May the Triple Gem Bless You

First of all, I offer my best wishes for the New Year.

As the people of the country are very eagerly waiting with high interest, I wish to make a statement on the final report of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (PCoI) into the Bond Issuance of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, which was appointed by me taking into considerations the opinion of the people regarding allegations of corrupt practices and misdeed during the period 2015 and 2016. This report was handed over to me on December 30, 2017.
The Commission was mandated to inquire into the period from 1st February 2015 to 31st March 2016 to find out actual facts and to make recommendation with regard to the steps to be implemented in the future.

I thank the Supreme Court Judges and former Auditor General who functioned as members of the Commission and its Secretary and the staff, and those who assisted the work of the Commission, Attorney Generals Department, Police Department and other relevant organizations and individuals.

The Commission is of the opinion that similar incidents as revealed in the Commission Report had happened even in 2008. The Commission recommends that the Central Bank of Sri Lanka should first conduct a forensic audit with regard to the alleged fraud and corrupt practices from 2008 and based on such findings legal steps should be taken.

Commission states that funds of the Employment Provident Fund (EPF) were lost mostly during that period.

The Commission has submitted a full report covering the period 2015 and 2016, comprising 1257 pages and it is not an interim report. The Commission has taken 10 months for this task.

I have already submitted this report to the Attorney General and the Commission recommends that the criminal and civil court action must be taken through the Criminal Investigations Department and the Bribery or Corruption Commission.

The Commission has clearly stated the structure of the Central Bank, Public Debt Department, direct issuance of bonds and the pros and cons of the system of bond issues and bond auctions. The report stated that the Perpetual Treasuries Limited has made profits through illegal means with the involvement of Mr Arjuna Mahendran, Bank officials and some outside individuals.

In the auction held on 27th February 2015 alone the Perpetual Treasuries Limited has made a minimum benefit of over Rs 688 million. The Commission is of the opinion that further investigations could reveal that this amount could even be more than that. As revealed during the investigations this Employees Provident Fund and other government institutions had lost more than Rs 8,524million or Rs 8.5 billion.

It is stated that senior officials of the Central Bank were inactive before the former Governor of Central Bank, Arjuna Mahendran. It is believed that because they had not questioned about these and had become inactive, such incorrect decisions were made. Mr Mahendran has made interference into bond auctions through a system of incorrect and unconventional methods and he was responsible for providing internal information to outsiders. One party has used such information to obtain undue monetary profits.

The Commission report said that the honorable Prime Minister’s responsibility in the appointment of Mr. Arjuna Mahendren as the governor to the Central Bank was proper. The Commission is of the opinion that the Prime Minister made his statement in Parliament regarding the appointment of Mr Mahendran believing in the facts presented by Mr. Mahendran and Mr.Samarasiri, especially the promises made by Mr Mahendran. The Report also says that the Prime Minister should not have done that.

The Commission stated that moreover these facts were before the COPE committee and the Prime Minister had not stated that because of that he had not taken the proper action against Mr. Mahendern.

The Commission report refers to the allegation against former Finance Minister Mr Ravi Karunanayake regarding the payment of rent for the penthouse apartment belongs to the Aloysius Family and their Walt and Rowe Company and stated that Mr Karunanayake was responsible for that and recommended that the government should to take necessary action against Mr. Ravi Karunanayake under the section of bribery and corruption and further legal action under the penal codes for giving false evidence at the Commission.

The Commission stated to the misuse of funds of the Employees Provident Fund and stated that EPF should be investigated under the forensic audit examination to find out the amount of losses. The repot has recognized that, the dishonesty of a particular party had lead to this kind of malpractice on EPF funds. The people responsible for these frauds have been identified and the Commission recommends legal action against them.

The report recommends that, the legal action against relevant persons and officials who are responsible for the fraud including Perpetual Treasuries Limited, Arjun Aloysius and Kasun Palihena should be taken. Accordingly, the government is in consultation with the legal authorities.

Recommendation
*Considering the recommendations of the Commission, the government recommends adapting a new Monetary Law Act in order to avoid this kind of malpractices in the Central Bank in future. The existing legal provisions are old and need replacement.

*It is also recommended that the Registered Share Market Act must be replaced by a new legal act.

*Members of Monetary Board and Central Bank Governor must be appointed by the Constitutional Council in concurrence of the members. The regulations must be amended accordingly.

*The report recommends that there should be utmost supervision over the State Credit Department. As auditing at the Central Bank has not been conducted in a proper manner, the Commission recommended that the Audit Department must be reconstituted completely. A Legal Department must be established in the Central Bank and ensure that the Legal Department functions efficiently.

*As the Commission did not have the mandate to inquire into treasury bond issues from 2008 to 2015, the Commission had not done that. However, Commission recommends that there should be an investigation into that period too

*The Commission recommends that the dealings with the Pan Asia Bank and the conduct of Chairman must be investigated unto.

*The recommends that activities of the EPF must be looked into and in order to bring the ETF into a proper order, steps must be taken to restructure the ETF.

*A code of conduct for the officials of the Central Bank must be introduced. The code of conduct for Primary Dealers must be revised and updated.

*The Commission has stated that the Attorney General and the Bribery or Corruption Commission must take the legal actions to implement the recommendations of the Commission.

*Under normal circumstances, recovery of money is done through civil legal action. However, it is a time consuming method. As an alternative, the Commission recommend that a Parliamentary Legislation could be passed and the money could be recovered in a speedy manner through a Parliamentary procedure. We agree to that recommendation.

*The recommendation of te Commission is that all the expenditure occurred for the Commission must be recovered from the Perpetual Treasuries Limited.

*I have already submitted a copy of the Commission Report to the Attorney General and he will identify the persons against who the legal action must be taken and initiate necessary criminal or civil legal action to implement the recommendations of the Commission.

*I wish to clarify here, that a minor amendment to the Bribery or Corruption Commission Act must be enacted to take legal action on the recommendations of the Commission. For this purpose, already experts at the legal draughtsman are working on the required amendment.

*The steps needed to make Bribery or Corruption Commission more active and efficient should have The confidentiality, astuteness and auditing methods of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka were extremely weak. There were no tele-recording systems, electronic monitoring or even CCTVs. The current Governor of the Central bank has already taken steps to remove weaknesses and rectify these errors.

The Governor has informed that he has suspended some employees of the Central Bank after their malpractices were revealed in the investigations in the Commission and disciplinary actions are being taken against those officers.

I expect the Governor to make a statement in the near future regarding the shortcomings in the Central bank as revealed in the Commission Report.

I urge the Justice Ministry and the Attorney General to take early steps to draft the three bills proposed by the Commission present them to Parliament, in order to make required changes at the Central Bank to ensure such corrupt practices, frauds and malpractices would not take place in the future.

I have informed my Secretary to hold monthly review meetings with the heads of relevant departments and institutions to examine the progress in implementations of the recommendations of the Commission to take legal steps against those individuals and take other required steps in an
efficient and speedy manner.

I would like to specifically state here that I would not hesitate to take steps to recover the loss of Rs11,145 million and take legal action against the offenders and punish them.

The sum of Rs 8529 million of the total losses Rs 11,145 million was the funds of the Employees Provident Fund, Mahapola Scholarship Fund, National Savings Bank and Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation. The balance was from private institutions. Hence the loss to the public sector – EPF, Mahapola, NDB and SLIC was over Rs 8.5 billion. The Perpetual Treasuries Limited has made this this profit of Rs 11,145 million within a short period of 5 months.

Finally, especially I would like to mention that this final report must be presented to the Parliament and through this initiative the report must be open to the public. In the future, necessary as well as legal steps in this regard will be taken expeditiously according to the advice from the Attorney General. I kindly request to consider the openness of the facts of this Commission Report and I assure that any hesitation would not occur in filing cases against the offenders. Furthermore, I wish to state that this is the final report of the Commission.
I have previously appointed a Commission and the report of that has been handed over to me. It is the final report of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry to investigate and inquire into Serious Acts of Fraud, Corruption and Abuse of Power, State Resources and Privileges (PRECIFAC).

This Commission carried out their respective duties during the past two and half years. I extend my gratitude to the staff of the Commission and all the institutions including the Secretary and High Court judges for giving their support in this task. Already, 34 reports of that Commission had been handed over to me and recently 17 reports have been handed over and another 17 previously, the 17 reports handed over previously I have submitted to the Attorney General to take necessary actions through relevant institutions.

By now, the Fraud and Corruption Commission, institutions, departments and Police have taken actions to file cases based on the facts of these reports. The report which was handed over to me before two days I will submit to Attorney General within this week to take appropriate actions.

Especially I have to mention the actions on this report will be taken in the near future.

The Presidential Commission of Inquiry to investigate and inquire into Serious Acts of Fraud, Corruption and Abuse of Power, State Resources and Privileges has presented several major facts and it is the responsibility of the Government to implement facts presented at the Commission. I will explain to you regarding those facts for the general public information. Training and appointment of suitable officials as there is lack for skilled been appointed and only the qualified persons should be appointed to essential positions including the State institutions, Authorities and Constitutional Boards.

The Commission revealed that the money spent by the Government for the establishment of this Commission has already been recovered through the cases initiated through the findings of this Commission. A system must be implemented to hearing the cases in the courts in other areas as holding these cases only in Courts in Colombo is causing difficulties for those who travel from distances.

I must states a special thing, before I conclude the facts of these two reports, I saw a great eagerness and inquiring trend among the general public regarding these Commissions. At the same time when the Commissions were appointed, especially before the appointment of the Bond Commission, some people commented, even in Parliament that nothing had happened to previous commissions and the same fate would happen to this commission too. They also said the intention of appointment of acommission was to cover up the wrong doings.

But all of us must be very pleased regarding the fulfillment of duties of these Commissions and again I must thank the judges and all those who contributed in this regard for their great service rendered while wining the confidence of the general public.

Finally, I must state regarding the allegations leveled against me by some political parties for appointing these Commissions. I never appointed these commissions targeting any political party. I must specially mention in future when the cases are filed in accordance with the investigations and the recommendations and information of these Commissions, individuals belongs to two main political parties will be among the defendants in the legal process. We must be happy over our independent and impartial Judiciary. I must state all of us will provide our maximum support for this process.

Thank you

https://www.facebook.com/maithripalas/videos/10155786628376327/

ශ‍්‍රී ලංකා මහ බැංකුවේ බැදුම්කර නිකුතුවේදී සිදුව ඇති බැදුම්කර වංචාව සම්බන්දයෙන් පරීක්‍ෂණ පවත්වන ලද ජනාධිපති කොමිසමේ වාර්තාව සම්බන්දයෙන් ජනාධිපති මෛත‍්‍රිපාල සිරිසේන මහතාගේ විශේෂ ප‍්‍රකාශය.

By Yusuf Ariff Courtesy Adaderana

The final report of the Special Presidential Commission of Inquiry, which investigated the controversial Central Bank treasury bond issuance, reveals that Perpetual Treasuries Limited had gained an advantage of Rs 11,145 million from secondary market transactions within 5 months.

President Maithripala Sirisena revealed this while making a special statement to the media regarding the final reports of the Special Presidential Commission to inquire into the allegations of malpractices in the bond issue of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka and the Presidential Commission of Inquiry to investigate and inquire into Serious Acts of Fraud, Corruption and Abuse of Power, State Resources and Privileges (PRECIFAC).

The President stated that he has already sent the report of the Bond Commission to the Attorney General to pursue with onward legal action against those found responsible.

I have already handed over this report to the Attorney General while the commission’s report says that criminal cases and civil cases should be filed by through the Criminal Investigations Department and the Briery Commission based on the recommendations of the report,” the President said.

He said that according to the report, the primary dealer Perpetual Treasuries Limited had amassed wealth in an unlawful manner through the participation of Mr Arjuna Mahendran, bank officials and other external parties.

The report states that the minimum advantage gained by Perpetual Treasuries through the treasury bill auction held on February 27, 2015 alone exceeds Rs 688 million.

The report states that these information uncovered within the duration of this investigation and that figures could be even more sometimes, he said.

According to the finding of the commission, the company Perpetual Treasuries had gained an advantage of a minimum of Rs 11,145 million from secondary market transactions while out of that the losses connected to the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) and other state intuitions is Rs 8,529 million.

By Charles.S. Perera

Some may say that the Sinhala do not follow the teachings of the Buddha, but each one of them to a lesser or a greater degree has assimilated the essence of the Dhamma through generations of Buddhist culture in which they were nurtured. That is why we could safely say that the Sinhala have a balanced character not going towards emotionally  positive or negative extremes  not denying of course the exceptions.

That is why there was a willingness on the part of the Sinhala Majority to live with the other communities amicably accepting them as their compatriots, until recently when the Tamil politicians ambitious for political power, refused to accept their immigrant status and asked for equal rights with the Sinhala the majority community.

The Tamils of the diaspora are immigrants of the respective countries to which they have emigrated,   like the Tamils of Chola and Pandiya beginnings in Sri Lanka who came here as invaders, plunderers and settled down while others had been allowed to live by the Sinhala Kings some who even married Indian Princesses.

It may be this immigrant background that gives the Tamils an inferiority complex. The Tamil politicians, Chelvanayakam a Christian born in Malaysia, Naganathan also a Christian born in Madras, Sundaralingam, Ponnambalam  and so forth as educated high caste Tamils wanted to be the rulers over a people and as it was not possible being with the Sinhala as a minority community,  they aspired to have a country of their own to rule over it and demanded 50-50 or a separate Eelam.

Undoubtedly they also had an inferiority complex, a persistent sense of inadequacy or the tendency to diminish oneself, sometimes resulting in excessively aggressive behaviour through over compensation,” being high caste Tamils  having to work in a Sinhala majority government. They opposed the lion flag  or a government with an exclusive Sinhala Board of Ministers.

Coming to recent times , lets take the case of the Tamils of the diaspora (the Tamil emigrants settled down in foreign countries), they made an excuse of the 1983 riots to claim political emigrant status to accept their entry into foreign countries. And living meagrely , depending on subsidies offered  by the receiving countries, eventually  became a well to do  population in those countries and as years passed by became a substantially important vote bank in those countries to be sought by one political party or the other for political purposes.

But they remained  dark skinned strangers amoung the white population in the countries. These Western countries are forced to accept strangers into their counties, however they are  hostile to them. The Westerners are a biased people. They do not accept strangers amoung them sincerely as theirs. They have the colour bar, religious prejudice towards the Jewish people, and the Muslims.

To  Sri Lanka the Western whites come to help the poor Tamil people” discriminated by the bad ”  Sinhala majority, not through any genuine  love for the Tamils, but they have their own personal reasons sometimes political, spreading of Christianity or other religious Sects, or  simply for the chance to live comfortably as generous white altruist humanitarians-white angels amoung the poor wretches of the earth(we had lot of them working in the areas occupied by the  terrorists) or as highly paid NGOs looking after the  human rights of the poor Tamils.

Hence the  Tamils of the diaspora live with this inferiority complex in those countries and yearn to  be back in their motherland with their own people without being assailed by the white and black difference . It may be the reason why they looked to the Tamil terrorists in Sri Lanka, and contribute freely for their success as terrorists  to prepare a Tamil Eelam State for them, where they can live without any inferiority  complex.

They do not want to be with the Sinhala either  as they know  what it had been living with the Whites who never accepted them as theirs. But strangely the Tamils accept the insults from the whites and continue to live there, but refuse to accept the hands of genuine affection of the Sinhala,  requesting them to accept the Sinhala  as their own  people and come to live together.

The terrorist Prabhakaran knew that in creating a separate Tamil Eelam he would be the King looked up to by all these miserable Tamils the world over. We see how the State Minister Vijayakala Maheshvaran regrets the loss of Prabhakaran, and still pines for him.

Then the religion-the Tamil religion too has much to be desired vis-à-vis Buddhism. Some of the Tamils are Christians even Abraham Sumanthiran the TNA MP a Christian wants to remove special protection for Buddhism provided in the Constitution and make Sri Lanka a secular State.

The Tamils are all against Buddhism which is the cradle of our Civilisation, the culture of which had made the Tamils and Muslims accepted by the Sinhala as their compatriots and equals.  The difference was  created by the Tamils and not by the Sinhala.

Recently when the funeral rights for the NagaVihara Chief Incumbent and the Northern Province Chief Sangha Nayake the late Most Venerable Meegahajandure Gnanarathana Thera were proposed to be held at the Mutraveli Ground in Jaffna , the Tamils objected to holding the funeral rights at the  Muttraveli Grounds as they claimed there was a Hindu Kovil precisely, where the ceremony was to be held.

Can one imagine to what extent the inferiority complex-, a persistent sense of inadequacy or the tendency to diminish oneself, sometimes resulting in excessively aggressive behaviour through over compensation.”  could go ?

A Buddhist temple and its surrounding- the Bo tree, the white Dagaba clean large space, beautiful guard-stones  , moonstones , the silence  and walking in side,  the sublime Buddha statues, incense and  flowers laid before the serene statues all inspire peace and tranquillity  of mind.

The Nagavihara in Jaffna where the late Venerable Thera was the incumbent too  had this peaceful  sacred  atmosphere, compared to the Kovil that you first see as you get out of the boat to go to the Nagavihara which  in contrast is  frightening with a Gopuram with demon like statues,  big bellied human monsters, all  painted in garish colours.

Hence the  Tamils who find in side these Kovils  the sacred Lingam which they bathe with milk, and pour oil over it, and animal headed Gods, and gods with many heads and hands sitting on rats and birds, or  a statue of a blood thirsty Kali before  which the bare bodied priests make animal sacrifices find no peace and tranquillity but fear and hatred.

Naturally the Tamils would like to have Buddhist temples far away from their Kovils as a comparison of theirs against that of the Sinhala Buddhists make them feel down hearted and inferior despite the divine power their Kovils are supposed to emanate.

They become aware if they think deeply and intelligently that after all the culture that nurtured them had inculcated in their minds not love and willingness to live with  other in peace and brother hood , but hatred  and animosity to take revenge to satisfy their innermost desires.

In order to make up for this lack of an appropriate birthright to shape their lives without craving for what others possess and what they have not,  the Tamils continue  with their persistent sense of inadequacy or the tendency to diminish oneself, sometimes resulting in excessively aggressive behaviour through over compensation,”

The NP Chief Minister Visualingam Wigneswaran a high caste Tamil,  despite having been born and grown up with the Sinhala in the south is not an exception to other Tamils. He has same weaknesses but having been a Judge he perhaps aspires to be worshipped and treated as a Thalaivar by other Tamils like Vijayakala Maheshvaran holding the terrorist Prabhakaran in high esteem, and still pines for him.

He may also be regretting that his sons had married  Women from the Sinhala Community, as when he has to visit those now related Sinhala families ite may be despite his education and professional prestige have feelings of inferiority for which he cannot take corrective measures from them, which he therefore does by condemning the Sinhala, as people who had committed genocide  against the Tamils.

Where did he learn that from ? He was born in Hultsdorp in 1939 and lives in Colombo. Where did he learn about genocide against Tamils ? Isn’t he making up all that to get pardoned by the Tamils for allowing his sons to marry Sinhala ?

The Sinhala people have done nothing to make the Tamils feel inferior. The Sinhala are ready to forget all the damage the Tamils have done  to the Sinhala from immemorable times and live together with fraternal love with the Tamils.

The Sinhala only ask the Tamils to  come down to earth and understand that it is not a separate Tamil territory that they should have, but to forget  their Tamilness and be one with all Communities in Sri Lanka and build the country together as it now belongs to each one of us no matter from where we have come what language we speak and what religion we profess. Let us all be a one nation in this great country Sri Lanka like no other in the world.

Concluded.

H. L. D. Mahindapala

Universities are expected to perform two primary functions:1. teach and 2. engage in research to generate new knowledge that would light the darkness for the lost contemporaries to find their way into the future. There are 17 universities funded by the tax-payers money to serve these two objectives. But how many of them have been functioning as beacons to the ship of state tossing in perilous seas? Of course, there has been a good deal of theoretical waffling, most of which is self-serving punditry to promote the partisan politics of mediocrities posing as local Einsteins.

The tragedy, however is that none of the 17 universities can boast of the intellectual heights attained by giants like E. R. Sarathchandra, E. F. C. Ludowyk, K. M. de Silva, G. H. Peiris, K. N. Jayatilleke, etc.  These stellar gurus graced the bygone academic paradise at Peradeniya. They dominated the intellectual, cultural and political landscape of their time. Their collective contribution to academia raised the standards of tertiary education to the peak level of producing outstanding talent that fanned out to occupy chairs in some of the best universities in the world. Their academic brilliance that shine to this day have not been rivalled by their successors. Compared to them the contemporary academics are no taller than pygmies.

These mediocre hack-a-demics” are noted for producing only the next generation of mediocrities, nothing else. The universities, corrupted by power-hungry careerists, or political stooges are, sadly, at the same level as undertakers stuffing brain-dead dodos. Regurgitating borrowed theories from Western sources is their forte. In one case, his parting contributions to academia, on the eve of his retirement, consisted of recycling threadbare ideologies of the West that can be readily picked up from the internet. All their peer reviewed” tracts, aka research”, lie in the university morgues unopened, unread and unused because they are irrelevant to the needs of the day or the future.

Take, for instance, the most critical issue faced by the nation in the post-independent era: the North-South crisis. How useful have they been in working out viable solutions to the worsening inter-ethnic relations? How did the voluminous anti-Sinhala-Buddhist ideology help to narrow or eliminate the widening gap between the North and South? On the contrary, did not their partisan theories demonising the South add fuel to the raging fires of mono-ethnic Tamil extremism of the North? Did not the mono-causal theory of blaming only the Sinhala-Buddhists harden attitudes on both sides, obstructing the path to reconciliation and peace?

Of course, the academics flocked in droves to demonise the Sinhala-Buddhists because it was (1) the most marketable ideology where third-rate hacks could earn a fast buck and (2) advance their careers by falling in line with the official ideology approved by the intellectual mafia. Some egregious examples are Buddhism Betrayed? by Stanley Tambiah of Harvard and Work of Kings by H. L. Seneviratne. Lal Jayawardena, head of UNU-WIDER (The United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research) set up with the aim of promoting peace and progress by bringing together leading scholars from around the world to tackle pressing global problems”, commissioned Tambiah to address the pressing problems” of Sri Lanka. With the generous funds of WIDER in his pockets Tambiah produced Buddhism Betrayed? denigrating Sinhala-Buddhism  — a partisan tract which worsened inter-ethnic relations contrary to the aims of UNU-WIDER.

Tambiah’s attack  on Sinhala-Buddhism set the trend from Harvard. He paved the way for the new American school of demonising Sinhala-Buddhism. After Tambiah came the deluge. The social scientists” fell in line with the mono-causal theory of blaming only the Sinhala-Buddhists. The American school of social scientists” in particular worked overtime to argue that in the complex universe of Sri Lankan politics only Sinhala-Buddhism has been the cause that worsened inter-ethnic relations. Seneviratne’s book that followed is a typical example that illustrates the herd instincts of the anti-Sinhala-Buddhist school of Tambiah. His book was written as a servile footnote to boost Tambiah’s attack on Sinhala-Buddhists. What made Tambiah’s book sensational were not the contents – it could have been written by even a juvenile sophomore — but the portrayal of Sinhala Buddhism as the demonic force that bedevils Sri Lankan society.

In plain language, it lacked the respectable balance expected of a professorial voice coming out of respected Harvard. The weight of the Harvardian authority overawed the rest of academia. Few dared to challenge Tambiah’s version of cause and effect : Buddhists caused it and the Tamil victims reacted to Sinhala-Buddhist violence. Soon it became the overwhelming ideological dogma that became the flavour of the time. The intellectual fashion of the day was for pundits to parrot theories that targeted Sinhala-Buddhism only. Digging into every nook and corner of Sinhala-Buddhists became the most profitable intellectual industry. The privatised research factories run by foreign-funded  NGOs hired unemployable Ph.Ds to manufacture tracts that could popularise the mono-causal theory of blaming everything, including Prabhakaran’s constipation, on Sinhala-Buddhists.

These hired researchers readily jumped into the anti-Sinhala-Buddhist bandwagon because it was one way of being a part of the elitist theoretical cabal, diagnosing and writing prescriptions on the North-South conflict, while sipping whiskey in the cocktail circuit of the Western embassies. The one-eyed Jacks and quacks in academia and NGOs were advancing a mono-causal theory knowing that they were manufacturing sounds of a clap with one hand. The most favoured theory claimed that if you take Sinhala-Buddhism out of the political equation the national problem would be solved without delay. The counter argument which says that the inter-ethnic problem could be solved faster if the Tamils dropped their mono-ethnic extremism and disproportionate demands was never factored in. Such a solution was considered heretical. In a multi-ethnic society only the mono-ethnic extremism of one community was considered valid. Giving into the political demands of one community was promoted as the politically correct formula. The role of other communities was simply to give into the ever escalating demands of one community at the expense of all other communities.

Legitimising this pro-Tamil ideology was a prime necessity for the anti-Sinhala-Buddhist lobby to win international and national sympathy. The Tambiah-Vadukoddai ideology became the main means of manipulating national and international public opinion. A two-pronged attack was launched to manipulate the pro-Tamil ideology: 1) demonise the Sinhalese and 2) simultaneously paint the Tamils as the victims of an oppressive majority. The national story was simplified into the goodies and baddies. In the popularised story the Sinhalese were the baddies and the Tamils were the goodies. History was re-written to blacken the image of the Sinhala-Buddhists and simultaneously leave the other side of the story as a white blank page. Explorers of Sri Lankan history moaned consistently about the missing chapters of the history of Jaffna but no one did anything about it. The situation has not changed to this day. No one has ever produced a comprehensive and authoritative history of Jaffna, though they have had no qualms in raking the history of Sinhala-Buddhists to pick up whatever dirt they can find in the South. The logical consequence is simple: you can’t blame things kept in the dark.

Faced with the overwhelming historical lacuna the Tamil historians lament about the absence of a Tamil history that could validate their politics of superiority and claims for self-determination. Writing in the 21^st century historian Dr. Murugar Gunasingham confessed that the ……the most important single shortcoming at this time  is that no historian, or archaeologist or even a social scientists, whether Sinhalese, Tamil or Western scholar has written a complete or comprehensive account  of the history  of the Tamils  in Sri Lanka.  On the other hand, Sinhalese scholars are actively engaged in researching and writing a full and comprehensive account of the Sinhalese history of Sri Lanka.”  He also said: Tamils did not actively pursue a systematic study of their past which would have contributed to the current and future health of Tamil studies. As a consequence, no comprehensive history of the Tamils in Sri Lanka has been written whereas the Sinhalese have successfully preserved and maintained their history from the beginning. Unquestionably, the Sinhalese people have quite valid grounds for claiming their own authentic rights within the country.”(p.13 – Primary Sources For History of the Sri Lanka Tamils, A World-Wide Search, South Asian Studies Centre, Sydney, 2005)

It is incredible that the Tamils who depend desperately on their version of history for the establishment of their separate state have never produced a comprehensive and authoritative study of their history. Of course, there is an advantage in keeping Jaffna in the dark. This enables the Tamils to fill the vacuum with illusions of grandeur. The Tamil political activists have taken advantage of the blank spaces in Tamil history to fill it with myths, fabrications and rewrites of history that would fit into their separatist political agenda.

Their version of manufactured history is encapsulated in the Vadukoddai Resolution of 1976 – the ultimate political manifesto of mono-ethnic extremism of Tamil separatists seeking to justify their disproportionate political claims of the 20^th century with a glorious past that exists only in their imagination. Whatever histories” that poured out of pro-Tamil factories stuck solidly to history” laid down in the Vadukoddai Resolution, boosted later by Tambiah’s anti-Sinhala-Buddhist tract. In the main,their histories were not to study the past but to justify the Tamil politics of the present. In the post- independent era they laboured breathlessly to create a history to match that of the Sinhala-Buddhists. But to date they have failed to produce a single volume that has been accepted as an authoritative and objective study of the history of Jaffna.

Without a solid backing of historical evidence the claims to a mono-ethnic enclave would lack gravitas. To produce historical justifications there should have been a comprehensive, objective and authoritative study of the North. There are, of course, patchy pieces throwing paper-thin slivers of light into one or two dark corners of Jaffna. But historiographers are concerned seriously about the failure of Tamil historians and allied social scientists to light up the past of Jaffna with a comprehensive and objective history.

Their most treasured historical document is Yal Pana Vaipava Malai written by poet Mylvaganam at the request of the Dutch Governor, Jan Maccra (1736). This is virtually the equivalent of the Tamil Mahavamsa – the highly valued historical document of the Tamils delineating their past. It runs into about 50 pages that are no bigger than the size of a notepad. Of course, this corresponds to the size of the Jaffna Tamils’ contribution to their history and, more importantly, to the nation’s history. In historiography size matters not for the sake of being voluminous but as an indicator of their commitment to  the land in  which .they created history, with  their blood, sweat and tears. A passionate and comprehensive history signposts the power of the people moving history to fulfil an evolving destiny. This is written unmistakeably in the Mahavamsa. It affirms that the destiny of the Sinhalese was tied, from day one, to this land. The Tamils, on the other hand, had one foot in Sri Lanka and the other in Tamil Nadu. Their heart was deeply rooted in their motherland across the Palk Strait. This mental make up is understandable. For instance, the tyranny of distance made it easy for the English migrants who settled down in America, Canada and Australia to sever connections with their motherland. But the proximity to Tamil Nadu made it difficult for the Tamil migrants to create an identity of their own in Sri Lanka. Of all the migrants only the Sinhalese who committed themselves totally to this land. The indelible and monumental legacy they left behind has proved their everlasting commitment to the land  by creating a unique identity of their own.

It should also be noted that poet Mylvaganam wrote his 50-page history not for the love of Tamil people or their history, unlike Maha Thera Mahanama who wrote the Mahavamsa with a missionary zeal for those who made history and covered themselves with glory all the way. He wrote it as a tribute to the pioneering makers of history who can claim to be the legitimate owners of the land because they alone made a unique history without vegetating as simian descendants imitating a borrowed culture from overseas. He was also unerringly conscious of his mission as a historian. He says that he wrote for the serene joy and emotion of the pious.”

Mylvaganam, on the other hand, wrote it to please the Dutch Governor. Why should the Tamils write a history of their Lilliputian escapades in Sri Lanka when their monumental history was in their only homeland which was across the Palk Strait? The next serious attempt to write a Tamil history was undertaken by Mudliyar C. Rasanayagam whose Ancient Jaffna was printed in 1928. Not surprisingly, he too dedicates his book to the British Governor. This makes it possible to argue that the Jaffna Tamils were not committed passionately to a sense of history like the Sinhalese. They wrote history to please their colonial masters.

It was only in the post-independent era that there was a rush among the Tamils to manufacture history, with a desperate sense of urgency. The Tamils suddenly discovered that they had to find political justifications for their increasing demands from a solid historical base. Political legitimacy derived from an irrefutable history for the creation of a new state has a greater force than the contestable modern theories of minority rights, or the principles that go to define a nation. The Sinhalese had no need to justify or substantiate their claim to territory or power because history was on their side. From the lips of caves to the highest points in the architectural monuments of ancient and medieval times the ownership of history was written, with unquestionable clarity and certainty. The Tamils, on the contrary, discovered that they had no history to match that of the Sinhalese. Besides, they also discovered that they had to rely heavily on their manufactured version of history to escalate their demands heading towards mono-ethnic extremities of power and territory.

This battle for history began in the thirties. The first shot attacking Sinhala-Buddhist history was fired by the acknowledged leader of the time, G. G. Ponnambalam. It was his attack on the Mahavamsa and the genealogy of the Sinhalese while glorifying the Tamil past that caused the first Sinhala-Tamil riots in Navalapitiya and the neighbouring towns in 1939. He set the foundations for the ideological battle. The ideological battle to be on the legitimate side of history has never ceased since then.

The moral in this tale is simple: he who wins the battle in the field of history wins the battle in the field of politics.

 To be continued

Dr. Daya Hewapathirane

 The exceptionally rich heritage of visual arts of Sri Lanka extends to a period that exceeds 2200 years, from the 3rd century BCE to the 21st CE. Buddhist paintings form a spectacular component of this heritage. An incredible collection of ancient sculpture and architecture further adorns the conspicuous elements of the Sinhala Buddhist culture, the national culture of Sri Lanka. For some 2500 years, the Sinhala Buddhists inhabited Sri Lanka as its dominant community, and up-to the 16th century, they accounted for over 95% of the island’s total population. (Almost all Buddhists are of Sinhala origin and of all Sinhala people, about 95% are Buddhists. Of the island’s present population of 22 million Buddhists account for about 70%).

This enchanting national cultural heritage reflects vividly the richness of imagination, creativity, aesthetic sense, and inspiration of the island’s Sinhala Buddhist artists. Buddhism, which was introduced to Sri Lanka in the 3rd century BCE, was the primary source of inspiration and influence for artists, sculptors, and architects of the country. The life of the Buddha, ‘Jataka Tales’ based on former lives of the Buddha, the teachings of the Buddha, and incidences and important persons associated with Buddhist history of Sri Lanka, have been predominant themes of ancient artistic pursuits including paintings. Most ancient Buddhist works of art are known to generate inner calm, and evoke serene joy and emotion among people irrespective of their cultural background.

BUDDHIST SITES

Innumerable ancient sites with paintings are scattered throughout the country – north, south, east, and west, in the hill country and the coastal areas. The large majority of Buddhist paintings are found in Buddhist ‘vihara’ (shrine) and monasteries, the best known are those in ancient cities such as Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa, Dambulla, Sigiriya, and Mahanuwara (Kandy). All these cities were designated by the UNESCO as World Heritage Sites, owing to their artistic treasures, considered as masterpieces of human creative genius. Most of these sites are Buddhist temples established by Sinhala kings, or which received their patronage in ancient times. UNESCO has identified over a thousand shrines with paintings, which are more than 100 years old.

Paintings are found on ancient cave and rock surfaces, walls, ceilings, doors, wooden surfaces, statues and other sculpture, pottery/earthenware and on textiles. Some found in cave temples are over 2000 years old and some more than a 1000-year-old. Most of the earliest paintings are found in a fragmentary form. Among the oldest paintings are those on rock surfaces in caves, and walls of relic chambers inside ‘dagaba’ or ‘stupa’ (pagoda).

Relic chambers and surfaces inside ancient stupas (dagabas) were lavishly decorated with paintings in ancient times.  Some of these were times of discovered during stupa restorations. Some of these paintings have been reproduced on canvass by modern painters. These can be seen in the Museums of Colombo, Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa and Mahanuwara. In the past, during temple restorations, new paintings were drawn on plaster applied over old paintings. Wall peelings in most old temples have revealed two or more layers of ancient paintings.

PAINTING MATERIAL

Paintings were done on a layer of plaster applied over various types of surfaces such as rock, walls, and ceilings and sometimes on wooden surfaces such as ceilings.  Material used in all surfaces was natural, most obtained from the immediate environment. Some of these products were boiled and processed in different ways to obtain necessary shades of colours.  A range of colours were derived by a system of blending basic colours. A specially made oily material was applied over completed paintings as a protective coat which also helped to enhance the brightness of colours used.

ANCIENT ARTISTS

Little is known of the artists of the ancient times especially about artists before the 18th century. During the 18th – 19th centuries, there were families of artists with their own traditions and techniques of art. There were traditional schools of art or groups of artists headed by a well-known prominent artist. They were referred to as Gurukula”. There were generations of artists in each Gurukula. There were several such gurukula groups during the 18th – 19th centuries (the Mahanuwara period of art). Each gurukula had developed and followed its own art forms and techniques.

STYLES AND TRADITIONS

Paintings are reflective of the variation in art styles, approaches, and traditions of art in the past. Characteristics of these paintings that are of much appeal to many are the colour choice and coordination, the intricate nature of line and brushwork, the elaborate designs, patterns, and exquisite motifs used for decorative purposes, and the fascinating symbolism adopted effectively to provide greater meaning and depth to paintings. Themes of most paintings are based on the life and teachings of the Buddha. ‘Jataka tales’ or tales of previous lives of the Buddha are common themes of paintings. Paintings reveal the great adoration the artists had towards the Buddha and the strong inspiration drawn from the Buddha’s life and teachings. Buddhist paintings have a strong impact on one’s inner spirit, transforming your mind to a state of innocence and overflowing compassion, joy, and peacefulness. According to the Buddha’s teachings, developing tranquility of mind is fundamental to the development of wisdom.

PERIODS OF ART

Based on general differences in art traditions the following major periods of art can be identified:

(1) Classical Period –                                                                                                            Anuradhapura Era: 3rd century BCE to 10th c. CE,                                                              Polonnaruwa Era:  11th to 13th century CE,

(2) Period of Changing Capitals: 13th to 17^th c. CE

(3) Mahanuwara Period: 18th to 19th c.  CE,

(4) Modern Period:  20th Century onwards

THE CLASSICAL STYLE

The classical style of Sinhala art is naturalistic exemplifying a transformation of nature by imaginative contemplation. Paintings show a highly tasteful use of a variety of colours and a skillful depiction of facial expressions of the figures.  With the exclusion of Sigiriya, most of the surviving ancient paintings of the Classical Period such as those of the Tivanka Pilimage in Polonnaruwa, are found in fragmentary form. Most were destroyed when foreigners such as the South Indian Dravidians and Europeans invaded the Sinhala kingdoms of Sri Lanka. Ancient paintings of the classical form of Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa and a few other places, are of overflowing aesthetic appeal. Most are considered as masterpieces of human creative ingenuity and imagination.  The outstanding quality of these paintings was a determining factor in the identification of World Heritage Sites of Sri Lanka by the UNESCO.

Political instability during the 13^th to 17^th century period had a negative impact on people’s artistic initiatives. South Indian invaders inflicted widespread damage to Buddhist temples and monasteries where works of art were concentrated. Although painting activity was not as prolific as before, some spectacular paintings were produced in a few viharas such as Gadaladeniya and Lankatilleka near Mahanuwara. Decorative paintings of on diverse wooden surfaces including ancient ola (palm-leaf) wooden book covers and exquisite paintings on textiles (referred to as ‘pethikada’), were also popular during this period.

MAHANUWARA (KANDYAN) STYLE

Paintings of the 18th-19th centuries (Mahanuwara Period) exhibit a predominantly stylized form, referred to by art professionals as ‘abstract symbolism’. It is a unique art form of great appeal, with its own dynamics and structural properties. Dalada Maligawa, Dambulla, Degaldoruwa, Medawela, Ridee viharaya, Mulgirigala are among the many sites with enchanting paintings of this period. They show several stylistic variations in different parts of the country, the most significant being those of Southern Sri Lanka which show a distinctive character. The impact of the European colonial period is partly responsible for variations evident in approaches and styles of paintings of some vihara paintings in the South. Painting drawn on diverse wooden surfaces, clay and pottery were popular during this period.

THE MODERN DEVELOPMENTS

The cultural resurgence that was taking place in the country in the latter part of the British colonial period, inevitably created the necessary atmosphere and conditions for the emergence of many talented artists and outstanding works of art, and many professionals of repute engaged in research and related publications on ancient works of art. Considering the infinitely rich cultural heritage of Sri Lanka, it is no surprise that modern and contemporary art in Sri Lanka is ever more complex and engaging. Paintings of the modern period is marked by some significant developments in techniques of paintings such as the use of oil paints, perspective, light and shade and three-dimensional modeling. Also evident are different modes of representation and characterization, which reflect a transformation of the country’s mural paintings to a significant degree.

Viharas with unique modern paintings are largely concentrated in and around Colombo. The better known among them, are the Kelani Rajamaha Vihara in Kelaniya, Gothami Vihara in Borella, Bellanwila Vihara in Dehiwela and Sedawatte Ganegodella Vihara. These are places with aesthetically pleasing and spiritually inspiring modern paintings of a high degree of artistic quality. These paintings are reflective of the inspiration drawn by modern artists from the traditional forms of Buddhist paintings of ancient classical period of the nation’s cultural history. Among the better-known artists of the modern period or in the 20th century and thereafter, who have produced painting that depict Buddhist themes include Solias Mendis (Kelaniya Rajamaha Vihare), Somabandu Vidyapathy (Bellanwila Vihare),George Keyt (Gothami Vihare), Albert Dharmasiri (Sedawatta), Upasena Gunawardena (Maligawa Annex), L.T.P. Manjusri, M. Sarlis and S. P. Charles. There were many other artists who have ventured into Buddhist paintings on their own but, are not directly associated with Viharas. Manjusri, was involved in the reproduction on canvas of ancient Buddhist works of art found on rock and wall surfaces in remote historic sites. Jayasiri Semage’s paintings related to Buddhism, are of high artistic quality.

PRESERVATION OF ANCIENT ART

Several modern artists and photographers have contributed to the conservation of ancient paintings by producing near perfect reproductions on canvas and some commendable photographic reproductions. Before they began to disintegrate fully, some ancient Buddhist paintings were copied on canvass by some concerned, committed and far-sighted Sinhala artists of the 20th and 21^st centuries. These reproductions can be seen in the national museums of Sri Lanka, such as those in Colombo, Mahanuwara, Anuradhapura Polonnaruwa, and in the Mahanuwara Dalada Maligawa and the Dambulla museum of Buddhist paintings established by the Central Cultural Triangle. There are five special paintings displayed in the Colombo Museum – four on canvas and one on paper. These were drawn in 1930 by an artist known as Ridiyagama Manik Appu. These are drawn in the classical style and are among the most enchanting paintings of modern times.

The ‘Cultural Triangle Project’, set up in 1980, was a joint venture of the UNESCO and the Department of Archaeology of Sri Lanka, under which action was taken to preserve some ancient artworks which led to a series of impressive publications with photographs and descriptions of paintings of 30 ancient Buddhist temples.

Some ancient paintings have been photographically reproduced and analyzed by several, including the author Daya Hewapathirane. Buddhist paintings of more than 60 historic sites across Sri Lanka were presented by him at several national and international exhibitions, including one at the United Nations in May 2012, in commemoration of Sambuddhathva Jayanthi Celebrations. Enlargements of some of his photographic images of ancient Buddhist paintings are exhibited in the first Photo Gallery of Buddhist paintings in Sri Lanka, established in 2011, at the Gangarama Vihara in Colombo. The documentary film he produced on The Heritage of Buddhist Paintings of Sri Lanka”, was presented nationally and internationally and was selected as the Best Buddhist documentary film at the International Buddhist Film Festival held in Sri Lanka in 2012. His recent book on Vihara Paintings published in Sinhala and English, describes, and assesses paintings of 100 sites across the island. Realizing that ancient murals will in time succumb to the natural course of deterioration, this book is expected to remain a valuable record, especially for generations of Sri Lankans to come, to appreciate their enchanting national cultural heritage, which reflects vividly, the richness of imagination, creativity, spirituality, and aesthetic sense of Sinhala Buddhists.

Dr. Daya Hewapathirane

By M D P DISSANAYAKE

It is only Sri lanka that can protect and advance Sinhala language, its associated culture and heritage.  India can look after Tamil language.  Mr SWRD, though in power for relatively short period of time, made the change to place Sri Lanka at the highest place. Those who disagree with this policy, please go through the final examination results of BA. BSc. MSc. Phd., Chartered Accountants, Surveyors, Lawyers, Doctors., you can find for yourself until SWRD came into power, almost 85% of the lists of finalists were: Arsekularatnam, Argumugam, Annamuththu, Arunachalam,Balendran, Balachandran, Balakrishnan, Chenniah, Vigneswaran, etc. the endless lists from A to Z of Tamils.

Higher Education was confined to Tamils. Through systematic elimatination, those who progressed up the ladder were Tamils or those with Sinhala names, but puppets of Tamils or Muslims.  Lets see the First Cabinet of Sri Lanka:

D S SENANAYAKE

H W AMARASURIYA

SWRD BANDARANAIKE

GEORGE E DE SILVA

A E GUNATILLEKE

SIR OLIVER GUNATILEKE

SENARAT GUNAWARDENE

T B JAYAH

J R JAYAWARDENE

JOHN KOTALAWELA

A E NUGAWELA

G G PONNAMBALAM

LALITHA RAJAPAKSE

A RATNAYAKE

DUDLEY SENANAYAKE

C SITTAMPALAM

C SUNDARALINGAM

EDWIN WIJERATNE

When SWRD formed MEP to make Sinhala Official Language, none of these upper class were his comrades.

The 1952 cabinet of Mr Dudley Senanayake continued with:

EDWIN WIJERARATNE

C SITTAMPALAM

G G PONNAMBALAM, but added:

1. NADESAN

V NALLIAH

M C M KALEEL

Mr SWRD did not hesitate to eliminate Tamil domination from the Cabinet, he only had C A S         Marikar, a Muslim as a minister., but brought in those who fought for Sri Lanka and Sinhala Language for the past several years, including Greats such as:

PHILIP GUNAWARDENE

P H WILLIAM DE SILVA

W DAHANAYAKE

T B ILLANGARATNE.

The foundation laid down by SWRD in 1956  had produced encouraging results, whereby boys and girls of schools and colleges throughout the island are not advancing to the University education.  This disliked by Tamils such as Sambandam and Sinhala cronies like Ranil Wickremasinghe, Chandrika.  Chandrika is already eliminated from the political map of Sri Lanka, other remaining anti Sri Lankan cronies will have their days numbered.

Sinhala and English ought to be Official Languages of Sri Lanka  with National Language status for Tamil in North and East.  This policy should be given highest priority in its implementation to ensure the pride of place for Sinhalese.  

https://www.facebook.com/PresidentRajapaksa/videos/10154822458826467/

ප‍්‍රධාන ලේකම් ස.ලං.ප‍්‍ර.සේ.සංගමය

ගරු ජනාධිපති,
මෛත‍්‍රීපාල සිරිසේන මැතිතුමා,
ජනාධිපති ලේකම් කාර්යාලය,
කොළඹ 01.

ගරු ජනාධිපතිතුමනි,

2019 වසරේ සිටවත් ශ‍්‍රී ලංගමයේ අභිමානය රැකගෙන ශ‍්‍රී ලංගමය ආරක්ෂා කර ගැනීමට මාර්ගස්ථ ප‍්‍රවාහන සංවර්ධන ව්‍යාපෘතිය යටතේ අයවැය ලේඛනයෙන් ශ‍්‍රී ලංගමයට මුල්‍ය ප‍්‍රතිපාදන වෙන්කිරීම අත්හිටුවා ශ‍්‍රී ලංගමයේ අනන්‍යතාවය රැකෙන පරිදි ශ‍්‍රී ලංගමයේ නමට ප‍්‍රවාහන අමාත්‍යාංශය යටතේ අයවැය ලේඛනයෙන් මූල්‍ය ප‍්‍රතිපාදන ලබාදෙන ලෙස ඉල්ලා සිටීම.

2018 වසර සඳහා අයවැය ලේඛනය තුළින් රුපියල් මිලියන 31,000 ක මුදලක් ශ‍්‍රී ලංගමයේ අනන්‍යතාවය ඇතිව ශ‍්‍රී ලංගමයේ නමටම  ලබාදීමට මැදිහත්වන ලෙස අප සංගමය ඔබතුමාගෙන් ලිඛිතව ඉල්ලා සිටින ලදී. නමුත්, එය සිදුවී නොමැත. 2018 වාර්ෂික අයවැය ඇස්තමේන්තු මගින් ශ‍්‍රී ලංකා ගමනාගමන මණ්ඩලයට මූල්‍ය ප‍්‍රතිපාදන වෙන්කිරිමට ජාතික අයවැය දෙපාර්තමේන්තුව අනුගමනය කර ඇති ක‍්‍රියාපටිපාටියට දැඩි විරෝධතාවය අප සංගමය පලකර සිටින්නෙමු.  මෙහිදී විශේෂයෙන් ශ‍්‍රී ලංකා ගමනා ගමන මණ්ඩලය යනු මාර්ගස්ථ ප‍්‍රවාහන සංවර්ධන ව්‍යාපෘතිය නැමති ව්‍යාපෘතිය යටතේ ප‍්‍රතිපාදන වෙන් කළ යුතු ආයතනයක් නොවන බව අප සංගමය දැඩිව අවධාරණය කර සිටින්නෙමු. 

එමෙන්ම ශ‍්‍රී ලංකා ගමනාගමන මණ්ඩලය යනු දුම්රිය දෙපාර්තමේන්තුව, මෝටර් රථ දෙපාර්තමේන්තුව හා සමානවම රජයට අනුබද්ධ ආයතනයකි.  එවැනි ආයතනයක් ව්‍යාපෘතියකට නතුකොට වෙන්කරනු ලබන ප‍්‍රතිපාදන සැඟවීමට දරණ උත්සාහයක් මිස අන් යමක් නොවන බව පෙන්වා දෙන අතර මෙම තත්ත්වය වහා නිවැරදි විය යුතු බව අප සංගමය ඔබතුමාව දැනුවත් කරන්නෙමු.  එසේම මේ පිළිබඳව වහා සොයා බලා මෙවර අයවැය මගින් ශ‍්‍රී ලංකා ගමනාගමන මණ්ඩලය සඳහා රජය වෙන්කරනු ලබන සෘජු ප‍්‍රතිපාදන ප‍්‍රකාශයට පත්කරන ලෙසත්. එ් හරහා මෙරට ජනතාවගේ ප‍්‍රධාන ප‍්‍රවාහන මාධ්‍ය වන ශ‍්‍රී ලංකා ගමනාගමන මණ්ඩලය රැකගැනීම වෙනුවෙන් අප සංගමය කටයුතු කරන බව අවධාරණය කරන අතර මෙම ක‍්‍රියාවලිය නිවැරදි කිරීමට කඩිනමින් මැදිහත්වන ලෙස අප සංගමය ඔබතුමාගෙන් ඉල්ලා සිටින්නෙමු.

2018 වසරට  ශ‍්‍රී ලංකා ගමනා ගමන මණ්ඩලය සඳහා පාර්ලිමේන්තුවට ඉදිරිපත් කරන ලද අය-වැය විසර්ජන පනතින් ශ‍්‍රී ලංගම අනන්‍යතාවය ඇතිව මුදල් වෙන් නොකිරීම පිළිබඳව මුදල් ඇමතිවරයාට අප සංගමය ඉදිරිපත්  කරන ලද ලිපියට පිළිතුරු වශයෙන් ශ‍්‍රී ලංගමයට මුදල් වෙන්කර ඇත්තේ මාර්ගස්ථ ප‍්‍රවාහන සංවර්ධන ව්‍යාපෘතිය යටතේ බව ජාතික අයවැය දෙපාර්තමේන්තුව අප සංගමයට ලිඛිතව දන්වා ඇත. අය-වැය විසර්ජන පනත තුලින් දුම්රිය දෙපාර්තමේන්තුව, මෝටර්රථ දෙපාර්තමේන්තුව, සිවිල් ගුවන්සේවා අධිකාරිය යන ආයතනවලට ඒ ඒ ආයතනවල අනන්‍යතාව රැුකෙන පරිදි එම ආයතන නමට ප‍්‍රවාහන හා සිවිල් ගුවන්සේවා අමාත්‍යාංශය යටතේ මුදල් වෙන්කර ඇත. නමුත් ශ‍්‍රීලංගමයට මාර්ගස්ථ ප‍්‍රවාහන සංවර්ධන ව්‍යාපෘතිය යටතේ මුදල් වෙන් කිරීම ශ‍්‍රීලංගමයට කරන ලද බලවත් අවමානයක් සහ හෑල්ලූ කිරීමකි. ශී‍්‍රලංගමයේ අභිමානය කෙලෙසීමකි. ශ‍්‍රීලංගමයට වෙන්කරන ලද මුදල් සෘජුව ස`දහන් නොකිරීම ඒ ස`දහා කරන ලද උපක‍්‍රමයකි.

ජාතික අය-වැය දෙපරේතමේන්තුව අප සංගමයට එවන ලද එම ලිපියේ පිටපතක් සහ අනිකුත් ලිපි ඔබතුමාගේ අවධානය සඳහා මේ සමඟ අමුණා එවන අතර 2019 වසර සඳහා මාර්ගස්ථ ප‍්‍රවාහන සංවර්ධන ව්‍යාපෘතිය යටතේ මුදල් වෙන් කිරීම අත්හිටුවා ශ‍්‍රී ලංගමයේ අනන්‍යතාවය රැකෙන පරිදි ශ‍්‍රී ලංගමයේ නමටම ප‍්‍රවාහන අමාත්‍යාංශය යටතේ මුදල් වෙන්කිරීමට අවශ්‍ය ක‍්‍රියාමාර්ග ගැනීමට මැදිහත්වන ලෙස අප සංගමය ඔබතුමාගෙන් ඉමහත් ගෞරවයෙන් ඉල්ලා සිටිමි.

ස්තූතියි. 

මෙයට, 

විශ්වාසී,

සේපාල ලියනගේ 

ප‍්‍රධාන ලේකම්

ස.ලං.ප‍්‍ර.සේ.සංගමය

සම්බන්ධීකරණය – 071 5152319

පිටපත් :  

1. ගරු මුදල් අමාත්‍ය මංගල සමරවීර මැතිතුමා
2. ගරු ප‍්‍රවාහන අමාත්‍ය නිමල් සිරිපාල මැතිතුමා
3. ගරු ප‍්‍රවාහන නියෝජ්‍ය ඇමති අසෝක අබේසිංහ මැතිතුමා
4. ශ‍්‍රී ලංගම ගරු සභාපතිතුමා රමාල් සිරිවර්ධන මැතිතුමා
5. ජා.වෘ.ස.ම. ගරු සභාපති ලාල්කාන්ත මැතිතුමා
6. ශ‍්‍රී ලංගම සියලූම වෘත්තීය සමිති
7. ශ‍්‍රී ලංගම ප‍්‍රධාන විධායක නිලධාරී – පී.වී. බාලසූරිය                          මැතිතුමා
8. ශ‍්‍රී ලංගම ප‍්‍රධාන මුදල් කළමනාකාර – සුමිත්                                    හෙට්ටිආරච්චි මැති

By Hemantha Warnakulasuriya Courtesy The Island

President of the Court of Appeal L.T.B. Dehideniya, on the 29th November 2017, issued a ‘Stay Order’ preventing the arrest of Gotabhaya Rajapaksa. In his order, the learned President of the Court of Appeal has stated “in this instance, the monument was constructed by the Corporation on a contract entered into with the Foundation, and the Foundation had no intention of defrauding.” He further says that, “in the present case there was no mental element for dishonesty or, misappropriation.”

I do not want to burden the reader with the treaties on criminal misappropriation and the Offences against Public Property Act. Suffice it to say that the Act at issue was brought to deal with the situation where the JVP and the LTTE wreaked havoc in the country, by burning buses, damaging power plants, etc. The government of the day found even the Emergency Regulations did not permit the suspects to be remanded for any length of time. Within three months, if no proper prosecution was instituted, the suspects had to be discharged. Therefore, the Emergency Regulation did not act as a deterrent to prevent misguided youth from thinking they could usher in a revolution of the proletariat. The lawmakers hurried through this legislation and called it the Offences Against Public Property Act.

No one then bothered about the draconian features of the law, but they just raised their hands and thumped their desks in approval. It was meant to be used against the Public Enemy Number One; the DJV and the LTTE. In drafting this legislation, the Law Makers forgot the basic principles of the Constitution of J. R. Jayewardene, which guarantees the personal liberty of the subject; that every person is presumed to be innocent until and unless proved guilty by a competent Court. One of the essential norms of the presumption of innocence also provides, according to the Constitution, the freedom of movement, freedom of expression and other basic rights.

But then, if legislation imposes a fetter on a person who is not even charged, but arrested merely on suspicion, and the law imposes a burden on the Magistrate to deprive the subject of being released on bail, it is indeed a serious matter.

No one in the Legal Profession or any Non Governmental Organization, mandated by their masters to protect the liberty of subject from such legislation, uttered a word. There were many reasons. Of all the suspects, alleged to have committed grave misdeeds , by burning buses and other terrorist related incidents, never had anyone representing them when facing their prosecutors in a Court of Law. Instead, they only had the pleasure of having their limbs tied and being garlanded with a burning tyre and being dumped on a street without even anybody recognizing who they were.

On the other hand, there were a few state officials who were brought to court for allegedly committing an offence as prescribed in the Offence Against the Public Property Act. They were remanded and very rarely were the accused given an opportunity to explain their innocence. But after being in remand a few months, they ultimately had to appeal to a Higher Court, and bail was granted. In most cases the reason adduced for granting of bail was nowhere comparable to the reasons given by Higher Courts, which played on the words, “exceptional circumstances”. At the same time there were exceptionally brilliant Magistrates who were clever enough to interpret the Law, when they found that suspects’ were being kept in remand and if the law was strictly interpreted, there was no hope for them to get bail, and neither did the accused have an opportunity of facing a trial in the immediate future; and they dared; without any contradiction, to release the suspects on bail. Once bail was granted, unless in a very rare and exceptional case; the Attorney General would never seek to revise such an order.

Although the Prevention of Terrorism Act was misused and abused by the then government nobody except the LTTE and its sympathisers raised a hue and cry. The present government is using the Offences Against Public Property Act to frighten the Opposition into submission. The Public Property Law is also used to back the governent.

It is unfortunate that the provisions of this Act are used by the law enforcement authorities to deal with matters which have nothing do with Section (2), (3),( 4) and (5) of the Act, at the behest of their poltiical masters.

If Gotabhaya Rajapaksa had not made an application to the Court of Appeal and secured an Interim Order, he would have been arrested and remanded till the conclusion of the case.

Irrespective of the utterly wild interpretation, the prosecuting authorities gave to a transaction, which is nothing more than a civil transaction, where the loss was based on a contractual obligation, to bring forth and waive the offences against the Public Property Act, that Gotabhaya has misappropriated Government funds; there is a limit to which a Prosecutor could extend his sardonic pleasure of remanding a person to satiate the mean pleasures of their political masters.

We should be grateful to our Courts for having issued the relative ‘Stay Order’, preventing such abuse of political authority to condemn a man without an iota of evidence of criminal misappropriation.

The following are facts which we should take cognisance of.

(1) No person charged with an offence against Public Property has been convicted whilst being in remand,

(2) the legislature in its wisdom, has made it mandatory that these cases be heard and concluded, and given priority over and above the other cases,

(3) When a person is suspected of having committed an offence under this Act, though he has to be remanded until the conclusion of the trial, the possibility of the trial being given priority is a matter that should concern every reasonable and prudent man,

(4) As the Act does not specify in which Court the action could be filed, the Legislature should have envisaged that the urgent nature of the matter needed urgent attention of the Prosecutors to file action even in the Magistrate’s Court, which gives ‘special powers’ to the Magistrate to hear and determine a case against a suspect.

(5) Today, with the subsequent Amendment to the Criminal Procedure Code, all matters are referred to the Attorney General for him to determine the sufficiency of evidence. It takes a number of years to file an indictment against the Accused.

(6) Therefore, the present stalemate and the delay of filing charges should be a matter that should be taken seriously and Courts’ should not act as an appendage to the Government in power by remanding political opponents with or without evidence.

Currently, the independence of the judiciary has been demonstrated by Justice Dehideniya, as the President of the Court of Appeal. Though there may be some critics of the procedure adopted and the manner in which the stay order was issued, the end justifies the means, and the stay order would enshrine and further bestow the independence of our judicial system.

By Yusuf Ariff Courtesy Adaderana

Presidential Commission of Inquiry appointed to investigate into Serious Acts of Fraud and Corruption handed over its final report to President Maithripala Sirisena, a short while ago.

It is an important step in our fight against corruption,” the President tweeted, while announcing the receiving of the report.

The report, consisting of 1135 pages, was handed over at the Presidential Secretariat by the chairman of the commission Preethi Padman Surasena while other members: High Court judge Vikum Kaluarachchi, Piyasena Ranasinghe, Gihan Kulathunga and retired Auditor General P.A. Premathilake, were also present.

The Presidential Commission of Inquiry to investigate and inquire into Serious Acts of Fraud, Corruption and Abuse of Power, State Resources and Privileges (PRECIfAC) had previously handed over reports of 17 investigations to the President.

The PRECIFAC, in addition to the reports of the 17 cases of serious fraud and corruption prepared after extensive investigations and analysis of evidence, will also hand over the recommendations on the measures to be taken in future to prevent such crimes.

It has been reported that report of suggestions including serious measures to be taken to prevent serious corruption is 1,200 pages long.

President Maithripala Sirisena by a gazette notification on 10th March 2015 established the PRECIFAC to investigate fraud and corruption as well as the misuse of power that took place during 10th January 2010 to 10th January 2015.

By Yusuf Ariff Courtesy adaderana

Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa says that although many are in need of his image for the upcoming Local Government election, only those contesting under the symbol of the ‘flower bud’ are its rightful owners.

Addressing the campaign launch of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) at the Sugathadasa Indoor Stadium in Colombo today (2), he said this in reference to various parties and groups utilizing his image for election campaigning.

The launching ceremony was attended SLPP Chairman Prof. G.L. Peiris, NFF leader Wimal Weerawansa, PHU leader Udaya Gammanpila, DLF leader Vasudeva Nanayakkara and other party leaders affiliated with the Joint Opposition.

UPFA MPs Kumara Welgama, Chamal Rajapaksa, Janaka Bandara Tennakoon, Dullas Alahapperuma, Pavithra Wanniarachchi, C.B. Ratnayake, Johnston Fernando, S.M. Chandrasena, Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena, Mahindananda Aluthgamage, Gamini Lokuge, Bandula Gunawardena, Dilum Amunugama and Namal Rajapaksa were among those present on the occasion.

Courtesy The Daily Mirror

While Sri Lankans have welcomed 2018 with much hopes, the Daily Mirror spoke to experts in various fields, including areas such as politics, economics, law, health, education and environment, to find out what realities lie ahead during the new year.   

Sri Lanka shouldn’t compromise on the value of its eco systems”
– Gunawardene 

Adding his comments with regard to the environmental sector, Environmental Lawyer Jagath Gunawardene said that whenever there is a problem pertaining to the environment, the issue has been addressed immediately. Also, he said that currently he is focusing on biodiversity related issues.

Commenting on what needs to be done for environmental conservation in Sri Lanka, he had the following to share with the Daily Mirror.

Meanwhile,, there are certain development schemes that have been proposed which would compromise on the integrity of certain ecosystems which needs to be prevented

When you make an assessment of the past year, one may observe certain successes as well as failures. We have succeeded in bringing regulations pertaining to the use of polythene, but have failed in terms of asbestos where the ban on it has been revoked. So we want a stronger country, which can withstand the pressures put by other countries who have their own vested interests. So that is one area I expect the country to be stronger. Also, it is important for the country to be aware of its own vulnerabilities, not only in the environmental sector, but in a much broader scale. However, since some vulnerabilities end up as environmental issues, we should know where our vulnerabilities lie and how to overcome them,” he said.

Secondly, Gunawardene added that as a country, Sri Lanka has been successful in getting certain areas declared as protected while opining that there are so many other areas that needs to be protected likewise. Meanwhile, there are certain development schemes that have been proposed which would compromise on the integrity of certain ecosystems which needs to be prevented. We should take remedial action when and where necessary and prevent such unwanted activities from taking place under the guise of development; that is destroying or compromising on the value of our eco systems. That’s one of the areas that we have been currently working on and this might continue into the future” he added.

When inquired about the laws that need to be reformed or renewed in the environmental sector, Gunawardene added that it was a long process. Currently the Environment Act is in the process of being revamped for the past several years and so is the Forest Conservation Ordinance and the Fauna and Flora Protection Ordinance. We need to wait and see how things would progress into the future. More than amending the laws, I believe that we need to have regulations. There is a need for two more new Acts which are pending for too long. These are; the proposed Act on Biosafety and proposed Act on controlling alien organisms. These are the things we expect to happen in the near future,” he said.

I hope treatment will be offered at a low cost or no cost” – Dr. Wijewickrema

Speaking to the , Consultant Physician of the Infectious Disease Hospital (IDH) Dr. Ananda Wijewickrema opined that he expects the health sector would further improve its standards in order to offer a good service to the public. Adding his New Year wish for 2018, he said that he expected the prevalence of diseases to be low this year. I hope that those in need of treatment would have the opportunity to receive it at a low cost or no cost. I also wish that the people will be healthy. At present there are many plans underway in the health sector. While some plans are already being implemented and are progressing, some are still in the listing. These plans will be useful for the betterment of the health sector. There are many development plans in the health sector in terms of the infrastructure, improving of facilities, staff training and etc,” Dr. Wijewickrema said.

There are many development plans in the health sector in terms of the infrastructure, improving of facilities, staff training and etc

When inquired about the progress of the dengue vaccine, he said that currently a group of consultants had been appointed to look into the matter. A group of experts has been appointed to make recommendations regarding the dengue vaccine on whether to use the vaccine in Sri Lanka. However, the committee decided to wait for more evidence to emerge; a decision that was taken about four months ago. And we are glad that we made that decision with new evidence surfacing recently,” he added. These evidences will be taken into account prior to arriving at a final conclusion,” he said.

Procedural and institutional reform needed to overcome backlog of cases”
–  Palitha Fernando, PC

One of the major issues confronting the judicial system of this country is the severe backlog of cases. This applies to both civil and criminal cases. A civil case takes a long time before it is taken up for hearing. If all those formalities are attended to by a roll court specially established for that purpose and the cases are taken up only when they are ready for hearing as in some other countries, the hearing of cases could be expedited to a very high degree. Experts in the area of Civil law should be consulted in cutting short the procedural aspects to ensure the expeditious disposal of cases.

There is no use pressurizing judicial officers to expedite disposal when they have a heavy load of cases. That would not serve the interests of justice. Deciding upon the rights of the people is not an easy task. You cannot rush through cases. Getting judicial officers to sit till 4.00 p.m and getting them to hear cases is counterproductive. It is humanly impossible to concentrate and hear complicated legal issues when you are exhausted. A judge needs to do research, consider the evidence he has heard and write the judgment with a lot of care. I do not think the judges of today work in such an environment. Increasing the number of judges is one of the most important steps that should be taken immediately.

Judges and officers of the Attorney General’s Department are very badly under paid. But increasing their salaries isn’t the solution. None of them have delayed work because they are underpaid. Even if their salaries are increased they will not be able to do better than what they are doing now as they are stretched to capacity and it is humanly impossible to do more.

If the judges are to concentrate upon the backlog of cases, then the new cases would get stagnated. As I have suggested even before, it would be appropriate to appoint retired judges on contract basis for a period of one year and set them a target to conclude a reasonable number of cases. I would even suggest to have a system where a judge sits from 9.30 a.m to 1.30 p.m with a break of 20 minutes as we did during those days and for a retired judge to sit from 2.00 p.m. to 5.00 p.m to conclude the backlog. We need to obtain the services of a different staff comprising workers like stenographers to sit with the retired judge. I know of judges who sat till 6.30 p.m. thinking that they were giving their best. But the poor court staff were extremely unhappy and worked under tremendous pressure. A person must be happy at work. It is only then that he would offer his maximum.

There is no use pressurizing judicial officers to expedite disposal when they have a heavy load of cases. That would not serve the interests of justice. Deciding upon the rights of the people is not an easy task

The situation in criminal cases is disastrous to say the least. People are punished for offences committed by them, over 15 years ago. By the present time some of them have rehabilitated themselves completely. The judicial system awakens after a deep slumber and destroys their lives and that of their families totally. Though we do not see this it is a great social problem today. Children are made to suffer due to no fault of theirs. They suddenly find their father missing at home. We need to conclude criminal cases as expeditiously as possible. I designed a scheme for the early disposal of cases related to child abuse. The scheme was funded by UNICEF. The Sri Lankan rep having read the report regarding my scheme said that if the scheme is successful it would be presented with a world award. However, to my utter disappointment it never got off ground.

I would recommend that we reduce the number of cases in each court house. After the 13th amendment to the Constitution of Sri Lanka we have two High Courts. The High Court of Sri Lanka and the High Court of the Provinces. Both functions are performed by the same court. This I think should stop as early as possible. A criminal trial court should hear only criminal trials. Bail applications calling matters and any other matter should go before a separate court.

Forthcoming LG Elections a milestone for the country” – Purasinghe

After the establishment of the present Government back in 2015, it is praiseworthy that democratic traditions are gradually being reset in the country. There is freedom to politically criticize any person or any party. We can have hopes that the forthcoming Local Government Elections will be held fairly and transparently, said Terrance Purasinghe Senior Lecturer  in Political Science at Sri Jayawardanapura University.

What makes all of us wonder about is the much confused and complicated political situation prevailing in the country. The main political forces the UNP and the SLFP that have joined hands in the unity Government are having contradictory agendas, views and opinions. When the UNP suggests abolishing the executive presidency, the SLFP wants it to remain. This kind of situation poses a question on the stability of this Government as there is no consensus between the two political parties.

At this rate, it can be predicted that the UNP will smoothly win and have the ability to consolidate power of a majority of the LG bodies. 

One of the the major obstacles the Government is confronting is uncontrollable and unhealthy party politics. When making nationally important decisions the Cabinet of ministers, comprising both UNP and SLFP members, act in a bias manner to suit the agendas of their own political parties. This is not healthy for the common good of the country. This clearly showcases the immaturity of the Sri Lankan political system. President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe have failed to maintain a single consensus among the cabinet of ministers.

However, the forthcoming Local Government Elections will be a milestone for the country. As a result of the split in the SLFP, undoubtedly the benefit goes to the UNP. The vote base of the UNP is certain and unshakable.

If someone says that the Central Bank Bond issue, where names of several UNP ministers were mentioned, would be an issue for the UNP to secure more votes, I don’t think so. People in rural areas are not really concerned about this bond issue. It is the urban middle class people who are concerned about the bond issue. What the people in rural areas care about is their welfare.

At this rate, it can be predicted that the UNP will smoothly win and have the ability to consolidate power of a majority of the LG bodies. If the UNP gains power in the majority of LG bodies, President Sirisena will be compelled to face a very decisive situation where he will have to decide with whom he should be politically united thereafter. I think Maithripala Sirisena’s political future will be a success only if he continues the accord with the UNP.

The practice of the Joint Opposition members in spreading racism and separatism among the people can’t be accepted. The unwavering efforts of the Joint Opposition will be futile because the SLFP Maithri fraction is much stronger than the JO members. If the split in the SLFP continues or worsens, the benefit at the next Presidential Elections goes to nobody else, but the Prime Minister and UNP Leader Ranil Wickeremesinghe.

Razor sharp thinking needed

In areas like education, nature and economy 

We need one clean, educated and honest Government” – Dr. Senanayake

In his comments, Chairman of Rainforest Rescue International and Systems ecologist Dr. Ranil Senanayake said he believes that the biggest perpetrators are those in the Government. As professionals they are a set of ill-educated and irresponsible politicians who should be responsible for this situation. Therefore they don’t understand the long term repercussions. One of the major issues was giving away lands from the elephant corridors,”said Dr. Senanayake.

The year 2017 was not good for elephants. With the inhumane killing of the Galgamuwa cross-tusker and the gradual deaths of several other elephants, the Subject Minister proposed the use of GPS collars to track elephants. While many wildlife experts disagreed with this move, a practical solution to the save remaining tuskers and elephants in the wild is yet to be proposed. Speaking with regards to using collars, Dr. Senanayake further said that collaring is not a practical solution.

Issues pertaining to wildlife should be taken as part of the national development plan

Issues pertaining to wildlife should be taken as part of the national development plan. We need to have one clean, educated and honest Government in moving forward. Until we have an intelligent bunch of politicians these issues will aggravate in time to come,”he said.

Education Reforms Introduced sans analysis of root cause” – Dr. Nirmal Ranjith Dewasiri

Asked about anticipated changes in the education sector in 2018, Former President of the Federation of University Teachers Association (FUTA), Dr. Nirmal Ranjith Dewasiri said while there were a number of measures undertaken by the Government to reform education, they are likely to result in futility.

The Government has introduced various reforms in education, but personally I don’t see these measures serving any purpose. For instance, they introduced the Langama Pasala, Hondama Pasala” (Nearest School is the Best School) concept. This concept has been introduced without analysis of the root cause. One has to admit that certain schools may receive some benefits through this project. But this is not a suitable solution to the overall concerns,” Dr. Dewasiri said.

Authorities are deliberating reducing the number of subjects offered at the O/L exam to six subjects

The Government introduced the programme in 2016, after identifying development of all schools as a priority need. This was also done with the objective of providing equal educational opportunities to all children. However according to Dr. Dewasiri, this is not the optimum solution to the issue of admitting students to popular schools in urban areas.    The issues arise as a result of the race to admit children to popular schools in urban areas. It is a problem born out of competition and this project will not address it. The pressure encountered in performing during the O/L and A/L examinations too weighs in on this problem. Therefore this is a far more complex matter that can’t be addressed with a simple policy. This solution will not have any impact on rivalry and competition among students,” he said.

The former president of FUTA opined that during a recent meeting held to discuss the education policy framework, this subject was extensively discussed. Many experts had opined that this effort will not solve persistent issues in education. Experts present at the meeting believed that the approach to solve the issues was itself erroneous, as they had not understood the subject.

Authorities are deliberating reducing the number of subjects offered at the O/L exam to six subjects. What they don’t understand is such a move will not decrease the pressure or the competition among students. The change of subjects too will have no impact. The system of examination needs to change,” he stressed.

The entire education system is full of issues. Unfortunately those in the offices of the World Bank have a hand in the formulation of these policies, as they seem to be more knowledgeable on these issues than local experts,” he added.
In December Premier Ranil Wickremesinghe instructed Vice-Chancellors of all Universities to upgrade the quality of higher education instead of prioritizing construction of university buildings. Responding to this statement Dr. Dewasiri said it was easy for politicians to make such statements.

What are the indicators to measure the quality of education?” he countered. The quality of education in universities is dependent on many other areas. The primary and secondary education must be of good quality. First of all issues in the secondary education system must be resolved, before we can attempt to better the quality of education in universities,” Dr. Dewasiri said.

Slowing down of growth a major challenge”
– Prof. Abeyratne

The Sri Lankan economy has faced various fluctuations during the previous year. While many industries are contributing to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), it’s crucial that Sri Lanka has a stable economy in moving forward,” said Professor of Economics at University of Colombo Sirimal Abeyratne.

Prof. Abeyratne added that when reviewing last year there was a slowing down of growth. This situation has been present for a few years. This slow down is mostly in the tradable sector including the export growth. This is a major challenge. Other macro problems such as interest, inflation and the exchange rate are accelerating growth. Particularly accelerating growth in the tradable sector should be the policy focus this year,”he underscored.

While many industries are contributing to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), it’s crucial that Sri Lanka has a stable economy in moving forward

When asked how each sector could contribute to the GDP, Prof. Abeyratne said that the Government can promote any sector. When the right environment is provided the investors will find the right sector,”he opined.

Courtesy The Daily Mirror

By Dr. Dayan Jayatilleka Courtesy The Daily Mirror

Whatever one may think it is, the real importance of the upcoming local authorities elections is that of a nationwide referendum on the model that Prime Minister Wickremesinghe is implementing and seeking to entrench. What is that model? Generically it is that of neo-liberal globalism, but what is it specifically and concretely? What we need to do is to envisage a model of Sri Lanka as it would be if the UNP won. 

BY Mirudhula Thambiah Courtesy Ceylon Today

Leader of People’s Liberation Organization of Eelam (PLOTE) Dharmalingam Sithadthan said that at this juncture, there is a belief that Rajapaksa may do well at the upcoming elections. If that happens, then the whole process of finding a political solution for the national question will be disturbed or even shelved. “Definitely no Sinhala leader will go against the will of the Sinhala people, in such a situation there will be no hope for the Tamils to go forward in the process of finding a political solution. We have seen such changes over the last 60 years. I think in the current context the government is reasonably unpopular,” he said.
Following are excerpts of the interview:

Two coalition parties, the TELO and EPRLF had disagreements within the TNA. The EPRLF recently left the coalition. Why did TNA face many internal problems a few months back?

A: This is mainly because of the attitude of ITAK who takes almost all the decisions. They do not really discuss or consult with the other constituents. This issue is faced by all three constituents, PLOTE, TELO and EPRLF. Recently even TELO threatened to walk out of TNA, purely on issues relating to the local government elections, especially regarding the allocations on the number of Pradeshiya Sabhas. Although they threatened, they did not leave the coalition.

EPRLF had complaints mainly relevant to the attitude of the ITAK with the other parties. They continued to complain that other parties were not consulted on any of the matters, but were just taking individual decisions. Whenever elections are over, any decisions relating to appointments to a bonus seat, national list or ministerial were decided alone by ITAK. They failed to get any of our views. Initially these issues were small matters, but later it accumulated into a bigger issue. Thus, Suresh walked out. However, if he contests as part of the TNA, in the current context, he will only manage to secure a few seats for his party. Yet if he contests alone, he can win that numbers of seats as EPRLF.

Currently I don’t understand why he aligned with TULF. He had joined with Anandasangaree and they have formed a new alliance. I’m unsure how far this will work. But as far as we are concerned, we are very firm that our party, PLOTE, will never breakaway from the TNA as far as the constitutional process are moving forward. We feel that we should not excuse from the government or southern political parties that TNA has split and thus a settlement cannot be reached.

We believe that we should travel with TNA until we find a solution to the national question.

So do you mean to say that PLOTE never had any disagreements within the coalition?

A: We do have. Not only with the Leader of TNA, even with the ITAK, we have many disagreements. We had issues on the allocations of the Pradeshiya Sabhas and the seats. However, we overcame all the issues and today we are contesting as TNA. We are not complaining about those issues. Our main aim is to win the local government elections with maybe 60 or 70 percent of the votes. We want the TNA to be strong and then we will continue to get recognition as the representative of the Tamil people.

Why do you have doubts about the newly formed TULF-EPRLF coalition? Some say it would be a turning point in Tamil politics. How do you assess it?

A: I don’t seriously believe it, because the TULF and EPRLF cannot travel together for a long period. Both parties are not strong enough to show to the Tamil people that they are the alternative to the TNA. Even though there are complaints against the TNA, or ITAK, people feel that there is no alternative as such. I don’t seriously believe this coalition or the All Ceylon Tamil Congress led by Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam is seen by the Tamil people as an alternative to TNA.
Unless there is a viable alternative among the Tamil people, they will continue to vote for TNA.

There were criticisms among EPRLF as well as TELO members that Leader Sampanthan and Sumanthiran are taking all the decisions in the coalition. Do you agree?

A: Certainly these complaints are still there, especially when there are appointments for bonus seats and even on constitutional matters. Leader Sampanthan at least explains the situations at the Parliamentary Group meeting, however members of other three parties like us feel that he only tells few of the developments and not the entire decisions or happenings.
Not only us, but all three parties were of the opinion that Sampanthan and Sumanthiran take decisions on many matters, this is true to a certain extent.

But our party is of the belief that if there are any secret deals with the government or with constitutional matters, it should be openly expressed. All decisions must be there at the final constitutional draft. Therefore the decisions shall be included in the final report of the constitutional reforms and our party will not stress much over this issue. We will somehow be aware of their decisions when the final report arrives.

Is it true that ITAK grabbed members of other constituent parties as their party cadres?

A: Yes, that is happening. A Parliamentarian and two Provincial Councillors have recently joined the ITAK. This situation arose because we contest under the ITAK symbol. ITAK deals with the elections commissioner apart from giving nominations and selecting people. Therefore prospective candidates, even current Parliamentarians think that if they want to ensure their candidature, it is better to join the ITAK. Within the TNA they choose to join the ITAK as they are of the view that the party will provide them candidature in upcoming elections. They get more chances if they are part of ITAK.

However, this situation had brought in disappointments within other parties. PLOTE has still not faced any such problem. EPRLF in particular, lost three of their members.

What repercussions do you think the new electoral reforms will have, at the upcoming local government polls?

A: The electoral reforms are a mixed system of ward and proportional representation of 60:40 and is problematic, especially to political parties contesting as an alliance. In our coalition, TELO and ITAK as well as us will aim for the same vote. There will be problems in allocating the votes. This was the main issue that created recent chaos within the TNA coalition.
The last two or three days, just before nominations, thousands of people gathered at the ITAK head office in Jaffna. Before that, hundreds of them came to our party office asking for candidature.

This election has currently got undue importance. Every political party in the country is trying to establish their dominance. We are working to show our political power. This may create many contradictions and sometimes violence too. Many people wanted to contest.

There were arguments among ITAK members before nominations.

While the electoral reforms introduced female representation which is mandatory, female candidates had to face many challenges in obtaining candidature. What was the situation in the North?

A: Unlike the South, northern women’s participation in politics is very minimal. We had to go after them to collect female candidates and get them to sign nominations. Females did not face such challenges and it was not a big problem for them, only that we faced a big challenge in finding female candidates.

They are bound to follow a conservative tradition even if they are educated. The number of Tamil female parliamentarians has been always less.

But a large number of women are engaged in social and village level women association activities, especially after the war. Still they are reluctant to enter politics.

There are various opinions that there will be a need for an alternative Tamil leadership if TNA does not perform at their best. Some suggest Northern Chief Minister Wigneswaran as an alternative leader. What are your thoughts?

A: I don’t think so. He is a newcomer to politics and therefore he may think the party will have to always follow whatever it said. I don’t seriously think the TNA or especially ITAK can accept something that cannot be agreed to by the Tamil community. Sampanthan had said this in and out of Parliament that he will not accept it.

Therefore currently, personal statements have become political statements.

Why did you recently say there is no hope for a solution to Tamils?

A: Due to the local government elections where President Sirisena and Prime Minister Wickremesinghe are contesting separately, while former President Mahinda Rajapaksa is also contesting independently. At this juncture, there is a belief that Rajapaksa may do well in the elections. If that happens, then the whole process will be disturbed or even shelved.

This is my analysis of the upcoming local government elections. Definitely no Sinhala leader will go against the will of the Sinhala people, in such situation, there will be no hope for the Tamils to go forward in the process of finding a political solution. We have seen such changes in the last 60 years. I think in the current context the government is reasonably unpopular. Unless they are very popular among the people, it is very difficult for a government to go for radical changes. It cannot happen.

But still we will go along with the government and try our best to see that the current process of working for a political solution will proceed well.

Email:che.myhero@gmail.com

By Prof. Rajiva Wijesinha Courtesy Ceylon Today

‘Surrounded by cronies and not listening to those who mattered’ is the explanation Nalaka Godahewa gave in an article in Ceylon Today on why Mahinda Rajapaksa lost. I found it most interesting, with added value from the fact that Godahewa was close to the former President, and indeed came to his rescue when both Indrani Sugathadasa and Tilak Karunaratne resigned as Chairs of the Securities Commission.

As it had been made clear that both thought there was excessive political interference, I had my worries at the time about Godahewa whom I did not know at all.

I have since made his acquaintance, and believe that he was a capable man who did not make money for himself. He had a more political orientation than his predecessors, which was also true of other technocrats who served Mahinda Rajapaksa. Two of these, P. B. Jayasundara and Nivard Cabraal, Godahewa cites as being amongst the eight influential people in the Rajapaksa administration.

But I would hold that those two, like Godahewa himself, were people who did matter in terms of the contributions they made. The desperate efforts of the current government to find dirt on both Godahewa and Cabraal, and their abject failure to succeed in that nefarious effort, even while trying to protect Cabraal’s appallingly corrupt successor, make it clear that Rajapaksa did very well to have such capable people working for him.

Comparing what is now happening to the Stock Exchange with what Godahewa achieved, is just like comparing the development of the economy under Rajapaksa compared to the current disastrous situation, make it clear that economic and financial policies were not the reasons for Rajapaksa losing.
In this regard I found Godahewa’s article disappointing, since it failed to distinguish between Rajapaksa ‘cronies’ who served him and the nation relatively well, and the destructive corrupt ones. Of the eight individuals Godahewa names, five featured in the series I wrote in 2014 called Mahinda Rajapaksa and the Seven Dwarfs, about those who contributed to his unpopularity and hence his defeat.
Given their positive contribution I did not include Jayasundara and Cabraal, and I should note that a recent discussion with the World Bank indicated how much they miss Jayasundara’s solid capabilities.

A mark of Ranil’s woeful incompetence we discussed (though I hasten to add the World Bank did not criticize Ranil, though they were obviously bemused by his appointments) was the fact that Jayasundara was replaced first by Mr Rafeek, an amiable but mediocre public servant who was Ranil’s Ministry Secretary – and then by a junior and not very articulate character who has been Acting Secretary for nearly six months to what is supposed to be the most important Ministry in the country.

Godahewa, in fact makes no comments about the activities of his eight chosen characters, except in the one case. This is Gotabaya Rajapaksa, and I agree with his positive assessment for, even though he featured amongst my dwarfs, I noted that he contributed much, and could not be accused of working for himself.

Again, this government’s ridiculous efforts to charge him, for trivialities, make clear his decency. And we cannot forget his invaluable contributions, both as Secretary of Defence during the war, and then as Secretary of Urban Development, with a beautification of Colombo that has had no parallel since independence days.
I was also positive about Lalith Weeratunga though he too featured as a dwarf, Doc the wise one. His main shortcoming was a failure to use the influence Godahewa identifies. When I remonstrated with him, he said he had no support in the inner circle, but I feel he still could have done more.

When I told him this and suggested that, if he was continuously ignored, he should have resigned, he said that would have upset Mahinda Rajapaksa no end.

I think that was true, because the President himself, though he had grown lazy and allowed destructive characters a free rein, had their measure and knew the difference between them and those such as Gotabaya and Lalith who were primarily devoted to him and the country rather than themselves.

ඩබ්ලිව්.කේ. ප්‍රසාද් මංජු උපුටාගැණීම  මව්බිම

මූල්‍ය අපරාධ විමර්ශන කොට්ඨාසයේ (ජ්ඛ්ධ්ච්) විශාල වංචාවක් සිදුවී තිබෙන බවත් තමා නියෝජනය කරනු ලබන ආණ්ඩුවක් බලයට පත්වූ සැණින් මේ ගැන පුළුල් විමර්ශනයක් අනිවාර්යයෙන්ම ආරම්භ කරන බවත් ඒකාබද්ධ විපක්‍ෂයේ හම්බන්තොට දිස්ත්‍රික් පාර්ලිමේන්තු මන්ත්‍රි නාමල් රාජපක්‍ෂ මහතා ‘මව්බිම’ පුවත්පතට ප්‍රකාශ කෙළේය.

මූල්‍ය අපරාධ විමර්ශන කොට්ඨාසයේ නිලධාරීන් පිරිසක් විවිධ විමර්ශන සිදුකරන බව පවසමින් විදෙස් ගතවී ඇති බවත් එම ගමන්වලදී රජයේ මුදල් අවභාවිත වී තිබෙන බව නාමල් රාජපක්‍ෂ මහතා පෙන්වා දෙයි.

මූල්‍ය අපරාධ විමර්ශන කොට්ඨාසයේ නිලධාරීන් විදෙස් රටවල විමර්ශන කටයුතු සඳහා බව පවසමින් විදෙස් ගතවූ අවස්ථා ගැන පාර්ලිමේන්තුවේදී විෂය භාර අමාත්‍ය සාගල රත්නායක මහතාගෙන් තමා විමසා සිටි බවත් ඊට පිළිතුරු ලබාදිය නොහැකි බව අමාත්‍යවරයා පාර්ලිමේන්තුවට දැනුම් දී තිබෙන බවත් නාමල් රාජපක්‍ෂ මන්ත්‍රිවරයා පෙන්වා දෙයි.
මහ ලොකුවට තොරතුරු දැනගැනීමේ අයිතිය ගැන කතා කරන වත්මන් ආණ්ඩුව මෙවැනි ආයතන ගැන තොරතුරු සඟවන්නේ මූල්‍ය අපරාධ විමර්ශන කොට්ඨාසය දේශපාලන පළිගැනීම් සිදුකරන නිසා නොවේදැයි තමන් ආණ්ඩුවෙන් විමසන බවද නාමල් රාජපක්‍ෂ මහතා ප්‍රකාශ කළේය.

By Chris Kitching Courtesy Mirror (UK)

The 37-year-old man was due to leave the country on New Year’s Day but had extended his visa for three more weeks

Courtesy MAIL ON LINE

China will invest $1 billion in the construction of three 60-storey buildings at a mega-project near Sri Lanka’s main port, Colombo said Tuesday, as Beijing aims to boost its influence in the Indian Ocean.

The deal follows an earlier Chinese investment of $1.4 billion to carry out reclamation work for the wider Colombo International Financial City development, strategically located next to Sri Lanka’s harbour, the only deep sea container port in the region.

The countries hope the project, initiated by former Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapakse, will create a financial centre in the Indian Ocean comparable with those in Singapore and Europe, drawing billions in foreign investment and thousands of jobs.

Sri Lankan officials said 60 percent of the 269 hectare (672 acre) reclamation, due to finish next year complete with yacht marina, had already been completed.

No completion date was given for the buildings, the first for the development.

“China Harbour (company) will put in $1 billion to build three buildings,” Sri Lanka’s Urban Development Minister Champika Ranawaka told reporters in the capital.

“These three 60-storey buildings will be able to attract more foreign companies into Sri Lanka.”

The controversial project was formally launched after a visit to Colombo by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2014 but work was suspended by the new administration, which came to power in January the following year.

It resumed after the state-owned Ch

COLOMBO, Jan 2 (Reuters) – Sri Lanka’s central bank said on Tuesday it had taken action against two distressed financial companies to safeguard the overall financial system.

It appointed a panel to manage Swarnamahal Financial Services PLC and its parent company ETI Finance Ltd, while curbing withdrawals of maturing deposits for six months, citing a need to ensure the soundness of the financial system.

We needed to arrest the situation and take charge and now we will work through to get a good business plan together,” Central Bank Governor Indrajit Coomaraswamy told reporters.

The panel was appointed as a temporary measure to safeguard the interests of the depositors and other creditors of the two firms, and the central bank said in a statement it was searching for an investor to bail them out.

Coomaraswamy said the two distressed firms should not have any impact” on the whole financial sector as they account only for 0.3 percent of the total of 11.2 trillion rupees ($73 billion) in assets in banks and other financial institutions.

A total of five non-banking financial institutions are in distress in Sri Lanka, the central bank governor said.

We all know about the contagion. That is why we have moved right now and we have taken decisive action to contain the situation, and the central bank will stand behind the institutions and mobilise expertise,” he said. ($1 = 153.4000 Sri Lankan rupees) (Reporting by Ranga Sirilal; Writing by Shihar Aneez; editing by Mark Heinrich)

Ven. Bhante Y. Wimala

Each year all around the world people come together and experience the first moments of the first day of the New Year with enthusiastic and joyful celebrations.

As the fireworks light the night skies, music and singing echo the whole planet. Dancing, hugs and kisses connect people to one another as the book of life turns another blank page for you to fill in the year 2018.

No matter who you are and where you live, each morning you are going to wake up to be part of the fast moving unpredictable world that is full of actions and conflicts.  Just like in 2017, this new year 2018 will reveal to you the mystery of life just one day at a time for 365 days. Your ability to make mindful decisions, bring positive enthusiasm and make clear realistic choices will shape the quality of your experience in each moment of each day.

1. Make mindful decisions. There is so much unrealized potential within your own mind and heart. You can access that potential by cultivating self awareness. When you self-reflect and pay attention to your thoughts, feelings and emotions, you are able to honestly reflect on your strengths and weaknesses. Self-reflection helps you to guide your thoughts and intentions. You will also easily tap into your own inner strength and inner resources. Perfect your skill to be mindful of negative emotions that trap you and weaken you. Release your emotions in a timely manner before you get stuck in them.
2. Bring positive enthusiasm to each day. Positive enthusiasm will give you all the courage and confidence you need to face the challenges and overcome difficulties. Do not let your mind be occupied with what is missing in your life or what is bad. Be enthusiastic and believe in attracting what is good. Imagine abundance in your life. Your positive enthusiasm will be like a magnet to attract beautiful, peaceful, fulfilling experiences.
3. Make realistic choices. Your pain and suffering are not caused by problems or challenges. They are caused by the inner conflict between reality and your fantasy and the resulting turmoil in your mind. When the unwanted or unexpected happen in life do not try to fight reality with misery, bitterness or anger. Choosing to accept reality is a wise choice and will help you to live in peace in the midst of challenges.

May your mindful decisions, positive enthusiasm, and realistic choices bring many happy and meaningful moments to yourself and to those who cross the path of your life in 2018.

Happy New Year My Dear Friends. May you be well, happy and peaceful.

Ven. Bhante Y. Wimala

 Upali Cooray

The media’s the most powerful entity on earth. They have the power to make the innocent guilty and to make the guilty innocent, and that’s power. Because they control the minds of the masses. Malcolm X.

The political talk shows and news casts in Sri Lanka media has relative independence in addressing the public unlike during the previous regime. Those so called journalists” were not to be seen during that time, only the bold and the brave carried on regardless. Some of them had to pay with life for being critical of the corrupt. Lasantha Wickramatunga, Prdeep Eknaligoda were two such persons. Keeth Noeyer, Farrahz Shaukatally escaped death.

 Farraz Shaukatally was shot by three unidentified gunmen in his own bedroom. Shaukatally, who was an investigative journalist for the privately owned Sunday Leader (whose editor was murdered in 2009), has been known for his exposés on corruption in the country.

While Shaukatally was recovering at the National Hospital in Colombo a rally, held by Buddhist extremists, was taking place in the outer suburbs of the city. The BBC crew that was on hand to report the incident was harassed and placed under citizen arrest” by a mob before being handed over to the police. The Police continued to detain the crew on site until their superior officer arrived and ordered their release.

While both issues are on opposite spectrums of the crackdown in media freedom, these were certainly just a few signs of the anxiety faced by journalists in the country during MR regime.

Sri Lanka is no stranger to a poor record in media freedom.

 Attacks on journalists were not the only issues facing the media in Sri Lanka, an encroachment on the independence of media outlets continued. In October of 2012, the Sunday Leader, one of the more outspoken newspapers in the country, was purchased by a close friend of the ruling family. The following weeks saw the departure of the editor-in-chief and several columnists over allegations of censorship 

While the Sunday Leader was purchased, other newspapers that have chosen to remain independent did so by avoiding certain pressing issues. This is a simple case of keeping their head below the surface and drifting with the tide.

Despite the issues facing journalists many of them refused to bow down. In the north of the country; Tamil newspapers continued to report the issues facing the populace often at great risk to them.

Earlier the distributors of the Uthayan, a leading Tamil newspaper in the country, were attacked by an unidentified group when attempting to deliver the papers.

This was not the first time this paper had come under attack; back in July 2011 the paper’s news editor (Gnanasundaram Kuhanathan) was brutally assaulted by two men armed with iron rods.

What was becoming even more disturbing for the industry was the repeated rebuffing by authorities in bringing to justice those responsible. Investigations in to the 2009 murder of former Sunday Leader editor, Lasantha Wickrematunge, appear to have come to a grinding halt. In 2012 one of the leading suspects in the case died while in police custody, despite a coroner’s report being produced there appears to have been no follow up to his death. Since then no new suspects have been found.

Similarly the other attacks on journalists have gone unimpeded with no arrests and imprisonments being made. Not only was this a comment on the reluctance of the authorities to put a stop to these attacks, but also an indirect green light to the groups to continue their assaults. Each attack that went scot-free was a message that they can continue.

According to the Center for protection of Journalists; there are currently 23 journalists from Sri Lanka in exile, 19 have been murdered since 1992 and one is missing. The figures do not make for good reading, and certainly smears a dreary picture of the situation on the ground.

Despite the increasing demands from the United Nations Human Rights Commissioner regarding the increasing attacks changed little. With the U.S. resolution against Sri Lanka presented at the UNHRC meeting in Geneva, questions over the country’s membership to the Commonwealth arose.

The situation since 2015 brought a mass of so called Journalists. One particular feature is, they called themselves experts in Journalism. A media man who is often called to give his political views is addressed as Praveena Deshapalana Vicharaka (Expert political analyst ) This particular person who has no media education at all has only the O’levels but belongs to a political family more known for corruption than a very popular game played in Sri Lanka. He was not to be seen during Mahinda Rajapaksa days. The media channel for which he works have young, professionals qualified with Masters Degrees in media, are no match for him. Probably they are not aware he was collecting commissions from suppliers when his father was a minister in charge of well-known state trading organization.

It is the web Journals such as Lankaweb and few other Jornals which were able to face the onslaughts and even threats to their lives.

The purpose of this piece is to expose Praveena Deshapalana Vicharakayas” who only sings for their supper.

Upali Cooray

egalawan288@gmail.com

By : A.A.M.NIZAM – MATARA

After denying the people the right to vote and the opportunity to elect their own representatives to local government institutions to attend to and solve their area related problems for almost three years due to election phobia of the Robber Gang Trio (THE Hora Tun Kattuwa) in the government (the SLFP/UNP and JVP) and their perennial fear to go before the voters there has been no grass root level development in the country for the last three years and any mechanism to control the cost of living, health problems and administrative problems.  At last, the government (the Robber Gang Trio) has now been forced to hold local government elections next month.

Under these circumstances let all the peace loving, national minded and patriotic people to make a New Year resolution to use this opportunity to express our firm opposition and rejection in unison of this despotic government, and by overwhelmingly winning the local government institutions in all areas to firmly scuttle the move to introduce a federal and secular constitution and use our vote as a vote in a referendum against the government, and let it open the doors to liberate this country from the grip of the dictatorial robber gang of SLFP, UNP and JVP.

First let us examine why should we chase out this Robber Gang Trio (Hora Thun Kattuwa) the SLFP/UNP and JVP? Prior to the 2015 Presidential election they promised us together with the NGO vultures that the sun will rise on January 9^th in a new country where there will be no bribry and corruption, everything will be available in plenty, there will be no unemployment and the people will enjoy life with much enthusiasm and without any form of worry and shortages.  We wonder what happened to that sun that was to rise on January 9^th 2015.  Nay, it indeed rose not for you and me but for the Robber Gang Trio and their cohorts.  They got the nerve to rob the banks committing Sri Lanka’s worst bank robbery, rob the funds of the poor working masses they kept saved in the EPF/ETF for their sustenance in their retired life, farmers were denied the fertilizer subsidy they enjoyed, while the Ministers and MPs were given facilities and inducements they have never even dreamt for.

All ongoing projects that had been launched by the previous government with the objective of making Sri Lana the Wonder Nation of Asia were stalled haphazardly making several thousands of people unemployed while the cost of living spiralled to its zenith. The inept government was not at all worried about the steep rise in the cost of living because it did not affect the kith and kin of the Robber Gang Trio (Hora Thun Kattuwa) but affected only the poor daily wage earners, and fixed income earners. In the government’s apathy to help the poor in the village and urban areas lack of local government representatives also affected the poor people even with inability to find some self employment opportunities at least.

Despite all these hardships, Sirisena and Ranil kept on lecturing this hungry and desperate population holding functions with huge fanfare at massive costs that they have taken measures to ensure fair prices for essential commodities. The former General Manager of Sathosa Mr. Upali Cooray has written to Lankaweb website saying that he cannot recall any period of time when the cost of living issues, specifically the exercise of thwarting the escalation of prices of essential commodities has been handled so badly due to lack of timely, sensible decision making resulting in a frenzied mess up.

Mr. Cooray cites corruption, amateurism, confusion, and frenzy as causes for this pathetic situation.  Referring to unrealistic prices in many essential food stuffs during the festive season Mr. Cooray says that it was a situation which occurred due to downright manipulation, lack of vision and ignorance. He also accuses that the Trade minister Mr. Rishad Badiuddin appears to have personal interests before national interests and alleges that he is adopting unplanned and ad hoc measures for imports of rice and coconut which causes steep price increases and waste.

Those working in the Banks say that withdrawals from deposit accounts and pawning of jewelry is on an unprecedented increase and they attribute people’s inability to manage with their incomes for this increase.  Ranil Wickremasinghe with wholehearted approval of power of Sirisena and the blessings of JVP hooligans keep on selling our valuable national assets as they are his family legacy depriving future generations their right to these assets and boasting these sales as major achievements.  However, no one knows what happens to the funds obtained as proceeds of these sales similar to much publicised narcotic and drug detentions.

I have a neighbour who had been wealthy and has owned many properties in the past and has now become a pauper because of indulging in gambling.  This is the same fate that this Robber Gang Trio (the Hora Thun Kattuwa) is going to make our future generations inherit in this country. If these rogues continue to hold power in this country the future generations will undoubtedly become paupers and slaves of Chinese, Indians, Japanese, and Americans in their own country.  It will not be their own country but a country of their birth only.

The JVP in the Hora Thun Kattuwa is the richest political party in Sri Lanka. The whole present leadership of this party of hooligans are those who were born in the 1968/1970 period (Anura Kumara 1968, Viitha Herath 1968 and Handunnwtti in 1970) and were in their prime youth in the horrendous 1988/1989 period and without any doubt they would have played prominent roles in the arson, destruction of electricity grids and government buildings, assassination activities, torching of trains, buses, agrarian services centrs, and paddy marketing board warehouses etc carried out by them (all nerve centres of villages) during that period although they act now like saints who have not even harmed a fly.  That is the main reason they so far have not denounced the atrocities carried out by the party hooligans at that time and annually commemorate (celebrate) these events in the name of Il Maha Viru Day similar to LTTE terrorists commemorating the Maaveer Day in November.  Now these sheep clothed former terrorists request the villages which they destroyed to be handed over to them for proper development and the 700,000 new voters should not get misled by the appeal of these hooligans as they were not even born at the time when they destroyed this country and their parents various hardships and had to spend many nights even unable to light a bottle lamp..

The forthcoming local government election is avery much crucial election in this country that could determine whether the country should continue to be ruled by the Hora Thun Kattuwa, should become subdued to the separatist terrorist elements, should become a federal secular state, should disown our national assets by selling them to foreigners, should handover our war heroes as being demanded by international elements and should continue to live in misery and economic hardships.

I do not think that any sane Sri Lankan will willingly discard their inherited national pride to become subjugated to these vicious forces.  Therefore it is the prime duty and responsibility not only to vote against the parties of the Hora Tun Kattuwa but also to muster the whole villages and urban settlements to march forward as a single body and vote for the anti government forces (the forces opposing the Hora Thun Kattuwa) represented by the flower bud symbol of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna led by the former President Mr. Mahinda Rajapaksa. (end)     .

Editorial Courtesy The Island

January 1, 2018, 9:07 pm
The yahapalana government would have us believe that the recent US decision to let its GSP for 128 countries including Sri Lanka, lapse, hasn’t hurt it, at all. A minister has even claimed that the US action can be considered a blessing in disguise; he argues that Sri Lanka, which is entitled to the European Union (EU) GSP Plus, unlike many other countries hit by the loss of US preferential duty scheme, is at an advantage in international trade! He sounds just like a person who, having lost one leg, derives some perverse pleasure from being less physically handicapped than a fellow human with no legs!

The government insists that the lapse of US GSP concession is not consequent to the recent UNGA vote against President Donald Trump’s decision to shift the US embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv. Sri Lanka voted against the US. It argues that even some of the countries which voted with the US have lost the GSP as the Congress did not extend that scheme before the end of last month. It is hoped that the Congress will extend the GSP retroactively as it is said to have done on some previous occasions, but there is no guarantee that it will do so this time around. However, the fact remains that the yahapalana government has riled Uncle Sam beyond measure in New York and President Trump’s warning that the UNGA vote could impact “billions of dollars” in US aid cannot be taken lightly.

Sri Lanka’s foreign policy or what passes for it, in our book, defies known nomenclature. Time was when it had some frills of non-alignment. Following the 1977 regime change it became blatantly pro-western/American much to the consternation of the other global power bloc; a hostile India, which was pro-Soviet to the core at that time promoted separatism here and rammed the so-called Indo-Lanka Peace Accord down President J. R. Jayewardene’s throat. The Rajapaksa government, in its wisdom, took the country’s foreign policy to the other extreme, antagonising the US, other western powers and even India. As a result, it became a marked target in Geneva, where it was accused of war crimes. It also lost the EU GSP Plus. President Mahinda Rajapaksa didn’t know what hit him in 2015, when he failed to secure a third term. What one gathers from his utterance is that he only knows he got a RAW deal from India.

The present government came to power, promising to make a radical course correction in the country’s foreign affairs and be the darling of the world. Instead of handling foreign relations tactfully as a small nation always should, it plunged feet first into antagonising Sri Lanka’s traditional allies. It cooed and gurgled like a baby before western powers but barked menacingly at other nations. It suffered a Shaolin-style flying kick slap-bang in the face from China for trying to scuttle the Chinese-funded projects here. Having been tamed to the extent of leasing out a strategically important harbour and thousands of acres of land besides allowing the Port City Project to come up unhindered, the yahapalana regime is now extolling the benefits of China’s Belt and Road initiative!

The present government suffered a painful punch at the hands of the Russians in the form of a ban on Sri Lanka’s tea. It first blamed a beetle which had been reportedly found in a tea consignment. Then it claimed the Russian action could be due to its asbestos ban, which it lifted posthaste. Russia, having reciprocated now claims the asbestos ban had nothing to do with its restrictions on Sri Lankan tea supplies! Has the yahapalana government barked up the wrong tree? Its political enemies insist that Russia has also sought to tame Colombo. The Sirisena-Wickremesinghe administration was still reeling from the Russian punch which came in the form of a ban on tea when it suffered what is widely thought to be a knock from the US (the suspension of GSP).

The previous government blundered by putting all its eggs in the Chinese basket as it were. Having tried to take on China with disastrous consequences, the present dispensation is now trying to curry favour with both China and the West at the same time but without much success. Having sought to run with the hare and hunt with the hounds very amateurishly for three years it is now so confused that it doesn’t know whether it is running or hunting. Worse, some of the mastiffs have turned on it!

Most of Sri Lanka’s international problems boil down to one thing, which is failure on the part of successive governments to perform the diplomatic high-wire act adroitly. So long as politicians in power don’t care to get their foreign policy right they will continue to suffer knocks, punches and kicks. And, the country will be the loser.

එළිය Eliya

https://www.facebook.com/eliyaofficialpage/videos/134615853897317/

By Sanchith Karunaratna Courtesy Adaderana

Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa stated that the upcoming Local Government election will be akin to a referendum where the people will express their public opinion.

He further stated that all voters should utilize their power to vote against a failing regime that has sold almost all government owned land.

Mahinda Rajapaksa expressed these sentiments at his residence yesterday.

උපුටාගැණීම  මව්බිම

මහ බැංකු බැඳුම්කර විමර්ශනය සඳහා වූ ජනාධිපති පරීක්ෂණ කොමිසමේ වාර්තාව ඉකුත් 30 වැනිදා ජනාධිපතිවරයාට භාර දෙන ලදී. අදාළ වාර්තාව ඉදිරි කටයුතු සඳහා නීතිපති දෙපාර්තමේන්තුවට යොමු කරන බව ජනපති නිල වශයෙන් ප්‍රකාශ කර තිබිණි. මේ අතර පාර්ලිමේන්තුවේ විපක්ෂයේ සංවිධායක ජ.වි.පෙ. නායක අනුර කුමාර දිසානායක යථෝක්ත වාර්තාව ජනතාවට හෙළි කරන මෙන් ප්‍රසිද්ධ ඉල්ලීමක් කර තිබේ. ඔහු පෙන්වා දෙන්නේ බරපතළ මූල්‍ය අපරාධ විමර්ශනය කෙරෙන ජනාධිපති කොමිසම හරහා මේ වනවිට වාර්තා 17ක් ඉදිරිපත් කොට ඇති නමුත් ඒවා සම්බන්ධව කිසිදු නීතිමය ක්‍රියාමාර්ගයක් ගෙන නැතුවාක් මෙන්ම එකී වාර්තා මහජනතාවට ඉදිරිපත් කිරීමටද කටයුතු කර නැති බවය.

ඒකාබද්ධ විපක්ෂය ආණ්ඩුවට අවධාරණය කරන්නේ මහ බැංකු බැඳුම්කර නිකුතුව සම්බන්ධ ජනාධිපති විමර්ශන කොමිසමේ වාර්තාව පාර්ලිමේන්තුවේ සභාගත කළ යුතු බවය. මහ බැංකු බැඳුම්කර නිකුතුවේ සිදුකළ මූල්‍ය වංචාව මෙරට ඉතිහාසයේ විශාලතම මූල්‍ය වංචාව බව අවිවාදිතය. එකී වංචාව වසර 30ක කාලයක් රටේ මූල්‍ය තත්ත්වයට හානි පමුණුවන අතර වාර්ෂික අලාභය රු. කෝටි 1,500 කැයි හෙළිවී ඇත. යට කී මූල්‍ය අවභාවිතාවට දායක වූවන් විසින් වංචා කර තිබෙන්නේ රාජ්‍ය බැංකුවල හා සේවක අර්ථසාධක අරමුදලේ තිබූ මහජනතාවට අයත් මුදල්ය.

එබැවින් සිදුවූයේ කුමක්ද යන්න දැන ගැනීමට ජනතාවට ශුද්ධ වූ අයිතියක් තිබේ. 2017 ජනවාරි 21 දින සිට 2017 දෙසැම්බර් 30 දක්වා වර්ෂයක කාලයක් තුළ කොමසාරිස්වරු පස් කට්ටුවක් විසින් කරන ලද විමර්ශනය දෙස මුළු ලොවම දැඩි අවධානයක සිටියේය. කොමිසමේ නිගමනය සම්බන්ධවද පවතින්නේ ජාත්‍යන්තර මට්ටමේ උනන්දුවකි. එබැවින් සියල්ල අවසන් අවස්ථාව දක්වාම
විනිවිද භාවයෙන් යුතුව සිදුවිය යුතුය. පසුගිය වර්ෂයක කාලයක් ජනාධිපති පරීක්ෂණ කොමිසමේ සියලු විමර්ශන වාර්තා මාධ්‍යයට ලබාදී කොමිසමේ අවසන් නිගමන මාධ්‍යයට හෙළි නොකිරීම තේරුම් ගත නොහැකි අපභ්‍රංශයකි.

ලංකාවේ ආණ්ඩු කොමිෂන් දමන්නේ ආන්දෝලනාත්මක සහ අභියෝගාත්මක අවස්ථාවන්ගෙන් පැන යෑමේ තක්කඩි උපක්‍රමයක් වශයෙන් බව සමාජයේ තහවුරු වූ මතය වේ. එය ගලක් තබා මඩ වළකින් එගොඩ වීමට සමානය. චන්ද්‍රිකා බණ්ඩාරනායක ජනාධිපතිනිය පත්කළ බටලන්ද කොමිසම, ජෙනරාල් කොබ්බෑකඩුව ඝාතන විමර්ශන කොමිසම, ලලිත් ඇතුළත්මුදලි ඝාතන විමර්ශන කොමිසම, විජය කුමාරතුංග ඝාතන කොමිසම ආදී කිසිදු කොමිසමකින් වැරැදිකරුවෙක් වී දඬුවම් ලැබූ කිසිවකු නැත.
ලංකා ඉතිහාසයේ කොමිෂන් සභාවකින් වරදකරුවන් කර පුද්ගලයන්ට දඬුවම් දෙනු ලැබූ ප්‍රථම අවස්ථාව වූයේ 1972දී සිරිමා බණ්ඩාරනායක අගමැතිනිය පත්කළ අපරාධ යුක්ති විනිශ්චය කොමිෂන් සභාවය. එමඟින් රෝහණ විජේවීර ඇතුළු ජවිපෙ නායකයන්ට දඬුවම් පමුණුවනු ලැබීය. ජනාධිපති ජේ. ආර්. ජයවර්ධනද ජනාධිපති කොමිසමක් පවත්වා සිරිමා බණ්ඩාරනායක, ෆීලික්ස් ඩයස් බණ්ඩාරනායක සහ
ඒ.එච්.එම්. ෆවුසි යන තිදෙනාගේ ප්‍රජා අයිතියද අහෝසි කළේය.

ජනාධිපතිවරයා මහ බැංකු බැඳුම්කර නිකුතුව පිළිබඳ පරීක්ෂණ කොමිසමේ වාර්තාව සම්බන්ධව ගනු ලබන තීන්දුව මත රටේ අනාගතය මෙන්ම ජනාධිපතිවරයාගේ දේශපාලන අනාගතයද තීරණය වනු ඇත. බරපතළ මූල්‍ය අපරාධ විමර්ශනය පිණිස පත්කළ ජනාධිපති කොමිසම ජනාධිපතිට භාරදුන් වාර්තා 17ක් අට්ටි පිට අට්ටි ගසා පුස්කමින් තිබේ. එකී ඉරණම බැඳුම්කර වංචා විමර්ශනයට අත්වීමට ඉඩ දිය යුතු නැත.

KAMALIKA PIERIS

The Commission examined the many allegations made against the Sri Lanka army (SLA) during its final Eelam campaign. Some of these allegations have been of executions and deliberate or indiscriminate shellfire, acts which are totally inconsistent with what is expected of a responsible army discharging its duties in accordance with the laws and customs of war. The implication is that this was due to either a deliberate policy to target civilians or recklessness in artillery firing.  The Commission has not shied away from examining those allegations and accepts that they must be dealt with seriously.

The Commission particularly looked at the adherence to or neglect of the principles of distinction, military necessity and proportionality under the laws of armed conflict and international humanitarian law, by the Sri Lankan armed forces. The Commission obtained a military report on the subject from Major General John Holmes, a former British Army officer with extensive international experience, including hostage operations.8

The issue for this Commission,  the Commission  said,  is whether the evidence available gives reasonable grounds to believe that there was a government policy of indiscriminate or deliberate shelling in violation of the IHL principles of distinction and proportionality and the special protections afforded to civilians and hospitals; and/or that any serious violations of the relevant principles of IHL were committed by members of the SLA that may amount to war crimes and/or crimes against humanity.

The Commission said that individual criminal responsibility for specific shelling incidents can only properly be examined through an independent judicial inquiry, which this Commission has undertaken to do, by appointing a retired High Court Judge to head an investigative team.

The Commission is of the view that there was no military advantage to the SLA in targeting civilians. Indeed, there are reported instances of SLA soldiers rescuing civilians. The fact that 290,000 Tamil civilians survived to be rescued by the SLA shows that there was no deliberate targeting of civilians. The army high command has not encouraged indiscriminate shelling, said Holmes .

The Commission observed   that in the years preceding the final stages of the war, the army was praised for the manner in which its forces discharged their duties.  A confidential diplomatic cable dated 27 January 2009 from the US Embassy in Colombo to Washington,  said  ‘the Government has gained considerable credit until this point for conducting a disciplined military campaign over the past two years that minimized civilian casualties.

Maxwell Paranagama had seen the documents  provided to the LLRC by the army. They indicated that Sri Lanka army had operated under Rules of Engagement (ROE). He had not however, seen any ROE that  went beyond the first week of February 2009 which meant that there appeared to be no ROE guiding the final stages of the conflict.  Holmes however thought Issuing ROE for the final four months of the war would have been impractical. Instructions would  have come down the command chain.

The Commission observed that not all civilian deaths in war are unlawful and a violation of IHL does not occur every time a civilian dies or even when casualties reach a record high. Civilian casualties may constitute lawful collateral damage as long as the core IHL principles of distinction and proportionality are met. Commanders need to make an honest assessment on a case-by-case basis during military operations, whether civilians can be attacked as legitimate military targets.

Mistakes that resulted in unnecessary civilian deaths were most definitely made by the SLA, but all armies in all conflicts make such mistakes. The law does not require perfect accuracy in targeting. The law recognizes the fluidity of the operational environment, including the location and movement of enemy personnel and civilians, the weaponry involved the conduct and tactics of the fighting parties, and any deliberate exposure of civilians to harm. These are all factors that needed to be taken into account in the evaluation as to whether collateral damage was excessive in comparison to the anticipated military advantage.

The main allegation against the SLA is that of indiscriminate shelling into protected areas such as No Fire Zones and hospitals. Satellite imagery shows that shelling took place in the conflict areas and there is little doubt that it led to a significant number of civilian deaths. The Commission dismissed as nonsense the government claim of ‘zero civilian casualties.’ Without a doubt, there were casualties, said the Commission. Indeed on 3 August 2011, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, then Secretary of State for defense, admitted that civilian deaths could not be avoided.

The Commission considered carefully the law and the problem of evidence in shelling cases. The Commission obtained the assistance of William Fenrick, a military lawyer, who worked as a senior legal advisor for The Office of the Prosecutor at the International criminal tribunal for Yugoslavia (ICTY).

At the request of the Paranagama Commission  Advisory Council, Fenrick provided a checklist   he had prepared to assist colleagues at the ICTY in identifying incidents of unlawful shelling for the purpose of prosecutions. .  With this checklist before it, this Commission finds that surmise or guess work is no substitute for hard evidence as to where shelling was coming from and whose shells were causing unlawful damage.

Fenrick’s invaluable checklist” was listed fully in the Paranagama Commission Report. Here is the Fenrick list.

‘A. INVESTIGATION WHERE THE PROJECTILE LANDED:

1. Where did the projectile land?
2. What damage did the projectile cause? Death or injury (identify victims and provide proof of death or injury)? Damage or destruction of property (how much damage or destruction was caused and to what kinds of structures, e.g., generic civilian objects, objects under additional special protection such as hospitals, institutions dedicated to religion, charity, education, Articles and sciences, historic monuments and works of Article and science)? Precisely where, when and how was death, injury, damage or destruction caused? What prior investigations, if any, have been conducted in relation to the incident? Obtain copies of relevant prior reports.
3. Was this damage or injury done to military objectives (including combatants or civilians taking a direct part in hostilities), to civilians or to civilian objects? If the damage was done to military objectives only then it is not unlawful. If damage was done to military objectives and civilians or civilian objects then an assessment must be made whether or not the damage to civilians or civilian objects was ‘excessive/disproportionate’ in relation to the military advantage gained by the attack. If the damage was not excessive or disproportionate then, once again, it is not unlawful.
4. If military objectives and civilians and/or civilian objects were hit, in what order were they hit?
5. What other military objectives were located relatively close to the area of impact (50 metres, 100 metres, 200 metres, 500 metres) at the time of impact or shortly beforehand (shoot and scoot mortars for example)?
6. What other projectiles landed relatively close to the area of impact (50 metres, 100 metres, 200 metres, 500 metres) at or about the time of the incident?
7. What kinds of projectiles were used?
8. Where were projectiles landed from (using crater analysis and other techniques if available)?
9. When (time and day) did the incident occur and what was the weather like.

In general terms, what else was occurring in the battle (particularly fairly close by) on the day and particularly about the time when the incident occurred?

1. INVESTIGATION WHERE THE PROJECTILE WAS LAUNCHED FROM:
2. Where is the launch site located and how far was the weapon from the point of impact of the projectile? It is important to establish that the weapon had a range which would enable a projectile fired from it to reach the point of impact.
3. Was the point of impact of the projectile visible to those firing or directing the firing of the weapon? Vision may be obscured by, among other things, weather, foliage, buildings and smoke.
4. What were those firing the projectile or their superiors actually aiming at?
5. What was the firing protocol process? Who or what aimed the weapon? Who gave the order to fire and who implemented it? What kind of spotting process was there?
6. What measures were taken to eliminate or minimize civilian casualties, such as intelligence gathering and assessment?
7. What were the applicable rules of engagement and/or firing orders?
8. What was the applicable doctrine of artillery generally and for use of this type of weapon? What are the characteristics of this type of weapon, in particular those concerning range and accuracy?
9. Who controlled use of the weapon and allocation of projectiles to it?
10. What (other) weapons systems were available to the attacking commander?
11. What unit actually conducted the firing and what was its chain of command to the potential accused?’ (End of check list)

Major General Holmes also discussed the issue of crater analysis.  Most craters make a clearly defined pattern on the ground and differ according to the type of projectile fired and the type of fuze used, said Holmes.  It is therefore necessary to show that a specific crater was caused by a shell from a particular type of weapon which was fired on a particular bearing, he explained.

The important issue is the direction from which the shells were fired. This can only be retrospectively determined from analysis of the shell craters either on the ground as soon as possible after the event or from available imagery or, to a lesser extent, from credible witnesses at the receiving end.’

Holmes reported that McKenzie Intelligence Services (MIS), a specialist imagery company based in London was asked to look at a  crater imagery study from the  war area (believed to be dated 8 Oct 2009) by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). The study was commissioned by Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International.

MIS reported that there are a number of craters above 3m in diameter, which may indicate that large caliber artillery systems or air delivered munitions, might have been used. However, it was not possible to say with confidence which weapon system was used, and when. Nor was it possible to identify the direction of the shot using the available imagery.

Since the MIS analysis of the shell craters is inconclusive, the only other source of reliable information are eye-witness accounts, said Holmes. The direction of shot is best determined visually by observing a gun flash or audibly by hearing the discharge of a gun or mortar. This needs a practiced ear and the absence of surrounding noise.

Most accounts that describe events within the NFZs over those last few months tell of chaos, confusion and terror. This will affect any attempt to determine the direction of incoming indirect fire. Holmes  said he did not think it possible at this point in time, on the evidence available, to accurately state which side’s artillery and mortars caused identified shell craters and civilian casualties.’

Holmes also added that it is incorrect to say, as one report does, that because the barrels of SLA artillery faced the NFZ, they would have fired into those NFZs.  It is normal artillery practice for guns to be laid in the direction of the threat, but that does not mean they actually fired.

It would appear, said that Commission , that the following hospitals were damaged by shell fire between January and May 2009,  Tharmapuram Hospital, Puthukkudiyiruppu (PTK) Hospital, Vallipunam Hospital, Uddayarkattu (UDK) Hospital, Ponnampalam Memorial Hospital, Putumattalan (make-shift hospital for PTK) Hospital, Valayanmadam make- shift hospital, Mullivaikkal Hospital, Mullivaikkal Primary Health Centre and  Vellamullivaikkal Hospital.

There is strong evidence that many hospitals were hit by Sri Lanka army shellfire, said the Commission. However there was nothing to prove the deliberate targeting of hospitals as alleged by NGOs. Not a single Government doctor was killed in a hospital in the final phase of the war.

On the other hand, said the Commission, that there is evidence to show that LTTE were deliberately attracting SLA fire towards protected targets such as hospitals. Gordon Weiss recorded a UN official saying ‘Tamil Tigers were intentionally drawing fire towards the hospital’. If hospitals were hit, or damaged the media would report it extensively and get a lot of publicity. Also, the Commission observed, LTTE used the environs of hospitals from which to fire upon the SLA and the SLA returned the fire. LTTE stationed weaponry in hospitals.  LTTE deliberately used ‘shoot and scoot’ tactics, to endanger the hospitals and patients.

After the fall of Kilinochchi on 2 January 2009, the Puthukuddiyiruppu (PTK) hospital was the only permanent hospital left in the Wanni and its neutrality was recognized by the Government and the LTTE. That hospital comprised at least ten buildings clearly marked with the Red Cross emblem with approximately another twenty buildings which were likely to be associated with the hospital. This Commission draws the reasonable inference that due to its spread and its size this hospital would have been more vulnerable to misguided shells or damage from exploding shells in and around the PTK area if the Sri Lanka army had attacked it.

Instead there is there is evidence that the LTTE use this hospital for military purposes. Within the hospital safe zone was an LTTE tank, formerly captured from the SLA. A UN official sheltering in a compound opposite the PTK Hospital ‘could see the barrel flashes from a Tiger heavy artillery piece just 300 meters from the hospital ‘  . LTTE were undoubtedly using the environs of hospitals from which to fire upon the SLA, said the Commission. LTTE took over hospital ambulances. They were used by the LTTE leadership to move around.

The Commission said evidence has come in from many quarters, some of it unsubstantiated, that civilians were hit by cluster munitions or had phosphorus burns. In 2012, a leaked email from a member of the UNDP mine clearance team seemed to indicate that it had discovered evidence of retrieved cluster munitions. UTHR(J) maintains that many of those evacuated by the ICRC had burn injuries. A Tamil  doctor, who has  been granted asylum  abroad,  believed that a phosphorus shell  had exploded above his tent in the final phase of the war, causing it to catch fire and burn him on his back and hands.

The Commission is of the view that this is an area requiring further investigation. The Commission believes that there should be a comprehensive medical review of recorded injuries to ascertain whether these weapons were being used.  The type of injuries caused should also be recorded so that a forensic analysis can be made. Should the UN be in a position to disclose further material on this issue such as photographs, this would no doubts assist local or other investigation teams to examine this matter further, said the Commission.

However, the Commission wished to make clear that the use of such weapons were not illegal  at the time and that the Cluster Munitions Convention banning their use was not in force. Some countries, such as the US, India and Sri Lanka, were amongst those countries that did not sign the convention.

The final stage of the campaign was obstructed by the presence of thousands of civilian hostages acting as a human shield in the area, said the Commission. The ICRC Head of Operations for South Asia, Jacques de Maio, informed US officials that the LTTE were trying to keep civilians in the middle of the conflict area. A US diplomatic cable said the LTTE kept its fighters embedded amongst the civilian population..’  In 2011, Amnesty International published a report based on information independently gathered from sources such as eyewitness testimony and information from aid workers which confirmed that ‘the LTTE used civilians as human shields.

The  LTTE used human shields in the final months of the war to attract international attention. The Commission notes the statement made to a BBC journalist by   Pulidevan, that the aim of keeping hundreds of thousands of women and children trapped was that if enough of them were killed the world would intervene. This Commission is familiar with the well-known terrorist tactic of creating ‘media martyrs’.

The Commission also  found that LTTE deliberately placed the civilian population in danger by bringing them into the war zone.  They  prevented the hostages from escaping and moved them around to protect  LTTE military targets..The Commission concluded that the crime of human shielding was clearly established.

The Commission is satisfied that the LTTE used human shields in violation of IHL and that their use of such human shields is a war crime. The active use of civilians as  shields in non-international armed conflicts is prohibited in the international law such as Additional Protocol II, Common Article 3  and Rule 97 of the ICRC . San Remo Manual on the Law of Non-International Armed Conflict  also prohibits the use of civilians as shields.

The ICRC permits  attacks on  military targets that are shielded by civilian, but must apply the provisions relating to the protection of civilians before proceeding with such an attack. The attacking commander must try to avoid harming the civilians by changing the weapon  or the time of attack, or by vigorous advance warning.

The Commission  observed that this is a   complex area of law. There is little case law that assists on the specific subject of proportionality in the context of the extensive use of human shields. However, there is recent jurisprudence from the International Criminal Court for the former Yugoslavia  Appeals Chamber which has not so far been considered in the context of the final phase of the war in Sri Lanka.

The use of human shields presents military decision-makers with one of the most potent challenges to the implementation of IHL in modern conflicts. On the one hand, civilians, including. Involuntary human shields, retain their civilian status and protection under IHL at all times.

But, observed the Commission, civilians taking direct part in hostilities lose their immunity. Some of the civilian hostages used  by LTTE  were helping to build  fortifications  and  dig trenches , either  voluntarily or under compulsion. The whole group was acting as a buffer. Acting as a ‘buffer’   comes within the definition of performing hostile acts stated the Commission.

Our conclusion,  said the Commission,  is that when the full set of factual circumstances are considered, the applicable legal standards did allow the Sri Lankan forces to attack the LTTE and its military locations despite  the presence of  civilian hostages. LTTE  had continued to shell the Sri Lanka army from its embedded position among a civilian hostage population. Failure  to  respond to these   deliberate attacks,  would, in the view of this Commission, have been a signal to the LTTE and the world that  the LTTE had won by illegal means.

The LTTE should not be rewarded for having committed the crime of taking human hostages and taking advantage of them as human shields to support their military campaign.  The responsibility for the harmful consequences to civilians used as shields has been unfairly shifted to the  government, added the Commission.

The Government unilaterally declared a series of No-fire Zones within the conflict area,  and told civilians to move into them. The first No Fire Zone  was created on 20 January 2009. However, the LTTE refused to acknowledge the NFZs as protected zones. Instead,  when the Sri Lanka army declared a No Fire Zone, and the civilian population went there,  the LTTE also went  , taking their heavy weapons with them.. The civilians were again trapped.

The LTTE had ‘willfully’ moved their heavy artillery into the first NFZ and began to shell the SLA from  there observed the Commission. Also, witnesses who were present on the morning of 18 May 2009 state that the majority of those killed in the NFZ during the last twelve hours of the war were killed by LTTE shelling. The witnesses said they were certain that they were being fired upon by the LTTE. The UTHR(J) also stated ‘Some reliable witnesses and other IDPs who were present when the Army entered are certain that a large number, perhaps the majority, of those killed in the NFZ during the last 12 hours were killed by LTTE shelling’.

According to Article 15 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, there has to be mutual agreement for an NFZ to come into effect and such agreement must be clearly expressed. Since there was no mutual agreement between the Government  and LTTE regarding the establishment of the NFZs,  there were no legally protected No Fire Zones. The Sri Lanka army was entitled to attack lawful targets within such areas using lawful weapons in a lawful manner as permitted under the laws and customs of war. The Commission takes the view that one of the most significant factors leading to civilian deaths was the refusal by the LTTE to agree to the NFZs.

It is the Commission’s view that there was neither an intention to kill civilians through starvation, nor by deprivation of medicines so as to cause deliberate civilian suffering. There is no evidence that any form of blockade warfare was employed by the SLA in the final months of the war. Nor, in the view of this Commission is there evidence of a deliberate campaign to starve the civilian population. On the contrary, there is   general agreement that humanitarian foodstuffs and aid were permitted to enter LTTE   held  areas.

The Geneva Convention and the Protocols  stipulate conditions for the delivery of humanitarian aid,  including supervision of  its distribution. The government  could lawfully  stop the aid if these conditions are not met. There may well have been a limiting of food and medicine so as to deprive the LTTE from exploiting those items for its own purposes,  The Petrie Report  says that LTTE may have taken up to 20% of all the assistance that had been sent into the Wanni.

The delivery of humanitarian aid was severely complicated. LTTE fighters were mixed with the civilian population making it very difficult to determine whether humanitarian aid went to the civilians and not the LTTE. It is the Commission’s view that the Government of Sri Lanka was entitled to limit aid if  it was going to be used by  the LTTE for its military efforts and to sustain its forces.

The conflict in Sri Lanka has been dubbed a ‘war without witnesses’.. It was alleged that the government was not letting the media into the war area, in order to hide the crimes  the army was committing. The Commission points out that TV footage showed  that journalists were present in the war area. There were at least two embedded foreign journalists  who were given access to the warzone, except for the last two days of the conflict.

Frances Harrison, resident BBC Correspondent,   had said that dubbing the Eelam war as war without witness” is simply not true’. There were 60 catholic priests and nuns, 240 local NGO workers and Tamil civil servants working for the Central Government including five doctors.

The measures to exclude journalists from conflict zones by the SLA in the final months of the armed conflict need to be assessed in the light of international  practice. The US restricted the access of journalists to the battlefield  in Iraq. The US  military ordered a complete black-out of media reporting when ground operations began in Iraq.

The Commission observed that there were conflicting accounts of the highly publicized  ‘white flag issue’.  On the one hand , Frances Harrison,  had kept up regular contact with Pulidevan. She  said what happened in the final hours of the war, when the alleged white flag killings took places  was as ‘unclear’

On the other hand,  US Department of State Report to Congress in 2009 said that    Nadesan and Puleedevan led  a group of approximately one dozen men and women out to the SLA troops, on May 18, waving a white flag. According to a Tamil witness who escaped, the SLA started firing machine guns at them. Everyone in the group reportedly was killed.

Two  other alleged eye-witnesses said that Nadesan, his wife and Pulidevan were met by a group of Sri Lankan Army personnel and were required to remove their shirts. The Commission finds that this would be consistent with an Endeavour to ensure that no suicide vests were being worn.

Another  two other witnesses,  had said that the Sri Lankan Army executed LTTE leaders after they surrendered with white flags. A sixth witness  had said that he had been informed that they  had been given tea after which they were beaten and shot.

Shashirekha Thamilselvan, the wife of the deceased LTTE political wing leader S. P Thamilselvan, however,  stated in an interview in 2011 that when she surrendered no one carried white flags and that the story that some LTTE leaders came out carrying white flags is not true.

The Commission observed that in the view of contradictory evidence cited above, the circumstances of the ‘white flag killings’ are by no means clear. Due to the seriousness of these allegations, the Commission thought  that that an independent judicial inquiry is necessary to establish the facts, determine responsibility and arrive at the truth.

The Commission blames the LTTE for the loss of life during the period under survey. It gives  many reasons. The Commission notes, inter alia,   that in April 2009, the government declared a 48 hours ceasefire to enable civilians wishing to leave the conflict zone to do so. The LTTE refused to release any of the civilian hostages. The LTTE continued offensive operations against the SLA until the ceasefire expired  .   Had the LTTE freed the civilian hostages when repeatedly asked to do so, the number of civilian deaths is likely to have been significantly reduced.

LTTE had  shelled civilian areas in order to blame the SLA. Indeed, there is positive evidence that such shelling of Tamil civilians by the LTTE did take place. The IDPs are uniformly emphatic that the Army shelled only in reply to the LTTE  gun fire from among the civilians, during the hostage period.  Many LTTE cadres did not wear uniforms, often making it almost impossible for the SLA to draw clear distinctions between civilians and LTTE personnel.

The LTTE’s use of homemade multi barreled rocket launchers (MBRLs), which according to the Commission’s military expert lacked a solid platform and would thus have been extremely unstable when fired, resulting in a loss of range, inaccuracy and a much greater spread of rounds which would inevitably have added to the civilian casualty figures.

this Commission can say with confidence that the principal causes for the loss of civilian life  was the taking by the LTTE of some 300,000- 330,000 hostages, many of whom were either forced into acting as human shields or voluntarily acted as human shields, and from whose number even children were conscripted to fight, despite minimal training. The LTTE systematically refusing all calls by the international community to free the civilian hostages, which escalated the number of civilian deaths.

This Commission is satisfied that the LTTE, both directly and indirectly, bears the primary responsibility for the loss of innocent civilian life during the final phase of the conflict that formally ended on 19 May 2009.

The Paranagama Commission is firmly supportive of the Sri Lanka armed forces. The Commission observed that   due to the Eelam wars, the Sri Lanka military, which was initially small and insignificant, had developed by 2009, into a very powerful and skilled one. It has had more than two decades of experience in Eelam warfare. ‘Any military involved in high intensity war for so long is bound to learn how to fight’.

The Commission observed that the Sri Lanka army won the Eelam war because it developed a capability for conducting operations on multiple fronts and across different axes continuously.  It went in for small unit operations, instead of operating at company and platoon level, There were Special Infantry Operations Team (‘SIOT’) consisting of 8 and 4 man teams. These could move efficiently, whatever the terrain.

A directorate of human rights and humanitarian law was established in the army in 1997 and the army was given training in humanitarian law. According to the SLA’s statistics some 140,971 members of the army were trained or refreshed on various courses between 1997 and 2008. Similar directorates had been established for the Sri Lankan Navy and Air Force in 2002.

The Sri Lankan Navy, reinvented itself, said the Commission. The Navy expanded in size and upgraded their sea craft. They built their own small boats. The Navy destroyed 11 LTTE warehouse ships in one year and destroy a further 3 ships in 2007.  The commission also observed that there was extensive use of air support for land and sea operations utilizing in particular Squadron 10 but using also the other planes it possessed.

The Commission looked at the command structure. There was a clear, well functioning command structure, starting with National Security Council and Joint Operations Headquarters.  Orders went down the line to the service commanders. In the case of the SLA, command then passed from the Army Commander to regional headquarters and from there to Divisional and Task Force Headquarters for implementation.

Operations in the Wanni were conducted by five divisions and four task forces. A division was sub-divided into three brigades of three infantry battalions each. A brigade consisted of between 2,500 and 3,000 personnel. A task force consisted of only two brigades of three battalions each. There were also specialist brigades such as Special Forces, Commando, Air Mobile and, significantly, an Artillery Brigade. There would have been around eighty thousand troops in the Wanni at the end of the Eelam War.

The  last phase of the war in Sri Lanka was   distinctive and possibly unique, observed the Commission. At the last stage of the war, the army had  to decide whether to accept the  ceasefire, which the international community and UN were promoting, or continue with the offensive. The government had no intention of accepting a ceasefire, as experience had shown that the LTTE merely used  ceasefires to regroup  and rearm. It decided  to continue the war. It had to conduct operations in an area where civilians and LTTE were mixed up together.

It had to carry out careful strikes, directed against military objectives, while keeping civilian casualties to the minimum. This would have been a challenge for the most professional , best informed and best  equipped armies in the world, said Major General Holmes. There was  no military precedent that the SLA could have turned to for guidance.

In my military opinion, the decision was  justifiable and proportionate given the unique situation SLA faced in the last phase, said Holmes . On the evidence available to me and taking into account my own military experience, I do not find  that the artillery campaign was conducted indiscriminately, but was proportionate to the military objective sought. In my experience of hostage rescue, the fact that so many escaped, is remarkable, concluded Holmes .

It is the view of this Commission that the SLA made the right decision to act in order to achieve victory and save as many civilians as possible.  SLA had to act decisively and quickly if civilian lives were ultimately to be saved. The decision to end the conflict, is likely to have saved many more civilian lives and those of the armed forces by bringing the war to a close, observed the Commission.

The Commission is satisfied that the SLA acted in the main in accordance with the principles of distinction, military necessity and proportionality in attacking the LTTE, its leadership and its weaponry despite the presence of civilians in the area of combat. The May 2009 victory of the Sri Lanka army over the LTTE was no ordinary victory, said the Commission.  It was a unique  victory.