Jaffna was a kinglet subject to the Kandyan Kingdom: Military expedition under Mudaliar Attapattu despatched by Kandyan King Senerath to defend Jaffna Tamils from Portuguese conquest in 1619 is further evidence

MANAGING THE ECONOMY, RAJAPAKSA VERSUS YAHAPALANA

June 1st, 2017

KAMALIKA PIERIS

We have inherited a heavy national debt, said Yahapalana. The country had a debt of SLR 9000 billion (USD 60 billion) when Yahapalana took over, said President Sirisena. Yahapalana had inherited a Rs. 482,940 million foreign debt burden which has to be settled before 2016 said Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe. We are saddled with USD 1900 million in loans, he added on another occasion, and that excludes the loans obtained by state institutions during the Rajapakse administration. Rajapakse government took loans for white elephant projects such as an airport and a deep sea port. Both continue to incur heavy losses, Debt servicing now consumes three-quarters of the budget, said Yahapalana in March 2017.

When the new government came to power in 2015, many hidden details pertaining to those loans came to light, said Ranil Wickremasinghe. The previous government never informed Parliament of the loans it had taken nor were they included in records. We found that loans taken by public institutions, amounting to 960.8 billion, were not included in the public debt system. CPC had taken Rs. 365 billion, Ports Authority Rs. 260 billion, SriLankan Airlines Rs. 212 billion, the list is too long, he said. The Sri Lanka Transport Board had not sent Rs. 13 billion it should have sent to the EPF and ETF. Departments and Ministries owed further Rs. 58.4 billion, of which Rs. 24 billion was owed by the Highways Ministry.

Opponents of Yahapalana reply that under Yahapalana the foreign debt has increased from Rs. 3113 billion in 2014 to Rs. 4,070 billion at end of September 2016. During the same period, domestic debt too has increased from Rs.4, 278 bn. to Rs .4, 959 billion. Yahapalana had said that Sri Lanka Airlines had incurred a 3.5 billion liability, experts said that Sri Lanka Airlines simply could not have incurred such a large liability.

Mahinda Rajapakse replied Yahapalana .He said that the debt inherited by Yahapalana was an accumulated debt stretching from the time of President J.R. Jayawardene in the 1970s. He pointed out that all governments borrow and the current government inherits the debt. His government had only borrowed between 1.4 billion USD to 2.4 billion from 2008 to 2014. These were not excessive amounts that could not be met. The amount of debt a country can take on depends on its ability to pay back the loans as they become due. Whenever we took out loans they were done in carefully planned manner which is why we never had to contend with an unmanageable pilling up of debt.. His government was able to reduce the loan percentage, year by year.

Rajapaksa said the present government blamed him for obtaining unbearable loans, but they obtained more loans during last two years than his government had borrowed during its 10 years. Since January 2015 the present government has been on a reckless borrowing spree. We did not get indebted like this even during the war. The Yahapalana government is taking on debt much faster than it is retiring the existing debts. Also Yahapalana is using these loans as a cover to borrow more and more. Rajapaksa said unlike Yahapalana his government did not take loans for consumption. He used loans to launch mega development projects, which could be used for decades. They can be seen all over the country. We finished the war and developed the country.

Nivard Cabraal, Former Governor of the Central Bank has issued a statement comparing the economy then and now. Economic growth 2010 to 2014 was average 6.8 % now it has dropped to 4.8%, he said. GDP in 2014 was a robust USD 80 billion up from USD 24 billion in 2005. Now it is USD 82.3 Billion and is getting less in 2016. Foreign reserves were at USD 8208million in 2014, up from USD 2735 million in 2005. In 2015 it fell to USD1161 million and crashed to a mere USD 450 million in 2016. Foreign investment in Treasury Bills and Bonds was around USD 3 billion in 2014. These investments are now only 5.5% of the total, from the earlier 11.4%. International credit rating as per Fitch was ‘positive” in 2016 and is now downgraded to B+ and ‘negative’.

Cabraal said that according to official economic data published after 2015, the previous administration transformed the 2005 US$ 24 billion Sri Lankan economy to a US$ 80 billion economy by 2014, while enhancing the GDP per capita from US$ 1,242 to US$ 3,853. Economic growth for the six years, 2009 to 2014, averaged an unprecedented 6.5% per annum. Inflation was controlled at mid-single digits for six years from 2008 to 2014. The debt situation as indicated by the Debt to GDP ratio which was dangerously high at 91% in 2005 was skillfully managed and reduced to 70% by 2014, even while a massive infrastructure development programme was implemented.

Foreign reserves increased from US$ 2,735 million at end of 2005 to US$ 8,208 million by end of 2014, continued Cabraal. The Balance of Payments recorded a massive surplus of US$ 1,369 million in 2014. From 2006 to 2014, the rupee was maintained at stable levels, with the average depreciation of the rupee during this period being the lowest-ever since the liberalization of the economy in 1977.By end of 2014, interest rates of all Government Securities from three months to 30 years had stabilized between 5.5% and 9.5%.

The country’s credit rating and economic outlook had improved significantly, during the Rajapakse government and foreign investors invested confidently in Sri Lankan stocks and government securities, said Cabraal. Foreign Direct Investment recorded significant growth and reached USD 1,616 million in 2014, its highest-ever in history. Overall, the economy progressed smoothly through the severe global economic, financial, oil and food crises, as well as across the major terrorist conflict and a possible bank failure. As a consequence, external and internal shocks did not penetrate into the economy, and people did not suffer any adverse effects of these mega challenges.

In contrast to this, under the current administration, economic growth has been woefully weak, and inflation has started to rise, said Cabraal. The debt to GDP ratio has escalated sharply to 76% by end 2015, and is likely to exceed 82% at the end of 2016, according to analysts. Infrastructure development has been minimal. Foreign reserves have plummeted to USD 5,453 million by end January 2017.

Cabraal went on to say, the rupee is depreciating rapidly, while the 2015 BOP deficit of US$ 1,489 million was the worst-ever in the country’s history. Interest rates have almost doubled in the last two years, adding a massive burden to the government finances. Foreign investors have pulled out more than USD 2.5 billion from government securities, with the stampede to exit continuing. The country’s credit rating and outlook has been downgraded. FDI has crashed to around USD 400 million in 2016. The stock market is in a serious downward slide, and hundreds of billions of rupees has been wiped out from the market capitalization. In the meantime, unbearable fiscal and other burdens are heaped on the people, the private sector and the economy almost daily, even while the economy is being rocked with mega scams, scandals and losses.

Mahinda Rajapakse returned to the debate. “When we built the Hambantota Harbour they called it the biggest ever swimming pool. They said that there the Mattala airport was of no use and stored paddy in it. When we introduced a proper way of removing garbage and cleaned the environs of Colombo they called it just eyewash.

We increased the landmass of the country by 450 acres and they shouted that we were handing over the country to China. “We got the loans to develop the country and paid them. We somehow found money and completed work. We never spent time complaining of the commissions and omissions of our predecessors, Rajapakse said.

“Politicians of this government go all over the country lamenting that I obtained massive loans and landed the country in a debt trap, continued Rajapakse. Anyone can see what I did with the loans we obtained. You can go all over the country you will see the roads, bridges, harbor and airports. But what about the loans obtained by this government? Can anyone see anything it has done so far with the loans they obtained?”

For the last two years Yahapalana government has drawn twice the amount we obtained as loans but it has not started a single development project. They are only opening the projects that we started. Worse, the development projects we initiated have now come to a standstill. .Thousands has lost their jobs. An ICT road map was prepared years ago, nothing has been done thereafter. Observers agreed with Rajapakse .Yahapalana is only completing Rajapakse’s programme of work’ they said. Many development projects started by the Rajapakse government have been stopped.

The reason for the economic problems now is because the Yahapalana government gave a salary hike, against all economic reasoning, as an election handout, to win the August 2015 general election. No previous government had taken such liberties with public finances for political purposes, continued Rajapakse. “Today, people are suffering. They are struggling to survive as the government has slapped all sorts of taxes on them. They cannot bear the cost of living which is rising daily.

Rajapaksa also observed that earlier governments had established special economic zones without causing unnecessary complications. Rajapakse had planned to give the Chinese only 750 acres for an industrial park in Hambantota but Yahapalana government was going to part with 15,000 acres. Rajapakse had told the Chinese Ambassador, that he was against handing over Hambantota‘s agricultural land to China.

‘China should first use the 4,800 acres available for investment near the port, before looking for land elsewhere. The disruption caused to the people of the area will be immense if 15,000 acres of land were to be acquired for this purpose. The government should fill the free port with investments first before opening more zones,” said Rajapakse. In a Twitter Q&A, Rajapakse said that the Chinese themselves are concerned about how the project will be implemented, but did not elaborate further.

Milton Rajaratne compared the economic performance of the Rajapakse and Yahapalana governments, using the Central Bank Annual Reports of 2014, 2015 and 2016. Out of the 30 key economic indicators reported by the Central Bank in its Annual Report for 2016, only two are marginally satisfactory. The other 28 economic indicators are unsatisfactory compared to the Rajapaksa government of 2014. The two satisfactory indicators are, increase of government revenue due to new taxes, higher rates and collection efficiency. This is countered by the increase in government expenditure. The other satisfactory factor is the marginal decrease in the overall deficit which brings happiness to the IMF more than to anyone else.

On the negative side, Yahapalana has produced less in 2016 compared to 2015. Per capita income has dropped in 2016 compared to 2015. Yahapalana government has increasingly resorted to local and foreign loans during the two year administration and pushed the debt burden of the country from 71.3% to 79.3%. Official reserves have declined to a dangerous level, the equivalent to imports of 3.7 months from 5.1 months in 2014. Due to decline in exports income the debt service ratio has also increased from 20.8% to 25%.The trade deficit has soared from US$ 8.3 billion to US$ 9.1 billion between the periods. The largely depreciated rupee has not been an incentive for the exporters and thus exports earnings has also decreased to US$10.3 billion from US$11.1 billion in 2014, continued Rajaratne.

Share market indices reflect the business environment created by the Yahapalana government. The All Share Price Index has significantly dropped from 7,299 units to 6,228 units casting doubt over investment in the capital market. The value of shares traded during this two year period also has been slashed by almost a half and non-national net purchase from SLR 21.2 billion to SLR 0.3 billion indicating less trust on the capital market and dwindling foreign exchange inflow.

Yahapalana economy has failed in many ways, concluded Rajaratne. It has failed in increasing income, promotion of exports, curtailing imports, curbing inflation, interest rates and lending rates, generating employment, increasing domestic savings and investment, attracting FDI and foreign share capital, developing capital market, controlling government debt and expenditure and many more. Those who ousted Rajapakse strongly believed that UNP has better economic knowhow and expected rapid economic development through which more employment and income would be generated. The UNP governments in the past did so. Yahapalana has failed absolutely in bringing about the positive economic change since January 8, 2015. According to the food wholesalers in Pettah, there was a 40% drop in sales of this April compared to the previous April, Rajaratne said.

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Was there a Jaffna Kingdom?

June 1st, 2017

Garvin Karunaratne

HLD Mahindapala in his Paper, How Many Homelands do the Jaffna Tamils need, quotes Historian Arsaratne who states that there was a Jaffna kingdom in 1325. This is incorrect. The evidence is that when the Portuguese did attack Jaffna the king of Kandy who ruled entire Sri Lanka sent his army headed by Mudliyar Atapattu to fight the invader. The enclosed Paper by Shenali Waduge is factually correct. I am sorry though I studied Ceylon History I have now marched on to other areas of study. Thanks to Shanali Waduge for her informative Paper which follows.

In actual fact when the Portuguese came to Ceylon, they invaded Jaffna

Jaffna was a kinglet subject to the Kandyan Kingdom: Military expedition under Mudaliar Attapattu despatched by Kandyan King Senerath to defend Jaffna Tamils from Portuguese conquest in 1619 is further evidence

Jaffna was a kinglet subject to the Kandyan Kingdom: Military expedition under Mudaliar Attapattu despatched by Kandyan King Senerath to defend Jaffna Tamils from Portuguese conquest in 1619 is further evidence

Why would the Kandyan King Senarath dispatch a military expeditionary force under Mudaliar Attapattu to defend the Tamils against the Portuguese in 1619 AD? The answer is simple. The Jaffna province was a kinglet and tributary of the Kandyan Kingdom. Just as the Centre would rush in if Chief Minister Wigneswaran lands into a spot of bother, likewise King Senarath wanted to safeguard part of his kingdom and sent Mudaliyar Attapattu with some 10,000 Sinhala troops. It is also no different to the Senadhinayaka ordering the Sri Lanka Military to defeat the terrorist LTTE and the country’s soldiers saved close to 300,000 Tamils.

Father Fernao de Qeuyroz’s treatise ‘Conquest of Ceylon’ records that the King sent an army of 10,000 men under the command of Mudaliyar Atapattu to Jaffna. Unfortunately, the King’s expeditionary force lost the battle due to the overwhelming superiority of weapons that the Portuguese commanded and Attapattu himself together with 5000 troops of the King also perished. This was the last battle for the defense of Jaffna before it fell to European powers and it was fought not by a Tamil army but by a Sinhalese one and much Sinhalese blood was shed for it after the Tamil kingdom had capitulated to the Europeans”.

Queyroz’s book also states:

‘As long as Rajapure (Anuradhapura) was the capital of Ceylon, the whole island was subject to one King”

Queyroz records that when the Portuguese first arrived in Sinhale in 1505 there were 15 ‘kinglets’ subject to the King of Kotte among whom the ‘kinglet of Jaffnapatao was one. That the head of the Kinglets were known as the Emperor and there was only one Emperor in Sinhale and whenever the Portuguese or Dutch referred to Emperor it was to the ruler of the entire country. Another example to deny the separate Tamil homeland myth.

The 15 kinglets were Denavake, Valave, Putelao, Mantota, Tanagama, Muliauali, Triquilimale, Cutiar, Batecalou, Paneva, Vintena, Orupula, Mature, Candea and Jaffnapatao and Kingdom of Cota makes it 16. None of these were ‘independent’ or totally autonomous with sovereign rights or being governed ‘separately’ and nullifies unfounded calls claiming any independent homeland ever existed.

Sending troops to Jaffna to defend and protect Tamils from a Portuguese invasion of territory under the overall jurisdiction of the Kandyan Kingdom gives numerous other messages.

When the Portuguese under Fellippe de Oliveria were attacking Tamils in the North in 1619 AD, the King of Kandy Senerath did not sit silent or behave like a Nero. He sent his troops immediately headed by Mudaliyar Attapattu who sacrificed his life in a bold attempt to save the lives of Tamils just like close to 30,000 Sri Lankan Troops in the current era made the supreme sacrifice to save the nation from terrorism. The King of Kandy sent his men to fight the Portuguese invasion of Jaffna because the North was part of the King’s Kingdom just like Sri Lanka’s Senadhinayaka did in 2009.

What were the consequences of the defeat of the Sinhala Army under Mudaliar Attapattu sent by King Senerath to protect the Tamils of Jaffna from the Portuguese?

Portuguese Inquisition in Jaffna

It resulted in an extension of the brutal and inhumane Portuguese Inquisition into Jaffna. The Portuguese Inquisition was already in full swing in both Goa and the Western Coastal areas of Portuguese Ceylon. Fellippe de Oliveria, the Portuguese conqueror of Jaffna, destroyed 500 Buddhist and Hindu temples in the Jaffna province. Fellippe de Oliveria punished all those who practiced anything non -Christian. This is the fundamental basis of the Catholic Inquisition. Punish all those who are different by religion or thought and practiced another faith. Homogeneity was compulsory. No room for pluralism. The respect for the human rights of the Tamil Hindus was honoured in the breach by the Catholic Portuguese.

The Society of Jesus (Jesuits) – a Roman Catholic missionary group, constructed nearly 30 Catholic churches by vandalizing and demolishing Hindu temples. Oliveria introduced compulsory proselytizing – a basic feature of the Catholic Inquisition. Franciscan Friars converted more than 6000 Tamils to Christianity (Prof. Endagama)

The Buddhist Sinhalese looked after the minority Tamils in the past in areas under their control with full respect for the religious rights of the Tamil Hindus. In contrast the Catholic Portuguese forced their religion down the throats of others who subscribed to another set of religious beliefs.

Magnanimity of King Senerath

The Sinhalese came to the rescue of the Muslims as well. When Muslims who were treated as aliens and non – citizen traders and were being hounded and killed by the Portuguese almost at every turn, it was the Sinhala Buddhist King Senerath who again came to their rescue in 1626. The King not only gave them shelter but even provided means of livelihood. The King of Kandy settled some 4000 Muslims in Batticaloa because the East of Sri Lanka was an integral part of the Kandyan Kingdom.

Had the Buddhist King Senerath not given protection and shelter to the Muslims fleeing the Portuguese controlled areas of the country by admitting them to the Kandyan Kingdom, what would have been the plight of the local Muslims?

The track record of the Portuguese and Spanish in South America and Africa is horrific. They destroyed wholesale the ancient Civilizations of the Incas, Aztecs, and Mayans. Hundreds of thousands of innocent people were massacred in cold blood. Muslims in Ceylon may have been subject to a genocide or annihilation by the Portuguese given what the Portuguese did to the Muslims in Goa. All Muslim males above 16 years of age were killed and all the Muslim women ( known as White Muslims) were captured and enslaved as mistresses or concubines of Portuguese soldiers.

What the Germans did to the Jews in World War Two is known as the ”Final Solution of the Jewish Question” (in German Endlö-sung der Judenfrage”).

This is nothing new when one examines European conquest and treatment of black, brown and yellow people during the last 500 years.

Human Rights Discourse – Hypocrisy of the West

Preaching Human Rights today by the very same colonial countries is just a smokescreen to conceal their dark past of genocide of native people, mass murder and crimes against humanity.

It was only in 1815 that the Muslims in Sri Lanka were first officially allowed to own land and property in Sri Lanka. Muslims as part of the Sri Lankan polity officially began to be counted from 1815 onwards only because prior to that they were designated as aliens and treated like foreigners, intruders or persona non grata. Neither the Portuguese nor the Dutch gave them any recognition given the historical enmity of Christians towards Muslims that developed during the Crusades. This enmity continues in various degrees even today.

Donald Trumps diatribes against Muslims in USA constitute the latest manifestation of this perennial conflict between these two Abrahamic religions.

Moreover, the Portuguese & Dutch records referred to Tamils as Malabar (coming from India’s Malabar coast) and this changed only in 1911 when the British introduced for the first time the term ‘Ceylon Tamils’ under the influence of Ponnambalam Arunachchalam then Registrar General who compiled the National Census Report in 1911.

Therefore Tamil politicians can only refer to period after 1911 refering to themselves as Ceylon Tamils because prior to that Tamils were known as those that had originated from South India. Is this why the Eelam campaign which originally kick started in Tamil Nadu was re – launched and rebranded in Sri Lanka boosted by the TULF/ITAK resolutions and forced upon Sri Lanka via the Indo – Lanka Accord of 1987?

We have given a few more examples to demolish the Tamil homeland myth and to showcase that while there were kingdoms or rather kinglets none of these were running separately as sovereign nations or independently of the whole country. At no point in time have parts of Sri Lanka functioned independently or separately other than when Portuguese and Dutch were ruling parts of Sri Lanka while the rest came under the Sinhala Emperor.It also reiterates a reminder to those drafting the constitution to be mindful of not including any clauses that changes this long standing status quo.

Shenali D. Waduge

ගං වතුර හා දෙවියෝ

June 1st, 2017

ධර්මසිරි සෙනෙවිරත්න

දෙවියෝ වැඩ ඉන්නේ අපි හදන දේවාල වල නොවෙය ,ඒ දෙවියන්ගේම විමානවල , අපට අවශ්‍ය වුනා දෙවියන්ට පින්දෙන්නයන්න තැනක් ඒ හින්දා අපි දේවාල හැදුවා දෙවියෝ තමන්ගේ විමානවල සිට ඒ දේවාල අබියස අපි පින්දෙන හැටි බලනවා ඒ පින් ගන්නවා පින් දෙන අ යට ආශීර්වාද කරනවා . ඉතින් ගංවතුරට ඒ දෙවියෝ කොටුවෙන්නේ නැහැ .කවුදෝ කෙනෙක් සමන් දෙවියෝ ගං වතුරට කොටුවුනා කියල අපහාසයෙන් කතා කළා සමන් දේවාලේ වතුරට කොටු වුනාම .මෝඝ පුරුශයා නෙනි, අපි හදන බුදු පිළිම වුනත් ගං වතුරට යටවෙනවා බාමියන් බුදු පිළිම වාගේ බෝ ර, ඩයිනමයිට් වලට කුඩුවෙනවා .දැක්කද මානා භරණ චය්ත්‍යය තුල තැන්පත් කර තිබු බුදු පිළිමයත් චය්ත්ත්ය කඩා වැටෙන කොට උඩ තෙර පීමට අහු වෙලා තැලී තිබුන හැටි .සෝමදේව නම්වූ ”මිහිපිට වැඩවසන දෙවියා ”’එය සීරුවෙන් ගත් හැටි මෝඝ පුරුෂයෝ දකින්න නැතුව ඇති’මේකෙන් මම කියන්නේ අපි හදන බුදු පිළිම තලුනත් කුඩු වුනත් වතුරට අහුවුනත් බුදු හාමුදුරුවෝ එහෙමම මය කියන එකය් .එතුමන්ගේ ගුණ නැතිවෙන්නේ නැහැ

ඉතින් නිකම් පඬියෝ වෙන්න කට කැඩිච්චි කතා කියල නුගත් කම පෙන්නන්න එපා .දැක්කද තෙවරප්පෙරුමටත් ගංවතුර අනාතයෝ පින් දුන්නා තමන්ට සලකුනිසා .තෙවරා .. කොය් තරම් සතුටු වෙන්න ඇද්ද එකෙන් මීට පස්සේ එයා හතරවරක් පෙරාපු කෙනෙක් වෙන්නත් පුළුවන් ( හතරවරන් එහෙම නොවෙය _).දෙවියෝ සතුටු වෙන්නේ තමන් පෙර භාවයන් වල කරපු පුණ්‍ය කර්මයන් වාගේ පුණ්‍ය කර්මයන් කරන අ ය දැකල .බටහිර විද්‍යා දෙය්යෝ පස්සෙම ගිහින් කාමසුකල්ලිකානු යෝගයේ අවලම් විදිහට හැසිරෙන අ යට සමයක් දෘෂ්ටික දෙවියෝ කැමති නැහැ . අවාසනාවකට උගත් යය කියන 95% කම එහෙම අ ය ..ගෙරිමස් ගඳ ගහන කුණු කසල පිරුන තැන්වලට දෙවියෝ වඩි න්නේ නැහැයහපාලනෙට පෙර කොච්චර කොළඹ අසිරිය වින්දද ලස්සන නිසාම . දැන් බල්ලෙක්වත් බලන්නේ නැහැ කොළඹ දිහා ඒවගේ තමය දෙවියොත්. පවුකාරයන් ඉන්න දිහාවෙන් එතුමන් ලා ඈ ත් වෙනවාආධ්‍යාත්මික ගුණවගාව වැඩි තැන සිරියාවය් ලස්සනය් .

මෝඝ පුරුෂයිනි දෙවියෝ සහ ”දෙවියන්වහන්සේත් ”’ අතර වෙනසක් තියෙනවා මැවුම්කාර පුද්ගලයා සහ පංච නියාම ධර්ම වෙනස් . මැවුම් කාරයා දැන් ඩිසය් නර් කරලා ”’. මංගල වගේ ඩි සය්නර් ”’ කෙනෙක් නම් වැඩක් නැහැ කාටවත් . විශේෂයෙන් ගැහැණියට නම් . ගැහැණිය මැ ව්වෙත් පස්සෙනේ නොවැදගත් නිසා …. ඉතින් දෙවියන්වහන්සේගේ ම පිහිටය් මෝඝ පුරුෂයන්ට …..

http://www.vifindia.org/article/2017/may/27/the-crisis-facing-the-buddhist-world

The Buddhist World lacks an effective mechanism to help save a Buddhist Nation in Danger

June 1st, 2017

Courtesy: Buddhist Channel

Colombo, Sri Lanka — The crisis facing the Buddhist world is neither a decline in religious conviction nor an apprehension that truth underpinned by rational argument and new scientific discoveries will one day overtake and outstrip the core teachings of its founder which is a perennial fear bordering on despondency that characterizes several other competing religions, but the lack of an effective institutional mechanism that can lend support when a Buddhist institution, Buddhist community or even a pre-dominant Buddhist nation is in danger.

We see the lack of substantial networks of support driving threatened Buddhist nations or Buddhist communities into a sense of despair and hopelessness at times of an emergency. Traditional Buddhist countries such as Thailand, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Cambodia and Laos are now under severe pressure to distance themselves from extending state patronage to Buddhism and erase their Buddhist country identity and embrace a secular identity with no such pressure being applied to countries in other parts of the world such as the Middle East or the Catholic belt of Europe.

Despite a 2500 year old history that makes Buddhism one of the oldest religions in the world, a worldwide presence that makes it a global religion, and a way of life grounded in wisdom and compassion that attracts the envy of other civilizations, Buddhism still retains its biggest constraint i.e. lack of effective protections. It is a historical fact that Buddhism has lost more territory and space in Asia, its traditional homeland, in the last one thousand years than any other religion. It is also a hard fact that this process is on going with no sign of abatement and no effective measures developed to counter it.

Buddhism’s biggest appeal of being an eternally passive, non – confrontational, peace loving religion that lacks a central place to direct its affairs in the international arena unlike in the case of say the Vatican (sovereign state enjoying both temporal and spiritual power) or the World Council of Churches ( powerful and well – funded with influence reaching to four corners of the world) or the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (promoting Muslim solidarity in economic, social, and political affairs), has become Buddhism’s Achilles’ heel. Its organizational bases are relatively powerless when compared to the aforesaid entities. For example, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) is the second largest inter-governmental organization after the United Nations which has a membership of 57 states spread over four continents. The Organization is the collective voice of the Muslim world and committed to safeguard and protect the interests of the Muslim world. It has its headquarters in Saudi Arabia.

Rising Challenges to Buddhism

The issue of rising challenges to Buddhism to the extent of undermining its very existence as the pre-dominant religion of a nation, hardly merits much attention in discussions of International Buddhist Organisations, International Buddhist Conferences, or among National Governments in countries with predominant Buddhist populations and corresponding state and constitutional obligations to protect and foster Buddhism.

Traditional Buddhist countries now find themselves force fed with ideas that are foreign to Asia, that had been given birth primarily in a Western setting and related to the interplay of dynamics of European societies but are nevertheless required to be uncritically accepted and transplanted in Asian societies without due consideration being given to the social tensions that would be generated in transplanting such ideas. To de-link state patronage to Buddhism is one such pressure brought on by various religious interests that during the heyday of colonialism enjoyed exclusive patronage from colonial rulers.

The solidarity that countries in Buddhist Asia showed towards each other in the distant past i.e. pre – colonial era, has greatly evaporated or become non – existent. The sense of kinship of being fellow travelers in a spiritual journey overarched by Buddhist precepts and bonded by common religious beliefs and foundations no longer act as a reference point to summon or render assistance even between Buddhist peoples based in neighbouring countries at times of need.

Recent events, for example, attacks on Buddhist Temples in Bangladesh or the crisis in Myanmar hardly drew concerted attention or action in other Buddhist countries in the form of assisting our co – religionists facing an existential plight.

Areas of growing concern

1) Religious conversions

Countries preserving Indian Civilizational religions e.g. Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism etc. are seen as soft and easy targets for manipulation and religious conversion of their people, and in turn replacement of centuries old traditional culture with new cultures subservient to foreign interests. The resulting change in religious demography brings pressure on the State to disassociate itself with Buddhist values that underpin the stability of the society, legal framework and moral direction of the country.

2) Mass Media

The mainstream Mass Media in the English language in pre-dominant Buddhist countries which act as the window to the world hardly makes any contribution towards creating any Buddhist public opinion or provide a voice reflecting Buddhist concerns. Instead it acts as a group largely hostile to the creation of any such Buddhist opinion and thereby sacrificing the interests of the wider majority of the country’s people. One hardly reads newspaper editorials in support of a Buddhist cause. Instead Buddhists find themselves repeatedly fed with a regular and steady diet of lectures on ‘human rights’, ‘rule of law’ ‘democracy’ non – violence’ ‘peace and reconciliation’ despite no such intransigence on their part at a major level.

There appears to be a calculated move to place Buddhists, metaphorically speaking, in the ‘dock’, make Buddhists feel guilty of alleged crimes or misconduct and then extract more and more concessions totally out of proportion to what Buddhists enjoy as a religious minority in non – Buddhist countries.

3) Status of Buddhism as an official religion

Reciprocity is the norm that governs diplomacy or grant of religious concessions. Buddhism hardly enjoys official status as a religion in Europe or in the Middle East. Freedom of religion is honoured in the breach when it comes to acceptance of Buddhism as an official religion in these parts of the world. In Europe only Russia and Austria recognize Buddhism as an official religion.

4) Hidden Agenda of ‘Secularism’

The proponents of secularism in Sri Lanka like in India are those clearly bent on repudiating the civilisational ethos of this country. Their main objective is to marginalize Buddhism from the public – political and social – life. In the West we find that secularism had stood for rationalism, universalism and humanism. In Asia, secularism is being used as a smokescreen and a shield to push Indian civilizational religions such as Buddhism and Hinduism away from the centre stage and replace them with religions and ideologies that were introduced much later in time to these lands.

In pre-colonial Sri Lanka there was never any conflict between the State and organized religion. It is essentially a European phenomenon. What we are now faced with is an increasing challenge to an ancient, indigenous Buddhist civilisation which is gentle, accommodative and pacifist by later introduced religious cultures that have a track record of intolerance and violence and close association with colonialism and a self-declared objective of world conquest. They use the language of human rights and freedom of religion but their goals are very much political and predatory. They support the country’s adversaries in the international arena to engage in the game of finger – pointing, naming and shaming our leaders and people. It is also a battle for the moral conscience of Sri Lanka which our people and rulers have worked so hard relentlessly to keep over many centuries as an expression of our indigenous religious beliefs and outlook.

League of Buddhist Nations

During the last five hundred years or so, since the beginning of the western colonial era, the governance and steering of the world was very much in the hands of powerful western nations using their mono religio- cultural framework as terms of reference in policy making and implementation of policy. That era is now drawing to a close. Sino – Indic civilizations will take over from euro-centric civilizations. The question is not whether but when. The old world will give rise to a new world and revert to Asia its traditional leadership role of the world.

Buddhism is well – integrated and deep seated in both the Chinese and Indian cultures. To the Buddhists in Asia the challenge is to develop new structures and institutions that reflect current realities. It would be feasible for countries with pre-dominant Buddhist populations to consider developing closer ties with each other in the spheres of economic, cultural, and trade and investment. The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) provides a role model for the Buddhist world to adopt and establish at summit level an equivalent body to give voice and make representations on behalf of the Buddhists.

Buddhist heritage countries such as China, Japan, Korea, Thailand, Myanmar, Vietnam, Taiwan, Cambodia, Laos, Bhutan, Nepal, and Sri Lanka among others should engage in increasing close cooperation in international affairs and regularly meet like the European Union or the OIC in the form of a League of Buddhist Nations. Sri Lanka as a traditional Buddhist country with the longest continuing Buddhist history in the world is eminently well qualified to take an initiative in this direction.

Buddhist Television Channel on par with BBC, CNN and Al – Jazeera

The Buddhist voice is relatively speaking largely unheard in the international arena. Buddhist nations which are embattled or threatened by more powerful vested interests have to rely on International news agencies or foreign Television Channels such as BBC, CNN or Al – Jazeera which have different policy objectives and are largely unsympathetic or sometimes even prejudiced towards the Buddhist cause, to air their position. This is an unsatisfactory situation. The time has come for the Buddhist world to seriously consider the inauguration of a Buddhist Television Channel on par with the aforesaid major TV Channels.

Courtesy: Buddhist Channel
Image Source: http://www.fireflydaily.com

Courtesy: Vivekananda International Foundation

See also

The Buddhist International

UNDV 2017 – Some critical observations

https://www.facebook.com/439612382876396/videos/vb.439612382876396/771138636390434/?type=2&theater

http://buddhistinternational.org/2017/05/buddhist-international-view-on-undv-2017-colombo/

ANGELOW MATHEWS SICK AGAIN-CRICKET FANS ARE SICK OF IT!

June 1st, 2017

By M D P DISSANAYAKE

It is being reported that Sri Lankan Skipper Angelow Mathews is suffering from a calf injury. Sports injuries are a common phenomenon, in international arena the players who are not 100 per cent fit had been sidelined for extended periods of time.

Sri Lankan cricket rankings are currently rated poor, in ODI rankings, the Champion Trophy is a golden opportunity to lift our standings. With a Leader who is constantly on sick list, it does not provide motivation for the rest of the team members.

Views had been expressed in the past to allow sufficient time for Angelow to be fully fit, but the selectors have ignored the calls for unknown reasons. The management of players is an essential requirement and even the use of rotational systems have been used in other countries.

Time left for the stand in Skipper Upul Tharanga is limited. We wish him courage and enhanced leadership skills to take Sri Lanka to the next level.

Will Sri Lanka be robbed of its oil and other mineral resources in the north and east?

June 1st, 2017

By Rohana R. Wasala

When prospecting for petroleum in Sri Lanka began more than forty years ago at the initiative of the government, we were silently jubilant at the promise of a comfortable petrodollar-rich future for the country, which enhanced the general euphoria experienced in the wake of the adoption of the republican constitution in 1972. However, the Russian engineers who conducted the search at Pesalai in Mannar failed to find any oil. The grandiose project was abandoned, and the matter forgotten after a few laughs at jokes about certain fake samples of oil claimed to have been extracted from the area aimed at convincing an increasingly sceptical public. Ironically, though unconnected with the search for oil, separatist terrorism erupted from the north and east which we had originally hoped would be a source of unprecedented prosperity; terrorist violence devastated the country for thirty long years. We have just emerged from that dark phase of our history to be happily greeted by the news that Sri Lanka possesses substantial oil reserves. This naturally revives our hope of a bright future; a decisive reversal of our fortunes appears to be in the offing.

The initial attempts four decades ago at finding oil drew a blank probably because of the inadequacy of the prospecting technology adopted at that time. The situation today is different. We now enjoy the advantages of highly advanced modern technology in the matter. The many geological surveys and seismic tests carried out with the help of foreign organizations have revealed the existence of exploitable deposits of petroleum and gas in parts of the northern, eastern and southern regions of the island, both onshore and offshore. The major portion of the oil resources is reported to be concentrated in the area above an imaginary line joining Chilaw and Trincomalee, i.e. the north.

The coincidence of the elimination of separatist violence and the discovery of oil augurs well for the country. But the way ahead is not without risks. It is strewn with international landmines of political manipulation and interventionist pressure, which demands an extremely high level of political acumen and courage, and a selfless commitment to consensus building, on the part of our national leaders for Sri Lanka to remain whole. This is something that even a cursory glance at the oil-dominated twentieth-century global power (im)balance among nations will be sufficient to convince us of.

All countries depend on cheap oil for their economic development, and demand unrestricted access to it. This makes oil a strategic asset” in the hands of powerful countries that are involved in the general scramble for a share of it.

The United States of America (USA), the European Union (EU) and China are the biggest consumers of oil (25.9%, 19.1%, and 6% of the world’s oil respectively). Their contributions to the global oil supply are as follows: USA – 10.7%, EU – 4.3%, and China – 4.4%. They may be identified as the main players in the global oil rush. Their partners in this oil game” are the generally less industrialized oil producing nations.

From the very beginning Britain and America have been engaged in political and colonial manoeuvring for the sake of cheap oil. The quest for oil in the Middle East started when Iran struck oil in its Masjed Soleiman oil field in 1908. Iran was a part of the British Empire then. While Britain had no oil of its own Iran and the Middle East had an abundance of it. The British wasted no time in contriving strategies to help themselves to the vast oil resources found there. The Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (AIOC) was founded in 1909 to exploit the oil resources of Iran. The British devised a clever arrangement called concessions”. This was based on the complementary relationship between the two countries: Iran owned the oil, but had no technical know-how that would enable them to extract, refine, store, and sell it; neither did Iran have a market for the oil; on the other hand, Britain had no oil, but needed it very much. Britain also possessed the technological expertise necessary for extracting and refining the oil. Foreign companies vied with each other for concessions across the Middle East. Under the concessions arrangement the owner of the oil fields or the host” country (eg. Iran) was paid a concession” on the output. The bigger the output the bigger the concession. In other words the more oil the foreign companies extracted and sold, the more money the owner countries got.

Decades later (in 1951) Iran, under the democratically elected Prime Minister Dr Muhammad Mossadeq, nationalized the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company in order to retain the oil profits within the country. The US and Britain were strongly opposed to the move. They responded by causing the ouster of Dr Mossadeq through a coup, and installed in power Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi in 1953. The nationalized British oil interests were returned to British control; similarly the American oil concessions were retained by eight private oil companies which were given 40% of the Iranian oil industry. (Is someone whispering in my ear, Old habits die hard”?)

Saudi Arabia ( created in 1935 under the auspices of Britain and named after Ibn Saud its ruler) possesses 25% of the world’s oil reserves. It is the only oil superpower” in the world. In 1945 President Roosevelt met Ibn Saud on US cruiser Quincy in the Suez canal to sign an agreement in terms of which the US pledged to support Saudi Arabia militarily in return for access to its oil through their Arab-American Oil Company (ARAMCO). The USA exploited this relationship to develop its economy and build its military strength over the next half a century. When the Americans waged war on Iraq at the beginning of the 1990’s they used Saudi Arabia as their base. That special relationship still remains intact, as was demonstrated by US president Donald Trump’s visit there recently (May 21, 2017).

Iraq has the second largest proven oil reserves in the world next to Saudi Arabia. The western involvement in the country’s affairs led to a devastating war against it on rather dubious grounds (as it is being revealed now), and UN embargoes, etc with genocidal consequences on the innocent Iraqi citizens, primarily because of the American thirst for cheap oil. Organizations such as the Global Policy Forum (GPF) maintain that Iraq’s oil is the central feature of the political landscape”. According to the GPF, under US influence the 2005 constitution of Iraq has been made to contain language that generates a major role for foreign companies”.

Venezuela is said to have 77.2 billion barrels of proven oil resources – the largest in the western hemisphere. It nationalized its oil industry in 1975-76. Former president Hugo Chavez rejected the privatizing policies of his predecessors. His attempts to renegotiate a sixty year old royalty payments agreement with Philips Petroleum and Exxonmobil (both large oil companies) did not endear him to the Americans. Under these agreements the corporations had to pay taxes as low as 01% of the tens of billions of dollars in revenues. Hugo Chavez’s heroism is now history.

Of course, western hegemony in the oil world has not been unchallenged. Venezuela pioneered the idea of establishing the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in 1949, approaching Iran, Gabon, Libya, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. But the OPEC was set up in 1960 when the US imposed import quotas on Venezuelan and Persian Gulf oil to support the Canadian and Mexican oil industries. Antagonized by American bias towards Israel, the OPEC exercised its power by imposing an oil embargo against the US and Western Europe in 1973.

China, taken as an individual country, is the second largest consumer of oil. About five years ago it used to import 30% of its oil. This figure was forecast to double by 2020, which will see China in much more desperate need of oil. Discovery of oil in Sri Lanka will naturally further endear her to China.

The Chinese obtain 10% of their oil from Sudan. The economically poor Sudan was riven by civil conflict between the Christian and animist south and the Islamist north. The Sudanese government was accused of evicting the civilians of the southern Darfur region from land they had occupied for generations, and even of massacring them in its determination to clear the area for oil extraction. When the UN wanted to condemn Sudan over these allegations, China provided it diplomatic protection. China made massive investments in Sudan in addition to delivering oil revenues and supplying arms to be used in its more than twenty year old civil war. Washington blacklisted Sudan as a state supporter of terrorism, and US companies were not permitted to do business there, which provided a wonderful opportunity for the Chinese.

With the economic and military strength gained from its oil dealings with China, Sudan was able to stand up to the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA). The SPLA threatened to expel the Chinese from Sudan if they came to power for the support the latter were giving to the Sudanese government. Today, China is Sudan’s biggest trade partner. China Sudan relations are quite robust.

To date Sri Lanka has only been a relatively insignificant customer in the global oil market. Some day soon, however, we’ll be among the producing nations. The new position will be economically advantageous to us, no doubt. But it will also expose us to international political and diplomatic manoeuvring. It is obvious that Sri Lanka is getting sucked into a vortex of geopolitical and economic cold war among global and regional superpowers. Probably the country’s victimization in this context under the current pusillanimous political leadership is already a reality?

UNHRC resolutions violate Sri Lanka’s sovereignty

June 1st, 2017

By Neville Ladduwahetty Courtesy The Island

June 1, 2017, 9:49 pm

The UNHRC Resolution A/HRC/34/L.1 of 15 March 2017 “requests the Government of Sri Lanka to implement fully the measures identified by the Council in its resolution 30/1 that are outstanding”. While the language in the 2017 Resolution was a “request”, the language in the 2015 Resolution was stated as: “encourages the Government of Sri Lanka to implement the recommendations contained therein when implementing measures for truth-seeking, justice, reparations and guarantees of non-recurrence”.

It was the 2015 Resolution which “encouraged” the Government of Sri Lanka to implement the provisions in the Resolution that was co-sponsored by the Government. By doing so the Government undertook to implement provisions imposed on Sri Lanka by an external agency. The very act of co-sponsoring means that the original prescription for Reconciliation had been developed outside Sri Lanka. It further confirms that it was NOT the People of Sri Lanka who self-determined how they were to bring about reconciliation,because it was not a product of the “powers of government”, an integral component of Sovereignty enshrined in Article 3 of the Constitution. This is thus a violation of the Peoples’ sovereignty as explained herein.

Despite the use of language such as “requests the Government of Sri Lanka”, or “encourages the Government of Sri Lanka”, the implementation of the provisions of both Resolutionsshould be treated with the seriousness expected if dire consequences are to be avoided. If instead, they are treated casually, the consequences Sri Lanka would have to face woulddepend on the individual or collective mood of the 47-member Human Rights Council.

PROVISIONS of RESOLUTION 30/1 that IMPACT on SOVEREIGNTY

Article 3 of the Constitution of Sri Lanka states:

“In the Republic of Sri Lanka sovereignty is in the People and is inalienable. Sovereignty includes the powers of government, fundamental rights and the franchise”.

It is under “powers of government” that the Government would be implementing provisions of Resolution 30/1. It is under “powers of government” that sovereign States exercise their right of self-determination. “By virtue of that right they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development” (Article 1 of Covenant on Economic, Social, Cultural Rights and Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and other international instruments).

The right of self-determination to address issues relating to reconciliation, accountability and human rights in keeping with Sri Lanka’sown social and cultural values as assured by the above covenant is denied to the Government of Sri Lanka by the UN Resolutions A/HRC/34/L.1 and A/HRC/30/L.29 for the following reasons:

1. Paragraph 4 of Resolution 34/L.1 states:

“Requests the Office of the High Commissioner to continue to assess progress on the implementation of ITS (emphasis added) recommendations and other relevant processes relating to reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka…”.

Paragraph 1 of Resolution 30/L.29 states:

“Takes note with appreciation of the oral update presented by the United Nations High Commissioner to the Human Rights Council at its twenty-seventh session, the report of the Office of the High Commissioner on promoting reconciliation and accountability in Sri Lanka (A/HRC/30/61) and its investigation on Sri Lanka requested by the Human Rights Council in its resolution 25/1 (A/HRC/30/CRP.2.), including its findings and conclusions, and encourages the Government of Sri Lanka to implement the recommendations contained therein when implementing measures for truth-seeking, justice, reparations and guarantees of non-recurrence”(emphasis added).

The paragraphs that follow elaborate on the recommendations that need to be implemented by the Government of Sri Lanka. The recommendations in the report of the High Commissioner and its investigation on Sri Lanka requested by the Human Rights Council therefore become a prescription initiated by the UNHRC to achieve reconciliation, accountability etc. This is a violation of the sovereignty of the People of Sri Lanka to which the Preamble to the Resolution reaffirmed stating “its commitment to the sovereignty, independence unity and territorial integrity of Sri Lanka”. It is therefore made clear that it is not the People of Sri Lanka who developed the mechanisms to achieve reconciliation, accountability etc. Consequently, what the Government is expected to implement are a set of recommendations imposed on Sri Lanka. This is a violation of Sri Lanka’s sovereignty which includes the right of self-determination that All Peoples of sovereign States are entitled to.

The “DECLARATION ON PRINCIPLES OF INTERNATIONAL LAW CONCERNING FRIENDLY RELATIONS AND CO-OPERATION AMONG STATES IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CHARTER OF THE UNITED NATIONS’ states under “The principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples” as follows:

“By virtue of the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples enshrined in the Charter, all peoples have the right freely to determine, WITHOUT EXTERNAL INTERFERENCE, (emphasis added) their political status and to pursue their economic, social and cultural development, and every State has the duty to respect this right in accordance with the provisions of the Charter”.

CO-SPONSORING the RESOLUTION

The act of co-sponsoring the Resolution commits the SL Government to implement provisions in the Resolution. Some of these provisions may require revisions to the Constitution while others may require amending existing laws. Consequently, some provisions may require special majorities such as 2/3 approval of Parliament and approval of the People at a referendum, while others may require either 2/3 approval of Parliament or simple Parliamentary majorities.

For instance, paragraph 4 requires the Government “to give each mechanism the freedom to obtain financial, material and technical assistance from international partner” ; paragraph 6 requires “participation in a Sri Lankan judicial mechanism, including the special council’soffice, Commonwealth and other foreign judges, defence lawyers and authorized prosecutors and investigators”; paragraph 7 requires “the Government of Sri Lanka to reform its domestic law to ensure… trial and punishment of those most responsible for the full range of crimes under general principles of law recognized by the community of nations”; paragraph 8 requires “Sri Lanka to introduce effective security sector reforms”; paragraph 12 requires “review of Public Security Ordinance Act”; and paragraph 16 requires the “Government to ensure that all Provincial Councils are able to operate effectively in accordance with the thirteenth amendment”.

The Government has realized of late that the “participation” of foreign judges, defence lawyers and authorized prosecutors and investigators would require the special majority of 2/3 approval by Parliament and approval of the People at a referendum. In consequence of this requirement, the Government has declared that only local judges would be engaged in the judicial processes. Despite this declaration of the Government, the language in the Resolutions remains unaltered. Another instance that would require special majorities relate to how the functioning of Provincial Councils are to be made “effective”, since attempts to abolish the existing Presidential system would severely derogate the powers of the Governor to the point of making the position redundant. This would seriously dismantle the unitary character of the State. Furthermore, whether other provisions require special majorities or not, may not have been explored.

Whatever the case may be, the implementation of these provisions would require either 2/3 approval by Parliament or simple Parliamentary majorities. All this is yet to be done. In the meantime, the fact that the Government has co-sponsored the Resolution means it has undertaken to implement provisions imposed externally on Sri Lanka in violation of its Sovereignty which includes the right of self-determination by the People.

CONCLUSION

Whether the Government addresses the implementation of the provisions in Resolutions A/HRC/34/L.1 and A/HRC/30/L.29 individually or collectively, the fact remains that by co-sponsoring the Resolution the Government has become a party to implement recommendations imposed externally on Sri Lanka that violatethe sovereignty of the People,the bedrock of which is the right of self-determination to develop its own mechanisms to address reconciliation, accountability and human rights, in keeping with its social and cultural parameters.

The imposition by the UNHRC violates the sovereignty of the People of Sri Lanka because it has denied the right of the People of Sri Lanka to determine for themselves through their “powers of government” mechanisms that would be in keeping with their own cultural and social values such as restorative justice to achieve reconciliation. By co-sponsoring the Resolutions the Government has become a party to violating the People’s right of self-determination because it is only the sovereign People of a sovereign State that has the right to exercise the right of self-determination. Therefore, the Government is obligated to follow the constitutionally defined procedures prior to proceeding with implementation of the provisions in the Resolutions.

A determination as to whether or not both Resolutions violate the sovereignty of the People has to be made by the Supreme Court. Such a determination could be precipitated by filing a petition by a Public Interest Group on grounds that there is an imminent infringement by executive action of the fundamental right of the People to self-determine a mechanism to address reconciliation. If the determination is that UNHRC Resolutions violate the sovereignty of the People, the Government would be constitutionally required to seek a 2/3 approval of Parliament and approval of the People at a referendum to implement the provisions in the Resolutions.

A serious omission on the part of successive Governments and Commissions appointed to address accountability is that no attempt was made to claim the sovereign right of Sri Lanka to determine for itself the appropriate mechanisms to address reconciliation, because at the end of the day the greatest beneficiaries of reconciliation are the Sri Lankan people themselves. Clearly, such a self-determination should be based on restorative justice because it resonates not only with Sri Lanka’s core values but also those of a common humanity, and not on retributive justiceas is imposed by the UNHRC, and is based on accountability and punitive measures that perpetuate bitterness between winners and losers

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How to mitigate landslides, floods and resulting devastations by rehabilitating and restoring the upper watersheds; A point of view.

May 31st, 2017

Sudath Gunasekara

31.5.2017

The immediate cause of all these disasters is rain. But we all know we cannot stop it. No can we control it either. But certainly we can control and mitigate these disasters by visionary thinking, proper planning and good management.

The most important cause of this calamity as I see it is the land degradation on the upper watersheds. What we witness today is the cumulative results of centuries old land degradation on the upper watersheds caused by large scale removal of the forest cover and indiscriminate and inappropriate new land use practices on the hills by the British for coffee and tea plantations.

Kelani Valley Railway Commission 1894

The earliest concrete evidence of the impact of large scale deforestation on the upper watersheds and colonial land policies on land degradation, earth slips, downstream siltation and heavy floods is found in the Report of the Kelani Valley Railway Commission 1894. In his evidence before the Commission F Lewis an Assistant Conservator of Forests observed that ‘at one time the Kelani river could be made use for rafting of woos, I have had the frequent occasion to use of it; but this is now, year by year becoming more difficult owing to the large sand deposits in long sweeps down the bed of the river. The increase area of land in tea is distinctly the cause for this silting of the river, is a fact that I presume will not be disputed.

The Kelani river (90 miles) was obviously navigable up to the rapids above Yatiyantota (which is about 50 miles from the sea) before the advent of the plantation agriculture, and this sand problem in the river was cited as one of the major reasons for the opening up of the Kelani Valley Railway.

Besides many reports of Commissions and Committees of inquiry appointed by the Government from time to time, repeatedly stressed the damage caused by opening of land for plantations (Eg XL11 of 1905,X11 of 1921 and 111 of 1931) Besides landslides and large scale land degradation have also been other disastrous results of deforestation. Its effects on the physical stability of the Islands geographical Heartland, damage done to human life and the economy over the years was enormous. For example the landslides of 1986 claimed some 51 lives and affected 100,000 families The 1989 landslides claim 300 lives and the damage to economic infrastructure was around Rs. 2800 million (Perera 1992) The report on Kotmale landslides and the adjoining river catchments (Sessional paper XV11 of 1954 by Mac Largan Corrie has been described as the most comprehensive report on Lands slides in Sri Lanka by Madduma Bandara.

Plantation Agriculture involved the complete removal of the natural forest cover that protected the central hills for millions of years from the major parts of the upper watersheds. Out of about 13,110 km2 in the hill country (that is 20% of the total area of the Island) today less than 158,000 ha are left as natural forests (NRSR 1991) In other words almost over 80 % of natural forests on the central watersheds has been removed for plantations by the British.

During the pre-colonial times the whole hill country with the exception of few settlement pockets in the river valleys below was fully covered and well protected by natural forests

In addition to deforestation, new land use practices introduced by the British that followed indiscriminately without any understanding of or regard to the disastrous outcomes that would result owing to steep slopes, heavy rainfall and degraded lands on the central highland of this country in opening up of plantations also aggravated earth slips, siltation and heavy floods in downstream areas, causing heavy economic and social losses.

Therefore as a first step, perhaps as the most important, I suggest that we restore the original forest cover on the central watersheds by banning all cultivation above a given contour, say for example 5000 ft above msl and declaring them as strict natural reserves, like in the olden days. This will increase the perennial river flow providing sufficient water for the dry zone tanks even for three seasons , enhance the islands hydroelectricity potential, arrest land degradation, restore physical stability of the watersheds, improve the ecological balance, minimize earth slips and mitigate downstream silting and floods.

This should be immediately followed by a sustainable land use policy for land below 5000 ft as well. It could be tea or mixed plantations promoting the Kandyan garden type model that is considered to be the next best to the natural forests in protecting the land degradation by minimizing erosion.

This upper watershed restoration has to be followed by a comprehensive plan of action in the downstream areas to protect the river banks by banning illicit buildings along river reservations, widening physical bottlenecks like in the case of Kaluganga and regular removal of sand bars at the mouths of main rivers.

However, none of these steps can find a permanent solution to earth slips and heavy floods until and unless we rehabilitate and restore the physical stability of the upper watersheds to their original conditions by restoring the original forest cover.

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Sri Lanka Request for Flood Relief

May 31st, 2017

Asoka Weerasinghe Kings Grove Crescent . Gloucester . Ontario . K1J 6G1 . Canada

29 May 2017

Rt. Hon. Maithripala Sirisena

President of Sri Lanka

Presidential Secretariat

Galle Face

Colombo 1

Sri Lanka

Sir:

I have just received by e-mail a Request for Flood Relief Assistance to Sri Lanka from our High Commission in Ottawa.

Yesterday,I felt morally generous when I participated in a flower auction at the Buddhist Monastery, Hilda Jayewardenaramaya in Ottawa, in the presence of our Acting High Commissioner. He was witness to this event when our generous devotees collected a handsome quantity of Canadian dollars for the Sri Lanka’s Flood Relief efforts.

I want to share my observation about the Press Release that I received from the Mission.. There was an omission of a pertinent sentence or two that would have encouraged more expatriates to open their wallets to help the victims of this unfortunate natural disaster which your Government had no control of.

However, I wished you gave me the opportunity to read some words showing the proof of your government’s genuine sincerity like –

To kick start and join you all in your generous participation, I am glad to announce that all our parliamentarians have donated this month’s bonus of Rs100,000 to the Flood Relief Assistance. In addition I, as your President, have ordered that the Rupees 1.1 Billion that has been requested to purchase 32 brand new luxury vehicles for the use of Ministers and Deputy Minister to be approved and allocated to the Flood Relief Assistance Fund.”

Sir, will you go ahead and do it if you have not already acted on it, although I am not certain whether the MPs are receiving that bonus already which was requested for them by the Prime Minister as an incentive for the Ministers to participate in national development and work in their electorates a few months ago..

This honourable, honest and heart-crying action would certainly negate the words that I heard in February 2016, when I asked 24 gamme minissu in the coastal-west, south, hill country and the north-west, kohomadha appey aluth arnduwa?” The response was, almost a choral unison accompanied by a snicker Oya okkoma hora yakku, mahathaya.” I sent you a letter about this pulse of the gamme minissu no sooner I returned to Ottawa.

Sincerely

Asoka Weerasinghe.(Mr.)

British TV cooking demonstrations would help home cooking or eating takeaways?

May 31st, 2017

Dr Hector Perera London

I assume that TV cooking demonstrations would help the general public in many ways such as encouraging them to cook at home then saving energy wastage. There is no point of rushing from one to the other without a proper explanation or just talk something totally irreverent to cooking. In some cooking programmes there are a few people come to demonstrate their kind of cooking of different things. Sometimes there are two judges as well watching their progress. The contesters make so many mistakes while cooking various dishes such as cooking at high temperature then letting out too much cooking aroma and sometimes they let the cooking aroma catch fire for no reason. The cooking aroma sometimes contains inflammable vapours from the ingredients added to cook. It may be attractive to see something catching fire but does it help in cooking? Yes people like to see fireworks that is why they go and watch firework displays during New Year and Christmas. The so called judges witness these actions and reactions but they sometimes express an impressive facial expressions than saying something to the contestants about that kind of cooking.

It reminds our back home good old Kussi Amma” or kitchen servants who cook in extremely difficult conditions in firewood kitchens. They keep on stirring the curries constantly by opening the lids then keep on tasting them several times. Some of these British TV chefs are no better as they also lick the spoons by getting something while the food are allowed to cook. In firewood stoves the fire cannot be easily controlled but these gas and electric cookers have those facilities but the British TV chefs hardly make use of them. They put the fire at full pressure then some of the fire goes out of the base of the cooking vessel that means there is a wastage of energy. The fire that goes out of the base of the cooking vessel are lost due to radiation and that would not help in cooking but just warms the surrounding for no reason. In firewood kitchens energy cannot be easily controlled but gas and electric cookers they have these facilities but most of the times the British TV chefs ignore these facilities. The public watch these TV cooking programmes and they assume that must be the way to cook and perhaps try and follow them. One must witness these cooking programmes then you would assume that home cooking would be a tedious job. Who would like to shower with cooking aroma while cooking? Sometimes those contestants run in studio kitchen to get to the oven or get something from the fridge or freezer. One must realise kitchen is not a place to run about, there might be drops of oil, water or pieces of vegetables on the floor so they might slip on them. I treat the kitchen as a kind of chemistry laboratory. In a kitchen one deals with chemicals, all the food we eat and drink are nothing but chemicals so my comparison of kitchen to a chemistry laboratory should be correct. In a chemistry laboratory there is adequate ventilation to get rid of any chemical vapours and smells. In some of these TV kitchens one would witness that the place is full of cooking aroma and sometimes smoke from burning food. I assume the extractor fans are running all the time to get rid of those gases but still there are cooking fumes. Sometimes they do grill cooking of burghers and pieces of meat. Most of the times the contestants have to inhale that kind of air and who would argue that is healthy. Any burnt meat contains carcinogenic compounds and the people are aware of these things but still they happily eat them as they taste different. During the summer there are garden parties where they eat meat burnt on firewood or coal, just like our primitive human beings. There is a saying that good old habits cannot be totally forgotten so they still eat burnt meat.

Breathing problems

According to research findings, too long exposure to cooking aroma leads to respiratory and cardiovascular problems. In China some chefs suffer from these problems as they cook long periods of times by the method of sauteeing that means cooking on a very hot pan by tossing the food with a small amount of fat to cook the food very quickly. It browns the surface of the food and develops complex flavours and aromas while doing this process. The chefs invariably inhale these cooking aroma continuously for long periods of time leading to health problems.

Food are slow conductors of heat

All the food we eat are bad or slow conductors of heat that means they take time to cook but some of those TV chefs do not understand those scientific rules. Take a simple thing such as rice or pasta, they take a few minutes to cook at a moderate temperature. If cooking on a stainless steel cooking pan, they cook faster than cooking on a clay pot because stainless steel are better conductors of heat also they have a high thermal capacity than clay pots. Some cook in Aluminium pots but certain chemicals attack this kind of metals and very likely to get dissolved in them. Aluminium is an amphoteric metal that means it get attacked by acidic as well as by alkali chemicals. Eating even traces of Aluminium for a long periods of times might lead to Alkerzima or to forgetfulness. In some restaurants and hotels they use Aluminium vessels as they are less heavy to handle than stainless steel cooking pans.

I got an official approval

I had several different TV cooking opportunities to demonstrate how to cook and save energy. I even demonstrated this scientific method of energy saving and smell avoiding cooking to The Sustainable Energy Authority in Sri Lanka. A whole team watched my work and accepted that my scientific method of cooking saves energy and stops any cooking aroma on the persons who cook. The Invention Commission added my work to their official web site and still can be found these work under Google search.

My method is scientific

Unlike some of these British TV chefs cooking, I apply science in cooking. One must understand some science in cooking otherwise there is no point of rushing from one to the other just like some British TV chefs. I keep my challenge still open for any so called energy saving experts or to any British TV chefs to step forward to disprove my scientific method of cooking. My method would certainly educate the public about cooking and even encourage them home cooking. How would the authorities who are responsible to broadcast these cooking programmes think that some of those chefs are cooking the correct way?

My challenge is still open

Why not those energy saving experts step forward to examine my method of cooking? If they proved my method is a scam then my challenged money would be given away. My work is based on science and some laws are more than 200 years are old. If I work on them, I cannot be wrong. If my work was good enough to four different TVs to broadcast in Sri Lanka why not the British TV give me a chance to demonstrate so they have the chance either to approve or disprove my scientific method of cooking. By the way please don’t think I am a professional chef. I became a secondary school chemistry teacher after completing BSc MSc PhD in synthetic organic chemistry. I got an official approved scientific method of energy and smell saving cooking technique and I would like to help the general public benefit. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction, I sure you all know what I mean. Your comments are welcomed perera6@hotmail.co.uk

SRI LANKA: A farmer killed by Police attached to the Central Anti-Vice Unit of Walana, Panadura and the Police Special Task Force

May 31st, 2017

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION – URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information concerning Mr. Jayalath Kandambige Chaminda (39), a resident of Meegahajandura, Bandagiriya in Hambantota District in Sri Lanka. He had been extra-judicially killed on 27 April 2017, by officers attached to the Central Anti-Vice Unit of Walana, Panadura and Police Special Task Force (STF). No investigation has been carried out, so it remains JUSTICE DENIED for the victim and his family. This case testifies to the extraordinary collapse of the Rule of Law in the country. The State policy of combating crime by killing suspects has allowed the Police to commit murder and enjoy impunity.

CASE NARRATIVE:

Following is information received by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) about Mr. Jayalath Kandambige Chaminda (39), a resident of Meegahajandura, Bandagiriya in Hambantota District. He is not married and living with his parents.

Chaminda was on his farm at Meegahajandura in Bandagiriya on 27 April 2017. While he was in a hut in the middle of the farm, several police officers came and arrested him. He was never told the reason for his arrest. Chaminda works in developing his farm in the daytime and lives there. Chaminda was known to all the villagers. He had the reputation as a supportive farmer in the heavily agricultural rural village. Chaminda cultivated several crops yearly including seasonal vegetables and permanent crops. Throughout the year as a farmer who is heavily engaged with agricultural work, Chaminda alternately lives on his farm or in his house-address above.

On 27th April police officers entered his farm, arrested him and quickly shot him inside the premises of his own farm. He was never informed of the reason for his arrest.

Later his relatives found out that the victim was arrested and killed by police officers attached to the Central Anti-Vice Unit of Walana, Panadura and Police Special Task Force (STF). They further stated that the police did not bother to verify Chaminda’s identity but shot him dead several minutes after his arrest. The police did not make use of an informant or a villager to prove that they were searching for Chaminda. Police officers took the life of an innocent man due to professional negligence and illegal behavior.

After the demise, the Police Headquarters issued a Communique stating that Chaminda was INJURED in an exchange of fire between him and the police. After he was shot, police arrested him and brought him to the Hambantota General Hospital for emergency treatment. He was DEAD on arrival.
In contrast to the first Communiqué, a second statement was issued. It said that Chaminda was injured as a result of an exchange of fire between him and the police, whose duty it was to arrest him. After being shot, he was admitted to the Hambantota General Hospital and SUCCUMBED to his injuries.

A further explanation was made by the Police. According to their officers, the deceased was arrested following information provided by a suspect who was arrested in connection with several robberies. The Police also suspected that Chaminda might have participated in the killing of a Police Sub-Inspector at Kurunegala on 16 November 2016. To his credit, the Inspector General of Police (IGP) ordered an immediate investigation into the suspicious circumstances of the death.

Chaminda’s relatives continue to maintain that he was illegally arrested and extra-judicially killed by the Police. Indications suggest that this is another bad example of the Sri Lankan Police System in action. It extra- judicially kills suspects, who are often innocent, in the guise of crime prevention. In the first four months of this year, the AHRC reported 2 extrajudicial killings carried out by the Sri Lanka police in two different parts of the country, in both instances the victims were died in police custody following arrests

The country still lives under the practice of extra-judicial killings. A suspect, once in the hands of law-enforcing officers, continues to be victimized or killed.

The prevention of crime is one of the paramount duties of any civilized State. According to the Constitution, law-enforcement authorities are bound to protect the right to life of its citizens. And these rights are enshrined in the Constitution. Sri Lanka is a country governed under a democratic framework. The Government is bound: to support the Judiciary, to carry out the Rule of Law and to protect the civil liberties of all citizens. Extra-judicial killings of citizens by police officers, has become an authoritarian norm!

Any confrontation in which a policeman kills a person should be investigated efficiently, and without delay. But, just look at this incident. The State has not shown any interest in investigating the killing or bringing the responsible officers before the Courts. No Major Commander has taken responsibility for the illegal actions of the Sri Lankan police under him. Who then, NOW, should be primarily responsible for killings perpetrated under their command? It is the decision-making Officers.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:

The Asian Human Rights Commission has reported numerous cases of arbitrary arrest, detention, torture and extrajudicial killings of citizens at the hands of the police. Under International and Local Law these are illegal actions. They have been taking place daily at police stations all over Sri Lanka. It is common knowledge that the Police use torture as an instrument to terrorize innocent people, harass the general public and instill fear. Presently, the Police are implementing a policy of ‘elimination with extreme persuasion’ or in plain language–murdering suspected criminals. They arrest and kill people without their ever being produced in a Court of Law.

Needless to say, there is a lack of protection for those lawyers willing to take up cases against abusive Police Officers and State Authorities. This means that the law continues to be employed as a tool by the authorities to CONTROL people. By undermining society’s respect for the Law and allowing impunity to go on unabated, a long-term, psychological and financial burden is placed on the shoulders of victims, their families and the general population.

SUGGESTED ACTION:

Please write to the authorities listed below expressing your concern about this case. Kindly request an immediate investigation into allegations of extra-judicial killings by the Police. Prosecution of those proven to be responsible under Criminal Law is imperative. The officers involved, in addition, should be subject to an internal investigation for breach of Police Departmental Orders (DOs). The AHRC will write a separate letter to the Special Rapporteur on Extra-judicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions in this regard.

To support this case, please click here: http://www.urgentappeals.net/support.php?ua=AHRC-UAC-038-2017

DOUBLE STANDARDS IN HR

May 31st, 2017

Ranjith Soysa

Attn HON Thersa May .Prime Minister

We refer to you statement below and appreciate that you have provided the armed forces with additional protection in combating

the faceless terrorism indiscriminately killing civilians. BUT, we are at a loss to comprehend the British policy vis a vis Sri Lankan forces which

helped to get rid of the Tamil Tigers, the world’s most brutal terrorists who were responsible for killing over 100,000 Sri Lankans.

Your government is pursuing the Sri Lankan armed forces via biased UNHRC resolution. Is it because the British lives are more important than Sri Lankan civilian lives?

Our troops must know we are on their side, says Theresa May(British PM) as she insists

armed forces SHOULD NOT be hounded with ‘vexatious’ Human Rights Act claims on the battlefield

Lawyers will no longer be able to chase British soldiers with ‘vexatious’ claims of human rights abuses,

Theresa May (pictured this morning) said as she told troops: ‘We are on your side.'”

Read full story

Our troops must know we are on their side, says Theresa May as she insists armed forces SHOULD NOT be hounded with ‘vexatious’ Human Rights Act claims on the battlefield

Human rights laws will be suspended on battlefield, May announces today
It will finally end the industry of vexatious claims against British troops
PM says it will give British troops the ‘confidence when they go out into combat for us that they are able to do what is necessary to keep us safe’

Lawyers will no longer be able to chase British soldiers with ‘vexatious’ claims of human rights abuses, Theresa May said today as she told troops: ‘We are on your side.’

She announced human rights laws will finally be suspended on the battlefield to end the industry of the claims.

The Prime Minister said it will give British troops the ‘confidence when they go out into combat for us that they are able to do what is necessary to keep us safe’.

The plans won an enthusiastic welcome from Conservative members as Defence Secretary Michael Fallon unveiled them at the party conference in Birmingham today.

Under the measures, the Government will free armed forces from two specific articles of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) before sending them into battle.

These two – Article 2, the right to life, and Article 5, the right to liberty – have been exploited by lawyers to launch thousands of complaints against UK soldiers.

They have also been used as the basis for compensation claims against the British taxpayer.

Defending the move this morning, Mrs May said: ‘Our troops, our men and women of our armed forces go out there and put their lives on the line in order to defend us.

‘They do things that most people wouldn’t be willing to do in terms of that, in terms of going out and potentially paying the ultimate sacrifice for us.

A Response to Manchester

May 31st, 2017

By A. Abdul Aziz.

According to media reports, ISIL claimed responsibility for the terrorist attack, in the great city of Manchester, England. We do not know for sure if so called Muslims committed this terrorist attack but we should condemn all terrorist attacks no matter who is responsible for them and those who believe in the power of prayer should pray for peace and justice. We must also pray for the victims and their families. Everyone though must also do their part to help stop these terrorist attacks from occurring in the first place.

While terrorism has no religion, unfortunately, this Manchester attack has probably taken us in the opposite direction than the direction we intend to be taking in order to counter extremism. President Trump gave an important speech in his recent visit to Saudi Arabia. Although, many praised his speech, the speech will result in more harm than good.

Saudi Arabia seems to be one of the world’s leading sponsors of terrorism. Evidence suggests that oil money is used to finance hate filled madrasahs (Islamic schools) all across the Muslim world. The Yemen conflict is yet another example of genocide committed by Saudi Arabia. Executions are regularly held to punish dissenters and atheists. Furthermore, this speech took place at a summit where a historic $350b arms deal took place. America selling weapons to Saudi Arabia will only lead to more war in Yemen. Saudi Arabia has already killed thousands of innocent people in Yemen and because of this arms deal, it will only become worse.

His Holiness Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, the worldwide Supreme Head of the largest group of Muslims, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community has repeatedly raised the issue of ISIL and its creation and the supply of weapons originating from Western countries. As His Holiness points out, preventing ISIL from acquiring these weapons is the key to fighting them. According to the Amnesty International, ISIL uses weapons that come from over 25 countries including Super Powers. Perhaps the weapons being sold to Saudi Arabia will never reach ISIL’s hands but if history has shown us anything, it is that they will.

The Trump administration is helping a vicious cycle of violence to continue that can be stopped if a change takes place from investing in weapons to investing in education in the Middle East. Trump conceded in his speech that terrorists do not worship God, they worship death.” Trump also said that 95% of the victims of terrorism are Muslim. These are promising signs that the more Trump learns about terrorism, the more his policies will shift towards pluralism and acceptance of Islam as a peaceful religion.

NO TEETH FOR PROPOSED DEVELOPMNET AGENCY News Item Sunday Times

May 31st, 2017

Dr. Sarath Obeysekera

Agency for development was a brain child of the Prime Minister to bypass ministers who may have some hidden agenda ,when they want to initiate development plans .We have come across such problem in Galle Harbour.During the last government a Saudi Investor obtained a portion of Galle Harbour to develop as a Yacht Building and Repair Yard .Whole process took three years due to to bureaucratic attitude of SLPA .Finally cabinet approved and AG too.When the land took over same government messed up with Musilm community and the investor bolted away .

Government changed and we approached SLPA for permission to re commence the project .Submitted the bank gurantee and the SLPA did not allow us proceed .Politicians intervened and turned down our request ,They wanted to hand over the whole harbour to some Indians who had ulterior motives .Their plan was to build hotels inside the harbour in the pretext of Marina Development .We went Southern development minister who advised SLPA to allow us to recommence on the grounds that it is a marina related industry .Minister turned down and we went to CECM chaired by Prime Minster .PM clearly instructed the officers to allow us .Again Politics and a cricket playing clique turned down the instructions. Minister of Agency for Development personally got involved but the minister refused.

Then Port Minister goes to cabinet and asks for permission to use Swiss Challenge method of awarding a contract to the same Indian Company . Agency for development was instructed to facilitate Swiss Challenge and nothing moved so far . SLPA officers claim that Indians are not capable for developing the project ,With Hambantota with plans for Chinese entry in Trinco for Indians ,there would have been a public outcry.

Now the Galle Port overgrown with grass and the buildings in pour area corroding SLPA id helopless .

Minister has been removed and new minister has come .Hopefully he will have better approach and Consult the Agency for Development to allow us to proceed .Galle Port would have been buzzling with business today if we could start few years back

South Asia & SAARC Nations under Indian geopolitical & economic hegemony.

May 30th, 2017

Shenali D Waduge

In 1985 the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation was initiated to unite India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Nepal & Maldives with Afghanistan joining in 2007. India’s 1.3billion populace plus the populations of the other 7 members made SAARC 1.6billion of which 77% live in India while India accounted for 75% of economic output. All these favoured India’s role of leader with expectation that India would raise its neighbours alongside its own development goals. However, even intra-regional trade has been just 4% and according to the World Bank, South Asia is one of the least integrated regions in the world. In 30 years, not only has SAARC failed to infuse regional cooperation, India has failed in its role of leading 7 SAARC nations.

The politics prevailing inside SAARC cannot be ignored in particular India’s foreign policy goals that aim to attain hegemonic position in South Asia and the application of Kautilyan principles in relations with neighbors. Despite agreement that politics would not disrupt development in SAARC objectives, India has cancelled SAARC Summits 6 times.

In this regard, the writings of Isha Khan clearly states that the Indian intelligence RAW had been given a list of 7 countries (Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan, Pakistan and Maldives) whom India considered its principle regional protagonists against whom covert operations were to be initiated to keep them destabilized and under the orbit of India. Therefore, it is imperative that India’s mutual dealings with every South Asian country cannot ignore these dynamics at play and questions whether India desires the development of these neighbors or would rather be satisfied to have these countries plagued with issues (often created by India) for which India can enter to offer its assistance.

What impedes relations and cooperation with India and its South Asian neighbors are the constant interference by India into their internal/domestic affairs, the border disputes, decisions that always has to favour India and the sheer might of India.

No regional cooperation can take place when the biggest member has hegemonic pursuits. India believes itself to be heir and successor of the British Empire. In fact, modern India came into being only after the British cobbled together independent territories and states into one single entity and christened it India.

The colonial link to India explains the psyche of dominance and self-centred mind-set regarding South Asian neighbour states to be considered as its satellite states and insisting they be subservient to India’s will. Has colonial imperialism turned into Indian imperialism?

While India’s hegemonic designs do not change whatever party comes into power, the lack of policy and plans to counter and respond to India’s hegemonic designs by India’s neighbours have enabled India to dominate these countries without much resistance. Until and unless SAARC neighbors draw up counter measures they are unlikely to have any domestic or even international opportunities to develop beyond what India desires them to be.

Historical background of South Asia

South Asia is one of the four early stages where human civilization began dating back to Indus Valley (also called Harappan civilization) some 75,000 years ago.

South Asia has attracted explorers, traders and invaders from time immemorial – Mongols, Mughals and Turks used the land route but the greatest impact came with the arrival by European colonial invaders with the arrival of Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama landing in Calicut (Kerala) in 1498, then the Dutch followed by the British East India Company

All South Asian countries are victims of and carry forward historical colonial baggage.

Why is India’s advice viewed as interference – India’s assistance, viewed as provocations, and India’s guidance viewed as domination? Here are the reasons why,

Bhutan

Area: total: 38,394 sq km

Population

469,244 (1985)
509,105 (1995)
774,830 (2015) – World Bank

Bhutan is surrounded by India on 3 sides bordering Indian states – Sikkim, West Bengal, Assam, and Arunachal Pradesh. Bhutan is reliant on India for its transit & trade. 12% of Bhutanese live below the national poverty line.

Bhutan was not part of the princely states that Britain joined to create India. Bhutan came under British rule in 1865 with the Treaty of Sinchula which was replaced by the Treaty of Punakha in 1910. The Treaty confirmed Bhutan’s consent to obey the British Government and was effective till 1947 when Britain granted independence to India. Independent India, thereafter took over from the British as de facto protector of Bhutan.

A Treaty of Friendship was signed between India & Bhutan in 1949 formally accepting India to guide Bhutan’s external affairs which Britain had done previously. The Treaty was revised in 2007 giving Bhutan broader sovereignty. Modi’s first visit as PM was to Bhutan signalling what India felt about its neighbour.

India controls Bhutan’s whole oil consumption and nearly 90% of the country’s hydropower development. India still directly maintains 30% of Bhutan’s main road network. Bhutan’s electricity exports go exclusively to India. 77% of Bhutan’s imports are from India while 95% of Bhutan’s exports are to India. In 1999, Bhutan’s intra-SAARC exports was just 3.5%!

It is alleged that India regards Bhutans hydropower as a means of sourcing cheap electricity. India initially claimed 60% grant component and 40% loan which has been changed to 60-70% loan and higher interest.

India has also been accused of interfering in the internal affairs of Bhutan by influencing Bhutan’s elections in July 2013 with the withdrawal of cooking gas and kerosene subsidies sending prices soaring and affecting the government’s popularity. India’s action was to show its anger over Bhutan’s PM meeting the Chinese PM in Brazil!

At the other end Bhutan and China’s relations are strained as a result of 3 territorial disputes. The Jakarlung and Pasamlum valleys on the Bhutan-Chinese north-central border & the Doklam plateau in East Bhutan.

To India Doklam plateau is important because of the Chumbi Valley which overlooks the Silguri Corridor and is east of Indian defences in Sikkim.

Relations strained between India & Bhutan (even Nepal) following India’s decision to void oil Rs.500 and Rs.1000 notes as legal tender which impacted both countries in particular their natives working in India who were unable to convert the Indian currency to their own.

Nepal

Population

16.1million (1985)
20.5million (1995)
28.5million (2015)

25.2% population lives below the national poverty line (WB – 2016)

Nepal shares a border of over 1850 kms with five Indian States, Sikkim, West Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand

The India-Nepal Treaty of Peace and Friendship of 1950 gives India immense influence over Nepal’s affairs, including defence and security matters

India and Nepal have a treaty of transit, which confers transit rights through each other’s territory through mutually agreed routes and modalities

India also remains Nepal’s largest source of foreign investment, accounting for 43.17% of the total foreign investments in Nepal.

Ever since the partition of the sub-continent, India has been openly meddling in Nepal’s internal affairs by contriving internal strife and conflicts with the aim to destabilize successive legitimate governments and prop up puppet regimes that would not go against India’s goals & objectives.

Nepals refusal to make changes to its constitution as per the wishes of India resulted in an economic blockade that denied access to food and essential goods through Indian borders to Nepal. Nepal believes this was an act of ‘disciplining Nepal’. Armed insurrections have been sponsored and abetted by Indian intelligence RAW and mitigating the situation was given to pro-Indian Nepali leaders to inadvertently involve India in any decision making. Claiming to use democratization process the Maoists were encouraged by RAW to rebel against legitimate Nepalese governments.

It is also alleged that the Nepalese economy is totally controlled by the Indian money lenders, financers and business mafia details of which can be sourced from Shastra Dutta Pant’s RAW Machination in South Asia”.

Maldives

Population

183,538 (1985)
244,965 (1995)
363,657 (2015)

2016 – 15% population lives below the national poverty line

300-400 armed Sri Lankan Tamil mercenaries (LTTE) stormed the capital of Maldives on 30 November 1988. Indian PM, Rajiv Gandhi immediately despatched 1600 combat troops and within hours the attack was quelled and hostages released. The possibility of the attack being staged by India was floated by western media who claimed India desired to promote itself to the role of regional police. That Tamil militants were originally trained in India and the mercenaries had set off from Sri Lanka’s Mannar & Kankasanthurai which were areas under complete control of the Indian Peace Keeping Force which was in Sri Lanka at the time makes this notion plausible.

Maldives relations with India became strained when Maldives cancelled an agreement signed with an Indian firm in 2010 to modernize the Ibrahim Nasir International Airport and the contract was awarded to China

In October 2015, Maldivian President Abdulla Yameen told the visiting Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj that his government would not be dictated to and India should refrain from interfering in Maldives domestic issues. However, in April 2016, Maldives signed 6 Agreements with India

Bangladesh

Population

94.2million (1985)
119.9million (1995)
160million (2015)

Bangladesh is a country with an area of 147,570 square kilometers

2016 – 31.5% population live below the national poverty line (ADB)

The creation of RAW in the 1960s (Indias intelligence wing) was to create Bangladesh in 1971 (breaking up East Pakistan) using Bengali refugees as cover to set up Mukti Bahini. That was how India created Bangladesh. The aim of that creation was to have the newly created area under the subjugation of India culturally, ideologically and economically. The Treaty signed with India immediately after Bangladesh independence secured the right of the Indian Army to remain in Bangladesh and ensured Bangladesh did not have its own army and its foreign affairs was to be decided on consultation with Indian Foreign Ministry.

How far did this Treaty make Bangladesh independent if India was to decide Bangladesh’s foreign and defense policy and in turn Bangladesh had to open the floodgates to Indian goods?

Not stopping with the creation of Mukti Bahini RAW went on to create Shanti Bahini comprising Chittagong Hill Tracts Hindu and Buddhists tribesmen (the Chakmas) with intent to keep the Bangladeshi busy at its borders.

Bangladesh’s imports from India in the year 2004-2005 are worth 2 billion dollars and exports to India, worth 100 million dollars.

Afghanistan

Population – 11.5million (1985) / 17.6million (1995) / 32million (2015)

Since December 1979, throughout Afghan War, KGB, KHAD (WAD) (former Afghan intelligence outfit) and RAW stepped up their efforts to concentrate on influencing and covert exploitation of the tribes on both sides of the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.

There was intimate co-ordination between the three intelligence agencies not only in Afghanistan but in destabilization of Pakistan through subversion and sabotage plan related to Afghan refugees and mujahideen, the tribal belt and inside Pakistan. They jointly organized spotting and recruitment of hostile tribesmen and their training in guerrilla warfare, infiltration, subversion, sabotage and establishment of saboteur force/terrorist organizations in the pro-Afghan tribes of Pakistan in order to carry out bomb explosions in Afghan refugee camps in NWFP and Baluchistan to threaten and pressurize them to return to Afghanistan.

They also carried out bomb blasts in populated areas deep inside Pakistan to create panic and hatred in the minds of locals against Afghan refugee mujahideen for pressurizing Pakistan to change its policies on Afghanistan.

Pakistan

Population – 94.78million (1985) / 126.7million (1995) /194.9million (2015)

India’s war with Pakistan in 1965 over Kashmir and dismemberment of Pakistan in 1971 and creation of Bangladesh are just two examples of the extent India will go to dictate its hegemonic designs.

India, always considers her main opponent in her expansionist doctrine to be Pakistan. India’s animosity towards Pakistan is psychologically and ideologically deep-rooted.

Raw considers Sindh as Pakistan’s soft under-belly. It has, therefore, made it the prime target for sabotage and subversion. RAW is involved in Balochistan as well. RAW has enrolled and extensive network of agents and anti-government elements. Agitations resulted in Sindh in 1983 leading to ethnic riots (the same took place in Sri Lanka the same year) RAW has deeply penetrated and cultivated dissidents and secessionists in the neighboring countries. These Indian agents are paid hardliners that peddle India’s needs and demands locally and give any government in power a hard time.

RAW is allegedly accused of confusing the ground situation in Kashmir as well to keep the world attention away from the gross human rights violations by India in India occupied Kashmir. For greater details of these manipulations please read ‘RAW global and regional ambitions’ edited by Rashid Ahmad Khan and Muhammad Saleem published by the Islamabad Policy Research Institute.

The RAW has become the perfect instrument to roll out the India Doctrine which is admirably fulfilling the task of destabalizing target states in South Asia. RAW has been successful in its objectives of making SAARC neighbour states weak simply because the 7 SAARC members have been kept busy tackling the problems that India has created without devising ways to counter and mitigate them.

Sri Lanka

Population

15.84million (1985)

18.14million (1995)

20.7million (2015)

2016 – 6.7% population lives below the national poverty line

Sri Lanka as an island and despite the narrow stretch that divides Sri Lanka & India, Sri Lanka’s kings have succeeded to keep its independence despite over 17 invasions.

The import of slave labor from India by colonial rulers paved the way for the root cause of the separatis problem that turned into a terrorist problem after India secretly trained Sri Lankan Tamil youth, provided Tamil Nadu as safe haven for them and placed them under the tutelage of the Indian intelligence to destabalize Sri Lanka. The evidence of this is available from the Jain Commission report, the memoirs of IPKF generals, the envoy Dixit and statements and affidavits by Tamils and Indian leaders themselves.

The Tamil issue has provided the pretext for Indian interference in Sri Lanka, and a headache Sri Lanka cannot easily get rid of. The recent arrival of the Indian PM to address only a segment of populace, that too people who descend from those brought in by the colonials and who are not even regarded as citizens in India, was a symbolic gesture by India of how far it can bully a small nation. Dumping Indian products and forcing Sri Lanka to sign agreements virtually under duress like the 1987 Indo-Lanka Accord that even led to tweaking Sri Lanka’s constitution and allowing India to dictate who would use our strategic areas and assets has been part and parcel of India’s imperialistic policies towards its South Asian neighbours.

The Question is pure and simple. South Asia is just 7 countries. When India has been meddling and upsetting internal politics in these countries while even economically taking advantage of the trade agreements signed between India & each of the SAARC nations, can India seriously be considered as an aspiring superpower. The SAARC initiatives have all been failures yet India’s exports to these nations have spiralled while exports from the nations to India have been minimal and that too with a plethora of delays and barriers at India-end purely to show who is big brother. Can a country with such shallow mindset in its actions compete with China whose development agreements with other nations has been on a win-win formula? While it is the fault of the recipient nation if it fails to negotiate better terms which has been the case with most of South Asian neighbour countries including Sri Lanka, China has never resorted to interfering in its partner nations through covert programs.

Countries of SAARC need to seriously address these incursions before the interference spirals to levels the countries cannot control or mitigate and before Indian imperialism turns entire South Asia into an Indian Colony ruled by Delhi.

Shenali D Waduge

Additional reading

Kadirgamar, ‘Securing South Asia’, Hindu, 29th December, 2003
N. Dixit, Awaiting Indian Initiative”, Indian Express, 2nd January, 1996

India’s Role in South Asia Trade and Investment Integration – Asian Development Bank

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How many homelands do the Jaffna Tamils need?

May 30th, 2017

H.L. D. Mahindapala

Scholarly narratives tracing the brief history of the Tamils agree that the itinerant migrants from S. India turned into an organic and distinct entity of their own in Sri Lanka only after they decided to be permanent settlers in the northern region in the 13th and 14th centuries. The establishment of an independent Tamil kingdom in Ceylon in the thirteenth century,” wrote historian S. Arasaratnam, is a landmark in history of the Ceylon Tamils. No doubt it was helped by the weakness of Sinhalese political power…….What we can say with certainty is that by 1325 the Tamil kingdom had come onto the historical scene.” (p.103 – 104 – Ceylon, S. Arasaratnam, Prentice-Hall Inc., New Jersey, USA).

Prior to that the Tamil migrants drifted in and out of Sri Lanka as adventurers, traders, marauders, invaders, craftsmen, mercenaries, mostly for Sinhala kings, fishermen, explorers but never as permanent settlers with a commitment to make Sri Lanka their home. They always went back to their one and only homeland in S. India because they were instinctively drawn to their roots. Even when they became permanent settlers they were dependent primarily on the original S. Indian base that shaped their Tamil identity. The S. Indian umbilical cord was the sole source that sustained their spiritual, cultural and political needs. Their Freudian urge to go into the womb in S. India was an innate part of their genetic makeup.

In short, when they left S. India they never abandoned their homeland. As legatees of the Dravidian cultural, spiritual and historical heritage, which they carried religiously on their backs, they knew that they could never construct another homeland overseas to replace the original homeland they left behind. Any attempt to replicate the original homeland in foreign lands could only result in creating a fake-land” and not a genuine homeland. In any case, like all migrants the S. Indians who crossed the Palk Straits regarded Jaffna only as a transit lounge until they could return to their roots in the S. Indian homeland sooner or later.

S. Sivakumaran, a Sri Lankan journalist, reflecting on his S. Indian roots, reveals his inner feelings when he said : Well, let me put it this way – as a Tamilian I felt proud to be in Tamilnadu. The Tamil consciousness reigns supreme there. Having lived in a cosmopolitan city like Colombo for over thirty years – most Sri Lankans are more westernized than most people in India – I’m used to the lack of an exclusively Tamil context. But in Tamilnadu – in Madras and other places – I could feel a cultural atmosphere springing from a Dravidian foundation…” (p.50 – Le Roy Robinson in Conversation with K.S. Sivakumaran on Aspects of Culture in Sri Lanka, Chamara Printers, Colombo 6, 1992). Mark you, he is writing this in 1992 and he is still yearning to go back to the Dravidian foundation” even after living in cosmopolitan Colombo.

The cultural affinities that attaches him inseparably to his Dravidian homeland is the common experience of all Tamil migrants. The indelible feelings of Tamil exiled from S. India is expressed emphatically by Sivakumaran writing in 1992. Undoubtedly, the gravitational pull of the Jaffnaites to Tamil Nadu is stronger than those who had migrated to distant parts of the globe. Their proximity to Tamil Nadu makes it their home away from home. Obviously, this means that though the Jaffna Tamils claim their migrant settlement in the North of Sri Lanka to be their homeland they know, in their heart of hearts, that their one and only homeland is in S. India, the birthplace of all Tamils who migrated to other lands. All other overseas settlements lack not only the genuine spirit of a homeland but also the substance of a history which can transform the alien geography into a homeland. In fact, in India there is a sacredness attached to the homeland. For instance, the Brahmins, who came from the head of Brahma, according to classical Hindu caste system, were forbidden to cross the seas. Only the low-castes, like the Vellalas who belonged to the Sudra caste that came from the feet of Brahma, ventured out. Those who crossed the seas lost their Brahmanical status and Gandhi, for instance, had to be re-baptised to be admitted into Indian society.

Naturally, all Tamils who migrated from S. India had the Dravidian foundation” tattooed in the back of their minds.It was permanently located in their memory as the dependable and homely backyard” – the first and last resort from which they could derive strength in times of need. It was,above all, a historical haven to lift them up from the cultural desert in Jaffna. This apart, the Jaffna Tamils would know that there is a hollowness and a contradiction in claiming Jaffna as their homeland while sitting next door to their one and only homeland in Tamil Nadu. Those who claim Jaffna as their homeland, in addition to that of Tamil Nadu, are confused, with one leg planted in both territories. As seen in the case of Sivakumaran, they are confused in their divided minds, not knowing whether they belong to Tamil Nadu or Jaffna. Their heart strings pulling strongly in the direction of a Dravidian homeland make them feel that they belong to Tamil Nadu primarily because of the glories of its history. Jaffna has nothing to offer in comparison to the monumental achievements of their ancestors in Tamil Nadu. In fact, in revealing his heart, Sivakumaran makes it clear that he is just not speaking at the end of a sentimental journey into his past. No. He was affirming that he was back in his ancestral homeland – the place where the Tamils originated and later fanned out to occupy various parts of foreign lands. Sivakumaran’s experiences in Tamil Nadu comes out as if he had regained his paradise after living in exile in Jaffna. It is a natural and genuine feeling which the migrant Tamils cannot escape.

Once they go back to their roots in Tamil Nadu the old atavistic feelings, buried deep within, rise to bond with their homeland – a feeling that is not evoked in the minds of Tamils returning to their domiciled homes in alien lands abroad. So if their hearts and minds are in Tamil Nadu and only their body is in Jaffna where is their homeland? What is more, when they stare across the Palk Straits doesn’t it make a mockery of their claim to have two homelands, one sitting next to another on the shores of the Indian Ocean? When the same people claim two homelands, one next another, won’t they be in two minds not knowing to which land they belong, particularly because all what they claim to be Tamil culture exist only in Tamil Nadu?

And this leads to a more serious question : If the autochthonous Tamils of Tamil Nadu have not being given a state of their own to make it their homeland after reigning over great and independent kingdoms recorded in their glorious history, on what basis can the migrant settlers in Jaffna, with a dubious and a Lilliputian history, claim to have a separate state of their own in Sri Lanka? This does not mean that the Tamils are incapable of creatively manufacturing history to claim a homeland wherever they are located, west, east, north or south. Not surprisingly, in 1983, the Tamils circulated a spurious claim in Australia saying that they were the first to greet Captain Cook, with thosai, vadai, poomalai and nagasalam, when he first landed in Botany Bay in Sydney! Of course, no one took it seriously, except some nutty Tamil fanatics. This claim was based on historian Manning Clark’s theory that the Veddahs of Sri Lanka were among the first wave of migrants to Australia. (p.1 Chapter 1, Short History of Australia, Manning Clark).

A critical look at the post-independent Sri Lanka will reveal that the mainstream political trajectory spiralled downward into violence, and finally to Nandikadal, because the Tamils, in their obsession with a history that exists only in their minds, refused to face the hard realities of their superficial past. Their sudden urge to establish a separate state forced them to create a history that warped the minds of the Tamils. The best they could produce as history was a hastily written political tract to boost the claims to a separate state in the Battekotte (Vadukoddai) Resolution. But a homeland needs a sacred and undisputed history. It can only come out of the hands of those who make history with their innate genius to transform a land built in their own image. Their labour of love for the land leaves a proud legacy which their successors can call it their own. For instance, the American created a unique culture which they could proudly claim to be their own. They surpassed the European culture from which they borrowed to make a new civilisation of their own. All civilisations are built on borrowings. The genius is in putting their indelible stamp of identity as they marched into history. So have the Tamils of Jaffna come anywhere near to a level which would qualify them to be that of innovative homemakers like those in Tamil Nadu or in Sri Lanka? Where is the genius in physically transporting everything from S. India and transplanting them in Jaffna? Besides, a homeland is made at home not overseas. Everything in Jaffna was made across the Palk Straits. So where is their homeland?

Since the Tamils of Jaffna remained as mediocre copy cats, imitating the superior culture of Tamil Nadu, can they be considered to be innovative creators who laid the foundations for a homeland of their own in Sri Lanka? Or should they be categorised as mere carters who transported readymade products from Tamil Nadu imagining that they were a part of their creative genius? Their best achievement was in transporting slaves from Malabar, or in denying the low-castes their basic rights even to walk in daylight. Under the fascist Vellala rulers Jaffna was turned into an abominable gulag divided into upper caste priviligentsia and the outcasts who were treated as sub-humans. Velupillai Prabhakaran who inherited this fascist Vellala culture took it to the extreme and eliminated all Tamils who refused to pay pooja to the sole representative of the Tamils.” As usual, it is the Sinhala south that had to move in and save the Tamils from their barbaric oppressors.

Jaffna was a haven for the Vellala upper-caste but a suffocating hell-hole for the oppressed low-castes. Even the upper-caste had to either go to S. India or to the Sinhala south to get a breath of fresh air and breathe easily. With nothing much to claim as their own contribution to the Tamil culture they invariably had to fall back on the history and culture of Tamil Nadu. Before the anti-Sinhala-Buddhist vitriolic was injected into Jaffna politics by G. G. Ponnambalam, the Jaffna aristocracy headed by Arunachalam and Ramanathan brothers, were invariably singing the praises of the ancient Sinhala-Buddhist culture. Those who know their history are aware that the brief history in the miniscule geography of the north is not a patch on the magnificent achievements of Tamil Nadu, or the Sinhala south.

It is the overwhelming Tamil Nadu culture that reigns supreme in their minds, as stated by Sivakumaran. His spiritual / mental / cultural affinities with Tamil Nadu culture reveal the underlying factors that go to make a Tamil. The Tamilness that he felt in Tamil Nadu is a unique force that is confined exclusively to its historical borders. The cultural atmosphere springing from a Dravidian foundation” could not be found in Jaffna. Sivakumaran’s confession makes it clear that the pristine Tamilness that moved him in Tamil Nadu is missing in Jaffna. Though he does not say it specifically, his statement acknowledges that his spiritual homeland is in Tamil Nadu. Period. Jaffna, to all intents and purposes, is a mere arid geographical strip hanging like a tail from the main body of Tamil Nadu. It could not – and has not – produced the culture of Tamil Nadu which makes it the only homeland of the Tamils. Jaffna can be considered the first post of the Tamil migrants moving out to occupy foreign lands in the Tamil diaspora. Jaffna has been a homeland for the Tamil settlers only to establish a legal claim for a bit real estate from the Sinhalese.

Feeling the pervasive weight of Tamil cultural heritage Sivakumaran asserted that he was proud to be a Tamilian in Tamil Nadu. That is natural and understandable. But how many Tamil Naduans can look around Jaffna and feel proud of the Jaffna culture? What is there inspiring in the imitative and mediocre culture of Jaffna? In contrast, take the case of an American who can justifiably take pride in the achievements of his/her homeland by putting the distinct stamp of American identity on every inch of land and making it their own from valley to mountain peak. Today the distinction between England and America is as wide as the Atlantic Ocean that keeps them apart. Winston Churchill who was sharp enough to notice the difference said that America and England are two countries divided by one language! Well, in comparison what is it that the Jaffnaites have achieved on their own which the Tamil Naduans had not achieved? The Jaffnaites are still playing second fiddle to the Tamil Naduans and they feel that the Tamil Nadu Dravidians are still their superior masters. The Jaffnaites, however, take some pride in preserving the purity of Tamil language. Apart from this, both Tamil Naduans and Jaffnaites know that there can only be one homeland and that is in Tamil Nadu and not in Jaffna. Tamils from Jaffna must be the only community in the world who claim to have two homelands in one ocean – one filled with the originals and the other filled with the flotsam and jetsam that went ashore as unintended consequences of accidental history.

The migrant Tamils who settled down overseas knew for certain that there could never be another homeland outside Tamil Nadu. As a result they were quite content, once they settled down in Sri Lanka, to be mere imitators basking in the glory of the S. Indian culture. Surveying the past of the North, Arasaratnam wrote: No original artistic tradition grew in Tamil Ceylon. Culturally, the Tamils looked upon their arts as part of the Dravidian tradition of south India.” (p.115 – Ibid). There was nothing noteworthy in the Jaffna Tamil culture. This could be one reason why the great cultural savant of South Asia, Dr. Ananda Coomarasawamy, wrote his classic monograph on Medieval Sinhala Art. If there were any outstanding cultural achievements worth protecting he couldn’t have missed it because he came from Jaffna.

(To be continued)

15 Comments »

TRINCO OIL TANK FARM

May 30th, 2017

Capt Ranjith Weerasinghe

Trincomalee Tank farm with 100 tanks in 850 acres of land need not be given to any country or any foreign company. Whatever the agreement with LIOC, all the tanks must be taken back to the government possession immediately as the COPE finds that there is no legal agreement signed to lease it out to them. The US$ 100,000 p.a or $8333.33 per month lease for all tanks in 850 acres is peanuts as we have individual professionals earning even more than that kind of monthly salary.

Developing 100 tanks and clearing the 850 Acres of land and pipe line and the Oil Jetty in Trinco harbour should be done by Sri Lanka government and owned by it and not even by Petroleum Corporation. So that Tanks are only hired out on a daily rate Per CBM per day”; for storage for anyone who wants to hire them for Crude Oil, Heavy Fuel Oil, Intermediate Fuel Oil, Refined products such as Diesel, Petrol, Kerosine, Aviation Fuel Etc, using dedicated tanks and separate pipelines to the jetty. It shall cost an affordable amount to Sri Lanka Government needing no loan involvements to clear our own backyard of 850 Acres. Management of that operation shall be done by the government owned or delegated company with corporate efficiency. They also can canvass for business to attract foreign companies to use the tanks for short term and long term storage of petroleum oil only on the basis of ‘per cbm per day rate’ so that there is no question of long term leasing it out to anybody.

I reiterate that there is no need to get into another trap like Hambantota when the Trinco harbour, tanks and Land are already ours without a cent of debt to any one like in Hambantota. Why invite another country like India to jointly develop it. So we must make full use of our own asset for the country’s benefit. Hope the government has learnt the lesson hard way from Hambantota Port and Port City with the Chinese debts for next 400 years

I challenge any expert in the industry or the government including the Prime Minister to irrefutably justify why Trinco Tanks should be jointly developed with India or any other country.

What is the valid reason for Joint Venture ?

Doesn’t the Government have money to develop the tank farm ?

Cant the Govt. do a joint venture with Sri Lankan companies; why Indians ?

Does it cost an unaffordable amount to develop the tank farm ?

Do we intend buying and selling oil or look for offering the tanks for storage only ?

What is Lanka IOC doing with 99 tanks when there is no valid agreement with them to lease ?

To upgrade the tanks and clear the land as a clean tank farm, it does not cost a lot; (not as much as many Prados to Ministers) Costs are within the reach of government alone.
if the government cannot afford even that kind of investment, there are enough local companies who can do that and run the tank farm so that there is no need to give it to foreign countries.
When there is no debt at all and the tanks are already there and owned by the country, why do we want to give it out to any other country to develop just like the debt-trapped Hambantota, specially to India which has other interests in holding onto land. Get the LIOC out of the hold on to the tanks first.
Having an ambiguous MOU to agree to lease out the tanks to LIOC without a proper lease agreement signed at all, it is best to clear it out immediately and have the possession of the all 102 tanks, the pipeline & oil jetty and land vested clearly in the Government so that it can be hired on spot basis to anyone including CPC and LIOC only on Tankage hire on daily rate per ton.
It is a business that can be developed to attract other oil traders in the region without having to give out on lease agreements. There are viable alternatives either as a sole government project or local private public partnership project There is ready business available and can be further developed hiring of tanks on per MT per day” basis and can earn 100 times more than what current lease does
In the event of setting up a refinery in the country, storage facility is definitely needed for both crude oil as well as finish product. So let the tanks be our own assets
Even if we don’t have any business for these tanks, let them be as they are; why do you want to give it to another country purely on the so called geo-political reasons the pundits in governments unduly infer or fear; (if giving it to a foreign country is the way to go, Govt can give that also to China; so that the so called geopolitical reasons will vanish immediately;

Capt Ranjith Weerasinghe

කරවටක් ගිලෙද්දී ගයන බයිලා

May 30th, 2017

තේජා ගොඩකන්දෙආරච්චි

රටට මේ තරම් විපතක් වූ මොහොතක දේශපාලන කරුණු ඇතුලත් වූ ලිපි ලියන්නට මගේ සිත ඉඩ නොදුනි. නමුත් අප රටේ දේශපාලක රැල මේ විපත අස්සේත් නටන නාඩගම් දකිනවිට මෙවන් විපත්වලට මග සාදන්නේත් තම බලය ගැන පමනක් මිස දුර දිග නොබලන දේශපාලකයන්ගේම අත්තනෝමතික තීරණ බව මතකයට නැගෙනු වැලැක්විය නොහැකිය.

2002 වසරේදී මා සේවය කල ආයතනය මගින් පැවැත්වීමට අදහස් කල පාරිසරික සංරක්ෂණ දැනුවත් කිරීම් වැඩ සටහනක් සඳහා, එය මෙහෙයවූ සොයුරියට උපකාර කරන බවට මම පොරොන්දු වීමි. එම කටයුත්ත මා සතු විෂය පථයට ඇතුලත් නොවුනත් පුද්ගලිකව මා සතුව පරිසරය සම්බන්ධව ඇල්මක් සහ යම් තරමක දැනුමක් තිබූ නිසා මේ අදහස මා තුල ඇතිවූ අතර මගේ මිතුරියද ඊට එකහෙලා එකඟ වූවාය. ඒ අනුව තමන් ජීවත්වන පරිසරයට අත් වෙමින් යන ඉරණම ගැන ජනතාවට හැඟීමක් ඇතිවන ආකාරයේ ප්‍රායෝගික කරුණු ඇතුලත්ව සරළව ලියැවුන, රූ සටහන්ද සහිත අත් පත්‍රිකාවක් සකසා දීමට මම සිතා ගතිමි. ඒ වන විටත් අප වැඩසටහන සැලසුම්කල රත්නපුර දිස්ත්‍රික්කයේ ශීඝ්‍ර වූ වන විනාශයක් සිදු වෙමින් පැවති නිසාද, එම විනාශයට අප සේවයකල ප්‍රදේවල ජනතාවත් දැන හෝ නොදැන සක්‍රීයවම දායක වූ නිසාද මේ පිලිබඳව ඔවුන් හා සංවාදයක් ගොඩ නැගීම සඳහා අත්‍යවශ්‍ය කරුණු සොයා ගැනීමට මට වුවමනා විය.

ඒ අනුව කාලගුණ විද්‍යා දෙපාර්තමේන්තුවේ ලේඛණාගාරයට ගිය මම 1980 සිට 2001 දක්වා රත්නපුර දිස්ත්‍රික්කයට බලපෑ වාර්ෂික වර්ෂාපතන රටාව අධ්‍යයනය කරනු පිනිස එම දත්ත ලබා ගත්තෙමි. එම දත්තවලට අනුව සත්‍යය ඇස් පනාපිට දිග හැරින. එනම් 80 දශකයේදී වර්ෂයේ මාස 12 තුල ඉතා සමබරව අඩු වැඩි වෙමින් පැවත ගිය මාසික වර්ෂාපතනය, ක්‍රමයෙන් වෙනස්වෙමින් ගොස් 2001 වනවිට ඉතා අසමතුලිත තත්වයට පැමිනි අයුරුය. ඒ ප්‍රදේශවලට ජුලි, අගෝස්තු හා සැප්තැම්බර් මාසවලදී අඩුම වර්ෂාපතනයත්, මාර්තු සහ අප්‍රේල් මාසවල වැඩිම වර්ෂාපතනයත් ලැබෙන අතර මුලදී එම කාල සීමාවන් අතරතුර සමබරව අඩු වැඩි වෙමින් යන වර්ෂාපතනයක් තිබිනි. (එනම් මිමී 40 සිට 500 අතර මාසික වර්ෂාපතනයක් ලෙස දෝලනය වන) නමුත් 2001 වනවිට වියලි මාස වල මිමී 2 සිට 5 පමන වන මාසික වර්ෂාපතනය වැසි සහිත මාසවලදී මිමී 800-900 දක්වා ඉහල නගින බව නිරීක්ෂණය කල හැකිවිය. කොළඹ 07 පිහිටි කාලගුණ විද්‍යා දෙපාර්තමේන්තුවේ ප්‍රධාන කාර්යාලයේදී එම සංඛ්‍යාන දත්ත ලබා ගැනීමට මට උපකාර කල නිළධාරියා වූයේ වත්මන් කාළගුණ විද්‍යා අධ්‍යක්ෂවරයා වන ලලිත් චන්ද්‍රපාල මහතාය. මේ ගැන ඔහුත් සමඟ මඳක් මා කතාකලා මතකය.

මවිසින් එම සේවා ආයතනයේ වැඩ භාරගන්නා ලද අවධියේදී රට තුල බොහෝ පෙදෙස්වල මහා නියඟයක් විනි. අපේ ක්ෂේත්‍රයේ ජනතාව වතුර ගෙන ඒමට, නා ගැනීමට, බසයෙන් හෝ වෙනත් ප්‍රවාහන මාර්ග යොදාගෙන කිලෝ මීටර 12 ක් 15 ක් පමන ගියහ. නමුත් කල්තොට පාරේ වනාන්තර ගහන මේ භූමිය නිරන්තරව ගිනි තැබීම්වලට ලක් කලේද මොවුන්මය. මේ ගැන විමසූ විට දැනගත් හේතු කාරණා වූයේ සතුන් දඩයම් කිරීම, වැසි කාලය පැමිනිවිට වගාවක් කිරීමට බිම් සකසා ගැනීම යනාදියයි. ඒ පලාතේ එනසල්, කරාබුනැටි සහ තේ ද එළවලු වර්ගද වගාකල අය සිටියහ. තමන්ට කියා ඉඩමක් නැති අය මෙන්ම තම වගාව පුලුල් කරන්නට අවශ්‍ය අයද මේ ගිනි තැබීම්වලට හවුල් වූ අය අතර සිටියහ. මෙම තත්වයට බොහෝ දුරට වගකිව යුතු වූයේ අක්‍රමවත් ඉඩම් බෙදීමේ ප්‍රතිපත්ති ය. ඔවුන් ගිනි තබන්නේ අක්කරයක පමන ඉඩමක් බලාගෙන වුවත් ගින්න අක්කර ගණනාවක් පුරා පැතිර යාම වැලැක්විය නොහැකිය. මා චන්ද්‍රපාල මහතා සමග කතාකලේ මේ වන විනාශය වර්ෂාපතන රටාව හා ගැලපී යාම ගැනය. නමුත් ඔහු මට දුන් පිලිතුරින් මම වික්ෂිප්ත වීමි. ‘අක්කර 150 ක 200 ක කැලෑවක් කැපුව කියල ඒක ලොකුවට වර්ෂාපතනයට බලපාන්නෙ නැහැ‘

නමුත් මෙසේ ගස්වලින් තොරවන භූමියට කෙලින්ම පතිතවන වර්ෂාව ඔස්සේ පස සේදී යාම තුල ඇතිවන අනිටු ඵල විපාක සහ එමගින් ඇතිවන පාරිසරික වෙනස්වීම් අනිවාර්ය නේදැ‘යි මම ඔහුගෙන් විමසුවෙමි. එය සත්‍යයක් නමුත් වන විනාශය සම්බන්ධව කටයුතු කිරීම වන සංරක්ෂණ දෙපාර්තමේන්තුවේ විෂය පථයට අයත් දෙයක් බවත් ඔහුගේ පිලිතුර විය. මෙතැනදී මම එක දෙයක් වටහා ගතිමි. ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ පරිසරය හා සෘජුවම සම්බන්ධවන ආයතන ක්‍රියා කරගෙන යන ඒකාබද්ධ එලැඹුමකින් හා සම්බන්ධීකරනයකින් තොර හුදෙකලා ස්වභාවය ගැනය. මේ ආයතන ජනතාව හා පවත්වාගෙන යන සම්බන්ධය කෙතරම් දුර්වලද? මෙම නිළධාරීන් තම තමන්ගේ විෂයට පමනක් සීමා කෙරෙන ලෙස කටයුතු සිදුවෙත්දී ජනතාව අතින් සිදුවන වරදකට දඬුවම් කෙරෙන විටෙක ඒ ගැන දන්නවා මිස එම ආයතනයේ කෙරෙන කාර්යභාරය ගැන ජනතාවට අදහසක් නොලැබීම ස්වභාවිකය. එක අතකට එහිද වරදක් දැකිය නොහැක. තමන්ට ලියා පවරා නොදෙන විෂය පථයකට අත දමන්නට තම රාජකාරි වගවීම් තුල ඉඩක් නොලැබීම ඔවුන්ගේ වරදක් නොවේ. මෙය රටේ ප්‍රතිපත්ති සකස් කරන්නන්ගේ වරදය. මේ වරද නිසා මෙවන් ආයතන තුල සේවය කරන උගතුන් පිරිසකගේ දැනුම නිකම්ම සෝදා පාලුවට ලක්වේ. එය දේශපාලනමය හේතුවකි.

පසුගිය අප්‍රේල් මාසයේදී මීතොටමුල්ලේ කසල කන්ද කඩා වැටුන පසු පලවූ විවිධ ලිපි අතර ලංකාදීප පුවත්පතේ පලවූ එක් විශේෂ ලිපියක් විය. ඒ කොළඹ මහ තගර සභාවේ හිටපු පුණ්‍ය කටයුතු පිලිබඳ සහකාර කොමසාරිස් වන නිරෝෂ් ධර්මපාල මහතාගේ කතාවයි. කොරියාවේ සියොල් නුවර මෙට්‍රොපොලිටන්හිදී කසල කලමණාකරනය උගෙන ලබාගත අත්දැකීම් උපයෝගී කරගෙන ඔහු කොළඹ නගරය සඳහා කසල කලමණාකරන සැලැස්මක් පිලියෙල කර නගරාධිපතිවරයාට ලබා දුන් හැටිත්, එය ධර්මපාල මහතාගේ විෂය පථයට අයත් නොවූ බැවින් කෝපයට පත් නගරාධිපතිවරයා ඔහුව කොළඹ නගර සභාවෙන් ඉවත් කරන්නට කටයුතුකල හැටිත් එහි කියැවිනි. මේ කසල කලමණාකරන සැලැස්ම කොළඹ නගරාධිපති මුසම්මිල්ට එතරම් විස වූයේ ඇයිද කියා දන්නෝ දනිති. මේ අප රටේ දේශපාලනයයි.

අද වන විට රටේ තිබෙන අමාත්‍යංශ ගණන ජනතාව තබා දේශපාලකයන්වත් හරිහැටි දන්නවාද කියා සැක සහිතය. නමුත් මෙතරම් විපතක් වූ තැන ජනතාවගේ තත්වය ගැන සොයා බලන්නට ආවේ මොවුන් අතරින් කී දෙනෙක්ද? ඊලඟට මේ අමාත්‍යංශවලින් ඉටුවන සේවය? අද වන විට රටේ ඇමති ගනයාට තම විෂය පිලිබඳ සිතන්නට වෙලාවක් නැති අතර ඔවුන්ගේ මූලිකම අවධානය යොමුව තිබෙන්නේ වෙළඳපලට අලුතින්ම පැමිනි සුඛෝපභෝගී වාහන මාදිලිය කුමක්ද, එය මිලට ගන්නට පරිපූරක ඇස්තමේන්තුවක් අනුමත කර ගන්නේ කෙසේද යන්න පිලිබඳව බව පෙනෙයි. මෙහිදී දැන් නම් ඔවුන්ට ඇත්තේ මුදල් ගැන කාරණයක් මිසෙක ජනතාවට උත්තර බඳීමක් නොවන බව පැහැදිලිය. මේ වාහන පිපාසයේ සන්සිඳීමක් නැත.

ඒ අතර ජනතාව පත්ව සිටින තත්වය ගැන කතාකල ඇමතිවරයෙකුට පාර්ලිමේන්තුවේදී පිලිතුරු දුන් අමාත්‍ය ලක්ෂ්මන් කිරිඇල්ල ‘ඔයාට අමාරුවක් තියේ නම් බෝට්ටුවක් අරන් යන්න‘ යි කීවේය. විපතට පත් ජනතාව 500,000 ක් වෙනුවෙන් රු. කෝටි 4.5 ක් ඇඟෙන් ඇටයක් යන්නාක් මෙන් වෙන් කරන අතර ක්‍රීඩා ඇමති දයාසිරි ජයසේකර සහ තිලංග සුමතිපාල විසින්ශ්‍රී ලංකා ක්‍රිකට් ආයතනයේදී රු. කෝටි 1/2 ක් වැයකර සාදයක් පැවැත්වූහ. තමන්ට ආපදා ආධාර එවන්නට ප්‍රමාද වීම ගැන වින්දිත ජනතාව විරෝධය පෑ විට කුපිත වූ හර්ෂණ රාජකරුණා මන්ත්‍රීවරයා ජනතාවට පරුෂ වචනයෙන් බැණ වැදී තමන් ගෙනා සහල් ගෝනිද විසිකර යන්නට ගියේය. ඒ අතර අගමැතිවරයාට ‘බාත්රූම් එකට යන්නටවත්, නා ගන්නටවත් වෙලාවක් නැති තරමට කරන වැඩ(?) නිසා වෙහෙස බව‘ පවසා ටිකක් විවේක සුවයෙන් පසු වීමට ඇමරිකාවට ගොස් ඇත. මේ තරම් බරපතල ආපදාවකට රට මුහුණ පා සිටිත්දී ජනතාව ගැන යන්තම් හෝ සිතන නායකයකුට විවේක ගැන්මක් ගැන සිතන්නට හැකිද? පසුගිය සතියේ ඔස්ට්‍රේලියාවට ගිය ජනාධිපතිවරයා තමන්ට දැන් පිටරටවල් වලින් වෙන කවරදාටත් වඩා ආරාධනා ලැබෙන බව පැවසුවේ මහත් ආඩම්බරයෙනි. එම ආරාධනා ලැබෙන ප්‍රමානය නිසා දැන් රටේ නායක දෙපලට රටේ ජනතාව ගැන බලන්නට කාලය හෝ මුදල් නොමැත. අයවැයෙන් තම ජනාධිපති සහ අගමැති කාර්යාල වල වැය ශීර්ෂ ඉහල දමා ගත්තේ මේ ආරාධනාවන්ට ලක ලැහැස්ති වීම සඳහා බව පැහැදිලිය.

ඔස්ට්‍රේලියාවට යාමට පෙර අටුව කඩා පුටුව තනන්නා මෙන් කැබිනට් සංශෝධනයක් කල ඔහු මුදල් සහ ජනමාධ්‍ය ඇමතිකමට පත්කල් මංගල සමරවීරය. මංගල සමරවීරට රටක මුදල් ඇමතිකම දරන්නට සහ ජනමාධ්‍ය වනි විෂයයක් බාර දෙන්නට තරම් ඇති සුදුසුකම් මොනවාදැයි ජනාධිපති නොදන්නවාද නැතිනම් ඔහුට ඉන් වැඩක් නැතිද කියා දන්නේ ඔහුම පමනි. මේ ජනාධිපතිවරයාගේ බුද්ධි මට්ටමද නැතිනම් තමාට කතිරය ගසා මෙතැනට ඔසවා තැබූ ජනතාවගේ බුද්ධි මට්ටම ඔහු තක්සේරු කරන ආකාරයද? රටක ආර්ථිකය යනු රටේ අනාගත පැවැත්මේ එක් ප්‍රධානතම සාධකයකි. මංගල තම ඇමති පියාගේ පිහිටෙන් රාජකීය විද්‍යාලයටත් එතැනින් එංගලන්තයටත් ගොස් මෝස්තර නිර්මාණය ඉගෙන ගත්තද එයින්වත් වැඩක් ගත්තාද යන්න සැක සහිතය. එවන් අයෙකුට මුදල් ඇමතිකම පවරා දෙමින් එක අතකට ජනාධිපතිවරයා කරන කියන හැසිරෙන ආකාරය දුටු විට සිතට දැනෙන්නේ කේන්තියක් නොව දැඩි සිත් වේදනාවකි. ඒ ‘අනේ අපේ රටට අත්වන්නට යන ඉරණම‘ කියා සිහි වීමෙන්ය. මේ මොහොතේ රට මුහුණ දී සිටින තත්වයටද බලපා ඇත්තේ අවිධිමත් පාරිසරික පැවැත්මක ප්‍රතිඵලය. පරිසර විෂය භාර වගකිවයුත්තා වශයෙන් මේ ගැන ජනාධිපතිට පවසන්නට ඇත්තේ කුමක්ද? තම බලකොටුව සෙලවේය යන බියෙන් හැකිලී, විල්පත්තුව වැනි මිලකල නොහැකි වන සම්පත් වනසාලන බදුර්දීන් වැනි පව්කාරයන් රකිනා අතර මේවාට එරෙහිවන පරිසරය ගැන කකියන සිත් ඇත්තන්ට පහර ගසන ගමන් පාට පාට ටී ෂර්ට්ස් ඇඳගෙන ගැලපෙන කැප් තොප්පි දමාගෙන කැමරා ඉදිරිපිට රඟපා පෙන්වන දර්ශන වලින් මේ ප්‍රශ්න විසඳීමට හැකිය කියා ඔහු සිතනවාද? යලිත් උතුරත් දකුණත් දෙකම දශක තුනකට පෙර තිබූ තත්වයටම පසු ගමන් අරඹා ඇත. දේශපාලක රැල මුහුද මැදට ගසාගෙන යන අලි කුණේ වසාගෙන බුදින කපුටු රැල මෙනි.

දැන අලි මදිවට හරක් කියන්නා සේ එකපිට පහර දෙන ස්වභාවික ව්‍යසනයන්ය. සති කිහිපයකට පෙර දරාගත නොහැකි උණුසුමකින් සහ නියඟයෙන් පීඩා විඳි ශ්‍රී ලාංකික ජනතාව දැන් ගංවතුරක, අනෝරා වැසි කඳක ගිලී යති. මේ සියලු ව්‍යසනයන් හුදී ජනතාවගේ කරපිටය.

ගැටඹේ පැවැත්වූ මැයි රැලියේදී ජනාධිපතිවරයා ‘තමන් යන යන තැන නියඟ අවසන් කරමින් වැසි වැටෙන බව‘ කියමින් උදම් ඇනීය. දැන් ඉතින් ජනතාවට මදිය නොකියන්නට වැසි ලැබී ඇත. ඔහු මෙසේ සඳහන් කරන්නේ තමාගේ ධාර්මිකකම ගැන බව පැහැදිලිය. නමුත් ඉන් වැඩක් ඇති බවක් නොපෙනේ.

මෙවැනි වැදගැම්මකට නැති විකාර කියවමින් පරඬලාවක් සේ වැනෙමින් රට විනාශ මුඛයට යනකම් බලා සිටිනවාද? 2015 ජනවාරියේදී, දශක තුනක් පෙලූ යුද්ධය අවසන් කරනට ගත් පියවර තරම්ම යෝධ කාර්යභාරයක් ඉටුකල පුද්ගලයෙකුද පරාජය කරමින් ජනතාව තමන්ට රටේ පාලනය භාර දුන්නේ ඇයිද කියා සිතා ගන්නට මොහුට ශක්තියක් තිබේද? රැවටුනේ ඔවුන්ද? මහජනතාවද?

‘They want me to fight China. It’s gonna be a massacre!’ – Duterte to RT (FULL INTERVIEW)

May 30th, 2017

RT

The Philippines should have stronger ties with Russia and China, as Western nations are only interested in double talk and disregard Philippines interests, President Rodrigo Duterte told RT and other Russian media ahead of his visit to Moscow.

https://youtu.be/rHjlCmdyesY

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A HIGH TIME FOR PAKISTAN

May 30th, 2017

ALI SUKHANVER

Those who are interested in the secrets of the hidden world of the intelligence agencies might have read this famous quotation, ‘a spy sitting in the right place saves the life of at least 20,000 soldiers of his nation’. But the Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav simply turned this quotation upside down. Instead of saving 20000 soldiers he put the whole Indian nation into trouble. How pathetic is that from Mr. Modi to every man in the streets of India has been compelled to raise his protesting-voice in favour of a criminal who was earlier not accepted even as an Indian citizen. At the cost of the whole of the Indian nation, the International Court of Justice had to be dragged into a matter which brought nothing but shame and insult for the whole of the ‘Shinning India’. But this all makes no difference to Pakistan. Jadhav is going to be hanged very soon as his activities are directly linked with the security affairs of Pakistan and such affairs are beyond the jurisdiction of the ICJ. In some issues, Pakistan does recognize the jurisdiction of the ICJ,” said Pakistan’s Foreign Office spokesperson Nafees Zakaria in a recent statement after his meetings with Adviser to Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz, Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua, Attorney General Ashtar Ausaf Ali and Pakistan’s representative at the International Court of Justice Khawar Qureshi, Jhadav’s case is related to Pakistan’s security. Commander Jadhav continues to provide vital intelligence with regard to recent terrorist attacks in Pakistan. India is just twisting the facts and trying to give this case a humanitarian angle.”A senior official at the foreign ministry said talking to media, It was decided in the meetings that every effort will be made to expose India before the international community and to ensure punishment for Kulbhushan Jadhav as Pakistan has a very solid case against him.” Mr. Khawar Qureshi said, ‘The staying of Kulbhushan execution by the ICJ is not on our mind. This is a normal practice as the case could not move forward if Jadhav is executed.’ All these meetings were arranged to discuss the future line of action with reference to Kulbhushan’s case.

Certainly the case of Commander Kulbhushan Jadhav is not a simple matter of a spy, it is the matter of Pakistan’s defence and security; it is the matter of killings of so many innocent people; it is the matter of pushing Pakistani society into the inferno of sectarian-divide and linguistic-hatred; it is a matter of keeping the foreign investors away from Pakistan and all these matters lead to social insecurity and no doubt to destruction of the whole economic structure. Jadhav is not just a spy, he is a terrorist and a terrorist never deserves any soft corner. R&AW’s futile efforts of spreading anarchy in Pakistan and its useless struggle of destabilizing Pakistani society are nothing new; since after the creation of Pakistan, it has ever been an ‘official dream’ of India to keep Pakistan in trouble, sometimes with the help of its ‘media-soldiers’ and sometimes with the help of the R&AW and sometimes with the support of the so-called Militant Organizations.

Spies do work in hostile lands; it is a ‘part of game’ but forgiving spies is nowhere a part of game. Spies are treated everywhere with all possible strictness rather rudeness and rigidity but in Pakistan, the natural and national temperamental peacefulness and kindheartedness with the neighbors has ever been a hurdle in a way to deal with the spies, particularly the spies belonging to India. The security agencies of Pakistan have so many times caught the Indian spies red-handed and after giving them all possible opportunities of proving their innocence and after following complete legal procedure sent them behind the bars but during all this process such criminals are never treated brutally. The reason behind this soft-behaviour might be that the spies are considered ‘illegal-diplomats’ of the countries they belong to. Kulbhushan Jadhav was also treated with the same kindness. People might have noticed the appearance of Jadhav during his confession-statement; freshly and nicely shaven face, neatly dressed with very peaceful expressions on his face; he was looking like a high-ranked army officer. He seemed neither under influence of some violence nor under some mental torture. It seemed that he had got tired of the dirty game of which he had been a part since long and he wanted to get rid of all that rubbish. If you look back at the record-files of the Indian spies arrested in Pakistan you would be astonished to know that they are hundreds in number. It is the high-time for Pakistan to put a full-stop to India’s dirty game of sending her spies here. Pakistan will have to make sure that Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav is punished for killing innocent people and it is the most suitable way of exposing India’s dirty face before the international community.

Khilafat – Successorship to Prophethood.

May 30th, 2017

by A. Abdul Aziz,

(Given below is an excerpt of the Friday Sermons of Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, Supreme Head of the world-wide Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in Islam, delivered on 26^th May 2017, at ‘Baithul Futhuh’, London, U.K. gave a discourse on system of Khilafat – Spiritual leadership.

After reciting the Tashahhud, Ta’uz, Tasmia and Sura Fatiah, Ahmadiyya Khalifa recited verse 56 of Sura Al-Nur of Holy Qur’an and then said:

The translation of this verse is as follows:

Allah has promised to those among you who believe and do good works that He will surely make them Successors in the earth, as He made Successors from among those who were before them; and that He will surely establish for them their religion which He has chosen for them; and that He will surely give them in exchange security and peace after their fear: They will worship Me, and they will not associate anything with Me. Then whoso is ungrateful after that, they will be the rebellious.”

This verse, as it is evident from the subject matter, declares the promise of Allah the Almighty to Muslims that Khilafat [i.e. Calipahte] will continue to remain in Islam. However, according to a saying of the Holy Prophet (PBUH), due to the conduct of the Muslims and the state of their faith, this blessing was to be temporarily seized from them. Nevertheless, the Holy Prophet (PBUH) also added that, in accordance with the promise of Allah the Almighty, this system was to be re-established. Khilafat on the precepts of prophethood was to be re-established and reinstated in the world for those who are firm in their faith, do good deeds and follow this final and complete religion.

Whilst mentioning the lack of knowledge of the Muslims, or rather the lack of understanding and ignorance of the Muslim scholars, Founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad – the Promised Messiah and Imam-al-Mahdi (peace be on him) stated: Some people deny the general connotation of the verse: [Arabic] (i.e. the broader meaning of this verse) by saying that Minkum] from among you] can only refer to the companions [of the Holy Prophet (PBUH)] and the rightly guided caliphate terminated with them.” Ahmadiyya Founder further states: I ask the question, can any virtuous individual entertain the belief that the dispensation and caliphate of Prophet Moses (peace be on him) lasted for fourteen hundred years, yet that individual who was the best of all the Messengers and the best among all the Prophets – the blessings of whose dispensation was to last until the Day of Judgement – his blessings were to last only until his era, as if to say that God Almighty did not wish for the blessings of his model to be exhibited through his spiritual Caliphs”

Thus, there are people who are of this opinion as well about whom the Holy Prophet (PBUH) mentioned with detail. However, there are some individuals who wish to establish the Caliphate using the support of worldly powers. These people have failed to understand the clear message of God Almighty that this promise is stipulated with faith and virtuous deeds. Becoming a true servant of God Almighty is a condition attached to this promise. Three years ago, a journalist in Ireland asked me ‘what is the truth behind the system of Caliphate that has appeared in the Islamic world? What dangers are posed to your Caliphate by this?’ I explained to him that they are a group of extremists and their end will be the same as rest of the extremist organisations. Recently here in the United Kingdom an incident took place in Manchester where twenty-two or twenty-three people were needlessly killed including innocent children. This was an outrageous act of cruelty and can never be associated with the teachings of Islam at any cost. We are perturbed by these atrocious acts of terror. May Allah have mercy on the deceased and grant steadfastness to their relatives. May Allah stop the hands of these tyrants who are carrying out vicious acts in the name of Islam and Khilafat [Caliphate].

In this day and age Ahmadis are the ones who have understood the teachings of the Quran and can comprehend the directives issued by the Holy Prophet (PBUH) as Ahmadis because we have recognised the teachings of peace and harmony in Islam through accepting the Khatam-al-Khulafah [the Seal of the Caliphs, i.e. the Promised Messiah (peace be on him)].

In Surah Jumuah of the Holy Quran, God Almighty states: ‘And among others from among them who have not yet joined them’. When this verse was revealed, a companion enquired: ‘O Messenger of Allah (PBUH)! Who are those people who have not yet joined them, but still hold the status of being called companions? The Holy Prophet (PBUH) did not answer until the companion asked for a third time, after which the Holy Prophet (PBUH) placed his hand on the shoulder of Hazrat Salman, the Persian, and said: When the faith reaches the Pleiades, some individuals from among these people would attain it.” Regarding the status of those ‘Others’ [who have not yet joined them] the Holy Prophet (PBUH) once said: My people are a blessed nation, it will be difficult to decipher if the first century will be the most blessed or the last century.” Thus, the Holy Prophet (PBUH) himself gave the glad tidings of the blessings of the latter days.

The Promised Messiah (peace be on him) came to rejuvenate Islam, while at the same time these companions, who attached themselves with the Promised Messiah (peace be on him), gained that radiance which is the light of faith. They witnessed an array of signs. To this day there are many who are emerging from the darkness to see the light, and having seen the signs they enter into the fold of the Ahmadiyya Community.

The followers of the Promised Messiah (peace be on him) continue to difficulties, hardships and adversity. However, they bear all the suffering and misfortune with extraordinary patience and steadfastness. The example of Algeria in this regard is right before us. The Jamaat there is not all that old, however after they accepted the Promised Messiah and thus joined the ‘latter day ones’ and have followed Khilafat, and so their faith is elevated to the highest levels. We can gauge the faith and firm belief of these [Ahmadis] who have been jailed through the following, where the writer says: ‘I also met you in my dreams. Your prayers strengthened our faith and belief and gave us comfort in jail. Certainly our release is a result of the prayers made by you and the Jama’at.’ His wife is the only Ahmadi in her entire family as all her other relatives are non-Ahmadi and have abandoned her. However pious Ahmadi women filled this gap with their love and family was formed through them.’ Apart from a handful, these Ahmadis from Algeria have never even met the Khalifa. However, because they have complete faith Allah the Almighty brings about the means for their tranquillity in the same way that at the time of the Promised Messiah (peace be on him), the means for tranquillity was created for those near to him.

Thus, in the pamphlet The Will (Al Wasiyyat), the Promised Messiah (peace be on him) writes regarding his departing this world, and the continued progress of the Jamaat through Khilafat by saying: ‘So dear friends! … But when I depart, God will send that second Manifestation for you which shall always stay with you just as promised by God in Brahin-e-Ahmadiyya. … Thus, it is inevitable that you see the day of my departure, so that after that day the day comes which is the day of ever-lasting promise. Our God is He Who keeps His promise and is Faithful and is the Truthful God. He shall show you all that He has promised.’ The institution of Khilafat which has been established through the advent of the Promised Messiah, peace be on him, is now the only true institution through which success and also the peace and harmony of the world can be achieved.

It is a great favour of Allah the Almighty that although the Ahmadiyya Jama’at experienced a great shock at the time of the demise of the Promised Messiah (peace be on him) however Allah the Almighty immediately took care of the Ahmadiyya Jama’at through Hazrat Khalifatul Masih I. And so even if anyone had any intention to create mischief, it was quickly quelled. Thereafter, the Ahmadiyya Jama’at experienced another shock when the First Ahmadiyya Khalifa passed away and certain prominent and leading members of the Ahmadiyya Jama’at abstained from taking the Bai’at [oath of allegiance] and rejected the Khalifa and the Jama’at endured very a difficult period during this time. Then, the Jama’at faced very hostile periods during the era of the third Khalifa and despite the government’s very horrific plans, Allah the Almighty bestowed His grace and they could not hinder the progress of the Jama’at. The Leader of Pakistan at the time boasted that he will ensure that Ahmadis are forced to resort to a begging bowl, however Allah the Almighty brought about the means to ease.

During the time of the fourth Khalifa, the Pakistan government intensified its persecution and again Allah the Almighty granted the means to provide comfort. Moreover, the Jama’at continued to scale new heights and newer means emerged for Tabligh [propagation of the message of Islam] and then through the satellite system we were able to do Tabligh. Then, during the era of the fifth Khalifa, the modes of Tabligh further expanded and not just thousands or hundreds of thousands but the message of the Ahmadiyya Jama’at has begun to reach millions. All of this shows that despite the temporary hurdles, the victory of Islam is destined to happen through the Promised Messiah, peace be on him and the institution of Khilafat which was established after him. May the standards of every Ahmadi’s worship continue to increase so that we continue to partake of this success.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/09/07/teach-yoga-and-meditation-to-unplug-children-says-education-mini/

Teach yoga and meditation to ‘unplug children’, says British Education Minister

May 30th, 2017

Peter Dominiczak Courtesy: Telegraph

7 SEPTEMBER 2016

Buddhist monks engage in the art of meditation at Mendut Temple, Indonesia

Children should be taught Buddhist meditation techniques and yoga in schools to help them “unplug from their online world”, a minister has said.

Edward Timpson, an education minister, said that schools across the country should start teaching “mindfulness” as a “normal part of the school day”.

The meditative practice, which has its roots in Buddhism, encourages people to focus on the present, rather than on the anxieties of the past or future.

Speaking during a debate in Parliament, Mr Timpson warned that children cannot unplug from their online world, and that is changing the shape of many of their relationships and the pressures that they come under at a much more tender age”.

He said that mindfulness is a modern innovation born from the deepest traditions of meditation” and that schools and colleges using the technique will to enable all children to enjoy good mental health and emotional wellbeing”.

Mr Timpson said: We want schools to have a whole-school approach that makes talking about feelings, emotions and wellbeing as normal for pupils as talking about their physical bodies. That might include lessons taught as part of the PSHE curriculum, whole-school programmes such as mindfulness that become a normal part of the school day, role play in drama lessons, or offering meditation or yoga sessions.”

Inspired by ancient Buddhist meditation, mindfulness courses were developed in the late 1970s by US doctors to combat stress.

Mindfulness is said to help people recognise and overcome negative thoughts while noticing small pleasures around them.

Although some regard it with scepticism, studies appear to show a clinical benefit for treating a range of mental health problems

Thousands of mindfulness sessions are prescribed to NHS patients every year to help treat anxiety and depression.

Sir Anthony Seldon advocated the technique when he was Master of Wellington College.

He said previously: ‘Mindfulness or meditation has been shown to be an invaluable tool to help bolster young people’s resilience to psychological stress. It also boosts concentration, depth of thought, happiness and achievement.

It is the most simple and natural technique to learn … It is all about being yourself, making the most of yourself, and making the most of the opportunities that life presents to you. It promotes trusting relationships, healthy living and psychological and emotional security.”

Courtesy: Telegraph

ගංවතුරටත් වඩා භයානක විපතක්

May 30th, 2017

නලින් ද සිල්වා

මෙරට සමාජය, සිංහල සමාජය, කඩා වැටෙමින් තිබෙනවා. ගංවතුරෙන් පෙනී යන්නේ එයයි. මේ ගැන විශේෂ දෙයක් කියලත් බැහැ, නොකියත් බැහැ. ගංවතුර විපතෙන් පීඩාවට පත් අය වෙනුවෙන් මගෙන් එතරම් දෙයක් සිදු වුණේ නැහැ. මා කිසිවක් නොකළ තරම්. කාට හරි කියන්න පුළුවන් මා වැදි බණ කියනවා කියලා. ඒත් මට දැනෙන කරුණක් දෙකක් නොකියාම බැහැ. අපේ සමාජය ව්‍යවස්ථා සම්පාදනයෙන් නොවුණත් අනෙක් කරුණුවලින් ඉතා විමධ්‍යගත සමාජයක්. විමධ්‍යගත කියන වචනය එතරම් සුදුසු නැහැ. අප දැන් බොහෝ දේ ප්‍රකාශ කරන්නේ බටහිර සංකල්පවලින්. අප ක්‍රියා කරන්නේ ප්‍රාදේශීය ව හා සාමූහික ව. පඬියන්ට අනුව එය ගෝත්‍රිකවාදය වෙන්න පුළුවන්.

සුනාමිය අවස්ථාවේ සිට අද වන තුරු සමාජය කඩා වැටී ඇති ආකාරය ගංවතුරෙන් පෙන්නුම් කරනවා. එදා ඉතා ඉක්මණින් මිනිසුන් පීඩාවට පත් අයට උදවු උපකාර කළා. ඒ ඒ ස්ථානවල ඒ දේ සිදු වුණා. ආණ්ඩුවෙන් බොහෝ දේ කෙරෙන්නේ නැහැ. ආණ්ඩුව ක්‍රියා කරන්නේ මධ්‍යගත ව. එය අපේ ක්‍රමයක් නො වෙයි. බටහිර වුණත් මෙවැනි හදිසි අවස්ථාවක දී මධ්‍යගත ව ක්‍රියා කරන්න බැහැ. ඔවුන්ට ඇති වූ ආපදා අවස්ථාවන්හි එය පැහැදිලි වුණා. මේ ගැන දීර්ඝ ව පසුව කතා කරන්න ඕන. දැනට කියන්න ඕන කරුණ තමයි අද අප එදා තරම් ප්‍රාදේශීය ව හා සාමූහික ව ක්‍රියා නොකරණ බව. නිලධාරීන් මධ්‍යගත ව ක්‍රියා කරන නිසා හදිසි අවස්ථාවක දී ඔවුන්ගෙන් වැදගත් දෙයක් සිදුවන්නේ නැහැ. අද අර මූල්‍ය අපරාධ කොට්ඨාසයත් සමග ඔවුන් තවත් හිරවෙලා.

මේ අවස්ථාවේ දේශපාලනය ගැන කතා කිරීම මනුෂ්‍යත්වය අමතක කිරීමක් ලෙස කිසිවකු කියන්න පුළුවන්. ඇතැමුන් කියන්නේ මට මිනිසත් බවක් නැහැ කියා. මිනිසත් බව ඇත්තේ දේශපාලනඥයන්ට හා ප්‍රසිද්ධත්වය අවශ්‍ය වෙනත් පුද්ගලයන්ට වෙන්න පුළුවන්. එහෙම වුනත් මේ සඳහන් කරන්නේ ඉතා කාලීන හා වැදගත් කරුණක්. එය නොකියාම බැහැ.

රවි කරුණානායක මුදල් ඇමති ධුරයේ තබා ගැනීමට රනිල් බොහෝ මහන්සි වී තියෙනවා. එහෙත් මෛත්‍රිපාල ඉතා තදින් රවි ඉවත් කළ යුතු යැයි කියා තියෙන බවට ආරංචි පැතිර යනවා. රවි වෙනුවෙන් පෙනී හිටියේ රනිල් හා එ ජා ප පමණ ද? සමහර විට රවිට අවසානයේ දී මුදල් අමාත්‍යාංශයේ කොටස් කිහිපයක් දෙන්න පොරොන්දු වුනා ද දන්නේ නැහැ. එය ගැසට් නිවේදනයෙන් බලා ගන්න පුළුවන්. එහෙම කෑලි ගලවල අමාත්‍යාංශ දෙන්නෙ නැත්නම් හොඳයි.

ඩී බී එස් ජෙයරාජ් කියන්නෙ කැනඩාවෙ ජීවත් වන දෙමළ ක්‍රිස්තියානි භක්තිකයෙක්. ඔහු මෙරට පුවත්පත්වලත් සේවය කර තිබෙනවා. ඔහුට මට මෙන් නොව තොරතුරු ලැබෙනවා. ඔහු ලැබෙන තොරතුරුවලින් සමහරක් ඔහුගේ වෙබ් අඩවියේ පළ කරනවා වෙන්න පුළුවන්. ඒ ගැන මා හරියට ම දන්නේ නැහැ. ඔහු කොපමණ තොරතුරු හෙළි කරනවා ද යන්න මා දන්නේ නැහැ. ඔහුගේ ලිපි ඇතැම් විට මෙරට පුවත්පත්වලත් පළ වෙනවා. මට ඔහු මුණ ගැසී ඇති. එහෙත් ඔහු මගේ මිතුරකු නො වෙයි. ඔහු ලියන දෙයින් මට විශ්වාස කළ හැකි දේ පමණක් මා නැවත කියනවා. පඬි පෝතකයකු කියන්න පුළුවන් මා සඳහන් කරන්නේ ජෙයරාජ් කියන දේ පමණක් කියා.

පසුගිය විසිවැනි දා ජෙයරාජ්ගේ ලිපියක් ඩේලි මිරර් පුවත්පතෙහි පළ වුණා. එහි මහින්ද හා ගෝඨාභය මෝදි හමුවීම හා එයට ජී එල් පීරිස් හා බැසිල් මැදිහත් වූ ආකාරය ගැන ඔහු ලියා තිබුණා. ඔහු ජී එල් හා බැසිල් නමින් හඳුන්වා නොතිබුණාට ඔහු දී තිබූ හෝඩුවාවල් අනුව ඔවුන් හඳුනා ගැනීම අපහසු වූයේ නැහැ. මා මේ තොරතුරු මැයි විසිවැනි දා මගේ ලිපියෙහි සඳහන් කළා. මා තොරතුරු ලබාගත්තේ ඩේලි මිරර් පත්‍රයෙන් බව මගේ ලිපියේ සඳහන් වුණා.

විසිවැනි දා පිට වු ඩේලි මිරර් පුවත්පතට ජෙයරාජ් අඩුම තරමෙන් දහනවවැනි දා තම ලිපිය යොමු කරන්න ඕන. ඔහුට අදාළ තොරතුරු මගේ ලිපියෙන් ලබා ගන්න කිසිම විධියක් නැහැ. මා මගේ ලිපිය ලිව්වෙ එදින ඩේලි මිරර් ලිපිය කියවීමෙන් පසුව දොවාල් දෙවියො යන මැයෙන්. එහෙත් ඒකාබද්ධ විපක්‍ෂයෙ ඇතැමුන් කියන්න පටන් අරන් ඩේලි මිරර් පත්‍රයෙහි අදාළ ලිපිය පළවුණේ මගේ ලිපියෙන් තොරතුරු ගෙන කියා. මගේ ලිපිය දහනවවැනි දා වත් පළ වුණා නම් එහෙම කියන්න පුළුවන් කමක් තිබුණා. එහෙත් මගේ ලිපිය පළ වූයේ මැයි විසිවැනි දා.

මට ඉන්දීය මහා කොමසාරිස් කාර්යාලයෙන් හරි මෙරට දේශපාලනඥයන්ගෙන් හරි තොරතුරු ලැබෙන්නේ නැහැ. මට ඔවුන් සමග ඇසුරක් නැහැ. මා තොරතුරු ලබා ගන්නේ වෙනත් අයගේ ලිපිවලින්. එහෙත් විශ්ලේෂණය හා නිගමන මගේ. මට යම් කිසි ඉවකුත් තියෙනවා. මහින්ද හා ගෝඨාභය ජී එල් ද සමගින් මෝදි හමුවීම කිසිසේත් ම සිංහලයන්ට සුබ කටයුත්තක් නො වෙයි. මට ඒ හමුව හා එහි පසුබිම ගැන කියන්න අවශ්‍ය වුණා. ඒ සිංහලයන්ට අනතුරු ඇඟවීමට. සිංහලයන්ට නායකයකු සොයා ගැනීමේ ප්‍රශ්නයට මුහුණ දෙන්න වෙලා.

ජෙයරාජ් තවත් ලිපියකින් වැදගත් කරුණක් හෙළිදරවු කරනවා. රවි මුදල් ඇමති කමෙන් ඉවත් කරන්නට යෑම ගැන මහින්ද දුරකතන පණිවුඩයක් මගින් රවිට තම කණස්සල්ල පළ කර ඇති බව ජෙයරාජ් කියනවා. එමෙන් ම ඔහු කියනවා යෝෂිත රාජපක්‍ෂ රවි හමුවීමට ඒ දිනවල ගිය බවත්. යෝෂිතගෙ ආරංචිය කෙසේ වෙතත් දුරකතන ඇමතුම ගැන මට වෙනත් ප්‍රභවයකින් ද ඊයේ දැනගන්න ලැබුණා. ඔහු සඳහන් කෙළේ එය මහින්ද විසින් රවි දිනාගනු ලැබීමක් ලෙස. රවි දිනාගනු ලැබුවේ රනිල් ගෙන් ද? රනිල් හා රවි එක ම සංස්කෘතියක ගජ මිතුරන්. ඔවුන් වෙන් කරන එක පහසු නැහැ.

අපට කිව හැක්කේ මෛත්‍රිපාලගේ රවි මුදල් ඇමති කමෙන් කිරීමේ අරමුණට මහින්ද විරෝධය පා ඇති බවයිි. ඒකාබද්ධ විපක්‍ෂයට රවි ගැන විවිධ චෝදනා තිබුණා. එසේ තිබිය දී දුරකතන පණිවුඩය දීමේ අවශ්‍යතාව කුමක් ද? අප හැමදාමත් කියා සිටියේ මෛත්‍රිපාල කෙතරම් ද්‍රෝහි කමක් කර තිබුණත් මහින්ද ඔහු සමග එක් වී රනිල් ඉවත් කළ යුතු බවයි. එහෙත් එසේ වන්නේ නැහැ. පෞද්ගලික වෛරය දිගින් දිගට ම පවතිනවා. රනිල් දිගින් දිගට ම අගමැති ධුරයේ රැඳී සිටිනවා. ඔහු හදිසියේ ම මෙන් පෞද්ගලික චාරිකාවක් සඳහා එක්සත් රාජ්‍ය බලා පිටත් වෙලා. ප්‍රතිකාර ගැනීමට කියා කියනවා. ඒ කුමක් වුවත් රටේත් ජාතියේත් ආගමේත් යහපතට ඔහු අගමැති ධුරයෙන් ඉවත් කළ යුතුයි. එසේ නොකළොත් ඔහු තමන්ට අවශ්‍ය වන විධියට ව්‍යවස්ථාවකුත් සම්මත කර ගනීවි. එය ගංවතුර විපතටත් වඩා භයානක බව අමුතුවෙන් කියන්න ඕන නැහැ.

නලින් ද සිල්වා

2017 මැයි 30

PROVIDING RELIEF ASSISTANCE TO FLOOD VICTIMS IN SRI LANKA

May 30th, 2017

Embassy of Sri Lanka Washington DC

As you are aware, due to heavy rains in the past few days, several regions of Sri Lanka have been affected by massive floods and landslides, resulting in substantial loss of life and property and displacement. The relevant government agencies and the security forces have been mobilized to assist those affected and provide relief to the victims.

According to the Disaster Management Centre (DMC) around 575,816 people (149,678 families) have been affected in 15 districts. As of 1200 hrs on May 30, 2017, DMC reports 188deaths and 99 missing. 74,754 people (19,068 families) have been housed at 383 safe locations. Please visit http://www.dmc.gov.lk/index_english.htm for regular situation updates.

The people and the government of Sri Lanka appreciate the concern and support being expressed by Sri Lankan expatriates and the international community and their desire to assist Sri Lanka and the affected people at this difficult juncture.

Well-wishers living in the United States can contribute to relief operations through the Embassy of Sri Lanka, Washington D.C. by making direct financial contributions. The Embassy accepts cash, cheques or money orders drawn out in favour of the Embassy of Sri Lanka”. Cheques and money orders can be addressed to Embassy of Sri Lanka, 3025 Whitehaven Street NW, Washington DC 20008. All such contributions will be acknowledged by an official receipt by the Embassy as Contributions to Flood Relief” and will be transmitted to the Disaster Relief Account (Bank of Ceylon Account No. 7040171) operated by the Ministry of Disaster Management through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Embassy of Sri Lanka
Washington DC

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DONATIONS FOR FLOOD RELIEF IN SRI LANKA – A PARTNERSHIP WITH ARPICO – Online donations to a central distribution location

May 30th, 2017

Anjalika Silva

We are monitoring the ground situation in Sri Lanka. Sources on the ground have informed us that the immediate need is nonperishable packaged food for immediate consumption. When flood waters recede and the displaced are housed in camps, there will be a future need for dry rations. Donors can choose to provide what they choose through the Arpico site with online ordering. They need all basic items for survival.

Arpico, has provided 7 categories of care packages ranging from $15 to $99 for donors to choose and order online. These care packages consist of essential items that will be needed by those displaced. In addition, donors can choose to donate whatever they wish from the range of items available on the eCommerce site All donations will be delivered free. Deliveries can be made to individual organizations known to donors or to a central collection location handled by Professional and Intellectual Women’s Association. The address for deliveries is No. 1, Byrde Place, Kirullapone, Colombo.5.

The link to the Arpico site is https://arpicosupercentre.com

(pay attention to the https:// secure site and spelling of arpicosupercentre)

Click on Flood victims to view care packages.

To order click on the blue price tag.
To register, click on Home” and register to log in.
Please note that the https:// denotes a secure site for credit card payments.
Donors who do not have contacts for delivery in Sri Lanka can use the organization below. The address as:

Sharmila Gonawala under the name of recipient. The distribution/delivery address is

Professional and Intellectual Women’s Association, No. 1 Byrde Place, Kirulopane in Colombo 5,

This organization has agreed to be the collection point and contact to handle distribution to the victims.

NOTES FOR DONORS:

Donors will be required to register and use a password for your account. Please note this for tracking.
Overseas addresses and telephone numbers can be entered in your registration (e.g. +1 202-1234-5678)
Overseas customers are not required to provide Passport and NIC information
If your credit card sends an alert and doesn’t recognize the overseas payment, you may receive an email to authorize your payment. OR you can call and inform your credit card company that you will be making an overseas transaction. Your debit will show as ARPICO ECOM.

This eCommerce site is also available to anyone ordering items for family, or friends, private charities or for any other purpose by registering as a customer. Please take advantage of this to donate or for private orders to your family and friends. More items will be added in the future.

For issues and questions, please contact:

Anjalika Silva – USA

AnjalikaSilva@gmail.com

For website related issues, you will be referred to the web development professionals at Arpico.

Anjalika Silva

490 Whetstone Glen Street

Gaithersburg, MD 20877

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LANKAN POLITICS AND SCIENCE LIKE OIL AND WATER!

May 30th, 2017

WITH RAVI LADDUWAHETTY Courtesy Ceylon Today

Professor of Chemical and Process Engineering at the Moratuwa University Ajith De Alwis said that Sri Lankan politics and science is like oil and water. They never mix. “It is also sad that we look at all things from a political perspective and it is high time that we bring engineering and science together towards helping the economic development of the country which is sadly lacking at present.

This is not my political ideology, but this is a statement of fact, Prof. de Alwis told Ceylon Today.

Here, he is in conversation with the Ceylon Today.

? So, a few weeks have lapsed since the Meethotamulla tragedy. What is the latest update?

A: The Urban Development Authority (UDA) has developed the old Bloemendhal Street garbage dump site into a modern city type of place and which will be a garden city without moving the garbage and to be developed into a commercial space. This is not something new and it is something that happens all over the world now. That is the same type of development which we are advocating for Meethotamulla as well which is the most sensible solution available right now.

There are people who say that there is scope for landfill mining with an abundance of scope with lots of resources buried underneath. Meetotamulla has never been a proper scientific landfill but it has been a dump in every sense of the word. So, collecting gas from a landfill is a little difficult as the design has not been done right up to now. There is still some scope for collection and some power generation. The uses of these gases could be made for some benefit and that is not a problem at all.

? There have been some choice examples of various divisional secretariats down south that have used garbage for making fertilizer. These projects have been initiated by former World Bank Head of Environment for South Asia, Dr. Sumith Pilapitiya whose doctorate itself has been on waste management. They are working successfully. Why can that be extended countrywide?

A: That is a method that you collect the garbage and channel it to a compost pit and with the suitable separations. What you have in Meethotamulla is the waste without any separations. In Sri Lanka, the tragedy is that there is no company which has gone in depth into waste management. In Sri Lanka, they have helped the hazardous management places in the country.

There are choice examples of multinational corporates who are engaged in waste management. There are some top companies which are doing not only waste management but designing of equipment as well in the processes which leads to waste management. There is also reverse logistics and all that which cover the gamut of the subject. In Sri Lanka there is an operation which is the transport of waste and a bit of recycling. But, there have been no investments in proper processing. There is a lot of scope for that type of operation for the local private sector

? So, why has it not got off the ground all this time?

A: It is sad that no corporate institution in Sri Lanka has looked at this positively. If someone says that there is scope for building hotels, then everybody goes to invest in hotels. It is high time that all who think of big business, should not only think of their betterment, but also at the same time, think of the betterment of the country as well. All the people who are crying for the management of the ever increasing garbage want the government also to give unlimited support as well. That is not the way that a business establishment is to be developed. It is up to the business community to understand the risk and the returns and proceed with the projects so that it benefits the country.

? So, don‘t you think that some of the blue chip corporates in Sri Lanka such as John Keells Holdings PLC , Aitken Spence and Co. PLC Carsons Cumberbatch PLC and Hayleys PLC and others should get involved ?

A: Yes, there is scope for that in Sri Lanka. The Chinese developed their systems by processing American waste. They brought the waste to China and processed it. That was for paper and others as well. They were very strategic by getting the German machinery and that proved to be an unprecedented success. All the corporates or at least the blue chip corporates should come in where they have opportunities to invest and reap their returns. They will also be doing a social service, not withstanding and in addition to making their profits as well. It will be a win – win situation for all.

? How do you see this being an economically profitable venture?

A: There is no expiry date to this. The stuff is already expired. There is no shelf life over garbage.

? So, how long will that take to be implemented in Sri Lanka?

A: The tragedy is that Sri Lanka has a linear economy. We are good at buying and using things and disposing of them. We have no solution and we just pile up the waste. We are talking of sustainable development and we need to transform ourselves to a circular economy. That is going from cradle to cradle where good quality compost is used as fertilizer and the same process is repeated.
The tragedy is that we Sri Lankans do not place efficiency in our economic practices. There should be a national policy and strategies as well.

Whatever, we put as fertilizer is wasted. The energy is also wasted, but, now the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) has improved its practices in generation and transmission.

? Then, what in your opinion, should be done?

A: We should stop complaining and adjust our thinking. We are not doing our bit.

? When you say we are not doing our bit, do you mean the government or some other stakeholder(s)?

A: The people. We need the people to be more efficient. The yardstick is whether we are good and efficient at using our resources. We are simply inefficient in using our resources. That is a fact.

? So, how do you expect the people to be efficient?

A: It is the way we do things. We should stop complaining saying that nothing is happening. We should not be blind to the bureaucratic circulars which I describe as ‘weapons of mass destruction’.

? So, do you believe that garbage is more a resource than a hazard?

A: Of course, it is a resource and not a hazard. You can get fertilizer and electricity out of it. The Ministry of Science and Technology will bring in the people who have ideas but whose perceptions have not been factored into policy. They are going to hold a meeting with the stakeholders who have a 360 degree perspective. They will come with a set of proposals and some recommendations that everybody will agree upon.

? Well, all this time as the power sector is concerned and with no power generation project in sight till at least 2022, it has been NATO, not the acronym for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) but for No Action Talk Only! How do you see this?

A: There has been a lot of talk but there has been some action as well. We have not been coherent in our policies. Without collecting the garbage despite our commitments to climate change, the theme of the debate is what is our collection of waste?

What we should be worried is the recycling rate. That is the yard stick. What is the infrastructure we have for recycling and how we do support that? That is what has to be answered. We think that collection is the end of the process when it is the start of the process. Recycling is the way forward and that is what we should be talking about.

? How long do you think that the process would take?

A: If you start it today, you can finish it tomorrow.

? What do you mean? It is it in the literal sense?

A: It can be literally. All you have to do is to collect your domestic garbage and use a garbage recycling bin at home, and then you can start the processes almost immediately. There are 400,000 households in the Colombo City and if the first 25 per cent start doing that, we could reduce a lot of things. It is all about understanding that all of us generate waste and all of us need to handle the problem, and not wait for the government to do that.

? So, if everybody at home does this at a domestic level, will that make a big difference?

A: It has to be everybody at home, offices and everywhere. We have to think, what is happening to our waste at home, offices and also while travelling. If all the Sri Lankans could do that with their heads and hearts, a lot of things can change.

? So, if all the households manage their garbage that way, at least say 70-80 per cent of the total population, will there be enough garbage left for a commercial operation?

A: That may not happen that way. We are not that efficient at all. Also it is not possible as well. On the other hand, while there are the lower cost options, why do we need to go for mega projects? We should understand the problem. Mega is the recycling operation.

That will be possible for the industrial waste as they are not going to tell their businesses to run a separate facility to meet their waste management process. They do it as a network. We are talking about the Municipal solid waste at domestic level. The other is the industrial waste which has to be managed separately.

? How do you address and handle the domestic waste and industrial waste?

A: The law is very clear on this. One cannot dump the industrial waste into the Divisional Secretariat waste bin. There is a separate process for that. Industrial waste management is under the aegis of the Central Environment Authority (CEA). It should be based on sound technical and economic decisions.

? Now there seems to be some ambiguity about the Megapolis Ministry having some projects and also which is seen to be clashing with the Western Province Provincial Council with investors arriving for garbage management projects. How do you see this?

A: Irrespective of who is trying to do what, it should not be officials or politicians meeting investors at a five star hotel over cocktails and dinner and thrusting down our throats that there are investors for waste management. There should be a pathway where proposals are called and there is transparency in that process. All projects should be analyzed scientifically.

? How is that no one in the business community has thought in these lines?

A: I don’t know as I am a university teacher and researcher. But, what we know is that most companies are investing heavily into hotels. Even manufacturing companies are going to invest in hotels.

? May be this is a relatively new area that is not known yet. But, if the sole motive of these corporates is to make money and are aware of the returns and the social role that they are playing in, they will change their thinking?

A: The best example is China. You visit the Alibaba website and see how many trades are done on waste products. That includes Sri Lanka as well. When we wanted to start the process in Sri Lanka, the process failed three times.

The way that it usually happens is that that there are the garbage sellers, who list their products and the specifications on a portal and there are the buyers who access the information from that. Sri Lanka has been backward in this regard.

? Then, what is the way forward?

A: The way forward is to be scientific in our approach without being gullible. There are so many investors who have applied for the disposal of waste through the alibaba.com. website.

raviladu@gmail.com

UNDER THE SAME SUN, THOSE DEAD KIDS FROM MANCHESTER TO KEBBITHIGOLLEWA

May 29th, 2017

Rajpal Abeynayake

(Rajpal Abeynayake was the former Editor in Chief of the Sunday Observer, the Daily News and the Lakbimanews English weekly.)

This week’s terrorist attacks in Manchester would remind most Sri Lankan’s of attacks in buses and trains and on office blocks in Sri Lanka.
All the circumstances are familiar, such as explosives packed with ball bearings, children dead, people shocked, and numb with disgust and fear.
Except for this one difference.
Nobody outside of Sri Lanka cared one toy pink balloon when Sri Lankan children were murdered.

To this day, even, at the United Nations Human Rights Council, the former Sri Lankan president and his army is being taken to task for ensuring that just these kinds of attacks were stopped. But nobody talks about the children of Kebbithigollewa who were killed by terrorist attacks very similar to, or worse than than the attacks in Manchester a few days back. (They were Claymore mined for god’s sake.)

There are no flowers or teddies for these children, and no sorrowful odes certainly not from BBC CNN or Channel 4 or of course any of the leaders of the ‘free world.’
No children should be killed, not in Manchester, not in Kebbithigollewa, not in any part of the world.

But yet the world reacts differently. Nobody cares about this anomaly anyhow, not the liberal tear jerking fluffy heads of the press here, who cry in their sleep and beat their breasts in their waking hours for ‘Justice’ and good journalism. What a pack of forgettable silly-heads.
When the children of Manchester are killed they say no stone must be left unturned to apprehend these terrorists. Human rights are held in suspension.
The British Premier insists human rights laws should be held in abeyance in order to combat terror.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3820659/At-justice-troops-Ministers-pledge-suspend-human-rights-laws-wartime-stop-soldiers-dragged-courts.html

Britain will cry buckets for children in Manchester, as Britain should, but not one tear would be shed for the scores who were killed in Sri Lanka, in Kebbilithigollewa and elsewhere, and the soldiers who were also killed and maimed in their efforts to rid the scourge that killed these children.
Instead Britain cries for the blood of these Sri Lankan soldiers, or at least the British government does. They want our soldiers to hang for their services.
And yet the British cry for the children of Manchester.
Cry for the children of Kebbithigoloewa, Britain.
Cry for the soldiers who stopped children from dying.
I know many arguments would be made against my point, each getting closer to vilification rather than explanation, as the intensity of the denial about the double standard increases.
None of that would cut.
Because everybody knows. Everybody including every cringeworthy hypocrite knows.
We stopped terrorists who killed small children, and cannot be called out for it, when Britain is using every rule out of the book to unsuccessfully stop terrorists from killing their own little kids.
You may still get away with your charade, but that won’t stop the hypocrisy from reeking upto the Pearly Gates and right unto god’s own quarter, until Kingdom Come, and you know that.

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“CASE FOR A CONSUMER OMBUDSMAN FOR SRI LANKA”

May 29th, 2017

Sarath Wijesinghe (Solicitor- former Chairman Consumer Affairs Authority and a former Ambassador

Ombudsman – the Concept in practise worldwide

Ombudsman is an office that resolves disputes of the citizen in a cordial and friendly atmosphere, with fewer technicalities by an experienced Personality or a body of persons of repute experienced and knowledgeable in the subject with wide experience. This concept is tested as successful historically and currently prevalent in most parts of the globe in governance, trade, commerce and development as a mode of resolution of disputes in cordial friendly and less complicated atmosphere. Parliamentary Ombudsman in Sri Lanka is a concept inherited from the UK and adopted successfully with the first appointment of Late Mr Sam Wijesinghe – the former Secretary General of the Parliament – a celebrated and reputed government servant by then President H. E. J R Jayawardena based on an act of Parliament. The process was extended to Insurance, Finance and many state and non-state institutions in Sri Lanka following other models as a mode of resolution of disputes with fewer complications. In the United Kingdom Ombudsman exist to deal with complains from ordinary citizens about public and private bodies in Local Government and in many other areas. Legal Aid/assistance and Arbitrations are also other modes of conflict resolutions with consent of all parties concerned with binding effects legally of consent avoiding rigorous complicated and expensive court procedure. In UK, EU and the western concepts of Ombudsman is deep rooted and successfully stalled in the development on trade and governance fast tracking the internal administration and international dispute resolution. In Sri Lanka too Ombudsman procedure is successful in state and private sector with room for expansion with past practice giving space for confidence building. Finance and Insurance are broad and wide areas fast developing in Sri Lanka with developments in trade insurance and finance banking and many other areas. Finance and Insurance Ombudsman in Sri Lanka are non-state offices acting on independent and voluntary basis with minimum expenditure on the basis of mutual consent and agreement/s among parties concerned. Learning from international practice Mega businesses in Sri Lanka are successfully adopting the concept of Ombudsman in their respective organizations in resolution of disputes and satisfying the consumer considered to be powerful and most important. In the UK the scheme covers financial services energy estate agent sector health higher education housing local government police parliament technology water and many sectors. Arbitration and mediation are alternate methods used as a cheap quick and independent systems adopt successfully in other parts of the world and small claim scheme originated from North America which is successful in UK with the legal aid scheme Law Centres, Citizens Advice Centres, Legal Aid Schemes which are successful and effective methods when trans state disputes engage in European dimensions in the complicated process entangled in number of directions from the EU on consumer trade and resolution of disputes connected to trade mong states.

Ombudsman service is prevalent in Asia, and west including United Kingdom in the areas of governance and trade as an intermediate party in the resolution of disputes avoiding costly litigations. Regulators in United Kingdom and in Sri Lanka mostly perform dual purposes in regulation and resolution. Rail Tract in UK, PUCSL, TRC, Financial and Insurance Ombudsman in Sri Lanka are some examples of successful and effective Ombudsmen/mediation /dispute resolution schemes and institutions. In the UK Ombudsman exist to deal with complaints from ordinary citizen complaining about public bodies and services in the private sector. Lord Woolf declares in his report on the subject that the retail sector should be encouraged to develop private Ombudsman Schemes. The origin of the Ombudsman scheme was founded in Nordic countries encouraging genuine independent schemes now prevalent globally which needs to be encouraged in Sri Lanka.

Consumer- Consumerism and rights/duties of the Consumer and Trader

Apart from the legal definition of the term consumer, every citizen is a consumer generally considered to be as powerful as a king as a king maker when properly organized. Which magazine and consumer organizations in United Kingdom indicates the power of the powerful consumer movement with their power and organized skills in pressurizing and making the errant and unjust trader to kneel down on complaints of exploitation. Though the consumer is powerful in the west due to their organisational power and skills with the help of the media and non-governmental organisations, the situation in Sri Lanka is less than unsatisfactory as a group neglected and not considered important segment of the society. Consumerism in the present context is consumer activism though the historical and traditional definition is different based on historic definitions and concepts. Consumer has rights as well as duties attached to them towards the rest of the world. Concept of the alert consumer and just trader” is an innovative theory put forward by CAA during my chairmanship with the consumer pages published which are still in the public domain that consumer, trader, regulator, and the state should work together for a better day for all work with an understanding on the rights duties and priorities towards the rest of the world.

Consumer Affairs Authority came into force to protect consumer, trader, and manufacture by act no 9 of 2003, is the main regulator on consumer issues followed by many other regulators such as PUCSL,TRC, Bureau of Standards State sponsored Ombudsmen schemes and private schemes such as finance and Insurance Ombudsman some of which are set up on trademarks ordnance, poison opium and dangerous drugs ordinance, control of prizes ordinance, weights and measures ordinance, food and drugs act control of prices ordinance, food control act, licencing of trades act, bureaux of Sri Lankan standards act, National price commission law, consumer protection act, code of intellectual property act petroleum products act code food act centimes devices and drugs act Sri Lanka Standards institution act fair trading commission ac ,measurements unit standards and services act, and unfair contract terms act. Consumer depends on the CAA empowered to perform duties to the consumer to enjoy rights and the trader to carry on the just trade with freedom to conduct trade business and industries as guaranteed in article 14 of the constitution and UN guidelines. CAA was set up replacing all previous legislation on the subject for better protection of consumers through regulation, against unfair trade practices other forms of protect[ng traders and manufactures against unfair trade practices, promote competitive pricing, ensure healthy competition, protect consumers against marketing goods and services which are hazardous to the life and property of consumers, protect consumers against unfair trade practices and give consumers interest due consideration, seek redress against unfair trade practices and exploitation of consumers by traders. CAA has enormous powers exercisable by regulation and directions, which are not being enforced due to

inefficiency of the institution/s, leaving the consumer helpless .CAA has become a teeth less failed institution and it is time to adopt the concept of Ombudsman procedure to Sri Lanka with other forms of alternates resolutions until the CAA is reactivated by changing the Act to suit the modern challenges to adopt concrete and meaningful changes for an effective Consumer Authority to meet the needs of the consumer in need of assistance in the current changes in door steps of the digital age.

A Consumer Ombudsman Scheme for Sri Lanka

Despite the main regulator CAA and other regulators, institutions, officials such as Public Health Officers, Local Government Officials, water we drink is contaminated polluted and expensive with wastage of 46% of water produced, food we consume is poisonous adulterated and expensive, prices of consumer items are completely out of control, consumer education is at the lowest ebb, fruits and vegetable are full of pesticides and with strong preservatives, consumer items in food and consumer outlets are not price and quality controlled when CAA is helplessly conduct day to day matters with the restricted and limited capacity. Consumer has no access to the regulator to seek redress. No warring or system of education to citizen on consumer matters/issues and directions. Access to legal procedure is complicated and expensive. There is an urgent need to change the CAA act to meet the current challenges in the approach of a digital era when the OPA has initiated a project to suggest changes to be forwarded to the people and the state which process to take effect will take long years and change of legislature will take a longer time when no changes have taken place for 14 years since the act came into force in 2003. Setting up of the office of Consumer Ombudsman and alternate resolution procedures/methods such as, Arbitrations, Establishment of UK modelled Citizen Advice bureaux , using mediation boards for consumer dispute resolutions, engage Chambers of Commerce and trade and consumer organizations to In resolution of consumer dispute the resolution schemes, setting up and encourage small claim court procedures with the assistance and guidance of the legal aid scheme, setting up of consumer courts, are some measures and methods suggested to be adopted led by the office of Consumer Ombudsman to meet the challenges giving temporary relief to the consumer and trader until permanent changes and solutions are made after the transformation of the current failed system.

The author takes responsibility for the contents and could be contacted on sarath7@hotmail.co.uk)