෙ ත්‍රස්තවාදී සංවිධානයක්. විකාර රූපි දෙයකට ශ්‍රී ලංකාවට විශාල මුදලක් දිලා. කෝටි 240කට වැඩියි. ලංකාවේ සමස්ත විද්‍යුත් මාධ්‍ය වටිනාකම ඩොලර් මිලියන 6.5යි. මේකට 7.9 දීලා තියෙනවා. එතකොට ඊටත් වඩා වැඩි මුදලක් තමයි මේ දීලා තියෙන්නෙ.

අපි ආණ්ඩුවට අභියෝග කරනවා. ඒ වගේම පාර්ලිමේන්තුවේ විපක්ෂයටත් අභියෝග කරනවා. කරුණාකරලා මොන මොන මාධ්‍ය ආයතනවලට සල්ලි දුන්න ද ? එල්.ජී.බී.ටී.කිවු ප්‍රවර්ධනය කරන්න එයාලා මොන මොන දේවල් කරා ද ? මොන මොන ක්‍රියාමාර්ග ගත්ත ද ? රුපියල් කෝටි 240කට වඩා මුදල් මොන මොන විදියට ද බෙදිලා ගියේ. මේ මුදල් වලින් හැදුවේ එල්.ජී.බී.ටී.කිවු ප්‍රවර්ධනය පමණක් ද ? යූ ටියුබස්ලාට කොච්චර සල්ලි දුන්න ද ? එගොල්ලො රෙජීම් චේන්ජ් වෙනුවෙන්, පාලන තන්ත්‍රයේ වෙනසක් වෙනුවෙන් මේ අරමුදල් අරගෙන කොයි විදියට ද හැසිරුනේ? විශේෂයෙන්ම බෞද්ධ විරෝධී අනාගමිකවාදී කොටස්වලට මේ යූ.එස්.එයි එයිඩ් එකෙන් කොතරම් සල්ලි දුන්න ද ?

බොහොම පැහැදිලියි ජවිපෙ සමාජවාදී ශිෂ්‍ය සංගමය 2023 පාගමනට පවා සහභාගිවෙලා ඒක සාධාරනීකරණය කරලා තියෙනවා. හරිනි අගමැතිනිය යූ.එස්.එයිඩ් ආයතනයේ මුදල් ලබන ආයතනවලට ප්‍රසිද්ධියේ පෙනී සිටිනවා. ඉලෝන් මස්ක් කියනවා මේක ත්‍රස්තවාදි සංවිධානයක් කියලා. මේකෙන් පේනවා ලෝකයේ ලිංගික විපර්යාස තියෙනවා. මේත් ලිංගික විපර්යාසයකට ලක් කරලා තියෙන්නෙ. ඔහු වඩාත් වේදනාවට පත්වෙලා තියෙන්නෙ මේ තත්ත්වය මතයි. එතකොට ඒ ලිංග විපර්යාසය කළාට පස්සෙ මොකද වෙන්නෙ ? දරුවන් උපද්දවන්න බැරි වෙනවා.

ඒ මගින් ඔය ඩීප් ස්ටේට්වල ඉන්න බිල් ග්රේට්ස්ලා ලෝක ආර්ථික සමුළුවක දි ඉතා පැහැදිලිව කිවුවා ලෝකයේ ජනගහනය වැඩියි මේක අඩු කරන්න ඕන කිවුවා. ඒකට වසංගත හදන්න ඕන. ඒවට ඕන කරන වැක්සිං අපි හදන්නත් ඕන කිවුවා. වසංගත හදලා ලෝක ජනගහනයත් අඩු කරනවා. වැක්සිං හදලා ඒවා විකුණනවා. ඒ ගොල්ලො හිතන්නෙ ජනගහනය අඩු කරාම අර අයිස් කඳු දියවෙන එක නතරවෙයි.ලෝකයේ රස්නය අඩුවෙයි. එමගින් බිල් ග්‍රේට්ස්ලා වගේ අයගෙ ජීවිත සුරක්ෂිත කරන්න පුළුවන් කියලා.

එල්.ජී.බී.ටී.කිවු ඇතුළු මේ ක්‍රමයෙන් හොඳට ඉන්න කෙල්ලො කොල්ලො කිරීමෙන්,හොඳට ඉන්න කොල්ලො කෙල්ලො කිරීමෙන්, දරු උපත් නැති කිරීමෙන් බලාපොරොත්තුවන අරමුණු දෙකක් තියෙනවා. එකක් ලෝක ජනගහනයේ වර්ධනය නතරකරන එක. දෙක හෝමෝන සඳහා හැමදාම එන්නත් කිරීම ඇතුළු මහා ව්‍යාපාරික අවස්ථාව නිර්මාණය කිරීම. මේක මේ රටටත් බස්සන්න තමයි ඩොලර් මිලියන 7.9ක් වැය කළේ. මේ එන්නෙ බිල් ග්‍රේට්ස්ලාගේ උවමනාව ඉටු කරන්න.

ඉලෝන් මස්ක් කියනවා තුන්වැනි ලෝකේ රටවලට දීපු මුදල්වලින් විශාල ප්‍රමාණයක් ගසා කාලාලු. අපි කැමතියි මේ ඩොලර් මිලයන 7.9 කොච්චර ගසා කාලාද කියලා දැනගන්න. ගසා කෑවා නම් එක අතකින් ඒක යහපතක්. මේ කුණු කන්දල් ප්‍රවර්ධනයට සැබෑ ලෙසම අරමුදල් යොදවන්නෙ නැතිව. මේක තමයි ඇත්ත කතාව. ආණ්ඩුව මේක හෙළිදරව් කරන්නෙ නැත්නම්.පාර්ලිමේන්තුවෙත් මේක හෙළිදරව් කරන්නෙ නැත්නම්, තේරිම්කාරක සභාවක් හරි පත් කරලා. මේ තේරිම් කාරක සභාවට ආණ්ඩුවේ හා විපක්ෂයේ හැමෝම සහභාගිවෙලා, යූ.එස්.එයිඩ් සහ අනෙකුත් ආයතනත් ගෙනල්ලා, මාධ්‍ය ආයතනවල අය ගෙනල්ලා, කීයක් තමුන්නාන්සෙලාට හම්බ උනාද ? මොනවද ඒවායින් කළේ කියලා අහලා. කරුණාකරලා තේරිම්කාරක සභාවකින් හරි වාර්තාවක් ඉදිරිපත් කරන්න.මේ රටවල්වල අභ්‍යන්තර දේශපාලනයට ඇගිලි ගහන්න මේ වගේ බාහිර ආයතනවලින් සල්ලි බලයෙන් මේ රටේ මිනිසුන්ව මිලට අරගෙන පාක්‍යසෝතිලා ජෙහාන්ලා වගේ අය මේ රටේ ජනමතය විකෘති කරන්න සල්ලි අරගෙන, මේ රටේ සංස්කෘතික පදනම විනාශ කරන්න දේශපාලන නායකයොත් මිලදී අරගෙන තියෙනවා. දේශපාලන නායිකාවනුත් මිලදී අරගෙන තියෙනවා. අපි ඒවා ඉදිරියේ දී නම් පිටින් අනාවරණය කරනවා. ඊට කලින් පාර්ලිමේන්තු තේරිම්කාරක සභාවක් පත් කරලා පුළුවන්නම් වාර්තාවක් ඉදිරිපත් කරන්න. කොන්ද පණ තියෙන එකෙක් හරි විරුද්ධ පක්ෂයේ ඉන්නවා නම් කරුණාකරලා තේරිම් කාරක සභාවක් දාන යෝජනාව ගේන්න. ගෙනල්ලා අනුමැතිය අරගෙන මේ පිලිබඳව විමර්ශනය කරලා මාස තුන හතරක් ඇතුළත වාර්තාවක් නිකුත් කරන්න.

මේ සල්ලි කොහෙටද කාගෙ අතට ද ගියේ ? මොනවද ඒ මාධ්‍ය ආයතන කළේ ඒ ඇරෙන්න යූ ටියුබස් ලාට වෙනස් ජනමතය නිපදවන්නන්ට කොයි විදියටද සල්ලි බෙදුනේ කියලා රටට අනාවරණය කළ යුතුයි. යූ.එස්.එයිඩ් එක ඇතුළු ඔය ආයතන ගෝඨාභය රාජපක්ෂ පාලනය පළවා හැරීම දක්වා ක්‍රියාන්විතයට කොයි විදියට ද අරමුදල් සැපයුවේ, කොයි විදියට ද කට්ටිය පුහුණු කළේ, කොයි විදියට ද කැමරා බඩු බෙදුවේ,කොයි විදියටද යූ ටියුබස්ලා හැදුවේ, කොයි විදියට ද ඔවුන්ට මග පෙන්නුවේ කියලා 9 සැඟවුණු කතාවේ මම කරුණු සහිතව අනාවරණය කරලා තියෙනවා. කිසිම කෙනෙක් අද වෙනකම් මේකට අභියෝග කරලා නැහැ.

අපි මේක අනාවරණය කරනකොට හිනාවෙනවා. ජාත්‍යන්තර කුමන්ත්‍රණ කියලා. ටිල්විනුත් කිවුවා. ටිල්වින් දැන් මොඩිෆයි වෙලානේ.ජුලියා චංග් නෝනා එක්ක නේ හුරතල් වෙන්නෙ. රතු හැට්ටිකාරි වගේ එනවා ජුලියා චංග් නෝනා රතු ගවුමක් ඇඳගෙන පැලවත්තට,ටිල්වින් එයා එක්ක හැංගිමුත්තන් සෙල්ලම් කරනවා.

ඒ නිසා එයාට අපි මේවා කියන කොට අසනීපයක් හැටියට පේන්න පුළුවන්. ඒක තමයි ටින්ගෙ තත්ත්වය දැන්. ඒක පුදුම වෙන්න දෙයක් නෙමෙයි. යූ.එස්. එයිඩ් එක ලෝකයේ ප්‍රමුඛතම රටවල සම ලිංගික ක්‍රියා ඉදිරියට ගෙනයාමට ඩොලර් මිලියන 6ක් වැය කරලා තියෙනවා. දකුණු අප්‍රිකාව ලිංගික සබඳතා පවත්වන පුරුෂයින් සඳහා ඩොලර් මිලියන 6.3ක් දීලා තියෙනවා. ඒ කියන්නෙ සමරිසි වැඩේ ප්‍රවර්ධනය කරනවා. ඒකට තමයි සල්ලි දෙන්නෙ. ඒ වගේ අය ඒ සංස්කෘතිය එක්ක බැඳිලා ඉන්නවා.

මේක රටවල්වල දේශපාලන විකෘතියක් නෙමෙයි. සංස්කෘතික හා සමාජ විකෘතියක්. සමස්ත විකෘතියකට මග පාදන ක්‍රියාන්විතයක්. 2014 ඉදලා බෞද්ධ විරෝධී යූ ටියුබස්ලා හතු පිපෙන්න වගේ හැදුනා. ඒවා අවේ මේ සල්ලි පොම්ප කරාම.

ආණ්ඩුව මේක හෙළිදරව් කරන්නෙ නැත්නම්, අනුර කුමාර දිසානායක ජනාධිපතිවරයාට මේ ගැන පරීක්ෂණයක් කරන්න කොන්ද පණ නැත්නම්, එදා අපි හිටපු ජේ.වී.පී එකනම් එන්.ජී.ඕ ගැන හොයන්න පාර්ලිමේන්තුවේ වෙනම තේරිම් කාරක සභාවක් දැම්මා. ඒකෙ සභාපති උනේ විජිත හේරත් සහෝදරයා නිසා ඒක පරිසමාප්තව අවසන් කරගන්න බැරි උනා. නමුත් දාන්න උනා. අද එහෙම කරනවා නම් අපි කැමතියි. බැරි නම් විපක්ෂයේ කොන්ද පණ තියෙන එකෙක් හරි ඉන්නවා නම් තේරිම් කාරක සභාවක් දාලා මේ ගැන හොයලා වාර්තාවක් නිකුත් කරන්න කියලා අපි ඉතා ඕන කමින් ඉල්ලා සිටිනවා.යැයි විමල් වීරවංශ මහතා පැවැසීය.

Lankacnews

අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය හරිනී අමරසූරිය මහත්මිය වහාම එම ධුරයෙන් ඉල්ලා අස් විය යුතු බව පූජ්‍ය අක්මීමන දයාරත්න හිමියෝ කියා සිටිති.

USAID ආයතනයෙන් රට අර්බුදයට පත් කිරීමට, විජාතිකරණය කිරීමට මුදල් ලබා ගත්තේ යැයි ඇයට චෝදනා එල්ල වෙමින් ඇතැයිද උන්වහන්සේ සඳහන් කරති.

ඇමරිකානු ජනාධිපතිවරයා විසින් එලිදරවු කරන ලද USAID මුදල් සංසරණ වූ අය යැයි පැවසෙන ලැයිස්තුවේ වර්තමාන අගමැතිනි හරිනි අමරසූරිය මහත්මියගේ ද නම වන බව උන්වහන්සේ කියා සිටිති.

මෙරට සමලිංගිකකරණය සමාජගත කිරීමට අග්‍රාමාත්‍යවරිය ඇතුළු කණ්ඩායමකට මුදල් යෙදවූ බවට සමාජයේ මතයක් පවත් පැවතුණු බවද පැවසූ උන් වහන්සේ එසේ එලවූ චෝදනා දැන් දැන් හෙළිදරවෙමින් ඇති තොරතුරු සමග තහවුරු වෙමින් ඇති බවද උන්වහන්සේ මාධ්‍ය හමුවක් අමතමින් කියා සිටියහ.

Courtesy Adaderana

The Cabinet Media Spokesperson, Minister Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa, says that the Attorney General’s Department will not be abolished when the Independent Prosecutor’s Office is established.

He made these comments during a press briefing held today (11) to announce the Cabinet decisions.

Minister Jayatissa further clarified that the new institution is planned to be implemented with the goal of delivering services more efficiently than the Attorney General’s Department in the administration of justice.

Minister Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa also stated that the Attorney General, the Attorney Ge

Courtesy Adaderana

Hungarian-American billionaire George Soros’ organisations received $260 million from the US Agency for International Development (USAID) to influence political affairs and destabilise multiple nations, including India and Bangladesh, according to a news report.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), an account link to Trump alleged, George Soros received $260,000,000.00 from USAID and used this money to spread chaos, change governments and personal gain in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Ukraine, Syria, Iran, Pakistan, India, UK, and the US.” His remarks add to the growing scrutiny of US foreign aid, particularly as Trump’s administration has frozen USAID’s budget.

Funding of Soros-Linked Organizations

Reports indicate that over the past 15 years, USAID granted more than $270 million to organisations affiliated with Soros. One such organisation, the East-West Management Institute, partnered with Soros’ Open Society Foundations and received USAID funding. The revelation has fueled concerns over the US government’s role in international political movements.

Elon Musk, the head of DOGE, has supported Trump’s administration in highlighting USAID’s financial backing of what they call woke and controversial” projects. Musk’s involvement has further amplified Republican criticisms of foreign aid being used for regime change and political influence.

In India, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has long accused Soros of backing opposition groups and funding critics of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. BJP leaders claim Soros’ initiatives aim to destabilise the Indian government and interfere in national politics.

Source: Financial Express

–Agencies

By Raj Gonsalkorale

High road crash fatality and injury rates on Sri Lanka’s roads are undermining the economic growth and progress made over the past decade on reducing poverty and boosting prosperity. Estimated annual road crash deaths per capita in Sri Lanka are twice the average rate in high-income countries and five times that of the best performing countries in the world. Available data indicate an average of 38,000 crashes annually which result in around 3,000 fatalities and 8,000 serious injuries. Sri Lanka has the worst road fatality rate among its immediate neighbors in the South Asia region – Delivering Road Safety in Sri Lanka Leadership Priorities and Initiatives to 2030-International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/The World Bank 2020 –

https://openknowledge. worldbank.org /server/api/core/bitstreams/562748cf-426a-5645-95a2-d1dc2fe0f6d9/content

Four dead, 25 injured in bus collision at Kurunegala–10 February 2025 https://www.dailymirror.lk /breaking-news/Four-dead-25-injured-in-bus-collision-at-Kurunegala/108-302040. Four people have reportedly died in a tragic accident involving two passenger buses in the Thorayaya area of Kurunegala. The incident occurred when one bus collided with the rear of a parked bus, leaving 25 others injured.

Passara bus accident in May 2021 (File photo source: Facebook)

File photo of Passara bus accident in May 2021 (Source: Facebook)

News items of horrific bus accidents such as the above and what are noted below are quite common in Sri Lanka. These appear on a regular basis in newspapers and media and possibly the authorities, political, administrative, and law enforcement and even the readers to some degree have become immune to these horrific accidents and their aftermath judging by the inaction on the part of all concerned to take steps to prevent a recurrence of these ongoing events. 

• Two dead, 35 injured in bus-van collision at Habarana- February 1, 2025  
• At least 16 individuals have reportedly been injured and hospitalized following a head-on collision involving two buses near the 07th Mile Post area along the Habarana – Minneriya road.
• 29 Injured in Multiple Bus Collision on the Galle-Akuressa main road
• Seven passengers were killed and 20 were injured when a bus skidded off the road and fell down a precipice at 13th mile post on the Moneragala-Badulla Road at Passara this morning, said the Police.
• Driver killed,19 foreigners injured in accident on Southern Expressway
• Four passengers were injured in a bus accident in the Watawala area on the Hatton-Colombo main road this morning. the rear section of the private bus to split into two.

ECONOMYNEXT (https://economynext.com/one-dies-every-3-hour-in-sri-lankas-road-accidents-data-126766/) says that at least one person has died in 10 road accidents every three hours in Sri Lanka since 2016, as per official government data. According to data released by the Police Motor Traffic Department, on average, eight people have died daily due to road accidents since 2016. The data showed 20,728 people have been killed in road accidents in the seven-and-half year between January 1, 2016, and June 30, 2023, in a total of 223,451 accidents. Sri Lanka’s motor traffic deaths since 2016 has been over 120 per 1 million inhabitants. This rate is far higher than the United States’ 13 and Japan’s 3, as per 2021 OECD data.

The World Bank report tiled Delivering Road Safety in Sri Lanka Leadership Priorities and Initiatives to 2030 with its findings and recommendations is a report that the NPP government should use to chart a pathway for policy and policy implementation over the next 5 years. Amongst many disturbing statistics in the report, it says that 70 % of road crashes involve low-income commuters and motorists, and that motorcycle-pedestrian crashes are reportedly high, accounting for about 40 % of pedestrian fatalities, and that speed, drunk driving, fatigue, burst tire and animal crossing are the main causes for crashes.

While overtaking, diversion and speeding have been cited as common reasons for this terrible  record of the country, the mental status of bus drivers, on account of alcohol intake, drug use, lack of rest and sleep while rushing to meet targets, perhaps are some of the reasons for the reckless driving habits of bus drivers, mainly private bus drivers judging by comments from bus travelers, pedestrians, onlookers and other vehicle drivers. The general observation of many is that no one is safe on the road as bus drivers, especially private bus drivers, have no regard for the lives of others and their recklessness has become part of their psyche. Besides private bus drivers in the main, three-wheel drivers add to the dangers on roads as they drive like slithery eels, cris crossing from one side to another and creeping through whatever available space on roads, however dangerous that might be for them and others around them.

Successive governments have paid lip service to the need to tame some of these sub-humans. Political interference, and even interference from some in the Police force who apparently have vested interest has made sure reckless bus driving continued unabated. Loss of life, the plight of those who get injured and maimed, and the impact on their families appear to be of no concern to reckless drivers and those who protect them.

Road safety for everyone who uses a road, whether travelling in a bus, car, lorry, or a three-wheeler, or for pedestrians, is a basic human right and must be a national priority and laws must be strengthened if necessary, and very importantly, enforced, and those guilty of causing accidents severely punished. The condition of roads and the types of buses that should be allowed to ply some routes needs to be revisited and assessed as some roads are not suitable for some types of buses. The national transport policy and laws governing transportation must be looked at with fresh eyes and updated to reflect what is human and decent when it comes to road safety.

In this context, the operation of private buses needs to be looked at and a question posed whether the country should have them or whether the Sri Lanka State Transport Board (SLTB) should be strengthened progressively to takeover public bus transportation in the country and end the competitiveness amongst private bus operators that is causing so many accidents and deaths. Competition arises from the need for them to meet financial targets and time frame targets between bus route starting and ending points, resulting in no holds barred reckless driving to achieve targets causing so many accidents and deaths. Public bus transportation needs to be considered as a community service in Sri Lanka as most commuters are low and lower middle-income persons as stated in the World Bank report. In this context, private buses do not cater to commuter needs especially on many non-urban routes or do so for a limited time during the day, as there is no profitability for them on such routes. This causes much inconvenience to the commuters who live in these areas, most of whom are low and lower middle-income persons.

From accounts available in the internet, the national transport policy approved in November 1991 and revised in October 2009 has still not been updated. Mithun Jayawardena writing in Ceylon Today on 7^th March 2024 says National Transport Policy in limbo” and goes on to say that despite being assigned the primary responsibility for its formulation, the Ministry of Transport has failed in finalizing the National Transport Policy, which was approved over three decades ago according to a senior Ministry official ( https://ceylontoday.lk/2024/03/07/national-transport-policy-in-limbo/).

A report titled National Transport Statistics 2023 by the National Transport Commission is available, and the extensive statistics contained in it could be used to update and finalise A National Transport Policy.

It is suggested that the NPP government considers the development and enactment of a National Transport Policy a high priority item in their agenda considering the human and economic cost of a broken transport system that is unsafe, inefficient and ineffective. Besides introducing road rules, the national transport policy also must introduce compulsory requirements to meet the needs of people with disabilities, and other vulnerable groups like older people. In this regard, a reviewed and renewed transport policy must be within the concept of Clean Sri Lanka and the fleet of SLTB buses needs to be updated, upgraded and repairable buses repaired over a period. From all accounts, a substantial government investment is needed to ensure the public transportation system meets the needs of the public.  This obviously cannot be done overnight and needs to be done over a period like over 5 years. The public however needs to know the plans the government has, how they are going to fund the plan and what they could expect over the five-year period on an yearly basis. Whether its bus travel or train travel, and a combination where practical, commuters need to get from point A to point B in a safe manner, as efficiently as possible, in a timely manner, in comfort, and at a reasonable cost. In designing a transport policy, appropriate facilities must be provided to those with disabilities and older people.

State of the Sri Lanka Transport Board Fleet

Maheesha Mudugamuwa writing in the Morning on the 21^st of January 2024 states that one-third of the national bus fleet of the Sri Lanka Transport Board is non-operational (https://www.themorning.lk/articles /U9x FfHKmyxYTRSprN98o). The articles cite the National Audit Office (NAO) report which says that

• Nearly one-third of the Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB) bus fleet, amounting to 1,904 buses, is reported to be non-operational as of 31 January 2023.
• Of these, 1,240 buses are over 12 years old and a concerning 1,105 buses have surpassed the 15-year mark. The buses that have surpassed 15 years include 630 Tata buses, 425 Leyland buses, and 50 other types of buses, according to the report.
• The NAO, in its latest audit on the utilisation of the SLTB bus fleet at maximum capacity, has revealed that a sum of Rs. 2.52 billion had been spent on the maintenance of this fleet of 6,998 buses in 2022.
• As revealed by the audit, no action has been taken to assess the condition of these buses, hindering decisions on potential repairs or disposal of unusable units.
• It is further revealed that the General Treasury had allocated Rs. 750 million for the rehabilitation of buses in 2022. However, the SLTB lacks records detailing the rehabilitation and operational status of the buses funded by this amount. Out of this sum, Rs. 606.31 million by the Transport Board and Rs. 143 million by Lakdiva Engineering Ltd. had been expended. Regrettably, the rehabilitated buses have not been put into operation, raising concerns that the allocated Rs. 750 million has been utilised for recurrent expenses by both the board and Lakdiva Engineering.
• It has been revealed that the General Treasury had allocated Rs. 2.02 billion for bus rehabilitation in 2023. However, no descriptions of the rehabilitated buses or monthly reports on advances received have been submitted to the Department of Public Enterprises and Department of Treasury Operations through the ministry.
• Furthermore, the audit highlighted that the repair and maintenance cost for one bus is approximately Rs. 359,665. In 2022, the fuel cost for running the bus fleet amounted to Rs. 36.68 billion. However, discrepancies have arisen as the number of bus runs operated and the total kilometres covered in 2022 were reported as 1,792,649 and 349,198,715 km, respectively. This revealed a fuel cost of Rs. 105 per kilometre. The NAO noted that 75% of the 6,998 buses added to service had malfunctioning odometers, rendering the figure of 349,198,715 passenger kilometres driven unsatisfactory and incapable of accurately reflecting the fuel burned per passenger kilometre. The audit observed that 7,786 drivers and 7,768 conductors in the board had become a significant impediment to the full deployment of the bus fleet. Furthermore, the audit revealed that the duty rosters had been organised based on a formal system. However, drivers and conductors had not been efficiently assigned to run the buses

Considering damning National Audit Office reports such as the above, and previous inaction about the public bus transportation system, and the current status quo of the private bus transportation system including the accidents and deaths caused as detailed above. it is a matter of utmost importance for the government to carry out an urgent investigation into the bus transportation system, both public and private, and come out with transportation policy, and a strategy, at least a five year one, detailing how the policy will be implemented.  While the above-mentioned investigation is proceeding, it is suggested that an urgent, interim measure is carried out in regard the non-operational public buses. The following suggestion was presented by a concerned citizen and a social activist, Mr Vijith Gunawardena in May 2020 to then President Gotabhaya Rajapaksa.

Initially re-structure a large depot and a small one as a pilot project rather than spending time and resources on the entire network of depots. By doing this, the re-structuring committee could learn the Positives as well as the Negatives of the entire process. A SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis would be the best way to start. The dilapidated condition of many of these Bus Depots with overgrown shrubs and grass with abandoned buses and bus skeletons scattered all over the premises is clearly visible and this situation has a lot to do with the indifference and inaction of staff in these depots. Therefore, a plan should be made to,

• Re-structure the entire human resources pool of the depot.
• Premises to be evaluated, cleaned as most of these depots are eyesores.
• An Urban Development planner / Architect to re-design the depot based on functionality and appearance
• An initial Operating Budget to be formulated, giving targets to make the unit a profitable one within a stipulated timeframe.
• Repairable vehicles should be estimated and repaired totally and made road-worthy as soon as possible. Necessary sections/parts from unrepairable vehicles to be taken to repair other vehicles or sold at a public auction.
• Infusion of new blood – Young graduates from the management faculty, the engineering faculty and Human Resources faculty from universities could be assigned to work with seniors.
• The depot should be made an environmentally friendly place of work.
• Some routes currently in operation might be financially profitable while some other routes will be not. If the Depot is a financially viable entity once the restructuring is completed, then some routes can be left as ‘servicing only’ without making any profits).
• Need for discipline- It should be mandatory for all staff (drivers, conductors, technicians, labourers and management) to wear uniforms and strict rules should be adhered by all staff members during working hours and within premises as well as on duty without exception (prohibiting the consumption of Alcohol, chewing betel, smoking etc)
• Safety within the depot as well as the safety of the employees and commuters should be always looked after. Each depot should have its sub-department in charge of this sector. SLTB buses are to be insured as a compulsory measure.
• The next step would be to draw up an action plan that identifies the deliverables, time lines, resource requirements and expected outcomes which should be measurable and monitored.
• The monitored and evaluated pilot study could then be developed in to a model that could be implemented in all depots.

While no action was taken on this proposal, it certainly should be considered by the current government alongside the five-year plan suggested to rejuvenate the SLTB as a core inclusion in the National Transport Policy and implementation plan.

වෛද්‍ය තිලක පද්මා සුබසිංහ අනුස්මරණ නීති අධ්‍යාපන වැඩසටහන

නීතිපතිවරයා ඉවත් කරන්න යාම ජනතාවගේ පරමාධිපත්‍යය ද?
ගැසට් කළ 22 නිසා ජනාධිපති, පාර්ලිමේන්තු ධූර කාලය වසර 6ද?
2025 මාර්තු 15 කොළඹ දී..

28වන නීති අධ්‍යාපන වැඩසටහන

නීතිපතිවරයා ඉවත් කරන්නට යාම ජනතාවගේ පරමාධිපත්‍යයද?

19යේ වැරැද්දක් නිවැරදි කිරීමට
ගැසට් කළ 22 ගැන
නීතීඥ සංගමය නිහඬ ඇයි?

නීතිපතිගේ අනුමැතියෙන් ගැසට් කළ
22 නිසා අලුත් ජනාධිපතිවරයාගේ සහ අලුත් පාර්ලිමේන්තුවේ ධූර කාලය වසර 6ද?

“නීතිය” අනිවාර්ය විෂයක් ලෙස
පාසලේ ඉගැන්විය යුත්තේ ඇයි?

2025 මාර්තු 15 සෙනසුරාදා පෙ. ව. 10ට
=නීති සටහන් ලබා දේ)

කොළඹ මහජන පුස්තකාල සම්මන්ත්‍රණ ශාලාවේදී -1වන මහළ


සමායෝජක,
වෛද්‍ය තිලක පද්මා සුබසිංහ අනුස්මරණ
නීති අධ්‍යාපන වැඩසටහන

(ආසන වෙන්කර ගැනීමට විමසන්න දුරකථන 0712063394)

  By Dr Muralidaran Ramesh Somasunderam.

The LTTE got their training and funding from the PLO, which is the Palestinian Liberation Organization and the arms they gained or got from Pakistan. This is why the Indian Central Government was very much against the LTTE and its leadership group.

In fact the LTTE was an organization which diversified their businesses and even sold things like oils and soups to more dangerous items such as drugs and weapons. It is true that Sri Lankan Tamil Diaspora in overseas countries funded LTTE. The real fact was most of the Sri Lankan Tamils did ordinary jobs in the Western Countries and if the LTTE did not have diverse business interests and support from overseas countries, especially Palestine for tanning and Pakistan for military equipment they would not have been able to carry out a civil war against the army of Sri Lanka for more than thirty odd years.  This is why if Kittu Master who was in the LTTE leadership group was able to smuggle the arms the government of Pakistan loaded in the ship he came on outside the port of Madras it would have been very hard to defeat and bring the LTTE down.

The Tamil Nadu State Government and people did give moral assistance to the Sri Lankan Tamils after the 1983 ethic problems in Sri Lanka but the training of the LTTE and its main leadership came from the PLO.    

The LTTE came mostly from the fishing caste community among Sri Lankan Tamils who were mostly smugglers but were poorly treated by the majority caste Tamils who are the Vellalar community who did not allow the lower caste communities to even enter some Hindu Temples in Jaffna. They also had separate entrances when they came to Vellalar houses. This is why the LTTE were fighting both an ethnic and caste battle like the JVP, but in the JVP’s case it was more a class battle apart from a caste factor, which was there but it was more a class battle.  

The LTTE leadership was made up of the same caste as their leader Mr. Prabhakaran who came from the fishing caste community in Sri Lanka who were also traditional smugglers in Jaffna except Anton Balasingham who was a Vellalar caste person, but a very pro-western government individual who some claim to be even a CIA agent. This is the factors that made the Indian Central government to go with the traditional Tamil leadership, which the LTTE with the support of the then President of Sri Lanka, Mr Premadasa killed the traditional Tamil leadership when they had come to Colombo for talks with the Indian delegation. These was done because Mr Prabhakaran knew that Sri Lankan Tamils were and yet are very caste conscious especially in Jaffna  and that he will not be able to defeat Mr Amirthalingam the leader of the TULF in an election situation.

Caste is yet a significant issue in South Asia like class in Britain, but through the process of democracy the lower caste people have come up, including Christianity especially in certain parts of India gave the lower caste people the opportunity to come up educationally and job wise. Today Nadar caste community in South India is one of the wealthiest communities and Christianity assisted them greatly in regard to education especially in regard to secondary and tertiary education.     

Therefore in conclusion, I believe the LTTE were always up against the Vellalar community and the traditional Tamil leadership in the form of the TULF in the ballot box. Therefore the easiest way was to kill and eliminate the traditional leadership and the values held by the TULF which was a mainstream Vellalar community based party. Mostly its Members of Parliament were from the Vellalar community.

Editorial The Morning

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake yesterday (10) led a high-powered Sri Lankan delegation to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for a three-day official visit at the invitation of UAE President Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan to take part in the World Government Summit 2025, the Government confirmed. It is understood that President Dissanayake will explore energy supply and investment opportunities while he attends the forum.

Meanwhile, in Sri Lanka, the public remains in the dark about what happened on Sunday (9) when the island once again faced an unplanned 7-hour-long islandwide power outage. With the incident, now more than a day and a half old, the Government and the relevant authorities at the power regulator, the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka, the State-owned utility supplier – Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB), nor the subject matter ministry failed to provide clarity on why the islandwide power outage happened? No technical explanation as to what happened and why it happened has been provided to the public. This Government came into power claiming they would improve transparency and accountability. However, they have failed to practice what they preached. Shame. This Government which touted professionalism and the numerous subject matter experts in their ranks, has failed to communicate effectively to the public during a crisis, once again.

When the Government did communicate on the incident, it was more a commentary than a statement grounded in facts. First, the Minister of Energy Kumara Jayakody, an engineer by profession according to the Ministry of Energy website, told broadcast media that the cause was due to a monkey falling into a power transformer at the CEB Substation in Panadura. Later, the CEB stated that it was due to an ‘emergency situation’ that broke out at the Panadura Grid Sub Station. Lastly, a statement issued by the Ministry of Energy attempted to ‘pass the buck’ on to previous governments, stating: Preliminary investigations have indicated that the actions of the previous governments, who had acted without foresight and understanding of maintaining the stability of the national electricity system, and their lack of understanding the technology, led to this situation.” President Dissanayake and the Government must wake up from their slumber and realise the ‘honeymoon’ period of their coming into power, has now passed. They need to act as a responsible government, part of which is to be clear and transparent in how they govern. The public has no appetite for failure anymore. The President must address the communication issue this Government has, if not, lack of clarity will lead to more crises down the road. 

The status quo and the vulnerability of the national power grid had been forewarned. In January, The Sunday Morning reported on the vulnerabilities in the national grid due to poor planning and stumbling in the absorption of renewable energy sources. It was reported that the CEB was facing a serious risk of system failure during holidays due to the sudden influx of solar-based Renewable Energy (RE) into the grid, particularly when electricity demand is low. However, it seems that despite knowledge of the vulnerabilities, no immediate remedial action was taken (at least ones which were disclosed), nor had a public warning or guidelines issued regarding the vulnerabilities. 

Yesterday, on the side-lines of the Colombo Air Symposium (CAS) held in Colombo, some members of the armed forces, foreign diplomats, and visiting security experts expressed their shock at the islandwide power outage and the lack of clarity around what happened. Does Sri Lanka take its energy security seriously? How can this happen, for the entire country? Was it a monkey that caused it? How is that possible?” a diplomat questioned. Another diplomat asked if there was an annual national security audit, and why such vulnerabilities were not flagged to the government and the Parliament. The embarrassment on the faces of local armed forces personnel was visible as they struggled to answer the question. No comment” one senior officer was heard saying.

Therefore, Mr. President, please put your house in order. This should have been addressed before your departure overseas. The public expects more than this from the Government they have given a landslide mandate. The Government must move quickly to inform the public as to what caused the incident and be transparent about what is being done about it. And someone must be held accountable, shouldn’t they? If not, what has changed with the new Government in control? 

උපුටා ගැන්ම  ලංකා ලීඩර්

USAID විසින් එක්සත් ජනපදයේ උපන් අල්-කයිඩා සාමාජිකයෙකු වන අන්වර් අල්-අව්ලාකිට(Anwar al-Awlaki) මූල්‍ය ආධාර ලබා දී ඇති බව  එක්සත් ජනපද විමර්ශන මාධ්‍යවේදිනියක් වන පැමෙලා බ්‍රවුන්(Pamela Browne) විසින් හෙළිදරව් කර තිබේ.

1990 ගණන්වල කොලරාඩෝ ප්‍රාන්ත විශ්ව විද්‍යාලයේ සිවිල් ඉංජිනේරු විද්‍යාව හැදෑරීම සඳහා අල්-අව්ලාකිට USAID විසින් “පූර්ණ අරමුදල්” ලබා දුන් බවට හෙළිකෙරෙන පත්‍රිකාවක් ද ඇය විසින් අන්තර්ජාලයට මුදාහැර තිබේ.

ලේඛනයේ අල්-අව්ලාකිගේ උපන් ස්ථානය යේමනය ලෙස ලැයිස්තුගත කර තිබුනද එය නිවැරදි නොවන බවත්,  ඔහුගේ ළමා කාලය යේමනයේ ගත කළද, ඔහු නිව් මෙක්සිකෝවේ උපත ලබා ඇති බවත් අනාවරණය වී ඇත.

2000 වසරේ දී, විදේශිකයන්ට එරෙහිව ප්‍රචණ්ඩත්වය ඉල්ලා සිටි යේමනයේ අල්-කයිඩා කලාපීය අණ දෙන නිලධාරියෙකු ලෙස අල්-අව්ලාකි ප්‍රසිද්ධියට පත් විය.

2011 දී, ඇමරිකානු ජනාධිපති බැරැක් ඔබාමාගේ නියෝගය මත ඇමරිකානු ඩ්‍රෝන ප්‍රහාරයකින් අල්-අව්ලාකි මිය ගියේය. ඒ වන විට ඔහු ඇමරිකානු පුරවැසියෙකු වුවද ඒ පිළිබඳව කිසිදු හෙළිදරව් කිරීමක් සිදු නොවීය.

මූලාශ්‍ර – Sputnik News

Patali Champika Ranawaka

Wimal Weerawansa

Courtesy Hiru News

National Freedom Front leader Wimal Weerawansa claims that USAID has funneled money to several politicians in the country, stating that their identities will be revealed in the future.

Speaking at a press conference, he stressed the need for a parliamentary select committee to investigate those who received such funds.

The Trump administration’s suspension of USAID activities has sparked global controversy. In the 2023 fiscal year alone, USAID donated $72 billion to various countries, with a recent report detailing its expenditures.

It was revealed that $7.9 million had been allocated for workshops on gender equality in Sri Lanka as part of its projects.

The National Freedom Front reiterated its demand for a parliamentary inquiry into the use of USAID funds in the country.

e-Con e-News

blog: eesrilanka.wordpress.com

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

e-Con e-News 02-08 February 2025

Maybe they don’t die uneasily like the rest of us. They simply pass away in their sleep. But pass, they do. The serendipitously synchronous slipping into samsara of 2 of Sri Lanka’s nameboard oligarchs – Kandiah Balendra of Keells, & Don Harold Stassen Jayawardena of Distilleries’ Co, this week, recalls their twin origins in the colonial English plantation agency houses; and more particularly, in the aftermath of the destabilization of the 1970-77 government of Sirimavo Bandaranaike, rampant post-’77 privatizations, and that boondoggle called the Mahaweli Development Scheme, the largest project in the country’s history.

     The World Bank Country Report of 1980 promised that by harnessing the great river’s vast resources, the Mahaweli Project would transform Sri Lanka’s economy within a decade. Even, export electricity to India! They ignored Central Bank advice not to accelerate the program. In the end, the Mahaweli project unearthed ‘a gold mine, a hunting ground for thesis writers and professional researchers’, and not just them: such carpetbaggers as Balendra and Jayawardena emerged. English, Canadian and Swedish ‘donors’ operating under ‘development’ agencies, minted millions, 100 times more than the locals, who ‘received a bagatelle’ instead. (The English even insisted, while constructing the ‘Victoria Dam’, on importing drinking water for their employees, saying local water was not good enough!). Side by side with them, domestic merchants gathered ‘sudden and tremendous affluence’, as subagents and contractors.

     It is no accident therefore that such irrigation schemes have failed to reproduce the creativity and solidarity of the purana gam sabha (ancient village councils), or of the vast temple lands – they had no such intentions. There was a change in the composition of agriculture (tractor and pesticide, replacing buffalo, and women), and the pattern of products, but there was no change in the structure of production, distribution and investment of profits. The irrigation policies of colonial and so-called postcolonial agents sought to reinforce the isolation and entrapping of peasants in smaller plots, instead of reinforcing larger organization through cooperatives and banks to enable rural industrialization. All the program did was to impose another layer of parasites over the peasants.

     It was in the midst of such a boondoggle (Mahaweli) that the Social Scientists’ Association (SSA) organized its first (& last!?) research program, between 1980-82, on Agrarian Change in Sri Lanka, publishing its results as Capital & Peasant Production: Studies in the Continuity & Discontinuity of Agrarian Structures in Sri Lanka (CAPP). ee‘s muse, SBD de Silva, whose work is included in the book, recalled CAPP as one of SSA’s finest publications, after GVS de Silva‘s The Alternatives: Socialism Or Barbarism. The SSA’s dedication to such scholarship did not last, diverted and corrupted as it was by the ensuing wars of terror (stick) and carrot (NGO slush funds). SSA had been formed in 1977 by social scientists who felt that research had failed to significantly study problems of ‘development & change’. SSA was meant to end the isolation of such scientists and serve as a forum for discussion and debate, to make contact with foreign scholars for research both ‘nationally and socially relevant’. Along the way, it became a coven for ‘thesis writers & professional researchers’, who gladly became agents of Canada’s CIDA, USAID, Holland’s Development Corporation (SNV) or England’s ODI, ignoring both national and social relevance. Ethnicity and other atomizing identities, not agriculture or industry, were made ‘the national question’.

     ee aims to reproduce some parts of CAPP, especially as its research focused on the role of multinational corporations (MNCs, or TNCs) and especially the part played by Ceylon Tobacco Co (CTC, owned by British American Tobacco, BAT), a monopoly buyer which also directs peasant cultivation…

     The power of MNCs, like CTC and Unilever, etc., (linked as they are to Jayawardena’s corporate fronts, and Balendra’s Keells – what FMCGs do Keells sell?) is also evident in their control of the media: how, for example, is Swiss Nestlé’s name kept out of the reams of headlines about coconut prices? Or in the long tales about rice shortages, how England’s ICI-CIC impoverishes cultivators let alone pollutes waterways (a culpability our ubiquitous ecomaniacs are funded to ignore)?

     …Poetry oozes somewhere out of Colombo’s toxic Beira, surrounded by so-called modern ‘millennial’, ‘hi-tech’ companies and boutique hotels with fanciful but ultimately useless architecture, who are constantly giving sermons on all virtues and presenting themselves awards for ‘green’ this and ‘gender’ that…  

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• The USA & Other Success Stories – The media noise amplified by the re-entry of Donald Trump as US President recalls the varying techniques of white settler practices to depopulate continents. The BBC fails to tell us on exactly who ‘Trump says he ordered air strikes on …in Somalia’. This blood rite is portrayed as so commonplace. A hit. No names. Just labels. Oh, OK, ‘Islamic State Group’. But is this IS like the US IS in Syria? It IS what it IS… An assassination or bombing is what a leader of the free world is supposed to announce as their real inauguration, after she, he or it is given access to the nuclear codes, which remind of their own and the world’s mortality (…with JD Vance but a heartbeat or earlobe away….)

     Whereas the US Democratic Party’s liberal (though somewhat-Republican) godfather Thomas Jefferson (1801-09) sought to first ensnare the ‘Indians’ in debt and steal their land, Trump’s last US presidential godfather Andrew Jackson (1829-37) forcibly evicted them from the US South, to extend the slave cotton plantations. By the time Trump’s latest godfather William McKinley (1897-1901), the ‘tariff king’, who invaded Spain’s colonies, was assassinated – by his successor, the roughriding Theodore Roosevelt (1901-09, whose ancestors were involved in pushing opium on China), who engineered a coup to steal Panama from Columbia – ‘a newspaper as ‘respectable’ as the New York Times could editorially threaten that those peoples who opposed the new world capitalist order would ‘be extinguished like the North American Indian’.

     This ee also recalls how that ‘celebrity’ ‘success story’ called the US economy has been so dependent on genocide and slavery (see ee Random Notes) … The USA keeps teaching us history every day and teaching us English too, as the first language of genocide, of slavery, all for free!, but our thought leaders are paid not to hear, not to see, not to think. The lessons may appear to be another ‘gift’, but as with most of their gifts, they require maintenance, need further experts’ services, need rusty parts to replace, which will have to be imported from them and paid for…

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This ee concludes ee Focus’ cursory glimpse at Sri Lanka’s relations with China prior to the European invasions. It ends, for now, by examining the formations of Portugal’s Casa da India, Holland’s Dutch East India Co, and its English avatars the English East India Co. They are the antecedents of multinationals, with budgets much larger than countries, like Unilever, and now US Exxon, who still dominate Sri Lanka’s economy. As our historical record notes, the departure of China from the ocean brought about an era awash in constant warfare in Sri Lanka, resulting in the massive destruction of cities, villages and structures, and the dissolution of the earlier social order…

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USA Watching the JVP Squirm: Colombo’s commercial and financial oligarchy have survived every single change of government, so now watch how they plan to ‘manage’ the early toppling of yet another ‘popular’ government.

The burdens of high interest costs on Treasury bonds are severely constraining the fiscal space available for critical social protection programs. The Government’s domestic interest payments consume the largest proportion of Government revenue, according to the IMF’s twin, the World Bank. Dhanusha Pathirana of the Institute of Political Economy (IPE) sees ‘a valuable opportunity to alleviate this pressure by reducing the interest paid on bonds held outside the public’s EPF and ETF’. This could result in substantial savings of approximately Rs600billion, which could be redirected to support essential public services and social welfare initiatives, to arrest the escalating cost of living, the deteriorating state of healthcare and education, and ‘create fiscal space for long-term industrialization goals, facilitating a shift of resources from unproductive to productive sectors’. (see ee Focus)

     The IMF’s padrone, the USA (with the EU wagging along) wants to see how the JVP will manage to keep its promises to the people within the prison house of their economic prescriptions and restrictions. This is why the International Monetary Fund (IMF) pops up soon after the car importers are flung their pounds of flesh (roadkill). Our economists refuse to divulge how the USA’s IMF profits by forcing Sri Lanka to import foreign machinery, particularly private vehicles, especially private cars. But this techno ‘dependence’ is key to understanding how non-settler colonies are maintained as shitholes to lubricate Trump’s profundity…

     The IMF’s appearance this week – to ‘discuss’ the 4^th tranche – is covered in billowing clouds of smokey foggery. Here goes: the IMF’s Executive Board of Directors will, by the end of this month, be presented with details of ‘the government’s staff-level agreement with the IMF’… ‘on the third review’…about the deals made, regarding the ‘extended arrangement under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) of US$3billion’. ‘Once the approval is granted by the IMF Executive Board, Sri Lanka is expected to release the fourth tranche of the extended loan, amounting to $333million.’

     All this is based on ‘the submission of the 2025 budget consistent with the IMF program’s parameters’. Yet what kind of budget can be devised within such constraints?

     Midst the media foggery it is hard to determine exactly what kind of deals – especially privatisation (see ee Industry, Litro) have been agreed upon. Like former President R Premadasa, who simply renamed privatization as peoplization, they may simply change what such sell-offs are labelled….

     Meanwhile, ‘US President Donald Trump’s ‘pause’ on foreign assistance has tied USAID’s purse strings and left its Lankan partners in a state of disarray’ – all recipients of US philanthropy have less than 90 days to align any future goodwill with US foreign policy.  Despite, the momentary demonization of USAID and the UNHRC, apt though it be, the omission of the IMF, World Bank and WTO suggests a wilful innumeracy, let alone studied illiteracy…

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Contents:

USAID Crime Scenes in Sri Lanka. How About the IMF’s…?