By : A.A.M.NIZAM – MATARA

First of all, my Best Wishes for all Lankaweb readers for a Happy, Prosperous, Healthy and Peaceful New Year.  May this country become a peaceful and enjoyable land once again with the beginning of this New Year!

This is the first of a series of articles aimed at enlightening the voters of the forthcoming local government elections including the 700,000 voters who will be exercising their franchise for the first time.  The choice of voters in this election should be whether they should continue to support this oppressive government or reject all the three groups in the government (the Green/Blue and Reds) outright. Both the Sirisena faction of the SLFP and the UNP will call upon you to vote for them saying that whatever the outcome of the election their government will last until 2020 and your vote against them will serve no purpose.  At the same time the opportunist JVP hooligans having cooperated in all the draconian moves of the government to deny your democratic rights to elect representatives to your area local government institutions for the last three years and supported this government in all its anti-national activities will be coming to you as new born babies without any sin on them and saying that they are the only people who can rescue the villages from the government (their own government) and saying that they are the only people who can establish just administrations for the villages.  This richest party in this country has already pasted posters with these slogans throughout the country. .

The fourth group will be the new political dispensation the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) headed by the former President Mr. Mahinda Rajapaksa supported by all those who got misled and cheated by the venomous, malicious, and fraudulent propaganda and allegations made, financed and sponsored by CIA/M16/RAW and Tamil diaspora and existent and suddenly mushroomed NGO activists for the 2015 Presidential elections.  As per the promises made and assurances given by them at that time Mr Mahinda Rajapaksa, his brothers, children, family members and others who were very close to them would now be digging trenches and doing manual labour for robbing the wealth of this nation and hiding billions of dollars in foreign banks, possessing golden horses, having illegally brought down world’s most expensive cars such as Lamborginis, Ferraris, and Aston Martins, having hidden tons of gold underground in their court yards, killed a number of their rivals and several others made missing and this country would have been a Utopia where people immediately get everything they wish, where they need not buy coconuts for Rs. 150 each, where they need not buy rice for over Rs. 100 per kilo, where they need not buy vegetable for Rs.300 to Rs. 500 a kilo, where they need not buy green chilli and lemon for Rs. 1000/- per kilo or more, where milk and honey flows freely, where everyone can afford to have even private planes for their travel instead longing for owning a small car to travel, where farmers never experience shortages of fertilizer, and where there will be no flood and disaster victims.

The SLFP group that seek your precious vote will be those who have betrayed the SLFP’s noble policies of representing the Pancha Maha Balawegaya consisting Maha Sangha, Indigenous Medical Practitioners, Teachers, Farmers and working masses, those who have betrayed the sixth group the war heroes who liberated this country from 30 years of ruthless tiger terrorism, those who have joined the anti-national western and Tamil slavish and reactionary UNP to form a government betraying the mandate given by the people to oppose the UNP, and those who support the UNP policies of privatization and foreignization of national assets and offering thousands of acres of our fertile land to foreigners and who keep on chewing the thrown away bones from the UNP kitchen.

We were hearing for the last several months from several of these treacherous politicians who are Sirisena’s lap dogs that they were not intending to remain in the government and sustain the government headed by the UNP.  They were given an ultimatum by the joint opposition which represent the SLPP to vote against the 2018 budget and leave the government if their claims are genuine.  But shamelessly even after some of them expressed views against the budget proposals they voted for the budget.  Similarly they have supported all the draconian, undemocratic and anti-national proposals and legislation introduced by this government including deliberately delaying local government elections and postponing provincial council elections thereby forfeiting any moral right by them to seek your vote for the candidates they support.

Given below are some of the comments made by these bone chewing SLFP Ministers in the government after violating the mandate given by you to oppose the UNP government and due to their reluctance to lose their perks and privileges:

• Mahinda Amaraweera – The SLFP has a peculiar strength in the country. We will become first by contesting alone.  We do not need the joint opposition
• Duminda Dissanayake – The defeat of the flower bud which has got branded on their forehead that their defeat is certain. It is also certain that we will win all pradeshiya sabhas
• Nimal Siripala De Silva SLFP-JO unity talks collapsed because we were asked to relinquish our Ministerial portfolios that cannot be done under any circumstances. Whoever who wins in this election they will not be able to bring down he prices of rice and coconuts. 
• Sarath Amunugama – JO organizers have been sacked by the President to revive the SLFP and prepare for the election
• S.B.Dissanayake – Flower bud cannot win even one Pradeshiya Sabha in the whole country. The SLFP is in a solid position.
• B.Ekanayake – 12 Ministers will leave the government
• Anura Priyadarshana Yapa – Consensus government is good for the country. It is a great victory for ruling together after contesting separately.  
• Susil Premjayanth – Don’t accept letters with Mahinda’s photograph and the signature.
• Lakshman Yapa Abeywardene – We are now in a pit of excreta. Country lost one trillion by Treasury Bond Scam
• Vijith Vijayamuni Soysa – If Appachchi is dead, we must win in collaboration with even mother’s paramour. Otherwise, our politics will be over.
• Chandima Weerakkody – We will get an excellent victory from this election.
• Dilan Perera – UNP is dropping excreta on President’s head. It cannot be allowed.
• John Seneviratne – Will leave the government at the right time.

From the above referenced comments you will find that these shameless fellows will never care about the grievances of the people and will provide or take steps to provide any redress to the people other than fattening their own purses.

The most important thing to understand is that making SLPP to acquire a massive victory throughout the country the people’s struggle to chase out this inept, oppressive and anti-national government could be started and by holding unceasing agitations throughout the country this government could be forced to relinquish power, as otherwise there is also a possibility that they would make some anti-democratic move to impose a dictatorial regime.

Under these circumstances let all the peace loving, national minded and patriotic people to resolve to use this opportunity dawning in the New Year to express our opposition in unison to this despotic government, and in addition to that overwhelmingly win the local government institutions in all areas being represented by shameless SLFP Ministers in the government, firmly scuttle the move to introduce a federal and secular constitution and use our vote as a vote in a referendum against the government. May the oppressed people be victorious in this election, and let it open the doors to liberate this country from the robber gang of SLFP, UNP and JVP.      

Upali Cooray Former General Manager of SATHOSA

Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasinghe has said government has taken measures to introduce fair price shops in collaboration with private sector and Sathosa to ensure fair prices for essential commodities in the open market. This statement of the prime minister is something like dousing fires without preventing fires. Considering the fact that the oncoming crucialelections scheduled for February 2018 he has to say something to the masses who are burdened with high commodity prices. Sathosa has seen six Chairmendeparting quickly unable to withstand interference by the trade minister who has held this post for eight consequent years.

I 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.

As very strongly pointed out by the media the entire effort depicts, corruption, amateurism, confusion andfrenzy. The unrealistic prices in many essential food stuffs during the festive season is not a phenomenon which occurred due to unavoidable circumstances” or unforeseen” reasons. It is a situation which has occurred due to downright manipulation, lack of vision and ignorance.

The government machinery is equipped with more than adequate resources to forecast market trends fairly accurately and this crisis situation could have been avoided if timely action was taken. Preventing fires” is a safer option than dousing fires”.

The Cost of Living and Food Security Coordinating Committee (COLFSCC) now headed by the Prime Minister himself has as its members all relevant heads of Ministries, departments and other government institutions to advise and guide the decision making by the Cabinet. The cost of living is a phenomenon which cannot be held down, but market distortions resulting in sudden unrealistic prices can conveniently be avoided by constantly monitoring and adjusting the upward trends by timely action.

The COLFSCC was first headed by that eminent bureaucrat G.V.P Samarasinghe during the post 1977J.R.J government. The committee met like a prayer every Friday for a review of market situation and forecasts.

To name some of the eminent Secretaries who chaired the COLFSCC and entrusted with the responsibility of food procurement and distribution were men like M.D.D Peiris, Lakshman De Mel, late Gaya Kumaratunga, late R.A.P Goonatillake, and T.P.G.NLeelaratne.

These senior officers were very experienced in internal and external trade and the so called private sector Mafia could not hood – wink them. They knew how to avoid unnecessary crises in the market and advised the ministers well in advance to take timely action. The COLFSCC is the most crucial arm the government can make use to forecasting and planning strategies to prevent market distortions.

According to recent media reports the Ministry of trade and Commerce attempt to import Coconut kernel from Kerala and Malaysia was thwarted by the far thinking Minister Harsha De Silva. Trade minister Rishad Badiuddin appears to have personal interests before national interests. He has been the Trade minister for last eight years continuously just because he can bring some minority votes to the government. MinisterHarsha De Silva pointed out importing Coconut kernel could lead to coconut diseases hitherto unknown beingbrought in to the country. Coconut should never be imported in to this country. The fact remains that the drought is not the only reason for the poor harvest but was the neglect of existing estates due to high cost of fertilizers and inclement weather this year. What is necessary is to inculcate among growers and give incentives for practicing modern methods such as use of organic fertilizer and drip irrigation to grow coconuts in the growing areas. The ban in felling coconut trees has only a minimal effect. Drip irrigation though has a high initial capital will pay back in the long term because the use of water is very minimal and hence the trees will withstand droughts of long duration..

Notwithstanding the short term solution of importations, the long term solution should be import substitution which has only been a catch phrase of many a government since independence; not yielding satisfactory results due to lack of political will of populist policy makers.

Yearly escalation of prices of rice during the latter part of every year for the last 40 years is clearly reflected in statistics compiled by the Central Bank and the Department of Statistics. Therefore it is not an unexpected increase in prices. Steps should have been taken at least in the month of May to meet the yearly shortage and whatever decrease in quantities on account of the long drought without procrastinating till the crisis became fully blown. The failure to take timely action is a severe set back and a condition this government is afflicted with when it comes to cost of living. The formal method of importing rice is to call for open tenders or from prequalified suppliers. Initially the reorder levels and reorder quantities should be determined and arrival periods adjusted ensuring not to have a backlog. Then the specifications such as unhusked grains, black seeds, insect attacked seeds, broken seeds, moisture content percentages per ton,packaging, should be specified. Despite all these precaution the suppliers especially in India and Pakistan can obtain quality certificates from unscrupulous cargo surveyors. Therefore it is of utmost importance to send Sri Lankan quality control officers from the procuring institutions to be at the port of loading. These officers dare not give false certificates because they know very well that they will lose their job.  Emergency imports are a method of manipulating the needs of the commission agents.

One cannot grasp how 100, 00 MT of white Nadu riceper month (par boiled) be consumed by this country. Par boiled white rice is mostly consumed in the estate sector. The southerners prefer partially red rice par-boiled or raw, and the northerners need par boiled complete red rice. The urban middle class consumers prefer Samba, Keeri Samba or Supiri keeri Samba (Short grain parboiled/raw red or white rice) Sri Lanka’s   2016/17 total production of rice is 1.4 million metric tons. Government envisages importing 100, 00M/T every month from Dec 2017 to March 2018 viz. a total of 400,000. Considering the fact that there have been heavy rains; the farmers were hopeful to have a good harvest but their hopes  have been battered on account of the severe shortage of Urea. Here again is a short sighted policy of importing Urea. In short it is inefficiency, lack of foresight and manipulation. The private sector importers will import quantities prudently and sell their stocks at a profit. The festive season will see unprecedented price hike of rice.

The state has never bought more than 10% of the Paddy harvest because it does not have the finance and the logistics to do so. This was so even when the Paddy Marketing Board was in full fly. Even what is procured by the state is low quality rice. The best quality is either hoarded by the millers and traders or farmers themselves with a view to making unconscionableprofits. The the Rice Mafia” is within the government itself.

The latest scheme by the trade ministry headed by Minister Badiuddeen is spelling out PMB should sell Paddy only to the Sathosa. Apart from the Sathosamills at Higurakkoda and Pannegamuwa which were set up during my time with Indian aid. These two mills are now defunct. There are well over thousand small time millers. What the Trade ministry does is to sell back the paddy to private small time millers throughthe Sathosa. Why should private millers buy Paddy from Sathosa when they can go direct to the PMB and buy at a lower price? It is clear that Sathosa has now become the commission agent for paddy. Who collectsthe Commission?

The indications are that the cost of living would worsen towards the Sinhala and Hindu New year with more price escalations especially in respect of vegetables. To sight one astonishing example is how vegetables such as Potatoes and Beet root grown in the Nuwara Eliya District is transported to Dambulla Economic center by middlemen and then transported back to Nuwara Eliya town for sale. Of the vegetable and fruits harvested in this country 40% perish in transport and handling. When the previous government attempted to reduce this wastage by introducing crates in transport, it had to be abandoned on account of thepressure brought on by the transported and the middlemen.

It is heartening to see private sector super market chains have come to the rescue of vegetable and fruit farmers.  The embedded farmers to the supermarket chain cultivate crops under the supervision of the supermarket company. They are provided with funds not only for cultivation, funds for the education of childrenare also given.  The farmer is expected to give the harvest to the super market collecting centers in the region. The transport to Colombo is by crates and perishability is around 15%. Super market vegetables and fruits are better in quality and lower in price.

The eyewash on the pretext of fair prices will end up resulting in more hardships to the majority poor.

Upali Cooray

Egalawan288@gmail.com

Former General Manager of SATHOSA

by Rajeewa Jayaweera Courtesy The Island

The British High Commissioner (HC), in an exclusive interview with the Sunday Island published on December 17, referring to Sri Lanka’s war stated; “Getting distracted by arguments about the numbers during or in the immediate aftermath of the end of a near three-decade war between the Sri Lankan security forces and separatist LTTE could easily distort the truth”

The Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin, one-time Commissar of Munitions once said, “If only one man dies of hunger, that is a tragedy. If millions die, that’s only statistics.” Quoting Stalin after amending ‘millions’ to ‘thousands,’ the HC complimented the Sirisena-Wickramasinghe government for allocating a significant amount of money in the latest budget to fund the work of Office of Missing Persons (OMP).

Even though not explicitly stated, it is apparent that, recent revelations by British peer, Lord Naseby, have prompted the HC’s remarks. Given the moral high ground taken by HC, it would be appropriate to seek clarification on a few issues.

This writer personally perused the 39 pages of highly redacted dispatches by former British Defense Attaché in Colombo, Lt. Col. Anton Gash. This mid-level diplomat had developed contacts with very senior Sri Lankan military officials. In fact, one report had been filed the morning after he had ‘supper’ with such an official. Notwithstanding the redaction of the identity of the Sri Lankan officer and contents of their discussion, the unredacted parts of the dispatch indicates Gash seems to have penetrated the Sri Lankan military high command at a very senior level. Since his assignment in Colombo, he has held the posts of Defense Advisor in Ghana, Operations, Policy, and Concepts Staff Officer at the UK Representation office in the EU and Plans Officer MINUSMA (UN Military Force in Mali). Gash is currently Defense Advisor Caribbean. Despite the British government’s lack of faith in his dispatches, he does not seem to be in ‘professional cold storage.’ Even though his dispatches have been disregarded, his professional standing seems intact.

Given that the UK together with the US were the chief proponents of Resolution 30/1, could the HC clarify reasons for his government’s failure to assist members of the Panel of Experts (PoE) by turning over relevant material in its possession including confidential dispatches from its staff in Colombo for scrutiny? Did such material contradict British and western agenda for Sri Lanka?

During the conflict years, questions related to LTTE atrocities raised in the UK were met with the standard response; “No British laws were violated by them.” Australian born Adele Anne Balasingham nee Wilby, former leader of LTTE Women’s Wing responsible for recruiting and training child soldiers and spouse of one-time LTTE theoretician and political advisor Anton Balasingham, now lives in retirement in the UK. She is currently a British citizen. Would Britain’s envoy enlighten us Sri Lankans on why and for what reasons Britain has failed to prosecute Ms. Balasingham despite the fact that recruiting and training child soldiers is a violation of both British and international law? Is it the British government’s policy to demand accountability from Sri Lankan soldiers while protecting senior LTTE terrorists living in the UK?

Around 15 months ago, a furor erupted in the UK over investigations of atrocities committed by British troops in Afghanistan and Iraq. Under pressure from the European Court of Human Rights, former Prime Minister Gordon Brown set up two mechanisms, namely Iraq Historic Allegations Team (Ihat) and Iraq Fatality Investigations (IFI) to investigate 1,500 and 550 allegations in Iraq and Afghanistan respectively. The European Court of Human Rights had decreed that previous investigations had breached procedural rules laid down by the European Convention on Human Rights. These investigative mechanisms were set up not out of concern for abused Iraqi and Afghan civilians. Britain considered this option preferable to the prospect of dragging British soldiers through the International Criminal Court (ICC) which Tony Blair ratified in 1998, long before Britain invaded Afghanistan and Iraq. Primary British fears were: given the time lapse since the alleged abuses, the risk of witnesses being unable to recall events accurately and trumped up complaints solely for purpose of compensation.

Such concerns did not apply to more than 2,500 witnesses who made over 4,000 submissions to the PoE. The submissions were an integral part of the Geneva Resolution.

During the height of the furor, former British Prime Ministers Tony Blair and David Cameron condemned the Ihat and IFI investigations stating; “it is no way to treat the people who risk their lives to keep our country safe.” Then Defense Secretary Sir Michael Fallon stated; “It inhibits the operational effectiveness of our troops because they start to worry about whether they will end up in a court or not.” Fallon closed Ihat investigation before the initially scheduled time frame of June 30, 2017.

One is at a loss to understand how British troops fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq were keeping Britain safe as claimed by the two ex-Prime Ministers. They were involved in operations taking place thousands of miles away from Britain in a campaign based on falsified intelligence reports and not in defending the territorial integrity of Britain, as was the case with Sri Lankan soldiers.

Notwithstanding denials by the British establishment, chief prosecutor at the ICC in The Hague, Fatou Bensouda, on December 04, in a 74-page report delivered in New York has declared there is a “reasonable basis” to believe that UK soldiers committed war crimes against detainees during the Iraq conflict. In her conclusion on the long-running inquiry into the role of British troops in Iraq between 2003 and 2008, Bensouda said: “The prosecutor’s office has reached the conclusion that there is a reasonable basis to believe that members of the UK armed forces committed war crimes within the jurisdiction of the court against persons in their custody.” Bensouda does, however, dismiss allegations that British troops committed any war crimes on the battlefield.

Even though British defense officials have previously claimed “We are confident that our existing efforts to investigate allegations preclude the need for an investigation by the ICC,” the latest ICC report indicates, Britain obviously lacks the capacity to conduct a credible investigation when it involves its own soldiers. As such, would Britain agree to an investigation by a PoE similar to that convened to investigate Sri Lanka?

The HC has referred to tragedies. Therefore, it would be appropriate to briefly examine the tragedy faced by the people of Diego Garcia (Chagossians), an atoll just south of the equator in the central Indian Ocean, and the largest of 60 small islands comprising the Chagos Archipelago. Diego Garcia became a colony of the UK after the Napoleonic Wars as part of the Treaty of Paris (1814), and from 1814 to 1965, it was administered by the Colony of Mauritius. In 1965, it was detached and included in the newly created British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT). In the early 1960s, UK agreed to permit the US to establish a naval communication station on one of its island territories. Diego Garcia was the selected location. In December 1966, the US and the UK executed an agreement through an Exchange of Notes which permitted the US to use the BIOT for defense purposes for 50 years until December 2016, followed by a 20-year extension (to 2036) without a monetary payment. However, the UK received a USD 14 million discount from the US on the acquisition of submarine-launched ballistic missile system, Polaris missiles. Between 1968 and 1973, Plantations in Diego Garcia, the sole livelihood of the Chagossians were closed to satisfy the US requirement of an uninhabited island. The British government deported 426 families, numbering 1,151 Chagossians to Mauritius and Seychelles with no right of return. According to Wikileaks CableGate documents (reference ID “09LONDON1156”), in a calculated move planned in 2009, the UK proposed that the BIOT become a “marine reserve” with the aim of preventing the former inhabitants from returning to their lands.

Since the HC laments of tragedies and distortion of the truth, what is Britain’s take on the enforced exile of 1,151 people from their homeland? How does Britain reconcile the forcible eviction of an entire populace of an island with International Human Rights, Humanitarian or any other laws it claims to uphold?

As ‘truth-telling’ in the Sri Lankan context is a major concern for Britain, could its envoy in Colombo enlighten us Sri Lankans with the unvarnished truth without distortions, on the few issues raised?

Editorial Courtesy The Island

Monday 1st January, 2018

December 31, 2017, 9:36 pm
The much-delayed bond probe commission report has been handed over to President Maithripala Sirisena. The Treasury bond scams might enter the Guinness Book of World Records as the ‘most probed’ racket in the world. It is hoped that at least now some tangible action will be taken to bring the perpetrators of the biggest ever financial crime in the country to justice without further delay.

We are afraid that the manner in which the presidential commission functioned towards the closing stage of its proceedings left a bad taste in many a mouth just like the second COPE (Committee on Public Enterprises), which probed the bond scams. We don’t expect the presidential commission report to be much different from that of the COPE, which stopped short of naming the masterminds of the bond scams. We hope we will be proved wrong.

The public was treated to some very entertaining sideshows during the presidential commission investigation into the bond scams. But, sadly, when the probe entered a crucial phase with big names being implicated the pugnacity of the commission gave way to pusillanimity. Some lesser witnesses were ‘summoned’ and ‘grilled’ before the commission, but the government grandees were ‘invited’ and given kid glove treatment. Gagging for more information about the bond rackets, the public expected the Attorney General’s Department counsel to question, nay, grill the key witnesses. But, instead, the intrepid officials were gagged to all intents and purposes.

President Maithripala Sirisena has warned one and all that his sword won’t spare anyone. Let him be warned that the blade he is talking about is a double-edged one. Unless he handles it properly he runs the risk of putting himself in harm’s way. He had better be mindful of the fate that befell his immediate predecessor, Mahinda Rajapaksa, who unflinchingly shielded the corrupt and went so far as to ‘swallow’ presidential commission reports.

Following a bra-throwing incident at a pop concert in Colombo, President Sirisena once brandished a maduwalige (a stingray tail used as a whip) in public, so to speak, threatening to punish those who tried to ruin the country’s culture. But, his threat was never carried out. We hope his royal sword, too, won’t idle in the gilded scabbard.

The President has had the sword he is talking about since Jan. 2015. But, the question is why he did not make use of it when the first bond scam came to light a few weeks after the formation of the yahapalana government. He sheathed the sword and dissolved Parliament, thereby, aborting the presentation of the first COPE report to the House. His executive action prevented that vital document from becoming public. He did so because he did not want to spoil the UNP’s chances of winning the last general election; he was banking on the UNP to help hold his bête noire, Rajapaksa, at bay. Had he put the country before self, allowed that COPE report to be presented to Parliament and ordered a presidential probe into its findings, the second bond scam which was far worse than the first one could have been prevented. After opening the stable door himself, the President ordered a probe to find out how the horse had bolted!

It is incumbent upon President Sirisena to make public the bond commission report without redactions. Whatever its findings may be, the people are now au fait with the bond scams. The presidential commission served a useful purpose in that what transpired before it is now in the public domain. The media can justifiably claim the credit for exposing the bond scams and ratcheting up pressure on the government to have them investigated. People are the best judges. In politics, what actually matters is not the official version of scams but the public perception thereof as evident from the success of the then Opposition’s propaganda offensive which caused the grand fall of President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

Criminal charges must be pressed against the bond racketeers who helped themselves to poor workers’ savings in the EPF and the ETF and public funds in the state banks to the tune of billions of rupees while civil action is taken to recover the stolen money. A Thai court has sentenced a fraudster to 13,275 years in prison for cheating about 40,000 persons out of USD 160 mn through a Ponzi scheme. Sri Lankan bond racketeers have overtaken him; they have cheated the entire nation! They and their political masters deserve to be sentenced to at least 1,000 years each in prison.

We wish our readers a prosperous New Year free from bribery, corruption, runaway inflation and abuse of power!

HUGH KARUNANAYAKE Melbourne, Australia Courtesy The Island

December 31, 2017, 9:40 pm
I read with much interest HL Seneviratne’s piece on the impact of Sinhala Only, and Mr. Samaraweera’s response.

I believe that the Sinhala Only reforms of 1956 heralded a new phase in the social and economic development of the country. Up until that time, a minority of English educated people had a monopoly over employment opportunities, as well as leverages into the business world, which was all worked in English, a language alien to two thirds of the population of the country. The rural poor in the pre 1956 era had access only to sub-standard educational facilities, mainly provided in Sinhala, despite the fact that access was eased through universal free education introduced in 1944. English education was confined to Colombo and the bigger cities such as Galle and Kandy, and to the North and East courtesy of the American Missionaries.

Consequently, employment opportunities for the rural Sinhala population were very limited. Many impoverished rural families were happy to send their sons and daughters to homes in Colombo to work as domestic servants. All that changed with the introduction of Sinhala Only. The country should be proud of the fact that the post 1956 generations had access to education, however diluted in quality at the beginning, but improved over time. Seneviratne’s gripe is over the low standards of English. That lacuna has been more than amply filled by a private sector responding to demand. The main issue here, however, is that the 1956 reforms provided entry to a large section of the population educationally deprived and disenfranchised if I may use the word in this context. The acquisition of knowledge should be a basic universal right and every child should be given that opportunity. Of course there is more work to be done, and more educational reforms needed, but the basic structural reformation brought about by recognising Sinhala has paid dividends, and will continue to do so. One of the areas of dismal failure is the totally inept response from the Peradeniya University to the language change over.

The teaching staff, especially in the Arts Faculties, failed to rise to the challenge. It took the easy way out by providing lectures in Sinhala but without ensuring that the broader reading material was available to undergraduates. The quality of the graduates produced was so low that many were unemployable, although they had good degrees obtained by cramming lecture notes. These were some of the issues associated with graduate unemployment and associated social unrest.

That initial period having been traversed, albeit with its attendant issues; it seems that the system has responded positively in later years, and there seems to be a definite improvement in the quality of Arts Graduates. The Science faculties have always maintained wholesome standards, despite switching over to Sinhala and Tamil, and many alumni have found lucrative employment both in Sri Lanka and overseas.

I agree with Mr. Samaraweera on his observations, and the oft repeated fallacious overstatement of the value of English has to be put to rest.

HUGH KARUNANAYAKE

Melbourne, Australia

By Dr. DAYAN JAYATILLEKA Courtesy The Island

December 31, 2017, 12:00 pm
There were strange reactions to Sri Lanka’s political responses to and UN vote on the issue of Jerusalem. There are those spokespersons of the Sinhala Far Right who criticized the Sri Lankan stand and the cross-party political consensus as instances of double standards. The argument was that those who could not combine to defend Sri Lanka from the charges leveled at it in Geneva, and did not rally round Lord Naseby’s revelations, had banded together on the remote issue of Jerusalem.

These strange reactions to Sri Lanka’s vote on the Jerusalem issue reminds us of the kinds of human beings there are. There are those who recognize the criteria of right and wrong, and those whose notion of right and wrong is based on who is seen to commit it.

There are those of us who criticize the government and the Sri Lankan foreign ministry because we think they are adopting the wrong stand on this or that issue or on foreign policy issues in general. If and when the government takes a right stand we are therefore not reluctant to commend it.

Sri Lanka has taken the correct position on two issues this last year. We voted with almost the whole world at the UN when the Cubans moved their annual resolution against the US economic embargo, or blockade as Cuba calls it. 190 countries voted against the US embargo. Only 3 voted against the resolution and among them was the US itself. The other issue on which Sri Lanka took a right stand was of course Jerusalem.

These two issues were exceptions to the rule of the Sri Lankan government’s gravely erroneous foreign policy, most especially in Geneva. We must condemn the rule and commend the exception.

What of the argument that the Sri Lankan government and its foreign ministry failed to stand up for the country and indeed collaborate with the West in the matter of the Geneva resolution, and went on to ignore Lord Naseby’s striving on our behalf, failing to table his findings in Geneva? This is true and we must denounce it. But when a wrongdoer does something right, we must welcome it while condemning his or her wrongdoing. The fact that on the Cuban resolution against the embargo as well as on Jerusalem, Sri Lanka voted on the other wide of that which the US voted speaks well of the resilient if residual nonaligned heritage of Sri Lanka’s foreign policy and diplomacy. What must be lamented is that the nonaligned position is only fitfully adhered to by Sri Lanka under this government.

Even more insidious is the criticism that the broad civil society and political party platform in Sri Lanka that solidarized with Palestine should somehow be condemned because the same forces did not come together with the same zeal in defense of Sri Lanka. This is a truly incredible argument. President Mahinda Rajapaksa was for decades, a member and leader of the Committee in Solidarity with Palestine, which brought together diverse political personalities and forces in support of Palestine. These elements often failed to unite on issues pertaining to Sri Lankan affairs and even on external threats to Sri Lanka.

For instance there were those who were for and against the Indo-Sri Lanka accord and the IPKF, who nevertheless united on behalf of Palestine, just as those who stood on different points of the spectrum concerning Sri Lanka’s war with the LTTE, not to mention with the JVP, were active members of the Solidarity Committee with Mahinda.In fact those who were actually fighting on different sides of the two civil wars, North-east and South, were in sympathy with the cause of the Palestinian people. This was never regarded as anomalous or objectionable, and it would have regarded as eccentric to have done so.

In our lifetime, there have been at least three issues which united absolutely diverse forces in each country and throughout the world, whatever their stands on political issues within their countries among their countries and pertaining to their countries.These three issues have been the Vietnam War, South African apartheid and the release of Nelson Mandela and the ending of the Occupation of Palestine.Never has anyone anywhere been crass enough to ask why certain forces stood on the right side on these moral issues but on the wrong side of others. British Conservatives and those of the Labour Left had dramatically opposed views on the campaign against the IRA, the UK war in the Malvinas/Falklands etc., but for the most part with a few aberrations) they stood together against apartheid in South Africa and for the release of Mandela. The same was true of the US Congress. Nobody thought it odd or problematic.

Let us grasp the nettle. The Sinhala Far Right is morally blinkered. It does not understand that there are issue which transcend the national, and that one’s country is not always the exclusive or highest value. Our common humanity stands higher than any nation, and common human values stand higher in the human conscience than purely national ones. The real meaning of solidarity is when one solidarizes with another, not necessarily with one’s own.

Just as the Spanish Civil War brought together diverse political and ideological forces the world over against fascism, whatever their other important differences, national political stances and priorities, so also did the causes of Vietnam, South Africa and Palestine in our time. Such causes are transcendent of national causes and priorities. Such transcendent humanistic causes have a higher value than our purely or primarily national concerns. We are humans before we are citizens of a country or members of an ethnic group.

This is not a question of abstract internationalism over concrete if circumscribed nationalism. In our lifetime and perhaps in known history, there has hardly been a more valiant case of a small country defending itself against the world’s mightiest power while positioned on its doorstep, than that of Cuba under the leadership of Fidel Castro. That was not because of his nationalism, but because of his combination of patriotism and internationalism. Fidel often quoted the words of Jose Marti, known as the patron saint of Cuban independence, the man of letters who died leading a cavalry charge against the Spanish colonialists on the shores of Cuba. Marti and Fidel often said that “homeland is humanity”. It is because Fidel rose above nationalism that he was able to defend his nation successfully against the mightiest power in history. Fidel’s dedication to the cause of humanity, his militant, radical humanism, drove him to fight against injustice anywhere, sometimes risking the national interests of Cuba itself (as in the case of the highly risky Angola operation). It is this which gave Cuba truly global support.

The point is that if you don’t stand for something beyond your own nation’s interests, then no other nation, no peoples of other nations, will identify with you and support you. If you are not there for others, others will not be there for you. If you do not actively solidarize with others even at the risk of your narrow national interest, others will not do the same for you in the face of the pressures of the powerful upon them.

As Fidel Castro and Cuba proved, the most valuable strategic real estate is the moral high ground. You cannot ascend, occupy and remain in occupation of the moral high ground unless you stand for a broader and higher principle than that of your own nation’s causes and interests. This is the difference between Israel and Cuba. Israel, even with the fullest support of the USA, keeps losing votes in the United Nations—which reflect its standing in the world– and Cuba keeps winning such votes massively—which reflects its own standing in the world.

Vietnam is another classic case in point. Vietnam prevailed over the awesome military machine of the US not only because it fought better, but also because world opinion, including the opinion of the educated youth of the United States itself, and later of returning Vietnam veterans including much decorated ones.

Unless Sri Lanka learns to communicate its case in an internationalistand indeed universalist discourse, which the Sinhala ultranationalists do not, cannot and will not, the interests of the Sri Lankan and indeed the Sinhala nation cannot be successfully represented and defended in the global arena against the West, the INGOs and the Tamil Diaspora which is global positioned and electorally so influential. It is all a matter of persuasion. The Sinhala ultranationalist discourse which is a culturally circumscribed one of parochialism and neo-tribalism, can never persuade others, and therefore can never defend the national interests of Sri Lanka.

This is why Sri Lanka resisted and prevailed successfully in the Geneva arena (2009) when it was able to persuade a majority of member states through its fusion of patriotism, internationalism and universalism in its discourse and diplomacy (2007-2009). For instance our strong, principled stand at the UNHRC (with the green-light form President Rajapaksa) on Israel’s aggression in the Gaza war in late 2008-early 2009, secured for Sri Lanka a few months later, not only the large vote of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) but also that of the broad cross-regional coalition which voted against Israel on Gaza.

However Sri Lanka kept losing in Geneva when it switched to an imitation of Israel and a truculent narrow nationalism (2012-2014), which serial defeats paved the way for the abject and needless capitulation by the successor government in 2015. Unless and until Sri Lanka internalizes those lessons and returns to that perspective which is capable of persuasion through appeal to reason and identification with broad principles, it will remain in the Geneva trap and be unable to prevail in the UN in general.

Meanwhile in national or more correctly, ‘intermestic’ politics (Kissinger’s term for domestic politics that interface with the international), the Sinhala Far Right is doing exactly the same damage that Champika Ranawake’s JHU and later, the deadly BBS virus, did to the Mahinda Rajapaksa presidency and the image of Gotabhaya Rajapaksa. The Far Right fringe is out of control and has gone the way of the Rajarata Rifles, so to speak. Gotabhaya will have to do what was done to the Rajarata Rifles, the dissolution of which was the way the elite Gajaba regiment which he served with distinction, emerged.

Gotabhaya can best serve the nation as a combination of JRJ and Premadasa, of Putin and Mahathir. A man who brings stability and incarnates Chinese model modernity; the meritocratic future, not the parochial past. He must represent the ultra-modernist meritocratic mainstream led by the best and the brightest in their fields; a patriotic elite which is part of or can communicate easily and fit in the regional, Asian and global elite. GR must not be surrounded by the loud lunatic fringe which is not accepted even as part of the Lankan elite and is rejected as tribalist. Currently the optics are all wrong.

Courtesy Ceylon Today

Russian made Chrysotile asbestos is not harmful to humans, Ambassador of the Russian Federation to Sri Lanka and Maldives, Yury B. Materiy told Ceylon Today last afternoon….that it was in retaliation to Sri Lanka banning the import of Chrysotile asbestos from that country.

Materiy pointed out that not only Russian scientists, but also Sri Lankan scientists had pointed out that chrysotile asbestos is good and was not considered to be harmful.

Handing over a case study on chrysotile asbestos, done by Emeritus Professor of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo, Ravindra Fernando, the top diplomat said that the professor himself says it is not harmful or hazardous to health.

Professor Fernando notes , that Sri Lanka only uses the white chrysotile asbestos for roofing sheets and all around the world they use the same and it is has not been found to be a hazardous to health.

He points out that the blue and brown asbestos, under the poor worker safety conditions of the 20th century, led to the understanding that asbestos dust inhalation from these forms , over prolonged periods of time, can cause serious health concerns.

As a result brown and blue asbestos are banned globally but white chrysotile asbestos is used in over 140 countries including the USA, India and China. However, he noted that the Sri Lankan Government banned all asbestos and chrysotile was also on the list.

He also pointed out, “no bartering took place because I was told that all asbestos was to be banned by Sri Lanka in 2024. In that case how can we hold asbestos for tea?” he quipped.

“So, here again I see that totally misunderstood reports were being circulated in the media stating we banned tea because asbestos was banned.”

On the tea ban, the diplomat pointed out that a beetle being found amongst tea packs was something that should have been avoided. “The beetle can spread in no time and it is dangerous and we will have to spend millions of dollars to combat that insect if it spreads in Russia.” He noted it’s the duty of the importers to know how important it is to see that the containers are fumigated and kept insect free.

Sri Lanka was told by the Russians that they found a beetle amongst the tea packs imported by Russia, therefore Russia did not buy tea at the last auction held on 18 and 19 December.

Russia buys nearly 23% of Sri Lanka’s tea exports. The ban was lifted within a week, after series of discussions were held between the two countries. (SRM)

Shenali D Waduge

We seem to love to go round the mulberry bush and in circles. Why do we need a new constitution? Who is asking for a new constitution? What in the present constitution needs to change, why and who wants it changed and are all these changes aligned to what the common & ordinary public wants? Is there a list of hands-off, cannot be touched, no-compromise areas in the present constitution that cannot be changed in any new constitution? Will these new changes have any adverse effects and have remedial actions & solutions been considered? Have these basic fundamental questions being answered before turning the present constitution upside down and drafting a new one? We certainly doubt so. Without such we should not proceed any further. As a citizen you are bound to ask these questions and seek answers. Don’t just live in a nation, be a valuable stakeholder and contributor.

What we see by the statements from both government & foreign envoys is that a new constitution is a must to meet the aspirations of the Tamil minority. Do these foreign nations change their constitutions to meet the aspirations of the minorities in their countries?

If discrimination is the benchmark why has everyone ignored and neglected to reverse the 443 years of discrimination Sinhalese suffered when invaders confiscated their rule that had lasted over 2600 years!

What is this new constitution promising the Sinhalese for the discrimination they have suffered? If the Government & foreign envoys are hailing the new constitution as catering to the Tamils what are the majority Sinhalese getting in return? Can the MPs that come from the Sinhala vote please respond.

No constitution can take stock of only the demands of one community totally disregarding the views of all others.

No community can make demands if by its implementation it affects the rights of other communities.

These are fundamentals that the government cannot ignore.

Irrespective of what political party you belong to think about these questions & seek the answers yourself.

It is the TNA that is making the demands on behalf of the Tamils. But, how representative of the Tamils is the TNA? The 2015 General Election only 515,963 voted for TNA which means that only ¼ of Tamils support the TNA.

So why is the Government taking the views of a party that is yet to be investigated for links with the LTTE given that every election manifesto of the TNA has openly canvassed for the Eelam demands of the LTTE.

The TNA leader, who is also the Opposition Leader is now demanding the merger of the de-merged North East provinces. What the TNA is presently demanding is exactly what the LTTE fought with the gun to achieve. Are we then insane to be legally setting the stage for its realization? Does the MPs in the present government have no brains to realize the danger of appeasing to these demands?

No constitution can be allowed to create exclusive ethno-religious ghetto areas or provinces while that ethnic group reserves the right to live, own land and work in all other parts of the island.

Aren’t these questions important? Don’t you want to know the answers?   

This does not align whatsoever with the peace doves who are preaching reconciliation and peaceful coexistence though they also happen to be also promoting these ethno-religious ghettos conclaves!

No constitution can be drafted with petty objectives in mind given that it is a document that is relevant to the country and its citizenry. Nonetheless, some clauses appear to be targeting only one family and meant to prevent or obstruct them from standing for elections.

No constitution should be drafted if it is being promoted and funded by vested interests and external forces for enough of such newly drafted constitutions and newly formed ‘independent’ countries now facing chaos should suffice for us to not fall into the same soup. Anyone in doubt please refer the chaos in Kosovo and South Sudan.

The simple logic should be – how can you unite a country by dividing it?!

Have you seriously given thought to these questions?

As Mr. C Wijeyawickrema says ordinary Tamils are not asking for police or land powers or even the merger of the north & east and they certainly do not care whether King Devanampiyatissa is Tamil or Greek.

What they do want now is to be able to live in peace, to educate their children, to earn a living, save some money and live in harmony with others. These are the same wants that the ordinary Sinhalese & Muslims too share but these are not the same wants of elite Sinhalese, Tamils or Muslims & the politicians they move with. 

No constitution can be prepared to cater to the demands of controversial characters. There is little to hide that this government is in power as a result of a well-planned and executed regime change. The statements issued by leaders of Western governments and India suffice to confirm this. No foreign force helps a government to come to power without expecting them to carry out a list of promises they have committed to implement once in power. Voters should not be naïve to these realities in particular the supporters of the parties that campaigned to bring this government in power.

There are some political pundits clamouring to promote a ‘middle path’ believing they can fool the Buddhist majority who continues to question why TNA demands should be entertained when it has not been investigated for LTTE links & when TNA is basically making the same demands as the LTTE terrorists. But this is the path that some political pundits are schemingly advising. Negotiating the concurrent list is taking the LTTE/TNA path. The 13a should be scrapped because it is taking the path of division and destability and it is on account of this that both India & West wants its continuance.

Why leaders are shy to declare abolishing of the 13a is not because the people want it but because external parties influencing the people want to keep it. However, if a political party genuinely sees the dangers in maintaining the 13a and decides to revoke it, having appraised the public of its dangers the voters will overwhelmingly accept it. Sinhalese or Muslim voters see no advantage in the 13a and only Tamils can be externally influenced to object. If a honest strategy is adopted 13a can be revoked without much trouble. Why are politicians shy to do so?

Let’s also not forget that the ITAK constitution of 1949 was amended in 2008 removing its objective to a confederal from a federal replacing Samashthi with Innaipachchi. Legal fraternity should also seek court clarification on the Vaddukoddai Resolution of 1976.

ITAK’s calls do not align to a federal option it claims to demand. ITAK calls for referendums when only the Central Government can seek referendums & not provincial states. The calls for a ‘united’ Sri Lanka ‘collaboration’ ‘coexistence are all aligned to confederate model of governance as states are held together only by a ‘gentlemen’s agreement’ which can easily be broken. The demands and clauses that provide the state with powers that makes it impossible for the Centre to reach the citizens of the provinces is also confederal elements and not federal.

Our governments have made mistakes. Our leaders have been influenced. We have gone through much turmoil & chaos. If we do not learn lessons we deserve what we are getting. When external forces forced an incursive agreement (Indo-Lanka Accord) in 1987, when external forces forced us to tweak our constitution (13^th amendment), when external forces created terrorism that lasted 30 years and cost us not only loss of lives, tears and reversed our development, surely we need to ensure our territory is kept safe from these external forces!

We need to identify the enemies from the friends whether they are local or foreign. We need to seriously address the needs of the nation and not a handful of selfish and destructive people. Why should external forces and people who only live in Sri Lanka because it serves their personal interest dictate what type of constitution we should have. As far as we know no one in the general public want or have even asked for a new constitution. So why are we wasting time drafting one! What is ridiculous is that those drafting the constitution are those dying to divide the nation.

We have made plenty of mistakes. Some are now irreversible. However, we cannot make another major faux pas by allowing a new constitution that is being drafted for the wrong reasons by the wrong people.

Give some serious thought to this.

Shenali D Waduge

By Charles.S.Perera

The Sinhala even before the Independence had a very cordial relationship with the Tamils. Even in the small towns in the South, the barbers, the small boutique keepers selling cigars, and Saaivar Restaurants were run by Tamils, mostly Jaffna Tamils.

These Jaffna Tamil traders were so well accepted by the Sinhala they were even  invited for their weddings and funerals. Most of these Jaffna Tamil traders came alone to the South without their families, except some of them who came with their  male children who were sent to local Schools and studied with the Sinhala  children.

I the writer, had been travelling alone in whole of Jaffna, but never did I have an unpleasant  word directed at me by any one from three wheel drivers to those I met in the town or outside. I was always given a seat in crowded buses, by someone leaving one to me with a smile. I was received in their homes. I ate their meals together with them.

The Tamils were never rejected by the Sinhala  because they were Tamils. How then can we explain this phenomena of hatred, the anti Sinhala bias?

It appears to be a politically motivated  later development by the upper class Tamils. Even today we see it amoung the politicians, but not amoung the ordinary Tamil people.

Unfortunately the voice of the ordinary Tamil people is not heard. We hear only the Tamil politicians, and those of the Tamil diaspora who are the ones who show their hatred most towards the Sinhala, and sow the seeds of hatred amoung the ordinary Tamils.

The ordinary Tamil people  old men, women and children who were herded like cattle from place to place by the terrorists to keep them as a human shield, who suffered without clothes to wear, food to eat, water to wash or drink  rescued by the Sinhala soldiers cannot surely hate those Sinhala soldiers who took them away from which was  hell on earth for them !!

The worst hatred seem to spring from Wigneswaran who was born in the south , grew up amoung the Sinhala, went to school with Sinhala children  and became a Judge, and got his sons married to Sinhala women.

The other whose hatred towards Sinhala  is not understood come from the UNP State Minister for Child Affairs Vijayakala Maheswaran, whose husband was assassinated by the terrorists.

She pines for the terrorist Prabhakaran. She states that the Tamil Community wouldn’t have lost their leader Velupillai Prabhakaran if they had voted for the UNP candidate Ranil Wickramasinghe at 2005 Presidential election.

Has she a secretly kept love for the terrorist leader Prabhakaran, perhaps like UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillai, who it was said that  when she was a young student had a photo of Prabhakaran pasted on the wall  in her room

Could it be some thing endemic, meaning  a disease that is constantly present to a greater or lesser degree in people of a certain class or in people living in a particular location”  ?

Is it jealousy towards the Sinhala by the Tamil politicians who try hard but cannot stand  up to the Sinhala politicians ?  If it is that  it may be an extreme inferiority complex ?

Inferiority complex has several definitions, that which may be close to that from which the Tamils suffer may be , a persistent sense of inadequacy or the tendency to diminish oneself, sometimes resulting in excessively aggressive behaviour through over compensation.”

That would explain why Venupillai  Prabhakaran became a terrorist. Prabhakaran was not educated and came from a caste considered low by the upper class Tamils-the fisher caste. He kidnapped a high caste girl Mathivathani Erambu and married her.

Prabhakaran as a young man who had formed a group of  young activists around him, assassinated the Governor of Jaffna. He was taken notice of by India which wanted to make him their cat’s paw to make inroads in to Sri Lanka to divide it territorially;  which obsession of India continue to date. Prabhakaran and his young companions were taken away by the Indian RAW to India  and set up a camp for them in the jungle of South India to train this  group of youngsters to be terrorists.

Prabhakaran was therefore the outward  projection of the inferiority complex of the Tamil political mentality which includes the local Tamil politicians and the Tamils living in foreign countries.

To be Continued

Courtesy The Island

ECONOMYNEXT – President Maithripala Sirisena appointed newly sworn-in legislator Piyasena Gamage as state minister for law and order in a move that sought to reduce the authority of a very close ally of the prime minister.

Sirisena, who is at loggerheads with Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s United National Party (UNP) gave the influential portfolio to Gamage, a member of the Sirisena-faction of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP).

Gamage became a minister after SLFP’s Rajapaksa-faction MP Geetha Kumarasinghe was unseated because she was found to be holding Swiss citizenship at the time of contesting the August 2015 parliamentary elections.

The latest appointment to the law and order ministry came amid SLFP’s criticism of cabinet minister Sagala Ratnayaka, a close ally of Wickremesinghe.

Several ministers have privately accused Ratnayaka of delaying the prosecution of Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, the former defence secretary, and showing leniency to members of the former first family facing corruption and murder investigations. He has denied any wrong doing.

Getting an SLFP loyalist to supervise the police ahead of the February local election is also crucial for Sirisena who is in a battle with the Rajapaksa faction to demonstrate who commands more support of among SLFP voters.

Six days ago, Sirisena told SLFP leaders that he has decided to carry out the “second stage” of his daring political bravery of defecting from the then strongman president Rajapaksa’s government in November 2014.

A rank outsider, Sirisena quit his Health ministry portfolio and challenged his former boss at the snap presidential polls of January 2015. He won with the support of a UNP-led rainbow coalition.

On December 22, Sirisena said the way to save the country from the scourge of bribery and corruption was to strengthen the SLFP which he described as the only “clean political force in the country.””Without strengthening the SLFP, I don’t see any clean political force that could save the country at this time in its history….

“As I took a courageous and bold decision to leave the (then) government on November 21, 2014, I have today decided to take my next major step. It will be in the interest of the country and its people to ensure a clean political force,” he said.

He said he did not fear consequences of his impending action out of his love for the country and its people.

Since his surprise announcement, he has declared that he will appoint another presidential commission to investigate corruption and mismanagement at SriLankan airline and Mihin Lanka.

Following Sirisena’s announcement of a probe into the airline all members appointed to its board have said they were willing to resign, but none has actually stepped down and continue to enjoy generous perks, officials said.

Last month, Sirisena suggested that Wickremesinghe’s government could be more corrupt than the previous regime that they toppled together.

 ශ්‍යාම් නුවන් ගනේවත්ත උපුටා ගැන්ම දිවයින

  මැතිවරණ උණුසුමත් සමග බැඳුම්කර ජනාධිපති කොමිසමේ වාර්තාව ගැන ඉදිරි දිනවල පුළුල් ලෙස සමාජ කතිකාවකට බඳුන් වනු ඇතැයි සිතිය හැකිය. දැනටමත් සෑම දේශපාලන වැඩසටහනකදීම මෙය කතාබහට ලක්‌ වෙයි. මේ ගැන එක්‌සත් ජාතික පක්‍ෂයට එල්ල වන චෝදනාවලට පිළිතුරු දෙමින් එජාප නියෝජිතයන් කරන ඇතැම් ප්‍රකාශ අනුව නම් අපට හැගෙන්නේ ඔවුන් බැඳුම්කර කොමිසමේ වාර්තාව දැනටමත් දන්නා බවකි. එසේත් නැතහොත් එහි ප්‍රධාන නිගමන සහ නිර්දේශ දන්නා බවකි. විශේෂයෙන් මේ ඇතැමුන් කියන්නේ වාර්තාව ආවම බලන්න පුළුවන් වැරදිකාරයෝ කව්ද කියලා සහ අගමැතිතුමා හෝ එජාපය හෝ මේකට වගකියන්න ඕනද කියල ආදී අදහස්‌ ඔවුන් ප්‍රකාශ කරනු ලබයි. ඔවුන් එම අදහස්‌ ප්‍රකාශ කරනු ලබන්නේද ඉමහත් විශ්වාසයකින් බවද පෙනේ. ඔවුන් එසේ කියනේ කෙසේද යන්න අපට සිතා ගැනීමට නොහැකි නමුත් බැඳුම්කර මගඩියේ වගකීම අගමැතිවරයා හෝ එජාපය මත පැටවෙන්නේ නැති බවට මේ තුළින් සමාජයට අදහසක්‌ ඇති වේ. ජනතාව මේ ගැන සිටින්නේ ඉතාම අවදියෙනි. ඔවුන්ට බොරු කිරීමට අපහසුය .මේ සමගම එජාප මහ ලේකම් සහ සභාපතිවරයා කොමිසමට කැඳවා චෝදනා එල්ල වූ පාර්ශ්වයන්ගෙන් එම පක්‌ෂයට මුදල් ලැබුනාද යන්න විමසා විනාඩි කිහිපයකින් ඔවුන් කොමිසමෙන් පිටත් කළ අයුරුද ජනතාවට මතකය. ඔවුන් දෙදෙනාගෙන්ම දප්පුල ද ලිවේරා මහතා ඇතුළු රජයේ රජයේ නීතිඥ මණ්‌ඩලයේ සාමාජිකයින් කිසිවෙක්‌ ප්‍රශ්න ඇසුවේ ද නැත. එයද ඉතාම සැකමුසු අවස්‌ථාවක්‌ විය. ඔවුන් දෙදෙනා පැමිණියේම කොමසාරිස්‌වරුන්ගේ සාක්‌ෂිකරුවන් ලෙසය. කුමන හේතුවක්‌ නිසා හෝ රජයේ නීතිඥ මණ්‌ඩලය ප්‍රශ්න ඇසුවේ නැති නමුත් ඔවුන් දෙදෙනාගෙන් එසේ කළේ ඇසීමට ප්‍රශ්න නොමැති නිසා නොවන බව අපගේ විශ්වාසයයි. අගමැති රනිල් වික්‍රමසිංහ මහතා කැදවා නීතිපතිම ප්‍රශ්න අසන්නට කැඳවා ඒ අවස්‌ථාවේදීද රජයේ නීතිඥ මණ්‌ඩලයේ අය අගමැතිගෙන් ප්‍රශ්න කළේ නැත. විශේෂයෙන් මේ සාක්‌කිකරුවන් තිදෙනා ගැන කොමිසම අනුගමනය කළ පිළිවෙත තුළ යම් වෙනසක්‌   අමුත්තක්‌ තිබෙන බව ජනසමාජය තුළද කතා බහට ලක්‌ වූ නිසා මේ සිදුවීම් සහ කොමිෂන් සභා වාර්තාව ගැන එජාප නියෝජිතයින් කියන අදහස්‌ අතර කිසියම් සම්බන්ධයක්‌ තිබෙන බවක්‌ හැඟෙයි. වංචාවක්‌ සිදුවී ඇති බව දැන් වහන්නට අපහසු නිසා මේ හදන්නේ ලොක්‌කා බේරලා ගෝලබාලයන් ගිරයට හසු කිරීමටද ? මේ අද දිනයේ සමාජය තුළ තිබෙන සැක සංකාවන්ය. එහෙත් කොමිසමේ බරපැන ඉසිලුවේද මහජනතාවය. මීට නිසි යුක්‌තිය ඉටු නොවීම මහජනයාට කරන අසාධාරණයක්‌ මෙන්ම මහජන මුදල් කාබාසිනියා කිරීමක්‌ ද වනු ඇත.

 
 මේ වන විටත් කොමිසමේ වාර්තාව ජනාධිපතිතුමන්ට භාර දී තිබෙන්නට පුළුවන. කොමිසමේ බලය සහිත කාලය තිබෙන්නේ අද (31) තෙක්‌ පමණි. ගිය සිකුරාදා සවස මේ ලියුම්කරු කළ විමසුමකට පිළිතුරු දෙමින් බැඳුම්කර ජනාධිපති කොමිසමේ ලේකම් සුමතිපාල උඩුගමසුරිය මහතා කීවේ කොමිසමේ වාර්තාව 31 දිනට පෙර ජනාධිපතිතුමන්ට භාර දෙන බවය. ඇතැම් මාධ්‍ය වාර්තා කර තිබුණේ සංක්‌ෂිප්ත වාර්තාවක්‌ මුලින් දෙන බවකි. එහෙත් එය සත්‍ය නොවේ. මේ අනුව අද දින අවසන් වීමට පෙර අනිවාර්යෙන්ම එම වාර්තාව කොමිසම විසින් ජනාධිපතිතුමන්ට භාර දිය යුතු වේ. මීළඟට තිබෙන්නේ එම වාර්තාවට අනුව කඩිනමින් ගත යුතු නීති පියවර ගැනීමයි. නඩු පවරා දඩුවම් ලබා දීමයි. එහෙත්වංචාවට සම්බන්ධ මහමොලකරුවන් හැර සෙසු ගෝලබාලයන්ට සහ මහ බැංකුවට පමණක්‌ මෙහි වගකීම පවරා ඇත්නම් නීති පියවර ගත හැකි වනු ඇත්තේද ඒ අනුව පමණක්‌ බවද පෙනේ. ඒ නිසා කොමිසමේ වාර්තාව ආවත් ඒ අනුව වහා නීති පියවර ගත්තත් මෙහි දේශපාලන මහමොලකරුවන් බේරෙනු ඇති ද ? ජනසමාජයට මේ බලවත් සැකය තිබේ. කවරක්‌ නමුත් මේ කොමිසමේ වාර්තාව තමන්ට ලැබුණු පසු එය මහජනතාවගේ දැනගැනීම පිණිස වහාම ප්‍රසිද්ධියට පත් කරන ලෙසද අපි ජනපතිගෙන් ඉල්ලා සිටිමු. මෙය මහජන ඉල්ලීමක්‌ මත පත් කළ කොමිසමකි. ඒ නිසා මේ කොමිසමේ වාර්තාව මහජනතාව දැනගැනීම ඉතාමත් අවශ්‍ය වෙයි. ඉන් පසු මහජනයා දැනටමත් ගෙන ඇති තම මහජන විනිශ්චය සමග කොමිසමේ වාර්තාව සැසඳීම සිදු කරනු අතැයිද සිතිය හැකිය .
 
 මේ බැඳුම්කර නිකුත් කර, සිදු කරන්නේ රජයට ණය ගැනීම වන බැවින් මෙහිදී රාජ්‍ය ණය කළමනාකරණය ගැනද සාකච්ජා කිරීම වැදගත්ය. ශ්‍රී ලංකා මහ බැංකුව විසින් සිදුකරන නියෝජිත කටයුතු අතර එක්‌ ප්‍රධානතම කටයුත්තක්‌ වන්නේ රාජ්‍ය ණය කළමනාකරණයයි. මුදල් නීති පනතේ 113 වගන්තියට අනුව රාජ්‍ය ණය කළමනාකරණය හා සම්බන්ධ වගකීම ශ්‍රී ලංකා මහ බැංකුව වෙත පැවරී ඇත. ඒ අනුව, ශ්‍රී ලංකා මහ බැංකුවේ රාජ්‍ය ණය දෙපාර්තමේන්තුව, රජය වෙනුවෙන් ණය උපකරණ නිකුත් කිරීම සහ රජයේ දේශීය හා විදේශීය ණය සේවාකරණය සම්බන්ධ සියලු කටයුතු මෙහෙයවීම සිදුකරයි. මුදල් අමාත්‍යාංශය විසින් විදේශීය මූලාශ්‍ර වලින් ණය ලබා ගැනීම සම්බන්ධ කටයුතු මෙහෙයවනු ලැබේ. විචක්‍ෂණශීලී අවදානම් මට්‌ටමකට අනුරූපව අවම පිරිවැයක්‌ යටතේ රජයේ මූල්‍ය අවශ්‍යතා සපුරා ගැනීමත්, රජයේ සුරැකුම්පත් වෙළෙඳපොළ වැඩිදියුණු කිරීම හා ශක්‌තිමත් කිරීමත්, එහි කාර්යක්‍ෂමතාව වැඩි කිරීම හා ස්‌ථායිතාව පවත්වාගෙන යැමත් රාජ්‍ය ණය කළමනාකරණයේ අරමුණු වේ. රාජ්‍ය ණය කළමනාකරණයේදී අනුගමනය කළ යුතු උපාය මාර්ගයන්, අරමුණු පිළිබඳව කිසියම් නීතියකින් පැහැදිලි ලෙස දක්‌ර්වා නොමැති වුවද, රාජ්‍ය ණය කළමනාකරණය තුළින් පහත සඳහන් අරමුණු ඉටු කර ගැනීමට අදහස්‌ කරන බව පැහැදිලිය.
 
 ෆ දිගුකාලින දෘෂ්ඨ§ කෝණයකින් බලන විට රාජ්‍ය ණය සඳහා වූ සෘජු හා වක්‍ර පිරිවැය අවම කිරීම.
 
 ෆ ණය සේවාකරණ පිරිවැයෙහි උච්ඡාවචනයන් මගහැරීම සහ එහි තුලිත ව්‍යාප්තියක්‌ සහතික කිරීම.
 
 ෆ ණය ගෙවීම් අධික ලෙස ඒකරාශී වීම වැලැක්‌¨වීම.
 
 ෆ ණය ප්‍රතිමූල්‍යකරණ අවදානම/නැවත නිකුත් කිරීමේ අවදානම අවම කිරීම.
 
 ෆ රජයේ සුරැකුම්පත් වෙළෙඳපොළ ක්‍රියාකාරිත්වයේ කාර්යක්‍ෂමතාව ප්‍රවර්ධනය කිරීම.
 
 ෆ රාජ්‍ය ණය සේවාකරණය 100% ක නිරවද්‍යතාවකින් යුක්‌¨තව නියමිත වේලාවට සිදු කිරීම.
 
 මේ සඳහන් කළ කරුණු ශ්‍රී ලංකා මහ බැංකුවේ වෙබ් අඩවියේ නියෝජිත කටයුතු යන ශීර්ෂය යටතේ රාජ්‍ය ණය කළමනාකරණය යන කොටසේ දක්‌වා තිබිණි. එහි සඳහන් වූ පරිදිම රාජ්‍ය ණය කළමනාකරණයේදී අනුගමනය කළ යුතු උපාය මාර්ග හා අරමුණු මොනවාද යන්න පැහැදිලිය. එය නීතියකින් දක්‌වා නොමැති වුවද මහ බැංකුව විසින් පිළිගත් එම උපාය මාර්ග හා අරමුණු මොනවාද යන්න කාටත් පැහැදිලිය. මහ බැංකුව පිළිගත් එම උපාය මාර්ග හා අරමුණු තම වෙබ් අඩවිය මගින්ම ප්‍රසිද්ධියට පත්කර මහජනතාවට අනාවරණය කර තිබිණි. එසේ නම් ශ්‍රී ලංකා මහ බැංකුව විසින් රජය වෙනුවෙන් ණය රැස්‌ කිරීමේදී මේවා අනිවාර්යයෙන්ම අනුගමනය කළ යුතු බව පිළිගැනීමට සිදුවේ.
 
 මෙහි පළමු කරුණ වන්නේ රාජ්‍ය ණය සඳහා සෘජු හා වක්‍ර පිරිවැය අවම කිරීමට ක්‍රියා කළ යුතු බවයි. එහෙත් 2015 .02.27 දින ප්‍රශ්නගත බැඳුම්කර නිකුතුවේදී මෙන්ම 2016 මාර්තු 29 වැනිදා නිකුත් කළ බැඳුම්කර නිකුතුවේදී ද පොළී අනුපාත ඉහළ ගොස්‌ රජයට ගෙවීමට සිදු වූ පොළී පිරිවැය ඉහළ ගිය බව රහසක්‌ නොවේ. 2015 වසරේ බැඳුම්කර නිකුතුවේදී බැඳුම්කර වටිනාකම මෙන් දස ගුණයක (රු. බිලියන 10 ක) වටිනාකමක්‌ දක්‌වා ලංසු පිළිගත්තේය. ඒ වැඩි වූ පොළී පිරිවැය ගෙවීමට සිදුවන්නේ මේ රටේ මහජනතාවටය.2015 වසරේ දී සිදුවූ මහ බැංකුවේ මහා පරිමාණ බැඳුම්කර වංචාවෙන් පසුවද තවත් ප්‍රශ්නගත බැඳුම්කර ගනුදෙනු සිදු වූ බවත් එහිදී සිදුවූ පොලී අනුපාත ඉහළ යැම හරහා මහජනතාවට අතිවිශාල පාඩුවක්‌ විඳීමට සිදුව ඇති බවත් මූල්‍ය වෙළෙඳපොළ නියෝජිතයෝ පැවසූහ. මේ බැඳුම්කර නිකුතුවලදී කෘත්‍රිම ලෙස පොලී අනුපාත ඉහළ නංවා මහ බැංකුව විසින් මුලින් ප්‍රසිද්ධ කළ වටිනාකම ඉක්‌මවා බැඳුම්කර ලංසු පිළිගැනීම නිසා මේ අක්‍රමිකතාව සිදු වූ බවද ඔව්හු කියති . මෙය හුදෙක්‌ම වෙළෙඳපොළ ක්‍රියාවලිය තුළ සිදුවූ පොලී අනුපාත තීරණය වීමක්‌ ලෙස පෙන්වා දෙමින් මුලදී මහ බැංකුව විසින් මේ අක්‍රමිකතාව සාධාරණය කිරීමට කටයුතු කළේය. එහෙත් මහ බැංකුවේම ජ්‍යෙෂ්ඨ නිළධාරීන් පසුව ජනාධිපති බැඳුම්කර කොමිසම හමුවේ දිව්රුම් පිට දුන් ශාක්‍ෂි අනුව එය එසේ නොවන බව රටටම පැහැදිලි විය .
 
 ආර්ථික කරුණු කාරණා අතර පසුගිය කාලය පුරාවටම නිරන්තරයෙන්ම කතා බහට ලක්‌ වූ ප්‍රධානතම කාරණාව වී ඇත්තේ වත්මන් රජය යටතේ සිදුවූ භාණ්‌ඩාගාර බැඳුම්කර මගඩියයි . එය සුළු පටු එකක්‌ නොවේ. එසේම මේ බැඳුම්කර මගඩිය නිසා සිදුවූ පොලී අනුපාත ඉහළ යැම හරහා දිගින් දිගටම රජයේ පොලී වියදම් රු. කෝටි ගණනින් ඉහළ ගිය අතර ඒ හරහා මහජනතාවට සිදුවන බලපෑම අතිවිශාල එකකි. ඒ නිසා මෙය වූ කලී මහජන මුදල් පිළිබඳ එනම් පොදු දේපළ නාස්‌ති කිරීම පිළිබඳ ප්‍රශ්නයක්‌ ලෙසද හැඳින්වේ. එහෙත් ඊට වගකිව යුත්තන්ට එරෙහිව නීතිය ක්‍රියාත්මක කිරීම වෙනුවට සිදුවෙමින් පැවතියේ එම මගඩිය යට ගැසීමට උත්සාහ කිරීමකි. මුල සිටම ආණ්‌ඩුවේ ප්‍රතික්‍රියාව ලෙස දක්‌නට ලැබුණේ එයයි . එසේත් නැතහොත් මෙහි වගකීම අන් අය මත පටවා මහ බැංකු අධිපති අර්ජුන් මහේන්ද්‍රන්ව නිදහස්‌ කිරීමට දරන බලවත් උත්සාහයක්‌¨ දක්‌නට ලැබිණි. ජනාධිපති මෛත්‍රිපාල සිරිසේන මහතා ප්‍රමුඛ රජයේ ශ්‍රීලනිප පාර්ශ්වය මේ සම්බන්ධයෙන් වෙනත් මතයක සිටියත් ඔවුන් මුලදී ඊට නිසි ප්‍රතික්‍රියා දැක්‌වුයේ නැත. රජයේ එජාප පාර්ශ්වය මෙය යට ගැසීමට කවර උත්සාහයක්‌ දැරුවත් මේ පිළිබඳ මාධ්‍ය සහ මහජනතාව මෙන්ම ආර්ථික සහ මුල්‍ය ක්‍ෂේත්‍රයේ බොහෝ දෙනෙක්‌ සිටියේ අවදියෙනි. මෙවැනි අවස්‌ථාවකදී සාධාරණ පරීක්‍ෂණයකට බාධා විය හැකි බැවින් චෝදනා එල්ල වූ අය පරීක්‍ෂණ නිමවන තෙක්‌ අදාළ තනතුරුවල සිටීම ද සුදුසු නොවේ. එහෙත් සාධාරණ පරීක්‍ෂණයක්‌ සඳහා අගමැතිවරයාගෙන්ද මහ බැංකුව ඉවත් කළ යුතු වුවත් එවැන්නක්‌ සිදු නොවීය . මේ මගඩියේ ප්‍රතිවිපාක ඉතා බිහිසුණුය . එය පොළී අනුපාතය ඇතුළු සියලු ආර්ථික සාධකවලට බලපා හමාරය . ඒ නිසා කොමිසමට කළ මහජන වියදම තවත් නාස්‌තියක්‌ වනු දැකීමටද මහජනයා කැමති නොවනු ඇත . මේ අනුව දැන් ජනතාව බලා සිටින්නේ කොමිසමෙන් නිසි යුක්‌තිය ඉටු වී තිබේද සහ ඒ අනුව වගකිවයුත්තන්ට දඩුවම් ලබාදී මහජනතාවගෙන් කොල්ලකා ගත් ධනය නැවත ඔවුන්ට හිමි කර දේද යන්න ගැනයි .
 
 
 ශ්‍යාම් නුවන් ගනේවත්ත

ප්‍රවීණ දේශපාලන විචාරක මොහාන් සමරනායක

කෘමියකු සිටි බව පවසමින් ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ තේ තහනම් කළ රුසියාව එම තහනම ඉවත් කළේ 2018 වසරේ සිට ශ්‍රී ලංකාව ඔවුන්ගේ ඇස්‌බැස්‌ටස්‌වලට පැනවීමට සූදානම් වූ තහනම ඉවත් කරන බවට ප්‍රතිඥා දුන් පසුවය. ජාත්‍යන්තරය දැන් අපේ මිතුරන් යෑයි මේ ආණ්‌ඩුව පැවසුවද ඇතැමුන් පවසන්නේ ඒ මිතුරු දම කුඩා කෘමියකුට වුවද බිඳහෙළිය හැකි දුර්වල එකක්‌ බවයි. ජාත්‍යන්තර ප්‍රජාව සමග වත්මන් ආණ්‌ඩුව සිදුකළ තෙවසරක ගනුදෙනුවේ ස්‌වභාවය ගැන අන්තර්ජාතික සබඳතා කළමනාකරණය පිළිබඳ ප්‍රාමාණික විද්වතකු මෙන්ම ප්‍රවීණ දේශපාලන විචාරකයකු ද වන මොහාන් සමරනායකයන් සමඟ “දිවයින ඉරිදා සංග්‍රහය” පැවැත්වූ සාකච්ඡාවකි මේ.
 
 මහින්ද රාජපක්‌ෂ ආණ්‌ඩුව තරහ කරගත් ජාත්‍යන්තරය අපි දිනාගත්තා යන්න මේ ආණ්‌ඩුව නිතර ප්‍රකාශ කරන දෙයක්‌. එහෙත් පසුගියදා රුසියානු ආණ්‌ඩුව අපේ රටට පැනවූ තේ තහනම ඔවුන් ඉවත් කළේ ඔවුන්ගේ ඇස්‌බැස්‌ටස්‌වලට අපේ රට පැනවූ තහනම ඉවත් කරන බවට අපි පොරොන්දු වුණාට පස්‌සෙයි. අපි ජාත්‍යන්තර ප්‍රජාව දිනාගත්තා යෑයි මේ ආණ්‌ඩුව නිතර කරන ප්‍රකාශය ගැන ඔබේ අදහස කුමක්‌ද?

 
 මහින්ද රාජපක්‌ෂ ජනාධිපතිවරයාගේ සමයේදී ඇමරිකාව ප්‍රමුඛ ලෝකයේ බලවත් රටවල් එක්‌සත් ජාතීන් සහ එක්‌සත් ජාතීන්ගේ මානව හිමිකම් කවුන්සලය වැනි ආයතන ප්‍රයෝජනයට ගනිමින් ඔවුන්ගේ ආධාර මත යෑපෙන ජාතික සහ අන්තර්ජාතික රාජ්‍ය නොවන සංවිධානවල සහාය ඇතිව ශ්‍රී ලංකාවට එරෙහිව චෝදනාවක්‌ ගොනු කළා. එය තමයි, ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ ආරක්‌ෂක හමුදා එල්ටීටීඊය සමග කළ සටනේ අවසාන භාගයේදී යුද අපරාධ කළ බව. එනම් ශ්‍රී ලංකාව අන්තර්ජාතික මානව හිමිකම් නීතිය සහ අන්තර්ජාතික මානුෂවාදී නීතිය කඩ කර ඇති බව. එයින් කියෑවෙන්නේ ශ්‍රී ලංකා හමුදා සිවිල් වැසියන් ඝාතනය කරමින්, අත්අඩංගුවට ගත් අය නඩු විභාගයකින් තොරව මරණයට පත්කරමින්, වධහිංසාවලට පත් කරමින්, ස්‌ත්‍රීන් දූෂණය කරමින් හා ලිංගික ප්‍රචණ්‌ඩත්වය භාවිත කරමින්, රෝහල් සැපයුම් නවත්වමින් සහ රෝහල්වලට පහර දෙමින් කටයුතු කරන බව.
 
 පසුගිය පාලන සමයේදී මේ චෝදනාව එල්ල වූවිට එම ආණ්‌ඩුව ඊට විරුද්ධ වුණා. මා එයින් අදහස්‌ කරන්නේ මේ චෝදනාව සම්බන්ධයෙන් ඒ ආණ්‌ඩුව ඥානාන්විතව ක්‍රියා කළා කියන එක නෙමෙයි. ඒ ආණ්‌ඩුවත් ඉතාමත් අනුවණ, බොළඳ වැඩ කළා. මහින්ද රාජපක්‌ෂ ජනාධිපතිවරයාගේ ආණ්‌ඩුවේ විදේශ සබඳතා කළමනාකරණයේ විශාල දුර්වලකම් තිබුණා. ඔවුන් කොතරම් බොළඳ වැඩ කළාද කිවතොත් මහජන සම්බන්ධතා ආයතනවලට කෝටි ගණනින් මුදල් දීල අමෙරිකාව නමැති ලෝකයේ බලවත්ම රාජ්‍යයේ විදේශ ප්‍රතිපත්තිය වෙනස්‌ කරන්න පුළුවන් කියල ඒ ආණ්‌ඩුවේ ඉහළම පෙළේ නිලධාරීනුත් විශ්වාස කළා. එවැනි ළාමක, බොළඳ ළමා සිතිවිලි තිබෙන උසස්‌ නිලධාරීන් ඒ ආණ්‌ඩුවෙත් හිටියා. හැබැයි ඒ අඩුපාඩු මොනව තිබුණත් පසුගිය ආණ්‌ඩුව මේ යුද අපරාධ චෝදනාව පිළිගත්තෙ නෑ. ඇමරිකාව ප්‍රමුඛ රටවල් ගෙනආ ඒ යෝජනාව පළමු අවස්‌ථාවේදී හැර 2012, 2013 සහ 2014 වර්ෂවලදී මානව හිමිකම් කවුන්සලයේදී වැඩි ඡන්දයෙන් සම්මත වුණා. එම කවුන්සලේ සිටින සාමාජිකයන් 47 දෙනාගෙන් රටවල් 12 ක්‌ පමණ ශ්‍රී ලංකාව සමග එක්‌ව ඡන්දය ප්‍රකාශ කළා. ඊට සමාන රටවල් සංඛ්‍යාවක්‌ ඡන්දය දීමෙන් වැළකී සිටියා. අපේ රට ජාත්‍යන්තරය තරහ කරගත්තා කියල වත්මන් ආණ්‌ඩුවේ යහපාලන බලවේගය හඳුන්වන්නේ මෙන්න මේ කාරණයයි.
 
 මහින්ද රාජපක්‌ෂ ආණ්‌ඩුව ජාත්‍යන්තරය තරහ කරගත්තා කියන වත්මන් ආණ්‌ඩුව ඇමරිකාව ප්‍රමුඛ අධිපතිවාදී රටවල් අපේ රටට එරෙහිව නඟපු චෝදනාව කිසිදු ප්‍රශ්න කිරීමකින් හෝ විරෝධතාවකින් තොරව පිළිගත්තා. ඔවුන් ජාත්‍යන්තරය දිනාගත්තා කියල කියන්නෙ ඒකයි. ආණ්‌ඩුව කියන මේ ජාත්‍යන්තරය ජයගැනීම හරියට තමන්ගෙ ගෙදරට හොරෙක්‌ පැන්නම ඌත් එක්‌ක සටන් කරනවා වෙනුවට ඌට ගෙදර දොර ඇරල බඩුමුට්‌ටු ටික අරන් යන්න ඉඩදීල ඔන්න අපි හොරා මර්දනය කළා කියනව වගේ වැඩක්‌.
 
 ඇමරිකාව ප්‍රමුඛ බටහිර රටවල් ගෙනා මේ චෝදනාව ඔප්පු කරන ලද ඒවා නෙමෙයි. ඒවා සාවද්‍ය බවට ඕනතරම් සාක්‌ෂි තිබෙනව. අලුත්ම සාක්‌ෂිය තමයි එංගලන්තයේ නේස්‌බි සාමිවරයා සාමිමන්ත්‍රී මණ්‌ඩලයේදී කළ ප්‍රකාශය. ශ්‍රී ලංකා ආරක්‌ෂක හමුදා යුද්ධයේ අවසන් සමයේ සිවිල් ජනතාව 40,000 ක්‌ ඝාතනය කළ බවට එල්ල වන චෝදනාව ප්‍රතික්‌ෂේප කරන නේස්‌බි සාමිවරයා කියන්නේ මියගිය සංඛ්‍යාව 7000 කට නොවැඩි බවත් ඒ අතර එල්ටීටීඊ සටන්කාමීනුත් සිටින බවත් ඔහු ප්‍රකාශ කරනවා. ඒ අනුව බටහිර රටවල් ශ්‍රී ලංකාවට මේ එල්ල කරන්නේ සනාථ නොකළ චෝදනා බව පැහැදිලියි.
 
 2015 ඔක්‌තෝබර් මාසෙ 01 දා එක්‌සත් ජාතීන්ගේ මානව හිමිකම් කවුන්සලයේ ඡන්ද විමසීමකින් තොරව සම්මත කළ 30/1 ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ මානව හිමිකම් සංහිඳියාව සහ වගවීම් ප්‍රවර්ධනය කිරීම නමැති යෝජනාව කිසිදු විරෝධතාවක්‌ නොදක්‌වා මේ ආණ්‌ඩුව එය ආණ්‌ඩුවේ යෝජනාවක්‌ හැටියට එයට සම අනුග්‍රාහකත්වයක්‌ දැක්‌වූවා. මම හිතන්නේ තමන්ගේ රටට එරෙහිව විදේශීය බලවේගයක්‌ ගොනුකළ සැලැස්‌මකට එකඟත්වය පළකළ ලෝකයේ පළමු රට ශ්‍රී ලංකාවයි. ඒ එකඟත්වය තුළින් පාවා දෙනු ලැබුවේ මේ රටේ ස්‌වෛරීභාවය, ස්‌වාධිපත්‍යය සහ මේ රටේ බෙදුම්වාදයට එරෙහිව සටන් කළ මේ රටේ ආරක්‌ෂක හමුදාවයි. කිසිදු විරෝධයක්‌ පළ නොකර ශ්‍රී ලංකාව මේ යෝජනාව පිළිගත් විට බටහිර රටවල් සතුටු වුණා. බටහිර රටවල ඒ සංතෝසය ආණ්‌ඩුව දකින්නෙ තමුන් ජාත්‍යන්තරය දිනාගත්ත විදිහටයි.
 
 රට සාම කඳවුරක්‌ බවට පත් කළාම විදේශ ආයෝජන වැඩිවෙලා රට දියුණු වෙන බව නේද ආණ්‌ඩුව ප්‍රකාශ කළේ?
 
 බටහිර රටවල මතයට හිස නැමුවම අපේ රටට විදේශ ආයෝජන ගලා එයි කියල මේ අය හිතුවා. පසුගිය ඡන්දෙට පෙර මාධ්‍ය සාකච්ඡා පවත්වපු ආණ්‌ඩුවේ බලධාරීන් අපි ආවම චීන වරාය ව්‍යාපෘතිය නතර කරනවා කියල කිව්වෙ එහෙම හිතල. ඔවුන් චීන බිල්ලෙක්‌ මැව්ව. අපට චීනය ණය දෙන්නෙ ගිනි පොලියට යෑයි එක්‌ අවස්‌ථාවකදී හිටපු මුදල් ඇමැති රවි කරුණානායක ප්‍රකාශ කළා. ඒත් අන්තිමට එලිසබෙත් මහ රැජින අත්මේස්‌ ගලවල ජනාධිපතිතුමාට අතට අත දුන්නට වැඩි දෙයක්‌ බටහිරින් මේ ආණ්‌ඩුවට ලැබුණෙ නෑ. අවසානයේ චීනය ළඟටම යන්න වුණා. චීනයෙන් නැවත ණය ඉල්ලන්න සිද්ධ වුණා. අපේ ණයවල පොලිය වැඩිනම් ඇයි අපෙන් ආයෙත් ණය ඉල්ලන්නෙ කියල වර්තමාන චීන තානාපති ප්‍රසිද්ධියේ ඇහුවා. එහෙම බාල්දු වුණු ආණ්‌ඩුව තමයි, අපි ජාත්‍යන්තරය ජය ගත්ත කියල කියන්නෙ.
 
 ආණ්‌ඩුව ජාත්‍යන්තරය ජය ගැනීම තුළින් රාජ්‍ය තාන්ත්‍රික සබඳතා ශක්‌තිමත් වූ බව ඇතැමුන් දරන මතයක්‌. පසුගිය කාලයේ බටහිර නොයෙක්‌ රාජ්‍ය තාන්ත්‍රික නිලධාරීන් මෙහි පැමිණීමත් එහි ප්‍රතිඵලයක්‌?
 
 ආණ්‌ඩුව ජනතාවට පෙන්වන්නෙ නම් එහෙම තමයි. හැබැයි ආණ්‌ඩුව 30/1 යෝජනාවට අවනත වුණාට පස්‌සෙ අපේ රටට වැලනොකැඩී ආවෙ ඒ යෝජනාව පිටුපස හිටපු බලවත් රටවල නිලධාරි සහ නියෝජිතයො. ඒ ආව හැම දෙනාම පාහේ ආණ්‌ඩුවේ මතයට අවනත නොවී උතුරට ගියා. උතුරට ගිහින් සංහිඳියාව ඇතිකරන්න, යුද අපරාධ කළ අයට දඬුවම් දෙන්න ඔවුන් කතා කළා. එහෙම බලයක්‌ ඒ අයට දීල නෑ. ඔවුන්ට එහෙම අයිතියකුත් නෑ. සමන්තා පවර් කියන්නෙ තානාපතිවරියක්‌. යුද අපරාධ කළ අයට දඬුවම් දෙන්න එයාට බෑ. බෙන් එමර්සන්, ජෙෆ්රි ඩී. ෆෙල්ට්‌මන්, ෆුබ්ලො ඩී ක්‍රීෆ්, මොනිකා පින්ටු වැනි අය විශේෂ විමර්ශකයො. ඒ අය මෙහෙ ඇවිත් කටයුතු කළේ පක්‌ෂග්‍රාහී විදිහටයි. එක්‌සත් ජාතීන්ගේ ප්‍රඥප්තිය කඩ වෙන විදිහටයි. රටක ආණ්‌ඩුවකට උපදෙස්‌ දෙන්න ඔවුන්ට බලයක්‌ නෑ. ඔවුන්ට පුළුවන් විමර්ශනයක්‌ කරල ඒ වාර්තාව තම රටේ ඉහළ නිලධාරීන්ට ඉදිරිපත් කරන්න විතරයි. ඔවුන් මේ රටට ඇවිත් ජනාධිපතිවරයාට අභියෝග කරන ආකාරයේ ප්‍රකාශ පවා සිදුකළා. ඔවුන් මෙහෙ ඇවිත් අපේ රටට මේ විදිහේ නිවටකම් සිදු කිරීම, ආණ්‌ඩුව ජනතාවට කියන්නේ තමුන් ජාත්‍යන්තරය දිනා ගැනීමක්‌ විදිහටයි. 
 
 පසුගියදා මේ ආණ්‌ඩුවේ ප්‍රබල ඇමැතිවරයෙක්‌ ප්‍රකාශ කළා පසුගිය කාලේ පැනවූ මත්ස්‍ය තහනම, ජීඑස්‌පී තහනම වගේ මේ රුසියාවෙ තේ තහනම දිගට ඇදුනෙ නෑ ජනාධිපතිතුමාගේ රාජ්‍ය තාන්ත්‍රික සබඳතා තුළින් එය ඉතා කෙටි කාලයකදී විසඳුවා කියල?
 
 ඒ ප්‍රකාශය කළ ඇමැතිවරයා එක්‌කෝ ජාත්‍යන්තර සබඳතා ගැන කිසිදු දැනීමක්‌ නැති මුග්ධයෙක්‌. එහෙම නැත්නම් දේශපාලනික වංචනිකයෙක්‌. මත්ස්‍ය තහනමත්, ජීඑස්‌පී ඉවත් කර ගැනීමත් එන්නෙ වෙනම සන්දර්භයක්‌ යටතේ. තේ තහනම එන්නෙ වෙනත් සන්දර්භයක්‌ යටතේ. ඒ දෙක සමාන කිරීමෙන්ම ඒ ඇමැතිවරයාගේ දැනීමේ තරම සහ වංචනික භාවය පැහැදිලියි.
 
 2015 ජනවාරි 08 වැනිදා පත් වූ වර්තමාන ආණ්‌ඩුව එවකට යුද කඳවුරක්‌ව තිබූ මේ රට සාම කඳවුරක්‌ බවට පත් කර අද ජාත්‍යන්තර ප්‍රජාව සමග එක්‌වී නව ව්‍යවස්‌ථාවක්‌ තුළින් මේ රටේ දෙමළ ජනතාවගේ ප්‍රශ්නයට සාධාරණ විසඳුමක්‌ ලබාදෙන බව කියනවා. එහෙත් ඒ පිළිබඳ ජනතාව තුළ බලවත් සැකයක්‌ මතුවී තිබෙනවා. නව ව්‍යවස්‌ථාවක්‌ නිර්මාණය කිරීම දෙමළ ඩයස්‌පෝරාවේ අවශ්‍යතා ඉටු කිරීමක්‌ බවයි සමහරු හිතන්නෙ?
 
 මහින්ද රාජපක්‌ෂ පාලන සමයේ දී එල්ටීටීඊ. බෙදුම්වාදී යුද්ධය අවසන් කළත් සමහරු එය ජනවාර්ගික ප්‍රශ්නයක්‌ ලෙස හඳුන්වනවා. මම හිතන්නෙ ජනවාර්ගික සාධකය මේ ප්‍රශ්නයේ එක පැතිකඩක්‌ පමණයි. මේ ප්‍රශ්නය පිටුපස ඊට වඩා පළල් පැති මාන ගණනාවක්‌ තිබෙනවා. මේ රට බ්‍රිතාන්‍යයන්ගෙන් නිදහස ලැබීමටත් පෙර සිටම තමන්ට වෙනම පාලන බලයක්‌ අවශ්‍ය බවට මේ රටේ දෙමළ ප්‍රභූ පන්තිය දැරූ මතය ඉන් එකක්‌. නිදර්ශනයක්‌ විදියට සිංහල මිනිසුන්ට ඉංග්‍රීසීන්ගෙන් වෙනම රාජ්‍යයක්‌ අවශ්‍ය නම් දෙමළ මිනිසුන්ටත් වෙනම රාජ්‍යයක්‌ අවශ්‍ය වීමේ වරද කුමක්‌දැයි යනුවෙන් 1947 දී චෙල්වනායගම් එදා තිබුණු පාර්ලිමේන්තුවේදී ප්‍රශ්න කර තිබෙනවා. මේ මතය තමයි පසුකාලයේ බෙදුම්වාදී ප්‍රචණ්‌ඩත්වය විදියට මතුවන්නේ. 1951 දී ඊළංකෙයි තමිල් අරසු කොච්චි පක්‌ෂය බිහිවන්නේ දෙමළ ජනයා සඳහා වෙනම රාජ්‍යයක්‌ ගොඩනැඟීමටයි.
 
 පසුකාලයේ යුද්ධයක්‌ විදිහට වර්ධනය වූ එම මතයයි. ඉංග්‍රීසි විචාරකයො, පාලකයො, මාධ්‍යකරුවො එම යුද්ධය හැඳින්වූවේ ‘අන්විනබල් වෝ’ යනුවෙන්. එනම් දිනන්න බැරි යුද්ධය විදිහට. මහින්ද රාජපක්‌ෂ පාලන සමයේ මේ එල්ටීටීඊ බෙදුම්වාදී යුද්ධය පරාජය කළා. එය පරාජය නොකළා නම් මේ රටට අති විශාල ව්‍යසනයක්‌ සිදුවෙනවා. එයින් මම අදහස්‌ කරන්නේ දෙමළ ජනතාවට ප්‍රශ්න නොමැති බව නොවෙයි. මේ රටේ සියලුම ජන කොටස්‌වලට සමගියෙන්, සමාදනයෙන් හා අභිමානයෙන් සමාන ඉඩ ප්‍රස්‌ථා ඇතිව ජීවත්වීමට හැකි සමාජයක්‌ තිබිය යුතුයි. එහෙත් ඊට විසඳුම මේ රට බෙදී වෙන්වීයැමට අවශ්‍ය පසුබිමක්‌ සකස්‌ කිරීම නොවෙයි.
 
 මේ රට යුද කඳවුරක්‌ව තිබුණා කියන්නේ ඔය තත්ත්වයටයි. මහින්ද රාජපක්‌ෂ පාලන ආණ්‌ඩුව එල්ටීටීඊ බෙදුම්වාදී යුද්ධය අවසන් කර රට සංවර්ධනයට අවශ්‍ය යටිතල පහසුකම් ඇතිකිරීමට විශාල වශයෙන් මුදල් වැයකළත් දේශපාලන වශයෙන් මේ රටේ ගැඹුරට මුල්බැස තිබූ දෙමළ ජනතාවගේ ප්‍රශ්නය හඳුනාගෙන එය ආමන්ත්‍රණය කරන වැඩපිළිවෙළක්‌, දෙමළ ජනතාවට ඇත්ත වටහා දෙන වැඩපිළිවෙළක්‌ ක්‍රියාත්මක කළේ නෑ. පසුගිය ආණ්‌ඩුව යුද්ධය ජයග්‍රහණය කරල ඉතාමත් අහංකාර මානසිකත්වයකිනුයි රට පාලනය කළේ. ඒ නිසාම ඔවුන්ගේ පදනම ඔවුන්ගේ පා යටින් ඛාදනය වන විට වත් එය තේරුම් ගන්නට පසුගිය පාලනය සමත් වුණේ නෑ.
 
 මේ ආණ්‌ඩුව 2015 ජනවාරි 8 ඒ අය කියන ඔය නිහඬ විප්ලවයෙන් කළේ විවිධ අරමුණු සහිත බලවේග එකතු වෙලා මහින්ද රාජපක්‌ෂ ආණ්‌ඩුව පළවා හැරීමයි. ලංකාවේ දෙමළ ජනතාවගේ අයිතිවාසිකම් තහවුරු කරන විදිහේ ව්‍යවස්‌ථාවක්‌ සම්පාදනය කරන්න නම් මහින්ද රාජපක්‌ෂ පරාද කළ යුතු බව වර්තමාන ආණ්‌ඩුව, සම්පාදනය කරන අලුත් ආණ්‌ඩුක්‍රම ව්‍යවස්‌ථාවේ ප්‍රමුඛයෙක්‌ වන ජයම්පති වික්‍රමරත්න ලන්ඩන් නුවරදී අමිර්තලිංගම් සමරු දේශනය පවත්වමින් ප්‍රකාශ කළා. මහින්ද රාජපක්‌ෂ පරාජය කිරීමේ අවශ්‍යතාව එජාපයට තිබුණා. ඒ බලය ලබාගැනීම සඳහා. මහින්ද රාජපක්‌ෂ පරාජය කිරීමේ අවශ්‍යතාව විදේශ බලවතුන්ට තිබුණා. ඒ ඔහු ඔවුන්ට අවනත නොවූ නිසා. මහින්ද රාජපක්‌ෂ පරාජය කිරීමේ අවශ්‍යතාව බෙදුම්වාදීන්ට තිබුණා. ඒ ඔවුන්ගේ අරමුණ සාර්ථක කරගැනීමට අවශ්‍ය දේශපාලන පරිසරය නිර්මාණය කරගැනීම සඳහා. මහින්ද රාජපක්‌ෂ පරාජය කිරීමෙන් මෙන්න මේ තුන්වැනි කාරණය සඳහා අද බෙදුම්වාදීන්ට විශාල අවසරයක්‌ ලැබී තිබෙනවා. අද මේ ආණ්‌ඩුවේම ඇමැති ධුරවල ඉන්න විජයකලා මහේෂ්වරන් වැනි අය කරන ප්‍රකාශ තුළින් එය පැහැදිලියි. ඒ ප්‍රකාශ වර්තමාන ජනාධිපති සහ අගමැති අනුමත කරන්නේ කොයිවිදිහටද? එක ඇමැතිවරයෙක්‌ ජාතික කොඩිය එසවීම ප්‍රතික්‌ෂේප කරනවා. රට තුළ එවැනි තත්ත්වයක්‌ නිර්මාණය වෙන්නේ ජන කොටස්‌ තුළ විරසකභාවය පළල් කරන පරිසරයක්‌ ඇති විටයි. අද මේ රටේ මේ නිර්මාණය වෙමින් පවතින්නේ ජන කොටස්‌ එකතු කරන පරිසරයක්‌ නෙමෙයි. ඒක කොහොමද සංහිඳියාවක්‌ වෙන්නෙ. ඒ තුළින් කොහොමද සාමය ඇතිවෙන්නෙ. මේ ක්‍රියාදාමය ඉදිරියට ගියහොත්, මේ නව ආණ්‌ඩුක්‍රම ව්‍යවස්‌ථාව සම්මත වෙලා ක්‍රියාත්මක වුවහොත් එය මේ රටේ මින් පෙර නොවූවිරූ විශාල ප්‍රචණ්‌ඩත්වයක ආරම්භය විය හැකියි. බටහිර බලවතුන්ගේ උවමනාවට හදන මේ නව ව්‍යවස්‌ථාව ක්‍රියාත්මක වුවහොත් මේ රට ලිබියාවක්‌, සිරියාවක්‌ ඇෆ්ගනිස්‌ථානයක්‌, ලෙබනනයක්‌ වීම වළක්‌වන්න බෑ.
 
 සාකච්ඡා කළේ 
 පාලිත සේනානායක
 ඡායාරූපය – ගාමිණී මුණසිංහ

BY RAVI LADDUWAHETTY Courtesy Ceylon Today

Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, in an exclusive interview with Ceylon Today last afternoon, dared the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) Central Committee to terminate his membership from the Party in which he has been a member for the last 50 years since 1968 and a Member of Parliament for the Beliatta electorate since 1970.

He said: “It was I who salvaged this country from the most brutal terrorists the world has seen. It was I who rebuilt this country and also the SLFP in the post-war history as the President of the country and now it is very easy for the Party that I resurrected to sack me.”

He added: “How many times have they threatened to sack me. We will see what will happen if they do that.” The former President also said that the SLFP Central Committee and the Party hierarchy should sack the current President Maithripala Sirisena from the Party leadership for getting a segment of the Party to join the UNP Government in return for Cabinet portfolios.

He added that there should be an independent inquiry as to how and why the SLFP Members who even lost the 2015 Parliamentary Polls were brought into the National List and made Cabinet Ministers, which was against all the norms and ethics of the SLFP.

He said that the Party should be taking all that into consideration before taking any disciplinary action against him, he said.

He was reacting to comments made by the United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) General Secretary and Fisheries Minister Mahinda Amaraweera to this newspaper that the SLFP Central Committee will take stringent disciplinary action against any Party member who acts in contravention of the Party interests and promotes another Party.

The UPFA General Secretary was reacting to a report in Ceylon Today that the former President was to lead the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna at the Local Government Polls campaign

Amaraweera also said the SLFP will be watching the activities of the SLPP members who are in the SLFP and would be submitting a report to the Central Committee with the recommendations to even terminate membership.

“We have not taken a final decision on the former President, but the entire principle that he and other members are engaged in was ethically and morally wrong, he said. Amaraweera dared Rajapaksa to leave the SLFP and do all what he wanted, adding that it was extremely unethical and immoral for Rajapaksa to remain in the SLFP and criticize it.

Rajapaksa and the others in the joint Opposition (JO) are well aware that the SLPP would be an abysmal failure and that it would be a matter of time before it collapses and that is why they are all opting to return to the SLFP,” he claimed.

Shenali D Waduge

Manjari Dissanayake is the daughter of Former Sri Lanka Navy Spokesperson Commodore D.K.P Dassanayake. Thinking the UN to be righteous, unbiased, transparent she arrived to hand over a complaint on behalf of her father and others to the UN officials who came to investigate those arbitrarily detained. She was in for a rude shock. ‘Is this an LTTE complaint’ she was asked when she replied in the negative, the UN official chose to ignore Manjari. Where is the neutrality and fair play that the UN boasts off? Where in the UN Charter does it give UN envoys the right to say that they are personally happy that Sri Lanka’s war heroes are in prison? We want answers from the UN. We are shocked and disgusted by the behavior of these know-it-all envoys and our exasperation has got enhanced after realizing from UN’s own internal investigations that UN officials are taking bribes and can be monetarily influenced. Now we know why UN Officials are behaving as they are in Sri Lanka. UN is today an emperor without clothes.

LTTE is a designated terrorist organization remaining banned in 32 countries. It is unlikely that the UN delegates were mandated to ONLY visit LTTE for Article 55c of the United Nation’s Charter clearly binds UN to uphold universal respect for, and observance of, human rights and fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion.”

https://www.facebook.com/ManjariDassanayaka/videos/933253693496722/

https://www.facebook.com/GlobalSriLankanForum/videos/1961756954038729/

https://www.facebook.com/SLchathu/videos/vb.1559412267707189/1919800991668313/?type=2&theater

Manjari Dassanayake came to hand over a complaint regarding her father & commander Sumith Ranasinghe who are both under arbitrary detention.

Some salient points she raised to the media while the UN officials sat in the committee room

• The UN officials arriving in Sri Lanka to investigate those under arbitrary detention José Antonio Guevara Bermúdez, Leigh Toomey and Elina Steinerte spent 11 days in Sri Lanka but did not visit a single non-LTTE detainee. WHY? Was the mandate of these UN special delegates to visit only LTTE detainees? If so they should have arrived specifically with that mandate made clear. If their mandate was to look into everyone arbitrarily detained why did they not look into the war heroes who have been detained without charge?
• Commodore Dassanayake and others have been in prison for 5 months – that length of time without charge does constitute arbitrary detention or does the UN have another definition for arbitrary detention confining it to only LTTE terrorists?
• Manjari informs media that her father is a public figure, a war hero with a good name & questions why he is being kept inside for no reason? A question for those in the present government to answer especially why CID has not provided Commodore Dassanayake’s February 2015 statement.
• According to Manjari her father was arrested without the consent of the Attorney General but using the powers invested in the investigating officers of the CID without any credible evidence while CID refuses consent to bail being given. Is there some political motivation for this action?
• Manjari also informed the media that the 1^st suspect was out on bail.
• Manjari also brings out some interesting points – the Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera addressed the UN Human Rights Council on 3^rd March 2017 and the day prior (2^nd March) these Naval officers were arrested by the CID. Then UN Special Envoy Ben Emmerson arrives to visit Sri Lanka 14^th July 2017 while Commodore Dassanayake was arrested on 12^th July 2017 – were these arrests made to curry flavor with the visiting UN officials? Why have their bail applications been postponed 4 times?
• Why couldn’t the UN Committee spare just 5 minutes to accept her letter?

http://www.island.lk/index.php?page_cat=article-details&page=article-details&code_title=176505

Shamindra Ferdinando writing to the Island newspaper also highlighted the arrest of the Naval officers. Commodore Dassanayake was one of the senior officers responsible for an ‘unprecedented naval blockade meant to prevent a possible attempt to evacuate LTTE leader Velupillai Prabakaran, his family and senior most cadres such as Pottu Amman & Soosai”. Is this the reason for the Commodores arrest?

Commodore Dassanayake is fondly remembered for the seizure of an LTTE vessel (meant to evacuate Prabakaran) in early December 2009 following the interrogation of Prabakaran’s successor having captured him in Malaysia in August 2009.

The golden question is – are these naval officers who had been responsible for curtailing and curbing LTTE terror attacks in prison because of their heroism? With the UN system itself admitting that UN officials are taking bribes and can be monetarily influenced has LTTE blood-money politically motivated these imprisonments and is that why bail is being refused and charges are not being framed? Are these arrests revenge punishments for sabotaging LTTE objectives?

Leaving aside the shortcomings of the previous & present government or the influences that LTTE illegal monies can exert the key question is why is the UN behaving so biasedly? With unabashed bias they have the arrogance to even ask Manjari if she is appearing on behalf of an LTTE cadre and when she denied she was completely ignored to the extent to say that they would not come out of the Committee room until Manjari left.

These UN officials should have had to decency to at least accept the letter by Manjari and officially acknowledged her. Whether they throw the letter into the dustbin as most probably that is what would happen, the onus was on these supposedly unbiased and fair officials of the UN to have accepted her letter.

We know that all of the submissions by non-Tamils to the UNHRC when it called for investigation on Sri Lanka would have all landed in the dustbin because their reports did not draw any of the concerns of those who submitted. It was based on this realization that many chose not to make submissions. UN has lost all its credibility not only in Sri Lanka but in all of the developing nations as well. UN is today regarded as a puppet of Western imperialism. Though puppet governments will bend over backwards accepting these UN viceroys that arrive every other day, in the eyes of the general public these UN officials are toys of the West reading out prepared statements aligned to bigger agendas & motives.

It is absolutely shameful that the UN would stoop this low and it calls for China and Russia to raise a voice in the General Assembly regarding the highhanded behavior of UN officials and the manner that they dictate to sovereign countries without realizing the limits to their mandate

Shenali D Waduge

Dilrook Kannangara

Over 20 Tamil terrorist groups were raised by Hindustan (India) in 1970s and 1980s to advance its interests. When Sri Lanka amassed its forces and was about to exterminate their terrorist leaders in Jaffna peninsular, Hindustan invaded the island saving their mostly Hindu terrorists. India planned to do same in May 2009 to save Tamil terrorists fighting under an ancient Hindu flag. India’s new found opportunistic ally USA also readied to invade in the guise of saving ‘civilians’.

What stopped them?

There was a clear difference between July 1987 and May 2009 that prevented them from invading.

The buzzword in 2009 was ‘human shields’. LTTE took close to 300,000 Tamil people hostage and kept them as a human shield. However, due to war, shortage of ameneties and hopelessness they escaped to government controlled areas. Only a few thousand was left in the last few days. USA and India had to invade when civilians were around. Otherwise their clumsy excuse would be exposed.

Unlike July 1987, in 2009, over 250,000 Tamil civilians were in a closely guarded small area called Menik Farm. They were provided with free food, medical facilities, sanitary facilities they never had in their homes and safety. If India or USA invaded the island to save LTTE terrorists, these people’s lives would be at grave risk. Not only will the invaders attack the army triggering an army response trapping these people in a far more deadly crossfire, the emotionally charged environment would have caused clashes with the military. Clashes would have easily spread to other parts of the island killing scores, mostly those who team up with the invaders. India and USA feared for their pawns’ safety if they invaded and refrained from invading.

LTTE terrorists were enourmously useful for India and USA – the two largest states financing terrorists in Asia. LTTE does not come with the anti-American sentiment inherent to all other terrorists. In fact, LTTE terrorists tried very hard to build a close understanding with USA and India. Despite pro-Soviet India in 1980s armed and financed Tamil terrorist groups, it quickly turned to USA and the West where its refugee army of menial workers toiled to send it money to the tune of $300 million a year.

LTTE terrorists were mostly Hindus, not Muslims as most other terrorists are. Some Christians were also present. This fact created a soft power bridge with India and USA (world’s largest Hindu and Christian nations respectively). LTTE had a proven record against attacking Chinese and other ships. This is an enormous asset for both India and USA. In addition, LTTE was self-financing as it engaged in narcotics, human trafficking, prostituting Tamil girls, boys and women, extortion and Tamil Diaspora financing. LTTE had a land, sea and air wing which is a very rare combination among all terrorist groups. LTTE also mastered artillery – a rarity among terrorist groups. LTTE used mostly North Korean weapons which also helped India and the West because weapons flow traceability doesn’t lead to their countries. Western and South Indian leaders visited Tamil terrorist leaders in drones. Chris Patton’s visit to the Tamil terrorist leader is significant. He represented the separatist camp against China and agitated for Hong Kong’s resistance against unifying with China.

Interestingly, Sri Lanka bought most weapons from nations that genuinely fight against terrorists created by western elements. The key to defeating terrorism sponsors in a proxy war is to destroy their local proxies while holding their cowardly associates at risk. This was why USA hastily withdrew from South Vietnam, Somalia, Pakistan and Lebanon. It has lessons for Sri Lanka after the war.

Upali Cooray Former General Manager of SATHOSA

Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasinghe has said government has taken measures to introduce fair price shops in collaboration with private sector and Sathosa to ensure fair prices for essential commodities in the open market. This statement of the prime minister is something like dousing fires without preventing fires. Considering the fact that the oncoming crucialelections scheduled for February 2018 he has to say something to the masses who are burdened with high commodity prices. Sathosa has seen six Chairmendeparting quickly unable to withstand interference by the trade minister who has held this post for eight consequent years.

I 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.

As very strongly pointed out by the media the entire effort depicts, corruption, amateurism, confusion andfrenzy. The unrealistic prices in many essential food stuffs during the festive season is not a phenomenon which occurred due to unavoidable circumstances” or unforeseen” reasons. It is a situation which has occurred due to downright manipulation, lack of vision and ignorance.

The government machinery is equipped with more than adequate resources to forecast market trends fairly accurately and this crisis situation could have been avoided if timely action was taken. Preventing fires” is a safer option than dousing fires”.

The Cost of Living and Food Security Coordinating Committee (COLFSCC) now headed by the Prime Minister himself has as its members all relevant heads of Ministries, departments and other government institutions to advise and guide the decision making by the Cabinet. The cost of living is a phenomenon which cannot be held down, but market distortions resulting in sudden unrealistic prices can conveniently be avoided by constantly monitoring and adjusting the upward trends by timely action.

The COLFSCC was first headed by that eminent bureaucrat G.V.P Samarasinghe during the post 1977J.R.J government. The committee met like a prayer every Friday for a review of market situation and forecasts.

To name some of the eminent Secretaries who chaired the COLFSCC and entrusted with the responsibility of food procurement and distribution were men like M.D.D Peiris, Lakshman De Mel, late Gaya Kumaratunga, late R.A.P Goonatillake, and T.P.G.NLeelaratne.

These senior officers were very experienced in internal and external trade and the so called private sector Mafia could not hood – wink them. They knew how to avoid unnecessary crises in the market and advised the ministers well in advance to take timely action. The COLFSCC is the most crucial arm the government can make use to forecasting and planning strategies to prevent market distortions.

According to recent media reports the Ministry of trade and Commerce attempt to import Coconut kernel from Kerala and Malaysia was thwarted by the far thinking Minister Harsha De Silva. Trade minister Rishad Badiuddin appears to have personal interests before national interests. He has been the Trade minister for last eight years continuously just because he can bring some minority votes to the government. MinisterHarsha De Silva pointed out importing Coconut kernel could lead to coconut diseases hitherto unknown beingbrought in to the country. Coconut should never be imported in to this country. The fact remains that the drought is not the only reason for the poor harvest but was the neglect of existing estates due to high cost of fertilizers and inclement weather this year. What is necessary is to inculcate among growers and give incentives for practicing modern methods such as use of organic fertilizer and drip irrigation to grow coconuts in the growing areas. The ban in felling coconut trees has only a minimal effect. Drip irrigation though has a high initial capital will pay back in the long term because the use of water is very minimal and hence the trees will withstand droughts of long duration..

Notwithstanding the short term solution of importations, the long term solution should be import substitution which has only been a catch phrase of many a government since independence; not yielding satisfactory results due to lack of political will of populist policy makers.

Yearly escalation of prices of rice during the latter part of every year for the last 40 years is clearly reflected in statistics compiled by the Central Bank and the Department of Statistics. Therefore it is not an unexpected increase in prices. Steps should have been taken at least in the month of May to meet the yearly shortage and whatever decrease in quantities on account of the long drought without procrastinating till the crisis became fully blown. The failure to take timely action is a severe set back and a condition this government is afflicted with when it comes to cost of living. The formal method of importing rice is to call for open tenders or from prequalified suppliers. Initially the reorder levels and reorder quantities should be determined and arrival periods adjusted ensuring not to have a backlog. Then the specifications such as unhusked grains, black seeds, insect attacked seeds, broken seeds, moisture content percentages per ton,packaging, should be specified. Despite all these precaution the suppliers especially in India and Pakistan can obtain quality certificates from unscrupulous cargo surveyors. Therefore it is of utmost importance to send Sri Lankan quality control officers from the procuring institutions to be at the port of loading. These officers dare not give false certificates because they know very well that they will lose their job.  Emergency imports are a method of manipulating the needs of the commission agents.

One cannot grasp how 100, 00 MT of white Nadu riceper month (par boiled) be consumed by this country. Par boiled white rice is mostly consumed in the estate sector. The southerners prefer partially red rice par-boiled or raw, and the northerners need par boiled complete red rice. The urban middle class consumers prefer Samba, Keeri Samba or Supiri keeri Samba (Short grain parboiled/raw red or white rice) Sri Lanka’s   2016/17 total production of rice is 1.4 million metric tons. Government envisages importing 100, 00M/T every month from Dec 2017 to March 2018 viz. a total of 400,000. Considering the fact that there have been heavy rains; the farmers were hopeful to have a good harvest but their hopes  have been battered on account of the severe shortage of Urea. Here again is a short sighted policy of importing Urea. In short it is inefficiency, lack of foresight and manipulation. The private sector importers will import quantities prudently and sell their stocks at a profit. The festive season will see unprecedented price hike of rice.

The state has never bought more than 10% of the Paddy harvest because it does not have the finance and the logistics to do so. This was so even when the Paddy Marketing Board was in full fly. Even what is procured by the state is low quality rice. The best quality is either hoarded by the millers and traders or farmers themselves with a view to making unconscionableprofits. The the Rice Mafia” is within the government itself.

The latest scheme by the trade ministry headed by Minister Badiuddeen is spelling out PMB should sell Paddy only to the Sathosa. Apart from the Sathosamills at Higurakkoda and Pannegamuwa which were set up during my time with Indian aid. These two mills are now defunct. There are well over thousand small time millers. What the Trade ministry does is to sell back the paddy to private small time millers throughthe Sathosa. Why should private millers buy Paddy from Sathosa when they can go direct to the PMB and buy at a lower price? It is clear that Sathosa has now become the commission agent for paddy. Who collectsthe Commission?

The indications are that the cost of living would worsen towards the Sinhala and Hindu New year with more price escalations especially in respect of vegetables. To sight one astonishing example is how vegetables such as Potatoes and Beet root grown in the Nuwara Eliya District is transported to Dambulla Economic center by middlemen and then transported back to Nuwara Eliya town for sale. Of the vegetable and fruits harvested in this country 40% perish in transport and handling. When the previous government attempted to reduce this wastage by introducing crates in transport, it had to be abandoned on account of thepressure brought on by the transported and the middlemen.

It is heartening to see private sector super market chains have come to the rescue of vegetable and fruit farmers.  The embedded farmers to the supermarket chain cultivate crops under the supervision of the supermarket company. They are provided with funds not only for cultivation, funds for the education of childrenare also given.  The farmer is expected to give the harvest to the super market collecting centers in the region. The transport to Colombo is by crates and perishability is around 15%. Super market vegetables and fruits are better in quality and lower in price.

The eyewash on the pretext of fair prices will end up resulting in more hardships to the majority poor.

Upali Cooray

Egalawan288@gmail.com

Former General Manager of SATHOSA

By Dr. Tilak S. Fernando

Twelve months have faded away like the stars, and it feels like yesterday. Here again, we are on the eve of another new year with full of hopes. Everyone, in Sri Lanka, expected so many changes, year on year, particularly from the dawn of January 2015, with full of optimism and expectations once the ‘Yahapalanaya’ Government was elected to office. Nearly three years have lapsed since, yet the outlook has become grim and dismal with corruption, bribery, and politicians becoming labelled as ‘deal captains’! With the much speculated local government council elections due in February 2018, people need to pull out their crystal ball once again to have a vigilant look in a mindful manner, if and to whom, they should vote for.

At the dawning of every New Year, people all over the world adopt their own style of celebrations. After all, New Year comes but once a year! During this transition, many like to adopt new promises to reach their expected goals with great zeal. The current trend is such that one cannot possibly escape from the commercial hype, which has been conditioned in the minds of the modern society. Nothing gets in the New Years’ Eve groove than to visit a dance at a five star hotel, disco or a nightclub to blast away the old year.

First of January is declared as a public holiday in most countries, but in Sri Lanka. However, with the Duruthu Poya falling this year, it makes a holiday this year. Banks in Sri Lanka, generally on the 1st of January, take full advantage of their customer base by inviting, welcoming and serving them with traditional Kiri Bath and sweet meats, in order to subtly condition customers to invest additional sums of money in the form of fixed deposits or opening up of new saving accounts with baits as incentives! They call it the ‘ganu denu’ tradition, which people at large, tend to believe as part of the Sri Lankan tradition.

Diverse Opinion

The crucial issue, which crops up year on year, during New Year celebrations, is the diverse opinion of various groups. Those who are passionately dedicated to religious principles deem to think that organizing and/or participating in New Year’s Eve dances, to usher in a new year, and spending excessive amounts of money will only add more and more fuel to the ever-increasing commercial hype. “What do they gain out of such endeavours, except for momentary pleasure out of vigorous pelvic thrust in ‘ slow-slow-quick-quick tempo’ & serious bogeying and tripping the light fantastic to the strains of rock, pop and Latin American rhythms“, they argue. Being somewhat holy, they would rather prefer to participate in an overnight Pirith ceremony, or visit a holy abode, according to one’s faith, and receive religious blessings, in order to wash their past year’s sins before starting afresh, on new resolutions to become better persons!

They, therefore, point a finger particularly at men, who get intoxicated beyond a state of oblivion, and struggle to emulate the British aristocracy in what they have seen or heard in George Bernard Shaw’s play, Pygmalion (‘My Fair Lady,’) and expect their partners to escort them home by taxis, at early hours of the morning of the new year, after getting drunk and due to the high level of ‘spirit’ within their systems. What is more embarrassing, they say, would be, when they start singing the national anthem ‘namo namo maatha’ in their drunken jolly mood and getting choked due to excessive consumption of Champagne, Black Label or Shiva’s Regal that have given fire within their systems.

Divergence

Contrary to such beliefs, party goers pay no heed to such adverse criticism, and seem to believe that as long as they do not harm anyone, there is nothing wrong in painting the town red, as it were, on the new year’s eve, at their own expense, because it’s their prerogative to merry make on the new year’s eve. However, by and large, the general consensus appears to be that it would be far better if everyone thinks alike to help the poor, helpless and the needy in the society, rather than being selfish and self-centered, especially during the festive season, and not to waste money on razzmatazz or jollifications.

As a consequence of severe droughts and flooding of late, thousands of farmer families across the country have become penniless; added to such trauma, an unsolved battle between man and the wild elephant has managed to push some to commit suicide, after losing their lifetime accumulations. All in all, there are thousands of families on the breadline, due to the exorbitant cost of living prevailing at present, where not even could they afford a paltry meal out of pol sambol, as the coconut and rice prices have gone through the roof. Therefore, it stands to reason as to why only a tiny minority of town folk should spend lavishly at various tourist hotels to have a ‚ Waltzing Matilda’ scenarios until dawn!

Watching this cat and mouse game, one would assume, it is nothing but due to family, and social backgrounds of individuals, and such practices will never leave them, as long as they are entrapped in a presumptuous society. Let’s hope the rulers in this country will make sensible New Year resolutions in the coming year, and observe the codes of ethics in humanitarianism, rather than restricting actions to portentous speeches.

New Year is the best time to update man’s dictionary of life, where removal of words such as jealousy, hate, revenge and greed, by replacing those with new words like, love, care, compassion and honesty in its place.

Wishing everyone a prosperous and a healthy 2018.

tilakfernando@gmail.com

Dr Sarath Obeysekera  

We all know that most of the wives of discarded politicians visit Kali Amma Kovil in Modera –Colombom15 . These wives visit the Kovil to curse on the opposition members begging divine help to bring the husbands to power .I wonder whether the VIP visited the Kovil to seek divine help ?

I am sure this Kovil in Muttur has been a place where Adivasi Tamil speaking community patronize  to seek help to punish people who may have done something wrong to them.

If it is a historical Buddhist archeological site, independent commission should be formed with members of Buddhist clergy   and ascertain the correctness the claims by  both parties.

If one visits Kathatagama Devalaya .one can see the prominence is given to God Kathargama who is a Hindu God and Buddhist Temple ,Bo tree and all other gods of your choice are given a place inside the premised .

During this period of reconciliation ( Sanhindiyawa   සංහිඳියාව )  spearheaded by none other than Ex-President of Sri Lanka ( Whose father was instrumental in creating the rift between two nationalities for political gains and killed by a Buddhist monk) ,Mrs Chandika Bandaranayake  can chair the commission and find an amicable solution to this Temple /Kovil problem .

My suggestion is to provide space for both communities to pray the god they prefer if they wish.

Real Buddhist should preach Metta .Karuna and act with Upeksha  and preach for reconciliation .

Dr Sarath Obeysekera

Dr Ruwan M Jayatunge 

The Human Brain

The human brain is a very complex organ. The human brain is largely interconnected. Brain controls all   mental   and physical functions. The human brain is primarily composed of neurons, glial cells, neural stem cells, and blood vessels. An average human brain contains about 100 billion neurons.  There are as many as 1,000 trillion synaptic connections in the brain.  Approximately 20% of the blood flowing from the heart is pumped to the brain. It uses 20% of all the oxygen we breathe. The brain is the central organ for adaptation to experiences (McEwen, 2016).

The brain is considered as the control center of the body. Human thought is controlled by the brain.  The brain is an electrochemical organ using electromagnetic energy to function (Beyo, 2011).

The largest part of the brain is the cerebrum which contains the cerebral cortex. The cerebrum directs the conscious or volitional motor functions of the body. Furthermore it controls planning, memory, and sensory integration.

The brain is divided into two hemispheres,-the left and right hemispheres.  The right hemisphere is known as the creative side of the brain, while the left hemisphere is the logical or analytical side of the brain.  Two hemispheres communicate with one another with corpus callosum. This bundle of nerve tissue contains over 200 million axons.

The lateralization of brain function is the tendency for some neural functions or cognitive processes to be more dominant in one hemisphere than the other. Language is considered to be one of the most lateralized human brain functions. Left hemisphere dominance for language has been consistently confirmed in clinical and experimental settings and constitutes one of the main axioms of neurology and neuroscience (Riès et al.,2016).

Right hemisphere characteristics include creativity, the ability to see patterns, spatial awareness, and the understanding of how things relate to one another in different contexts. The absence of verbal and visual memories for early childhood and traumatic events relates to their right brain nonverbal retention and storage. The memories are unconscious, emotional, somatic behavioural and timeless. Right hemisphere damage can cause serious disruptions to verbal communication (Abusamra  et al, 2009).

The brain has four lobes. The brain’s frontal lobe is responsible for functions such as reasoning, problem solving, judgment, impulse control. The Parietal Lobe is involved in processing pain and touch sensation. The temporal lobe is involved in auditory sensation. The occipital lobe is located at the back portion of the brain and is associated with interpreting visual stimuli and information.

The human brain has three major components: the cerebrum, the cerebellum and the brain stem. The brainstem which includes the medulla, the pons and the midbrain, controls breathing, digestion, heart rate and other autonomic processes.The cerebrum is the largest portion of the brain. Cerebrum is associated with higher brain function such as thought and action.

The Cerebral Cortex is the outermost layer of the cerebral hemisphere which is composed of gray matter. The cerebral cortex is a complex structure   (Agirman,  2017). The mammalian cerebral cortex contains numerous anatomically and functionally distinct areas arrayed in a complex mosaic across the cortical sheet (Van Essen et al., 1998). The Cerebral cortex plays a key role in memory, attention, perception, cognition, awareness, thought, language, and consciousness (Kandel et al., 2000).

The neocortex is the largest part of the cerebral cortex which is the outer layer of the cerebrum. The neocortex involved in higher-order brain functions such as sensory perception, cognition, generation of motor commands (Lodato,  2015).  Semantic memories appear to be stored in the neocortex, specifically the anterolateral temporal lobe of the neocortex (Carlson,  2013).

Among the other brain structures the amygdala helps the body responds to emotions, memories and fear. The amygdala plays an important role in the computation of internal reward signals (Mormann et al.,2017). Amygdala is the storage for the memories associated with emotional events. It is the center of the emotional memory. In addition amygdala is involved in the modulation of memory consolidation and social interaction. The ventromedial prefrontal cortex region of the brain  is responsible for regulating emotional responses triggered by the amygdala.

Many researchers believe that amygdala may be responsible for the emotional reactions of PTSD patients. Overstimulated amygdale can cause many PTSD symptoms. Psychological trauma usually increases activity in the amygdala. In severe anxiety the size and connectivity of the Amygdala changes drastically. Morey and colleagues (2012) found the association between a smaller amygdala volume and PTSD.

The hippocampus is vital for learning memory and spatial navigation. The hippocampus is critical for the formation of new memories and spatial orientation. According to Eichenbaum and Cohen (1993) hippocampus plays an important role in the experienced events (episodic or autobiographical memory).

PTSD patients have decreased gray matter volume in the hippocampus. In addition reduced hippocampal volume can be seen in PTSD. Following the reduced hippocampal volume patients loses the ability to discriminate between past and present experiences or correctly interpret environmental contexts.

The hypothalamus region of the brain controls mood, thirst, hunger and temperature. The neocortex or rational brain is important to develop language, abstract thought, consciousness and imagination. The hypothalamus has a central neuroendocrine function.

The reticular formation is a comprehensive network of nerves found in the central area of the brainstem. The reticular formation is important in somatic motor control, cardiovascular control, Pain modulation and Sleep and consciousness. The reticular formation regulates the shift between sleep and wakefulness.

The Cingulate Gyrus is located in the medial side of the brain between the cingulated sulcus and the corpus callosum. The region participates in the emotional reaction to pain and in the regulation of aggressive behavior. The anterior cingulate gyrus is important in self-regulation(Posner, 2007).

Insula is a vital human brain structure. It is a small region of the cerebral cortex located deep within the lateral sulcus, which is a large fissure that separates the frontal and parietal lobes from the temporal lobe (Craig 2009). Insula is important in awareness of our own body. The anterior insular cortex   is implicated in a wide range of conditions and behaviours, from bowel distension and orgasm, to cigarette craving and maternal love, to decision making and sudden insight (Craig 2009). Garavan (2010) believes that insula plays a key role in drug craving.

The Human Mind

There is a popular notion that states – As humans we live in our Minds. The mind is the organized totality of an organism’s mental and psychological processes, conscious and unconscious. Mind does not end in the brain and brain is the liaison between mind and body (Tan, 2007). Mind is not a physical object but the mind is infinite. According to some scholars the mind is a set of cognitive faculties. The British evolutionary biologist, Sir Julian Huxley expressed that brain alone is not responsible for mind.   The mind is also portrayed as the stream of consciousness where sense impressions and mental phenomena are constantly changing (Karunamuni &Weerasekera , 2017).

Theory of mind is the ability to attribute mental states to self and others in order to understand and predict behavior. It involves the distinction between the real world and mental representations of the world (Duverger  et al.,2007). The mind is a set of cognitive faculties including consciousness, perception, thinking, judgment, and memory.  Human mind is the result of the brain activities and has a conscious as well as a subconscious side. The human mind is   built on the physical scaffolding of the brain. Human mind is shaped by natural selection and sexual selection (Pinker, 1997). According to the psychomotor theory, the human mind may be an emergent property of the motor system, expressed by human language (Tan, 2007).

Our mind is our own creation. John Milton emphasized that the   mind is its own place and in itself can make a hell of heaven or a heaven of hell. If we view the mind as software, and the brain is obviously the hardware.

The Buddha explained that the mind is exceedingly subtle and is difficult to be seen. It attaches on whatever target it wishes. The mind moves about so fast it is difficult to get hold of it fully. It is swift. It has a way of focusing upon whatever it likes. The mind is capable of travelling vast distances – up or down, north or south, east or west – in any direction. It can travel to the past or the future. It roams about all alone. The Buddha viewed mind as a non-physical phenomenon which perceives, thinks, recognizes, experiences and reacts to the environment. The Buddha further stated that mind is the ultimate cause of everything in this world.

Sigmund Freud developed a topographical model of the mind, whereby he described the features of the mind’s structure and function. Freud used the analogy of an iceberg to describe the three levels of the mind. Furthermore Freud analyzed the human psyche in terms of three elements, which he calls, the Id, Ego, and Super Ego.

Carl Jung believed that the human psyche was composed of three components: the ego, the personal unconscious, and the collective unconscious. Jung concluded that the collective unconscious is formed by instincts and archetypes that are symbols, signs, patterns of behavior, and thinking and experiencing, that are physically inherited from our ancestors.

The American, logician, mathematician, and philosopher Kurt Gödel argued that human mind is a Turing machine. For Kurt Gödel human mind was fully algorithmic.

The Cognitive Psychologist Steven Pinker expressed that human mind is a naturally selected system of organs of computation. Steven Pinker states that cognitive psychology has shown that the mind best understands facts when they are woven into a conceptual fabric, such as a narrative, mental map, or intuitive theory. Disconnected facts in the mind are like unlinked pages on the Web: They might as well not exist.

The spiritual author Eckhart Tolle affirms that boredom, anger, sadness, or fears are   conditions of the human mind.  He further states that the mind is a superb instrument if used rightly. Used wrongly, however, it becomes very destructive.

Mind -Brain Connection

The mind vs. brain debate has been going on since before Aristotle ( Sarich, 2013). Brain” refers to the “machine” made of neurons and glia; “mind” refers to the products of that machine including conscious thought, as well as emotions, perceptions and unconscious thought (William Harris). The mind is the manifestations of thought, perception, emotion, determination, memory and imagination that take place within the brain. The mind is where experiences are collected and then expressed in other words the mind is a storehouse of information. Mind is that it is the space and time in which thought and feeling exists. Some consider mind as pure vibrating energy. The Nobel prize laureate Neils Bohr’ once stated; there is an indivisible wholeness, an unanalyzable wholeness.  It is assumed that large-scale quantum coherence is necessary to understanding the brain and mind (   Sarich, 2013).  The concept of mind shows that a human being has a corporeal body and a mind, that is, a range of psychological capacities (Bennett, 2007).

According to western medical science there is no anatomical entity known as mind. However Sigmund Freud used the term “psyche” to describe the mental process. It is suggested that the history of the concept of mind shows that a human being has a corporeal body and a mind (Bennett, 2007). According to Pandya (2011) mind is responsible for one’s thoughts and feelings, the seat of the faculty of reason or the aspect of intellect and consciousness experienced as combinations of thought, perception, memory, emotion, will and imagination, including all unconscious cognitive processes. Pinker (2003) hypothesized that the mind is a complex system composed of many interacting parts. The Indian Philosopher E.S Krishnamoorthy states that mind is a virtual entity.  The British Neurologist John Hughlings Jackson called the prefrontal cortex as the organ of mind.

In his famous book , The Tell-Tale Brain: A Neuroscientist’s Quest for What Makes Us Human” the Neuroscientist V.S. Ramachandran writes :How can a three-pound mass of jelly that you can hold in your palm imagine angels, contemplate the meaning of infinity, and even question its own place in the cosmos? Especially awe inspiring is the fact that any single brain, including yours, is made up of atoms that were forged in the hearts of countless; far-flung stars billions of years ago. These particles drifted for eons and light-years until gravity and change brought them together here, now. These atoms now form a conglomerate- your brain- that can not only ponder the very stars that gave it birth but can also think about its own ability to think and wonder about its own ability to wonder. With the arrival of humans, it has been said, the universe has suddenly become conscious of itself. This, truly, it the greatest mystery of all.

Dr Sarath Obeysekera 

The government should provide compensation to the farmers, who were affected due to the prevailing shortage of fertilizer, leader of National Freedom Front (NFF), Wimal Weerawansa said today

I keep wondering why cabinet ministers .deputy ministers, State Ministers, provincial Ministers .Ministry Secretaries ,  Directors ,Area agricuktural officers did not notice the imminent  shortage in advance ?

Government gives room to opposition to make noise knowingly about the imminent shortage.

They did not notice the rice shortage and HE calls Pakistani president to send rice and fertilizer.
I am quite confident that Spot Buying od commodities ( like petroleum products)  is the latest way of getting kick backs ?

I feel sorry for the poor masses for being hood winked by corrupt politicians

Dr Sarath Obeysekera

ආචාර්ය චන්දන ජයලත්

ළඟ එන පලාත් පාලන මැතිවරණය හමුවේ ඡන්දදායකයින් තම ඡන්දය පාවිච්චි කිරීමේදී සලකා බැලිය යුතු සාධක නැතහොත් පාදක කොට ගත යුතු නිර්ණායක කවරේද යන්න පිළිබ`ද වූ කතිකාව ඉතා ප්‍රාථමික මට්ටමක පවතී. සුපුරුදු ලෙස ජාතික තලයේ ප්‍රධාන දේශපාලන චරිත තුන හතරක් වටා ගෙතුනු මාතෘකා ඔස්සේ පලාත් පාලන මැතිවරණය ද දියාරු වෙමින් පවතී. එකිනෙකාට මඩ ගසා ගනිමින් යෙදෙන බංකොලොත් දේශපාලනයක නිරත කොල නිල් දේශපාලනයට දැන් මාතෘකා ද නැත. ලිංගික අල්ලස් හොරකම් චණ්ඩිකම් හැරෙන්නට කියන්නට තවත් යමක් ඉතුරුවී නැත. දැක්මක්, වැඩපිළිවෙලක්, දිසානතියක් නැත. පලාත් පාලන ආයතනයේ භූමිකාව ගැනවත් කථාවක් නැත. මේ අනුව ජනතාවක් තීන්දු ගත යුත්තේ කුමක් අරඹයා ද?

මේ වන විට ගස්, ගල්, තාප්ප, බිත්ති, වටා සිනහවෙන් දෝර ගලා යන මුහුණත්තට්ටු වලින් ඉල්ලා සිටින්නේ කුමක් ද? මනාපය පමණි. කසල කලමනාකරණය, නගර අලංකරණය, ආලෝකය හා උපයන වෙළ`ද හා වරිපනම් බදු මුදල් පෙරලා මහජන උපයෝගීතාව පිණිස යෙදවීම ඇතු`ඵ ජන ජීවිතයට සමීප බලපෑමක් ඇති කළ හැකි ඉතා වැදගත් කාර්ය භාරයක් මෙම ආයතනවලට පැවරේ. එහෙත් ටෙන්ඩර් මගඩි හරහා කොමිස් මුදලක් උපයා ගැනීම බඩගෝස්තරය කරගත් දැනට දේශපාලනයේ නිරත බොහෝ අයවලූන් නුසුදුස්සෝ බවට පත්වෙති. තවද, මස් වැද්දන්, කසිප්පු වෙලදාමේ යෙදෙන්නන්, ගස්, පස්, ගල් හා වැලි ජාවාරම්කරුවන් එම ආයතනවලට වද්දවා ගැනීමම ඔවුන්ට එම ව්‍යාපාර කිසිඳු අවහිරතාවකින් තොරව සිය`ඵ නීති කඩකරමින් කරගෙන යාමට අවශ්‍ය මහජන බලපත්‍රයක් දුන්නා හා සමානය.

සුපුරුදු ලෙසට ප්‍රදේශයේ ආසන සංවිධායකගේ හෙන්චයියන්ට ඡන්දය ස`දහා නාමයෝජනා ලබා දීමෙන් පැහැදිලි වන්නේ තම ස්ථාවරය පවත්වා ගැනීම් වස් තමන්ට හිතවත් වන්දිභට්ටයින්ගෙන් සමන්විත තෙවන ස්ථරය ගොඩ නගා ගැනීමට දරණ උත්සාහය නොවේද? මෙම තුප්පහි තු=ට්ටු දෙකේ දේශපාලන සංස්කෘතියකට නෑකම් කියන ශ්‍රී ලංකා යු.ඇන්.පී. හා ඒවායේ පරන කොටස්කරුවන් ට ජනතාව පාඩමක් උගැන්විය යුතුමය. එසේ නොවනා තාක්කල් ජනතාවට සිදුවන්නේ හූල්ලමින් උඩ බලා ගෙන සිටීමටය. වසර 70ක් තිස්සේ සිදුවූයේ ද එයමය. ඒ අනුව නව අදහස් සහිත තරුණයින්ට හා කාන්තා පාර්ශවයට වැඩි අගයක් ලබා දිය යුතුව ඇත. ඔහු හෝ ඇය ලබා ඇති අධ්‍යාපනය, පවුල් පසුබිම, නායකත්ව ගුණාංග හා විනය මෙහිලා වැදගත්ය.

ජනතාවට වඩාත් සමීප සෘජුවම බලපෑම් කළ හැකි ඉතා වැදගත් තීරණ ගන්නා කුඩාම දේශපාලන අධීකාරිය පලාත් පාලන ආයතනයයි. ඒ ස`දහා උගත් තරුණ බුද්ධිමත් ජවසම්පන්න නවකයින්ට අවෂඇථාව ලබා දිය යුතුමය. මළ ගෙවල් වල පා`ඵ කැපූ පමණින් කිසිවෙකු සුදුස්සෝ නොවෙති. ඉඳින්, අතීත කාමයෙන් නොපෙලී අතීතය ගුරු කොට ගනිමින් අනාගතය දෙස බලමු. අශඇවයින්ගේ දත් ගණන් නොකොට ආකලඇපමය වෙනසකට යමු. සුපුරුදු කතිරයෙන් බැහැර වෙමු. දෙපාරක් සිතමු. වෙනස් තීන්දුවක් ගනිමු. නව දේශපාලන ගමන් මගක් කෙරෙහි විශඇවාසය තබමු. අත්හදා බලමු.

Affidavit of former Senior Superintendent of Police Douglas Peiris in August 2010 revealing Mr. Ranil Wickramasighe’s involvement in The Affidavit Sworn Translation

I, Panawala Vidanelage Joseph Douglas Peiris, a permanent resident of Manning Town Flats, Nawala, now in remand custody on an Order made by the Magistrate of Gampaha, being a Roman Catholic, do hereby make oath and declare as follows: 1. I am the deponent above-named. 2. On 1st January 1987, I served as the Headquarters Inspector of Police of Peliyagoda Police. Having subsequently gained a promotion as an Assistant Superintendent of Police as per the Departmental Scheme of Promotions, I was later on a special promotion appointed as a Superintendent of Police with effect from 1.2.1990. It was Nalin Delgoda, who served as the Superintendent of Police in charge of Kelaniya Division from 20th February 1989. Mr. Merril Gooneratne functioned as the Deputy Inspector General of Police. 3. On or about 6th of June 1996, after having had discussions with Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe, I was instructed to go abroad for an about 3 years on a forged passport prepared in the name of T. V. K. Wimalasena. This trip was arranged by one Gamini Abeyratne on the instructions of Dr. Rajitha Senaratne. 4. Having on 22.7.1996 travelled secretly in a boat, I arrived at Thuththukudi on 24.7.1996. Later on I went to Switzerland via Bangkok. Mr. Gamini Abeyratne accompanied me on that trip. 5. Thereafter, having stayed in Switzerland, Germany, Italy and France, on 8.6.1997 I arrived in Madras, India. Subsequently, on the instructions of the General Secretary of the UNP, Mr. Gamini Athukorale, I went to Bangkok. Mr. Gamini Athukorale gave me 4,000 American Dollars through one Neil of Peliyagoda. I was given instructions to make this  journey using the said money. Mr. Athukorale made arrangements on several occasions for me to receive money. 6. When I was in Bangkok, I received information that discussions have been had to have me killed by Police Inspector Sudath Chandrasiri, the Security Officer of Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe. No sooner I received this information I returned to India. 7. Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe spoke to me over the telephone prior to the Presidential Elections that were to be held in December 1999 and promised that he would come to power and get all my problems solved. I did not get an opportunity to speak to Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe after the Presidential Elections. 8. Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe, having come to know that Mr. Sirisena Cooray was endeavouring to find me a job through a friend of his in India, had got disturbed and gave me instructions by telephone through Mr. Gamini Athukorale that I should not have any connections with Mr. Sirisena Cooray. As such I realised that harm would be caused by my life. Further, after having realised that Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe was deceiving me, I made arrangements in February 2000, to return to Sri Lanka.

9. Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe who had received the news of my intending return to Sri Lanka had summoned my son to the Office of the Leader of the Opposition and had informed him that arrangements are being made to send me for a job in Dubai. Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe after having had discussions with my son had caused the preparation of a forged passport in the name of Don Victor Amarasinghe through Bodhi Ranasinghe, Milinda Moragoda and the UNP Organizer of Colombo Central Mahroof and caused the delivery of the said passport to me in Madras through one Hameed. I received instructions from Mr. Hameed to proceed to Dubai to obtain a job from Don Davood Ibrahim of Bombay who is at present a resident in Dubai. 10. I felt a strong suspicion about Don Davood Ibrahim since he was a leader of the underworld and due to such suspicion, I decided to return to Sri Lanka. Particularly, I felt suspicious that there was an ongoing conspiracy with or without the knowledge of Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe to have me confined or killed through Davood. On 3.8.2000, I arrived at the Katunayake Airport on flight No. UL 124 from Madras. I arrived so making use of the forged passport prepared in the name of Don Victor Amarasinghe by Bodhi Ranasinghe and Mahroof and sent to me through one Hameed. On my arrival at the airport, the Officers of the Criminal Investigations Department took me into custody. 11. It was on the instructions of Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe’s Security Officer, Police Inspector Gunasekera that I met Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe in January 1987. At that time I held the post of Headquarters Inspector of Peliyagoda Police Station. When I was on duty as the Headquarters Inspector of Peliyagoda Police Station, Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe told me that if I performed my duties in the manner I was told by Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe, I would have no problems, whatsoever. 12. After having got a house belonging to the Fertilizer Corporation at the Batalanda Housing Complex during the period of terror in 1989/90, it was for security reasons that I went into residence there. Whilst Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe was residing in a tourist bungalow at the said housing complex, he was holding discussions with Senior Police Officers and also with me. 13. Two persons named Dharmasiri and Thadi Priyantha were introduced to me by Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe himself, as Members of the Independent Students’ Union of the Colombo University and he gave me special instructions not to interfere with all their work and activities, in any manner whatsoever. Further, he also gave me instructions not to get involved in any disputes with them when carrying on duties in the Gampaha District. Instructions were also given not to take any action in any manner against their operations in the Gampaha District. 14. I was personally aware that Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe had given Thadi Priyantha and Dharmasiri, houses, vehicles and money and that one of those houses was situated behind the Mahara Rest House and that it belonged to the Assistant Deputy Divisional Government Agent, Mahara.
10. I am also aware that the gang led by Thadi Priyantha, as instructed by Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe, killed the following persons: (i) Person by the name of Perera who served at the Kelaniya Tyre Corporation. (ii) Lawyer of Hulftsdorp, Mr. Daya Lankapura. (iii) Lawyer of Hulftsdorp, Mr. Kanchana Abeypala. (iv) Lawyer of Gampaha, Mr. Nissanka. 16. I was aware that the group led by Army Lieutenant Nissanka and Senanayake, who were close to Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe, carried out operations in civvies within the Gampaha District as instructed by Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe. Lieutenant Senanayake is now not among the living. I am unable to give a description of the special operations carried out by the said group. However, Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe personally knew of the operations carried out by this group. Furthermore, Merril Gooneratne, who was the then Deputy Inspector General of Police and Senior Police Superintendent, Nalin Delgoda also personally knew about all the operations carried out by this group on the instructions of Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe. 17. I personally knew that Lawyer Mr. Liyanarachchi who was detained at Thangalla Police Station was transferred on an Order made by Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe to be detained at Sapugaskanda Police Station. No sooner Lawyer Mr. Liyanarachchi died whilst in detention at Sapugaskanda Police Station, I informed Mr. Ranil Wickremsinghe. What he told me then was, not to be afraid about it and that he would duly do what is needful about the problems that may consequently arise. Thereafter, Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe held a special discussion about the death of Mr. Liyanarachchi at the Office of Zerni Wijesooriya, Director of the Police Secret Information Division. The then Inspector General of Police Mr. Ernest Perera, and the Deputy Inspector General of Police of the Criminal Investigations Department, Mr. Frank de Silva, including me, also participated at this discussion. The facts pertaining to the instructions given by Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe concerning the death of Mr. Liyanarachchi could be disclosed. The office of Mr. Zerni Wijesooriya was situated adjoining the Ward Place residence of the then President J. R. Jayewardene. 18. When I was at Madras in India, I came to know that Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe had met D.M.K. Leader M. Karunanidhi, M.D.M.K. Leader V. Gopalaswamy, alias Vaiko, and P.M.K. Leader Dr. S. Ramadas, who were Leaders of political parties registered in Madras, giving support to the LTTE and have had discussions with them. On August 4th, 5th and 6th 2000, I made a lengthy statement containing the forgoing facts before the Officers of the Criminal Investigations Department, and also I came to know that the Criminal Investigations Department has given charge of the said statements to the Magistrate’s Court of Gampaha. I’m personally aware that serious death threats are being made to all my family members and I state that I am in constant fear.

I, having been produced in Court on 7.8.2000, on a Special Application made by my Lawyers the Court gave an Order to detain me under strict security. A Special Application is being made by me to Her Honour the Magistrate to place this Affidavit on record in safe custody, in the Case in which I was produced. Since severe threats are being levelled on my life and the lives of the members of my family, I entrust a copy of this Affidavit to my son for the purpose of obtaining all requisite security measures from the government. I further state that I am swearing this Affidavit voluntarily. Sgd/…… Deponent Before Me Rexy G. Piyadasa Attorney-at-Law, Notary Public & Commissioner for Oaths.

Link : Daily News http://archives.dailynews.lk/2004/03/25/new25.html

 By Dharman Wickremaratne 

මේ ඔහු ලියා තිබු දෙයයි…

“දමිල කතෝලිකයෙකු වශයෙන් ශ්‍රී ලංකාව යනු සිංහල බෞද්ධ රටක් බව මම විශ්වාස කරනවා.

අපි පුංචි සෙල්ලමක් කරමු.

1. දමිල හින්දු රටක් තිබේ නම් පෙන්වා දෙන්න..
   —- තමිල්නාඩුව…
   හොදයි
   2. ඇන්ග්ලිකන් ඉංග්‍රිසි රටක් තිබේ නම් පෙන්වා දෙන්න.
   — එංගලන්තය–
   හොදයි
   3. හින්දි හින්දු රටක් තිබේ නම් පෙන්වා දෙන්න
   — ඉන්දියාව —
   හොදයි
   4. ඉස්ලාමීය අරාබි රටක් තිබේ නම් පෙන්වන්න.
   — සවුදිය…
   හොදයි
   5. දැන්… සිංහල බෞද්ධ රටක් තිබේ නම් පෙන්වන්න…
   —- ??????????????——

හ්ම්.. ඒ රටේ නම ශ්‍රී ලංකාවයි.. නිවැරදිවම කිව්වොත් සිංහලේ

_______________________________________________
යේසුස් ක්‍රිස්තුස් ලංකාවට ආවාද ?….. නෑ
මොහොම්මද් නබි ලංකාවට ආවාද ?….. නෑ
ක්‍රිෂ්ණා ලංකාවට ආවාද ?… නෑ.. (රාමා එක වරක් ලංකාවට ආවා. ඒ ලංකාව විනාශ කරන අරමුණෙන් විතරයි)
බුදු හිමියන් ලංකාවට ආවාද..? … ඔව් .. ඇත්තටම..

ඉතින් මේ බුදුන්ගේ රටයි. බුදුන් විශේෂයෙන්ම තෝරාගෙන වැඩි එකම රට ලංකාවයි.
_________________________________________________

අප ශ්‍රී ලංකාව සිංහල බෞද්ධ රටක් ලෙස හදුන්වන්නේ මේ නිසයි.
ඒත් දැන් සමහර මෝඩ සිංහල බෞද්ධයින් කොතරම් නිවට නිර්ලෝභීද කියනවා නම් තමන්ගේ සියල්ලම අත් හැර ඇත. එබැවින් දැන් බල්ලන් බලලුන් පවා මේ රට තමන්ගේ යැයි අයිතිවාසිකම් කියන්නට පටන්ගෙන ඇත.

ඔබට තවමත් විශ්වාස නැති නම් මම මෙය බයිබල් කතාවක් ඇසුරෙන් කියා දෙන්නම්…

එකමත් එක කාලයක සොලමොන් නම් ඉතා බුද්ධිමත් රජ කෙනෙකු සිටියා. ඔහු රජු වගේම ඒ රටේ නීතිය පසිදලන්නා. හමුදා අණ දෙන නිලධාරියා.

ඉතින් එක දවසක් ගැහැණුන් දෙදෙනෙකු එකම දරුවෙකුට අයිතිවාසිකම් කියමින් ඔහු ලගට පැමිණියා.

අම්මලා දෙන්නෙක්.. එක දරුවෙක්..? සොලමොන් රජු ඇහුවා. යකෝ කාගෙද මේ දරුවා..?

මගේ.. ගැහැණුන් දෙන්නම කෑ ගැහුවා.
මේ දරුවා කාගෙද..? සොලමොන් රජතුමා නැවතත් ඇහුවා..
මගේ.. ආයෙමත් ගැහැණුන් දෙදෙනාම කෑ ගැහුවා.

හොදයි.. බුද්ධිමත් රජතුමා හිතුවා. දරුවාව දෙකට කපලා මේ දෙන්නාට බෙදලා දෙන්න රජතුමා සොල්දාදුවන්ට අණ කළා.
එක ගැහැණු කෙනෙක් ඉස්සරහට ආවා. දරුවාගේ ජීවිතය බේරන්න කියලා රජුට ආයාචනා කළා. දරුවාගේ ඇත්ත අම්මා කවුද කියලා රජු එයින් දැනගත්තා.

බොරු අම්මාව එල්ලා මරන්න නියම කළා.

නෝර්වේ, එක්සත් රාජධානිය, ඉන්දියාව, ඇමරිකාව, UNHRC, LTTE, PLOTE, IPKF මේ හැමෝම එකතු වෙලා ශ්‍රී ලංකාව කොටස් වලට කඩන්න හැදුවා.

කවුද ඒ රට ආරක්ෂා කරන්න ඉදිරියට ආවේ..?

මුස්ලිමුන්ද..? … නෑ..
දමිල ජාතිකයින්ද ?… නෑ…
යුරෝපියන්ද ? … නෑ…
සිංහලයොද..? … ඔව්..!!!

දරුවාගේ ඇත්තම අම්මා වගේ මේ රට ආරක්ෂා කරගන්න පෙරට ආවේ සිංහලයෝ…

ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ හැබෑම අයිතිකාරයෝ කවුද කියලා දැන් පැහැදිලියි නේද..?

(අපි සොලමොන් රජතුමා තරමටම බුද්ධිමත් නෑ කියලා මම දන්නවා.. ඒත් මේ ටික තේරුම් ගන්න තරම් බුද්ධියක් තියනවා නේද..?)”

By Lucien Rajakarunanayake Courtesy The Island

Do you think this election pledge will turn out to be a political pledge for the future?

What pledge are you talking about?

What else,  but the President Sirisena’s pledge to use the sword against relatives, friends or party supporters,  to create a clean, unstained and people friendly political culture.

Wow…that is a helluver pledge; looks like he has forgotten the Madu Valigey threat.

It is obvious the Madu Valigey does not work with the political culture, he is living with today… but isn’t it strange his family is not included among those who will face his sword…relatives, friends or party supporters.

Look, how can he threaten to use the sword against the family…he served for nearly a decade as a minister in the Cabinet of Mahinda Rajapaksa, when full support for the family was the keyword of politics and governance. He must have learned a lot from that MR phase of political culture, just like his reward of State Minister posts to the political catchers who are joining the SLFP.

Don’t you think he is moving on to a major change in the political culture in the country…he has spoken of the Lichchavis, too.

Well,well… it is best to remember that the most corrupt and crooked manipulators in our politics have always talked about the Lichchavis. It was JR Jayewardene who remembered the Lichchavis, when he spoke of letting the Robber Barons come here.  The Lichchavis are also remembered by his nephew Ranil Wickremesinghe, who has a major problem with conflicts of interest in the Treasury bond scams. So let the Lichchavis have their own past glory, without being linked with our corrupt politics of today.

OK…But what do you think about politicians having national agendas and not personal agendas?

That is a really good Sirisena Agenda, with little relevance to the reality of politics today.

What is so Sirisena about that?

Was it a national agenda that made Sirisena try so hard to come to some deal with the Mahinda-Basil Pohottu party or the SLPP?  What is so national about now trying to come to coalitions between the SLFP and SLPP once these

local polls are over? Is it not to grab control of local bodies to manipulate the political future of those obsessed with power and not service to the people?

But shouldn’t we be serious about his thought of purifying politics and giving power to honest politicians?

Come on, didn’t we hear much of this stuff in the early days after January 8, 2015.  Isn’t this the very stuff that the Ven. Maduluwawe Sobitha Thera was so committed to? But what has happened with the Maithripalanaya of today, which is quite a distance from Yahapalanaya?  The problem is in finding honest politicians, whether it is from the blues or greens, or any other colour.  To think that a party leaders’ convention of today could promote honesty in politics is the belief in the baloney of current politics.

But don’t you think that his use of the sword against the corrupt would start the ball rolling against corruption?

He has to begin with those very close to him…like the SLFP Secretary whose ministry was paying billions in rent for an unoccupied ministry building.

Do you think any sword would touch such a person?

How far will that sword go to fight the hoarders of paddy, especially in his Polonnaruwa area, leading to huge imports of the staple food? Would any sword rip the bags of commission earned?

Will that sword truly make some major swipes at those who have been running and ruining the SriLankan – the National Carrier – from the day they were appointed –a set of truly crooked fliers?

How long will it take to bring any legal sword to bear with real effect on those politicians who do not declare their assets under the law?

What kind of sword will be used to stop the import of luxury vehicles for politicians, in both the government and opposition? Will there be a special sword needed to curb their unaccounted for electoral expenses?

What sword is to be used to prevent Ministers from appointing spouses and other family members to key positions n the ministries they preside over?

Now, what about the Maithri advise to party leaders to prevent youth who enter politics from supporting thuggery, corruption or indecent acts?

The last sword call is a truly big one. It is to build youth not drawn to thuggery, corruption, and indecency for one’s political advantage.

This is the call for the cleanup of the stinking political grime of today, which has only enlarged from the time of the Rajapaksa Regime and not reduced, with the Maithripalanaya with a Yahapalanaya slogan. Let’s hope it is a serious resolution for the future clean up of politics and governance.

It is certainly too late to expect such clean politics in the coming local government polls – with all the crookedness and delays involved.

Let us make this our own the sword-bearing wish for the New Year!

Editorial Courtesy The Island

December 30, 2017, 1:27 am
Blood is said to be thicker than water. That may be so, but there are some exceptions. Blood doesn’t seem so thick where Sri Lankan politics is concerned. We have had some political families whose feuds even led to legal wrangles. This should come as no surprise in a country which has a history replete with instances of even patricide and fratricide committed by kings, usurpers and aspirants to the throne. It is said that two dogs at the same bone seldom agree, and one may add, even if they share the same parents and are raised in the same house. Power hungry bipeds, engaged in electoral contests, can be far worse than feral, nay, mad dogs.

A candidate contesting the upcoming local government polls, in a suburb of Colombo, is reported to have gone to the extent of brandishing a pistol and threatening his own mother, who attended a meeting organised by his political rivals. How savage a person, capable of pulling a gun on his mother, will get if he happens to clash with others, is not difficult to imagine. A politician who cannot enlist the support of his own mother should be ashamed of himself.

The aforesaid incident seems to represent, in microcosm the polarization of the Sri Lankan society at large, owing to partisan politics which has been relentlessly eating away at social institutions including the most important one—the family. It is against the backdrop of such societal fissures caused by party politics that the fragile unity of those currently sharing power at the centre should be viewed.

The incumbent government, formed by two hostile political entities out of sheer expediency, is split down the middle but is being held together at the top. Their members haven’t gelled as a group at the grassroots level contrary to their leaders’ claims that they have joined forces for the sake of the country. For the first time since their coming together the SLFP and UNP leaders have had to pit themselves against each other in a contest which, given the extremely high stakes therein, neither of them can afford to lose. Worse, it is a three-cornered contest in the southern parts of the country with the newly formed Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) posing a formidable challenge to both of them. Public resentment is palpable and sure to take its toll on the constituents of the ruling coalition, especially the SLFP and the UNP. Meanwhile, the SLPP, in spite of its rhetoric, is in the same predicament as a trigger-happy cowboy left with only a single bullet in a fight with two gunslingers.

The unity government has manifestly reached a crossroads at long last. It managed to postpone elections for two and a half years, but finally had to bow to the inevitable. The upcoming mini polls, however, are the least of its worries. The two main parties can no longer wish away the harsh political reality that they have to contest the next presidential election. Only the naïve may expect President Maithripala Sirisena to show his gratitude to the UNP by retiring after completing the first term and letting UNP leader and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe secure the much-coveted executive presidency. It is also unthinkable that the UNP will again throw in its lot with President Sirisena as a common presidential candidate. The UNP hasn’t produced a single President for about a quarter century; it has lost two consecutive presidential elections (in 1994 and 1999) and avoided two others (in 2010 and 2015). This must be a world record. The consternation of the GOP’s rank and file is understandable.

The SLFP will have to take no prisoners against the UNP in the upcoming electoral contest if it is not to lose a sizeable chunk of its vote bank, which is not well disposed towards its political marriage of convenience with the UNP, to its off-shoot, the SLPP. The UNP, too, will have to give no quarter in taking on the SLFP if its membership is not to get too demoralised to vote; UNPers thirst for power. They have been openly calling for forming a UNP government. At the same time, the UNP and the SLFP will have to try to defeat their common enemy, the SLPP.

It is a catch 22 for the SLFP and the UNP. Divided they will certainly fall. But, they have no way of remaining united in the forthcoming race which has already torn families asunder. Even friendly backyard cricket encounters end up in brawls in this country.

by Shamindra Ferdinando Courtesy The Island

December 30, 2017, 1:41 am
There is an increasing chorus against the engineering of defections in the run up to the local government polls as it is to the disadvantage of those unable to provide incentives for such crossovers.

UNP Colombo District MP Mujibur Rahman yesterday said that ongoing wave of defections in the run up to February 10 local government polls was severely undermining much repeated National Election Commission (NEC) promise to ensure a level playing field.

MP Rahman said so when The Island asked him whether the party was concerned about politicians and supporters of political parties, including UNPers switching allegiance to its coalition partner, the SLFP.

The UNPer emphasized that the NEC should make its position clear on the defections though they weren’t contrary to the election laws.MP Rahman pointed out the absurdity in arresting those pasting posters while defections take place. Although MP Rahman didn’t refer to specific cases, obviously he was reacting to defections engineered by the SLFP.

The NEC as well as those who had been demanding free and fair elections couldn’t turn a blind eye to what was taking place.

Two leading polls monitoring groups, People’s Action for Free and Fair and Election (PAFFREL) and Network for Election Monitoring (NEM), too, yesterday said that politicians switching their allegiance to other parties and some accepting portfolios were causing serious concern though such practices couldn’t be legally challenged.

PAFFREL Executive director Rohana Hettiarachchi yesterday told The Island that the right of the members of parliament to switch sides couldn’t be disputed. However, such defections certainly had propaganda value and were meant to promote a party at the expense of another, he said.

Asked whether the March 12 Movement meant to promote free and fair elections and enhance quality of candidates had taken up defections and members receiving ministerial portfolios in accordance with its overall objectives, Hettiarachchi acknowledged the grouping never took up the issue.

Hettiarachchi admitted that this matter hadn’t so far received the attention it required.

Attorney-at-law Anuradha Keerawella of NEM told The Island that though ‘crossovers’ weren’t contrary to current laws, such practices during campaign period caused moral issue.

NEC Chairman Mahinda Deshapriya wasn’t available to obtain his views on the statements made by MP Rahman, Hettiarachchi and Keerawella.

Both Hettiarachchi and Keerawella expressed concern over the electorate being influenced by defections and offering of ministerial portfolios meant to enhance popularity of a particular party.

  එසේම එලිලන් නම් වූ කොටි මිනීමරුවාගේ බිරිය වූ ආනන්දි සසිතරන් එම්. කේ. සිවාජිලිංගම් උතුරු පළාත් සභාපති සිවඥානම් සහ ද්‍රවිඩ සංධාන මන්ත්‍රී ශ්‍රීධරන්ද උන්වහන්සේගේ ආදාහන පූජෝත්සවයට එරෙහි වී ඇත. මේ හැර වත්මන් රජයට සංහිඳියාව ගැන උපදෙස්‌ දුන් ජනාධිපති නීතිඥ ශාන්තා අබිමානසිංහම්ද ඊට එරෙහි වී අධිකරණයට පෙත්සම ගොනු කළ වුන්ට සහය වී ඇත.

 
 ද්‍රවිඩ ජාතික ජනතා පෙරමුණේ දේශපාලනඥයකු වු මනිවන්නන් මේ පෙත්සම අධිකරණය වෙත යොමු කළ නීතිවේදියා වේ. එසේ වූවත් අධිකරණය පෙත්සම ප්‍රතික්‍ෂේප කර තිබේ.
 
 එහෙත් රජය සංහිඳියාව ගැන හඬ නගයි. උතුරේ සංහිඳියාවක්‌ ක්‍රියාත්මක නොවන අතර ද්‍රවිඩ සංධානය සහ උතුරු පළාත් සභාව සංහිඳියාවට මුවා වී බලය ලබා ගැනීමට උත්සාහ කරන බව පැහැදිලිය.
 
 එසේ වූවත් රජය යථාර්ථය අවබෝධ කරගෙන නැත. එය වන්නි මෙහෙයුමට ඊශ්‍රායලය සහය දක්‌වා තිබියදී පලස්‌තීනය ඊට සහය වූ බව පැවසීමට සමානය.
 
 යාපනයේ නාගවිහාරාධිපති හිමියන්ගේ ආදාහන පූජෝත්සවය ව්‍යර්ථ කිරීම සඳහා අන්තවාදීන් දැරූ උත්සාහය සඳහා අපූරු තර්කයන්ද අධිකරණයට යොමු කර තිබුණි.
 
 ඒ ආදාහන පූජෝත්සවය නිසා ප්‍රදේශයේ සෞඛ්‍ය තත්ත්වයට හානියක්‌ සිදුවන බව දැක්‌වීමය.
 
 ප්‍රභාකරන් යාපනයේ බෝම්බ පිපිරීම් සිදුකරද්දී සෞඛ්‍ය තත්ත්වයට හානියක්‌ නොවුණේද?
 
 එදා ප්‍රභාකරන්ට එරෙහිව කිසිවෙක්‌ වචනයක්‌වත් පැවසුවේ නැත. එසේම යාපනයේ සිදුවීම් ගැන නිවේදන නිකුත් කරන විකල්ප ප්‍රතිපත්ති කේන්ද්‍රයේ රාජ්‍ය නොවන සංවිධාන ක්‍රියාකාරිනියක වූ මරියාද සිල්වා නමැත්තියත් නාගවිහාරාධිපති නාහිමියන්ගේ ආදාහන පූජෝත්සවය නතර කිරීමට අන්තවාදීන් දැරූ උත්සාහය ගැන කියන්නේ කුමක්‌ද?
 
 මේ පසුබිම මැද යාපනයේ නාගවිහාරාධිපති නාහිමියන්ගේ ආදාහන පූජෝත්සවයට එරෙහිව සිදු වූ එදිරිවාදීකම් මෙරට බහුතරයෙන් වසන් වී ඇත.
 
 එම එදිරිවාදිකම් ද්‍රවිඩ සංධාන නායක සම්බන්ධන් හා උතුරු මහ ඇමැති සී. විග්නේශ්වරන් පවා හෙළා දුටුවේ නැත. අඩු වශයෙන් ශෝක ප්‍රකාශයක්‌වත් ප්‍රකාශයට පත් වූයේ නැත. 
 
 එසේම කොටි හිතවාදී වෙබ් අඩවි අපවත් වී වදාළ නාහිමියන්ව හඳුන්වනු ලැබුවේ අන්තවාදී භික්‌ෂුවක්‌ ලෙසිනි. මෙහිදී ආනන්දි සසිතරන් නමැති කොටි කාන්තාව පැවසුවේ නාගවිහාරාධිපති නාහිමියන්ගේ ආදාහන පූජෝත්සවය පැවැත්වීම තුළින් හමුදාව සිංහල බෞද්ධාගම ද්‍රවිඩ ජනතාව මත යොමු කිරීමට ක්‍රියා කරන බවයි. ඇගේ මේ අවමන් සහගත ප්‍රකාශය කිසිදු දේශපාලනඥයෙක්‌ හෙළා දුටුවේ නැත. මේ හැර මෙරට භික්‌ෂු පරපුරට පවා යාපනයේ සිදු වූ මේ එදිරිවාදීකම් වසන් විය.
 
 කොටි හිතවාදී වෙබ් අඩවි එම ආදාහන පූජෝත්සවය ගැන තවදුරටත් පැවසූවේ ද්‍රවිඩ දේශපාලනඥයන් සහ ප්‍රධාන පෙළේ නීතිවේදීන් ඊට එරෙහිවී තිබියදී හමුදාව මැදිහත් වී ආදාහන පුජෝත්සවය පැවැත් වූ බවයි.
 
 එහෙත් උතුරේ පළාත් සභාව පවත්වාගෙන යැමට රුපියල් මිලියන ගණනක්‌ ලබාදී ඇත්තේ උතුරේ ද්‍රවිඩයන් නොව මෙරට බහුතරයේ බදු මුදල්ය. උතුරු මහ ඇමැති විග්නේශ්වරන්ද ඒ බව අමතක කර ඇත.
 
 මේ පසුබිම මැද උතුරේ කොටි හිතවාදීන් උන්වහන්සේගේ ආදාහන පූජෝත්සවය පැවැත්වීම ගැන දොස්‌ නගා ඇත්තේ ආරක්‍ෂක හමුදාවට සහ හමුදාපති මහේෂ් සේනානායක මහතාටය.
 
 එහෙත් යාපනයේ නාගවිහාරාධිපති නාහිමියන්ගේ ආදාහන පූජෝත්සවයට එල්ල වූ එදිරිවාදීකම් මෙරට බහුතරයෙන් වසන් විය.
 
 එසේ වූවත් යාපනයේදී පොලිස්‌ භටයකුගේ වෙඩි පහරින් ද්‍රවිඩයකු මියගියේ නම් කොළඹ රාජ්‍ය නොවන සංවිධාන නටන නැටුම් බලාගත හැකිය. රජය පවා මේ සිද්ධිය ගැන නිහඬ විය. ද්‍රවිඩ සංධාන නායකත්වය පවා එම එදිරිවාදීකම් හෙළා දුටුවේ නැත.
 
  කීර්ති වර්ණකුලසූරිය

Ch Sushil Rao| TNN |Courtesy The Times of India

HYDERABAD: Ravana is not the villain that he is made out to be. There is his side of the story too. A city engineer has given Sri Lanka just the kind of account they would like to read about Ravana. Bala Sankuratri, who has authored the book ‘My Name is Ravana’, gets Ravana to tell his story from his perspective. Next on agenda is a translation of the entire Ramayana in a way that Ravana is understood in context.